The Baseegurs, more especially distinguished by that name, are the most civilized of thp whole ; they are Mahometans in food, apparel, and religion. The Panchperee profess no system of faith in prefer- . eace, adopting that of any village indifferently, whip their their wanderings may guide them. Some tra verse the country as Mahometan Fakeers, and live on the ill directed bounty of devotees ; and a parti caber association among them, of bad repute or ab ject superstition, has been accused of sacrificing hu man victims. Notwithstanding their ignorance of the established religions, they seem to venerate a female. deity, Kali, probably the sanguinary goddess of the Hindoos, and may perhaps in this way seek to pur chase her protection. The Bazeegurs are circum cised, and have priests to officiate at their marriages and funerals, but their knowledge of the prophet Ma hornet is very imperfect, for they can gkve little ac count of him, except that he was a saint. They seem to acknowledge an omnipotent being, and con ceive that all nature- is animated by one universal spirit, which the soul, as being part of it, will rejoin after death. At the birth of theit: children, some Bramin, supposed an adept in astrology, is called in to aid them in choosing a propitious name.
Among the Panchperee, the marriage ceremony is commenced by the bridegroom repairing to the hut of his elect, and calling•aloud for her to be delivered to him. A near relation, guarding the door, resists his entrance, and rudely pushes him away, while he is the object of taunts and jocularity; but when his patience is supposed to have been sufficiently put to the test, the bride is brought out. Both receive an exhortation from the priest to practise mutual kindness, and the bridegroom, marking the bride's face with ochre, declares her his wedded wife, and she, on her part, does the same in return. The little fingers of their hands are now joined, and a scene of merriment, from which the bride alone is. exempted, commences. But this consists chiefly in the progress to intoxication, for all these people are addicted to the most immoderate use of spirits ; and after copious libations, a cavalcade, formed of the two parties, whose little fingers are again joined, their parents and friends, departs for the hut of the bridegroom. Before the door there are some enig matical ceremonies performed ; the mother of the bridegroom advances with a sieve containing rice, paint, and grass, with which the foreheads of the couple are touched, after being waved around them; and the bride is led into the house, before which there stands a small fresh branch of the mangoe tree in an earthen pot of.water. The meaning of these ceremonies is not well understood ; but it is to be observed, that the origin of most of the customs of the modern races of mankind, are lost in the dark ness of antiquity. Some of the peasantry in Britain have various ceremonies both at marriages and funs rals,--such as breaking a cake above the head of the bride, or strewing flowers on the bier of one ed, which have descended from remote ages, and arose from sources at this day unknown. When these cere monies are completed among the Bazeegurs, a new scene of mirth is resumed ; and towards evening, for the whole day from the breaking of dawn is thus oc cupied, the bride is condUcted to her own hut, when, those who are able retire ; but the majority, and in. Feneral the bridegroom among them, pass the night in a state of insensibility on the neighbouring plain.
From the earliest period they are accustomed to intoxicating draughts ; even infants of five or six months old are supplied with spirits, though their. Mowers suckle during five or six years; and it is not uncommon to observe several children of dif.
ferent ages hanging on their mother, and struggling to extract their scanty portion of nourishment, which is gradually diminished by her own insatiable propen sities to the same beverage. Many of the sects are very indiscriminate in food ; scarce any thing is re. ;acted ; dead horses, jackals. and bullocks, are alike acceptable ; and it has been suspected that they can even enjoy a repast of human flesh. However, this is not authenticated, and if analogical reru,Uning may be admitted here, we should be inclined to.
deny it, because there is no proof that any tribe, however savage, is addicted, to anthropophagy, if dwelling among a more civilized people.
The chief occupation of the Bazeegurs seems to consist In feats of address and agility to amuse the public, in which both males and females are equally skilful. The former are extremely athletic, and the women are taught dancing, which, instead of the graceful motions seen in the north, there con sists principally in a display of lascivious gestures. Most, if not all, the men are jugglers, tumblers, and actors, in which they are very adroit. The people of each set, or dramatis personae, are hired out by a sirdar, or manager of a company, for a definite pe riod, generally one year, after which they are at liberty to join any other party. But no person can establish a set of actors without permission from the Nardar Boutah, a chief of the Bazeegurs, who receives a proportion of the profits, and a tribute or tax from each female, somewhat analogous to what was called milk-money, a revenue levied by the Holy See from licences to prostitutes. On the return of a party from an excursion, this money is paid to the Nar dar Boutah, who convenes his people, and they continue feasting until the whole is expended. Should any of the managers be suspected of giv ing an unfair account of his profits, a court is as sembled, where the accused must undergo the or deal of applying his tongue to a piece of red-hot iron. It thus appears that these tribes have a kind of civil government among themselves ; that each of five sets, at Calcutta at least, has a sirdar or ruler, and that the whole are subject to the Nardar Boutah. These sirdars and the chief apparently constitute a court for the trial of infringement of their regulations, which may be followed by pu nishment. Thus if, on application of the red-hot iron, the suspected manager be burnt, he is declared guilty of a fraud, which is expiated by a fine, and, if it be an aggravated offence, by the additional punish ment of having his nose rubbed on the ground. The same penalty is .attached to disclosures to strangers of matters which it is the interest of the tribe to con ceal. The fine is generally converted to liquor ; but should the offender be either unable or unwilling to discharge it immediately, he is banished from all society ; or he is universally execrated, and even his wife and children avoid him. He soon finds com pliance indispensable, and although the Bazeegurs pique themselves on their honesty, it is conjectured that on such occasions they do not entertain many scruples in acquiring what is so essential to avert the indignation of their fellows. The mulct being paid, is converted to the general behoof, and affords a new opportunity for gratifying the strong propensities im planted in these people for ardent liquors. All dif ferences among this set are the subject of reference either to a puncheat or a general assembly ; but, be fore commencing the business, both plaintiff and de fendant must provide a quantity of spirits propor tioned to the importance of the case. The party non-suited ultimately bears the whole expence, and the assembly is regaled with the beverage produced by the litigants.