or PEREAS, a tribe of Hindoos, peculiarly distinguished from all others, that they live by themselves in the outskirts of towns; and, in the country, build their houses apart from the villages, or rather have villages of their own, furnished with wells; for Mod. Ustr. they dare not so much as fetch water from those which Hyd. v. 5. other families make use of; and, lest these latter should inadvertently go to one of theirs, they are obliged to scatter the bones of dead cattle about their wells, that they may be known. They dare not in cities pass through through the streets where the Bramins live; nor set foot in the villages where they dwell.—They are likewise forbidden to enter a temple, either of their god Wilt- now or Eswara; because they are held impure. They get their bread by fowling, digging, and building the walls of mud houles; most of those inhabited by the common people being raised by thee Parias; who also do such kinds of dirty work as other people do not care to meddle with. Nor is their diet much more cleanly; for they do not scruple to eat cows, horses, fowl, or other carrion, which die of themselves, and are even putrid. One would scarce imagine, that contentions for prece- dency should ever enter into the thoughts of a people who have renounced all cleanliness, and, like swine, wal- low in filth; and yet pride has divided the Parias into two classes: the first are simply called Parias, the other Seriperes. The employment of these latter is to go about felling leather, which they dress; also to make bridles, and such kind of things; some of them likewise serve for soldiers. The Parias, who reckon themselves the better family, will not eat in the house of the Seriperes; but the Seriperes will readily eat with the Parias. For this reason they are obliged to pay them respect, by raising their hands aloft, and standing up- right before them. These Seriperes, when they marry, cannot set up a pandel, a kind of garland, before their doors, made with more than three flake or trees; should they exceed that number, the whole city would be in motion. The Seriperes are likewise subject to some sort of slavery; for when any person of credit or authority dies in the families of the Komitis, Sittis, Palis, farriers, or goldsmiths, and the friends have a mind to be at the expense of some clothes to give the Seriperes, these latter must suffer their beards to be shaven; and when the corpse is carried out of town to be burned or interred, they must do that office; for which each receives a fa- num, or one piece and a half of silver, worth three sous and a half. There are the same sort of people who are called at Surat Halalchor; that is, in the Persian lan- guage, "eat-alls, or eaters at large." Nothing can of- fend an Hindoo more than to be called a Halalchor: yet these poor people are not offended, cringe and bow to all they pass, and go through their drudgery without noise or concern.

The Parias are very vicious, stupid, and ignorant, occasioned by their wretched way of life: The Bramins and nobility shun them as if they had the plague, and look on the meeting a Parias as the greatest misfortune. To come near one of them is a sin, to touch them a fa- cililege. If a Parias were dying, it is infamy to visit him, or to give him the least affiance, in the utmost danger or distress. A Bramin who unavoidably should touch a Parias, immediately washes himself from the im- purity. Even their shadow and breath being reckoned contagious, they are obliged to live on the east side of their towns, that the westerly winds which prevail in this country may keep back their breath. And it is lawful for a Bramin to kill one of these unhappy crea- tures, if he does not avoid it by getting out of his way: In short, they think them reprobated by God, and be- lieve the souls of the damned enter into the Parias, to be punished for their crimes.—Yet the million have found among these dregs of the people very active zealous ca- techists, who by their labours have very much contribu- ted to the conversion of their countrymen, particularly one Rajanaiken a Parias soldier, who, of all the inferior Parian missionaries, has distinguished himself most by his labours and sufferings.