The Kliampti are not a handsome race ; they are darker of complexion and coarser of feature than other Shams, the Mongolian peCuliarities being more strongly developed in them than in their reputed brethren. After settling in Assam, how ever, the Khampti chiefs frequently took to them selves Assamese wives, and the effect of this mingling is very marked in softening and im proving the features of the later generations.
The Khampti have two great religious festivals in the year,—one to celebrate the birth, and the other the death, of Gautama. At these cere monies, boys dressed up as girls go through posture dances. They are not restricted to one wife ; and the Khampti women are allowed every freedom and independence of action, paying and receiving visits, going to market, etc.
The dress of the Khampti consists of nether garments of coloured cotton of a chequered pattern, or of silk, more or less ample, according to the rank of the wearer ; tight-fitting jackets of cotton cloth, dyed blue, with a white muslin turband, so twisted as to leave exposed the top knot into which their long hair is twisted. The costume of the women is like that of the men,— plain, but neat. They wear the hair drawn up from the back and sides in one massive roll, which rises four or five inches so much in front as to form a continuation of the frontal bone. The roll is encircled by an embroidered band with fringed and tasselled ends ; the lower garment is folded over the breasts and under the arms, reaching to the feet ; sometimes, in addition, the Khampti women wear a coloured silk scarf round the waist, and a long-sleeved jacket. Their chief ornaments are necklaces of coral and other beads, and cylindrically-shaped pieces of bright amber inserted in the ears.
The most common weapon among the Kliamptis is the dhao, a heavy short sword, plain or orna mented, according to the condition of the wearer, hanging in its sheath by a sling made of split rattan. It is worn somewhat in front, so that the hilt is readily grasped in the right hand ; this, and the defensive round shield of buffalo hide, are sufficient for a Khampti to take the field with, but many of them now carry muskets or fowling pieces. They are very useful auxiliaries in 11101111 tain warfare, capable of endurance and full of resources.
The burial-ground of the Khampti is generally a tidily-kept spot apart from the village. The graves are surmounted by conically - shaped tumuli, which, when first constructed, &numb from the base to the apex in a series of steps, the earth being kept in position by bamboo matting round each step. Some of these graves when opened have been found to contain coffins of massive timber, with gold and silver orna ments, and outside the coffins various utensils, arms, and implements of agriculture.
The Phakial tribe, with the exception of a few particulars, answer to the description given of the Khampti. They also are Thai emigrants, their original habitat being the valley of Ilukong.
The .11hduk, who dwell in the Hankhati 3fouza, south of Saddiya, are a tribe subordinate to the Khampti. Their dress is similar to that worn by the Khampti, except that it is of ruder fashion and of inferior texture. There is another tribe about Saddiya known as the Khanijang, but in manners and customs they do not differ from the 3Iuluk.
The Singpho have settled in Assam within the memory of man. Their first settlements were on the Tengapani river east of Saddiya, and on the Bari Dihang in the tract called Namrup. They are of a race called by the Burmese Ka-khyen or Kaku, whose original settlements were on the eastern branches of the Irawadi river ; they are there in contact with the Kunung, with whom they are closely allied in language and origin. They assumed the name of Singpho, which in their own language means man,' only after emigration into the Assam valley. They occupy large villages on the frontiers, often in somewhat unassailable positions, and their villages usually consist of sixty or more large houses, each from 80 to 100 feet long and about 20 feet in breadth, with raised floor throughout, and an open balcony at one end, where the ladies of the family sit, and spin, weave, and embroider. The house is divided into differ ent apartments on both sides of a long passage, open from end to end. Over the hearths are large bamboo racks hanging from the roof, on which are placed meat or fish requiring to be smoked.