A Statistical Account of Bengal
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized by Google as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the information in books and make it universally accessible. https://books.google.com universuV THE OIFT OF JdooYCr dp I 3* UNIVERSITV S^iBRARV- tk cjrr or t*Vc o '» C r~ "T .a r^ci Staniord University Libraries 3 6105 11.7,2 3 962 Iel^dStanfordJ? UNIVERSITY THE CIFT OF A"\oo s< e rv *^M*f>A , I A STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF BENGAL. VOL. XIX. MURRAY AND GIBBt EDINBURGH, PRINTERS TO HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. flMi I , <> Jl.., 1. 1. > 1 * jl ,,,:,:, * "''Pi \: > ' .1. : ..'"(- K" - .^ v ■■■■ • A Statistical Account of Bengal. By W. W. HUNTER, B.A., LL.D., DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF STATISTICS TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA; ONE OP THE COUNCIL OP THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY; HONORARY OR FOREIGN MEMBER OP THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF NETHERLANDS INDIA AT THE HAGUE, OP THE INSTITUTO VASCO DA GAMA OF PORTUGUESE INDIA, OF THE DUTCH SOCIETY IN JAVA, AND OF THE ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY, LONDON ; HONORARY FELLOW OP THE CALCUTTA UNIVERSITY ; ORDINARY FELLOW OP THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, ETC volume xix. ;y/f :/*. DISTRICT OF PURI AND THE ORISSA TRIBUTARY- STATES. * ** «* i . TRUBNER & CO., LONDON 1877. 11 0500 PREFACE TO VOLUME XIX. OF THE STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF BENGAL. This Volume treats of the British District of Puri and the nineteen Tributary States of Orissa ; thus completing the Orissa Division, and concluding the Statistical Account of Bengal. Puri District exhibits a more varied aspect than either Cuttack or Balasor. The sea-board consists of a belt of sandy ridges, forming, towards the Madras frontier, the long bare spit of land which divides the great Chilka lake from the ocean. Behind this belt lies a rich intervening region of villages and rice fields, interspersed with inundated tracts. The background rises in stony undulations and isolated cliffs to meet the hill ranges of the Tributary States. In this broken country is situated the Government Estate of Khurdha, which, both in its physical aspect and admini strative requirements, exhibits the transition from the peaceful, thickly - peopled Delta, to the wild jungles and mountain passes of the interior. The District is rich in historical remains, from the primitive rock-hewn caves of Buddhism, — the earliest relics of Indian architecture, — to the mediaeval Sun Temple at Kandrak, and the world- renowned shrine in Puri town itself, the seat of Lord Jagannath. 6 PREFACE. The Tributary States occupy a succession of ranges rolling upwards to the plateau of Central India. The monotony of their wooded glens and towering peaks is only inter rupted by the valleys of the Mahanadi, the Brahmani, and Baitarani, here, as in the plains, the three great rivers of Orissa. Hid away in these natural fastnesses, the aboriginal tribes continue to enjoy the freedom which they love, under the nominal rule of hereditary Hindu chiefs. The Paramount British Power rarely interferes ; but it is promptly felt where- ever anarchy or outrage has to be repressed, or commerce encouraged. The natural difficulties of communication have, so far, shut off the mineral resources of this region from the approach of European capital. The total area dealt with in this Volume amounts to 18,690 square miles, containing in 1872 a population of 2,052,983 souls. W. W. H. TABLE OF CONTENTS : DISTRICT OF PURI AND THE ORISSA TRIBUTARY STATES. DISTRICT OF PURI. Topography and General Aspects of the District, .... 17-27 Area and Boundaries, 17-18 Physical Aspect, 18 River System, 18-20 Distribution of the Water-Supply, . 20-21 Ports and Harbours, , 21-22 The Chilkd Lake, . 22-25 Forests, .... 26 Ferae Naturae, 26-27 The People, .... 27-93 Population, including the Census of 1872, 27-30 Ethnical Division of the People, 30-34 List of Castes, . 34-40 Religious Division of the People, 40 The Shrine and Worship of Jagannath, 40-72 8 CONTENTS. District of Puri — continued. The People — continued. PACE Buddhist Antiquities, 72-80 Bhuvaneswar and Sivaism, . 8O-84 Sun Worship : the Kanarak Temple, 84-91 Division of the People into Town and Country, 9> Purf Town, ..... 91-92 Material Condition of the People ; Dwell ings, Food, etc., .... 92-93 Agriculture, .... 93-138 Rice Cultivation, 93-94 Other Crops, .... 94-95 Cultivated Area and Out-turn of Crops, 95-96 Condition of the Peasantry, . 96 Domestic Animals, . 96-97 Agricultural Implements, 97 Wages and Prices, . 97-100 Weights and Measures, IOI Land Tenures, 101-135 Rates of Rent, 136-137 Manure, .... 137 Irrigation, .... 137-138 Rotation of Crops, 138 Natural Calamities, . 138-150 Blights, ■ 138 CONTENTS. District of Puri— continued. Natural Calamities — continued. Floods, . 138-142 The Famine of 1866, 142-150 Means of Communication, Manufactures, Commerce, etc., . 150-155 Roads, ..... 150 Manufactures, . 1 51-152 Road Traffic between Orissa and Madras, . 152-155 Administrative, 155-173 Administrative History, I5S Revenue and Expenditure, 156 Land Tax, .... 157 Civil and Criminal Courts, . 157 Police and Jail Statistics, 157-165 Educational Statistics, 165-171 Postal Statistics, 171 List of Fiscal Divisions (Pargands), I7I-I73 Meteorological, Medical, etc., 173-177 Temperature and Rainfall, . 173-174 Endemic and Epidemic Diseases, 174-175 Cattle Diseases, 175 /", io CONTENTS. District of Puri— continued. Meteorological, Medical, etc. — continued. PAGE Fairs, etc., as Causes of Diseases, '. 175-176 Dispensaries,. 176-177 Vital Statistics, 177 Indigenous Drugs, 177 The Khurdha Subdivision, . 178-192 Physical Aspects, etc., 178-180 Population, .... I8O-I82 Administrative and Fiscal Divisions, 183 The Khurdha Rebellions, 183-192 THE ORISSA TRIBUTARY STATES. Topography and General Aspects < OF THE District, 195-203 Area and Boundaries, 195-196 Jurisdiction, . 196-198 Physical Aspect, 198-199 Mountains, 199-200 Rivers and River Traffic, 200-202 Fisheries, . 202 Minerals, . ... 202-203 Jungle Products, 203 Ferae Naturae, 203 CONTENTS. ii Orissa Tributary States — continued. PAGE The People, ..... 203-262 Population, including the Census of 1872, . 203-208 EthnicalJDivision of the People, . 208-217 Aboriginal Tribes, . 209,218-255 List of Castes, .... 255-259 Religious Division of the People, . 259-261 Material Condition of the People, . 262 Agriculture, 262-263 Means of Communication, Trade, etc., 263 Administrative, 263-266 Administration, 263-264 Police Statistics, 264-265 Educational Statistics, 265-266 Dispensaries, 266 Short Accounts of the Tributary States, 266-314 Angul, ..... 266-268 Athgarh, ... 268-270 Athmallik, ..... 270-272 Bankf, 272-273 ' 12 CONTENTS. Orissa Tributary States — continued. Separate Accounts, etc. — continued. PAGE Baramba, .... 273-275 Bod, . 275-278 The Kandh-mals of Bod, 278-279 Daspalla, . - 279-280 Dhenkanal, .... 280-287 Hindol, .... 287-289 Keunjhar, .... 289-299 Khandpara, .... 299-301 Morbhanj, .... 301-303 Narsinhpur, 303-305 Nayagarh, . 305-307 Nflgiri, 307-308 Pal Lahara, . 308-310 Ranpur, ... 310-311 Talcher, . 3"-3i2 Tigaria, . 3I3-3H APPENDIX. Geological Account of Orissa, 315-328 Index, 329-336 I shall be grateful for any corrections or suggestions which occur to the reader. They may be addressed to me, at the India Office, Westminster. W. W. H. DISTRICT OF PURI AND THE ORISSA TRIBUTARY STATES. STATISTICAL ACCOUNT DISTRICT OF PURL1 PURI forms the southern District of the Orissa Commissioner- ship or Division. It is situated between 190 27' 40" and 200 26' 20" north latitude, and between 85° o' 26" and 86° 28' o" east longitude. It contains a total area, as returned by the Surveyor- General in January 1876, of 2472-37 square miles ; and a population, as ascertained by the Census of 1872, of 769,674 souls. The prin cipal town, which is also the administrative headquarters of the District, is Puri or Jaganndth, situated on the shore of the Bay of Bengal, in 190 48' 17" north latitude, and 850 51' 39" east longitude. 1 This Statistical Account has been mainly compiled from my work on Orissa (2 vols. London 1872; Smith, Elder, and Co.), supplemented by the following other materials : — (1) Annual Administration Reports of the Government of Bengal from 1871-72 to 1874-75 > (2^ Bengal Census Report for 1872, with subsequent District Compilation by Mr. C. F. Magrath, C.S. ; (3) Report on the Food-Grain Supply of Bengal, by Mr. A. P. MacDonnell, C.S. (Calcutta 1876) ; (4) Report on the Land Tenures of Puri, by Babu Nandakisor Das, dated 21st October 1875 ; (5) Report by the Collector on the Rates of Rent, dated 24th September 1872 ; (6) Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Famine in Bengal and Orissa in 1866 ; (7) The Statistical Reporter (Calcutta) ; (8) Report of the Inspector-General of Police for 1872 ; (9) Report of the Inspector-General of Jails for 1872, with special Jail Statistics for the years 1857-58, 1860-61, and 1870; (10) Annual Report of the Director of Public In struction for 1872-73, with special Statistics compiled for the years 1856-57, 1860-61, and 1870-71 ; (11) Postal Statistics for 1861-62, 1865-66, and 1870-71, furnished by the Director- General of Post Offices ; (12) Report on the Charitable Dispen saries of Bengal for 1871 and 1872; (13) Report of the Meteorological Department for 1873. VOL. XIX. B 1 8 ST A TISTICAL A CCO UNT OF PURL Boundaries. — Puri District is bounded on the north by the Tributary States of Bank! and Athgarh ; on the east and north-east by the District of Cuttack ; on the south-east and south by the Bay of Bengal ; and on the west by the Madras District of Ganjam, and by the Tributary State of Ranpur. The greatest length of Puri District, from Nandla, on the south-east of the Chilkd lake, to the mouth of the Kdlof river beyond Marichpur, is ninety miles. General Description of the District.