33

THE KING'S ELDER BROTHERS

One must visit Askote, it is splendidly beautiful.
I was in Askote. I had heard many stories about this small
kingdom. It had still a king who lived there durir g summer. Her
passed his winters elsewhere. Also lived nearby in a place called
Chiplakot the Rajis or Ban Rawats who claimed royal descent
and described themselves as the elder brothers of the king of
Askote. The representatives still attend the important functions
at the capital town of Askote where they sit invariably next to
Rajawar. They addressed the Rajawar of Askote and his queen
as younger brother and younger sister in-law,
As per the legend passed down from generation to generation,
their origin dates back to a prehistoric king who had two sons.
The elder one was ardent lover of nature and fond of hunting,
a hobby which kept him out of the capital, therefore, when the
king died the younger son usurped the throne and never allowed
the elder one to return home. This is the reason which keeps
the Rajis out of cities and they think the city dwellers as cheats.
Atkinson considers Rajis as the descendents of Kirats, Dr,
Campbell thought that Kirats were related to the Limbus who now
reside in Eastern Nepal, and on the border of Nepal and Sikkim.
It is difficult to enter into the secrets of their ancestry. Marriage-