Chapter XXV: Preface: TO SECOND EDITION xi (22)

CHUPRASSY, s. H. _chaprāsī_, the bearer of a _chaprās_, _i.e._ a badge-plate inscribed with the name of the office to which the bearer is attached. The _chaprāsī_ is an office-messenger, or henchman, bearing such a badge on a cloth or leather belt. The term belongs to the Bengal Presidency. In Madras PEON is the usual term; in Bombay PUTTYWALLA, (H. _paṭṭīwālā_), or "man of the belt." The etymology of _chaprās_ is obscure; [the popular account is that it is a corr. of P. _chap-o-rāst_, 'left and right']; but see _Beames_ (_Comp. Gram._ i. 212), who gives _buckle_ as the original meaning.

1865.—"I remember the days when every servant in my house was a
CHUPRASSEE, with the exception of the Khansaumaun and a Portuguese
Ayah."—_The Dawk Bungalow_, p. 389.

c. 1866.—

"The big Sahib's tent has gone from under the Peepul tree,
With his horde of hungry CHUPRASSEES, and oily sons of the quill—
I paid them the bribe they wanted, and Sheitan will settle the bill."
_Sir A. C. Lyall, The Old Pindaree._

1877.—"One of my CHUPRASSIES or messengers ... was badly
wounded."—_Meadows Taylor, Life_, i. 227.

1880.—"Through this refractory medium the people of India see their
rulers. The CHUPRASSIE paints his master in colours drawn from his own
black heart. Every lie he tells, every insinuation he throws out, every
demand he makes, is endorsed with his master's name. He is the
arch-slanderer of our name in India."—_Ali Baba_, 102-3.

CHURR, s. H. _char_, Skt. _char_, 'to move.' "A sand-bank or island in the current of a river, deposited by the water, claims to which were regulated by the Bengal Reg. xi. 1825" (_Wilson_). A _char_ is new alluvial land deposited by the great rivers as the floods are sinking, and covered with grass, but not necessarily insulated. It is remarkable that Mr. Marsh mentions a very similar word as used for the same thing in Holland. "New sandbank land, covered with grasses, is called in Zeeland _schor_" (_Man and Nature_, p. 339). The etymologies are, however, probably quite apart.

1878.—"In the dry season all the various streams ... are merely silver
threads winding among innumerable sandy islands, the soil of which is
specially adapted for the growth of Indigo. They are called CHURS."—_Life
in the Mofussil_, ii. 3 _seq._

CHURRUCK, s. A wheel or any rotating machine; particularly applied to simple machines for cleaning cotton. Pers. _charkh_, 'the celestial sphere,' 'a wheel of any kind,' &c. Beng. _charak_ is apparently a corruption of the Persian word, facilitated by the nearness of the Skt. _chakra_, &c.

—— POOJAH. Beng. _charak-pūjā_ (see POOJA). The Swinging Festival of the Hindus, held on the sun's entrance into Aries. The performer is suspended from a long yard, traversing round on a mast, by hooks passed through the muscle over the blade-bones, and then whirled round so as to fly out centrifugally. The chief seat of this barbarous display is, or latterly was, in Bengal, but it was formerly prevalent in many parts of India. [It is the SHIRRY (Ca. and Tel. _sidi_, Tam. _shedil_, Tel. _sidi_, 'a hook') of S. India.] There is an old description in Purchas's _Pilgrimage_, p. 1000; also (in Malabar) in A. Hamilton, i. 270; [at Ikkeri, _P. della Valle_, Hak. Soc. ii. 259]; and (at Calcutta) in Heber's _Journal_, quoted below.

c. 1430.—"Alii ad ornandos currus perforato latere, fune per corpus
immisso se ad currum suspendunt, pendentesque et ipsi exanimati idolum
comitantur; id optimum sacrificium putant et acceptissimum deo."—_Conti_,
in _Poggius, De Var. Fortunae_, iv.

[1754.—See a long account of the Bengal rite in _Ives_, 27 _seqq._].

1824.—"The Hindoo Festival of 'CHURRUCK POOJAH' commenced to-day, of
which, as my wife has given an account in her journal, I shall only add a
few particulars."—_Heber_, ed. 1844, i. 57.

CHURRUS, s.

A. H. _charas_. A simple apparatus worked by oxen for drawing water from a well, and discharging it into irrigation channels by means of pulley ropes, and a large bag of hide (H. _charsā_, Skt. _charma_). [See the description in _Forbes, Or. Mem._ 2nd ed. i. 153. Hence the area irrigated from a well.]

[1829.—"To each CHURRUS, _chursa_, or skin of land, there is attached
twenty-five beeghas of irrigated land."—_Tod, Annals_ (Calcutta repr.),
ii. 688.]

B. H. _charas_, [said to be so called because the drug is collected by men who walk with leather aprons through the field]. The resinous exudation of the hemp-plant (_Cannabis Indica_), which is the basis of intoxicating preparations (see BANG, GUNJA).

[1842.—"The Moolah sometimes smoked the intoxicating drug called
CHIRS."—_Elphinstone, Caubul_, i. 344.]

CHUTKARRY, CHATTAGAR, in S. India, a half-caste; Tam. _shaṭṭi-kar_, 'one who wears a waistcoat' (_C. P. B_).

CHUTNY, s. H. _chatnī_. A kind of strong relish, made of a number of condiments and fruits, &c., used in India, and more especially by Mahommedans, and the merits of which are now well known in England. For native _chutny_ recipes, see _Herklots, Qanoon-e-Islam_, 2nd ed. xlvii. _seqq._

1813.—"The CHATNA is sometimes made with cocoa-nut, lime-juice, garlic,
and chillies, and with the pickles is placed in deep leaves round the
large cover, to the number of 30 or 40."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ ii. 50
_seq._; [2nd ed. i. 348].

1820.—"CHITNEE, CHATNEE, some of the hot spices made into a paste, by
being bruised with water, the 'kitchen' of an Indian peasant."—_Acc. of
Township of Loony_, in _Tr. Lit. Soc. Bombay_, ii. 194.

CHUTT, s. H. _chhat_. The proper meaning of the vernacular word is 'a roof or platform.' But in modern Anglo-Indian its usual application is to the coarse cotton sheeting, stretched on a frame and whitewashed, which forms the usual ceiling of rooms in thatched or tiled houses; properly _chādar-chhat_, 'sheet-ceiling.'

CHUTTANUTTY, n.p. This was one of the three villages purchased for the East India Company in 1686, when the agents found their position in Hugli intolerable, to form the settlement which became the city of Calcutta. The other two villages were Calcutta and Govindpūr. Dr. Hunter spells it _Sūtanatī_, but the old Anglo-Indian orthography indicates _Chatānatī_ as probable. In the letter-books of the Factory Council in the India Office the earlier letters from this establishment are lost, but down to 27th March, 1700, they are dated from "CHUTTANUTTE; on and after June 8th, from "Calcutta"; and from August 20th in the same year from "Fort William" in Calcutta. [See _Hedges, Diary_, Hak. Soc. ii. lix.] According to Major Ralph Smyth, Chatānatī occupied "the site of the present native town," _i.e._ the northern quarter of the city. Calcutta stood on what is now the European commercial part; and Govindpūr on the present site of Fort William.[69]

1753.—"The Hoogly Phousdar demanding the payment of the ground rent for 4
months from January, namely:—

R. A. P.
SOOTALOOTA, Calcutta 325 0 0
Govindpoor, Picar 70 0 0
Govindpoor, Calcutta 33 0 0
Buxies 1 8 0

Agreed that the President do pay the same out of cash."—_Consn. Ft.
William_, April 30, in _Long_, 43.

CHUTTRUM, s. Tam. _shattiram_, which is a corruption of Skt. _sattra_, 'abode.' In S. India a house where pilgrims and travelling members of the higher castes are entertained and fed gratuitously for a day or two. [See CHOULTRY, DHURMSALLA.]

1807.—"There are two distinct kinds of buildings confounded by Europeans
under the name of _Choultry_. The first is that called by the natives
CHATURAM, and built for the accommodation of travellers. These ... have
in general pent roofs ... built in the form of a square enclosing a
court.... The other kind are properly built for the reception of images,
when these are carried in procession. These have flat roofs, and consist
of one apartment only, and by the natives are called _Mandapam_....
Besides the CHATURAM and the _Mandapam_, there is another kind of
building which by Europeans is called _Choultry_; in the Tamul language
it is called _Tany Pundal_, or Water Shed ... small buildings where weary
travellers may enjoy a temporary repose in the shade, and obtain a
draught of water or milk."—_F. Buchanan, Mysore_, i. 11, 15.

CINDERELLA'S SLIPPER. A Hindu story on the like theme appears among the Hala Kanara MSS. of the Mackenzie Collection:—

"_Suvarṇadevi_ having dropped her slipper in a reservoir, it was found by
a fisherman of _Kusumakesari_, who sold it to a shopkeeper, by whom it
was presented to the King _Ugrabáhu_. The Prince, on seeing the beauty of
the slipper, fell in love with the wearer, and offered large rewards to
any person who should find and bring her to him. An old woman undertook
the task, and succeeded in tracing the shoe to its owner...."—_Mackenzie
Collection_, by _H. H. Wilson_, ii. 52. [The tale is not uncommon in
Indian folk-lore. See _Miss Cox, Cinderella_ (Folk-lore Soc.), ii. 91,
183, 465, &c.]

CINTRA ORANGES. See ORANGE and SUNGTARA.

CIRCARS, n.p. The territory to the north of the Coromandel Coast, formerly held by the Nizam, and now forming the districts of Kistna, Godávari, Vizagapatam, Ganjám, and a part of Nellore, was long known by the title of "THE CIRCARS," or "NORTHERN CIRCARS" (_i.e._ Governments), now officially obsolete. The Circars of Chicacole (now Vizagapatam Dist.), Rajamandri and Ellore (these two embraced now in Godávari Dist.), with Condapilly (now embraced in Kistna Dist.), were the subject of a grant from the Great Mogul, obtained by Clive in 1765, confirmed by treaty with the Nizam in 1766. Gantūr (now also included in Kistna Dist.) devolved eventually by the same treaty (but did not come permanently under British rule till 1803). [For the history see _Madras Admin. Man._ i. 179.] C. P. Brown says the expression "The Circars" was first used by the French, in the time of Bussy. [Another name for the Northern Circars was the _Carling_ or _Carlingo_ country, apparently a corr. of _Kalinga_ (see KLING), see Pringle, _Diary, &c., of Ft. St. George_, 1st ser. vol. 2, p. 125. (See SIRCAR.)]

1758.—"Il est à remarquer qu'après mon départ d'Ayder Abad, Salabet
Zingue a nommé un _Phosdar_, ou Gouverneur, pour les quatres
CERKARS."—_Mémoire_, by Bussy, in _Lettres de MM. de Bussy, de Lally et
autres_, Paris, 1766, p. 24.

1767.—"Letter from the Chief and Council at Masulipatam ... that in
consequence of orders from the President and Council of Fort St. George
for securing and sending away all vagrant Europeans that might be met
with in the CIRCARS, they have embarked there for this place...."—_Fort
William Consn._, in _Long_, 476 _seq._

1789.—"The most important public transaction ... is the surrender of the
Guntoor CIRCAR to the Company, by which it becomes possessed of the whole
Coast, from Jaggernaut to Cape Comorin. The Nizam made himself master of
that province, soon after Hyder's invasion of the Carnatic, as an
equivalent for the arrears of _peshcush_, due to him by the Company for
the other CIRCARS."—_Letter of T. Munro_, in _Life_ by _Gleig_, i. 70.

1823.—"Although the SIRKÁRS are our earliest possessions, there are none,
perhaps, of which we have so little accurate knowledge in everything that
regards the condition of the people."—_Sir T. Munro_, in _Selections_,
&c., by _Sir A. Arbuthnot_, i. 204.

We know from the preceding quotation what Munro's spelling of the name was.

1836.—"The district called the CIRCARS, in India, is part of the coast
which extends from the Carnatic to Bengal.... The domestic economy of the
people is singular; they inhabit villages (!!), and all labour is
performed by public servants paid from the public stock."—_Phillips,
Million of Facts_, 320.

1878.—"General Sir J. C., C.B., K.C.S.I. He entered the Madras Army in
1820, and in 1834, according to official despatches, displayed 'active
zeal, intrepidity, and judgment' in _dealing with the savage tribes in
Orissa known as the_ CIRCARS"(!!!).—_Obituary Notice_ in _Homeward Mail_,
April 27.

CIVILIAN, s. A term which came into use about 1750-1770, as a designation of the covenanted European servants of the E. I. Company, not in military employ. It is not used by Grose, c. 1760, who was himself of such service at Bombay. [The earliest quotation in the _N.E.D._ is of 1766 from _Malcolm's L. of Clive_, 54.] In Anglo-Indian parlance it is still appropriated to members of the covenanted Civil Service [see COVENANTED SERVANTS]. The _Civil_ Service is mentioned in _Carraccioli's L. of Clive_, (c. 1785), iii. 164. From an early date in the Company's history up to 1833, the members of the Civil Service were classified during the first five years as WRITERS (q.v.), then to the 8th year as FACTORS (q.v.); in the 9th and 11th as _Junior Merchants_; and thenceforward as _Senior Merchants_. These names were relics of the original commercial character of the E. I. Company's transactions, and had long ceased to have any practical meaning at the time of their abolition in 1833, when the Charter Act (3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 85), removed the last traces of the Company's commercial existence.

1848.—(Lady O'Dowd's) "quarrel with Lady Smith, wife of Minos Smith the
puisne Judge, is still remembered by some at Madras, when the Colonel's
lady snapped her fingers in the Judge's lady's face, and said _she'd_
never walk behind ever a beggarly CIVILIAN."—_Vanity Fair_, ed. 1867, ii.
85.

1872.—"You bloated CIVILIANS are never satisfied, retorted the other."—_A
True Reformer_, i. 4.

CLASSY, CLASHY, s. H. _khalāṣī_, usual etym. from Arab _khalāṣ_. A tent-pitcher; also (because usually taken from that class of servants) a man employed as chain-man or staff-man, &c., by a surveyor; a native sailor; or MATROSS (q.v.). _Khalāṣ_ is constantly used in Hindustani in the sense of 'liberation'; thus, of a prisoner, a magistrate says '_khalāṣ karo_,' 'let him go.' But it is not clear how _khalāṣī_ got its ordinary Indian sense. It is also written _khalāshī_, and Vullers has an old Pers. word _khalāsha_ for 'a ship's rudder.' A learned friend suggests that this may be the real origin of _khalāṣī_ in its Indian use. [_Khalāṣ_ also means the 'escape channel of a canal,' and _khalāṣī_ may have been originally a person in charge of such a work.]

1785.—"A hundred CLASHIES have been sent to you from the
presence."—_Tippoo's Letters_, 171.

1801.—"The sepoys in a body were to bring up the rear. Our left flank was
to be covered by the sea, and our right by Gopie Nath's men. Then the
CLASHIES and other armed followers."—_Mt. Stewart Elphinstone_, in
_Life_, i. 27.

1824.—"If the tents got dry, the CLASHEES (tent-pitchers) allowed that we
might proceed in the morning prosperously."—_Heber_, ed. 1844, i. 194.

CLEARING NUT, WATER FILTER NUT, s. The seed of _Strychnos potatorum_, L.; a tree of S. India; [known in N. India as _nirmalā_, _nirmalī_, 'dirt-cleaner']. It is so called from its property of clearing muddy water, if well rubbed on the inside of the vessel which is to be filled.

CLOVE, s. The flower-bud of _Caryophyllum aromaticum_, L., a tree of the Moluccas. The modern English name of this spice is a kind of ellipsis from the French _clous de girofles_, 'Nails of Girofles,' _i.e._ of _garofala_, _caryophylla_, &c., the name by which this spice was known to the ancients; the full old English name was similar, 'clove gillofloure,' a name which, cut in two like a polypus, has formed two different creatures, the clove (or _nail_) being assigned to the spice, and the 'gillyflower' to a familiar clove-smelling flower. The comparison to nails runs through many languages. In Chinese the thing is called _ting-hiang_, or 'nail-spice'; in Persian _mekhak_, 'little nails,' or 'nailkins,' like the German _Nelken_, _Nägelchen_, and _Gewürtz-nagel_ (spice nail).

[1602-3.—"Alsoe be carefull to gett together all the CLOUES you
can."—_Birdwood, First Letter Book_, 36.]

COAST, THE, n.p. This term in books of the 18th century means the 'Madras or Coromandel Coast,' and often 'the Madras Presidency.' It is curious to find Παραλία, "the Shore," applied in a similar specific way, in Ptolemy, to the coast near Cape Comorin. It will be seen that the term "_Coast_ Army," for "Madras Army," occurs quite recently. The Persian rendering of _Coast_ Army by _Bandarī_ below is curious.

1781.—"Just imported from the COAST ... a very fine assortment of the
following cloths."—_India Gazette_, Sept. 15.

1793.—"Unseduced by novelty, and uninfluenced by example, the belles of
the COAST have courage enough to be unfashionable ... and we still see
their charming tresses flow in luxuriant ringlets."—_Hugh Boyd_, 78.

1800.—"I have only 1892 COAST and 1200 Bombay sepoys."—_Wellington_, i.
227.

1802.—"From Hydurabád also, Colonels Roberts and Dalrymple, with 4000 of
the Bunduri or COAST sipahees."—_H. of Reign of Tipú Sultán_, E. T. by
_Miles_, p. 253.

1879.—"Is it any wonder then, that the COAST Army has lost its ancient
renown, and that it is never employed, as an army should be, in fighting
the battles of its country, or its employers?"—_Pollok, Sport in Br.
Burmah_, &c., i. 26.

COBANG. See KOBANG.

COBILY MASH, s. This is the dried BONITO (q.v.), which has for ages been a staple of the Maldive Islands. It is still especially esteemed in Achin and other Malay countries. The name is explained below by Pyrard as 'black fish,' and he is generally to be depended on. But the first accurate elucidation has been given by Mr. H. C. P. Bell, of the Ceylon C. S., in the _Indian Antiquary_ for Oct. 1882, p. 294; see also Mr. Bell's _Report on Maldive Islands_, Colombo, 1882, p. 93, where there is an account of the preparation. It is the Maldive _kalu-bili-mās_, 'black-bonito-fish.' The second word corresponds to the Singhalese _balayā_.

c. 1345.—"Its flesh is red, and without fat, but it smells like mutton.
When caught each fish is cut in four, slightly boiled, and then placed in
baskets of palm-leaf, and hung in the smoke. When perfectly dry it is
eaten. From this country it is exported to India, China, and Yemen. It is
called KOLB-AL-MĀS."—_Ibn Batuta_ (on Maldives), iv. 112, also 311.

1578.—"... They eat it with a sort of dried fish, which comes from the
Islands of Maledivia, and resembles jerked beef, and it is called
COMALAMASA."—_Acosta_, 103.

c. 1610.—"Ce poisson qui se prend ainsi, s'apelle generalement en leur
langue COBOLLY MASSE, c'est à dire du poisson noir.... Ils le font cuire
en de l'eau de mer, et puis le font secher au feu sur des clayes, en
sorte qu'estant sec il se garde fort long-temps."—_Pyrard de Laval_, i.
138; see also 141; [Hak. Soc. i. 190 (with _Gray's_ note) and 194].

1727.—"The Bonetta is caught with Hook and Line, or with nets ... they
cut the Fish from the Back-bone on each Side, and lay them in a Shade to
dry, sprinkling them sometimes with Sea Water. When they are dry enough
... they wrap them up in Leaves of Cocoa-nut Trees, and put them a Foot
or two under the Surface of the Sand, and with the Heat of the Sun, they
become baked as hard as Stock-fish, and Ships come from _Atcheen_ ... and
purchase them with Gold-dust. I have seen COMELAMASH (for that is their
name after they are dried) sell at _Atcheen_ for 8L. _Sterl._ per
1000."—_A. Hamilton_, i. 347; [ed. 1744, i. 350].

1783.—"Many Maldivia boats come yearly to Atcheen, and bring chiefly
dried _bonnetta_ in small pieces about two or three ounces; this is a
sort of staple article of commerce, many shops in the _Bazar_ deal in it
only, having large quantities piled up, put in matt bags. It is when
properly cured, hard like horn in the middle; when kept long the worm
gets to it."—_Forrest, V. to Mergui_, 45.

1813.—"The fish called COMMEL MUTCH, so much esteemed in Malabar, is
caught at Minicoy."—_Milburn_, i. 321, also 336.

1841.—"The Sultan of the Maldiva Islands sends an agent or minister every
year to the government of Ceylon with presents consisting of ... a
considerable quantity of dried fish, consisting of _bonitos_,
_albicores_, and fish called by the inhabitants of the Maldivas the black
fish, or COMBOLI MAS."—_J. R. As. Soc._ vi. 75.

The same article contains a Maldivian vocabulary, in which we have
"Bonito or goomulmutch ... _kannelimas_" (p. 49). Thus we have in this
one paper _three_ corrupt forms of the same expression, viz. COMBOLI MAS,
KANNELI MAS, and GOOMULMUTCH, all attempts at the true Maldivian term
KALU-BILI-MĀS, 'black bonito fish.'

COBRA DE CAPELLO, or simply COBRA, s. The venomous snake _Naja tripudians_. _Cobra_ [Lat. _colubra_] is Port. for 'snake'; _cobra de capello_, 'snake of (the) hood.' [In the following we have a curious translation of the name: "Another sort, which is called CHAPEL-SNAKES, because they keep in Chapels or Churches, and sometimes in Houses" (_A Relation of Two Several Voyages made into the East Indies_, by _Christopher Fryke_, Surg.... London, 1700, p. 291).]

1523.—"A few days before, COBRAS DE CAPELLO had been secretly introduced
into the fort, which bit some black people who died thereof, both men and
women; and when this news became known it was perceived that they must
have been introduced by the hand of some one, for since the fort was made
never had the like been heard of."—_Correa_, ii. 776.

1539.—"Vimos tãbẽ aquy grande soma de COBRAS DE CAPELLO, da grossura da
coxa de hũ homẽ, e tão peçonhentas em tanto estremo, que dizião os negros
que se chegarão cõ a baba da boca a qualquer cousa viva, logo em proviso
cahia morta em terra...."—_Pinto_, cap. xiv.

" "... Adders that were copped on the crowns of their heads, as big
as a man's thigh, and so venomous, as the _Negroes_ of the country
informed us, that if any living thing came within the reach of their
breath, it dyed presently...."—_Cogan's Transl._, p. 17.

1563.—"In the beautiful island of Ceylon ... there are yet many serpents
of the kind which are vulgarly called COBRAS DE CAPELLO; and in Latin we
may call them _regulus serpens_."—_Garcia_, f. 156.

1672.—"In Jafnapatam, in my time, there lay among others in garrison a
certain High German who was commonly known as the Snake-Catcher; and this
man was summoned by our Commander ... to lay hold of a COBRE CAPEL that
was in his Chamber. And this the man did, merely holding his hat before
his eyes, and seizing it with his hand, without any damage.... I had my
suspicions that this was done by some devilry ... but he maintained that
it was all by natural means...."—_Baldaeus_ (Germ. ed.), 25.

Some forty-nine or fifty years ago a staff-sergeant at Delhi had a
bull-dog that used to catch cobras in much the same way as this
High-Dutchman did.

1710.—"The Brother Francisco Rodriguez persevered for the whole 40 days
in these exercises, and as the house was of clay, and his cell adjoined
the garden, it was invaded by COBRA DE CAPELO, and he made report of this
inconvenience to the Father-Rector. But his answer was that _these_ were
not the snakes that did spiritual harm; and so left the Brother in the
same cell. This and other admirable instances have always led me to doubt
if S. Paul did not communicate to his Paulists in India the same virtue
as of the tongues of S. Paul,[70] for the snakes in these parts are so
numerous and so venomous, and though our Missionaries make such long
journeys through wild uncultivated places, there is no account to this
day that any Paulist was ever bitten."—_F. de Souza, Oriente
Conquistado_, Conq. i. Div. i. cap. 73.

1711.—Bluteau, in his great Port. Dict., explains COBRA DE CAPELLO as a
"reptile (_bicho_) of Brazil." But it is only a slip; what is further
said shows that he meant to say India.

c. 1713.—"En secouant la peau de cerf sur laquelle nous avons coutume de
nous asseoir, il en sortit un gros serpent de ceux qu'on appelle en
Portugais COBRA-CAPEL."—_Lettres Edif._, ed. 1781, xi. 83.

1883.—"In my walks abroad I generally carry a strong, supple walking
cane.... Armed with it, you may rout and slaughter the hottest-tempered
COBRA in Hindustan. Let it rear itself up and spread its spectacled
head-gear and bluster as it will, but one rap on the side of its head
will bring it to reason."—_Tribes on my Frontier_, 198-9.

COBRA LILY, s. The flower _Arum campanulatum_, which stands on its curving stem exactly like a cobra with a reared head.

COBRA MANILLA, or MINELLE, s. Another popular name in S. India for a species of venomous snake, perhaps a little uncertain in its application. Dr. Russell says the _Bungarus caeruleus_ was sent to him from Masulipatam, with the name _Cobra Monil_, whilst Günther says this name is given in S. India to the _Daboia Russellii_, or _Tic_-POLONGA (q.v.) (see _Fayrer's Thanatophidia_, pp. 11 and 15). [The _Madras Gloss._ calls it the _chain-viper_, _Daboia elegans_.] One explanation of the name is given in the quotation from Lockyer. But the name is really Mahr. _maṇer_, from Skt. _maṇi_, 'a jewel.' There are judicious remarks in a book lately quoted, regarding the popular names and popular stories of snakes, which apply, we suspect, to all the quotations under the following heading:

"There are names in plenty ... but they are applied promiscuously to any
sort of snake, real or imaginary, and are therefore of no use. The fact
is, that in real life, as distinguished from romance, snakes are so
seldom seen, that no one who does not make a study of them can know one
from the other."[71]—_Tribes on my Frontier_, 197.

1711.—"The COBRA MANILLA has its name from a way of Expression common
among the _Nears_ on the _Malabar Coast_, who speaking of a quick Motion
... say, in a Phrase peculiar to themselves, _Before they can pull a_
Manilla _from their Hands_. A Person bit with this Snake, dies
immediately; or before one can take a _Manilla_ off. A MANILLA is a solid
piece of Gold, of two or three ounces Weight, worn in a Ring round the
Wrist."—_Lockyer_, 276.

[1773.—"The COVRA MANILLA, is a small bluish snake of the size of a man's
little finger, and about a foot long, often seen about old
walls."—_Ives_, 43.]

1780.—"The most dangerous of those reptiles are the COVERYMANIL and the
green snake. The first is a beautiful little creature, very lively, and
about 6 or 7 inches long. It creeps into all private corners of houses,
and is often found coiled up betwixt the sheets, or perhaps under the
pillow of one's bed. Its sting is said to inflict immediate death, though
I must confess, for my own part, I never heard of any dangerous accident
occasioned by it."—_Munro's Narrative_, 34.

1810.—"... Here, too, lurks the small bright speckled COBRA MANILLA,
whose fangs convey instant death."—_Maria Graham_, 23.

1813.—"The COBRA MINELLE is the smallest and most dangerous; the bite
occasions a speedy and painful death."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ i. 42; [2nd ed.
i. 27].

COCHIN, n.p. A famous city of Malabar, Malayāl. _Kochchī_, ['a small place'] which the nasalising, so usual with the Portuguese, converted into _Cochim_ or _Cochin_. We say "the Portuguese" because we seem to owe so many nasal terminations of words in Indian use to them; but it is evident that the real origin of this nasal was in _some_ cases anterior to their arrival, as in the present case (see the first quotations), and in that of ACHEEN (q.v.). Padre Paolino says the town was called after the small river "Cocci" (as he writes it). It will be seen that Conti in the 15th century makes the same statement.

c. 1430.—"Relictâ Coloënâ ad urbem COCYM, trium dierum itinere transiit,
quinque millibus passuum ambitu supra ostium fluminis, a quo et
nomen."—_N. Conti_ in _Poggius, de Variet. Fortunae_, iv.

1503.—"Inde Franci ad urbem COCEN profecti, castrum ingens ibidem
construxere, et trecentis praesidiariis viris bellicosis
munivere...."—_Letter of Nestorian Bishops from India, in Assemani_, iii.
596.

1510.—"And truly he (the K. of Portugal) deserves every good, for in
India and especially in CUCIN, every fête day ten and even twelve Pagans
and Moors are baptised."—_Varthema_, 296.

[1562.—"COCHYM." See under BEADALA.]

1572.—

"Vereis a fortaleza sustentar-se
De Cananor con pouca força e gente
* * * * *
E vereis em COCHIN assinalar-se
Tanto hum peito soberbo, e insolente[72]
Que cithara ja mais cantou victoria,
Que assi mereça eterno nome e gloria."
_Camões_, ii. 52.

By Burton:

"Thou shalt behold the Fortalice hold out
of Cananor with scanty garrison
* * * * *
shalt in COCHIN see one approv'd so stout,
who such an arr'gance of the sword hath shown,
no harp of mortal sang a similar story,
digne of e'erlasting name, eternal glory."

[1606.—"Att COWCHEEN which is a place neere Callicutt is stoare of
pepper...."—_Birdwood, First Letter Book_, 84.

[1610.—"COCHIM bow worth in Surat as sceala and kannikee."—_Danvers,
Letters_, i. 74.]

1767.—"From this place the Nawaub marched to KOOCHI-BUNDUR, from the
inhabitants of which he exacted a large sum of money."—_H. of Hydur
Naik_, 186.

COCHIN-CHINA, n.p. This country was called by the Malays _Kuchi_, and apparently also, to distinguish it from _Kuchi_ of India (or Cochin), KUCHI-CHINA, a term which the Portuguese adopted as CAUCHI-CHINA; the Dutch and English from them. _Kuchi_ occurs in this sense in the Malay traditions called _Sijara Malayu_ (see _J. Ind. Archip._, v. 729). In its origin this word _Kuchi_ is no doubt a foreigner's form of the Annamite _Kuu-chön_ (Chin. _Kiu-Ching_, South Chin. _Kau-Chen_), which was the ancient name of the province Thanh'-hoa, in which the city of Huë has been the capital since 1398.[73]

1516.—"And he (Fernão Peres) set sail from Malaca ... in August of the
year 516, and got into the Gulf of CONCAM CHINA, which he entered in the
night, escaping by miracle from being lost on the shoals...."—_Correa_,
ii. 474.

[1524.—"I sent Duarte Coelho to discover CANCHIM CHINA."—_Letter of
Albuquerque to the King_, India Office MSS., _Corpo Chronologico_, vol.
i.]

c. 1535.—"This King of COCHINCHINA keeps always an ambassador at the
court of the King of China; not that he does this of his own good will,
or has any content therein, but because he is his vassal."—_Sommario de'
Regni_, in _Ramusio_, i. 336_v_.

c. 1543.—"Now it was not without much labour, pain, and danger, that we
passed these two Channels, as also the River of _Ventinau_, by reason of
the Pyrats that usually are encountred there, nevertheless we at length
arrived at the Town of _Manaquilen_, which is scituated at the foot of
the Mountains of _Chomay_ (_Comhay_ in orig.), upon the Frontiers of the
two Kingdoms of China, and CAUCHENCHINA (_da China e do_ CAUCHIM in
orig.), where the Ambassadors were well received by the Governor
thereof."—_Pinto_, E. T., p. 166 (orig. cap. cxxix.).

c. 1543.—"CAPITULO CXXX. _Do recebimento que este Rey da_ CAUCHENCHINA
_fez ao Embaixador da Tartaria na villa de Fanau grem_."—_Pinto_,
original.

1572.—

"Ves, CAUCHICHINA esta de oscura fama,
E de Ainão vê a incognita enseada."
_Camões_, x. 129.

By Burton:

"See CAUCHICHINA still of note obscure
and of Ainam yon undiscovered Bight."

1598.—"This land of CAUCHINCHINA is devided into two or three Kingdomes,
which are vnder the subiection of the King of _China_, it is a fruitfull
countrie of all necessarie prouisiouns and Victuals."—_Linschoten,_ ch.
22; [Hak. Soc. i. 124].

1606.—"Nel Regno di COCCINCINA, che ... è alle volte chiamato dal nome di
_Anan_, vi sono quattordici Provincie piccole...."—_Viaggi di Carletti_,
ii. 138.

[1614.—"The COCCHICHINNAS cut him all in pieces."—_Foster, Letters_, ii.
75.

[1616.—"27 pecull of lignum aloes of CUTCHEINCHENN."—_Ibid._ iv. 213.]

1652.—"CAUCHIN-CHINA is bounded on the West with the Kingdomes of
_Brama_; on the East, with the Great Realm of _China_; on the North
extending towards _Tartary_; and on the South, bordering on
_Camboia_."—_P. Heylin, Cosmographie_, iii. 239.

1727.—"COUCHIN-CHINA has a large Sea-coast of about 700 Miles in Extent
... and it has the Conveniency of many good Harbours on it, tho' they are
not frequented by Strangers."—_A. Hamilton_, ii. 208; [ed. 1744].

COCHIN-LEG. A name formerly given to elephantiasis, as it prevailed in Malabar. [The name appears to be still in use (_Boswell, Man. of Nellore_, 33). Linschoten (1598) describes it in _Malabar_ (Hak. Soc. i. 288), and it was also called "St. Thomas's leg" (see an account with refs. in _Gray, Pyrard de Laval_, Hak. Soc. i. 392).]

1757.—"We could not but take notice at this place (Cochin) of the great
number of the COCHIN, or Elephant LEGS."—_Ives_, 193.

1781.—"... my friend Jack Griskin, enclosed in a buckram Coat of the
1745, with a COCHIN LEG, hobbling the Allemand...."—Letter from an _Old
Country Captain_, in _India Gazette_, Feb. 24.

1813.—"COCHIN-LEG, or elephantiasis."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ i. 327; [2nd ed.
i. 207].

COCKATOO, s. This word is taken from the Malay _kākātūwa_. According to Crawfurd the word means properly 'a vice,' or 'gripe,' but is applied to the bird. It seems probable, however, that the name, which is asserted to be the natural cry of the bird, may have come with the latter from some remoter region of the Archipelago, and the name of the tool may have been taken from the bird. This would be more in accordance with usual analogy. [Mr. Skeat writes: "There is no doubt that Sir H. Yule is right here and Crawfurd wrong. _Kakak tuwa_ (or _tua_) means in Malay, if the words are thus separated, 'old sister,' or 'old lady.' I think it is possible that it may be a familiar Malay name for the bird, like our 'Polly.' The final _k_ in _kakak_ is a mere click, which would easily drop out."]

1638.—"Il y en a qui sont blancs ... et sont coeffés d'vne houpe
incarnate ... l'on les appelle KAKATOU, à cause de ce mot qu'ils
prononcent en leur chant assez distinctement."—_Mandelslo_ (Paris, 1669),
144.

1654.—"Some rarities of naturall things, but nothing extraordinary save
the skin of a _jaccall_, a rarely colour'd JACATOO or prodigious
parrot...."—_Evelyn's Diary_, July 11.

1673.—"... COCKATOOAS and Newries (see LORY) from Bantem."—_Fryer_, 116.

1705.—"The CROCKADORE is a Bird of various Sizes, some being as big as a
Hen, and others no bigger than a Pidgeon. They are in all Parts exactly
of the shape of a Parrot.... When they fly wild up and down the Woods
they will call CROCKADORE, CROCKADORE; for which reason they go by that
name."—_Funnel_, in _Dampier_, iv. 265-6.

1719.—"Maccaws, COKATOES, plovers, and a great variety of other birds of
curious colours."—_Shelvocke's Voyage_, 54-55.

1775.—"At Sooloo there are no Loories, but the COCATORES have yellow
tufts."—_Forrest, V. to N. Guinea_, 295.

[1843.—"... saucy KROCOTOAS, and gaudy-coloured Loris."—_Belcher, Narr.
of Voyage of Samarang_, i. 15.]

COCKROACH, s. This objectionable insect (_Blatta orientalis_) is called by the Portuguese _cacalacca_, for the reason given by Bontius below; a name adopted by the Dutch as _kakerlak_, and by the French as _cancrelat_. The Dutch also apply their term as a slang name to half-castes. But our word seems to have come from the Spanish _cucaracha_. The original application of this Spanish name appears to have been to a common insect found under water-vessels standing on the ground, &c. (apparently _Oniscus_, or woodlouse); but as _cucaracha de Indias_ it was applied to the insect now in question (see _Dicc. de la Lengua Castellana_, 1729).

1577.—"We were likewise annoyed not a little by the biting of an Indian
fly called CACAROCH, a name agreeable to its bad condition; for living it
vext our flesh; and being kill'd smelt as loathsomely as the French
punaise, whose smell is odious."—_Herbert's Travels_, 3rd ed., 332-33.

[1598.—"There is a kind of beast that flyeth, twice as big as a Bee, and
is called _Baratta_ (Blatta)."—_Linschoten_, Hak. Soc. i. 304.]

1631.—"Scarabaeos autem hos Lusitani _Caca-laccas_ vocant, quod ova quae
excludunt, colorem et laevorem Laccae factitiae (_i.e._ of sealing-wax)
referant."—_Jac. Bontii_, lib. v. cap 4.

1764.—

"... from their retreats
COCKROACHES crawl displeasingly abroad."
_Grainger_, Bk. i.

c. 1775.—"Most of my shirts, books, &c., were gnawed to dust by the
_blatta_ or COCKROACH, called _cackerlakke_ in Surinam."—_Stedman_, i.
203.

COCKUP, s. An excellent table-fish, found in the mouths of tidal rivers in most parts of India. In Calcutta it is generally known by the Beng. name of _begtī_ or _bhiktī_ (see BHIKTY), and it forms the daily breakfast dish of half the European gentlemen in that city. The name may be a corruption, we know not of what; or it may be given from the erect sharp spines of the dorsal fin. [The word is a corr. of the Malay (_ikan_) _kakap_, which Klinkert defines as a palatable sea-fish, _Lates nobilis_, the more common form being _siyakap_.] It is _Lates calcarifer_ (Günther) of the group _Percina_, family _Percidae_, and grows to an immense size, sometimes to eight feet in length.

COCO, COCOA, COCOA-NUT, and (vulg.) COKER-NUT, s. The tree and nut _Cocos nucifera_, L.; a palm found in all tropical countries, and the only one common to the Old and New Worlds.

The etymology of this name is very obscure. Some conjectural origins are given in the passages quoted below. Ritter supposes, from a passage in Pigafetta's _Voyage of Magellan_, which we cite, that the name may have been indigenous in the Ladrone Islands, to which that passage refers, and that it was first introduced into Europe by Magellan's crew. On the other hand, the late Mr. C. W. Goodwin found in ancient Egyptian the word _kuku_ used as "the name of the fruit of a palm 60 cubits high, which fruit contained water." (_Chabas, Mélanges Égyptologiques_, ii. 239.) It is hard, however, to conceive how this name should have survived, to reappear in Europe in the later Middle Ages, without being known in any intermediate literature.[74]

The more common etymology is that which is given by Barros, Garcia de Orta, Linschoten, &c., as from a Spanish word _coco_ applied to a monkey's or other grotesque face, with reference to the appearance of the base of the shell with its three holes. But after all may the term not have originated in the old Span. _coca_, 'a shell' (presumably Lat. _concha_), which we have also in French _coque_? properly an egg-shell, but used also for the shell of any nut. (See a remark under COPRAH.)

The Skt. _narikila_ [_nārikera_, _nārikela_] has originated the Pers. _nārgīl_, which Cosmas grecizes into ἀργελλίον, [and H. _nāriyal_].

Medieval writers generally (such as _Marco Polo_, _Fr. Jordanus_, &c.) call the fruit the _Indian Nut_, the name by which it was known to the Arabs (_al jauz-al-Hindī_). There is no evidence of its having been known to classical writers, nor are we aware of any Greek or Latin mention of it before Cosmas. But Brugsch, describing from the Egyptian wall-paintings of c. B.C. 1600, on the temple of Queen Hashop, representing the expeditions by sea which she sent to the Incense Land of Punt, says: "Men never seen before, the inhabitants of this divine land, showed themselves on the coast, not less astonished than the Egyptians. They lived on pile-buildings, in little dome-shaped huts, the entrance to which was effected by a ladder, under the shade of cocoa-palms laden with fruit, and splendid incense-trees, on whose boughs strange fowls rocked themselves, and at whose feet herds of cattle peacefully reposed." (_H. of Egypt_, 2nd ed. i. 353; [_Maspero, Struggle of the Nations_, 248].)

c. A.D. 70.—"In ipsâ quidem Aethiopiâ fricatur haec, tanta est siccitas,
et farinae modo spissatur in panem. Gignitur autem in frutice ramis
cubitalibus, folio latiore, pomo rotundo majore quam mali amplitudine,
COICAS vocant."—_Pliny_, xiii. § 9.

A.D. 545.—"Another tree is that which bears the _Argell_, _i.e._ the
great _Indian Nut_."—_Cosmas_, in _Cathay_, &c., clxxvi.

1292.—"The _Indian Nuts_ are as big as melons, and in colour green, like
gourds. Their leaves and branches are like those of the date-tree."—_John
of Monte Corvino_, in do., p. 213.

c. 1328.—"First of these is a certain tree called _Nargil_; which tree
every month in the year sends out a beautiful frond like [that of] a
[date-] palm tree, which frond or branch produces very large fruit, as
big as a man's head.... And both flowers and fruit are produced at the
same time, beginning with the first month, and going up gradually to the
twelfth.... The fruit is that which we call _nuts of India_."—_Friar
Jordanus_, 15 _seq._ The wonder of the coco-palm is so often noticed in
this form by medieval writers, that doubtless in their minds they
referred it to that "tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruit, and
yielded her fruit every month" (_Apocal._ xxii. 2).

c. 1340.—"Le _nargīl_, appelé autrement _noix d'Inde_, auquel on ne peut
comparer aucun autre fruit, est vert et rempli d'huile."—_Shihābbuddīn
Dimishḳī_, in _Not. et Exts._ xiii. 175.

c. 1350.—"Wonderful fruits there are, which we never see in these parts,
such as the _Nargil_. Now the Nargil is the _Indian Nut_."—_John
Marignolli_, in _Cathay_, p. 352.

1498-99.—"And we who were nearest boarded the vessel, and found nothing
in her but provisions and arms; and the provisions consisted of COQUOS
and of four jars of certain cakes of palm-sugar, and there was nothing
else but sand for ballast."—_Roteiro de Vasco da Gama_, 94.

1510.—Varthema gives an excellent account of the tree; but he uses only
the Malayāl. name _tenga_. [Tam. _tennai_, _ten_, 'south' as it was
supposed to have been brought from Ceylon.]

1516.—"These trees have clean smooth stems, without any branch, only a
tuft of leaves at the top, amongst which grows a large fruit which they
call _tenga_.... We call these fruits QUOQUOS."—_Barbosa_, 154 (collating
Portuguese of _Lisbon Academy_, p. 346).

1519.—"COCAS (_coche_) are the fruits of palm-trees, and as we have
bread, wine, oil, and vinegar, so in that country they extract all these
things from this one tree."—_Pigafetta, Viaggio intorno il Mondo_, in
_Ramusio_, i. f. 356.

1553.—"Our people have given it the name of COCO, a word applied by women
to anything with which they try to frighten children; and this name has
stuck, because nobody knew any other, though the proper name was, as the
Malabars call it, _tenga_, or as the Canarins call it,
_narle_."—_Barros_, Dec. III. liv. iii. cap. 7.

c. 1561.—Correa writes COQUOS.—I. i. 115.

1563.—"... We have given it the name of COCO, because it looks like the
face of a monkey, or of some other animal."—_Garcia_, 66_b_.

"That which we call COCO, and the Malabars _Temga_."—_Ibid._ 67_b_.

1578.—"The Portuguese call it COCO (because of those three holes that it
has)."—_Acosta_, 98.

1598.—"Another that bears the Indian nuts called COECOS, because they
have within them a certain shell that is like an ape; and on this account
they use in Spain to show their children a COECOTA when they would make
them afraid."—English trans. of _Pigafetta's Congo_, in _Harleian Coll._
ii. 553.

The parallel passage in De Bry runs: "Illas quoque quae nuces Indicas
COCEAS, id est _Simias_ (intus enim simiae caput referunt) dictas palmas
appellant."—i. 29.

Purchas has various forms in different narratives: COCŪS (i. 37); COKERS,
a form which still holds its ground among London stall-keepers and
costermongers (i. 461, 502); COQUER-nuts (_Terry_, in ii. 1466); COCO
(ii. 1008); COQUO (_Pilgrimage_, 567), &c.

[c. 1610.—"None, however, is more useful than the COCO or Indian nut,
which they (in the Maldives) call ROUL (Malē, _rū_)."—_Pyrard de Laval_,
Hak. Soc. i. 113.]

c. 1690.—Rumphius, who has COCUS in Latin, and COCOS in Dutch, mentions
the derivation already given as that of Linschoten and many others, but
proceeds:—

"Meo vero judicio verior et certior vocis origo invenienda est, plures
enim nationes, quibus hic fructus est notus, _nucem_ appellant. Sic
dicitur Arabicè _Gauzos-Indi_ vel _Geuzos-Indi_, h. e. Nux Indica....
Turcis _Cock-Indi_ eadem significatione, unde sine dubio Ætiopes,
Africani, eorumque vicini Hispani ac Portugalli COQUO deflexerunt. Omnia
vero ista nomina, originem suam debent Hebraicae voci _Egoz_ quae nucem
significat."—_Herb. Amboin._ i. p. 7.

" "... in India Occidentali KOKERNOOT vocatus...."—_Ibid._ p. 47.

One would like to know where Rumphius got the term _Cock-Indi_, of which
we can find no trace.

1810.—

"What if he felt no wind? The air was still.
That was the general will
Of Nature....
Yon rows of rice erect and silent stand,
The shadow of the COCOA'S lightest plume
Is steady on the sand."
_Curse of Kehama_, iv. 4.

1881.—"Among the popular French slang words for 'head' we may notice the
term 'COCO,' given—like our own 'nut'—on account of the similarity in
shape between a cocoa-nut and a human skull:—

"'Mais de ce franc picton de table
Qui rend spirituel, aimable,
Sans vous alourdir le COCO,
Je m'en fourre à gogo.'—H. VALÈRE."
_Sat. Review_, Sept. 10, p. 326.

The _Dict. Hist. d'Argot_ of Lorédan Larchey, from which this seems
taken, explains _picton_ as 'vin supérieur.'

COCO-DE-MER, or DOUBLE COCO-NUT, s. The curious twin fruit so called, the produce of the _Lodoicea Sechellarum_, a palm growing only in the Seychelles Islands, is cast up on the shores of the Indian Ocean, most frequently on the Maldive Islands, but occasionally also on Ceylon and S. India, and on the coasts of Zanzibar, of Sumatra, and some others of the Malay Islands. Great virtues as medicine and antidote were supposed to reside in these fruits, and extravagant prices were paid for them. The story goes that a "country captain," expecting to make his fortune, took a cargo of these nuts from the Seychelles Islands to Calcutta, but the only result was to destroy their value for the future.

The old belief was that the fruit was produced on a palm growing below the sea, whose fronds, according to Malay seamen, were sometimes seen in quiet bights on the Sumatran coast, especially in the Lampong Bay. According to one form of the story among the Malays, which is told both by Pigafetta and by Rumphius, there was but one such tree, the fronds of which rose above an abyss of the Southern Ocean, and were the abode of the monstrous bird Garuda (or Rukh of the Arabs—see ROC).[75] The tree itself was called _Pausengi_, which Rumphius seems to interpret as a corruption of _Buwa-zangi_, "Fruit of Zang" or E. Africa. [Mr. Skeat writes: "Rumphius is evidently wrong.... The first part of the word is '_Pau_,' or '_Pauh_,' which is perfectly good Malay, and is the name given to various species of mango, especially the wild one, so that '_Pausengi_' represents (not '_Buwa_,' but) '_Pauh Janggi_,' which is to this day the universal Malay name for the tree which grows, according to Malay fable, in the central whirlpool or Navel of the Seas. Some versions add that it grows upon a sunken bank (_tĕbing runtoh_), and is guarded by dragons. This tree figures largely in Malay romances, especially those which form the subject of Malay shadow-plays (vide _infra_, Pl. 23, for an illustration of the Pauh Janggi and the Crab). Rumphius' explanation of the second part of the name (_i.e._ _Janggi_) is, no doubt, quite correct."—_Malay Magic_, pp. 6 _seqq._] They were cast up occasionally on the islands off the S.W. coast of Sumatra; and the wild people of the islands brought them for sale to the Sumatran marts, such as Padang and Priamang. One of the largest (say about 12 inches across) would sell for 150 rix dollars. But the Malay princes coveted them greatly, and would sometimes (it was alleged) give a laden junk for a single nut. In India the best known source of supply was from the Maldive Islands. [In India it is known as _Daryāī nāriyal_, or 'cocoa-nut of the sea,' and this term has been in Bombay corrupted into _jaharī_ (_zahrī_) or 'poisonous,' so that the fruit is incorrectly regarded as dangerous to life. The hard shell is largely used to make Fakīrs' water-bowls.]

The medicinal virtues of the nut were not only famous among all the peoples of the East, including the Chinese, but are extolled by Piso and by Rumphius, with many details. The latter, learned and laborious student of nature as he was, believed in the submarine origin of the nut, though he discredited its growing on a great palm, as no traces of such a plant had ever been discovered on the coasts. The fame of the nut's virtues had extended to Europe, and the Emperor Rudolf II. in his later days offered in vain 4000 florins to purchase from the family of Wolfert Hermanszen, a Dutch Admiral, one that had been presented to that commander by the King of Bantam, on the Hollander's relieving his capital, attacked by the Portuguese, in 1602.

It will be seen that the Maldive name of this fruit was _Tāva-kārhī_. The latter word is 'coco-nut,' but the meaning of _tāva_ does not appear from any Maldive vocabulary. [The term is properly _Tāva'karhi_, 'the hard-shelled nut,' (Gray, on _Pyrard de Laval_, Hak. Soc. i. 231).] Rumphius states that a book in 4to (_totum opusculum_) was published on this nut, at Amsterdam in 1634, by Augerius Clutius, M.D. [In more recent times the nut has become famous as the subject of curious speculations regarding it by the late Gen. Gordon.]

1522.—"They also related to us that beyond Java Major ... there is an
enormous tree named _Campanganghi_, in which dwell certain birds named
Garuda, so large that they take with their claws, and carry away flying,
a buffalo and even an elephant, to the place of the tree.... The fruit of
this tree is called _Buapanganghi_, and is larger than a water-melon ...
it was understood that those fruits which are frequently found in the sea
came from that place."—_Pigafetta_, Hak. Soc. p. 155.

1553.—"... it appears ... that in some places beneath the salt-water
there grows another kind of these trees, which gives a fruit bigger than
the coco-nut; and experience shows that the inner husk of this is much
more efficacious against poison than the Bezoar stone."—_Barros_, III.
iii. 7.

1563.—"The common story is that those islands were formerly part of the
continent, but being low they were submerged, whilst these palm-trees
continued _in situ_; and growing very old they produced such great and
very hard coco-nuts, buried in the earth which is now covered by the
sea.... When I learn anything in contradiction of this I will write to
you in Portugal, and anything that I can discover here, if God grant me
life; for I hope to learn all about the matter when, please God, I make
my journey to Malabar. And you must know that these cocos come joined two
in one, just like the hind quarters of an animal."—_Garcia_, f. 70-71.

1572.—

"Nas ilhas de Maldiva nasce a planta
No profundo das aguas soberana,
Cujo pomo contra o veneno urgente
He tido por antidoto excellente."
_Camões_, x. 136.

c. 1610.—"Il est ainsi d'vne certaine noix que la mer iette quelques fois
à bord, qui est grosse comme la teste d'vn homme qu'on pourroit comparer
à deux gros melons ioints ensemble. Ils la nom̃ent _Tauarcarré_, et ils
tiennent que cela vient de quelques arbres qui sont sous la mer ... quand
quelqu'vn deuient riche tout à coup et en peu de temps, on dit
communement qu'il a trouué du _Tauarcarré_ ou de l'ambre."—_Pyrard de
Laval_, i. 163; [Hak. Soc. i. 230].

? 1650.—In Piso's _Mantissa Aromatica_, &c., there is a long
dissertation, extending to 23 pp., _De Tavarcare seu Nuce Medicâ
Maldivensium_.

1678.—"P.S. Pray remember y^e COQUER NUTT Shells (doubtless
_Coco-de-Mer_) and long nulls (?) formerly desired for y^e
Prince."—_Letter from Dacca_, quoted under CHOP.

c. 1680.—"Hic itaque CALAPPUS MARINUS[76] non est fructus terrestris qui
casu in mare procidit ... uti _Garcias ab Orta_ persuadere voluit, sed
fructus est in ipso crescens mari, cujus arbor, quantum scio, hominum
oculis ignota et occulta est."—_Rumphius_, Lib. xii. cap. 8.

1763.—"By Durbar charges paid for the following presents to the Nawab, as
per Order of Consultation, the 14th October, 1762.

* * * * *
1 SEA COCOA NUT............Rs. 300 0 0."
In _Long_, 308.

1777.—"Cocoa-nuts from the Maldives, or as they are called the ZEE
CALAPPERS, are said to be annually brought hither (to Colombo) by certain
messengers, and presented, among other things, to the Governor. The
kernel of the fruit ... is looked upon here as a very efficacious
antidote or a sovereign remedy against the Flux, the Epilepsy and
Apoplexy. The inhabitants of the Maldives call it
_Tavarcare_...."—_Travels of Charles Peter Thunberg, M.D._ (E.T.) iv.
209.

[1833.—"The most extraordinary and valuable production of these islands
(Seychelles) is the COCO DO MAR, or Maldivia nut, a tree which, from its
singular character, deserves particular mention...."—_Owen, Narrative_,
ii. 166 _seqq._]

1882.—"Two minor products obtained by the islanders from the sea require
notice. These are ambergris (M. _goma_, _mávaharu_) and the so-called
'SEA-COCOANUT' (M. _táva-kárhi_) ... rated at so high a value in the
estimation of the Maldive Sultans as to be retained as part of their
royalties."—_H. C. P. Bell_ (Ceylon C. S.), _Report on the Maldive
Islands_, p. 87.

1883.—"... sailed straight into the COCO-DE-MER valley, my great object.
Fancy a valley as big as old Hastings, quite full of the great yellow
stars! It was almost too good to believe.... Dr. Hoad had a nut cut down
for me. The outside husk is shaped like a mango.... It is the inner nut
which is double. I ate some of the jelly from inside; there must have
been enough to fill a soup-tureen—of the purest white, and not
bad."—(_Miss North_) in _Pall Mall Gazette_, Jan. 21, 1884.