Note 39 — P (Continued)

A class of people called hill Pandārams are described39 by the Rev. S. Mateer as “miserable beings without clothing, implements, or huts of any kind, living in holes, rocks, or trees. They bring wax, ivory (tusks), and other produce to the Arayans, and get salt from them. They dig roots, snare the ibex (wild goat, Hemitragus hylocrius) of the hills, and jungle fowls, eat rats and snakes, and even crocodiles found in the pools among the hill streams. They were perfectly naked and filthy, and very timid. They spoke Malayālam in a curious tone, and said that twenty-two of their party had been devoured by tigers within two monsoons.” Concerning these hill Pandārams, Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes that they live on the banks of streams in crevices of rocks, caves, and hollows of trees. They are known to the dwellers on the plains as Kāttumanushyar, or forest men. They clad themselves in the bark of trees, and, in the rainy and cold seasons, protect their bodies with plantain leaves. They speak a corrupt form of Tamil. They fear the sight of other men, and try to avoid approaching them. A former European magistrate of the Cardamom Hills took some of them to his residence, but, during their three days’ stay there, they refused to eat or talk. There is a chieftain for every four hills, but his authority is little more than nominal. When women are married, the earth and hills are invoked as witnesses. They have Hindu names, such as Rāman, Kittan (Krishna), and Govindan.