Rinds

Rinds, a numerous people of Baluchistan, especially in the province of Kachi and in the Mand district of the province of Makran; are usually classed as one of the three great branches of the Baluchi family, but appear to be originally of Jat stock with a slight infusion of Arab blood (hence their claim to Arab descent); are Mohammedans, and speak the Northern Baluchi dialect. (W. L. Dames, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1881.) Rings have been used by mankind at least from the age in which metals began to be worked. They were in use among the Assyrians, the Egyptians (who used a great variety of rings and displayed much artistic taste in their manufacture), the Greeks, the Romans, and indeed among most civilised peoples. Whether they were at first symbolic of eternity or of sexual relations is a matter of doubt, but it was early used as a sign of authority, dignity, and honour. Jupiter gave Prometheus a ring, Pharaoh confirmed Joseph's authority by a ring, bracelets and rings were presented by Eliezer to Rebecca. Among the Romans wearing a ring was a privilege of the equestrian order, and at a later period gladiators wore bracelets. With the Anglo-Saxons a ring round the neck was a sign of servitude. It is a matter of doubt whether this was not the origin of the use of a ring in betrothal and marriage. Much superstition has collected round the use of rings. The practice of engraving mottoes or "posies" in rings prevailed in the 16th century, and has been revived in the "Mizpah" rings of our own time, while mourning rings are still occasionally given as memorials of the dead. The presentation, on certain occasions, of rings once prevailed in our Inns of Court.