Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924089930774 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARy 3 1924 089 930 774 In compliance with current copyright law, Cornell University Library produced this replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48-1992 to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. 2001 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY T^o. Registered under Act xxv of 1867. PROVERBS & FOLKLORE OF KUMAUN AND GARHWAL COLLECTED BY PANDIT GAEA DATT fRETI (Late Extra Assistant Commissioner) Pbinxed at the Lodiana Mission Press > M. Wtlie, Manager. 1894, All rights reserved. Wh This Book is dedicated by kind permission TO EDMUND WHITE ESQ., C. S. Late Director of Public Instruction, N. "W. P. & OXIDE, as a token of gratitude for Hs patronage of literature, and great services in the cause of Education. PREFACE, The'present collection of proverbs Las beeu made in the re- mote and secluded districts of Kumann and Garhwal, which form a portion of the Sub-Himalayan region, formerly considered inaccessible by the people of the rest of India on account of their difficult natural features, and which exhibit both in physical aspect and the manners and customs of the people some remarkable di- vergences from the rest of India. Its folklore ma}' therefore be considered specially interesting. The excellent collection of Hindustani proverbs made by Dr. S. W. Fallon, though it contains many sayings current in Kumaun in a slightly modified form, yet lacks a great number of the local and peculiar proverbs found here. These I have myself taken down from the lips of aged people in the Province. They may not appear very enticing to some reacjers, but they are at any rate an addition to the archiseology and antiquities of India, which the Government has done so much to collect and render accessible to students. In this belief I have been induced to collect and translate the proverbs, maxims, sayings, and phrases and to illustrate the Folklore of these hills, during a course of years in the service of Government as a Deputy Collector in Garhwal and Knmaun, where I sought and obtained my information from old men of respectability and knowledge. I hastened to collect them as I was told that a good deal had already been lost. For with the changes of time everything of antiquity is receding further out of sight, and is liable to disappear altogether. On shewing a part of this work to Mr. Edmund White, C. S., Director of Public Instruction, N. W. P. and Oudh, I was encour- aged bj' him to complete it for submission to Government. When the specimen pages were submitied the work was approved of by many learned Europeans both in England and in India. It may not be out of place to quote the opinions of a few of these gentlemen : On submitting the specimen copies to Government N. W. P. and Oudb, the Director of Public Instruction N. W. P. and Oudh said: "The work of Pandit Ganga Datt is one of much interest and value in connection with the Folklore of the Province and well deserves the encouragement of Government." Sir W. Muir, Late Lieutenant Governor N. W. P. and' Oudh writes: "Your letter and pamphlet and sheets received. They are- very creditable to you." Sir A. E. Elliott, Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, says: "I have read your proverbs with much interest. They are well worth publishing." 0. J. Conn ell. Esquire, C S., Collector and Magistrate of Bareilly, says: "Many thanks for the specimen pages of your collection of proverbs. They should be very useful and interesting when they are published in a complete form." D. C. Baillie, Esquire, C. S., Superintendent of Census operation, N. W. P. and Oudh, writes : "A collection of one thousand five hundred proverbs of Kamaun and Garhwal explained and illustrated on the same lines as the specimen proverbs you have sent would certainly be most interesting." S. Eardley Wilmot, Esquire, Conservator of Forest, writes: "Many thanks for sending me the specimen pages of your proverbs and Folklore of the Provinces of Kamaun and Garhwal. I am sure the subject is one which cannot fail to be of interest not ouly to those, comparatively few in number, who reside in or visit Ill 'these districts but also to those who wish to improve their know- ledge of the people of India." W. Young Esquire, C. S., Judicial Commissioner and High Court Judge, Allahabad, saj's : "I think that the collection of proverbs is exceedingly inte- resting judging from 'the specimen shewn to me by the Author, and he tells me that they are quite original and not to be found in Fallon's Book." The specimen pages have also been kindly approved of by the North West Provinces, Madras, Bengal, and Punjab Govern- ments. My collection (under instructions from the Director of Pub- lic Instruction N. W. P. and Gudh) includes all the proverbs which are in vogue amongst the hill people without any reference to the fact that parallel proverbs are also in use in the Plains. At the same time I have not included those Sanscrit verses, generally used by the learned class, nor those verses in the Plains Hindus- tani dialect which are used by others. These proverbs give an insight into the character, habits, customs and traditions of the people who inhabit the districts of Ku- maun and Garhwal. To enable European gentlemen to understand them better I have briefly explained the appositeness of the pro- verbs, axioms, sayings and phrases to particular occasions, as well as the customs and manners out of which they arise. A description of the country where the proverbs are used is briefly given in the Introduction (hereafter printed) kindly contri- buted by the Rev. E. S. Oakley, Principal of the Eamsay College at Almora, who has also helped me by revising the work and cor- recting the Proof-sheets. I must also acknowledge my indebted- ness to H. 0. Budden Esq., the Revs. J. Messmoro and G. M. Bulloch, and Mr. M. Harris, Almora, who have at different times assisted me in preparing the volume. The transliteration of the proverbs is according to Duncan IV Forbes' Hiudastani Grammar (vide pages 136 and 137) with due regard to the hill accentuation, so that the pronunciation of the same by any European may be clearly intelligible to hill people. This is my first attempt to put my collection of proverbs and illustrations of Folklore into type : should this first edition find sale the second one will appear in an improved and more attrac- tive form. In conclusion, I must say a word about the difficulty of classifying under appropriate headings such a collection as this. No one, unless he had actually attempted such a task, could appreciate the difficulty. I have done what I could in this direc- tion, and must ask indulgence from those readers who may see imperfections in this or in other features of my work. Perhaps it is hardly necessary to caution my readers against misunderstanding some of these homely sayings, and regarding as indications of the "depravity" of the people, maxims which are obviously framed in an ironical sense and not seriously meant. Kapina, Almoea. ) The 9th November, 1822. j GANGA DATT UPRETI. INTRODUCTION. The Oriental must have his epigram. It is one of the chief necessaries of his life, and an untold solace. With a shrewd apo- phthegm for every occasion he can defy all "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune ;" and a sententious phrase robs even defeat and disappointment of their sting. The wisdom of the East consists in such' sentences and pro- verbs rather than in any sustained effort of the reason, and consequently they assume much greater importance than in Western lands, and furnish better materials for a thorough study of the character and conditions of an Asiatic people than any other source of information can supply. We are indebted to Pandit Ganga Datt Upreti for a complete collection of the proverbs and folk- sayings of Kumaun and Garhwal, which he has diligently gathered together during a life-time of public service. Himself a native of the province, and having spent long periods in different and some- times remote parts of it, he has enjoyed peculiar advantages for carrying out such a task. These researches have been the favourite relaxation of his leisure hours: and the result which appears in this volume is a valuable addition to our knowledge of the people, and cannot fail to be interesting to many readers not only in India, but also, it is hoped, in Britain and America. They present a picture of primitive manners and a naive self- revelation which -will be delightful to the student of human nature, and will be of special value to all who are called on in the course of duty to enter into close relations with the people of India. The great merit of this collection is that it has been gathered entirely from original sources—taken down, in fact, from the lips of the people ; and is in no sense a mere literary compilation. Those who have a wide acquaintance with Indian folk-lore will at once perceive that many of the sayings and proverbs included here are not peculiar to the province of Kumnun and Garhwal, but are common, sometimes in sliohtly altered form, thron/jhout Kortl.ern India, i^rd rot a few of them will be found scattered about in various works of reference.