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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
Kallar, vedar, maravarei Nambalām, —Sèlei kattiya mätarei Nambinal,— Teruvil nindru tiyangi Tavippare l
Now that Christianity is year by year be coming more deeply rooted in Tamil-land, a new class of popular poetry is springing up. Some of these Christian lyrics, or Kirtaneis, especially those penned by a late Christian poet of Tanjor, have attained a wide popularity, even amongst non-Christian Hindus. But as a whole these modern Christian lyrics are wretched pro ductions, and bear the same relation to Tamil popular poetry of the first class, that Tate and Brady's effusions bear to Milton's “Ode on the Nativity.” Common Hindu Labour-songs, too, are for the most part extremely destitute of poetic merit. I must now bring this paper to a close. I trust I have been able to awaken some little
[July 5, 1872.
Or ev’n in some Maravar wretch ;
—But if you believe in a woman More hopeless your case will be,
You will stand in the street in your anguish, And wither with agony | interest in the subject, and I hope I have proved from the specimens, few as they are, which I have adduced, that in days gone by, Tamil—the
Queen of the Dravidian tongues—was not with out sons who possessed, in some measure, the
vision and the faculty divine.
It must be
remembered that I have confined myself to cull ing specimens from a particular class of poetry, and that not of the highest order. The non Aryans of Southern India cannot for a moment
vie with their Aryan masters in the mighty arena of the Epic or the Drama. But I do not think that any Oriental language possesses a richer collection of Folk-songs, than that which is the especial glory of Tamilian literature. Madras, 16th March, 1872.
ON THE • GAULI RAJ" IN KHANDESH AND THE CENTRAL PROVINCEs. By W. F. SINCLAIR, Bo.C.S., ASSISTANT COLLECTOR IN CHARGE OF FORESTS.
Throughout Gondwana and Khandesh there
exist traditions more or less shadowy of a Gauli Raj, which have occasioned considerable per plexity as to their origin. Mr. Grant in his Introduction to the Central Provinces Gazetteer, practically gives the question up as insoluble. This power, whatever it was, has left no coins, no inscriptions, nothing but a name attached to a few old buildings.
Enquiry has been made
among the people now called Gaulis; but they have now no memory of their ancient sovereignty;
(if it was ever theirs,) and the quotation from Sir R. Jenkins (p. lx. C. P. Gazetteer) is too vague to be of any use, and may just as well refer to le gends of Krishna and his companions as to any thing else.
wiped out to-morrow, leave nothing but its name to show where it had been 2
Of the first class,
the instant answer is, there are two, and they are both Gauli Kingdoms, the Gaikwar of Baroda and the Gurkha (Go-rakh) of Nipăl. To the second class belong all the Maratha states. The Gaikwar of Baroda
therefore unites the two
qualifications, and stands forth the modern analogue of the G a ul i Rājās. The next question is, how did the Gaikwäri Rāj in Gujarat get its name 7 From the surname of the ruler.
Gaikwär is one of the commonest
surnames in the Dekhan ; and is generally at tached to the profession of a herdsman; but by no means of necessity. Its bearers hold them selves, and are held, pure Marathas :—“ My
The past therefore gives us little aid in iden
name is Gomaji, father's name Timaji, sur
tifying the Gauli kings, except the rather shaky story of Asa Ahir, the eponymous chief of Asirgarh, spoken of by Ferishtah. Under the
name Gaikwär, trade Gauli, caste Maratha : * is a heading common enough on depositions in
circumstances we should, I think, have recourse to the geological method, and seek in the
mon in a small group of villages near the Ané
phenomena of the present for the explanation of the past. Is there then in the present day any dynasty in India deriving its title from a common trade; and is there any which would, if it were
bearers are held pure Marāthas and are culti vators by trade. Now to readers unacquainted
the Dekham.
The surname of Ahir is also con
Ghàt in Taluka Junnar (Jooner) of Poona. Its
with the Dekhan, it may perhaps be necessary to explain that the use of surnames there is al
