A Voyage to the East Indies (Electronic book text)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. Excerpt from book: Section 3CHAPTER IV. textit{Clones or Families of the Indians. F thefe clafles, called by the Indians textit{Giadi or textit{Vcrna, and by the Europeans, very improperly, textit{c.i/is *, there are a great many: The principal are; textit{Brahmana Kfhciria, or textit{Ragiaputra, Vayjhya, and textit{Sbudra, Their origin is loft in the period of Noah, whom the Indians call king textit{Menu-]-. The Brah- mans form the clafs of priefts. Their high-prieft textit{Sarvaveda, that is, a man who has performed all the duties of the law, has the fuperintendance of the public worfhip, and no offerings are ever presented without his order. All the Brahmans in general, who have ever brought to the gods a public offering, are called textit{Eburandiri. In this refpect, however, they are divided into feveral clafles. Thofe who have been prefent at the grand feftival of oblation, which I have defcribed in my textit{Syftema Brabmani- cum J, are called textit{Tagiamana or textit{Tajhda. Others who have brought folemn offerings to the god textit{'oma (the moon) are called textit{Sdmddri, Somabadi, or textit{Dik- textit{* This textit{it a Portuguefe word. f- Whether kinij textit{Menu be the fame perfon as the Noah of the Jews, is dill very doubtful. In general, many of the modern Literati lay too much flrefs on etymology. Thus Father Georgi, in his textit{Alpbabtium Tibftanum, has employed a great deal of learning to no purpofe. Even Sir William Jones, in his papers on the people of Afia, has committed the fame fault. textit{F. J A German translation of this textit{Syjlcma Brabmanicum was publifhed at Gotha in 1797* with thirty copper-plates, under the title of textit{Darfitllung dtr Brabmanifc h-Indifchcn Gottertebrc. F. U textit{Jhida. Guru is the appellation of thofe perfons who teach morality and other philoiophi...