Sipahi

“ Once upon a time the men of a certain village had fixed a day for sacrificing a bullock; but the very day before the sacrifice was to take place, the Raja’s sipahis came to the village and carried off all the men to do five days forced labour at the Raja’s capital. The women thus left alone suffered the greatest anxiety; they thought it quite possible that their husbands and fathers would never be allowed to return or even be put to death ”

“ These might be used either by the defenders as an outwork, or by the rebels as a substantial place of cover, for their attacking parties.
It is further due to the memory of Sir Hugh Wheeler to add that no one then anticipated that the sipáhís, if they should mutiny, would endeavour to slaughter the Europeans. After the events of the 10th and 12th of May, at Mírath and Dehlí, the cry amongst the sipáhís had been to march to the centre point, to the ancient capital of the Mughals. By attacking the position on the plain they could gain neither loot nor glory. ”

“ Meanwhile, the assembled sipáhís of the four regiments, now united, had elected Náná Sáhib as their leader, and ha4 tumultuously demanded to be led to Dehlí. The sipáhís had no desire to kill their officers. Against them they had no grudge. They had shaken off the bonds of discipline, they were free, they had looted to their hearts' content, and now they would join those comrades who had resuscitated the rule of the Mughal. ”

“ The sipáhís stepped forward to a man, and with the same hope which had characterised the officers of the 54th, those of the 74th led on their men. At the main-guard they found some men of the 54th N. I. who had returned from the city. The din within the walls of the city was now overwhelming. The sipáhís themselves evidently dreaded lest the strong English force stationed at Mírath should have arrived. As deeply imbued as their comrades with the spirit of revolt, they resolved, then, before they cast their lot with those who had 'pronounced,' to wait the turn of events. ”

“ This is a decided innovation on the traditional form, as the orifice from which the people emerged, which is symbolized in the sipapuh, is described as being of circular form in all the versions of the Tusayan genesis myth. The presence of the sipapuh possibly at one time distinguished such kivas as were considered strictly consecrated to religious observances from those that were of more general use. At Tusayan, at the present time, certain societies do not meet in the ordinary kiva but in an apartment of a dwelling house, each society having its own exclusive place of meeting. ”

“ I read your letter in order to acquaint myself with the circumstances concerning Sipah Salar Ghulam Haidar Khan and the people under the jurisdiction of Jelalabad about which you have written. I now write to say that, as regards Sipah Salar Ghulam Haidar Khan and the regular Afghan army, not a single man is or will be with the followers of Mullah Najm-ud-din, and hereafter, too, none will [Pg 480] accompany him. As regards tribesmen you know yourself that for fear of me they can never openly join such a movement; if any one has come, he must have gone secretly. ”

“ The sudden attack surprised and bewildered the Arabs. The British sepoys on the hill saw the confusion, and rushed down the slope and drove the Arabs before them like sheep. The memory of this victory has been preserved down to our own time. The hill Sitabuldi is a monument to the loyalty and valour of the Bengal cavalry. Every visitor to Nagpore makes a pilgrimage to Sitabuldi to behold the scene of one of the most glorious triumphs of the old sepoy army in India. Appa Sahib fled from Nagpore, but Lord Hastings refused to annex the principality ”

“ And one of these invading tribes, the Angles, gave its name to a part of our island, which is to this day known as England—that is, Angle-land, the land of the Angles.
Now, in the same way, the people who live in Siam at the present time are the descendants of invaders who swept into the country and drove the original inhabitants into the hills. No one is quite certain where the Siamese actually came from, but it is likely that their home was upon the mountain-slopes of Tibet. Their ancestors were a wild and vigorous race who tattooed themselves. ”

“ In crossing from the territory of the Sipkanli tribe to that of the Haideranli, we should be obliged to run the gauntlet of the armed parties which scoured the frontier between these two hostile tribes. He pointed to a dot on the grassy plain about us which he identified with the village of Köshk. He said that it was the residence of the chief of the Sipkanli, who from his official relations with the Turkish Government would be obliged to shelter us. His counsel was no doubt sound if one could only trust his estimate of our distance from Patnotz. ”

“ Throughout the morning detachments of Sepoys of the Indian Army and Imperial Service Troops continued to arrive at the wharf and to embark. Bertram was much interested in a double-company of Gurkhas under a Gurkha Subedar, their yellowish Mongolian faces eloquent of determination, grit, and hardiness.
They contrasted strongly with a company of tall, hairy Sikhs, almost twice their size, man for man, but with evidences of more enthusiasm than discipline in their bearing. ”

“ The fertile soil lies idle, as though the waters had lately receded; in the distance some goats and cattle browsed the burnt and scanty grass. Nature alone has made the most of exceptional opportunities; and Sipan, with this plain on one flank and the lake of Van upon the other, is worthy to rank among the most beautiful objects in the natural world (Fig. 116) . There, can be little difference between the level of the expanse on either side; plain and sea have an elevation of about 5500 feet. The summit of the slowly-rising fabric which divides them attains an altitude of 13,700 feet. ”

“ Every nerve was screamingly alert. He swung his head, searching for the slightest movement, for some shape or color that was not the shape or color of the bush or grass or ground. But there was nothing. The heat droned in the hush of afternoon. There was not a breath of moving air. But there was danger—a saw-toothed sense of danger close behind his neck.
"Sipar!" he called in a tense whisper, "Watch out!"
The native stood motionless, unheeding, its eyeballs rolling up until there was only white, while the muscles stood out along its throat like straining ropes of steel. ”

“ Their life is almost entirely arboreal, for which the muscles of their hands and feet, as well as the parachute-like fold of skin between their arms and body, and their peculiarly hook-like fingers, are most fitted. The young one is carried about by its mother on her back, its hands grasping her arm-pits tightly. The Sifakas are held in great veneration or fear by the natives of Madagascar, and are never intentionally killed by them. ”

“ Sipsu had for a long time counseled the tribe not to visit nor sell food to the white men, holding that they could not kill the bear, walrus, and seal, and would soon starve, and so all the coveted things would fall into Esquimo hands. Kalutunah, on the other hand, held that their "booms"—guns—could secure them any game, and that our poverty of food was owing to a dislike of work. ”

“ The word you want is ithood."
The door pushed open and a native walked in timidly.
"Zikkara said that mister want me," the native told them. "I am Sipar. I can track anything but screamers, stilt-birds, longhorns and donovans. Those are my taboos."
"I am glad to hear that," Duncan replied. "You have no Cytha taboo, then."
"Cytha!" yipped the native. "Zikkara did not tell me Cytha!"
Duncan paid no attention. He got up from the table and went to the heavy chest that stood against one wall. He rummaged in it and came out with a pair of binoculars, a hunting knife and an extra drum of ammunition. ”

“ Mindeleff that these features might be regarded as typifying the four worlds of the genesis myth that has exercised such an influence on Tusayan customs. He was also led to infer that it typifies the “four houses” or stages described in their creation myths. The sipapuh, with its cavity beneath the floor, is certainly regarded as indicating the place of beginning, the lowest house under the earth, the abode of Myuingwa, the Creator; the main or lower floor represents the second stage; and the elevated section of the floor is made to denote the third stage, where animals were created. ”

“ These circumstances, aggravated by frequent quarrels with the Sipahees at Ningroo, the unauthorized apprehension of two Let Singphoos by the Jemadar, and a desire of revenge for the execution, [78] many years ago, of Ningroola Gaum’s kinsman, certainly contributed to produce the insurrection of 1843.
Viewing the nature of our connection with the Singphoos generally, it must be acknowledged that the balance of advantage had been decidedly in their favour; for while we have been called upon to fight their battles, little or no assistance has, comparatively, been afforded us by them. ”

“ In 1842, the Taggee Rajah, of his own free will, came down from the hills and surrendered himself to the British Government. The excuse pleaded by him for the massacre of the guard was the tyranny and insolence of the sipahees towards his tribe; but it does not appear that the sipahees had any quarrel with the Akhas or Kuppah Choor Akhas, and it is therefore reasonable to conclude that the latter destroyed the guard because they were posted there to prevent depredations on the plains. ”

“ So, attired in his golden helmet and white robe, and mounted upon a coal-black charger, Siawush advanced unto Kaikous, saluting him. Then fearlessly he rode forward, commending his soul unto the Almighty. Now as he entered upon the fiery path, a great cry of sorrow arose from all the people, for they loved their brave young Prince, and they dreamed not that any man could come forth alive from such a fiery furnace. Therefore they murmured against Kaikous, as did all his nobles, for their hearts were filled with wrath against the King for permitting this wicked deed. ”

“ In the dim light the leering face of Sipsu appeared like the face of the great demon himself. His small half-closed eyes blazed through their slits.
"The spirits are wrathful. The tribe is forgetful. What wilt thou have?"
Maisanguaq, with unconcealed hesitation, placed a bit of blubber before the magician.
"The last I have," he mumbled. Sipsu seized it avidly.
"Ootah goeth to the mountains," Maisanguaq said, panting for breath.
The old man sneered bitterly:
"He cannot brave the spirits. No man can live in the mountains. The breath of the spirits is death." ”

“ It has been supposed, not without probability, that a certain Simashshikhu, Prince of the Country of the Sea, who immediately followed the last scion of the line of Pashê,* was one of their chiefs. He endeavoured to establish order in the city, and rebuilt the temple of the Sun destroyed by the nomads at Sippar, but at the end of eighteen years he was assassinated. ”

“ Then the white men fell upon the people of Gopani-Kufa and slew them together with the chief and his daughter Shasasa; and since then all the power of the Earth has rested in the hands of the white men, for they have in their possession Sipao, the Magic Mirror.
Story of the King Who Would See Paradise
Once upon a time there was king who, one day out hunting, came upon a fakeer in a lonely place in the mountains. The fakeer was seated on a little old bedstead reading the Koran, with his patched cloak thrown over his shoulders. ”

“ But loyal to what, Duncan wondered, to him, the outlander and intruder? Loyal to itself? Or perhaps, although that seemed impossible, faithful to the Cytha?
What does Sipar think of me, he asked himself, and maybe more to the point, what do I think of Sipar? Is there a common meeting ground? Or are we, despite our humanoid forms, condemned forever to be alien and apart?
He held the rifle across his knees and stroked it, polishing it, petting it, making it even more closely a part of him, an instrument of his deadliness, an expression of his determination to track and kill the Cytha. ”

“ A sprinkling of snow rested on the north-eastern slopes, from which those on the south-west were entirely free. Sipan was exposed from foot to summit, answered further west by another almost insular mass, the sombre rock and jagged outline of Bilejan. Vast tracts of plain were outspread at our feet—without a tree, with only a few rare patches of cultivation, the soil, where exposed by the plough, being coloured a rich brown. The air which we were breathing was strong and invigorating, while the sun, even near five o’clock, was warm. Motionless grey clouds were suspended over the Akh Dagh ”

“ Their religion is Buddhism or Lamaism, and their language is a dialect of Tibetan.
By far the greater number of the inhabitants of Sikhim, however, are the Paharias, who number nearly 50,000. They have migrated from the neighbouring densely populated State of Nepal, and are slowly but surely pushing their way eastward. They are almost all Hindus by religion, with innumerable castes, the few exceptions being the tribes coming from the north-east of Nepal, who still profess Buddhism. ”

“ Habits.—The habits of the different species of Sifaka are very similar. They live in companies of six or eight, and are very gentle and inoffensive animals, wearing always a most melancholy expression, and, as a rule, being morose, inactive, and more silent than other Lemurs. They rarely live long in captivity. In their native state they are most alert in the morning and evening, as during the heat of the day they conceal themselves amid the foliage of the trees. ”