Tribes in Ancient India c20.6

c20.6

‘When the army of Alexander’, states Arrian, ‘came among the Sibai, an Indian tribe, and noticed that they wore skins, they declared that the Sibai were descended from those who belonged to the expedition of Herakles, and had been left behind; for besides being dressed in skins, the Sibai carry a cudgel, and brand on the backs of their oxen the representation of a club, wherein the Macedonians recognised a memorial of Herakles.’ (Arrian, *op. cit.*) He continues: ‘If any one believes all this, this must be another Herakles, not the Theban, but either the Tyrian or the Egyptian, or even some great King who belonged to the upper country which lies not far from India’. It seems reasonable to suppose, from the above description of their dress and weapons, that the tribe belonged to a racial group not distinctly Aryan. They are said to have had 40,000 foot-soldiers at the time of Alexander.