Handbook to the ethnographical collections . of j^ersonal character ;they are monogamous, and it is con-sidered fitting for the children of a brother and sister to intermarry ; marriage is prohibited, howevei,between the children of two brothers or of two sisters ; widowsremarry. Each section of Vedda, in former times, had its ownhunting-grounds, and trespass was fiercely resented. After death the body was simply left in the rock-shelter,which was deserted. Dances of a mimetic character are per-formed, but there are no musical instruments; time is keptby the dancers slapping their sides ; ther
Handbook to the ethnographical collections . of j^ersonal character ;they are monogamous, and it is con-sidered fitting for the children of a brother and sister to intermarry ; marriage is prohibited, howevei,between the children of two brothers or of two sisters ; widowsremarry. Each section of Vedda, in former times, had its ownhunting-grounds, and trespass was fiercely resented. After death the body was simply left in the rock-shelter,which was deserted. Dances of a mimetic character are per-formed, but there are no musical instruments; time is keptby the dancers slapping their sides ; there seem to ])e no games,except that a ladder is sometimes hung over a rock for thechildren to play at taking honey. lieligion consists in theworship of the spirits {Yala) of ancestors and of certain heroes,one of whom is considered tlie h)rd of the dead. These spiritswhen properly invoked possess the performer of the ceremony,who is generally the leader of the group, and deliver oracles,chiefly in connexion with hunting, through liis Fk;. 62.— Sinhalese maskused in devil-dances. 76 ASIA The Vedda have now lost many of their more primitivecharacteristics owing to contact with the Sinhalese, The Nicobar Islands The Nicobar group, containing twelve inhabited islands, lies offthe Malay Peninsula, and forms with the Andamans a series ofstepping-stones of volcanic origin connecting Burma withSumatra. The islands were known to the ancient were occupied by Great Britain in 1869. The principal inhabitants are of Indonesian blood, and quitedistinct from their neighbours the Andamanese, But in theinterior of great Nicobar, the most southerly island, dwells anaboriginal Indonesian race called Sho))i Pen, which may oncehave occupied the whole group. They are a straiglit-hairedpeople of a comparatively fair complexion, in a very primitivestage of culture. Their huts are usually circular, and built onpiles six or eight feet high. The clothing of the males is a narrow
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjoycetho, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookyear1910
