Chapter XV: Preface: TO SECOND EDITION xi (12)

BOLIAH, BAULEAH, s. Beng. _bāūlīa_. A kind of light accommodation boat with a cabin, in use on the Bengal rivers. We do not find the word in any of the dictionaries. Ives, in the middle of the 18th century, describes it as a boat very long, but so narrow that only one man could sit in the breadth, though it carried a multitude of rowers. This is not the character of the boat so called now. [Buchanan Hamilton, writing about 1820, says: "The BHAULIYA is intended for the same purpose, [conveyance of passengers], and is about the same size as the _Pansi_ (see PAUNCHWAY). It is sharp at both ends, rises at the ends less than the _Pansi_, and its tilt is placed in the middle, the rowers standing both before and behind the place of accommodation of passengers. On the Kosi, the _Bhauliya_ is a large fishing-boat, carrying six or seven men." (_Eastern India_, iii. 345.) Grant (_Rural Life_, p. 5) gives a drawing and description of the modern boat.]

1757.—"To get two BOLIAS, a Goordore, and 87 dandies from the
Nazir."—_Ives_, 157.

1810.—"On one side the picturesque boats of the natives, with their
floating huts; on the other the BOLIOS and pleasure-boats of the
English."—_Maria Graham_, 142.

1811.—"The extreme lightness of its construction gave it incredible ...
speed. An example is cited of a Governor General who in his BAWALEEA
performed in 8 days the voyage from Lucknow to Calcutta, a distance of
400 marine leagues."—_Solvyns_, iii. The drawing represents a very light
skiff, with only a small kiosque at the stern.

1824.—"We found two BHOLIAHS, or large row-boats, with convenient
cabins...."—_Heber_, i. 26.

1834.—"Rivers's attention had been attracted by seeing a large BEAULIAH
in the act of swinging to the tide."—_The Baboo_, i. 14.

BOLTA, s. A turn of a rope; sea H. from Port. _volta_ (_Roebuck_).

BOMBASA, n.p. The Island of Mombasa, off the E. African Coast, is so called in some old works. _Bombāsī_ is used in Persia for a negro slave; see quotation.

1516.—"... another island, in which there is a city of the Moors called
BOMBAZA, very large and beautiful."—_Barbosa_, 11. See also _Colonial
Papers_ under 1609, i. 188.

1883.—"... the BOMBASSI, or coal-black negro of the interior, being of
much less price, and usually only used as a cook."—_Wills, Modern
Persia_, 326.

BOMBAY, n.p. It has been alleged, often and positively (as in the quotations below from Fryer and Grose), that this name is an English corruption from the Portuguese _Bombahia_, 'good bay.' The grammar of the alleged etymon is bad, and the history is no better; for the name can be traced long before the Portuguese occupation, long before the arrival of the Portuguese in India. C. 1430, we find the islands of Mahim and _Mumba_-Devi, which united form the existing island of Bombay, held, along with Salsette, by a Hindu Rāī, who was tributary to the Mohammedan King of Guzerat. (See _Rās Mālā_, ii. 350); [ed. 1878, p. 270]. The same form reappears (1516) in Barbosa's Tana-_Mayambu_ (p. 68), in the _Estado da India_ under 1525, and (1563) in Garcia de Orta, who writes both _Mombaim_ and _Bombaim_. The latter author, mentioning the excellence of the areca produced there, speaks of himself having had a grant of the island from the King of Portugal (see below). It is customarily called _Bombaim_ on the earliest English Rupee coinage. (See under RUPEE.) The shrine of the goddess MUMBA-_Devī_ from whom the name is supposed to have been taken, stood on the Esplanade till the middle of the 17th century, when it was removed to its present site in the middle of what is now the most frequented part of the native town.

1507.—"Sultan Mahommed Bigarrah of Guzerat having carried an army against
Chaiwal, in the year of the Hijra 913, in order to destroy the Europeans,
he effected his designs against the towns of Bassai (see BASSEIN) and
MANBAI, and returned to his own capital...."—_Mirat-i-Ahmedi_ (Bird's
transl.), 214-15.

1508.—"The Viceroy quitted Dabul, passing by Chaul, where he did not care
to go in, to avoid delay, and anchored at BOMBAIM, whence the people fled
when they saw the fleet, and our men carried off many cows, and caught
some blacks whom they found hiding in the woods, and of these they took
away those that were good, and killed the rest."—_Correa_, i. 926.

1516.—"... a fortress of the before-named King (of Guzerat), called
Tana-MAYAMBU, and near it is a Moorish town, very pleasant, with many
gardens ... a town of very great Moorish mosques, and temples of worship
of the Gentiles ... it is likewise a sea port, but of little
trade."—_Barbosa_, 69. The name here appears to combine, in a common
oriental fashion, the name of the adjoining town of Thana (see TANA) and
Bombay.

1525.—"E a Ilha de MOMBAYN, que no forall velho estaua em catorze mill e
quatro cento fedeas ... j̃ xiiij. iiii.^c fedeas.

"E os anos otros estaua arrendada por mill trezentos setenta e cinque
pardaos ... j̃ iii.^c lxxv. pardaos.

"Foy aforada a mestre Dioguo pelo dito governador, por mill quatro centos
trinta dous pardaos méo ... j̃ iiij.^c xxxij. pardaos méo."—_Tombo do
Estada da India_, 160-161.

1531.—"The Governor at the island of BOMBAIM awaited the junction of the
whole expedition, of which he made a muster, taking a roll from each
captain, of the Portuguese soldiers and sailors and of the captive slaves
who could fight and help, and of the number of musketeers, and of other
people, such as servants. And all taken together he found in the whole
fleet some 3560 soldiers (_homens d'armas_), counting captains and
gentlemen; and some 1450 Portuguese seamen, with the pilots and masters;
and some 2000 soldiers who were Malabars and Goa Canarines; and 8000
slaves fit to fight; and among these he found more than 3000 musketeers
(_espingardeiros_), and 4000 country seamen who could row (_marinheiros
de terra remeiros_), besides the mariners of the junks who were more than
800; and with married and single women, and people taking goods and
provisions to sell, and menial servants, the whole together was more than
30,000 souls...."—_Correa_, iii. 392.

1538.—"The Isle of BOMBAY has on the south the waters of the bay which is
called after it, and the island of Chaul; on the N. the island of
SALSETE; on the east Salsete also; and on the west the Indian Ocean. The
land of this island is very low, and covered with great and beautiful
groves of trees. There is much game, and abundance of meat and rice, and
there is no memory of any scarcity. Nowadays it is called the island of
BOA-VIDA; a name given to it by Hector da Silveira, because when his
fleet was cruising on this coast his soldiers had great refreshment and
enjoyment there."—_J. de Castro, Primeiro Roteiro_, p. 81.

1552.—"... a small stream called _Bate_ which runs into the Bay of
BOMBAIN, and which is regarded as the demarcation between the Kingdom of
Guzurate and the Kingdom of Decan."—_Barros_, I. ix. 1.

1552.—"The Governor advanced against BOMBAYM on the 6th February, which
was moreover the very day on which Ash Wednesday fell."—_Couto_, IV., v.
5.

1554.—"Item of Mazaguao 8500 _fedeas_.

"Item of MONBAYM, 17,000 _fedeas_.

"Rents of the land surrendered by the King of Canbaya in 1543, from 1535
to 1548."—_S. Botelho, Tombo_, 139.

1563.—"... and better still is (that the ARECA) of MOMBAIM, an estate and
island which the King our Lord has graciously granted me on perpetual
lease."[43]—_Garcia De Orta_, f. 91_v_.

" "SERVANT. Sir, here is Simon Toscano, your tenant at BOMBAIM, who
has brought this basket of mangoes for you to make a present to the
Governor; and he says that when he has moored his vessel he will come
here to put up."—_Ibid._ f. 134_v_.

1644.—"_Description of the Port of_ MOMBAYM.... The Viceroy Conde de
Linhares sent the 8 councillors to fortify this Bay, so that no European
enemy should be able to enter. These Ministers visited the place, and
were of opinion that the width (of the entrance) being so great, becoming
even wider and more unobstructed further in, there was no place that you
could fortify so as to defend the entrance...."—_Bocarro_, MS. f. 227.

1666.—"Ces Tchérons ... demeurent pour la plupart à Baroche, à BAMBAYE et
à Amedabad."—_Thevenot_, v. 40.

" "De Bacaim à BOMBAIIM il y a six lieues."—_Ibid._ 248.

1673.—"December the Eighth we paid our Homage to the Union-flag flying on
the Fort of BOMBAIM."—_Fryer_, 59.

" "Bombaim ... ventures furthest out into the Sea, making the Mouth
of a spacious Bay, whence it has its Etymology; BOMBAIM, quasi _Boon
bay_."—_Ibid._ 62.

1676.—"Since the present King of _England_ married the Princess of
_Portugall_, who had in Portion the famous Port of BOMBEYE ... they coin
both Silver, Copper, and Tinn."—_Tavernier_, E. T., ii. 6.

1677.—"Quod dicta Insula de BOMBAIM, una cum dependentiis suis, nobis ab
origine bonâ fide ex pacto (sicut oportuit) tradita non fuerit."—_King
Charles II._ to the Viceroy L. de Mendoza Furtado, in _Descn., &c. of the
Port and Island of_ BOMBAY, 1724, p. 77.

1690.—"This Island has its Denomination from the Harbour, which ... was
originally called BOON BAY, _i.e._ in the _Portuguese_ Language, a Good
Bay or Harbour."—_Ovington_, 129.

1711.—Lockyer declares it to be impossible, with all the Company's
Strength and Art, to make BOMBAY "a Mart of great Business."—P. 83.

c. 1760.—"... one of the most commodious bays perhaps in the world, from
which distinction it received the denomination of BOMBAY, by corruption
from the Portuguese _Buona-Bahia_, though now usually written by them
BOMBAIM."—_Grose_, i. 29.

1770.—"No man chose to settle in a country so unhealthy as to give rise
to the proverb _That at_ BOMBAY _a man's life did not exceed two
monsoons_."—_Raynal_ (E. T., 1777), i. 389.

1809.—"The largest pagoda in BOMBAY is in the Black Town.... It is
dedicated to _Momba Devee_ ... who by her images and attributes seems to
be Parvati, the wife of Siva."—_Maria Graham_, 14.

BOMBAY BOX-WORK. This well-known manufacture, consisting in the decoration of boxes, desks, &c., with veneers of geometrical mosaic, somewhat after the fashion of Tunbridge ware, is said to have been introduced from Shiraz to Surat more than a century ago, and some 30 years later from Surat to Bombay. The veneers are formed by cementing together fine triangular prisms of ebony, ivory, green-stained ivory, stag's horn, and tin, so that the sections when sawn across form the required pattern, and such thin sections are then attached to the panels of the box with strong glue.

BOMBAY DUCK.—See BUMMELO.

BOMBAY MARINE. This was the title borne for many years by the meritorious but somewhat depressed service which in 1830 acquired the style of the "Indian Navy," and on 30th April, 1863, ceased to exist. The detachments of this force which took part in the China War (1841-42) were known to their brethren of the Royal Navy, under the temptation of alliteration, as the "Bombay Buccaneers." In their earliest employment against the pirates of Western India and the Persian Gulf, they had been known as "the GRAB Service." But, no matter for these names, the history of this Navy is full of brilliant actions and services. We will quote two noble examples of public virtue:

(1) In July 1811, a squadron under Commodore John Hayes took two large junks issuing from Batavia, then under blockade. These were lawful prize, laden with Dutch property, valued at £600,000. But Hayes knew that such a capture would create great difficulties and embarrassments in the English trade at Canton, and he directed the release of this splendid prize.

(2) 30th June 1815, Lieut. Boyce in the brig 'Nautilus' (180 tons, carrying ten 18-pr. carronades, and four 9-prs.) encountered the U. S. sloop-of-war 'Peacock' (539 tons, carrying twenty 32-pr. carronades, and two long 18-prs.). After he had informed the American of the ratification of peace, Boyce was peremptorily ordered to haul down his colours, which he answered by a flat refusal. The 'Peacock' opened fire, and a short but brisk action followed, in which Boyce and his first lieutenant were shot down. The gallant Boyce had a special pension from the Company (£435 in all) and lived to his 93rd year to enjoy it.

We take the facts from the History of this Navy by one of its officers, Lieut. C. R. Low (i. 294), but he erroneously states the pension to have been granted by the U.S. Govt.

1780.—"The Hon. Company's schooner, Carinjar, with Lieut. Murry
Commander, of the BOMBAY MARINES, is going to Archin (_sic_, see ACHEEN)
to meet the Ceres and the other Europe ships from Madrass, to put on
board of them the St. Helena stores."—_Hicky's Bengal Gazette_, April
8th.

BONITO, s. A fish (_Thynnus pelamys_, Day) of the same family (_Scombridae_) as mackerel and tunny, very common in the Indian seas. The name is Port., and apparently is the adj. BONITO, 'fine.'

c. 1610.—"On y pesche vne quantité admirable de gros poissons, de sept ou
huit sortes, qui sont néantmoins quasi de mesme race et espece ... commes
BONITES, albachores, daurades, et autres."—_Pyrard_, i. 137.

1615.—"BONITOES and albicores are in colour, shape, and taste much like
to Mackerils, but grow to be very large."—_Terry_, in _Purchas_, ii.
1464.

c. 1620.—

"How many sail of well-mann'd ships
As the BONITO does the Flying-fish
Have we pursued...."
_Beaum. & Flet., The Double Marriage_, ii. 1.

c. 1760.—"The fish undoubtedly takes its name from relishing so well to
the taste of the Portuguese ... that they call it BONITO, which answers
in our tongue to delicious."—_Grose_, i. 5.

1764.—

"While on the yard-arm the harpooner sits,
Strikes the BONETA, or the shark ensnares."—_Grainger_, B. ii.

1773.—"The Captain informed us he had named his ship the BONNETTA, out of
gratitude to Providence; for once ... the ship in which he then sailed
was becalmed for five weeks, and during all that time, numbers of the
fish BONNETTA swam close to her, and were caught for food; he resolved
therefore that the ship he should next get should be called the
_Bonnetta_."—_Boswell, Journal of a Tour, &c._, under Oct. 16, 1773.

BONZE, s. A term long applied by Europeans in China to the Buddhist clergy, but originating with early visitors to Japan. Its origin is however not quite clear. The Chinese _Fán-sēng_, 'a religious person' is in Japanese _bonzi_ or _bonzô_; but Köppen prefers _fă-sze_, 'Teacher of the Law,' pron. in Japanese _bo-zi_ (_Die Rel. des Buddha_, i. 321, and also Schott's _Zur Litt. des Chin. Buddhismus_, 1873, p. 46). It will be seen that some of the old quotations favour one, and some the other, of these sources. On the other hand, _Bandhya_ (for Skt. _vandya_, 'to whom worship or reverence is due, very reverend') seems to be applied in Nepal to the Buddhist clergy, and Hodgson considers the Japanese bonze (_bonzô?_) traceable to this. (_Essays_, 1874, p. 63.) The same word, as _bandhe_ or _bande_, is in Tibetan similarly applied.—(See _Jaeschke's Dict._, p. 365.) The word first occurs in Jorge Alvarez's account of Japan, and next, a little later, in the letters of St. Francis Xavier. Cocks in his Diary uses forms approaching _boze_.

1549.—"I find the common secular people here less impure and more
obedient to reason than their priests, whom they call BONZOS."—_Letter of
St. F. Xavier_, in _Coleridge's Life_, ii. 238.

1552.—"Erubescunt enim, et incredibiliter confunduntur BONZII, ubi male
cohaerere, ac pugnare inter sese ea, quae docent, palam
ostenditur."—_Scti. Fr. Xaverii Epistt._ V. xvii., ed. 1667.

1572.—"... sacerdotes ... qui ipsorum linguâ BONZII appellantur."—_E.
Acosta_, 58.

1585.—"They have amongst them (in Japan) many priests of their idols whom
they call BONSOS, of the which there be great convents."—_Parkes's Tr. of
Mendoza_ (1589), ii. 300.

1590.—"This doctrine doe all they embrace, which are in China called
_Cen_, but with us at Iapon are named BONZI."—_An Exct. Treatise of the
Kingd. of China, &c., Hakl._ ii. 580.

c. 1606.—"Capt. Saris has BONZEES."—_Purchas_, i. 374.

1618.—"And their is 300 BOZE (or pagon pristes) have alowance and
mentaynance for eaver to pray for his sole, in the same sorte as munkes
and fryres use to doe amongst the Roman papistes."—_Cocks's Diary_, ii.
75; [in i. 117, BOSE]; BOSSES (i. 143).

[1676.—"It is estimated that there are in this country (Siam) more than
200,000 priests called BONZES."—_Tavernier_, ed. _Ball_, ii. 293.]

1727.—"... or perhaps make him fadge in a China BONZEE in his Calendar,
under the name of a Christian Saint."—_A. Hamilton_, i. 253.

1794-7.—

"Alike to me encas'd in Grecian bronze
Koran or Vulgate, Veda, Priest, or BONZE."
_Pursuits of Literature_, 6th ed., p. 335.

c. 1814.—

"While Fum deals in Mandarins, BONZES, Bohea—
Peers, Bishops, and Punch, Hum—are sacred to thee."
_T. Moore, Hum and Fum._

[(1) BORA, BOORA, s. Beng. _bhada_, a kind of cargo-boat used in the rivers of Bengal.

[1675.—"About noone overtook the eight BORAES."—_Hedges, Diary_, Hak.
Soc. ii. ccxxxvii.

[1680.—"The BOORA ... being a very floaty light boat, rowinge with 20 to
30 Owars, these carry Salt Peeter and other goods from Hugly downewards,
and some trade to Dacca with salt; they also serve for tow boats for ye
ships bound up or downe ye river."—_Ibid._ ii. 15.]

(2) BORA s. H. and Guz. _bohrā_ and _bohorā_, which H. H. Wilson refers to the Skt. _vyavahārī_, 'a trader, or man of affairs,' from which are formed the ordinary H. words _byoharā_, _byohariyā_ (and a Guzerati form which comes very near _bohorā_). This is confirmed by the quotation from Nurullah below, but it is not quite certain. Dr. John Wilson (see below) gives an Arabic derivation which we have been unable to verify. [There can be no reasonable doubt that this is incorrect.]

There are two classes of Bohrās belonging to different Mohammedan sects, and different in habit of life.

1. The Shī'a _Bohrās_, who are essentially townspeople, and especially congregate in Surat, Burhanpur, Ujjain, &c. They are those best known far and wide by the name, and are usually devoted to trading and money-lending. Their original seat was in Guzerat, and they are most numerous there, and in the Bombay territory generally, but are also to be found in various parts of Central India and the N.-W. Provinces, [where they are all Hindus]. The word in Bombay is often used as synonymous with pedlar or BOXWALLAH. They are generally well-to-do people, keeping very cleanly and comfortable houses. [See an account of them in _Forbes, Or. Mem._ i. 470 _seqq._ 2nd ed.] These BOHRAS appear to form one of the numerous Shī'a sects, akin in character to, and apparently of the same origin as, the Ismāīlīyah (or _Assassins_ of the Middle Ages), and claim as their original head and doctor in India one Ya'ḳūb, who emigrated from Egypt, and landed in Cambay A.D. 1137. But the chief seat of the doctrine is alleged to have been in Yemen, till that country was conquered by the Turks in 1538. A large exodus of the sect to India then took place. Like the Ismāīlīs they attach a divine character to their Mullah or chief Pontiff, who now resides at Surat. They are guided by him in all things, and they pay him a percentage on their profits. But there are several sectarian subdivisions: _Dāūdi_ Bohrās, _Sulaimāni_ Bohrās, &c. [See _Forbes, Rās Mālā_, ed. 1878, p. 264 _seqq._]

2. The Sunni _Bohrās_. These are very numerous in the Northern Concan and Guzerat. They are essentially peasants, sturdy, thrifty, and excellent cultivators, retaining much of Hindu habit; and are, though they have dropped caste distinctions, very exclusive and "denominational" (as the _Bombay Gazetteer_ expresses it). Exceptionally, at Pattan, in Baroda State, there is a rich and thriving community of trading Bohrās of the Sunni section; they have no intercourse with their Shī'a namesakes.

The history of the Bohrās is still very obscure; nor does it seem ascertained whether the two sections were originally one. Some things indicate that the Shī'a Bohrās may be, in accordance with their tradition, in some considerable part of foreign descent, and that the Sunni Bohrās, who are unquestionably of Hindu descent, may have been native converts of the foreign immigrants, afterwards forcibly brought over to Sunnism by the Guzerat Sultans. But all this must be said with much reserve. The history is worthy of investigation.

The quotation from Ibn Batuta, which refers to Gandari on the Baroda river, south of Cambay, alludes most probably to the Bohrās, and may perhaps, though not necessarily, indicate an origin for the name different from either of those suggested.

c. 1343.—"When we arrived at Ḳandahār ... we received a visit from the
principal Musulmans dwelling at his (the pagan King's) Capital, such as
the _Children of Khojah_ BOHRAH, among whom was the Nākhoda Ibrahīm, who
had 6 vessels belonging to him."—_Ibn Batuta_, iv. 58.

c. 1620.—Nurullah of Shuster, quoted by Colebrooke, speaks of this class
as having been converted to Islam 300 years before. He says also: "Most
of them subsist by commerce and mechanical trades; as is indicated by the
name BOHRAH, which signifies 'merchant' in the dialect of Gujerat."—In
_As. Res._, vii. 338.

1673.—"... The rest (of the Mohammedans) are adopted under the name of
the Province or Kingdom they are born in, as _Mogul_ ... or Schisms they
have made, as _Bilhim_, _Jemottee_, and the lowest of all is
BORRAH."—_Fryer_, 93.

c. 1780.—"Among the rest was the whole of the property of a certain
Muhammad Mokrim, a man of the BOHRA tribe, the Chief of all the
merchants, and the owner of three or four merchant ships."—_H. of Hydur
Naik_, 383.

1810.—"The BORAHS are an inferior set of travelling merchants. The inside
of a _Borah's_ box is like that of an English country shop,
spelling-books, prayer-books, lavender water, eau de luce, soap, tapes,
scissors, knives, needles, and thread make but a small part of the
variety."—_Maria Graham_, 33.

1825.—"The BORAS (at Broach) in general are unpopular, and held in the
same estimation for parsimony that the Jews are in England."—_Heber_, ed.
1844, ii. 119; also see 72.

1853.—"I had the pleasure of baptizing Ismail Ibraim, the first BOHORÁ
who, as far as we know, has yet embraced Christianity in India.... He
appears thoroughly divorced from Muhammad, and from 'Ali the son-in-law
of Muhammad, whom the _Bohorás_ or _Initiated_, according to the meaning
of the Arabic word, from which the name is derived, esteem as an
improvement on his father-in-law, having a higher degree of inspiration,
which has in good measure, as they imagine, manifested itself among his
successors, recognised by the BOHORAS and by the Ansariyah, Ismaeliyah,
Drus, and Metawileh of Syria...."—_Letter of Dr. John Wilson_, in _Life_,
p. 456.

1863.—"... India, between which and the north-east coast of Africa, a
considerable trade is carried on, chiefly by BORAH merchants of Guzerat
and Cutch."—_Badger, Introd. to Varthema_, Hak. Soc. xlix.

BORNEO, n.p. This name, as applied to the great Island in its entirety, is taken from that of the capital town of the chief Malay State existing on it when it became known to Europeans, _Bruné_, _Burné_, _Brunai_, or _Burnai_, still existing and known as _Brunei_.

1516.—"In this island much camphor for eating is gathered, and the
Indians value it highly.... This island is called BORNEY."—_Barbosa_,
203-4.

1521.—"The two ships departed thence, and running among many islands came
on one which contained much cinnamon of the finest kind. And then again
running among many islands they came to the Island of BORNEO, where in
the harbour they found many junks belonging to merchants from all the
parts about Malacca, who make a great mart in that BORNEO."—_Correa_, ii.
631.

1584.—"Camphora from BRIMEO (misreading probably for BRUNEO) neare to
China."—_Barret_, in _Hakl._ ii. 412.

[1610.—"BORNELAYA are with white and black quarls, like checkers, such as
Polingknytsy are."—_Danvers, Letters_, i. 72.]

The cloth called BORNELAYA perhaps took its name from this island.

[ " "There is brimstone, pepper, BOURNESH camphor."—_Danvers,
Letters_, i. 79.]

1614.—In _Sainsbury_, i. 313 [and in _Foster, Letters_, ii. 94], it is
written BURNEA.

1727.—"The great island of BORNEW or BORNEO, the largest except
_California_ in the known world."—_A. Hamilton_, ii. 44.

BORO-BODOR, or -BUDUR, n.p. The name of a great Buddhistic monument of Indian character in the district of Kadū in Java; one of the most remarkable in the world. It is a quasi-pyramidal structure occupying the summit of a hill, which apparently forms the core of the building. It is quadrangular in plan, the sides, however, broken by successive projections; each side of the basement, 406 feet. Including the basement, it rises in six successive terraces, four of them forming corridors, the sides of which are panelled with bas-reliefs, which Mr. Fergusson calculated would, if extended in a single line, cover three miles of ground. These represent scenes in the life of Sakya Muni, scenes from the Jātakas, or pre-existences of Sakya, and other series of Buddhistic groups. Above the corridors the structure becomes circular, rising in three shallower stages, bordered with small dagobas (72 in number), and a large dagoba crowns the whole. The 72 dagobas are hollow, built in a kind of stone lattice, and each contains, or has contained, within, a stone Buddha in the usual attitude. In niches of the corridors also are numerous Buddhas larger than life, and about 400 in number. Mr. Fergusson concludes from various data that this wonderful structure must date from A.D. 650 to 800.

This monument is not mentioned in Valentijn's great History of the Dutch Indies (1726), nor does its name ever seem to have reached Europe till Sir Stamford Raffles, the British Lieut.-Governor of Java, visited the district in January 1814. The structure was then covered with soil and vegetation, even with trees of considerable size. Raffles caused it to be cleared, and drawings and measurements to be made. His _History of Java_, and Crawfurd's _Hist. of the Indian Archipelago_, made it known to the world. The Dutch Government, in 1874, published a great collection of illustrative plates, with a descriptive text.

The meaning of the name by which this monument is known in the neighbourhood has been much debated. Raffles writes it _Bóro Bódo_ [_Hist. of Java_, 2nd ed., ii. 30 _seqq._]. [Crawfurd, _Descr. Dict._ (s.v.), says: "_Boro_ is, in Javanese, the name of a kind of fish-trap, and _budor_ may possibly be a corruption of the Sanscrit _buda_, 'old.'"] The most probable interpretation, and accepted by Friedrich and other scholars of weight, is that of '_Myriad Buddhas_.' This would be in some analogy to another famous Buddhist monument in a neighbouring district, at Brambánan, which is called _Chandi Sewu_, or the "Thousand Temples," though the number has been really 238.

BOSH, s. and interj. This is alleged to be taken from the Turkish _bosh_, signifying "empty, vain, useless, void of sense, meaning or utility" (_Redhouse's Dict._). But we have not been able to trace its history or first appearance in English. [According to the _N.E.D._ the word seems to have come into use about 1834 under the influence of Morier's novels, _Ayesha_, _Hajji Baba_, &c. For various speculations on its origin see 5 ser. _N. & Q._ iii. 114, 173, 257.

[1843.—"The people flatter the Envoy into the belief that the tumult is
BASH (nothing)."—_Lady Sale, Journal_, 47.]

BOSMÁN, BOCHMÁN, s. Boatswain. Lascar's H. (_Roebuck_).

BOTICKEER, s. Port. _botiqueiro_. A shop or stall-keeper. (See BOUTIQUE.)

1567.—"Item, pareceo que ... os BOTIQUEIROS não tenhão as BUTICAS apertas
nos dias de festa, senão depois la messa da terça."—Decree 31 of Council
of Goa, in _Archiv. Port. Orient._, fasc. 4.

1727.—"... he past all over, and was forced to relieve the poor
BOTICKEERS or Shopkeepers, who before could pay him Taxes."—_A.
Hamilton_, i. 268.

BO TREE, s. The name given in Ceylon to the Pipal tree (see PEEPUL) as reverenced by the Buddhists; Singh. _bo-gās_. See in _Emerson Tennent_ (_Ceylon_, ii. 632 _seqq._), a chronological series of notices of the Bo-tree from B.C. 288 to A.D. 1739.

1675.—"Of their (the Veddas') worship there is little to tell, except
that like the Cingaleze, they set round the high trees BOGAS, which our
people call _Pagod-trees_, with a stone base and put lamps upon
it."—_Ryklof Van Goens_, in _Valentijn_ (Ceylon), 209.

1681.—"I shall mention but one Tree more as famous and highly set by as
any of the rest, if not more so, tho' it bear no fruit, the benefit
consisting chiefly in the Holiness of it. This tree they call BOGAHAH; we
the _God-tree_."—_Knox_, 18.

BOTTLE-TREE, s. Qu. _Adansonia digitata_, or 'baobab'? Its aspect is somewhat suggestive of the name, but we have not been able to ascertain. [It has also been suggested that it refers to the BABOOL, on which the BAYA, often builds its nest. "These are formed in a very ingenious manner, by long grass woven together in the shape of a BOTTLE." _Forbes, Or. Mem._, 2nd ed., i. 33.)]

1880.—"Look at this prisoner slumbering peacefully under the suggestive
BOTTLE-TREE."—_Ali Baba_, 153.

[BOUND-HEDGE, s. A corruption of _boundary-hedge_, and applied in old military writers to the thick plantation of bamboo or prickly-pear which used to surround native forts.

1792.—"A BOUND HEDGE, formed of a wide belt of thorny plants (at
Seringapatam)."—_Wilks, Historical Sketches_, iii. 217.]

BOUTIQUE, s. A common word in Ceylon and the Madras Presidency (to which it is now peculiar) for a small native shop or booth: Port. _butica_ or _boteca_. From Bluteau (Suppt.) it would seem that the use of _butica_ was peculiar to Portuguese India.

[1548.—BUTICAS. See quotation under SIND.]

1554.—"... nas quaes BUTICAS ninguem pode vender senão os que se
concertam com o Rendeiro."—_Botelho, Tombo do Estado da India_, 50.

c. 1561.—"The Malabars who sold in the BOTECAS."—_Correa_, i. 2, 267.

1739.—"That there are many BATTECAS built close under the
Town-wall."—_Remarks on Fortfns. of Fort St. George_, in _Wheeler_, iii.
188.

1742.—In a grant of this date the word appears as BUTTECA.—_Selections
from Records of S. Arcot District_, ii. 114.

1767.—"Mr. Russell, as Collector-General, begs leave to represent to the
Board that of late years the Street by the river side ... has been
greatly encroached upon by a number of GOLAHS, little straw huts, and
BOUTIQUES...."—In _Long_, 501.

1772.—"... a BOUTIQUE merchant having died the 12th inst., his widow was
desirous of being burnt with his body."—_Papers relating to E. I.
Affairs_, 1821, p. 268.

1780.—"You must know that Mrs. Henpeck ... is a great buyer of Bargains,
so that she will often go out to the Europe Shops and the BOUTIQUES, and
lay out 5 or 600 Rupees in articles that we have not the least occasion
for."—_India Gazette_, Dec. 9.

1782.—"For Sale at No. 18 of the range BOTIQUES to the northward of
Lyon's Buildings, where MUSTERS (q.v.) may be seen...." _India Gazette_,
Oct. 12.

1834.—"The BOUTIQUES are ranged along both sides of the street."—_Chitty,
Ceylon Gazetteer_, 172.

BOWLA, s. A portmanteau. H. _bāolā_, from Port. _baul_, and _bahu_, 'a trunk.'

BOWLY, BOWRY, s. H. _bāolī_, and _bāorī_, Mahr. _bāvaḍi_. C. P. Brown (_Zillah Dict._ s.v.) says it is the Telegu _bāviḍi_; _bāvī_ and _bāviḍi_, = 'well.' This is doubtless the same word, but in all its forms it is probably connected with Skt. _vavra_, 'a hole, a well,' or with _vāpi_, 'an oblong reservoir, a pool or lake.' There is also in Singhalese _væva_, 'a lake or pond,' and in inscriptions _vaviya_. There is again Maldivian _weu_, 'a well,' which comes near the Guzerati forms mentioned below. A great and deep rectangular well (or tank dug down to the springs), furnished with a descent to the water by means of long flights of steps, and generally with landings and _loggie_ where travellers may rest in the shade. This kind of structure, almost peculiar to Western and Central India, though occasionally met with in Northern India also, is a favourite object of private native munificence, and though chiefly beneath the level of the ground, is often made the subject of most effective architecture. Some of the finest specimens are in Guzerat, where other forms of the word appear to be _wāo_ and _wāīn_. One of the most splendid of these structures is that at Asārwa in the suburbs of Ahmedabad, known as the Well of Dhāī (or 'the Nurse') Harīr, built in 1485 by a lady of the household of Sultan Mohammed Bigara (that famous 'Prince of Cambay' celebrated by Butler—see under CAMBAY), at a cost of 3 lakhs of rupees. There is an elaborate model of a great Guzerati _bāolī_ in the Indian Museum at S. Kensington.

We have seen in the suburbs of Palermo a regular _bāolī_, excavated in the tufaceous rock that covers the plain. It was said to have been made at the expense of an ancestor of the present proprietor (Count Ranchibile) to employ people in a time of scarcity.

c. 1343.—"There was also a BĀĪN, a name by which the Indians designate a
very spacious kind of well, revetted with stone, and provided with steps
for descent to the water's brink. Some of these wells have in the middle
and on each side pavilions of stone, with seats and benches. The Kings
and chief men of the country rival each other in the construction of such
reservoirs on roads that are not supplied with water."—_Ibn Batuta_, iv.
13.

1526.—"There was an empty space within the fort (of Agra) between
Ibrahim's palace and the ramparts. I directed a large WÂIN to be
constructed on it, ten gez by ten. In the language of Hindostân they
denominate a large well having a staircase down it WÂIN."—_Baber, Mem._,
342.

1775.—"Near a village called Sevasee Contra I left the line of march to
sketch a remarkable building ... on a near approach I discerned it to be
a well of very superior workmanship, of that kind which the natives call
BHOUREE or BHOULIE."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ ii. 102; [2nd ed. i. 387].

1808.—"'Who-so digs a well deserves the love of creatures and the grace
of God,' but a VAVIDEE is said to value 10 _Kooas_ (or wells) because the
water is available to bipeds without the aid of a rope."—_R. Drummond,
Illustrations of Guzerattee, &c._

1825.—"These BOOLEES are singular contrivances, and some of them
extremely handsome and striking...."—_Heber_, ed. 1844, ii. 37.

1856.—"The WĀV (Sansk. _wápeeká_) is a large edifice of a picturesque and
stately as well as peculiar character. Above the level of the ground a
row of four or five open pavilions at regular distances from each other
... is alone visible.... The entrance to the WĀV is by one of the end
pavilions."—_Forbes, Rās Mālā_, i. 257; [reprint 1878, p. 197].

1876.—"To persons not familiar with the East such an architectural object
as a BOWLEE may seem a strange perversion of ingenuity, but the grateful
coolness of all subterranean apartments, especially when accompanied by
water, and the quiet gloom of these recesses, fully compensate in the
eyes of the Hindu for the more attractive magnificence of the ghâts.
Consequently the descending flights of which we are now speaking, have
often been more elaborate and expensive pieces of architecture than any
of the buildings above-ground found in their vicinity."—_Fergusson,
Indian and Eastern Architecture_, 486.

BOXWALLAH, s. Hybrid H. _Bakas-_ (_i.e._ box) _wālā_. A native itinerant pedlar, or _packman_, as he would be called in Scotland by an analogous term. The _Boxwālā_ sells cutlery, cheap nick-nacks, and small wares of all kinds, chiefly European. In former days he was a welcome visitor to small stations and solitary bungalows. The BORĀ of Bombay is often a _boxwālā_, and the _boxwālā_ in that region is commonly called _Borā_. (See BORA.)

BOY, s.

A. A servant. In Southern India and in China a native personal servant is so termed, and is habitually summoned with the vocative 'BOY!' The same was formerly common in Jamaica and other W. I. Islands. Similar uses are familiar of _puer_ (_e.g._ in the Vulgate _Dixit Giezi_ puer _Viri Dei_. II Kings v. 20), Ar. _walad_, παιδάριον, _garçon_, _knave_ (Germ. _Knabe_); and this same word is used for a camp-servant in Shakespeare, where Fluelen says: "Kill the POYS and the luggage! 'tis expressly against the laws of arms."—See also _Grose's Mil. Antiquities_, i. 183, and Latin quotation from Xavier under CONICOPOLY. The word, however, came to be especially used for 'Slave-boy,' and applied to slaves of any age. The Portuguese used _moço_ in the same way. In 'Pigeon English' also 'servant' is _Boy_, whilst 'boy' in our ordinary sense is discriminated as '_smallo-boy_!'

B. A Palankin-bearer. From the name of the caste, Telug. and Malayāl. _bōyi_, Tam. _bōvi_, &c. Wilson gives _bhoi_ as H. and Mahr. also. The word is in use northward at least to the Nerbudda R. In the Konkan, people of this class are called _Kahār bhūī_ (see _Ind. Ant._ ii. 154, iii. 77). P. Paolino is therefore in error, as he often is, when he says that the word _boy_ as applied by the English and other Europeans to the coolies or _facchini_ who carry the dooly, "has nothing to do with any Indian language." In the first and third quotations (under B), the use is more like A, but any connection with English at the dates seems impossible.

A.—

1609.—"I bought of them a _Portugall_ BOY (which the Hollanders had given
unto the King) ... hee cost mee fortie-five Dollers."—_Keeling_, in
_Purchas_, i. 196.

" "My BOY Stephen Grovenor."—_Hawkins_, in _Purchas_, 211. See also
267, 296.

1681.—"We had a _black_ BOY my Father brought from Porto Nova to attend
upon him, who seeing his Master to be a Prisoner in the hands of the
People of his own Complexion, would not now obey his Command."—_Knox_,
124.

1696.—"Being informed where the Chief man of the Choultry lived, he (Dr.
Brown) took his sword and pistol, and being followed by his BOY with
another pistol, and his horse keeper...."—In _Wheeler_, i. 300.

1784.—"_Eloped._ From his master's House at Moidapore, a few days since,
A Malay Slave BOY."—In _Seton-Karr_, i. 45; see also pp. 120, 179.

1836.—"The real Indian ladies lie on a sofa, and if they drop their
handkerchief, they just lower their voices and say BOY! in a very gentle
tone."—_Letters from Madras_, 38.

1866.—"Yes, Sahib, I Christian BOY. Plenty poojah do. Sunday time never
no work do."—_Trevelyan, The Dawk Bungalow_, p. 226.

Also used by the French in the East:

1872.—"Mon BOY m'accompagnait pour me servir à l'occasion de guide et
d'interprète."—_Rev. des Deux Mondes_, xcviii. 957.

1875.—"He was a faithful servant, or BOY, as they are here called, about
forty years of age."—_Thomson's Malacca_, 228.

1876.—"A Portuguese BOY ... from Bombay."—_Blackwood's Mag._, Nov., p.
578.

B.—

1554.—(At Goa) "also to a _naique_, with 6 _peons_ (_piães_) and a
_mocadam_ with 6 torch-bearers (_tochas_), one umbrella BOY (_hum_ BÓY
_do sombreiro_), two washermen (_mainatos_), 6 water-carriers (BÓYS
_d'aguoa_) all serving the governor ... in all 280 pardaos and 4 tangas
annually, or 84,240 reis."—_S. Botelho, Tombo_, 57.

[1563.—"And there are men who carry this umbrella so dexterously to ward
off the sun, that although their master trots on his horse, the sun does
not touch any part of his body, and such men are called in India
BOI."—_Barros_, Dec. 3, Bk. x. ch. 9.]

1591.—A proclamation of the viceroy, Matthias d'Alboquerque, orders:
"that no person, of what quality or condition soever, shall go in a
_palanquim_ without my express licence, save they be over 60 years of
age, to be first proved before the Auditor-General of Police ... and
those who contravene this shall pay a penalty of 200 cruzados, and
persons of mean estate the half, the _palanquys_ and their belongings to
be forfeited, and the BOIS or mouços who carry such _palanquys_ shall be
condemned to his Majesty's galleys."—_Archiv. Port. Orient._, fasc. 3,
324.

1608-10.—"... faisans les graues et obseruans le _Sossiego_ à
l'Espagnole, ayans tousiours leur BOAY qui porte leur parasol, sans
lequel ils n'osent sortir de logis, ou autrement on les estimeroit
_picaros_ et miserables."—_Mocquet, Voyages_, 305.

1610.—"... autres Gentils qui sont comme Crocheteurs et Porte-faix,
qu'ils appellent BOYE, c'est a dire Bœuf pour porter quelque pesãt faix
que ce soit."—_Pyrard de Laval_, ii. 27; [Hak. Soc. ii. 44. On this Mr.
Gray notes: "Pyrard's fanciful interpretation 'ox,' Port. _boi_, may be
due either to himself or to some Portuguese friend who would have his
joke. It is repeated by Boullaye-de-Gouz (p. 211), who finds a parallel
indignity in the use of the term _mulets_ by the French gentry towards
their chair-men."]

1673.—"We might recite the Coolies ... and _Palenkeen_ BOYS; by the very
Heathens esteemed a degenerate Offspring of the _Holencores_ (see
HALALCORE)."—_Fryer_, 34.

1720.—"BOIS. In Portuguese India are those who carry the _Andores_ (see
ANDOR), and in Salsete there is a village of them which pays its dues
from the fish which they sell, buying it from the fishermen of the
shores."—_Bluteau, Dict._ s.v.

1755-60.—"... Palankin-BOYS."—_Ives_, 50.

1778.—"BOYS _de palanquim_, Kàhàr."—_Gramatica Indostana_ (Port.), Roma,
86.

1782.—"... un bambou arqué dans le milieu, qui tient au palanquin, et sur
les bouts duquel se mettent 5 ou 6 porteurs qu'on appelle
BOUÉS."—_Sonnerat, Voyage_, i. 58.

1785.—"The BOYS with Colonel Lawrence's palankeen having straggled a
little out of the line of march, were picked up by the
Morattas."—_Carraccioli, Life of Clive_, i. 207.

1804.—"My palanquin BOYS will be laid on the road on
Monday."—_Wellington_, iii. 553.

1809.—"My BOYS were in high spirits, laughing and singing through the
whole night."—_Ld. Valentia_, i. 326.

1810.—"The palankeen-bearers are called BHOIS, and are remarkable for
strength and swiftness."—_Maria Graham_, 128.

BOYA, s. A buoy. Sea H. (_Roebuck_). [Mr. Skeat adds: "The Malay word is also _boya_ or _bai-rop_, which latter I cannot trace."]

[BOYANORE, BAONOR, s. A corr. of the Malayāl. _Vāllunavar_, 'Ruler.'

[1887.—"Somewhere about 1694-95 ... the Kadattunād Raja, known to the
early English as the BOYANORE or BAONOR of Badagara, was in
semi-independent possession of Kaduttanād, that is, of the territory
lying between the Mahé and Kōtta rivers."—_Logan, Man. of Malabar_, i.
345.]

BRAB, s. The Palmyra Tree (see PALMYRA) or _Borassus flabelliformis_. The Portuguese called this Palmeira BRAVA ('wild' palm), whence the English corruption. The term is unknown in Bengal, where the tree is called 'fan-palm,' 'palmyra,' or by the H. name _tāl_ or _tār_.

1623.—"The book is made after the fashion of this country, _i.e._ not of
paper which is seldom or never used, but of palm leaves, viz. of the
leaves of that which the Portuguese call _palmum_ BRAMA (_sic_), or wild
palm."—_P. della Valle_, ii. 681; [Hak. Soc. ii. 291].

c. 1666.—"Tous les Malabares écrivent comme nous de gauche à droit sur
les feuïlles des _Palmeras_ BRAVAS."—_Thevenot_, v. 268.

1673.—"Another Tree called BRABB, bodied like the Cocoe, but the leaves
grow round like a Peacock's Tail set upright."—_Fryer_, 76.

1759.—"BRABB, so called at Bombay: _Palmira_ on the coast; and _Tall_ at
Bengal."—_Ives_, 458.

c. 1760.—"There are also here and there interspersed a few BRAB-trees, or
rather wild palm-trees (the word _brab_ being derived from BRABO, which
in Portuguese signifies wild) ... the chief profit from that is the
toddy."—_Grose_, i. 48.

[1808.—See quotation under BANDAREE.]

1809.—"The _Palmyra_ ... here called the BRAB, furnishes the best leaves
for thatching, and the dead ones serve for fuel."—_Maria Graham_, 5.

BRAHMIN, BRAHMAN, BRAMIN, s. In some parts of India called _Bahman_; Skt. _Brāhmaṇa_. This word now means a member of the priestly caste, but the original meaning and use were different. Haug, (_Brahma und die Brahmanen_, pp. 8-11) traces the word to the root _brih_, 'to increase,' and shows how it has come to have its present signification. The older English form is BRACHMAN, which comes to us through the Greek and Latin authors.

c. B.C. 330.—"... τῶν ἐν Ταξίλοις σοφιστῶν ἰδεῖν δύο φησὶ, Βραχμᾶνας
ἀμφοτέρους, τὸν μὲν πρεσβύτερον ἐξυρημένον, τὸν δὲ νεώτερον κομήτην,
ἀμφοτέροις δ' ἀκολουθεῖν μαθητάς...."—_Aristobulus_, quoted in _Strabo_,
xv. c. 61.

c. B.C. 300.—"Ἄλλην δὲ διαίρεσιν ποιεῖται περὶ τῶν φιλοσόφων δύο γενη
φάσκων, ὥν τοὺς μὲν Βραχμᾶνας καλεῖ, τοὺς δὲ Γαρμάνας [Σαρμάνας?]"—From
_Megasthenes_, in _Strabo_, xv. c. 59.

c. A.D. 150.—"But the evil stars have not forced the BRAHMINS to do evil
and abominable things; nor have the good stars persuaded the rest of the
(Indians) to abstain from evil things."—_Bardesanes_, in _Cureton's
Spicilegium_, 18.

c. A.D. 500.—"Βραχμᾶνες; Ἰνδικὸν ἔθνος σοφώτατον οὓς καὶ βράχμας
καλοῦσιν."—_Stephanus Byzantinus._

1298.—Marco Polo writes (pl.) ABRAIAMAN or _Abraiamin_, which seems to
represent an incorrect Ar. plural (_e.g._ _Abrāhamīn_) picked up from
Arab sailors; the correct Ar. plural is _Barāhima_.

1444.—Poggio taking down the reminiscences of Nicolo Conti writes
BRAMMONES.

1555.—"Among these is ther a people called BRACHMANES, whiche (as Didimus
their Kinge wrote unto Alexandre ...) live a pure and simple life, led
with no likerous lustes of other mennes vanities."—_W. Watreman, Fardle
of Faciouns_.

1572.—

"BRAHMENES são os seus religiosos,
Nome antiguo, e de grande preeminencia:
Observam os preceitos tão famosos
D'hum, que primeiro poz nomo á sciencia."
_Camões_, vii. 40.

1578.—Acosta has BRAGMEN.

1582.—"Castañeda, tr. by N. L.," has _Bramane_.

1630.—"The BRAMANES ... Origen, cap. 13 & 15, affirmeth to bee descended
from Abraham by Cheturah, who seated themselves in India, and that so
they were called ABRAHMANES."—_Lord, Desc. of the Banian Rel._, 71.

1676.—

"Comes he to upbraid us with his innocence?
Seize him, and take this preaching BRACHMAN hence."
_Dryden, Aurungzebe_, iii. 3.

1688.—"The public worship of the pagods was tolerated at Goa, and the
sect of the BRACHMANS daily increased in power, because these Pagan
priests had bribed the Portuguese officers."—_Dryden, Life of Xavier._

1714.—"The Dervis at first made some scruple of violating his promise to
the dying BRACHMAN."—_The Spectator_, No. 578.

BRAHMINY BULL, s. A bull devoted to Śiva and let loose; generally found frequenting Hindu bazars, and fattened by the run of the Bunyas' shops. The term is sometimes used more generally (_Brahminy_ bull, -ox, or -cow) to denote the humped Indian ox as a species.

1872.—"He could stop a huge BRAMINI BULL, when running in fury, by
catching hold of its horns."—_Govinda Samanta_, i. 85.

[1889.—"Herbert Edwards made his mark as a writer of the BRAHMINEE BULL
LETTERS in the Delhi Gazette."—_Calcutta Rev._, app. xxii.]

BRAHMINY BUTTER, s. This seems to have been an old name for GHEE (q.v.). In MS. "Acct. Charges, Dieting, &c., at Fort St. David for Nov.-Jany., 1746-47," in India Office, we find:

"BUTTER _Pagodas_ 2 2 0
BRAHMINY do. " 1 34 0."

BRAHMINY DUCK, s. The common Anglo-Indian name of the handsome bird _Casarca rutila_ (Pallas), or 'Ruddy Shieldrake'; constantly seen on the sandy shores of the Gangetic rivers in single pairs, the pair almost always at some distance apart. The Hindi name is _chakwā_, and the _chakwā-chakwī_ (male and female of the species) afford a commonplace comparison in Hindi literature for faithful lovers and spouses. "The Hindus have a legend that two lovers for their indiscretion were transformed into Brahminy Ducks, that they are condemned to pass the night apart from each other, on opposite banks of the river, and that all night long each, in its turn, asks its mate if it shall come across, but the question is always met by a negative—"Chakwa, shall I come?" "No, Chakwi." "Chakwi, shall I come?" "No, Chakwa."—(_Jerdon._) The same author says the bird is occasionally killed in England.

BRAHMINY KITE, s. The _Milvus Pondicerianus_ of Jerdon, _Haliastur Indus_, Boddaert. The name is given because the bird is regarded with some reverence by the Hindus as sacred to Vishnu. It is found throughout India.

c. 1328.—"There is also in this India a certain bird, big, like a KITE,
having a white head and belly, but all red above, which boldly snatches
fish out of the hands of fishermen and other people, and indeed [these
birds] go on just like dogs."—_Friar Jordanus_, 36.

1673.—"... 'tis Sacrilege with them to kill a Cow or Calf; but highly
piacular to shoot a KITE, _dedicated to the_ BRACHMINS, for which Money
will hardly pacify."—_Fryer_, 33.

[1813.—"We had a still bolder and more ravenous enemy in the hawks and
BRAHMINEE KITES."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._, 2nd ed., ii. 162.]

BRAHMO-SOMÁJ, s. The Bengali pronunciation of Skt. _Brahma Samāja_, 'assembly of Brahmists'; Brahma being the Supreme Being according to the Indian philosophic systems. The reform of Hinduism so called was begun by Ram Mohun Roy (_Rāma Mohana Rāī_) in 1830. Professor A. Weber has shown that it does not constitute an independent Indian movement, but is derived from European Theism. [Also see _Monier-Williams, Brahmanism_, 486.]

1876.—"The BRAHMO SOMAJ, or Theistic Church of India, is an experiment
hitherto unique in religious history."—_Collet, Brahmo Year-book_, 5.

BRANDUL, s. 'Backstay,' in Sea H. Port. _brandal_ (_Roebuck_).

BRANDY COORTEE, -COATEE, s. Or sometimes simply _Brandy_. A corruption of _bārānī_, 'a cloak,' literally pluviale, from P. _bārān_, 'rain.' BĀRĀNĪ-KURTĪ seems to be a kind of hybrid shaped by the English word _coat_, though _kurtā_ and _kurtī_ are true P. words for various forms of jacket or tunic.

[1754.—"Their women also being not less than 6000, were dressed with
great coats (these are called BARANNI) of crimson cloth, after the manner
of the men, and not to be distinguished at a distance; so that the whole
made a very formidable appearance."—_H. of Nadir Shah_, in _Hanway_,
367.]

1788.—"BARRANNEE—a cloak to cover one from the rain."—_Ind. Vocab._
(Stockdale).

[The word BĀRĀNĪ is now commonly used to describe those crops which are dependent on the annual rains, not on artificial irrigation.

[1900.—"The recent rain has improved the BARANI crops."—_Pioneer Mail_,
19th Feb.]

BRANDYPAWNEE, s. Brandy and water; a specimen of genuine _Urdū_, _i.e._ Camp jargon, which hardly needs interpretation. H. _panī_, 'water.' Williamson (1810) has _brandy-shraub-pauny_ (_V. M._ ii. 123).

[1854.—"I'm sorry to see you gentlemen drinking BRANDY-PAWNEE," says he;
"it plays the deuce with our young men in India."—_Thackeray, Newcomes_,
ch. i.]

1866.—"The BRANDY PAWNEE of the East, and the 'sangaree' of the West
Indies, are happily now almost things of the past, or exist in a very
modified form."—_Waring, Tropical Resident_, 177.

BRASS, s. A brace. Sea dialect.—(_Roebuck._)

[BRASS-KNOCKER, s. A term applied to a _réchauffé_ or serving up again of yesterday's dinner or supper. It is said to be found in a novel by Winwood Reade called _Liberty Hall_, as a piece of Anglo-Indian slang; and it is supposed to be a corruption of _bāsī khāna_, H. 'stale food'; see 5 ser. _N. & Q._, 34, 77.]

BRATTY, s. A word, used only in the South, for cakes of dry cow-dung, used as fuel more or less all over India. It is Tam. _varaṭṭi_, [or _virāṭṭi_], 'dried dung.' Various terms are current elsewhere, but in Upper India the most common is _uplā_.—(Vide OOPLA).

BRAVA, n.p. A sea-port on the east coast of Africa, lat. 1° 7′ N., long. 44° 3′, properly BARĀWA.

1516.—"... a town of the Moors, well walled, and built of good stone and
whitewash, which is called BRAVA.... It is a place of trade, which has
already been destroyed by the Portuguese, with great slaughter of the
inhabitants...."—_Barbosa_, 15.

BRAZIL-WOOD, s. This name is now applied in trade to the dye-wood imported from Pernambuco, which is derived from certain species of _Caesalpinia_ indigenous there. But it originally applied to a dye-wood of the same genus which was imported from India, and which is now known in trade as SAPPAN (q.v.). [It is the _andam_ or _baḳḳam_ of the Arabs (_Burton, Ar. Nights_, iii. 49).] The history of the word is very curious. For when the name was applied to the newly discovered region in S. America, probably, as Barros alleges, because it produced a dye-wood similar in character to the BRAZIL of the East, the trade-name gradually became appropriated to the S. American product, and was taken away from that of the E. Indies. See some further remarks in _Marco Polo_, 2nd ed., ii. 368-370 [and _Encycl. Bibl._ i. 120].

This is alluded to also by _Camões_ (x. 140):

"But here where Earth spreads wider, ye shall claim
realms by the _ruddy Dye-wood_ made renown'd;
these of the 'Sacred Cross' shall win the name:
by your first Navy shall that world be found."
_Burton._

The medieval forms of _brazil_ were many; in Italian it is generally _verzi_, _verzino_, or the like.

1330.—"And here they burn the BRAZIL-wood (_verzino_) for fuel...."—_Fr.
Odoric_, in _Cathay_, &c., p. 77.

1552.—"... when it came to the 3d of May, and Pedralvares was about to
set sail, in order to give a name to the land thus newly discovered, he
ordered a very great Cross to be hoisted at the top of a tree, after mass
had been said at the foot of the tree, and it had been set up with the
solemn benediction of the priests, and then he gave the country the name
of _Sancta Cruz_.... But as it was through the symbol of the Cross that
the Devil lost his dominion over us ... as soon as the red wood called
BRAZIL began to arrive from that country, he wrought that _that_ name
should abide in the mouth of the people, and that the name of _Holy
Cross_ should be lost, as if the name of a wood for colouring cloth were
of more moment than that wood which imbues all the sacraments with the
tincture of salvation, which is the Blood of Jesus Christ."—_Barros_, I.
v. 2.

1554.—"The baar (BAHAR) of BRAZIL contains 20 faraçolas (see FRAZALA),
weighing it in a coir rope, and there is no _picotaa_ (see PICOTA)"—_A.
Nunes_, 18.

1641.—"We went to see the Rasp-house where the lusty knaves are compelled
to labour, and the rasping of BRAZILL and Logwood is very hard
labour."—_Evelyn's Diary, August [19]._

BREECH-CANDY, n.p. A locality on the shore of Bombay Island to the north of Malabar Hill. The true name, as Dr. Murray Mitchell tells me, is believed to be _Burj-khāḍī_, 'the Tower of the Creek.'

BRIDGEMÁN, s. Anglo-Sepoy H. _brijmān_, denoting a military _prisoner_, of which word it is a quaint corruption.