are only fined. A man taken in adultery is instantly devoured and may be lawfully eaten piecemeal without first depriving him of life. Men killed, or prisoners taken in a great war, are also publicly eaten; but, if only two villages be engaged this is not allowed: the dead are then left on the field to be buried by their respective parties, and the prisoners may be redeemed.

"A man cannot marry a relative of his own, however distant. For instance, two brothers agree to settle, the one in Toba, the other in Angkola. They marry there and have several children, but the descendants of these two families can at no future period intermarry. Divorces are very rare, being seldom granted except for adultery; when the woman, her head having been first shaved, is sold out of the country.

"A feast is always made on the day of a funeral, and the jaw of the animal killed on the occasion (usually a pig) is fastened to a stake at the head of the grave, together with a bag containing gambir sērīh, tobacco, &c., and a bamboo filled with water. These, when dried up by the sun, they suppose the spirit to have eaten."*

BEDAS of CEYLON.

"The Bedas are of no caste; but they are not considered as impure, and enjoy, as a body, a certain degree of consideration. They inhabit the woods, and live up in the trees. They feed principally on the game they kill with their arrows, and have the reputation of being good archers. Their bows are remarkably difficult to draw; their arrows have a piece of iron at the end six or eight inches long, and about one and a half broad. With these they can kill an elephant by striking him between his eyes, a thing very possible from the construction of the bone about that part. When a Beda wants an iron lance, or a tool, which is the only thing he may stand in need of that he cannot procure for himself, he places in the night before the door of a smith, some honey or game, together with a model of the instrument he requires in wood or earth. In a day or two after, he returns, and finds the instrument he has demanded. This good faith and reciprocal * Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society.

PL30

Fig1 to 5. Deities of Tonquin China 6A Rahan or Buddhist Priest 7 to 15. unexplained Burman figures in Carvings and Casts from Temples Published by Parbury allen &C London 1832

BEDAS OF CEYLON.-COCHIN AND TONQUIN CHINESE.

369 confidence prove, at least, that some honesty exists in a country where swindling and robbery are carried to a great excess. They would consider themselves extremely criminal if they cheated a Beda, who from his way of living, can never impose upon them. Once a year the Bedas send two deputies with honey, and other little presents to the king. When they arrive at the gate of the palace, they send word to his majesty that his cousins wish to see him. They are immediately introduced. They then kneel, get up, and inquire of the king, rather familiarly, about his health. The king receives them well, takes their presents, gives them others, and orders that certain marks of respect be shewn them on their retiring from the palace. These Bedas are black, like all the Singalese."

COCHIN and TONQUIN CHINESE.

In explanation of figs. 1 to 5, in plate 39, it will be necessary to say a few words respecting the worship of these people. Some part of the Cochin Chinese pay their devotions to deceased ancestors; others are worshippers of Buddha; but they have also small temples dedicated to tutelary deities, in which they burn and let fly pieces of coloured and gilt paper. A similar practise prevails, as I have elsewhere observed, among the Japanese.

The Tonquin Chinese, according to Tavernier, worship, some of them Chacabout (or Buddha), others the celestial bodies, and others deities, evidently derived from the Hindu pantheon; among which are three named Raumu, Brama, and Satyabana. In fig. 1, plate 39, we may recognise Rama; fig. 3, Siva with the trident; and fig. 4, Brahma: the other two are not so clear: perhaps fig. 2 may be Vishnu, and fig. 5 Durga.

Fig. 7 to 13, in the same plate, are from Burmese carvings and casts in my possession. Fig, 10 I imagine to be the Kinaro, a form half-human, half-bird, mentioned in number 59, page 211, and indistinctly shewn in one of the divisions of the foot of Buddha, fig. 4, plate 30.

* Asiatic Researches.

SHAMAN RELIGION.

This is the ancient religion (if religion it can be termed) of the Tartar and some of the other Asiatic tribes: it may be more properly denominated a belief in sorcery, and a propitiation of evil demons by sacrifices, frantic motions and gestures, and intolerable noises, rather than a worship of any kind. They have neither altars nor idols; and the more noise a Sseman, or priest, makes, the more intimately connected he is thought to be with the devil.

"The priests are men or women, married or single, and acquire their dignity easily enough. Whenever any individual wishes to be a Sseman, he pretends that the soul of a deceased priest has appeared to him in a dream, appointing him his successor. But previously to entering upon their business, they represent themselves for some time mad, assuming an alarmed and timid appearance. If the Ssemans are in function they wear a long robe of elk-skin, hung with small and large brass and iron bells, the weight of which is sometimes very considerable. Moreover, they carry staves, which are carved at the tops into the shape of horses' heads also hung with bells. With the assistance of these staves they leap to an extraordinary height. The respect they enjoy among their countrymen depends on the skill they possess in deceiving them.

"The followers of the Shaman religion have neither altars nor idols, but perform their sacrifices in a hut raised on an open space in a forest, or on a hill. There are no fixed periods for the performance of their ceremonies : births, marriages, and sickness are generally the occasions which call for them. The Sseman, or sometimes the donor, fixes upon the species, colour, and sex of the animal which is to be sacrificed. A horse, ox, sheep, or goat, is killed, its flesh eaten, and the skin and bones are suspended on a pole. Uncommon appearances in the atmosphere, or public calamities, call forth the most solemn sacrifices. Several persons having united for the purpose, they take a one year's colt, three sheep, and a male goat to the place fixed upon. The Sseman enters into the hut, and begins the ceremony by reading