Chapter LIX: Preface: TO SECOND EDITION xi (56)

c. 1565.—"Occorse l'anno 1565, se mi ricordo bene, che il NAIC cioè il
Signore della Città li mandi a domandami certi caualli Arabi."—_C.
Federici_, in _Ramusio_, iii. 391.

c. 1610.—"Ie priay donc ce capitaine ... qu'il me fit bailler vne almadie
ou basteau auec des mariniers et vn NAIQUE pour truchement."—_Mocquet_,
289.

1646.—"Il s'appelle NAÏQUE, qui signifie Capitaine, doutant que c'est vn
Capitaine du Roy du Narzingue."—_Barretto, Rel. du Prov. de Malabar_,
255.

(B)—

1598.—"The Kings of _Decam_ also have a custome when they will honour a
man or recompense [recompence] their service done, and rayse him to
dignitie and honour. They give him the title of NAYGUE, which signifieth
a Capitaine."—_Linschoten_, 51; [Hak. Soc. i. 173].

1673.—"The Prime Nobility have the title of NAIKS or NAIGS."—_Fryer_,
162.

c. 1704.—"Hydur Sáhib, the son of Muhammad Ilias, at the invitation of
the Ministers of the Polygar of Mysore, proceeded to that country, and
was entertained by them in their service ... he also received from them
the honourable title of NAIK, a term which in the Hindu dialect signifies
an officer or commander of foot soldiers."—_H. of Hydur Naik_, p. 7. This
was the uncle of the famous Haidar Naik or Hyder Ali Khan.

(C)—

1604.—"Maduré; corte del NAYGUE Señor destas terras."—_Guerrero,
Relacion_, 101.

1616.—"... and that orders should be given for issuing a proclamation at
Negapatam that no one was to trade at Tevenapatam, Porto Novo, or other
port belonging to the NAIQUE of Ginja or the King of
Massulapatam."—_Bocarro_, 619.

1646.—"Le NAIQUE de Maduré, à qui appartient la coste de la pescherie, a
la pesche d'vn jour par semaine pour son tribut."—_Barretto_, 248.

c. 1665.—"Il y a plusieurs NAIQUES au Sud de Saint-Thomé, qui sont
Souverains: Le NAIQUE de Madure en est un."—_Thevenot_, v. 317.

1672.—"The greatest Lords and NAIKS of this kingdom (Carnataca) who are
subject to the Crown of Velour ... namely Vitipa NAIK of Madura, the
King's Cuspidore- (see CUSPADORE) bearer ... and Cristapa NAIK of
Chengier, the King's Betel-holder ... the NAIK of Tanjower the King's
Shield-bearer."—_Baldaeus_ (Germ.), p. 153.

1809.—"All I could learn was that it was built by a NAIG of the
place."—_Ld. Valentia_, i. 398.

(D)—

[c. 1610.—"These men are hired, whether Indians or Christians, and are
called NAICLES."—_Pyrard de Laval_, Hak. Soc. ii. 42.]

1787.—"A Troop of Native Cavalry on the present Establishment consists of
1 European subaltern, 1 European sergeant, 1 Subidar, 3 Jemidars, 4
Havildars, 4 NAIGUES, 1 Trumpeter, 1 Farrier, and 68 Privates."—_Regns.
for H. Co.'s Troops on the Coast of Coromandel_, &c., 6.

1834.—"... they went gallantly on till every one was shot down except the
one NAIK, who continued hacking at the gate with his axe ... at last a
shot from above ... passed through his body. He fell, but in dying hurled
his axe against the enemy."—_Mrs. Mackenzie, Storms and Sunshine of a
Soldier's Life_, i. 37-38.

We may add as a special sense that in West India _Naik_ is applied to the head-man of a hamlet (_Kūrī_) or camp (_Tānda_) of BRINJARRIES (q.v.). [Bhangi and Jhangi Naiks, the famous Banjāra leaders, are said to have had 180,000 bullocks in their camp. See _Berar Gazetteer_, 196.]

NAIR, s. Malayal. _nāyar_; from the same Skt. origin as NAIK. Name of the ruling caste in Malabar. [The Greek νάουρα as a tract stood for the country of the Nairs. For their customs, see _Logan, Malabar_, i. 131.]

1510.—"The first class of Pagans in Calicut are called Brahmins. The
second are NAERI, who are the same as the gentlefolks amongst us; and
these are obliged to bear sword and shield or bows and
lances."—_Varthema_, pp. 141-142.

1516.—"These kings do not marry ... only each has a mistress, a lady of
great lineage and family, which is called NAYRE."—_Barbosa_, 165.

1553.—"And as ... the Gentiles of the place are very superstitious in
dealing with people foreign to their blood, and chiefly those called
Brammanes and NAIRES."—_Barros_, Dec. I. liv. iv. cap. 7.

1563.—"... The NAIRES who are the Knights."—_Garcia._

1582.—"The Men of Warre which the King of Calicut and the other Kings
have, are NAYRES, which be all Gentlemen."—_Castañeda_ (by N. L.), f.
35b.

1644.—"We have much Christian people throughout his territory, not only
the Christians of St. Thomas, who are the best soldiers that he (the King
of Cochin) has, but also many other vassals who are converts to our Holy
Catholic Faith, through the preaching of the Gospel, but none of these
are NAYRES, who are his fighting men, and his nobles or
gentlemen."—_Bocarro, MS._, f. 315.

1755.—"The king has disciplined a body of 10,000 NAIRES; the people of
this denomination are by birth the Military tribe of the Malabar
coast."—_Orme_, i. 400.

1781.—"The soldiers preceded the NAIRS or nobles of Malabar."—_Gibbon_,
ch. xlvii.

It may be added that _Nāyar_ was also the term used in Malabar for the
mahout of an elephant; and the fact that _Nāyar_ and _Nāyaka_ are of the
same origin may be considered with the etymology which we have given of
CORNAC (see _Garcia_, 85_v_).

NALKEE, s. Hind. _nālkī_. A kind of litter formerly used by natives of rank; the word and thing are now obsolete. [It is still the name of the bride's litter in Behar (_Grierson, Bihār Peasant Life_, 45).] The name was perhaps a factitious imitation of _pālkī_? [Platts suggests Skt. _nalika_, 'a tube.']

1789.—"A NALEKY is a _paleky_, either opened or covered, but it bears
upon two bamboos, like a sedan in Europe, with this difference only, that
the poles are carried by four or eight men, and upon the shoulders."—Note
by Tr. of _Seir Mutaqherin_, iii. 269.

[1844.—"This litter is called a 'NALKI.' It is one of the three great
insignia which the Mogul emperors of Delhi conferred upon independent
princes of the first class, and could never be used by any person upon
whom, or upon whose ancestors, they had not been so conferred. These were
the NALKI, the order of the Fish, and the fan of peacock's
feathers."—_Sleeman, Rambles_, ed. _V. A. Smith_, i. 165.]

NAMBEADARIM, s. Malayāl. _nambiyadiri_, _nambiyattiri_, a general, a prince. [See _Logan, Malabar_, i. 121.]

1503.—"Afterwards we were presented to the King called NAMBIADORA; who
received us with no small gladness and kindness."—_Giov. da Empoli_, in
_Ramusio_, i. f. 146.

1552.—"This advice of the NAMBEADARIM was disapproved by the kings and
lords."—_Castanheda_; see also Transl. by N. L., 1582, f. 147.

1557.—"The NAMBEADARIM who is the principal governor."—_D'Alboquerque_,
Hak. Soc. i. 9. The word is, by the translator, erroneously identified
with _Nambūdiri_ (see NAMBOOREE), a Malabar Brahman.

1634.—

"Entra em Cochim no thalamo secreto
Aonde NAMBEODERÁ dorme quieto."
_Malaca Conquist._ i. 50.

NAMBOOREE, Malayāl. _nambūdiri_, Tam. _nambūri_; [_Logan_ (_Malabar_, ii. Gloss. ccxi.) gives _nambūtiri_, _nambūri_, from Drav. _nambuka_, 'to trust,' _tiri_, Skt. _śrī_, 'blessed.' The _Madras Gloss._ has Mal. _nambu_, 'the Veda,' _ōthu_, 'to teach,' _tiri_, 'holy.'] A Brahman of Malabar. (See _Logan_, i. 118 _seqq._].

1644.—"No more than any of his NAMBURES (among Christian converts) who
are his _padres_, for you would hardly see any one of them become
converted and baptized because of the punishment that the king has
attached to that."—_Bocarro, MS._, f. 313.

1727.—"The NAMBOURIES are the first in both Capacities of Church and
State, and some of them are Popes, being sovereign Princes in both."—_A.
Hamilton_, i. 312; [ed. 1744].

[1800.—"The NAMBURIS eat no kind of animal food, and drink no spirituous
liquors."—_Buchanan, Mysore_, ii. 426.]

NANKEEN, s. A cotton stuff of a brownish yellow tinge, which was originally imported from China, and derived its name from the city of Nanking. It was not dyed, but made from a cotton of that colour, the _Gossypium religiosum_ of Roxb., a variety of _G. herbaceum_. It was, however, imitated with dyed cotton in England, and before long exports of this imitation were made to China. Nankeen appears to be known in the Central Asia markets under the modified name of NANKA (see below).

1793-4.—"The land in this neighbourhood produces the cloth usually called
NANKEENS in Europe ... in that growing in the province of Kiangnan, of
which the city of Nan-kin is the capital, the down is of the same yellow
tinge which it possesses when spun and woven into cloth."—_Staunton's
Narr. of Ld. Macartney's Embassy_, ii. 425.

1794-5.—"The colour of NAM-KING is thus natural, and not subject to
fade.... The opinion (that it was dyed) that I combat was the cause of an
order being sent from Europe a few years ago to dye the pieces of
NAM-KING of a deeper colour, because of late they had grown paler."—_Van
Braam's Embassy_, E.T. ii. 141.

1797.—"_China Investment per Upton Castle._... Company's broad and narrow
NANKEEN, brown NANKEEN."—In _Seton-Karr_, ii. 605.

c. 1809.—"Cotton in this district (_Puraniya_ or _Purneea_) is but a
trifling article. There are several kinds mentioned.... The _Kukti_ is
the most remarkable, its wool having the colour of NANKEEN cloth, and it
seems in fact to be the same material which the Chinese use in that
manufacture."—_F. Buchanan_, in _Eastern India_, iii. 244. [See _Watt,
Econ. Dict._ iv. 16, 29.]

1838.—"NANKA is imported in the greatest quantity (to Kabul) from Russia,
and is used for making the outer garments for the people, who have a
great liking to it. It is similar to NANKEEN cloth that comes to India
from China, and is of a strong durable texture."—_Report by Baines_, in
_Punjab Trade Report_, App. p. ix. See also p. clxvii.

1848.—"'Don't be trying to deprecate the value of the lot, Mr. Moss,' Mr.
Hammerdown said; 'let the company examine it as a work of art—the
attitude of the gallant animal quite according to natur, the gentleman in
a NANKEEN-jacket, his gun in hand, is going to the chase; in the distance
a _banyhann_ tree (see BANYAN-TREE) and a PAGODY."—_Vanity Fair_, i. 178.

NANKING, n.p. The great Chinese city on the lower course of the Yangtse-kiang, which was adopted as capital of the Empire for a brief space (1368-1410) by the (native) Ming dynasty on the expulsion of the Mongol family of Chinghiz. The city, previously known as _Kin-ling-fu_, then got the style of _Nan-king_, or 'South Court.' Peking ('North Court') was however re-occupied as imperial residence by the Emperor Ching-su in 1410, and has remained such ever since. Nanking is mentioned as a great city called _Chilenfu_ (Kin-ling), whose walls had a circuit of 40 miles, by Friar Odoric (c. 1323). And the province bears the same name (_Chelim_) in the old notices of China translated by R. Willes in _Hakluyt_ (ii. 546).

It appears to be the city mentioned by Conti (c. 1430), as founded by the emperor: "Hinc prope XV. dierum itinere (_i.e._ from Cambalec or Peking), alia civitas _Nemptai_ nomine, ab imperatore condita, cujus ambitus patet triginta milliaribus, eaque est popolosissima omnium." This is evidently the same name that is coupled with Cambalec, in Petis de la Croix's translation of the _Life of Timour_ (iii. 218) under the form _Nemnai_. The form _Lankin_, &c., is common in old Portuguese narratives, probably, like LIAMPO (q.v.), a Fuhkien form.

c. 1520.—"After that follows Great China, the king of which is the
greatest sovereign in the world.... The port of this kingdom is called
Guantan, and among the many cities of this empire two are the most
important, namely NANKIN and Comlaka (read _Combalak_), where the king
usually resides."—_Pigafetta's Magellan_ (Hak. Soc.), p. 156.

c. 1540.—"Thereunto we answered that we were strangers, natives of the
Kingdom of _Siam_, and that coming from the port of _Liampoo_ to go to
the fishing of NANQUIN, we were cast away at sea ... that we purposed to
go to the city of NANQUIN there to imbarque ourselves as rowers in the
first _Lanteaa_ (see LANTEAS) that should put to sea, for to pass unto
Cantan...."—_Pinto_, E.T. p. 99 (orig. cap. xxxi.).

1553.—"Further, according to the Cosmographies of China ... the maritime
provinces of this kingdom, which run therefrom in a N.W. direction
almost, are these three: NANQUIJ, Xanton (_Shantung_), and Quincij"
(_Kingsze_ or capital, _i.e._ Pecheli).—_Barros_, I. ix. 1.

1556.—"Ogni anno va di Persia alla China vna grossa Carauana, che camina
sei mesi prima ch'arriui alla Città de LANCHIN, Città nella quale risiede
il Re con la sua Corte."—_Ces. Federici_, in _Ramusio_, iii. 391_v_.

[1615.—"678-1/5 Catties China of raw LANKINE silk."—_Foster, Letters_,
iii. 137.]

NARCONDAM, n.p. The name of a strange weird-looking volcanic cone, which rises, covered with forest, to a height of some 2,330 feet straight out of the deep sea, to the eastward of the Andamans. One of the present writers has observed (_Marco Polo_, Bk. III. ch. 13, note) that in the name of _Narkandam_ one cannot but recognise _Narak_, 'Hell'; perhaps _Naraka-kuṇḍam_, 'a pit of hell'; adding: "Can it be that in old times, but still contemporary with Hindu navigation, this volcano was active, and that some Brahmin St. Brandon recognised in it the mouth of Hell, congenial to the Rakshasas of the adjacent group" of the Andamans? We have recently received an interesting letter from Mr. F. R. Mallet of the Geological Survey of India, who has lately been on a survey of Narcondam and Barren Island. Mr. Mallet states that Narcondam is "without any crater, and has certainly been extinct for many thousand years. Barren Island, on the other hand, forms a complete amphitheatre, with high precipitous encircling walls, and the volcano has been in violent eruption within the last century. The term 'pit of hell,' therefore, while quite inapplicable to Narcondam, applies most aptly to Barren Island." Mr. Mallet suggests that there may have been some confusion between the two islands, and that the name _Narcondam_ may have been really applicable to Barren Island. [See the account of both islands in _Ball, Jungle Life_, 397 _seqq._] The name Barren Island is quite modern. We are told in Purdy's _Or. Navigator_ (350) that Barren Island was called by the Portuguese _Ilha alta_, a name which again would be much more apt for Narcondam, Barren Island being only some 800 feet high. Mr. Mallet mentions that in one of the charts of the _E.I. Pilot or Oriental Navigator_ (1781) he finds "Narcondam according to the Portuguese" in 13° 45′ N. lat. and 110° 35′ E. long. (from Ferro) and "Narcondam or _High Island_, according to the French," in 12° 50′ N. lat. and 110° 55′ E. long. This is valuable as showing both that there may have been some confusion between the islands, and that _Ilha alta_ or High Island has been connected with the name of Narcondam. The real positions by our charts are of _Narcondam_, N. lat. 13° 24′, E. long. 94° 12′. _Barren Island_, N. lat. 12° 16′, E. long. 93° 54′.

The difference of lat. (52 miles) agrees well with that between the Portuguese and French Narcondam, but the difference in long., though approximate in amount (18 or 20 miles), is in one case _plus_ and in the other _minus_; so that the discrepancies may be due merely to error in the French reckoning. In a chart in the _E.I. Pilot_ (1778) "Monday or Barren Island, called also High Island" and "Ayconda or Narcondam," are marked approximately in the positions of the present Barren Island and Narcondam. Still, we believe that Mr. Mallet's suggestion is likely to be well founded. The form _Ayconda_ is nearer that found in the following:

1598.—"... as you put off from the Ilandes of _Andeman_ towards the Coast
... there lyeth onely in the middle way an Ilande which the inhabitantes
call VIACONDAM, which is a small Iland having faire ground round about
it, but very little fresh water."—_Linschoten_, p. 328.

The discrepancy in the position of the islands is noticed in D'Anville:

1753.—"Je n'oublierai pas NARCONDAM, et d'autant moins que ce que j'en
trouve dans les Portugais ne repond point à la position que nos cartes
lui donnent. Le routier de Gaspar Pereira de los Reys indique l'île
NARCODÃO ou Narcondam à 6 lieues des îles Cocos, 12 de la tête de
l'Andaman; et le rhumb de vent à l'égard de ce point il le determine,
_leste quarta da nordeste, meya quarta mais para les nordestes_, c'est à
dire à peu-près 17 degrés de l'est au nord. Selon les cartes Françoises,
NARCONDAM s'écarte environ 25 lieues marines de la tête d'Andaman; et au
lieu de prendre plus du nord, cette île baisse vers le sud d'une fraction
de degré plus ou moins considérable selon differéntes
cartes."—_D'Anville, Eclairc._, 141-142.

I may add that I find in a French map of 1701 (_Carte Marine depuis Suratte jusqu'au Detroit de Malaca, par le Père_ P. P. Tachard) we have, in the (approximately) true position of Narcondam, _Isle Haute_, whilst an islet without name appears in the approximate position of Barren Island.

NARD, s. The rhizome of the plant _Nardostachys Jatamansi_, D.C., a native of the loftier Himālaya (allied to Valerian). This is apparently an Indian word originally, but, as we have it, it has come from the Skt. _nalada_ through Semitic media, whence the change of _l_ into _r_; and in this form it is found both in Hebrew and Greek. [Prof. Skeat gives: "F. _nard_, L. _nardus_. Greek νάρδος, Pers. _nard_ (whence Skt. _nalada_), spikenard. Skt. _nada_, a reed."] The plant was first identified in modern times by Sir W. Jones. See in Canticles, i. 12, and iv. 13, 14.

B.C. c. 25.—

"Cur non sub altâ vel platano, vel hac
Pinu jacentes sic temere, et rosâ
Canos odorati capillos,
Dum licet, Assyriâque NARDO
Potamus uncti?"
_Horace, Odes_, II. xi.

A.D. 29.—"Καὶ ὄντος αὐτοῦ ἐν Βηθανίᾳ, ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ Σίμωνος ... ἦλθε γυνὴ
ἔχουσα ἀλάβαστρον μύρον, νάρδου πιστικῆς πολυτελοῦς...."—_St. Mark_, xiv.
3.

c. A.D. 70.—"As touching the leafe of NARDUS, it were good that we
discoursed thereof at large, seeing that it is one of the principal
ingredients aromaticall that goe to the making of most costly and
precious ointments.... The head of NARDUS spreadeth into certain spikes
and ears, whereby it hath a twofold use both as spike and also as
leafe."—_Pliny_ (Ph. Holland), xii. 12.

c. A.D. 90.—"Κατάγεται δὲ δι' αὐτῆς (Οζηνῆς) καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄνω τόπων, ἡ διὰ
Πωκλαΐδος καταφερομένη νάρδος, ἡ Κασπαπυρηνὴ, καὶ ἡ Παροπανισηνὴ, καὶ ἡ
Καβολίτη, καὶ ἡ διά τῆς παρακειμένης Σκυθίας."—_Periplus_, § 48
(corrected by Fabricius).

c. A.D. 545.—"... also to Sindu, where you get the musk or castorin, and
_androstachyn_" (for NARDOSTACHYS, _i.e._ spikenard).—_Cosmas_, in
_Cathay_, p. clxxviii.

1563.—"I know no other spikenard (_espique_-NARDO) in this country,
except what I have already told you, that which comes from Chitor and
Mandou, regions on the confines of Deli, Bengala, and the
Decan."—_Garcia_, f. 191.

1790.—"We may on the whole be assured that the NARDUS of Ptolemy, the
_Indian Sumbul_ of the Persians and Arabs, the _Jatámánsì_ of the Hindus,
and the _spikenard_ of our shops, are one and the same plant."—_Sir W.
Jones_, in _As. Res._ ii. 410.

c. 1781.—

"My _first_ shuts out thieves from your house or your room,
My _second_ expresses a Syrian perfume;
My _whole_ is a man in whose converse is shared
The strength of a _Bar_ and the sweetness of NARD."—
_Charade_ on Bishop Barnard by _Dr. Johnson_.

NARGEELA, NARGILEH, s. Properly the coco-nut (Skt. _nārikera_, _-kela_, or _-keli_; Pers. _nārgīl_; Greek of Cosmas, Ἀργέλλιον); thence the HUBBLE-BUBBLE, or HOOKA in its simplest form, as made from a coco-nut shell; and thence again, in Persia, a HOOKA or water-pipe with a glass or metal vase.

[c. 545.—"ARGELL." See under SURA.

[1623.—"NARGHIL, like the palm in the leaves also, and is that which we
call _Nux Indica_."—_P. della Valle_, Hak. Soc. i. 40.

[1758.—"An ARGILE, or smoking tube, and coffee, were immediately brought
us ..."—_Ives_, 271.

[1813.—"... the Persians smoked their culloons and NARGILLS...."—_Forbes,
Or. Mem._ 2nd ed. ii. 173.]

NARROWS, THE, n.p. A name applied by the Hoogly pilots for at least two centuries to the part of the river immediately below Hoogly Point, now known as 'Hoogly Bight.' See Mr. Barlow's note on _Hedges' Diary_, i. 64.

1684.—"About 11 o'clock we met with ye _Good-hope_, at an anchor in ye
NARROWS, without Hugly River,[189] and ordered him upon ye first of ye
flood to weigh, and make all haste he could to Hugly ..."—_Hedges,
Diary_, Hak. Soc. i. 64.

1711.—"From the lower Point of the NARROWS on the Starboard-side ... the
Eastern Shore is to be kept close aboard, until past the said Creek,
afterwards allowing only a small Birth for the Point off the RIVER OF
ROGUES, commonly called by the Country People, Adegom.... From the RIVER
OF ROGUES, the Starboard Shore, with a great Ship, ought to be kept close
aboard down to the Channel Trees, for in the Offing lies the Grand middle
Ground...."—_English Pilot_, p. 57.

NARSINGA, n.p. This is the name most frequently applied in the 16th and 17th centuries to the kingdom in Southern India, otherwise termed Vijayanagara or BISNAGAR (q.v.), the latest powerful Hindu kingdom in the Peninsula. This kingdom was founded on the ruins of the Belāla dynasty reigning at Dwāra Samudra, about A.D. 1341 [see _Rice, Mysore_, i. 344 _seqq._]. The original dynasty of Vijayanagara became extinct about 1487, and was replaced by _Narasiṉha_, a prince of Telugu origin, who reigned till 1508. He was therefore reigning at the time of the first arrival of the Portuguese, and the name of Narsinga, which they learned to apply to the kingdom from his name, continued to be applied to it for nearly two centuries.

1505.—"Hasse notizia delli maggiori Re che hanno nell'India, che è el Re
de NARSIN, indiano zentil; confina in Estremadura con el regno de Comj
(qu. _regno Deconij_?), el qual Re si è Moro. El qual Re de NARSIN tien
grande regno; sarà (harà?) ad ogni suo comando 10 mila elefanti, 30 mila
cavalli, e infinito numero di genti."—_Lionardo Ca' Masser_, 35.

1510.—"The Governor ... learning of the embassy which the King of Bisnega
was sending to Cananore to the Viceroy, to offer firm friendship, he was
most desirous to make alliance and secure peace ... principally because
the kingdom of NARSINGA extends in the interior from above Calecut and
from the Balagate as far as Cambaya, and thus if we had any wars in those
countries by sea, we might by land have the most valuable aid from the
King of Bisnega."—_Correa_, ii. 30.

1513.—"Aderant tunc apud nostrũ praefectũ a NARSINGAE rege
legati."—_Emanuel. Reg. Epist._ f. 3_v_.

1516.—"45 leagues from these mountains inland, there is a very large city
which is called Bijanaguer, very populous.... The King of NARSINGA always
resides there."—_Barbosa_, 85.

c. 1538.—"And she (the Queen of Onor) swore to him by the golden sandals
of her pagod that she would rejoice as much should God give him the
victory over them (the Turks) as if the King of NARSINGA, whose slave she
was, should place her at table with his wife."—_F. Mendez Pinto_, ch.
ix.; see also _Cogan_, p. 11.

1553.—"And they had learned besides from a Friar who had come from
_Narsinga_ to stay at Cananor, how that the King of NARSINGA, who was as
it were an Emperor of the Gentiles of India in state and riches, was
appointing ambassadors to send him ..."—_Barros_, I. viii. 9.

1572.—

"... O Reyno NARSINGA poderoso
Mais de ouro e de pedras, que de forte gente."
_Camões_, vii. 21.

By Burton:

"Narsinga's Kingdom, with her rich display
Of gold and gems, but poor in martial vein ..."

1580.—"In the Kingdom of NARSINGUA to this day, the wives of their
priests are buried alive with the bodies of their husbands; all other
wives are burnt at their husbands' funerals."—_Montaigne_, by _Cotton_,
ch. xi. (What is here said about priests applies to LINGAITS, q.v.).

1611.—"... the Dutch President on the coast of _Choromandell_, shewed us
a _Caul_ (see COWLE) from the King of NARSINGA, _Wencapati, Raia_,
wherein was granted that it should not be lawfull for any one that came
out of Europe to trade there, but such as brought Prince _Maurice_ his
Patent, and therefore desired our departure."—_P. W. Floris_, in
_Purchas_, i. 320.

1681.—"Coromandel. Ciudad muy grande, sugeta al Rey de NARSINGA, el qual
Reyno e llamado por otre nombre _Bisnaga_."—_Martinez de la Puente,
Compendio_, 16.

NASSICK, n.p. _Nāsik_; Νασίκα of _Ptolemy_ (vii. i. 63); an ancient city of Hindu sanctity on the upper course of the Godavery R., and the headquarter of a district of the same name in the Bombay Presidency. A curious discussion took place at the R. Geog. Society in 1867, arising out of a paper by Mr. (afterwards Sir) George Campbell, in which the selection of a capital for British India was determined on logical principles in favour of Nassick. But logic does not decide the site of capitals, though government by logic is quite likely to lose India. Certain highly elaborated magic squares and magic cubes, investigated by the Rev. A. H. Frost (_Cambridge Math. Jour._, 1857) have been called by him _Nasik_ squares, and Nasik cubes, from his residence in that ancient place (see _Encyc. Britan._ 9th ed. xv. 215).

NAT, s. Burmese _nāt_, [apparently from Skt. _nātha_, 'lord']; a term applied to all spiritual beings, angels, elfs, demons, or what not, including the gods of the Hindus.

[1878.—"Indeed, with the country population of Pegu the worship, or it
should rather be said the propitiation of the 'NÁTS' or spirits, enters
into every act of their ordinary life, and Buddha's doctrine seems kept
for sacred days and their visits to the KYOUNG (monastery) or to the
pagoda."—_Forbes, British Burma_, 222.]

NAUND, s. Hind. _nānd_. A coarse earthen vessel of large size, resembling in shape an inverted bee-hive, and useful for many economic and domestic purposes. The dictionary definition in Fallon, 'an earthen trough,' conveys an erroneous idea.

[1832.—"The ghurī (see GHURRY), or copper cup, floats usually in a vessel
of coarse red pottery filled with water, called a NĀN."—_Wanderings of a
Pilgrim_, i. 250.

[1899.—"To prevent the crickets from wandering away when left, I had a
large earthen pan placed over them upside down. These pans are termed
NANDS. They are made of the coarsest earthenware, and are very capacious.
Those I used were nearly a yard in diameter and about eighteen inches
deep."—_Thornhill, Haunts and Hobbies of an Indian Official_, 79.]

NAUTCH, s. A kind of ballet-dance performed by women; also any kind of stage entertainment; an European ball. Hind. and Mahr. _nāch_, from Skt. _nṛitya_, dancing and stage-playing, through Prakrit _nachcha_. The word is in European use all over India. [A _poggly nautch_ (see POGGLE) is a fancy-dress ball. Also see POOTLY NAUTCH.] Browning seems fond of using this word, and persists in using it wrongly. In the first of the quotations below he calls Fifine the 'European _nautch_,' which is like calling some Hindu dancing-girl 'the Indian ballet.' He repeats the mistake in the second quotation.

[1809.—"You Europeans are apt to picture to yourselves a NACH as a most
attractive spectacle, but once witnessed it generally dissolves the
illusion."—_Broughton, Letters from a Mahratta Camp_, ed. 1892, p. 142.]

1823.—"I joined Lady Macnaghten and a large party this evening to go to a
NÂCH given by a rich native, Rouplall Mullich, on the opening of his new
house."—_Mrs. Heber_, in _Heber_, ed. 1844, i. 37.

[1829.—"... a dance by black people which they calls a
NOTCH...."—_Oriental Sport. Mag._ ed. 1873, i. 129.]

c. 1831.—"Elle (Begum Sumrou) fit enterrer vivante une jeune esclave,
dont elle était jalouse, et donna à son mari un NAUTCH (bal) sur cette
horrible tombe."—_Jacquemont, Correspondance_, ii. 221.

1872.—

"... let be there was no worst
Of degradation spared Fifine; ordained from first
To last, in body and soul, for one life-long debauch,
The Pariah of the North, the European NAUTCH!"
_Fifine at the Fair_, 31.

1876.—

"... I locked in the swarth little lady—I swear,
From the head to the foot of her,—well quite as bare!
'No NAUTCH shall cheat me,' said I, taking my stand
At this bolt which I draw...."
_Natural Magic_, in _Pacchiarotto_, &c.

NAUTCH-GIRL, s. (See BAYADÈRE, DANCING-GIRL.) The last quotation is a glorious jumble, after the manner of the compiler.

[1809.—"NACH GIRLS are exempted from all taxes, though they pay a kind of
voluntary one monthly to a Fuqeer...."—_Broughton, Letters from a
Mahratta Camp_, ed. 1892, p. 113-4.]

1825.—"The NÂCH WOMEN were, as usual, ugly, huddled up in huge bundles of
red petticoats; and their exhibition as dull and insipid to an European
taste, as could well be conceived."—_Heber_, ii. 102.

1836.—"In India and the East dancing-girls are trained called _Almeh_,
and they give a fascinating entertainment called a NATCH, for which they
are well paid."—In _R. Phillips, A Million of Facts_, 322.

NAVAIT, NAITEA, NEVOYAT, &c., n.p. A name given to Mahommedans of mixt race in the Konkan and S. Canara, corresponding more or less to MOPLAHS (q.v.) and LUBBYES of Malabar and the Coromandel coast. [The head-quarters of the Navayats are in N. Canara, and their traditions state that their ancestors fled from the Persian Gulf about the close of the 7th century, to escape the cruelty of a Governor of Irān. See _Sturrock, Man. of S. Canara_, i. 181.] It is apparently a Konkani word connected with Skt. _nava_, 'new,' and implying 'new convert.' [The _Madras Gloss._ derives the word from Pers. _nāīt̤ī_, from _Nāīt̤_, the name of an Arab clan.]

1552.—"Sons of Moors and of Gentile women, who are called
NEITEAS...."—_Castanheda_, iii. 24.

1553.—"NAITEAS que são mestiços: quanto aos padres de geração dos Arabios
... e perparte das madres das Gentias."—_Barros_, I. ix. 3.

" "And because of this fertility of soil, and of the trade of these
ports, there was here a great number of Moors, natives of the country,
whom they call NAITEAS, who were accustomed to buy the horses and sell
them to the Moors of the Decan...."—_Ibid._ I. viii. 9.

c. 1612.—"From this period the Mahomedans extended their religion and
their influence in Malabar, and many of the princes and inhabitants,
becoming converts to the true faith, gave over the management of some of
the seaports to the strangers, whom they called NOWAYITS (literally the
New Race)...."—_Firishta_, by _Briggs_, iv. 533.

1615.—"... et passim infiniti Mahometani reperiebantur, tum indigenae
quos NAITEAS vocabant, tum externi...."—_Jarric_, i. 57.

1626.—"There are two sorts of Moors, one _Mesticos_ of mixed seed of
Moore-fathers and Ethnike-mothers, called NAITEANI, Mungrels also in
their religion, the other Forreiners...."—_Purchas, Pilgrimage_, 554.

NAZIR, s. Hind. from Ar. _nāẓir_, 'inspector' (_naẓr_, 'sight'). The title of a native official in the Anglo-Indian Courts, sometimes improperly rendered 'sheriff,' because he serves processes, &c.

1670.—"The Khan ... ordered his NASSIR, or Master of the Court, to assign
something to the servants...."—_Andriesz_, 41.

[1708.—"He especially, who is called NADER, that is the chief of the
Mahal ..."—_Catrou, H. of the Mogul Dynasty_, E.T. 295.

[1826.—"The NAZIR is a perpetual sheriff, and executes writs and
summonses to all the parties required to attend in civil and criminal
cases."—_Pandurang Hari_, ed. 1873, ii. 118.]

1878.—"The NAZIR had charge of the treasury, stamps, &c., and also the
issue of summonses and processes."—_Life in the Mofussil_, i. 204.

[In the following the word represents _naḳḳāra_, 'a kettle-drum.'

1763.—"His Excellency (Nawab Meer Cossim) had not eaten for three days,
nor allowed his NAZIR to be beaten."—_Diary of a Prisoner at Patna_, in
_Wheeler, Early Records_, 323.]

NEELÁM, LEELÁM, s. Hind. _nīlām_, from Port. _leilão_. An auction or public OUTCRY, as it used to be called in India (corresponding to Scotch _roup_; comp. Germ. _rufen_, and _outroop_ of Linschoten's translator below). The word is, however, Oriental in origin, for Mr. C. P. Brown (MS. notes) points out that the Portuguese word is from Ar. _i'lām_ (_al-i'lām_), 'proclamation, advertisement.' It is omitted by Dozy and Engelmann. How old the custom in India of prompt disposal by auction of the effects of a deceased European is, may be seen in the quotation from Linschoten.

1515.—"Pero d'Alpoym came full of sorrow to Cochin with all the apparel
and servants of Afonso d'Alboquerque, all of which Dom Gracia took charge
of; but the Governor (Lopo Soares) gave orders that there should be a
LEILÃO (auction) of all the wardrobe, which indeed made a very poor show.
Dom Gracia said to D. Aleixo in the church, where they met: The Governor
your uncle orders a LEILÃO of all the old wardrobe of Afonso
d'Alboquerque. I can't praise his intention, but what he has done only
adds to my uncle's honour; for all the people will see that he gathered
no rich Indian stuffs, and that he despised everything but to be foremost
in honour."—_Correa_, ii. 469.

[1527.—"And should any man die, they at once make a LEYLAM of his
property."—India Office MSS., _Corpo Chronologico_, vol. i. Letter of
_Fernando Nunes_ to the King, Sept. 7.

[1554.—"All the spoil of Mombasa that came into the general stock was
sold by LEILÃO."—_Castanheda_, Bk. ii. ch. 13.]

1598.—"In Goa there is holden a daylie assemblie ... which is like the
meeting upõ the burse in Andwarpe ... and there are all kindes of Indian
commodities to sell, so that in a manner it is like a Faire ... it
beginneth in y^e morning at 7 of the clocke, and continueth till 9 ... in
the principal streete of the citie ... and is called the LEYLON, which is
as much as to say, as an _outroop_ ... and when any man dieth, all his
goods are brought thether and sold to the last pennieworth, in the same
outroop, whosoever they be, yea although they were the Viceroyes
goodes...."—_Linschoten_, ch. xxix.; [Hak. Soc. i. 184; and compare
_Pyrard de Laval_, Hak. Soc. ii. 52, who spells the word LAYLON].

c. 1610.—"... le mary vient frapper à la porte, dont la femme faisant
fort l'estonnée, prie le Portugais de se cacher dans vne petite cuue à
pourcelaine, et l'ayant fait entrer là dedans, et ferme très bien à clef,
ouurit la porte a son mary, qui ... le laissa tremper là iusqu'au
lendemain matin, qu'il fit porter ceste cuue au marché, ou LAILAN ainsi
qu'ils appellent...."—_Mocquet_, 344.

Linschoten gives an engraving of the _Rua Direita_ in Goa, with many of these auctions going on, and the superscription: "_O_ LEILAO _que se faz cada dia pola menhã na Rua direita de Goa_." The Portuguese word has taken root at Canton Chinese in the form _yélang_; but more distinctly betrays its origin in the Amoy form _lé-lang_ and Swatow _loylang_ (see _Giles_; also _Dennys's Notes and Queries_, vol. i.).

NEELGYE, NILGHAU, &c., s. Hind. _nīlgāū_, _nīlgāī_, _līlgāī_, _i.e._ 'blue cow'; the popular name of the great antelope, called by Pallas _Antilope tragocamelus_ (_Portax pictus_ of Jerdon, [_Boselaphus tragocamelus_ of Blanford, _Mammalia_, 517]), given from the slaty blue which is its predominant colour. The proper Hind. name of the animal is _rojh_ (Skt. _ṛiśya_, or _ṛishya_).

1663.—"After these Elephants are brought divers tamed _Gazelles_, which
are made to fight with one another; as also some NILGAUX, or grey oxen,
which in my opinion are a kind of _Elands_, and _Rhinoceross_, and those
great _Buffalos_ of _Bengala_ ... to combat with a Lion or
Tiger."—_Bernier_, E.T. p. 84; [ed. _Constable_, 262; in 218 NILSGAUS; in
364, 377, NIL-GHAUX].

1773.—"Captain Hamilton has been so obliging as to take charge of two
deer, a male and a female, of a species which is called NEELGOW, and is,
I believe, unknown in Europe, which he will deliver to you in my
name."—_Warren Hastings_ to _Sir G. Colebrooke_, in _Gleig_, i. 288.

1824.—"There are not only NEELGHAUS, and the common Indian deer, but some
noble red-deer in the park" (at Lucknow).—_Heber_, ed. 1844, i. 214.

1882.—"All officers, we believe, who have served, like the present
writers, on the canals of Upper India, look back on their peripatetic
life there as a happy time ... occasionally on a winding part of the bank
one intruded on the solitude of a huge NÍLGAI."—_Mem. of General Sir W.
E. Baker_, p. 11.

NEEM, s. The tree (N. O. _Meliaceae_) _Azadirachta indica_, Jussieu; Hind. _nīm_ (and _nīb_, according to Playfair, _Taleef Shereef_, 170), Mahr. _nimb_, from Skt. _nimba_. It grows in almost all parts of India, and has a repute for various remedial uses. Thus poultices of the leaves are applied to boils, and their fresh juice given in various diseases; the bitter bark is given in fevers; the fruit is described as purgative and emollient, and as useful in worms, &c., whilst a medicinal oil is extracted from the seeds; and the gum also is reckoned medicinal. It is akin to the _bakain_ (see BUCKYNE), on which it grafts readily.

1563.—"_R._ I beg you to recall the tree by help of which you cured that
valuable horse of yours, of which you told me, for I wish to remember it.

"_O._ You are quite right, for in sooth it is a tree that has a great
repute as valuable and medicinal among nations that I am acquainted with,
and the name among them all is NIMBO. I came to know its virtues in the
Balaghat, because with it I there succeeded in curing sore backs of
horses that were most difficult to clean and heal; and these sores were
cleaned very quickly, and the horses very quickly cured. And this was
done entirely with the leaves of this tree pounded and put over the
sores, mixt with lemon-juice...."—_Garcia_, f. 153.

1578.—"There is another tree highly medicinal ... which is called NIMBO;
and the Malabars call it _Bepole_ [Malayāl. _vēppu_]."—_Acosta_, 284.

[1813.—"... the principal square ... regularly planted with beautiful NYM
or LYM-trees."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ 2nd ed. ii. 445.

[1856.—"Once on a time Guj Singh ... said to those around him, 'Is there
any one who would leap down from that LIMB tree into the
court?'"—_Forbes, Rās Mālā_, ed. 1878, p. 465.]

1877.—"The elders of the Clans sat every day on their platform, under the
great NEEM tree in the town, and attended to all complaints."—_Meadows
Taylor, Story_, &c., ii. 85.

NEGAPATAM, n.p. A seaport of Tanjore district in S. India, written _Nāgai-ppaṭṭanam_, which may mean 'Snake Town.' It is perhaps the Νίγαμα Μητρόπολις of Ptolemy; and see under COROMANDEL.

1534.—"From this he (Cunhall Marcar, a Mahommedan corsair) went
plundering the coast as far as NEGAPATÃO, where there were always a
number of Portuguese trading, and Moorish merchants. These latter,
dreading that this pirate would come to the place and plunder them, to
curry favour with him, sent him word that if he came he would make a
famous haul, because the Portuguese had there a quantity of goods on the
river bank, where he could come up...."—_Correa_, iii. 554.

[1598.—"The coast of Choramandel beginneth from the Cape of
NEGAPATAN."—_Linschoten_, Hak. Soc. i. 82.

[1615.—"Two (ships) from NEGAPOTAN, one from Cullmat and
Messepotan."—_Foster, Letters_, iv. 6.]

NEGOMBO, n.p. A pleasant town and old Dutch fort nearly 20 miles north of Colombo in Ceylon; formerly famous for the growth of the best cinnamon. The etymology is given in very different ways. We read recently that the name is properly (Tamil) _Nīr-Kol̤umbu_, _i.e._ 'Columbo in the water.' But, according to Emerson Tennent, the ordinary derivation is _Mi-gamoa_, the 'Village of bees'; whilst Burnouf says it is properly _Nāga-bhu_, 'Land of Nagas,' or serpent worshippers (see _Tennent_, ii. 630).

1613.—"On this he cast anchor; but the wind blowing very strong by
daybreak, the ships were obliged to weigh, as they could not stand at
their moorings. The vessel of Andrea Coelho and that of Nuno Alvares
Teixeira, after weighing, not being able to weather the reef of NEGUMBO,
ran into the bay, where the storm compelled them to be beached: but as
there were plenty of people there, the vessels were run up by hand and
not wrecked."—_Bocarro_, 42.

NEGRAIS, CAPE, n.p. The name of the island and cape at the extreme south end of Arakan. In the charts the extreme south point of the mainland is called Pagoda Point, and the seaward promontory, N.W. of this, _Cape Negrais_. The name is a Portuguese corruption probably of the Arab or Malay form of the native name which the Burmese express as _Naga-rīt_, 'Dragon's whirlpool.' The set of the tide here is very apt to carry vessels ashore, and thus the locality is famous for wrecks. It is possible, however, that the Burmese name is only an effort at interpretation, and that the locality was called in old times by some name like _Nāgarāshtra_. Ibn Batuta touched at a continental coast occupied by uncivilised people having elephants, between Bengal and Sumatra, which he calls _Baranagār_. From the intervals given, the place must have been near Negrais, and it is just possible that the term _Barra de Negrais_, which frequently occurs in the old writers (_e.g._ see Balbi, Fitch, and Bocarro below) is a misinterpretation of the old name used by Ibn Batuta (iv. 224-228).

1553.—"Up to the Cape of NEGRAIS, which stands in 16 degrees, and where
the Kingdom of Pegu commences, the distance may be 100
leagues."—_Barros_, I. ix. 1.

1583.—"Then the wind came from the S.W., and we made sail with our stern
to the N.E., and running our course till morning we found ourselves close
to the _Bar of_ NEGRAIS, as in their language they call the port which
runs up into Pegu."—_Gasparo Balbi_, f. 92.

1586.—"We entered the _barre of_ NEGRAIS, which is a braue barre," &c.
(see COSMIN).—_R. Fitch_, in _Hakl._ ii. 390.

1613.—"Philip de Brito having sure intelligence of this great armament
... ordered the arming of seven ships and some _sanguicels_, and
appointing as their commodore Paulo de Rego Pinheiro, gave him precise
orders to engage the prince of Arracan at sea, before he should enter the
_Bar_ and rivers of NEGRAIS, which form the mouth of all those of the
kingdom of Pegù."—_Bocarro_, 137.

1727.—"The Sea Coast of Arackan reaches from Xatigam (see CHITTAGONG) to
Cape NEGRAIS, about 400 Miles in length, but few places inhabited ...
(after speaking of "the great Island of Negrais") ... he goes on.... "The
other Island of Negrais, which makes the Point called the Cape ... is
often called _Diamond_ Island, because its Shape is a Rhombus.... Three
Leagues to the Southward of _Diamond_ Island lies a Reef of Rocks a
League long ... conspicuous at all Times by the Sea breaking over them
... the Rocks are called the _Legarti_, or in English, the _Lizard_."—_A.
Hamilton_, ii. 29. This reef is the _Alguada_, on which a noble
lighthouse was erected by Capt. (afterwards Lieut.-Gen.) Sir A. Fraser,
C.B., of the Engineers, with great labour and skill. The statement of
Hamilton suggests that the original name may have been _Lagarto_. But
_Alagada_, "overflowed," is the real origin. It appears in the old French
chart of d'Après as _Ile Noyée_. In Dunn it is _Negada_ or _Neijada_, or
_Lequado_, or Sunken Island (_N. Dir._ 1780, 325).

1759.—"The Dutch by an Inscription in _Teutonic Characters_, lately found
at NEGRAIS, on the Tomb of a _Dutch Colonel_, who died in 1607 (qu. if
not 1627?), appear then to have had Possession of that Island."—Letter in
_Dalrymple, Or. Rep._ i. 98.

1763.—"It gives us pleasure to observe that the King of the Burmahs, who
caused our people at NEGRAIS to be so cruelly massacred, is since dead,
and succeeded by his son, who seems to be of a more friendly and humane
disposition."—_Fort William Consns._, Feb. 19. In _Long_, 288.

[1819.—"NEGRAGLIA." See under MUNNEEPORE.]

NELLY, NELE. s. Malayāl. _nel_, 'rice in the husk'; [Tel. and Tam. _nelli_, 'rice-like']. This is the Dravidian equivalent of PADDY (q.v.), and is often used by the French and Portuguese in South India, where Englishmen use the latter word.

1606.—"... when they sell NELE, after they have measured it out to the
purchaser, for the seller to return and take out two grains for himself
for luck (_com superstição_), things that are all heathen vanities, which
the synod entirely prohibits, and orders that those who practise them
shall be severely punished by the Bishop."—_Gouvea, Synodo_, f. 52_b_.

1651.—"NILI, that is unpounded rice, which is still in the
husk."—_Rogerius_, p. 95.

1760.—"Champs de NELIS." See under JOWAUR.

[1796.—"75 parahs NELLY."—List of Export Duties, in _Logan, Malabar_,
iii. 265.]

NELLORE, n.p. A town and district north of Madras. The name may be Tamil _Nall-ūr_, 'Good Town.' But the local interpretation is from _nel_ (see NELLY); and in the local records it is given in Skt. as _Dhānyapuram_, meaning 'rice-town' (_Seshagiri Sāstri_). [The _Madras Man._ (ii. 214) gives _Nall-ūr_, 'Good-town'; but the _Gloss._ (s.v.) has _nellu_, 'paddy,' _ūru_, 'village.' Mr. Boswell (_Nellore_, 687) suggests that it is derived from a _nelli chett_ tree under which a famous _lingam_ was placed.]

c. 1310.—"Ma'bar extends in length from Kulam to NILÁWAR, nearly 300
parasangs along the sea coast."—_Wassáf_, in _Elliot_, iii. 32.

NERBUDDA R., n.p. Skt. _Narmadā_, 'causing delight'; _Ptol._ Νάμαδος; _Peripl._ Λαμναιος (amended by Fabricius to Νάμμαδος). Dean Vincent's conjectured etymology of _Nahr-Budda_, 'River of Budda,' is a caution against such guesses.

c. 1020.—"From Dhár southwards to the R. NERBADDA nine (parasangs);
thence to Mahrat-des ... eighteen ..."—_Al-Birūnī_, in _Elliot_, i. 60.
The reading of Nerbadda is however doubtful.

c. 1310.—"There were means of crossing all the rivers, but the NERBÁDDA
was such that you might say it was a remnant of the universal
deluge."—_Amír Khusrú_, in _Elliot_, i. 79.

[1616.—"The King rode to the riuer of DARBADATH."—_Sir T. Roe_, Hak. Soc.
ii. 413. In his list (ii. 539) he has NARBADAH.]

1727.—"The next Town of Note for Commerce is Baroach ... on the Banks of
the River NERDABA."—_A. Hamilton_, ed. 1744, i. 145.]

NERCHA, s. Malayāl. _nerchcha_, 'a vow,' from verb _neruγa_, 'to agree or promise.'

1606.—"They all assemble on certain days in the porches of the churches
and dine together ... and this they call NERCHA."—_Gouvea, Synodo_, f.
63. See also f. 11. This term also includes offerings to saints, or to
temples, or particular forms of devotion. Among Hindus a common form is
to feed a lamp before an idol with _ghee_ instead of oil.

NERRICK, NERRUCK, NIRK, &c., s. Hind. from Pers. _nirkh_, vulgarly _nirakh_, _nirikh_. A tariff, rate, or price-current, especially one established by authority. The system of publishing such rates of prices and wages by local authority prevailed generally in India a generation or two back, and is probably not quite extinct even in our own territories. [The provincial Gazettes still publish periodical lists of current prices, but no attempt is made to fix such by authority.] It is still in force in the French settlements, and with no apparent ill effects.

1799.—"I have written to Campbell a long letter about the NERRICK of
exchange, in which I have endeavoured to explain the principles of the
whole system of _shroffing_ (see SHROFF)...."—_Wellington_, i. 56.

1800.—"While I was absent with the army, Col. Sherbrooke had altered the
NERRICK of artificers, and of all kinds of materials for building, at the
instigation of Capt. Norris ... and on the examination of the subject a
system of engineering came out, well worthy of the example set at
Madras."—_Ibid._ i. 67.

[ " "Here is established a NIRUC, or regulation, by which all coins
have a certain value affixed to them; and at this rate they are received
in the payment of the revenue; but in dealings between private persons
attention is not paid to this rule."—_F. Buchanan, Mysore_, ii. 279.]

1878.—"On expressing his surprise at this, the man assured him that it
was really the case that the bazar 'NERIK' or market-rate, had so
risen."—_Life in the Mofussil_, i. p. 33.

NGAPEE, s. The Burmese name, _ngapi_, 'pressed fish,' of the odorous delicacy described under BALACHONG. [See _Forbes, British Burma_, 83.]

1855.—"Makertich, the Armenian, assured us that the jars of NGAPÉ at
Amarapoora exhibited a flux and reflux of tide with the changes of the
moon. I see this is an old belief. De la Loubère mentions it in 1688 as
held by the Siamese."—_Yule, Mission to Ava_, p. 160.

NICOBAR ISLANDS, n.p. The name for centuries applied to a group of islands north of Sumatra. They appear to be the βάρουσσαι of Ptolemy, and the Lankha Bālus of the oldest Arab _Relation_. [Sir G. Birdwood identifies them with the Island of the Bell (_Nakūs_) to which Sindbad, the Seaman, is carried in his fifth voyage. (_Report on Old Records_, 108; _Burton, Arabian Nights_, iv. 368).] The Danes attempted to colonize the islands in the middle of the 18th century, and since, unsuccessfully. An account of the various attempts will be found in the _Voyage of the Novara_. Since 1869 they have been partially occupied by the British Government, as an appendage of the Andaman settlement. Comparing the old forms _Lankha_ and _Nakkavāram_, and the nakedness constantly attributed to the people, it seems possible that the name may have had reference to this (_nañgā_). [Mr. Man (_Journ. Anthrop. Institute_, xviii. 359) writes: "A possible derivation may be suggested by the following extract from a paper by A. de Candolle (1885) on 'The Origin of Cultivated Plants': 'The presence of the coconut in Asia three or four thousand years ago is proved by several Sanskrit names.... The Malays have a name widely diffused in the Archipelago, _kalapa_, _klapa_, _klopo_. At Sumatra and Nicobar we find the name _njior_, _nieor_, in the Philippines _niog_, at Bali, _nioh_, _njo_....' While the Nicobars have long been famed for the excellence of their coconuts, the only words which bear any resemblance to the forms above given are _ngoât_, 'a ripe nut,' and _ñi-nàu_, 'a half-ripe nut.'"]

c. 1050.—The name appears as NAKKAVĀRAM in the great Tanjore Inscription
of the 11th century.

c. 1292.—"When you leave the island of Java (the Less) and the Kingdom of
Lambri, you sail north about 150 miles, and then you come to two Islands,
one of which is called NECUVERAN. In this island they have no king nor
chief, but live like beasts...."—_Marco Polo_, Bk. III. ch. 12.

c. 1300.—"Opposite Lámúri is the island of Lákwáram (probably to read
NÁKWÁRAM), which produces plenty of red amber. Men and women go naked,
except that the latter cover the pudenda with cocoanut leaves. They are
all subject to the Káán."—_Rashíduddín_, in _Elliot_, i. 71.

c. 1322.—"Departing from that country, and sailing towards the south over
the Ocean Sea, I found many islands and countries, where among others was
one called NICOVERAN ... both the men and women there have faces like
dogs, etc...."—_Friar Odoric_, in _Cathay_, &c., 97.

1510.—"In front of the before named island of Samatra, across the Gulf of
the Ganges, are 5 or 6 small islands, which have very good water and
ports for ships. They are inhabited by Gentiles, poor people, and are
called NICONVAR (_Nacabar_ in Lisbon ed.), and they find in them very
good amber, which they carry thence to Malaca and other
parts."—_Barbosa_, 195.

1514.—"Seeing the land, the pilot said it was the land of NICUBAR.... The
pilot was at the top to look out, and coming down he said that this land
was all cut up (_i.e._ in islands), and that it was possible to pass
through the middle; and that now there was no help for it but to chance
it or turn back to Cochin.... The natives of the country had sight of us
and suddenly came forth in great boats full of people.... They were all
_Caffres_, with fish-bones inserted in their lips and chin: big men and
frightful to look on; having their boats full of bows and arrows poisoned
with herbs."—_Giov. da Empoli_, in _Archiv. Stor._ pp. 71-72.

NIGGER, s. It is an old brutality of the Englishman in India to apply this title to the natives, as we may see from Ives quoted below. The use originated, however, doubtless in following the old Portuguese use of _negros_ for "the BLACKS" (q.v.), with no malice prepense, without any intended confusion between Africans and Asiatics.

1539.—See quot. from Pinto under COBRA DE CAPELLO, where NEGROES is used
for natives of Sumatra.

1548.—"Moreover three blacks (NEGROS) in this territory occupy lands
worth 3000 or 4000 pardaos of rent; they are related to one another, and
are placed as guards in the outlying parts."—_S. Botelho, Cartas_, 111.

1582.—"A NIGROE of John _Cambrayes_, Pilot to _Paulo de la Gama_, was
that day run away to the Moores."—_Castañeda_, by N. L., f. 19.

[1608.—"The King and people NIGGERS."—_Danvers, Letters_, i. 10.]

1622.—Ed. Grant, purser of the Diamond, reports capture of vessels,
including a junk "with some stoor of NEGERS, which was devided bytwick
the Duch and the English."—_Sainsbury_, iii. p. 78.

c. 1755.—"You cannot affront them (the natives) more than to call them by
the name of NEGROE, as they conceive it implies an idea of
slavery."—_Ives, Voyage_, p. 23.

c. 1757.—"Gli Gesuiti sono missionarii e parocchi de' NEGRI detti
Malabar."—_Della Tomba_, 3.

1760.—"The Dress of this Country is entirely linnen, save Hats and Shoes;
the latter are made of tanned Hides as in England ... only that they are
no thicker than coarse paper. These shoes are neatly made by NEGROES, and
sold for about 10_d._ a Pr. each of which will last two months with
care."—_MS. Letter of James Rennell_, Sept. 30.

1866.—"Now the political creed of the frequenters of dawk bungalows is
too uniform ... it consists in the following tenets ... that Sir Mordaunt
Wells is the greatest judge that ever sat on the English bench; and that
when you hit a NIGGER he dies on purpose to spite you."—_The Dawk
Bungalow_, p. 225.