The Castes and Tribes of Southern India 1

Abstract

THIS, if not quite the most workmanlike, may justly claim to be the most voluminous contribution to the publications of the Ethnographical Survey of India. The facts for which Mr. Thurston is personally responsible were collected in a series of tours throughout the Madras Presidency, in which he was able to combine the collection of specimens for the museum under his charge with a considerable amount of original work. He gives a lively account of the difficulties which he experienced in examining and measuring the shy jungle folk in whom he was most deeply interested; and the combined tact and enthusiasm with which he conducted these inquiries deserve hearty recognition. With his own personal investigations he has combined contributions from other writers, among whom the work of Mr. F. Fawcett, much of which is already familiar to students of the periodical bulletins of the Madras Museum, is the most valuable. To these have been added numerous extracts from census reports, district manuals, and similar literature; and the large series of excellent photographs adds largely to the interest and value of the work.