KUNAWAR is a subdivision of Bashahir State in the Panjab. It is a rugged, mountainous country, and lies between lat. 31° 16' and 32° 3' N., and long. 77° 33' to 2' E. ; area, 21,000 sq. m. ; pop. 10,000. It is bounded on the N. by Spiti, on the E. by Chinese territory, on the S. by Bashahir and Garhwal, and on the W. by Kullu.
Kunawar is • usually divided into Upper and Lower Kunawar, and includes the upper part of the Sutlej basin. In Lower Kunawar the popu lation consists of mixed Tibetan and Hindu races, the Turanian element preponderating in the north, while the sonthern region is inhabited by people of Aryan type. In physique, the Kunawari are tall, athletic, well made, and dark skinned ; while their character stands high for hospitality, truth fulness, and honesty. Alone among the neigh bouring hill tribes, they successfully resisted the Gurkha invasion, and so completely baffled the enemy by breaking down bridges, that the Gurkhas entered into a convention by which, in return for a tribute of £750 per annum, they agreed to leave the valley unmolested. The religion of the Kunawar people shows the same mixed origin as the ethnical peculiarities. The northern villages profess Buddhism of the Tibetan model ; in the south, IIinduism prevails; while the middle region shades off gradually from one faith into the other, producing grotesque mixtures of ceremonial and belief. At Kanum, half-way across the tract, the Tibetan sacred books are in use, and the Lama priests are there, but the Hindu veneration for kine still exists; and the distinctions of caste survive ; while at Hangrang, on the northern frontier, Buddhism assumes the pure Tibetan form.
The Tartar husbandmen have a custom similar to those of Scotch farmers, who plait the first corn cut three-fold, and fix it over the chimney piece till next harvest, when it is renewed. Tho Tartars use three ears of barley, which they paste outside above the door. Polyandry is general in Kunawar from the higher classes to the lowest Chanters, one family having one wife, the elder brother being the. more special husband. It is called Kiirpa.. Polyandry prevails also in Chinese Tartary and in the hilly tracts towards the,plains. Besides this drawback on the increase of the population, there is another peculiar to Chinese Tartary and the adjoining countries ; that is, celibacy, which is professed by numbers of the inhabitants ; and in some villages the monks or lamas and nuns form almost half the population.
At all the elevated passes there are a number of square piles of stones, called Shughar, upon which passengers usually place a piece of quartz, or attach rags to poles, which are fixed in the middle. There are also several Shughar on the
neighbouring heights, sacred to the deota or spirits of the mountains, who are supposed to inhabit the loftiest and most inaccessible points, especially where there is much snow. The Shu ghar at the passes are eaected by travellers, but those on the higher peaks are commonly made at the expense of some wealthy pilgrim not much accustomed to the mountains, who has succeeded in crossing a pass, which is reckoned an arduous undertaking by an inhabitant of the plains.
The Tartars are called by the Kunawar inhabit ants of the lower parts, Zhad, Bhoteah or Bliutani, and their country is often named Bhot and Bhutan ; the Tartars are very different in appear ance and manners from the inhabitants of Lower Kunawar; all those of Bashahir were formerly under the Chinese. The Tartars of Kunawar are not so stout as those farther to the eastward, and have less of the Chinese features, are muscular, well made, and tall. The people are fond of dancing and singing, and they have several annual festivals, which they celebrate with a degree of joy scarcely known amongst other Asiatic nations. The greatest festival is called Mentiko, which prevails through out the whole of Kunawar; it is held in the begin ning of September; its origin is not known. All the people who are able to move leave their villages, and ascend the nearest hill ; they proceed slowly, making a circuit of several days, and this is a time of the greatest festivity. They adorn them selves with garlands and flowers, and sing and dance to the sound of music; which is much more melo dious than the tunes of Hindustan. They have all sorts of amusements, run foot and horse races, when the ground will admit of it, perform feats of agility, feast, and drink.
The language shades off, like the religion, from the Tibetan in the north to Sanskritic dialects on the Indian side. In Lower Kunawar, the pre ponderating language is Hindi, and is called Milchan, but the Bhot preponderates in Upper Kunawar. The Lubrung or Kanum and the Lidung or Lippa are varieties of the Milchan. In Sungnam, the word Theburskud is used to designate all variations from the regular form of speech. The fleshy and stone fruits of Kunawar are the grape, apricot, peach, apple, walnut, and mulberry. Sungnam is famous for its apples, Akpa for grapes, and Pangi for walnuts. From Kanum to Miru ridge, in Upper Kunawar, are to be found the Cedrus deodara, Pinus Gerardiana, P. excelsa, Abies Smithiana, Abies Webbiana, Juniperus excelsa, Populus alba, Juglans regia, Corylus colurna, Armeniaea vulgaris, Ems malus, Cerasus puddum, Quereus ilex, and Salix alba.—Cleghorn, Pouf. Report, p. 58; Imp. Gaz.