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MEWATEES.

The men are tall, muscular, and athletic, capable of great endurance, and have the reputation of being highly skilled in the use of their weapons, both as swordsmen, and marksmen with the matchlock, in which they are instructed from boyhood in their village gymnasium. In colour they are generally fair, if not ruddy; and their women are reported to be beautiful and strong. They are, however, seldom seen, as they are almost invariably secluded. The dialect of the Mewatees is a broad patois of Northern Hindostani, in which the Hindi words of their original Rajpoot sect are largely mingled; and the women in particular are said to speak almost a pure dialect of Hindi. In general appearance they bear a strong resemblance to Affghans, and, away from their own country, are not unfrequently mistaken for them. Their costume is more Hindoo than Mahomedan, as they seldom, if ever, wear pyjamas or trowsers, and the mirzaee or short jacket is only distinguishable from the Hindoo by being tied or buttoned on the left side, instead of the right. Their women wear the full petticoat, bodice, and scarf, neglecting the trowsers, which are the distinctive costume of Mahomedans. The men allow their beards to grow, but not to any length; and the group represented in the Photograph is a fair specimen of the lower classes of the tribe, when without arms, and acting as farm labourers or in other menial capacity.