any
other place. The dish measures 28" by 18", it is hollowed somewhat
eccentrically to a maximum depth of about 2$ inches. A scraper, formed
of a flattened iron hook set in a handle, serves to collect the
auriferous sand and gravel which accumulates in the angles of the rocks
in the beds of streams. The dish when filled is placed in shallow
water, and the operator working with his hands soon separates and
throws aside all the coarser gravel and stones, while the agitation of
the water serves to carry away all the mud and lighter portions. The
dish is then balanced on the palm of the left hand and oscillated to
and fro with the right; this serves to throw off the greater portion of
the remaining gravel, and the process is completed by a circular
motion, which is communicated to the water in the hollow of the dish,
by which even the smallest particles of foreign matter are separated,
and the final result is a residue of black iron-sand in which the
specks of gold are readily apparent.
The
gold-washers belong to the lowest and poorest races in the country.
Throughout Chutia-Nagpur the tribes who are engaged in this occupation
may be classified as follows :—
1st.—The
Dohras, or Dokras, of Manbhum, who are allied to the Kumars, and
profess to be Hindus. Among them both sexes wash for gold.
2nd.—The
Ghasis of Singhbhum, among whom the men only wash for gold. The Ghasis
are also musicians, and only certain families, or sub-tribes, engage in
the former occupation.
3rd.—In
the hilly country, west of Singhbhum, among certain of the Kol or Munda
tribes, the women wash for gold during the rains; but the men regard
the occupation as unworthy work for their sex.
The
methods employed by these different tribes appear to be identical in
all essentials, and similar to the process just described. Each
occupies a distinct tract, and poaching on each other's favourite
streams is not indulged in to any great extent.
