KOOKIES, a singular race of people, who inhabit the
mountains to the north-east of the Chittagong district, in
the province of Bengal. They are little known to the
inhabitants of the plain, and are seldom seen except
when they visit the markets on the borders of the jungles
in the Runganeah and Auringabad divisions, to purchase
salt, dried fish, and tobacco. The Kookies are a stout,
muscular race, but not tall, and have the peculiar Tartar
features of the Asiatics in the east, namely, the flat nose,
small eye, and broad, round face. They are divided into
a number of distinct communities independent of each
other, and are all hunters and warriors. Their arms are
bows and arrows, clubs and spears; and, by way of de-
fence, they build their villages, which generally contain
from 500 to 2000 inhabitants, on the most inaccessible
hills. They are much addicted to war, in which they
are almost constantly engaged; and, like most savages,
they prefer ambuscades and surprises to regular battle.
They are vindictive in their dispositions, and always shed
blood on a principle of retaliation. They use an intoxicat-
ing liquor distilled from rice, which they drink at mar-
riages, these being attended with much feasting. They
have an idea of rewards and punishments in a future
state, and they have also a saint or angel which they
worship as the mediator between them and the Deity.
They have no regular priests, and the master of each fam-
ily instructs the children in the religious knowledge
which he thinks necessary. They sometimes engage in
war with the Choomeas; but being in great dread of
fire-arms, they are quickly driven back to their native
mountains. They are, however, a great terror to the in-
habitants on the borders of the Chittagong district, espe-
cially to the wood-cutters, on whom they frequently make
inroads. They subsist partly by the chase; and they
have no religious prejudice against any animal. An ele-
phant is considered as a great prize by them, as it affords
so great a quantity of food. Their domestic animals are
gags, goats, hogs, dogs, and fowls.