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A History of Agriculture in India v2.c78: Chapter 26. Animal Husbandry in India in the Sixteenth Century: Elephants

A History of Agriculture in India v2.c78

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English

Contents

Chapter 26. Animal Husbandry in India in the Sixteenth Century: Elephants

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ANIMAL HUSBANDRY IN INDIA IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

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The *Ain-i-Akbari* is an important source book for animal husbandry in India in the sixteenth century. It provides information on breeding and feeding of elephants, horses, mules, camels and cows. The chapter on elephants is however more detailed. It describes different kinds of elephants, the places where wild elephants were found, and how they were captured and tamed. It also describes how they were bred and fed, and what controls were evolved for the servants who looked after royal elephants.

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Abu-l-Fazl states, ‘Elephants are found in the Suba of Agra, in the forests of Bayawan and Narwar, as far as Berar, in the Suba of Allahabad, in the confines of Pannah (Bhath), Ghora, and Ratanpur, Nandanpur, Sirguja, and Bastar; in the Suba of Malwa, in Handiyah, Uchhod, Chanderi, Santwas, Bijagarh, Raisin, Hoshangabad, Garha, Haryagarh; in the Suba of Bihar, in the neighbourhood of Rahtas and Jharkhand; and in the Suba of Bengal, in Orisa, and Satgaw. The elephants from Pannah are the best. In the *Babur-nama*, Kalpi is mentioned as the place known for its elephants’ (Fig. 39).

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Fig. 39

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‘A herd of elephants is called in Hindi *sahn*. They vary in number; sometimes a herd amounts to a thousand elephants. Wild elephants are very cautious. In winter and summer, they select a proper place, and break down a whole forest near their sleeping place. For the sake of pleasure, or for food and drink, they often travel over great distances. On the journey one runs far in front of the others, like a sentinel; a young female is generally selected for this purpose. When they go to sleep they send out to the four sides of the sleeping-place pickets of four female elephants, which relieve each other.

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‘Elephants will lift up their young ones, for three or four days after their birth, with their trunks and put them on their backs, or lay them over their tusks. They also prepare medicines for the females when they are sick or in labour pains and crowd round about them. When some of them get caught, the female elephants break through the nets, and pull down the elephant-drivers. And when a young elephant falls into a snare they hide themselves in an ambush, go at night to the place where the young one is, set it at liberty, and trample the hunters to death. Sometimes its mother slowly approaches alone, and frees it in some clever way. I have heard the following story from his Majesty: “Once a wild young one had fallen into a pit. As night had approached, we did not care to pull it out immediately, and left it; but when we came next morning near the place, we saw that some wild elephants had filled the pit with broken logs and grass, and thus pulled out the young one.” Again, “Once a female elephant played us a trick. She feigned to be dead. We passed her, and went onwards; but when at night we returned, we saw no trace left of her.”

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There was once an elephant in the Imperial stables named *Ayaz*. For some reason it had got offended with the driver, and was for ever watching for an opportunity. Once at night, it found him asleep. It got hold of a long piece of wood, managed to pull off with it the man’s turban, seized him by the hair, and tore him asunder.

Elephant-Catching

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1. *Kheda*. The hunters are both on horseback and on foot. They go during summer to the grazing places of this wonderful animal, and commence to beat drums and blow pipes, the noise of which makes the elephants quite frightened. They commence to rush about, till from their heaviness and exertions no strength is left in them. They are then sure to run under a tree for shade, when some experienced hunters throw a rope made of hemp or bark round their feet or necks, and thus tie them to the trees. They are afterwards led off in company with some trained elephants, and gradually get tame. One-fourth of the value of an elephant thus caught is given to the hunters as wages. Kheda is illustrated in a painting from Jaipur in which how elephants were caught in the Terai is shown (Fig. 40).

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2. *Chor kheda*. They take a tame female elephant to the grazing place of wild elephants, the driver stretching himself on the back of the elephant, without moving or giving any other sign of his presence. The elephants then commence to fight, when the driver manages to secure one by throwing a rope round the foot.

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3. *Gād*. A deep pit is constructed in a place frequented by elephants, which is covered up with grass. As soon as the elephants come near it the hunters from their ambush commence to make a great noise. The elephants get confused, and losing their habitual cautiousness, they fall rapidly and noisily into the hole. They are then starved and kept without water, when they soon get tame.

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4. *Bār*. They dig a ditch round the resting-place of elephants, leaving only one road open, before which they put up a door, which is fastened with ropes. The door is left open, but closes when the rope is cut. The hunters then put both inside and outside the door such food as elephants like. The elephants eat it up greedily; the voraciousness makes them forget all cautiousness, and without fear they enter at the door. A fearless hunter who has been lying concealed then cuts the rope, and the door closes. The elephants start up, and in their fury try to break the door. They are all in commotion. The hunters then kindle fires and make much noise.

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The elephants run about till they get tired, and no strength is left in them. Tame females are then brought to the place, by whose means the wild elephants are caught. They soon get tame.

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'From times of old, people have enjoyed elephant hunts by any of the above modes; His Majesty has invented a new manner, which admits of remarkable finesse. A wild herd of elephants is surrounded on three sides by drivers, one side alone being left open. At it several female elephants are stationed. From all sides, male elephants will approach to cover the females. The latter then go gradually into an enclosure, whither the males follow.

Nature and Temperament of Elephants

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'This wonderful animal is in bulk and strength like a mountain; and in courage and ferocity like a lion. It adds materially to the pomp of a king and to the success of a conqueror, and is of the greatest use for the army. Experienced men of Hindustan put the value of a good elephant equal to five hundred horses; and they believe that, when guided by a few bold men armed with matchlocks, such an elephant alone is worth double that number. In vehemence on one side, and submissiveness to the reins on the other, the elephant is like an Arab, whilst in point of obedience and attentiveness to even the slightest signs it resembles an intelligent human being. In restiveness when full-blooded, and in vindictiveness, it surpasses man. An elephant never hurts the female, though she be the cause of his captivity; he never will fight with young elephants, nor does he think it proper to punish them. From a sense of gratitude, he does his keepers no harm, nor will he throw dust over his body when he is mounted, though he often does so at other times. Once an elephant during the rutting-season was fighting with another. When he was in the height of excitement a small elephant came in his way; he kindly lifted up the small one with his trunk, set him aside, and then renewed the combat. If a male elephant breaks loose during the rutting-season in order to have his own way, few people have the courage to approach him; and some bold and experienced man will have to get on a female elephant, and try to get near him and tie a rope round his foot. Female elephants, when mourning the loss of a young one, will often abstain from food and drink; they sometimes even die from grief.

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'The elephant can be taught various feats. He learns to remember such melodies as can only be remembered by people acquainted with music; he will move his limbs to keep time, and exhibit his skill in various ways. He will shoot off an arrow from a bow, discharge a matchlock, and will learn to pick up things that have been dropped and hand them over to the keeper. Sometimes they get grain to eat wrapped in hay; this they hide in the side of their mouth, and give it back to the keeper, when they are alone with him.

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'The teats of a female elephant, and the womb, resemble those of a woman. The tongue is round like that of a parrot. The testicles are not visible. Elephants frequently with their trunks take water out of their stomachs, and sprinkle themselves with it. Such water has no offensive smell. They also take out of their stomach grass on the second day, without its having undergone any change.

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'The price of an elephant varies from a lak to one hundred rupees; elephants worth five thousand and ten thousand rupees are pretty common.

Kinds of Elephant

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'There are four kinds of elephants. 1. *Bhaddar*. It is well proportioned, has an erect head, a broad chest, large ears, a long tail, and is bold, and can bear fatigue. They take out of his forehead an excrescence resembling a large pearl, which they call in Hindi *Gaj manik*. Many properties are ascribed to it. 2. *Mand*. It is black, has yellow eyes, a uniformly sized belly, a long penis, and is wild and ungovernable. 3. *Mirg*. It has a whitish skin with black spots; the colour of its eyes is a mixture of red, yellow, black, and white. 4. *Mir*. It has a small head, and obeys readily. It gets frightened when it thunders.

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'From a mixture of these four kinds are formed others of different names and properties. The colour of the skin of elephants is threefold; white, black, grey. Again, according to the threefold division of the dispositions assigned by the Hindus to the mind, namely, *sat* (benevolence), *raj* (love of sensual enjoyment), and *tam* (irascibility), elephants are divided into three classes. First, such in which *sat* predominates. They are well proportioned, good-looking, eat moderately, are very submissive, do not care for intercourse with the female, and live to a very old age. Secondly, such in whose disposition *raj* prevails. They are savage-looking, and proud, bold, ungovernable, and voracious. Lastly, such as are full of *tam*. They are self-willed, destructive, and given to sleep and voraciousness.

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'The Hindi language has several words for an elephant, as *hasti*, *gaj*, *pil*, *kathi*, etc. Under the hands of an experienced keeper it will much improve, so that its value in a short time may rise from one hundred to ten thousand rupees.

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'The time of gestation of the female is generally eighteen lunar months. For these months the fluida germinalia intermix in the womb of the female; when agitated the mass looks like quicksilver. Towards the fifth month the fluida settle and get gelatinous. In the seventh month, they get more solid, and draw to perfection towards the ninth month. In the eleventh, the outline of a body is visible; and in the twelfth, the veins, bones, hoofs, and hairs make their appearance. In the thirteenth month the genitalia become distinguishable.

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'Female elephants have often for twelve days a red discharge, after which gestation commences. During that period they look startled, sprinkle themselves with water and earth, keep ears and tail upwards, and go rarely away from the male. They will rub themselves against the male, bend their heads below his tusks, smell at his urine and dung, and cannot bear to see another female near him. Sometimes, however, a female shows aversion to intercourse with the male; and must be forced to copulate, when other female elephants, at hearing her noise, will come to her rescue.

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'In former times, people did not breed elephants, and thought it unlucky; but by the command of His Majesty, they now breed a very superior class of elephants, which has removed the old prejudice in the minds of men. A female elephant has generally one young one, but sometimes two. For five years the young ones content themselves with the milk of the mother; after that period they commence to eat herbs. In this state they are called *bāl*. When ten years old they are named *put*; when twenty years old *bikka*; when thirty years old, *kalba*. In fact; the animal changes appearance every year, and then gets a new name. When sixty years old, the elephant is full grown. The skull then looks like two halves of a ball, whilst the ears look like winnowing fans. White eyes mixed with yellow, black and red, are looked upon as a sign of excellence. The forehead must be flat without swellings or wrinkles. The trunk is the nose of the animal, and is so long as to touch the ground. With it, it takes up the food and puts it into the mouth; similarly, it sucks up water with it, and then throws it into the stomach. It has eighteen teeth; sixteen of them are inside the mouth, eight above and eight below, and two are the tusks outside. The latter are one and more yards long (91 cm or more), round, shining, very strong, white, or sometimes reddish and straight, the end slightly bent upwards. Some elephants have four tusks. With a view to usefulness as also to ornament, they cut off the top of the tusks, which grow again. With some elephants they have to cut the tusks annually; with others after two or three years; but they do not like to cut them when an elephant is ten and eighty years old. An elephant is perfect when it is eight *dast* high, nine *dast* long, and ten *dast* round the belly, and along the back, Again, nine limbs ought to touch the ground, namely, the fore feet, the hind feet, the trunk, the tusks, the penis, the tail. White spots on the forehead are considered lucky, whilst a thick neck is looked upon as a sign of beauty. Long hairs on and about the ears point to good origin.

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'Some elephants rut in winter, some in summer, some in the rains. They are then very fierce, they pull down houses, throw down stone walls, and will lift up with their trunks a horse and its rider. But elephants differ very much in the amount of fierceness and boldness.

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'When they are hot, a blackish discharge exudes from the soft parts between the ears and the temples, which has a most offensive smell; it is sometimes whitish, mixed with red. They say that elephants have twelve holes in those soft parts, which likewise discharge the offensive fluid. The discharge is abundant in lively animals, but tickles drop by drop in slow ones. As soon as the discharge stops, the elephant gets fierce and looks grand; in this state he gets the name of *Tafti* or *Sarhari*. When the above discharge exudes from a place a little higher than the soft parts between the ears and the temples, the elephant is called *Singhadhal*; and when the fluid trickles from all three places, *Tal-jor*. When in heat, elephants get attached to particular living creatures, as men or horses; but some elephants to any animal.

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'If the female during gestation gets stronger, the foetus is sure to be a male; but if she gets weak it is the sign of a female. During the sixteenth month the formation becomes still more perfect, and the life of the foetus becomes quite distinct. In the seventeenth month there is every chance of a premature birth on account of the efforts made by the foetus to move, till, in the eighteenth month, the young one is born.

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'Elephant drivers have a drug which causes an artificial heat; but it often endangers the life of the beast. The noise of battle makes some superior elephants just as fierce as at the rutting-season; even a sudden start may have such an effect. Thus His Majesty's elephant *Gajmukta*: he gets brisk as soon as he hears the sound of the Imperial drum, and gets the above-mentioned discharge. This peculiar heat generally makes its first appearance when elephants have reached the age of thirty; sometimes, however, earlier, at an age of twenty-five. Sometimes the heat lasts for years, and some of the Imperial elephants have continued for five years in an uninterrupted alacrity. But it is mostly male elephants that get in heat. They then commence to throw up earth, and run after a female, or roll about in mud, and daub themselves all over with dirt. When in heat they are very irritable, and yawn a great deal, though they sleep but little. At last they even discontinue eating, and dislike the foot-chain: they try to get loose, and behave noisily.

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'The elephant, like man, lives to an age of one hundred and twenty years.'

Food

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Akbar laid down regulations fixing ration for different kinds of elephants varying from 2 *mans* and 24 *sers* of grains and grass for *mast* elephants, to 1*m* and 4 *s* for small ones. The *Khasa* elephants which were used by Akbar were, in addition to above, given sugar, *ghi*, rice with chillies, cloves, etc. In the sugarcane season each elephant was given 300 sugarcanes.

Servants of the Elephant Stables

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Mast elephants. 'There are five and a half servants for each, viz. a Mahawat, who sits on the neck of the animal and directs its movements. He must be acquainted with its good and bad properties, and thus contribute to its usefulness. He gets 200 dams per month; but if the elephant be khutahar, i.e. wicked and addicted to pulling down the driver, he gets 220 d. Secondly, a Bhoi, who sits behind, upon the rump of the elephant, and assists in battle and in quickening the speed of the animal; but he often performs the duties of the Mahawat. His monthly pay is 110 d. Thirdly, the Meths, of whom there are three and one-half, or only three in case of small elephants. A Meth fetches fodder, and assists in caparisoning the elephant. Meths of all classes get on the march four dams daily, and at other times three and a half.

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'In order to prevent laziness and to ensure attentiveness, His Majesty, has fixed a list of fines. On the death of a male or a female khasa elephant the Bhois are fined three months' wages. If any part of the harness is lost, the Bhois and Meths are fined two-thirds of the value of the article; but in the case of a saddlecloth, the full price. When a female elephant dies from starvation, or through want of care, the Bhois have to pay the cost price of the animal.

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'Two experienced men are monthly dispatched to inquire into the fatness or leanness of the khasa elephants. If elephants are found by them out of flesh to the extent of a quarter, according to the scale fixed by the Pagoshi Regulation the grandees in charge are fined, and the Bhois are likewise liable to lose a month's wages. In the case of halqa elephants, Ahadis are told off to examine them, and submit a report to His Majesty. If an elephant dies, the Mahawat and the Bhoi are fined three months' wages. If part of an elephant's tusk is broken, and the injury reaches as far as the kali—this is a place at the root of the tusks, which on being injured is apt to fester, when the tusks get hollow and become useless—a fine amounting to one-eighth of the elephant is exacted, the Darogha paying two-thirds, and the Fawjdar one-third. Should the injury not reach as far as the kali, the fine is only one-half of the former. But, at present, a fine of one per cent has become usual; in the case of khasa elephants, however, such punishment is inflicted as His Majesty may please to direct.¹

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¹ Abu-l-Fazl, Ain-i-Akbari, pp. 123-132, 295-296

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