Chapter LXXVIII: Section II: runs (2)

1809.—"The SHALIE, a long piece of coloured silk or cotton, is wrapped
round the waist in the form of a petticoat, which leaves part of one leg
bare, whilst the other is covered to the ancle with long and graceful
folds, gathered up in front, so as to leave one end of the SHALIE to
cross the breast, and form a drapery, which is sometimes thrown over the
head as a veil."—_Maria Graham_, 3. [But, as Sir H. Yule suggested, in
this form the word may represent SAREE.]

1813.—"Red SHELLAS or SALLOES...."—_Milburne_, i. 124.

[ " "His SHELA, of fine cloth, with a silk or gold thread
border...."—_Trans. Lit. Soc. Bo._ iii. 219 _seq._

[1900.—"SELA _Dupatta_—worn by men over shoulders, tucked round waist,
ends hanging in front ... plain body and borders richly ornamented with
gold thread; white, yellow, and green; worn in full dress, sometimes
merely thrown over shoulders, with the ends hanging in front from either
shoulder."—_Yusuf Ali, Mon. on Silk_, 72.

The following may represent the same word, or be perhaps connected with P.—H. _chilla_, 'a selvage, gold threads in the border of a turban, &c.'

[1610.—"TSYLE, the corge, Rs. 70."—_Danvers, Letters_, i. 72.]

1615.—"320 pieces red ZELAS."—_Foster, Letters_, iv. 129. The same word
is used by _Cocks, Diary_, Hak. Soc. i. 4.

SHAMA, s. Hind. _shāmā_ [Skt. _syāma_, 'black, dark-coloured.'] A favourite song-bird and cage-bird, _Kitta cincla macrura_, Gmel. "In confinement it imitates the notes of other birds, and of various animals, with ease and accuracy" (_Jerdon_). The long tail seems to indicate the identity of this bird rather than the _mainā_ (see MYNA) with that described by Aelian. [Mr. M‘Crindle (_Invasion of India_, 186) favours the identification of the bird with the _Mainā_.]

c. A.D. 250.—"There is another bird found among the Indians, which is of
the size of a starling. It is particoloured; and in imitating the voice
of man it is more loquacious and clever than a parrot. But it does not
readily bear confinement, and yearning for liberty, and longing for
intercourse with its kind, it prefers hunger to bondage with fat living.
The Macedonians who dwell among the Indians, in the city of Bucephala and
thereabouts ... call the bird κερκίων ('Taily'); and the name arose from
the fact that the bird twitches his tail just like a wagtail."—_Aelian,
de Nat. Anim._ xvi. 3.

SHAMAN, SHAMANISM, s. These terms are applied in modern times to superstitions of the kind that connects itself with exorcism and "devil-dancing" as their most prominent characteristic, and which are found to prevail with wonderful identity of circumstance among non-Caucasian races over parts of the earth most remote from one another; not only among the vast variety of Indo-Chinese tribes, but among the Dravidian tribes of India, the Veddahs of Ceylon, the races of Siberia, and the red nations of N. and S. America. "Hinduism has assimilated these 'prior superstitions of the sons of Tur,' as Mr. Hodgson calls them, in the form of Tantrika mysteries, whilst, in the wild performance of the Dancing Dervishes at Constantinople, we see, perhaps, again, the infection of Turanian blood breaking out from the very heart of Mussulman orthodoxy" (see _Notes to Marco Polo_, Bk. II. ch. 50). The characteristics of Shamanism is the existence of certain sooth-sayers or medicine-men, who profess a special art of dealing with the mischievous spirits who are supposed to produce illness and other calamities, and who invoke these spirits and ascertain the means of appeasing them, in trance produced by fantastic ceremonies and convulsive dancings.

The immediate origin of the term is the title of the spirit-conjuror in the Tunguz language, which is _shaman_, in that of the Manchus becoming _saman_, pl. _samasa_. But then in Chinese _Sha-măn_ or _Shi-măn_ is used for a Buddhist ascetic, and this would seem to be taken from the Skt. _śramana_, Pali _samana_. Whether the Tanguz word is in any way connected with this or adopted from it, is a doubtful question. W. Schott, who has treated the matter elaborately (_Über den Doppelsinn des Wortes_ Schamane _und über den tungusichen_ Schamanen-_Cultus am Hofe der Mandju Kaisern_, Berlin Akad. 1842), finds it difficult to suppose any connection. We, however, give a few quotations relating to the two words in one series. In the first two the reference is undoubtedly to Buddhist ascetics.

c. B.C. 320.—"Τοὺς δὲ Σαρμάνας, τοὺς μὲν ἐντιμοτάτους Ὑλοβίους φησὶν
ὀνομάζεσθαι, ζῶντας ἐν ταῖς ὕλαις ἀπὸ φύλλων καὶ καρπῶν ἀγρίων, ἐσθῆτας
δ' ἔχειν ἀπὸ φλοῖων δενδρέιων, ἀφροδισίων χωρὶς καὶ οἴνου."—From
_Megasthenes_, in _Strabo_, xv.

c. 712.—"All the SAMANÍS assembled and sent a message to Bajhrá, saying,
"We are _násik_ devotees. Our religion is one of peace and quiet, and
fighting and slaying is prohibited, as well as all kinds of shedding of
blood."—_Chach Náma_, in _Elliot_, i. 158.

1829.—"_Kami_ is the Mongol name of the spirit-conjuror or sorcerer, who
before the introduction of Buddhism exercised among the Mongols the
office of Sacrificer and Priest, as he still does among the Tunguzes,
Manjus, and other Asiatic tribes.... In Europe they are known by the
Tunguz name SCHAMAN; among the Manjus as SAMAN, and among the Tibetans as
_Hlaba_. The Mongols now call them with contempt and abhorrence _Böh_ or
_Böghe_, _i.e._ 'Sorcerer,' 'Wizard,' and the women who give themselves
to the like fooleries _Udugun_."—_I. J. Schmidt, Notes to Sanang Setzen_,
p. 416.

1871.—"Among Siberian tribes, the SHAMANS select children liable to
convulsions as suitable to be brought up to the profession, which is apt
to become hereditary with the epileptic tendencies it belongs
to."—_Tylor, Primitive Culture_, ii. 121.

SHAMBOGUE, s. Canar. _shāna-_ or _sāna-bhoga_; _shanāya_, 'allowance of grain paid to the village accountant,' Skt. _bhoga_, 'enjoyment.' A village clerk or accountant.

[c. 1766.—"... this order to be enforced in the accounts by the
SHANBAGUE."—_Logan, Malabar_, iii. 120.

[1800.—"SHANABOGA, called SHANBOGUE by corruption, and CURNUM by the
Musulmans, is the village accountant."—_Buchanan's Mysore_, i. 268.]

1801.—"When the whole KIST is collected, the SHANBOGUE and potail (see
PATEL) carry it to the teshildar's cutcherry."—_T. Munro, in Life_, i.
316.

SHAMEEANA, SEMIANNA, s. Pers. _shamiyāna_ or _shāmiyāna_ [very doubtfully derived from Pers. _shāh_, 'king,' _miyāna_, 'centre'], an awning or flat tent-roof, sometimes without sides, but often in the present day with CANAUTS; sometimes pitched like a porch before a large tent; often used by civil officers, when on tour, to hold their court or office proceedings _coram populo_, and in a manner generally accessible. [In the early records the word is used for a kind of striped calico.]

c. 1590.—"The SHĀMYĀNAH-awning is made of various sizes, but never more
than of 12 yards square."—_Āīn_, i. 54.

[1609.—"A sort of Calico here called SEMIJANES are also in abundance, it
is broader than the Calico."—_Danvers, Letters_, i. 29.]

[1613.—"The Hector having certain chueckeros (CHUCKER) of fine SEMIAN
chowters."—_Ibid._ i. 217. In _Foster_, iv. 239, SEMANES.]

1616.—"... there is erected a throne foure foote from the ground in the
Durbar Court from the backe whereof, to the place where the King comes
out, a square of 56 paces long, and 43 broad was rayled in, and covered
with fair SEMIAENES or Canopies of Cloth of Gold, Silke, or Velvet ioyned
together, and sustained with Canes so covered."—_Sir T. Roe_, in
_Purchas_, i.; Hak. Soc. i. 142.

[1676.—"We desire you to furnish him with all things necessary for his
voyage, ... with bridle and sadle, SEMEANOES, canatts
(CANAUT)...."—_Forrest, Bombay Letters_, i. 89.]

1814.—"I had seldom occasion to look out for gardens or pleasure grounds
to pitch my tent or erect my SUMMINIANA or SHAMYANA, the whole country
being generally a garden."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ ii. 455; 2nd ed. ii. 64. In
ii. 294 he writes SHUMEEANA].

1857.—"At an early hour we retired to rest. Our beds were arranged under
large canopies, open on all sides, and which are termed by the natives
'SHAMEANAHS.'"—_M. Thornhill, Personal Adventures_, 14.

SHAMPOO, v. To knead and press the muscles with the view of relieving fatigue, &c. The word has now long been familiarly used in England. The Hind. verb is _chāmpnā_, from the imperative of which, _chāmpō_, this is most probably a corruption, as in the case of BUNOW, PUCKEROW, &c. The process is described, though not named, by Terry, in 1616: "Taking thus their ease, they often call their Barbers, who tenderly gripe and smite their Armes and other parts of their bodies instead of exercise, to stirre the bloud. It is a pleasing wantonnesse, and much valued in these hot climes." (In _Purchas_, ii. 1475). The process was familiar to the Romans under the Empire, whose slaves employed in this way were styled _tractator_ and _tractatrix_. [Perhaps the earliest reference to the practice is in Strabo (_McCrindle, Ancient India_, 72).] But with the ancients it seems to have been allied to vice, for which there is no ground that we know in the Indian custom.

1748.—"SHAMPOOING is an operation not known in Europe, and is peculiar to
the Chinese, which I had once the curiosity to go through, and for which
I paid but a trifle. However, had I not seen several China merchants
SHAMPOOED before me, I should have been apprehensive of danger, even at
the sight of all the different instruments...." (The account is good, but
too long for extract.)—_A Voyage to the E. Indies in 1747 and 1748._
London, 1762, p. 226.

1750-60.—"The practice of CHAMPING, which by the best intelligence I
could gather is derived from the Chinese, may not be unworthy
particularizing, as it is little known to the modern
Europeans...."—_Grose_, i. 113. This writer quotes _Martial_, iii. Ep.
82, and _Seneca_, Epist. 66, to show that the practice was known in
ancient Rome.

1800.—"The Sultan generally rose at break of day: after being CHAMPOED,
and rubbed, he washed himself, and read the Koran for an hour."—_Beatson,
War with Tippoo_, p. 159.

[1810.—"SHAMPOEING may be compared to a gentle kneading of the whole
person, and is the same operation described by the voyagers to the
Southern and Pacific ocean."—_Wilks, Hist. Sketches_, Madras reprint, i.
276.]

" "Then whilst they fanned the children, or CHAMPOOED them if they
were restless, they used to tell stories, some of which dealt of marvels
as great as those recorded in the 1001 Nights."—_Mrs. Sherwood,
Autobiog._ 410.

" "That considerable relief is obtained from SHAMPOING, cannot be
doubted; I have repeatedly been restored surprisingly from severe
fatigue...."—_Williamson, V. M._ ii. 198.

1813.—"There is sometimes a voluptuousness in the climate of India, a
stillness in nature, an indescribable softness, which soothes the mind,
and gives it up to the most delightful sensations: independent of the
effects of opium, CHAMPOING, and other luxuries indulged in by oriental
sensualists."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ i. 35; [2nd ed. i. 25.]

SHAN, n.p. The name which we have learned from the Burmese to apply to the people who call themselves the _great T'ai_, kindred to the Siamese, and occupying extensive tracts in Indo-China, intermediate between Burma, Siam, and China. They are the same people that have been known, after the Portuguese, and some of the early R. C. Missionaries, as LAOS (q.v.); but we now give the name an extensive signification covering the whole race. The Siamese, who have been for centuries politically the most important branch of this race, call (or did call themselves—see De la Loubère, who is very accurate) _T'ai-Noe_ or 'Little T'ai,' whilst they applied the term _T'ai-Yai_, or 'Great T'ai,' to their northern kindred or some part of these;[244] sometimes also calling the latter _T'ai-güt_, or the 'Ta'i left behind.' The T'ai or Shan are certainly the most numerous and widely spread race in Indo-China, and innumerable petty Shan States exist on the borders of Burma, Siam, and China, more or less dependent on, or tributary to, their powerful neighbours. They are found from the extreme north of the Irawadi Valley, in the vicinity of Assam, to the borders of Camboja; and in nearly all we find, to a degree unusual in the case of populations politically so segregated, a certain homogeneity in language, civilisation, and religion (Buddhist), which seems to point to their former union in considerable States.

One branch of the race entered and conquered Assam in the 13th century, and from the name by which they were known, _Ahom_ or _Aham_, was derived, by the frequent exchange of aspirant and sibilant, the name, just used, of the province itself. The most extensive and central Shan State, which occupied a position between Ava and Yunnan, is known in the Shan traditions as Mung-_Mau_, and in Burma by the Buddhisto-classical name of _Kauśāmbi_ (from a famous city of that name in ancient India) corrupted by a usual process into _Ko-Shan-pyi_ and interpreted to mean 'Nine-Shan-States.' Further south were those T'ai States which have usually been called LAOS, and which formed several considerable kingdoms, going through many vicissitudes of power. Several of their capitals were visited and their ruins described by the late Francis Garnier, and the cities of these and many smaller States of the same race, all built on the same general quadrangular plan, are spread broadcast over that part of Indo-China which extends from Siam north of Yunnan.

Mr. Cushing, in the Introduction to his _Shan Dictionary_ (Rangoon, 1881), divides the Shan family by dialectic indications into the _Ahoms_, whose language is now extinct, the _Chinese Shan_ (occupying the central territory of what was _Mau_ or Kauśāmbi), the _Shan_ (_Proper_, or Burmese Shan), _Laos_ (or Siamese Shan), and Siamese.

The term SHAN is borrowed from the Burmese, in whose peculiar orthography the name, though pronounced _Shān_, is written _rham_. We have not met with its use in English prior to the Mission of Col. Symes in 1795. It appears in the map illustrating his narrative, and once or twice in the narrative itself, and it was frequently used by his companion, F. Buchanan, whose papers were only published many years afterwards in various periodicals difficult to meet with. It was not until the Burmese war of 1824-1826, and the active investigation of our Eastern frontier which followed, that the name became popularly known in British India. The best notice of the Shans that we are acquainted with is a scarce pamphlet by Mr. Ney Elias, printed by the Foreign Dept. of Calcutta in 1876 (_Introd. Sketch of the Hist. of the Shans, &c._). [The ethnology of the race is discussed by J. G. Scott, _Upper Burma Gazetteer_, i. pt. i. 187 _seqq._ Also see _Prince Henri d'Orleans, Du Tonkin aux Indes_, 1898; _H. S. Hallett, Among the Shans_, 1885, and _A Thousand Miles on an Elephant_, 1890.]

Though the name as we have taken it is a Burmese oral form, it seems to be essentially a genuine ethnic name for the race. It is applied in the form SAM by the Assamese, and the Kakhyens; the Siamese themselves have an obsolete SIẼM (written _Sieyam_) for themselves, and SIENG (_Sieyang_) for the Laos. The former word is evidently the _Sien_, which the Chinese used in the compound _Sien-lo_ (for Siam,—see _Marco Polo_, 2nd ed. Bk. iii. ch. 7, note 3), and from which we got, probably through a Malay medium, our SIAM (q.v.). The Burmese distinguish the Siamese Shans as _Yudia_ (see JUDEA) Shans, a term perhaps sometimes including Siam itself. Symes gives this (through Arakanese corruption) as 'Yoodra-Shaan,' and he also (no doubt improperly) calls the Manipūr people 'Cassay Shaan' (see CASSAY).

1795.—"These events did not deter Shanbuan from pursuing his favourite
scheme of conquest to the westward. The fertile plains and populous towns
of Munnipoora and the CASSAY SHAAN, attracted his ambition."—_Symes_, p.
77.

" "Zemee (see JANGOMAY), Sandapoora, and many districts of the
YOODRA SHAAN to the eastward, were tributary, and governed by CHOBWAS,
who annually paid homage to the Birman king."—_Ibid._ 102.

" "SHAAN, or SHAN, is a very comprehensive term given to different
nations, some independent, others the subjects of the greater
states."—_Ibid._ 274.

c. 1818.—"... They were assisted by many of the _Zaboà_ (see CHOBWA) or
petty princes of the SCIAM, subject to the Burmese, who, wearied by the
oppressions and exactions of the Burmese Mandarins and generals, had
revolted, and made common cause with the enemies of their cruel
masters.... The war which the Burmese had to support with these enemies
was long and disastrous ... instead of overcoming the SCIAM (they) only
lost day by day the territories ... and saw their princes range
themselves ... under the protection of the King of Siam."—_Sangermano_,
p. 57.

1861.—

"Fie, Fie! Captain Spry!
You are surely in joke
With your wires and your trams,
Going past all the SHAMS
With branches to _Bam-you_ (see BAMO), and end in A-SMOKE."
_Ode on the proposed Yunnan Railway._

_Bhamo_ and _Esmok_ were names constantly recurring in the late Capt.
Spry's railway projects.

SHANBAFF, SINABAFF, &c., s. Pers. _shānbāft_. A stuff often mentioned in the early narratives as an export from Bengal and other parts of India. Perhaps indeed these names indicate two different stuffs, as we do not know what they were, except that (as mentioned below) the _sinabaff_ was a fine white stuff. _Sīnabāff_ is not in Vuller's _Lexicon_. _Shānabāf_ is, and is explained as _genus panni grossioris, sic descripta_ (E. T.): "A very coarse and cheap stuff which they make for the sleeves of _ḳabās_ (see CABAYA) for sale."—_Bahār-i-'Ajam._ But this cannot have been the character of the stuffs sent by Sultan Mahommed Tughlak (as in the first quotation) to the Emperor of China. [Badger (quoted by _Birdwood, Report on Old Records_, 153) identifies the word with _sīna-bāfta_, 'China-woven' cloths.]

1343.—"When the aforesaid present came to the Sultan of India (from the
Emp. of China) ... in return for this present he sent another of greater
value ... 100 pieces of SHĪRĪNBĀF, and 500 pieces of SHĀNBĀF."—_Ibn
Batuta_, iv. 3.

1498.—"The overseer of the Treasury came next day to the Captain-Major,
and brought him 20 pieces of white stuff, very fine, with gold embroidery
which they call _beyramies_ (BEIRAMEE), and other 20 large white stuffs,
very fine, which were named SINABAFOS...."—_Correa_, E.T. by _Ld.
Stanley_, 197.

[1508.—See under ALJOFAR.]

1510.—"One of the Persians said: 'Let us go to our house, that is, to
Calicut.' I answered, 'Do not go, for you will lose these fine SINABAPH'
(which were pieces of cloth we carried)."—_Varthema_, 269.

1516.—"The quintal of this sugar was worth two ducats and a half in
Malabar, and a good SINABÁFFO was worth two ducats."—_Barbosa_, 179.

[ " "Also they make other stuffs which they call _Mamonas_
(_Maḥmūdīs_?), others _duguazas_ (_dogazīs_?), others _chautares_ (see
CHOWTARS, under PIECE-GOODS), others SINABAFAS, which last are the best,
and which the Moors hold in most esteem to make shirts of."—_Ibid._,
Lisbon ed. 362.]

SHASTER, s. The Law books or Sacred Writings of the Hindus. From Skt. _śāstra_, 'a rule,' a religious code, a scientific treatise.

1612.—"... They have many books in their Latin.... Six of these they call
XASTRA, which are the bodies; eighteen which they call _Purána_
(POORANA), which are the limbs."—_Couto_, V. vi. 3.

1630.—"... The Banians deliver that this book, by them called the
SHASTER, or the Book of their written word, consisted of these three
tracts."—_Lord's Display_, ch. viii.

1651.—In _Rogerius_, the word is everywhere misprinted IASTRA.

1717.—"The six SASTRANGÓL contain all the Points and different Ceremonies
in Worship...."—_Phillips's Account_, 40.

1765.—"... at the capture of _Calcutta_, A.D. 1756, I lost many curious
_Gentoo_ manuscripts, and among them two very correct and valuable copies
of the _Gentoo_ SHASTAH."—_J. Z. Holwell, Interesting Hist. Events_, &c.,
2d ed., 1766, i. 3.

1770.—"The SHASTAH is looked upon by some as a commentary on the _vedam_,
and by others as an original work."—_Raynal_ (tr. 1777), i. 50.

1776.—"The occupation of the Bramin should be to read the _Beids_, and
other SHASTERS."—_Halhed, Gentoo Code_, 39.

[SHASTREE, s. Hind. _śāstrī_ (see SHASTER). A man of learning, one who teaches any branch of Hindu learning, such as law.

[1824.—"Gungadhur SHASTREE, the minister of the Baroda state, ... was
murdered by Trimbuckjee under circumstances which left no doubt that the
deed was perpetrated with the knowledge of Bajerow."—_Malcolm, Central
India_, 2nd ed. i. 307.]

SHAWL, s. Pers. and Hind. _shāl_, also _doshāla_, 'a pair of shawls.' The Persian word is perhaps of Indian origin, from Skt. _śavala_, 'variegated.' Sir George Birdwood tells us that he has found among the old India records "Carmania SHELLS" and "Carmania SHAWOOLS," meaning apparently _Kermān shawls_. He gives no dates unfortunately. [In a book of 1685 he finds "SHAWLES Carmania" and "Carmania Wooll"; in one of 1704, "CHAWOOLS" (_Report on Old Records_, 27, 40). Carmania goats are mentioned in a letter in _Forrest, Bombay Letters_, i. 140.] In Meninski (published in 1680) _shāl_ is defined in a way that shows the humble sense of the word originally:

"Panni viliores qui partim albi, partim cineritii, partim nigri esse
solent ex lana et pillis caprinis; hujusmodi pannum seu telam injiciunt
humeris Dervisii ... instar stolae aut pallii." To this he adds, "Datur
etiam sericea ejusmodi tela, fere instar nostri multitii, sive simplicis
sive duplicati." For this the 2nd edition a century later substitutes:
"_Shāl-i-Hindī_" (Indian shawl). "Tela _sericea_ subtilissima ex India
adferri solita."

c. 1590.—"In former times SHAWLS were often brought from Kashmír. People
folded them in four folds, and wore them for a very long time.... His
Majesty encourages in every possible way the (_shāl-bāfī_) manufacture of
SHAWLS in Kashmír. In Lahór also there are more than 1000
workshops."—_Āīn_ i. 92. [Also see ed. _Jarrett_, ii. 349, 355.]

c. 1665.—"Ils mettent sur eux a toute saison, lorsqu'ils sortent, une
CHAL, qui est une maniere de toilette d'une laine très-fine qui se fait a
Cachmìr. Ces CHALS ont environ deux aunes (the old French _aune_, nearly
47 inches English) de long sur une de large. On les achete vingt-cinq ou
trente écus si elles sont fines. Il y en a même qui coûtent cinquante
écus, mais ce sont les très-fines."—_Thevenot_, v. 110.

c. 1666.—"Ces CHALES sont certaines pièces d'étoffe d'une aulne et demie
de long, et d'une de large ou environ, qui sont brodées aux deux bouts
d'une espèce de broderie, faite au métier, d'un pied ou environ de
large.... J'en ai vu de ceux que les _Omrahs_ font faire exprès, qui
coutoient jusqu'à cent cinquante Roupies; des autres qui sont de cette
laine du pays, je n'en ai pas vu qui passaient 50 Roupies."—_Bernier_,
ii. 280-281; [ed. _Constable_, 402].

1717.—"... Con tutto ciò preziosissime nobilissime e senza comparazione
magnifiche sono le tele che si chiamano SCIAL, si nella lingua
Hindustana, come ancora nella lingua Persiana. Tali SCIAL altro non sono,
che alcuni manti, che si posano sulla testa, e facendo da man destra, e
da man sinistra scendere le due metà, con queste si cinge...."—_MS.
Narrative of Padre Ip. Desideri._

[1662.—"Another rich Skarf, which they call SCHAL, made of a very fine
stuff."—_J. Davies, Ambassador's Trav._, Bk. vi. 235, _Stanf. Dict._]

1727.—"When they go abroad they wear a SHAWL folded up, or a piece of
White Cotton Cloth lying loose on the Top of their Heads."—_A. Hamilton_,
ii. 50; [SHAUL in ed. 1744, ii. 49].

c. 1760.—"Some SHAWLS are manufactured there.... Those coming from the
province of Cachemire on the borders of Tartary, being made of a peculiar
kind of silky hair, that produces from the loom a cloth beautifully
bordered at both ends, with a narrow flowered selvage, about two yards
and a half long, and a yard and a half wide ... and according to the
price, which is from ten pounds and upwards to fifteen shillings, join,
to exquisite fineness, a substance that renders them extremely warm, and
so pliant that the fine ones are easily drawn through a common ring on
the finger."—_Grose_, i. 118.

1781.—Sonnerat writes CHALLES. He says: "Ces étoffes (faites avec la
laine des moutons de Tibet) surpassent nos plus belles soieries en
finesse."—_Voyage_, i. 52.

It seems from these extracts that the large and costly shawl, woven in figures over its whole surface, is a modern article. The old shawl, we see, was from 6 to 8 feet long, by about half that breadth; and it was most commonly white, with only a _border_ of figured weaving at each end. In fact what is now called a RAMPOOR CHUDDER when made with figured ends is probably the best representation of the old shawl.

SHEEAH, SHIA, s. Arab. _shī'a_, _i.e._ 'sect.' A follower (more properly the followers collectively) of the Mahommedan 'sect,' or sects rather, which specially venerate 'Ali, and regard the Imāms (see IMAUM), his descendants, as the true successors to the Caliphate. The Persians (since the accession of the 'SOPHY' dynasty, (q.v.)) are _Shī'as_, and a good many of the Moslems in India. The sects which have followed more or less secret doctrines, and the veneration of hereditary quasi-divine heads, such as the Karmathites and Ismaelites of Musulman history, and the modern BOHRAS (see BORA) and "Mulāḥis," may generally be regarded as _Shī'a_. [See the elaborate article on the sect in _Hughes, Dict. of Islām_, 572 _seqq._]

c. 1309.—"... dont encore il est ainsi, que tuit cil qui croient en la
loy Haali dient que cil qui croient en la loy Mahommet sont mescréant; et
aussi tuit cil qui croient en la loy Mahommet dient que tuit cil qui
croient en la loy Haali sont mescréant."—_Joinville_, 252.

1553.—"Among the Moors have always been controversies ... which of the
four first Caliphs was the most legitimate successor to the Caliphate.
The Arabians favoured Bubac, Homar, and Otthoman, the Persians
(_Parseos_) favoured Alle, and held the others for usurpers, and as
holding it against the testament of Mahamed ... to the last this schism
has endured between the Arabians and the Persians. The latter took the
appellation XIÁ, as much as to say 'Union of one Body,' and the Arabs
called them in reproach _Raffady_ [_Rāfiḍī_, a heretic (lit.
'deserter')], as much as to say 'People astray from the Path,' whilst
they call themselves ÇUNY (see SUNNEE), which is the contrary."—_Barros_,
II. x. 6.

1620.—"The Sonnite adherents of tradition, like the Arabs, the Turks, and
an infinite number of others, accept the primacy of those who actually
possess it. The Persians and their adherents who are called _Shias_
(SCIAI), _i.e._ 'Sectaries,' and are not ashamed of the name, believe in
the primacy of those who have only claimed it (without possessing it),
and obstinately contend that it belongs to the family of Alì only."—_P.
della Valle_, ii. 75; [conf. Hak. Soc. i. 152].

1626.—"He is by Religion a Mahumetan, descended from Persian Ancestors,
and retaineth their opinions, which differing in many points from the
Turkes, are distinguished in their Sectes by tearmes of SEAW and
_Sunnee_."—_Purchas, Pilgrimage_, 995.

1653.—"Les Persans et _Keselbaches_ (KUZZILBASH) se disent SCHAÌ ... si
les Ottomans estoient SCHAÌS, ou de la Secte de Haly, les Persans se
feroient _Sonnis_ qui est la Secte des Ottomans."—_De la
Boullaye-le-Gouz_, ed. 1657, 106.

1673.—"His Substitute here is a CHIAS Moor."—_Fryer_, 29.

1798.—"In contradistinction to the _Soonis_, who in their prayers cross
their hands on the lower part of the breast, the SCHIAHS drop their arms
in straight lines."—_G. Forster, Travels_, ii. 129.

1805.—"The word SH'EEAH, or SHEEUT, properly signifies a troop or sect
... but has become the distinctive appellation of the followers of Aly,
or all those who maintain that he was the first legitimate _Khuleefah_,
or successor to Moohummad."—_Baillie, Digest of Mah. Law_, II. xii.

1869.—"La tolerance indienne est venue diminuer dans l'Inde le fanatisme
Musulman. Là _Sunnites_ et SCHIITES n'ont point entre eux cette animosité
qui divise les Turcs et les Persans ... ces deux sectes divisent les
musulmans de l'Inde; mais comme je viens de dire, elles n'excitent
généralement entre eux aucune animosité."—_Garcin de Tassy, Rel. Mus._,
p. 12.

SHEERMAUL, s. Pers.—Hind. _shīrmāl_, a cake made with flour, milk and leaven; a sort of _brioche_. [The word comes from Pers. _shīr_, 'milk,' _māl_, 'crushing.' Riddell (_Domest. Econ._ 461) gives a receipt for what he calls "_Nauna Sheer Mhal_," _nān_ being Pers., 'bread.']

[1832.—"The dishes of meetah (_miṭhā_, 'sweet') are accompanied with the
many varieties of bread common to Hindoostaun, without leaven, as
SHEAH-MAUL, _bacherkaunie_ (BAKIR-KHANI), _chapaatie_ (CHUPATTY), &c.;
the first two have milk and ghee mixed with the flour, and nearly
resemble our pie-crust."—_Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali, Observations_, i. 101.

[SHEIKH, s. Ar. _shaikh_; an old man, elder, chief, head of an Arab tribe. The word should properly mean one of the descendants of tribes of genuine Arab descent, but at the present day, in India, it is often applied to converts to Islam from the lower Hindu tribes. For the use of the word in the sense of a saint, see under PEER.

[1598.—"Lieftenant (which the Arabians called ZEQUEN)."—_Linschoten_,
Hak. Soc. i. 24.

[1625.—"They will not haue them iudged by any Custome, and they are
content that their XEQUE doe determine them as he list."—_Purchas,
Pilgrimage_, ii. 1146.

1727.—"... but if it was so, that he (Abraham) was their SHEEK, as they
alledge, they neither follow him in Morals or Religion."—_A. Hamilton_,
ed. 1744, i. 37.

[1835.—"Some parents employ a SHEYKH or fikee to teach their boys at
home."—_Lane, Mod. Egypt._, ed. 1871, i. 77.]

SHERBET, s. Though this word is used in India by natives in its native (Arab. and Pers.) form _sharbat_,[245] 'draught,' it is not a word now specially in Anglo-Indian use. The Arabic seems to have entered Europe by several different doors. Thus in Italian and French we have _sorbetto_ and _sorbet_, which probably came direct from the Levantine or Turkish form _shurbat_ or _shorbat_; in Sp. and Port. we have _xarabe_, _axarabe_ (_ash-sharāb_, the standard Ar. _sharāb_, 'wine or any beverage'), and _xarope_, and from these forms probably Ital. _sciroppo_, _siroppo_, with old French _ysserop_ and mod. French _sirop_; also English _syrup_, and more directly from the Spanish, _shrub_. Mod. Span. again gets, by reflection from French or Italian, _sorbete_ and _sîrop_ (see _Dozy_, 17, and _Marcel Devic_, s.v. _sirop_). Our _sherbet_ looks as if it had been imported direct from the Levant. The form _shrāb_ is applied in India to all wines and spirits and prepared drinks, _e.g._ Port-_shraub_, Sherry-_shraub_, LALL-SHRAUB, Brandy-_shraub_, Beer-_shraub_.

c. 1334.—"... They bring cups of gold, silver, and glass, filled with
sugar-candy-water; _i.e._ syrup diluted with water. They call this
beverage SHERBET" (_ash-shurbat_).—_Ibn Batuta_, iii. 124.

1554.—"... potio est gratissima praesertim ubi multa nive, quae
Constantinopoli nullo tempore deficit, fuerit refirgerata, _Arab_ SORBET
vocant, hoc est, potionem Arabicam."—_Busbeq._ Ep. i. p. 92.

1578.—"The physicians of the same country use this XARAVE (of tamarinds)
in bilious and ardent fevers."—_Acosta_, 67.

c. 1580.—"Et saccharo potum jucundissimum parant quem SARBET
vocant."—_Prosper Alpinus_, Pt. i. p. 70.

1611.—"In Persia there is much good wine of grapes which is called XARÀB
in the language of the country."—_Teixeira_, i. 16.

c. 1630.—"Their liquor may perhaps better delight you; 'tis faire water,
sugar, rose-water, and juyce of Lemons mixt, call'd SHERBETS or ZERBETS,
wholsome and potable."—_Sir T. Herbert_, ed. 1638, p. 241.

1682.—"The Moores ... dranke a little milk and water, but not a drop of
wine; they also dranke a little SORBET, and _jacolatt_ (see
JOCOLE)."—_Evelyn's Diary_, Jan 24.

1827.—"On one occasion, before Barak-el-Hadgi left Madras, he visited the
Doctor, and partook of his SHERBET, which he preferred to his own,
perhaps because a few glasses of rum or brandy were usually added to
enrich the compound."—_Sir W. Scott, The Surgeon's Daughter_, ch. x.

1837.—"The Egyptians have various kinds of SHERBETS.... The most common
kind (called simply SHURBÁT or SHURBÁT _sook'har_ ...) is merely sugar
and water ... lemonade (_ley'moónáteh_, or SHARÁB _el-leymoón_) is
another."—_Lane, Mod. Egypt._, ed. 1837, i. 206.

1863.—"The Estate overseer usually gave a dance to the people, when the
most dissolute of both sexes were sure to be present, and to indulge too
freely in the SHRUB made for the occasion."—_Waddell, 29 Years in the W.
Indies_, 17.

SHEREEF, s. Ar. _sharīf_, 'noble.' A dignitary descended from Mahommed.

1498.—"The ambassador was a white man who was XARIFE, as much as to say a
_creligo_" (_i.e._ _clerigo_).—_Roteiro_, 2nd ed. 30.

[1672.—"SCHIERIFI." See under CASIS.

[c. 1666.—"The first (embassage) was from the CHERIF of
Meca...."—_Bernier_, ed. _Constable_, 133.

1701.—"... y^e SHREIF of Judda...."—_Forrest, Bombay Letters_, i. 232.]

SHERISTADAR, s. The head ministerial officer of a Court, whose duty it is to receive plaints, and see that they are in proper form and duly stamped, and generally to attend to routine business. Properly H.—P. from _sar-rishtā-dār_ or _sarishta-dār_, 'register-keeper.' _Sar-rishtā_, an office of registry, literally means 'head of the string.' C. P. Brown interprets _Sarrishtadār_ as "he who holds the end of the string (on which puppets dance)"—satirically, it may be presumed. Perhaps 'keeper of the clue,' or 'of the file' would approximately express the idea.

1786.—(With the object of establishing) "the officers of the CANONGOE'S
Department upon its ancient footing, altogether independent of the
Zemindars ... and to prevent confusion in the time to come.... For these
purposes, and to avail ourselves as much as possible of the knowledge and
services of Mr. James Grant, we have determined on the institution of an
office well-known in this country under the designation of Chief
SERRISHTADAR, with which we have invested Mr. Grant, to act in that
capacity under your Board, and also to attend as such at your
deliberations, as well as at our meetings in the Revenue
Department."—_Letter from G. G. in C. to Board of Revenue_, July 19
(Bengal Rev. Regulation xix.).

1878.—"Nowadays, however, the SERISHTADAR'S signature is allowed to
authenticate copies of documents, and the Assistant is thus spared so
much drudgery."—_Life in the Mofussil_, i. 117.

[SHEVAROY HILLS, n.p. The name applied to a range of hills in the Salem district of Madras. The origin of the name has given rise to much difference of opinion. Mr. Lefanu (_Man. of Salem_, ii. 19 _seq._) thinks that the original name was possibly _Sivarayan_, whence the German name _Shivarai_ and the English SHEVAROYS; or that _Sivarayan_ may by confusion have become _Sherarayan_, named after the Raja of _Sera_; lastly, he suggests that it comes from _sharpu_ or _sharvu_, 'the slope or declivity of a hill,' and _vay_, 'a mouth, passage, way.' This he is inclined to accept, regarding _Shervarayan_ or _Sharvayrayan_, as 'the cliff which dominates (_rayan_) the way (_vay_) which leads through or under the declivity (_sharvu_).' The _Madras Gloss._ gives the Tam. form of the name as _Shervarayanmalai_, from _Sheran_, 'the Chera race,' _irayan_, 'king,' and _malai_, 'mountain.'

[1823.—"Mr. Cockburn ... had the kindness to offer me the use of a
bungalow on the SHERVARAYA hills...."—_Hoole, Missions in Madras_, 282.

[SHIBAR, SHIBBAR, s. A kind of coasting vessel, sometimes described as a great PATTAMAR. Molesworth (_Mahr. Dict._ s.v.) gives _shibāṛ_ which, in the usual dictionary way, he defines as 'a ship or large vessel of a particular description.' The _Bombay Gazetteer_ (x. 171) speaks of the _'shibādi_, a large vessel, from 100 to 300 tons, generally found in the Ratnagiri sub-division ports'; and in another place (xiii. Pt. ii. 720) says that it is a large vessel chiefly used in the Malabar trade, deriving the name from Pers. _shāhī-bār_, 'royal-carrier.'

[1684.—"The Mucaddam (MOCUDDUM) of this SHIBAR bound for Goa."—_Yule_, in
_Hedges' Diary_, Hak. Soc. II. clxv.; also see clxxxiv.

[1727.—"... the other four were GRABS or Gallies, and SHEYBARS, or half
Gallies."—_A. Hamilton_, ed. 1744, i. 134.

[1758.—"... then we cast off a boat called a large SEEBAR, bound to
Muscat...."—_Ives_, 196.]

SHIGRAM, s. A Bombay and Madras name for a kind of hack palankin carriage. The camel-_shigram_ is often seen on roads in N. India. The name is from Mahr. _śīghr_, Skt. _śīghra_, 'quick or quickly.' A similar carriage is the _Jutkah_, which takes its name from Hind. _jhaṭkā_, 'swift.'

[1830.—At Bombay, "In heavy coaches, lighter landaulets, or
singular-looking SHIGRAMPOES, might be seen bevies of British fair
..."—_Mrs. Elwood, Narr._ ii. 376.

[1875.—"As it is, we have to go ... 124 miles in a dak gharri, bullock
SHIGRAM, or mail-cart...."—_Wilson, Abode of Snow_, 18.]

SHIKAR, s. Hind. from Pers. _shikār_, 'la chasse'; sport (in the sense of shooting and hunting); game.

c. 1590.—"_Āīn_, 27. _Of Hunting_ (orig. _Āīn-i_-SHIKĀR). Superficial
worldly observers see in killing an animal a sort of pleasure, and in
their ignorance stride about, as if senseless, on the field of their
passions. But deep enquirers see in hunting a means of acquisition of
knowledge.... This is the case with His Majesty."—_Āīn_, i. 282.

1609-10.—"SYKARY, which signifieth, seeking, or hunting."—_W. Finch_, in
_Purchas_, i. 428.

1800.—"250 or 300 horsemen ... divided into two or three small parties,
supported by our infantry, would give a proper SHEKAR; and I strongly
advise not to let the Mahratta boundary stop you in the pursuit of your
game."—_Sir A. Wellesley_ to _T. Munro_, in _Life of Munro_, iii. 117.

1847.—"Yet there is a charm in this place for the lovers of SHIKAR."—_Dry
Leaves from Young Egypt_, 3.

[1859.—"Although the jungles literally swarm with tigers, a SHICKAR, in
the Indian sense of the term, is unknown."—_Oliphant, Narr. of Mission_,
i. 25.]

1866.—"May I ask what has brought you out to India, Mr. Cholmondeley? Did
you come out for SHIKAR, eh?"—_Trevelyan, The Dawk Bungalow_, in
_Fraser_, lxxiii. 222.

In the following the word is wrongly used in the sense of SHIKAREE.

[1900.—"That so experienced a SHIKAR should have met his death emphasises
the necessity of caution."—_Field_, Sept. 1.]

SHIKAREE, SHEKARRY, s. Hind. _shikārī_, a sportsman. The word is used in three ways:

A. As applied to a native expert, who either brings in game on his own account, or accompanies European sportsmen as guide and aid.

[1822.—"SHECARRIES are generally Hindoos of low cast, who gain their
livelihood entirely by catching birds, hares, and all sorts of
animals."—_Johnson, Sketches of Field Sports_, 25.]

1879.—"Although the province (Pegu) abounds in large game, it is very
difficult to discover, because there are no regular SHIKAREES in the
Indian acceptation of the word. Every village has its local SHIKAREE, who
lives by trapping and killing game. Taking life as he does, contrary to
the principles of his religion, he is looked upon as damned by his
neighbours, but that does not prevent their buying from him the spoils of
the chase."—_Pollok, Sport in Br. Burmah_, &c., i. 13.

B. As applied to the European sportsman himself: _e.g._ "Jones is well known as a great _Shikaree_." There are several books of sporting adventure written _circa_ 1860-75 by Mr. H. A. Leveson under the name of 'The Old SHEKARRY.'

[C. A shooting-boat used in the Cashmere lakes.

[1875.—"A SHIKĀRĪ is a sort of boat, that is in daily use with the
English visitors; a light boat manned, as it commonly is, by six men, it
goes at a fast pace, and, if well fitted with cushions, makes a
comfortable conveyance. A _bandūqī_ (see BUNDOOK) _shikāri_ is the
smallest boat of all; a shooting punt, used in going after wild fowl on
the lakes."—_Drew, Jummoo_, &c., 181.]

SHIKAR-GĀH, s. Pers. A hunting ground, or enclosed preserve. The word has also a technical application to patterns which exhibit a variety of figures and groups of animals, such as are still woven in brocade at Benares, and in shawl-work in Kashmir and elsewhere (see _Marco Polo_, Bk. I. ch. 17, and notes). [The great areas of jungle maintained by the Amīrs of Sind and called _Shikārgāhs_ are well known.

[1831.—"Once or twice a month when they (the Ameers) are all in good
health, they pay visits to their different SHIKARGAHS or preserves for
game."—_J. Burnes, Visit to the Court of Sinde_, 103.]

SHIKHÓ, n. and v. Burmese word. The posture of a Burmese in presence of a superior, _i.e._ kneeling with joined hands and bowed head in an attitude of worship. Some correspondence took place in 1883, in consequence of the use of this word by the then Chief Commissioner of British Burma, in an official report, to describe the attitude used by British envoys at the Court of Ava. The statement (which was grossly incorrect) led to remonstrance by Sir Arthur Phayre. The fact was that the envoy and his party sat on a carpet, but the attitude had no analogy whatever to that of _shikho_, though the endeavour of the Burmese officials was persistent to involve them in some such degrading attitude. (See KOWTOW.)

1855.—"Our conductors took off their shoes at the gate, and the Woondouk
made an ineffectual attempt to induce the Envoy to do likewise. They also
at four different places, as we advanced to the inner gate, dropt on
their knees and SHIKHOED towards the palace."—_Yule, Mission to Ava_, 82.

1882.—"Another ceremony is that of SHEKHOING to the spire, the external
emblem of the throne. All Burmans must do this at each of the gates, at
the foot of the steps, and at intervals in between...."—_The Burman, His
Life and Notions_, ii. 206.

SHINBIN, SHINBEAM, &c., s. A term in the Burmese teak-trade; apparently a corruption from Burm. _shīn-byīn_. The first monosyllable (_shīn_) means 'to put together side by side,' and _byīn_, 'plank,' the compound word being used in Burmese for 'a thick plank used in constructing the side of a ship.' The _shinbin_ is a thick plank, about 15″ wide by 4″ thick, and running up to 25 feet in length (see _Milburn_, i. 47). It is not sawn, but split from green trees.

1791.—"Teak Timber for sale, consisting of

Duggis (see DUGGIE).
SHINBEENS.
Coma planks (?).
Maguire planks (?)
Joists and Sheathing Boards."
_Madras Courier_, Nov. 10.

SHINKALI, SHIGALA, n.p. A name by which the City and Port of CRANGANORE (q.v.) seems to have been known in the early Middle Ages. The name was probably formed from Tiruvan-_jiculam_, mentioned by Dr. Gundert below. It is perhaps the Gingaleh of Rabbi Benjamin in our first quotation; but the data are too vague to determine this, though the position of that place seems to be in the vicinity of Malabar.

c. 1167.—"GINGALEH is but three days distant by land, whereas it requires
a journey of fifteen days to reach it by the sea; this place contains
about 1,000 Israelites."—_Benjamin of Tudela_, in _Wright's Early
Travels_, p. 117.

c. 1300.—"Of the cities on the shore (of Malībār) the first is SINDÁBÚR
(Goa), then Faknúr (see BACANORE), then the country of Manjarúr (see
MANGALORE) ... then CHINKALĪ (or _Jinkalī_), then Kúlam (see
QUILON)."—_Rashīduddīn_, see _J. R. As. Soc._, N.S., iv. pp. 342, 345.

c. 1320.—"Le pays de Manîbâr, appelè pays du Poivre, comprend les villes
suivantes.

* * * * *

"La ville de SHINKLI, dont la majeure partie de la population est
composée de Juifs.

"KAULAM est la dernière ville de la côte de Poivre."—_Shemseddin
Dimishqui_, by _Mehren_ (Cosmographie du Moyen Age), p. 234.

c. 1328.—"... there is one very powerful King in the country where the
pepper grows, and his kingdom is called Molebar. There is also the King
of SINGUYLI...."—_Fr. Jordanus_, p. 40.

1330.—"And the forest in which the pepper groweth extendeth for a good 18
days' journey, and in that forest there be two cities, the one whereof is
called Flandrina (see PANDARANI), and the other CYNGILIN...."—_Fr.
Odoric_, in _Cathay_, &c., 75-76.

c. 1330.—"Etiam Shâliyât (see CHALIA) et SHINKALA urbes Malabaricae sunt,
quarum alteram Judaei incolunt...."—_Abulfeda_, in _Gildemeister_, 185.

c. 1349.—"And in the second India, which is called Mynibar, there is
CYNKALI, which signifieth Little India" (Little China) "for _Kali_ is
'little.'"—_John Marignolli_, in _Cathay_, &c., 373.

1510.—"SCIGLA alias et Chrongalor vocatur, ea quam Cranganorium dicimus
Malabariae urbem, ut testatur idem Jacobus Indiarum episcopus ad calcem
Testamenti Novi ab ipso exarati anno Graecorum 1821, Christi 1510, et in
fine Epistolarum Pauli, Cod. Syr. Vat. 9 et 12."—In _Assemani, Diss. de
Syr. Nest._, pp. 440, 732.

1844.—"The place (Codungalur) is identified with _Tiruvan_-JICULAM
river-harbour, which Cheraman Perumal is said to have declared the best
of the existing 18 harbours of Kerala...."—_Dr. Gundert_, in _Madras
Journal_, xiii. 120.

" "One _Kerala Ulpatti_ (_i.e._ legendary history of Malabar) of
the Nasrani, says that their forefathers ... built Codangalur, as may be
learned from the granite inscription at the northern entrance of the
_Tiruvan_-JICULAM temple...."—_Ibid._ 122.

SHINTOO, SINTOO, s. Japanese _Shintau_, 'the Way of the Gods.' The primitive relation of Japan. It is described by Faria y Sousa and other old writers, but the name does not apparently occur in those older accounts, unless it be in the _Seuto_ of Couto. According to Kaempfer the philosophic or Confucian sect is called in Japan _Siuto_. But that hardly seems to fit what is said by Couto, and his _Seuto_ seems more likely to be a mistake for _Sento_. [See Lowell's articles on _Esoteric Shintoo_, in _Proc. As. Soc. Japan_, 1893.]

1612.—"But above all these idols they adore one SEUTÓ, of which they say
that it is the substance and principle of All, and that its abode is in
the Heavens."—_Couto_, V. viii. 12.

1727.—"Le SINTO qu'on appelle aussi Sinsju et Kamimitsi, est le Culte des
Idoles, établi anciennement dans le pays. Sin et Kami sont les noms des
Idoles qui font l'object de ce Culte. Siu (_sic_) signifie la Foi, ou la
Religion. Sinsja et au pluriel Sinsju, ce sont les personnes qui
professent cette Religion."—_Kaempfer, Hist. de Japon_, i. 176; [E.T.
204].

1770.—"Far from encouraging that gloomy fanaticism and fear of the gods,
which is inspired by almost all other religions, the XINTO sect had
applied itself to prevent, or at least to moderate that disorder of the
imagination."—_Raynal_ (E.T. 1777), i. 137.

1878.—"The indigenous religion of the Japanese people, called in later
times by the name of SHINTAU or Way of the Gods, in order to distinguish
it from the way of the Chinese moral philosophers, and the way of Buddha,
had, at the time when Confucianism and Buddhism were introduced, passed
through the earliest stages of development."—_Westminster Rev._, N.S.,
No. cvii. 29.

[SHIRAZ, n.p. The wine of Shiraz was much imported and used by Europeans in India in the 17th century, and even later.

[1627.—"SHERAZ then probably derives it self either from _sherab_ which
in the _Persian_ Tongue signifies a Grape here abounding ... or else from
_sheer_ which in the Persian signifies Milk."—_Sir T. Herbert_, ed. 1677,
p. 127.

[1685.—"... three Chests of SIRASH wine...."—_Pringle, Diary Ft. St.
Geo._, 1st ser. iv. 109, and see ii. 148.

[1690.—"Each Day there is prepar'd (at Surrat) a Publick Table for the
Use of the President and the rest of the Factory.... The Table is spread
with the choicest Meat Surrat affords ... and equal plenty of generous
SHERASH and ARAK PUNCH...."—_Ovington_, 394.

[1727.—"SHYRASH is a large City on the Road, about 550 Miles from
_Gombroon_."—_A. Hamilton_, ed. 1744, i. 99.

[1813.—"I have never tasted this (pomegranate wine), nor any other
Persian wine, except that of SCHIRAZ, which, although much extolled by
poets, I think inferior to many wines in Europe."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ 2nd
ed. i. 468.]

SHIREENBAF, s. Pers. _Shīrīnbāf_, 'sweet-woof.' A kind of fine cotton stuff, but we cannot say more precisely what.

c. 1343.—"... one hundred pieces of SHĪRĪNBĀF...."—_Ibn Batuta_, iv. 3.

[1609.—"SERRIBAFF, a fine light stuff or cotton whereof the Moors make
their CABAYES or clothing."—_Danvers, Letters_, i. 29.]

1673.—"... SIRING chintz, Broad Baftas...."—_Fryer_, 88.

SHISHAM. See under SISSOO.

SHISHMUHULL, s. Pers. _shīsha-maḥal_, lit. 'glass apartment' or palace. This is or was a common appendage of native palaces, viz. a hall or suite of rooms lined with mirror and other glittering surfaces, usually of a gimcrack aspect. There is a place of exactly the same description, now gone to hideous decay, in the absurd Villa Palagonia at Bagheria near Palermo.

1835.—"The SHĪSHA-MAHAL, or house of glass, is both curious and elegant,
although the material is principally pounded talc and looking-glass. It
consists of two rooms, of which the walls in the interior are divided
into a thousand different panels, each of which is filled up with raised
flowers in silver, gold, and colours, on a ground-work of tiny convex
mirrors."—_Wanderings of a Pilgrim_, i. 365.

SHOE OF GOLD (or of Silver). The name for certain ingots of precious metal, somewhat in the form of a Chinese shoe, but more like a boat, which were formerly current in the trade of the Far East. Indeed of silver they are still current in China, for Giles says: "The common name among foreigners for the Chinese silver ingot, which bears some resemblance to a native shoe. May be of any weight from 1 oz. and even less, to 50 and sometimes 100 oz., and is always stamped by the assayer and banker, in evidence of purity" (_Gloss. of Reference_, 128). [In Hissar the Chinese silver is called _sillī_ from the slabs (_sil_) in which it is sold (_Maclagan, Mon. on Gold and Silver Work in Punjab_, p. 5).] The same form of ingot was probably the _bālish_ (or _yāstok_) of the Middle Ages, respecting which see _Cathay_, &c., 115, 481, &c. Both of these latter words mean also 'a cushion,' which is perhaps as good a comparison as either 'shoe' or 'boat.' The word now used in C. Asia is _yambū_. There are cuts of the gold and silver ingots in Tavernier, whose words suggest what is probably the true origin of the popular English name, viz. a corruption of the Dutch _Goldschuyt_.

1566.—"... valuable goods exported from this country (China) ... are
first, a quantity of gold, which is carried to India, in LOAVES in the
shape of BOATS...."—_C. Federici_, in _Ramusio_, iii. 391b.

1611.—"Then, I tell you, from China I could load ships with CAKES OF GOLD
fashioned like BOATS, containing, each of them, roundly speaking, 2 marks
weight, and so each cake will be worth 280 pardaos."—_Couto, Dialogo do
Soldado Pratico_, p. 155.

1676.—"The Pieces of Gold mark'd Fig. 1, and 2, are by the Hollanders
called GOLTSCHUT, that is to say, a Boat of Gold, because they are in the
form of a Boat. Other Nations call them Loaves of Gold.... The Great
Pieces come to 12 hundred Gilders of _Holland_ Money, and thirteen
hundred and fifty Livres of our Money."—_Tavernier_, E.T. ii. 8.

1702.—"Sent the Moolah to be delivered the Nabob, Dewan, and Buxie 48
China Oranges ... but the Dewan bid the Moolah write the Governor for a
hundred more that he might send them to Court; which is understood to be
One Hundred SHOES OF GOLD, or so many thousand pagodas or rupees."—In
_Wheeler_, i. 397.

1704.—"Price Currant, July, 1704, (at Malacca) ... GOLD, _China_, in
SHOOS 94 Touch."—_Lockyer_, 70.

1862.—"A silver ingot '_Yambu_' weighs about 2 (Indian) _seers_ ... = 4
lbs., and is worth 165 Co.'s rupees. _Koomoosh_, also called
'_Yambucha_,' or small silver ingot, is worth 33 Rs. ... 5 _yambuchas_,
being equal to 1 _yambu_. There are two descriptions of '_yambucha_'; one
is a square piece of silver, having a Chinese stamp on it; the other ...
in the form of a boat, has no stamp. The _Yambu_ is _in the form of a
boat_, and has a Chinese stamp on it."—_Punjab Trade Report_, App.
ccxxvi.-xxviii. 1.

1875.—"The _yámbú_ or _kúrs_ is a silver ingot something the shape of a
deep boat with projecting bow and stern. The upper surface is lightly
hollowed, and stamped with a Chinese inscription. It is said to be pure
silver, and to weigh 50 (Cashghar) _ser_ = 30,000 grains English."—Report
of _Forsyth's Mission to Kashghar_, 494.

[1876.—"... he received his pay in Chinese _yambs_ (gold coins), at the
rate of 128 rubles each, while the real commercial value was only 115
rubles."—_Schuyler, Turkistan_, ii. 322.

[1901.—A piece of Chinese SHOE MONEY, value 10 taels, was exhibited
before the Numismatic Society.—_Athenaeum_, Jan. 26, p. 118. Perhaps the
largest specimen known of Chinese "boat-money" was exhibited. It weighed
89½ ounces troy, and represented 50 taels, or £8, 8_s._ 0_d._
English.—_Ibid._ Jan. 25, 1902, p. 120].

SHOE-FLOWER, s. A name given in Madras Presidency to the flower of the _Hibiscus Rosa-sinensis_, L. It is a literal translation of the Tam. _shapāttupu_, Singh. _sappattumala_, a name given because the flowers are used at Madras to blacken shoes. The Malay name _Kempang sapatu_ means the same. Voigt gives SHOE-FLOWER as the English name, and adds: "Petals astringent, used by the Chinese to blacken their shoes (?) and eyebrows" (_Hortus Suburbanus Calcuttensis_, 116-7); see also _Drury_, s.v. The notion of the Chinese blackening their shoes is surely an error, but perhaps they use it to blacken leather for European use.

[1773.—"The flower (_Trepalta_, or _Morroock_) (which commonly by us is
called SHOE-FLOWER, because used to black our shoes) is very large, of a
deep but beautiful crimson colour."—_Ives_, 475.]

1791.—"La nuit suivante ... je joignis aux pavots ... une fleur de FOULE
SAPATTE, qui sert aux cordonniers à teindre leurs cuirs en noir."—_B. de
St. Pierre, Chaumière Indienne._ This _foule-sapatte_ is apparently some
quasi Hindustani form of the name (_phul-sabāt_?) used by the Portuguese.

SHOE-GOOSE, s. This ludicrous corruption of the Pers. _siyāh-gosh_, lit. 'black-ear,' _i.e._ lynx (_Felis Caracal_) occurs in the passage below from A. Hamilton. [The corruption of the same word by the _Times_, below, is equally amusing.]

[c. 1330.—"... ounces, and another kind something like a greyhound,
having only the ears black, and the whole body perfectly white, which
among these people is called SIAGOIS."—_Friar Jordanus_, 18.]

1727.—"Antelopes, Hares and Foxes, are their wild game, which they hunt
with Dogs, Leopards, and a small fierce creature called by them a
SHOE-GOOSE."—_A. Hamilton_, i. 124; [ed. 1744, i. 125].

1802.—"... between the cat and the lion, are the ... SYAGUSH, the lynx,
the tiger-cat...."—_Ritson, Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food_, 12.

1813.—"The Moguls train another beast for antelope-hunting called the
SYAH-GUSH, or black-ears, which appears to be the same as the caracal, or
Russian lynx."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ i. 277; [2nd ed. i. 175 and 169].

[1886.—"In 1760 a Moor named Abdallah arrived in India with a 'SHAH
GOEST' (so spelt, evidently a SHAWL GOAT) as a present for Mr. Secretary
Pitt."—_Account of I. O. Records_, in _Times_, Aug. 3.]