The present Gooroo, Satadarma Teertooloo, is the twenty-eighth from Bashakar. Besides this Muttom, there are three other Gooroos Muttoms in the world, for the Marda tribe, exclusive of the eight at Voodeepee; altogether 11 Muttoms, whose members travel over the country to comfort the disciples of the Marda religion: there is, however, no essential difference of opinion among these 11 Muttoms, and their orders are implicitly obeyed, with the utmost deference and respect. When the Gooroo travels through the country, he teaches certain forms of prayers to the followers, and expounds the doctrines of Basha Karooloo, relating to the customs, duties, ceremonies and offices of their religion; he then stamps on their shoulders and breasts the peculiar marks of their sect, the Sankom, Chacrom, Gada, Pudmom, and Cadgom, or the arms of Vishnu. After this ceremony is performed, they receive gifts and entertainments from the holy man, who gives them his benediction, praying for their welfare, and that they may be favoured with the peculiar favour of heaven. The people of this tribe use the gopecchendan, or brown clay, stamped on their foreheads; over that mark they throw powder of charcoal, previously fumigated with dammer, burnt before their god, and with a red spot in the middle of their long mark. The people of this sect still use the same habits of dress in every country. In their dress, the sanassces of this sect is not materially different from those among the Smartava Brahmans; they shave their heads, and do not use the agnopavet, a thread which the Brahmans use to wear, crossing the body over the right shoulder. By the ordinances of their founder, they must relinquish their family, relations, estates, and all worldly concerns, and only use the following dress :--1. The Cayshaya, 2. The Dunda, 3. Camundala, 4. Caupuna ; a red or orange coloured cloth, a short stick to lean on, an earthen vessel, and a rag about the middle*. These Gooroos maintain a considerable authority over the people of their religion. It is their province to expel from their cast, those who infringe their laws; and they can receive them, when their penitence entitles them to this indulgence, into the bosom of the sect again, on expending considerable sums of money, for the necessary ceremonies of expiation, according to their rank and situation in life. Large sums, valuable effects, and Enam villages are often given to the Gooroos, by the rich and powerful of their religion, which they expend in maintaining of pundits and learned men in the sastras, many of whom they entertain about them, for expounding the laws, and directing the people in the districts where they travel. These Gooroos travel in palanquins, attended by the various kinds of Hindú music, and drums beating before them. Of what they thus collect in the country, they will not save a single rupee for their late families, but expend all for the honour and ceremonies of God. The Marda sect observe the eleventh day of the fortnight of the moons increase and decrease, called Akadasce, as preferable for their cere They are exactly copies of Diogenes in this respect. monies; monies; on that day they fast, not touching any victuals, and at least they abstain from performing the ceremony to their deceased forefathers on that day. The most considerable difference in the tenets of the Smartava and Mardava sects, are these:---The Marda sect, believe there is this distinction between the Verat, Spirit, or God, and his creatures, that mortals cannot attain to bliss, or God, without the intercession of their Gooroo, and that the supreme allots the several gradations of beatitude, acording to their respective ranks, as gooroo, and disciple, or king and subject. The Smartayas on the other hand, say there is no difference in the sight of God, for that all things are according to the image of God, and that the spirits of good men, whether king or gooroo, disciple or servant, are united or immersed in the light of God; that all created beings, and every quality and production are of God, and according to his likeness. The Smartavas offer living cattle in the sacrifice of the Agam; the Mardooloo substitute images of the animals, made of dough, which they offer on these occasions in the fire. The sapassée, founder of this sect, being a native of the Canara country, and having originally formed his new religion in that nation, till this day the disciples conyerse in their own houses in that language, even when they reside in strange countries, where other languages are spoken; whence we may conclude that the natives of other countries, did not generally ac quiesce in the tenets of this more modern sect, or that these modern tenets were not generally received in other countries, List of the Succession of the Marda Gooroos, from the First Founder. Account of the BATTA RAJAHS. (Collected from their own Accounts, particularly at Nidicull, in May, 1801.) Communicated by Major MACKENZIE. [Never before Printed.] Is former ages, at the marriage of Sadasecvû with Parvatee-Davee, the daughter of Dachaprajaupatee, a great multitude were assembled of the inhabitants of the terrestrial world, as Brahmans, Bunians, Cshatriyas, Sûdras; and of the inhabitants of the celestial regions, the Davah, Yacha+, Rachasa, Garoodah §, Gundaravall, Reenarah ¶, Kempooroosha**, also met there, to do honour to the nuptial feast; Nartaka, Vineka, Vamiseka, Veedooshaka, and Parehachaka, the celestial singers and dancers appeared also in their státions, while the ceremony of the marriage of Sudaseevû was performed; but their being no bard to celebrate, in lofty strain, the glories of the bridegroom, the plea sure of the festival was not complete; and Sadaseevoo considered in his mind, that Poets, or Praisers tt, ought to be created. At that moment some drops of sweat appearing on his forehead, he wiped them off, and scattered them on the ground; which, being the perspiration of a divinity, instantly issued forth therefrom Aumaradoo and Chindoodoo, who sung the praises of Siva, in heavenly strains: hence these people are called Stotrapautacooloo; or, celebrators of praise. When the nuptials of See • vû were past they still lodged at Kylasum, in the presence of the deity, every day performing their duty. It happened once, when they came to visit Siva, that Parvatee asked them, why they did not sing her praise? observing, since they were called Sons of Siva, and she was his consort, that they ought to consider her as their mother; adding, as the Vedas say, "that the mother is greater than the father," therefore you are in fault in not complying with the laws of the sacred writings: to this they submissively replied, that they were not permitted by Seevû to sing the praises of the female sex. She became very angry with them for this answer, and laid a curse upon them, " that they should be always poor." They went to Siva, and represented how they were used by Parvatee-Davee, with out any Garoodah, angels in form of the bird called the braminee kite. Gundarava, angels or genii, having the face of a horse on a human body. ++ Praisers, the literal translation of the word. from from Siva, and went to the holy Rooshees, with whom they inter married, taking their daughters to wife, because they were of the Sons of God, (or of divine origin). Their generation increasing, the came to Proodoomaharajah, when he ruled the terrestrial world, and celebrated his praises in lofty strains; he was so much gratified by their praise that he granted them two desoms, out of the fifty-six that composed his kingdom; these were Magada-Desom and Vandi-Desom, whence these bards are called Vandea by some, and by others Magadaloo-Batta-Rajah; for Batta signifies great commanders, or generals; and Rajah signifies king, or bright; because the light, or reputation, of great commanders is made more illustrious by their divine lays. They never pay compliments, or sing the praise of any other cast except the Bramins; nor even to the Rajahs, except when they make the kyevarum. Kye signifies the hand; varum the time of visiting; for when they make their visits to Rajahs and other great men, it is customary with them, in reciting their strains of panegyric in regulated stanzas, to measure the time with certain movements of the hand; whence this movement, accompanied with verse, is called kyevarum. In the beginning of the Calli Yoog, or Vicious Age, Burmah, or the Creator, was incarnated at Cas-ee, or Benares, as a Brahman, called Mundana Misroodoo*, in order to correct and reform the ancient customs and laws of the Sa cred Scriptures, and to make certain ordinances proper to be observed in this present age, in conformity to the laws of the Bible: some of these were as follows, viz. That the Brahmans and Rajahs should forsake sacrificing horses and cows; that the Brahmans should forsake (or no longer devote themselves to) a life of seclusion, as sanyassees that they should no longer offer flesh to the other Brahmans, at the time of performing the ceremony to the manes of their ancestors; nor even touch meat in this vicious age; that they should not, as in former ages, intermarry or procreate children with their sisters-in-law. The Batta Rajahs refused to accept these ordinances, from which period their cast has been separated; for they cat flesh and perform all the customs prescribed by the ancient law of the Brahmans and Rajahs. After Mundana Misroodoo had promulgated and established these regulations, Sadaseevû appeared upon earth, incarnated, as a sanyassee, who was called Sankaracharloo, destined to oppose the laws of Mundana Misroodoo; he established again the custom of sanyassee, what had been abolished by Mundana Misroodoo. It being the profession of their cast to compose poems and panegyrics, they are obliged to study the Sastras, to make themselves masters of the histories and letters of former times, which they may occasionally use in their composition, in reference to the godlike deeds of ancient characters of This deserves particular notice; who was Mundana-Misroodoo? whence did he come? at what time did he live, and introduce this reform in the Hindu religion? The word Misr seems to denote the country, but further notices must be obtained before it can be ventured to decide whether an alteration was not introduced by the Egyptian Priesthood into the religion anciently observed in India. In the Sankra Vigium I am informed some further notice of his reform is to be found. renown; 1 renown; further, they do not study the Vedas. In time of battle, it is their business to excite the valour of their masters, by calling to mind and rehearsing the warlike deeds of their ancestors; at other times they remain in quiet, near their persons, to repeat verses in their praise, wherein their good qualities are held forth to the best advantage, and sometimes in a style of inflated panegyric, to strike common hearers with astonishment at their deeds of prowess. In former times they never used to marry their daughters after they had attained the age of maturity; but in this age of vice some of the lower people, from necessity, marry them off after they are grown up. On the death of their friends, they burn the corpse and perform the proper funeral ceremony, which lasts about ten days. On this occasion they distribute potraloo or rice, doll, ghee, curry, &c. to the Brahmans, to enable the deceased to attain the heavenly mansions. In whatever country they reside, they use the language of the natives. In the Carnatic, they are divided into four tribes or families, viz. : Canadeeloo, Dasastooloo, Jatwartooloo, Aundrooloo. In all these families they never intermarry with any other cast, but among themselves. Their Gooroos are Brahmans. One of their ministers resides now at Compuly, called Battacharloo. An Account of the Inhabitants of PRINCE of WALES'S ISLAND, taken from a short Account of that Settlement, by Sir GEORGE LEITH, Bart. just published. FROM the appearance of many places in the interior of the island, and the number of tombs which were discovered, soon after the settlement was formed, the tradition of its being formerly inhabited, seems entitled to credit. It is as serted that there were once three thousand people resident on it, who chiefly subsisted by piracy; but in consequence of their violent conduct, they were expelled by one of the former Kings of Quedah. How ever this may be, it is certain there were only a few miserable fishermen on the island, when it was taken possession of by the Bengal Government. Its present inhabitants are composed of various nation; amongst whom are counted the |