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HAB.

　The Hab are a vagrant thieving tribe found chiefly in the Central Ganges- Jumna Doab.

　 In the Census of 1891 their number was reported to be as follows:-

　They have a language of their own, which, however, was reported for the purposes of this Survey only from Aligarh, as spoken by 950 people. As they wander about a great deal, the difference between 950 and 868, the number given in the Census of 1891, needs no explanation.

　The fullest account of the tribe will be found on pages 473 and ff. of Vol. II of Mr. Crooke's The Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh. Their origin is obscure. Mr. Crooke says that they have a regular Thieves' Latin of their own, but the list of words which he gives are nearly all ordinary Bhl.

　I give, as a specimen, a version of the Parable of the Prodigal Son received from Aligarh. It entirely bears out the impression conveyed by Mr. Crooke's list. The language is simply ordinary Gujart Bhl, and closely resembles Bor.

　 It has also the peculiar habit of doubling consonants which is present in the Upper Gangetic Doab, and to which reference has been made more than once. Thus bbb, a father; hutt, or hitt, was; khta, for kht, a field; diddh, given; and so on. Before these doubled consonants long vowels (except ) are shortened, and is pro- nounced like the a in the German 'mann.' As in Gujart Bhl, the letter s is regu- larly pronounced like the ch in 'loch.' The neuter gender ends in , as in kahy, it was said. Thr, your, becomes trh. There are no other peculiarities which deserve special notice

2B