idol
of gold or silver which he worshipped during life, and all things which
it is believed will be required by him in the other world. But it is
most strange, and savours much of barbarism, that as soon as the King
is dead, some of*his most beloved wives and the principal officers of
his house kill themselves by means of a poisoned decoction, in order to
be interred with him, so that they may serve him in the other world.
Besides which an elephant, twelve camels,1 six horses, and
numerous sporting dogs are buried with him, it being believed that all
these animals will come to life again, after they are dead, and serve
the King.
This
Kingdom of Assam is one of the best^countries in Asia, for it produces
all that is necessary to the life of man, and there is no need to go
for anything to the neighbouring States. There are mines of gold,
silver, steel, lead, and iron,2 and much silk, but it is
coarse. There is a kind of silk which is produced on trees, and is made
by an animal like our silkworm, but it is rounder and remains for a
whole year on the trees.3 The stuffs which are made of this silk are very brilliant, but soon fray and do not last long. These silks
1 Muhammad Kazim gives a similar account, but does not mention camels. Elsewhere he states camels were unknown in Assam (I. c, p. 224). The climate of Assam does not suit camels. (Imperial Gazetteer, vi.
36.) The practice, if it once prevailed, of burying animals with the
dead, has now practically disappeared from India, though among some of
the tribes in the Vindhyan hills the habit of placing in the grave
tools or implements used by men or women still survives as in the case
of the Majhwars of the United Provinces (Crooke, Tribes and Castes of the North- Western Provinces, iii.
433). And in Bengal, when a Khambu dies, a pig is brained with the
pestle used for husking corn, its tail and ears being cut off and
placed under the dead man's armpits before he is buried (Census Report, Bengal, 1911, i. 512).
1
Muhammad Kazim says, ' Gold "and silver are got from the sand of the
rivers draining the Gol (i. e. northern circle). About 12,000 Assamis
according to some people, 20,000 as others state, are generally engaged
in washing these noble metals, and have to pay one tola of gold per
head per annum to the Chief' (I. c, 224). See Economic Geology of India, p. 231, for details as to the gold of Assam. See also ante, p.
128, where it is stated incorrectly that there are no silver mines in
India. Iron is still worked to a small extent; alluvial gold is no
longer washed; there is some silver and platinum (Imperial Gazetteer, vi. 71 f.).
ยป The production of silk is now important (ibid., vi. 73). For Upper Burma see Scott & Hardiman, Gazetteer, Part i, vol. ii, 372 f.
