VIZAGAPATAM, a district of 18,344 square miles, population 2,485,141, in the Madras Presi dency, lying between lat. 17° 14' 30" and 18° 58' N., and between long. 82° 19' and 83° 59' E. A portion of the district forms part of the Northern Circars. It is a beautiful, picturesque, and hilly country, but in the greater part most unhealthy. To the west of the Eastern Ghats is situated the greatex portion of the extensive zamindari of Jeypore, which is for the most part very hilly and jungly. The north and north-weSt of the district, which is chiefly inhabited by Kandh and Saura, is also mountainous. In the extreme north, a remarkable mass of hills, called the ' Neilgherries, rises to a height of 4972 feet above the sea, and these bills are separated by valleys of not more than 1200 feet from the neighbouring ranges of ghats. The present district of Vizagapatam ' formed, ,in the early days of Hindu history, a portion of the ancient kingdom of Kalinga. It was subsequently conquered by the eastern branch of the Chalukya dynasty. Wild tribes, mostly of Dravidian race, chiefly inhabit the hill country Of Jeypere.and the uplands which stretch through the district into Ganjam. Several castes of Aryans from Orissa and the plains of the Northern Circars have settled in this tract, among whom are a great many Uriya Brahmans. The zamindars are of the Kshatriya caste, and their retainers are Paiks, who have largely settled as cultivators. The
aboriginal tribes consist of Kandh, Gond, Gadaba, and Koi. Where they have come into contact with Hindus, the cultivating Kandhs call them selves Praja (or rayats). They are thrifty, hard working agriculturists, undisturbed by the intest ine broils which agitate the more turbulent Kandhs of the north. They entertain an un conquerable love for their native soil, and re gard themselves, and are regarded by the zamin dars, as the owners of it. Other Dravidians are found in the extreme north of the district as Gond, farther south as Batia, Kondha Dora, Kondha Kapu (Telugu names signifying lords of the hills and cultivators), Matiya, and Koi. Their dialects are similar. The tribes who in habit the more mountainous parts of the Jeypore country are more manly and civilised than the others, and when treated with respect soon throw off their wildness, and become hard - working members of society. The Kandhs formerly offered human sacrifices, which the British suppressed. Saura inhabit the hills and slopes behind Pal konda and to the eaat of Gunapur. Vizagapatam (Visakha-pattanam, city of Visakha,' i.e. Kar tikeya or Subhramanya, the Hindu Mars) is the chief town of the district, in lat. 17° 41' 50" N., long. 83° 20' 10" E.—Imp. Gaz.