296 NICOBARS. Population. It is diffieult to determine the origin of the Nicobarians. In some features they resemble the Malays, yet the shape of their cyes is so different, and their manners and eustoms so peeuliar, that they must be considered as a separate race. They are of a copper colour, well proportioned in their bodies, short rather than tall, with Chinese eyes, small flat noses, large mouths, thiek lips, large ears, seanty beard, and straight black hair. Their villages are generally built upon the beach, and consist of fifteen or twenty houses, eaeh house containing a family of twenty persons and upwards. These habitations are raised upon wooden pillars about 10 feet from the ground; they are round, and, having no windows, look like bee-hives covered with thateh. The entry is by a trap-door below, through whieh the family mount by a ladder, whieh is drawn up at night. Fishing forms the ehief oeeupation of the Nicobarians. Their food consists of pigs, poultry, turtle, fish, cocoa-nuts, vams, fruits, and a bread made from the fruit of the mellori tree. In charaeter they are lazy, cowardly, treacherous, and drunken. They have committed repeated murders on the erew's of vessels under the British flag. In several instanees the natives received the ercw hospitably, and when the sailors were partaking of refreshment they suddenly rushed upon them and killed them before they had time to net in defenee. There now seems little doubt that many vessels supposed to have bcen lost in the Bay of Bengal were in faet eut off and plundered by the natives of these islands. Since the British oeeupation of the Nieobars, however, there have been no cases of piracy, and the isla generally spcaking, have behaved well. They have no written language, and the dialcets spoken differ so mueh that the inhabitants of one island can searcely make themselves understood in another. Like other savage nations, the Nieobarians drcad the evil genius, and are mueh addieted to superstition. They cntertain the highest opinion of such as can read and write, and believe that all Europeans, by this qualifieation, are able to perform acts more than human. The Nieobarians have a great reverence for their dead. Although they do not possess a clear eonception of immortality, they suppose that the soul of the dead stays for a tine in the neighbourhood in which it lived. Burials are condueted with great solemnity, and over eaeh body a post is ereeted, on which are placed the utensils daily used by the deecased. The Nicobarians hold in dishonour simultaneous polygamy. They never keep more than cne wife, but have no seruple in dismissing her on the slightest pretext, and taking another. A perfect equality subsists among them all. A few persons, from their age, reeeive a ecrtain mcasure of respeet, but there is no appearance of authority one over another. Soeiety seems bound
