CHAPTER III.

Occupations of the people. Brahmans. Priests. Astrologers. Baids. Clerks. Laws and punishments. Castes. Slavery. Trade and manufactures. Agriculture. Live stock. The army. The revenue. The roads.

As this sketch is not intended for a Gazetteer, it is unnecessary to enter at great length into the subject of the occupations of the people.

Priests and Brahmans of course are very numerous, and have much influence in a country where there are so many temples, and at least half the time of the people seems to be spent in pūjās and religious holidays. The Raj Guru is a wealthy and influential person in the state, and has a large income from government lands, and also from the fines inflicted for offences against the rules of caste. Many other priests, Gurus and Purōhits, have lands assigned to them, and many of the temples have been richly endowed by their founders. Still, a great many of the priests depend for their support on the offerings of their jajmāns (clients), who pay them fees for the ceremonies performed at births, marriages and deaths. Every family has a special priest, whose office is hereditary. Immense sums are wasted in feeding Brāhmans on all sorts of occasions. As an instance, it may be mentioned, that, when Sir Jung Bahadur met with an accident at Bombay in 1875, fifteen thousand rupees were spent in feeding Brahmans at Kāṭhmānḍū.

Astrologers form another large class of the learned community. Some of them are also priests, but in general the professions are distinct. In Nepal astrology must be a profitable pursuit, as no great man thinks of setting out on a journey, or undertaking any business whatever, without having an auspicious moment selected. Indeed the time for everything, from the taking of a dose of physic to the declaration of a war, is determined by the astrologers.

Baids, or medical men, are also numerous in Nepal, and all families of any pretension have at least one permanently attached to their service. There are, however, no public hospitals or dispensaries, nor any means provided for the relief of indigent sick people.

The duties of clerks and accountants are performed by a special class of people, chiefly Newārs.

Lawyers are not held in much estimation in Nepal. The chief justice gets a salary of some two hundred rupees a month, so that the inducements for bribery and corruption are great.

As an appeal can always be made to the Council (which practically means Sir Jung Bahādur), justice is on the whole pretty fairly administered.

The old savage code of punishments, involving mutilations, stripes, etc., etc., was abolished by Sir Jung Bahadur on his return from England. Treason, rebellion, desertion in time of war, and other offences against the state, are punished by death or imprisonment for life; bribery and peculation by government servants, by fines, imprisonment, and dismissal from office.

Killing cows and murder are punished by death; maiming cows and manslaughter, by imprisonment for life; and other acts of violence by imprisonment or fines.

If a low caste person pretends to belong to a higher caste, and induces a high caste person to partake of food or water from his hands, he renders himself liable to a heavy fine, or imprisonment, or the confiscation of all his property; or he may even be sold into slavery. The victim of his deception is re-admitted to his caste on payment of certain fees to the priests, and the performance of certain fasts and ceremonies (prayaschit).

Brahmans and women are never capitally punished. The severest punishment for women publicly is imprisonment for life with hard labour, and for Brahmans the same with degradation from caste.

Slavery is one of the institutions of Nepal. Every person of any means has several slaves in his household, and the wealthy have generally a great number of both sexes. It is said that there are from twenty to thirty thousand slaves in the country. Most of these have been born slaves; but free men and women, with all their families, may be sold into slavery as a punishment for certain crimes, such as incest and some offences against caste. In a few of the wealthier households the female slaves are not allowed to leave the house; but in general they enjoy a great deal of freedom in this respect, and the morals of the female slaves are very loose in consequence. They are generally employed in domestic work, wood-cutting, grass-cutting, and similar labour. The price of slaves ranges for females from 150 to 200 rupees, and for males from 100 to 150 rupees. They are usually well treated, and on the whole seem quite contented and happy. Should a slave have a child by her master, she can claim her freedom.

All the trade and manufactures of the country may be said to be in the hands of the Newars and a few

foreigners. A few families of Kashmiris have been settled at Kāṭhmānḍū for generations, and they, and some Irāķīs, are the principal traders in articles of European manufacture. There is a community of about 3,000 Nepalese established at Lhāsā, where there is a Nepalese vakil (consul or resident), and these, who are chiefly Newārs, carry on the trade between Nepal and Tibet. Most of the traders in corn, oil, salt, tobacco, confectionery, and other articles of domestic consumption, are Newārs.

The manufactures of the country are few, consisting chiefly of cotton and coarse woollen cloth, a peculiar kind of paper (made from the inner bark of several species of Daphne), bells, brass and iron pots, ornaments of silver and gold, and coarse earthenware. All the mechanics of the country are Newārs, except a few workmen from the plains of India, employed by the government in the public workshops and arsenals.

The great bulk of the population is employed in agriculture, as almost every family holds a small piece of ground. The soil of the valley cannot be said to be very fine, but the inhabitants certainly make the most of it. Every available scrap of ground is cultivated, the hill-sides being terraced wherever water can be obtained for irrigation. Indian corn and rice are the chief crops in the hot weather, and in the cold weather wheat, garlic, radishes, red pepper, ginger, potatoes, etc. are grown. Most lands yield two crops every year, and from some even three crops are obtained. The work of cultivation is done almost entirely by hand, though of late years the plough is being more extensively used.

There are few cattle in the valley, as there is no grazing ground except at the foot of the hills. Buffaloes, sheep,

and goats for food are all imported. What few there are in the valley are small and of inferior breeds. Ducks and fowls are plentiful and of good quality. Much pains are bestowed on the rearing of ducks, as their eggs are greatly prized as an article of food. They are carried out daily to the rice fields in large baskets and allowed to feed there, and in the evening they are collected and carried home again.

The military art of course has great attention bestowed on it by the Gorkhas. In fact, most of the revenue of the country is wasted in playing at soldiering, and in manufacturing very useless rifles and cannon. The actual standing army consists of about 16,000 men. These are divided into twenty-six regiments of from 500 to 600 men each. Besides these, however, there is a large force consisting of men who have served for several years and taken their discharge. These men, after staying a few years at home, may again enter the ranks, and take the place of others, who in turn lie by for a year or two. Thus the Nepalese could with little trouble raise a force of 60,000 or 70,000 men, who have been trained to arms.

The regiments are formed on the British model, and are drilled with English words of command, or at least what are supposed to be so. The army is officered much in the same way as the English army. There is, however, no regular system of promotion, all appointments being renewed annually, and greyhaired lieutenants are often to be seen in the same regiment with beardless colonels. In fact, all the higher ranks are filled up by the sons and relatives of Sir Jung Bahadur and his brothers.

Practically speaking, Sir Jung Bahadur is the head