Chapter LXXXIV: Act III: of 1873. Under that system the highest rank of native Judge was (3)

SWEET POTATO, s. The root of _Batatas edulis_, Choisy (_Convolvulus Batatas_, L.), N.O. _Convolvulaceae_; a very palatable vegetable, grown in most parts of India. Though extensively cultivated in America, and in the W. Indies, it has been alleged in various books (_e.g._ in _Eng. Cyclop._ Nat. Hist. Section, and in _Drury's Useful Plants of India_), that the plant is a native of the Malay islands. The _Eng. Cyc._ even states that _batatas_ is the Malay name. But the whole allegation is probably founded in error. The Malay names of the plant, as given by Crawfurd, are _Kaledek_, _Ubi Jawa_, and _Ubi Kastila_, the last two names meaning 'Java yam,' and 'Spanish yam,' and indicating the foreign origin of the vegetable. In India, at least in the Bengal Presidency, natives commonly call it _shakar-ḳand_, P.—Ar., literally 'sugar-candy,' a name equally suggesting that it is not indigenous among them. And in fact when we turn to Oviedo, we find the following distinct statement:

"BATATAS are a staple food of the Indians, both in the Island of
Spagnuola and in the others ... and a ripe BATATA properly dressed is
just as good as a marchpane twist of sugar and almonds, and better
indeed.... When _Batatas_ are well ripened, they are often carried to
Spain, _i.e._, if the voyage be a quiet one; for if there be delay they
get spoilt at sea. I myself have carried them from this city of S.
Domingo to the city of Avila in Spain, and although they did not arrive
as good as they should be, yet they were thought a great deal of, and
reckoned a singular and precious kind of fruit."—In _Ramusio_, iii. f.
134.

It must be observed however that several distinct varieties are cultivated by the Pacific islanders even as far west as New Zealand. And Dr. Bretschneider is satisfied that the plant is described in Chinese books of the 3rd or 4th century, under the name of _Kan-chu_ (the first syllable = 'sweet'). See _B. on Chin. Botan. Words_, p. 13. This is the only good argument we have seen for Asiatic origin. The whole matter is carefully dealt with by M. Alph. De Candolle (_Origine des Plantes cultivées_, pp. 43-45), concluding with the judgment: "Les motifs sont beaucoup plus forts, ce me semble, en faveur de l'origine americaine."

The "Sanskrit name" _Ruktaloo_, alleged by Mr. Piddington, is worthless. _Ālū_ is properly an esculent _Arum_, but in modern use is the name of the common potato, and is sometimes used for the sweet potato. _Raktālū_, more commonly _rat-ālū_, is in Bengal the usual name of the _Yam_, no doubt given first to a highly-coloured kind, such as _Dioscorea purpurea_, for _rakt-_ or _rat-ālū_ means simply 'red potato'; a name which might also be well applied to the _batatas_, as it is indeed, according to Forbes Watson, in the Deccan. There can be little doubt that this vegetable, or fruit as Oviedo calls it, having become known in Europe many years before the _potato_, the latter robbed it of its name, as has happened in the case of BRAZIL-wood (q.v.). The _batata_ is clearly the 'potato' of the fourth and others of the following quotations. [See _Watt, Econ. Dict._ iii. 117 _seqq._]

1519.—"At this place (in Brazil) we had refreshment of victuals, like
fowls and meat of calves, also a variety of fruits, called BATATE, pigne
(pine-apples), sweet, of singular goodness...."—_Pigafetta_, E.T. by
_Lord Stanley of A._, p. 43.

1540.—"The root which among the Indians of Spagnuola Island is called
BATATA, the negroes of St. Thomè (_C. Verde_ group) called _Igname_, and
they plant it as the chief staple of their maintenance; it is of a black
colour, _i.e._ the outer skin is so, but inside it is white, and as big
as a large turnip, with many branchlets; it has the taste of a chestnut,
but much better."—_Voyage to the I. of San Tomè under the Equinoctial,
Ramusio_, i. 117_v_.

c. 1550.—"They have two other sorts of roots, one called BATATA.... They
generate windiness, and are commonly cooked in the embers. Some say they
taste like almond cakes, or sugared chestnuts; but in my opinion
chestnuts, even without sugar, are better."—_Girol. Benzoni_, Hak. Soc.
86.

1588.—"Wee met with sixtee or seventee sayles of Canoes full of Sauages,
who came off to Sea vnto vs, and brought with them in their Boates,
Plantans, Cocos, POTATO-rootes, and fresh fish."—_Voyage of Master Thomas
Candish, Purchas_, i. 66.

1600.—"The BATTATAS are somewhat redder of colour, and in forme almost
like _Iniamas_ (see YAM), and taste like Earth-nuts."—In _Purchas_, ii.
957.

1615.—"I took a garden this day, and planted it with POTTATOS brought
from the Liquea, a thing not yet planted in Japan. I must pay a _tay_, or
5 shillings sterling, per annum for the garden."—_Cocks's Diary_, i. 11.

1645.—"... PATTATE; c'est vne racine comme naueaux, mais plus longue et
de couleur rouge et jaune: cela est de tres-bon goust, mais si l'on en
mange souuent, elle degouste fort, et est assez venteuse."—_Mocquet,
Voyages_, 83.

1764.—

"There let POTATOS mantle o'er the ground,
Sweet as the cane-juice is the root they bear."—_Grainger_, Bk. iv.

SYCE, s. Hind. from Ar. _sāïs_. A groom. It is the word in universal use in the Bengal Presidency. In the South HORSE-KEEPER is more common, and in Bombay a vernacular form of the latter, viz. _ghoṛāwālā_ (see GORAWALLAH). The Ar. verb, of which _sāïs_ is the participle, seems to be a loan-word from Syriac, _sausī_, 'to coax.'

[1759.—In list of servants' wages: "SYCE, Rs. 2."—In _Long_, 182.]

1779.—"The BEARER and SCISE, when they returned, came to the place where
I was, and laid hold of Mr. Ducarell. I took hold of Mr. Shee and carried
him up. The bearer and SCISE took Mr. Ducarell out. Mr. Keeble was
standing on his own house looking, and asked, 'What is the matter?' The
bearer and SCISE said to Mr. Keeble, 'These gentlemen came into the house
when my master was out.'"—_Evidence on Trial of_ Grand _v._ Francis, in
_Echoes of Old Calcutta_, 230.

1810.—"The SYCE, or groom, attends but one horse."—_Williamson, V.M._ i.
254.

c. 1858?—

"Tandis que les ÇAIS veillent les chiens rodeurs."
_Leconte de Lisle._

SYCEE, s. In China applied to pure silver bullion in ingots, or SHOES (q.v.). The origin of the name is said to be _si_ (pron. at Canton _sai_ and _sei_) = _sz'_, _i.e._ 'fine silk'; and we are told by Mr. Giles that it is so called because, if pure, it may be drawn out into fine threads. [Linschoten (1598) speaks of: "Peeces of cut silver, in which sort they pay and receive all their money" (Hak. Soc. i. 132).]

1711.—"Formerly they used to sell for SISEE, or Silver full fine; but of
late the Method is alter'd."—_Lockyer_, 135.

SYRAS, CYRUS. See under CYRUS.

SYRIAM, n.p. A place on the Pegu R., near its confluence with the Rangoon R., six miles E. of Rangoon, and very famous in the Portuguese dealings with Pegu. The Burmese form is _Than-lyeng_, but probably the Talaing name was nearer that which foreigners give it. [See _Burma Gazetteer_, ii. 672. Mr. St. John (_J. R. As. Soc._, 1894, p. 151) suggests the Mwn word _sarang_ or _siring_, 'a swinging cradle.'] Syriam was the site of an English factory in the 17th century, of the history of which little is known. See the quotation from Dalrymple below.

1587.—"To CIRION a Port of Pegu come ships from Mecca with woollen Cloth,
Scarlets, Velvets, Opium, and such like."—_R. Fitch_, in _Hakl._ ii. 393.

1600.—"I went thither with Philip Brito, and in fifteene dayes arrived at
SIRIAN the chiefe Port in Pegu. It is a lamentable spectacle to see the
bankes of the Riuers set with infinite fruit-bearing trees, now
ouerwhelmed with ruines of gilded Temples, and noble edifices; the wayes
and fields full of skulls and bones of wretched Peguans, killed or
famished, and cast into the River in such numbers that the multitude of
carkasses prohibiteth the way and passage of ships."—The Jesuit _Andrew
Boves_, in _Purchas_, ii. 1748.

c. 1606.—"Philip de Brito issued an order that a custom-house should be
planted at SERIAN (_Serião_), at which duties should be paid by all the
vessels of this State which went to trade with the kingdom of Pegu, and
with the ports of Martavan, Tavay, Tenasserim, and Juncalon.... Now
certain merchants and shipowners from the Coast of Coromandel refused
obedience, and this led Philip de Brito to send a squadron of 6 ships and
galliots with an imposing and excellent force of soldiers on board, that
they might cruise on the coast of Tenasserim, and compel all the vessels
that they met to come and pay duty at the fortress of SERIAN."—_Bocarro_,
135.

1695.—"9th. That the _Old house_ and _Ground_ at SYRIAN, formerly
belonging to the _English Company_, may still be continued to them, and
that they may have liberty of building _dwelling-houses_, and
_warehouses_, for the securing their _Goods_, as shall be necessary, and
that more _Ground_ be given them, if what they formerly had be not
sufficient."—Petition presented to the K. of Burma at Ava, by _Ed.
Fleetwood_; in _Dalrymple, O.R._ ii. 374.

1726.—ZIERJANG (Syriam) in _Valentijn, Choro._, &c., 127.

1727.—"About 60 Miles to the Eastward of China Backaar (see
CHINA-BUCKEER) is the Bar of SYRIAN, the only port now open for Trade in
all the _Pegu_ Dominions.... It was many Years in Possession of the
_Portugueze_, till by their Insolence and Pride they were obliged to quit
it."—_A. Hamilton_, ii. 31-32; [ed. 1744].

SYUD, s. Ar. _saiyid_, 'a lord.' The designation in India of those who claim to be descendants of Mahommed. But the usage of _Saiyid_ and _Sharīf_ varies in different parts of Mahommedan Asia. ["As a rule (much disputed) the Sayyid is a descendant from Mahommed through his grandchild Hasan, and is a man of the pen; whereas the Sharīf derives from Husayn and is a man of the sword" (_Burton, Ar. Nights_, iv. 209).]

1404.—"On this day the Lord played at chess, for a great while, with
certain ZAYTES; and ZAYTES they call certain men who come of the lineage
of Mahomad."—_Clavijo_, § cxiv. (_Markham_, p. 141-2).

1869.—"Il y a dans l'Inde quatre classes de musulmans: les SAIYIDS ou
descendants de Mahomet par Huçain, les _Schaikhs_ ou Arabes, nommés
vulgairement Maures, les PATHANS ou Afgans, et les MOGOLS. Ces quatres
classes ont chacune fourni à la religion de saints personnages, qui sont
souvent designés par ces dénominations, et par d'autres spécialement
consacrées à chacune d'elles, telles que _Mir_ pour les SAIYIDS, _Khân_
pour les Pathans, _Mirzâ_, _Beg_, _Agâ_, et _Khwâja_ pour les
Mogols."—_Garcin de Tassy, Religion Mus. dans l'Inde_, 22.

(The learned author is mistaken here in supposing that the obsolete term
MOOR was in India specially applied to Arabs. It was applied, following
Portuguese custom, to all Mahommedans.)

T

TABASHEER, s. 'Sugar of Bamboo.' A siliceous substance sometimes found in the joints of the bamboo, formerly prized as medicine, [also known in India as _Bānslochan_ or _Bānskapūr_]. The word is Pers. _tabāshīr_, but that is from the Skt. name of the article, _tvakkshīra_, and _tavakkshīra_. The substance is often confounded, in name at least, by the old Materia Medica writers, with _spodium_ and is sometimes called _ispodio di canna_. See _Ces. Federici_ below. Garcia De Orta goes at length into this subject (f. 193 _seqq._). [See SUGAR.]

c. 1150.—"Tanah (miswritten _Banah_) est une jolie ville située sur un
grand golfe.... Dans les montagnes environnantes croissent le ... kana et
le ... TABĀSHĪR ... Quant au TÉBACHIR, on le falsifie en le mélangeant
avec de la cendre d'ivoire; mais le veritable est celui qu'on extrait des
racines du roseau dit ... _al Sharkí_."—_Edrisi_, i. 179.

1563.—"And much less are the roots of the cane TABAXER; so that according
to both the translations Avicena is wrong; and Averrois says that it is
charcoal from burning the canes of India, whence it appears that he never
saw it, since he calls such a white substance charcoal."—_Garcia_, f.
195_v_.

c. 1570.—"Il _Spodio_ si congela d'acqua in alcune canne, e io n'ho
trouato assai nel Pegù quando faceuo fabricar la mia casa."—_Ces.
Federici_, in _Ramusio_, iii. 397.

1578.—"The _Spodium_ or TABAXIR of the Persians ... was not known to the
Greeks."—_Acosta_, 295.

c. 1580.—"Spodium TABAXIR vocant, quo nomine vulgus pharmacopoeorum
Spodium factitium, quippe metallicum, intelligunt. At eruditiores viri eo
nomine lacrymam quandam, ex caudice arboris procerae in India nascentis,
albicantem, odoratam, facultatis refrigeratoriae, et cor maxime
roborantis itidem intelligunt."—_Prosper Alpinus, Rerum Ægyptiarum_, Lib.
III. vii.

1598.—"... these _Mambus_ have a certain Matter within them, which is (as
it were) the pith of it ... the Indians call it _Sacar Mambu_, which is
as much as to say, as Sugar of _Mambu_, and is a very deep Medicinable
thing much esteemed, and much sought for by the Arabians, Persians, and
Moores, that call it TABAXIIR."—_Linschoten_, p. 104; [Hak. Soc. ii. 56].

1837.—"Allied to these in a botanical point of view is _Saccharum
officinarum_, which has needlessly been supposed not to have yielded
_saccharum_, or the substance known by this name to the ancients; the
same authors conjecturing this to be TABASHEER.... Considering that this
substance is pure _silex_, it is not likely to have been arranged with
the honeys and described under the head of περι Σακχαρον μελιτον."—_Royle
on the Ant. of Hindoo Medicine_, p. 83. This confirms the views expressed
in the article SUGAR.

1854.—"In the cavity of these cylinders water is sometimes secreted, or,
less commonly, an opaque white substance, becoming opaline when wetted,
consisting of a flinty secretion, of which the plant divests itself,
called TABASHEER, concerning the optical properties of which Sir David
Brewster has made some curious discoveries."—_Engl. Cycl._ Nat. Hist.
Section, article _Bamboo_.

TABBY, s. Not Anglo-Indian. A kind of watered silk stuff; Sp. and Port. _tabi_, Ital. _tabino_, Fr. _tabis_, from Ar. _'attābī_, the name said to have been given to such stuffs from their being manufactured in early times in a quarter of Baghdad called _al-'attābīya_; and this derived its name from a prince of the 'Omaiyad family called 'Attāb. [See Burton, _Ar. Nights_, ii. 371.]

12th cent.—"The _'Attābīya_ ... here are made the stuffs, called
'ATTĀBĪYA, which are silks and cottons of divers colours."—_Ibn Jubair_,
p. 227.

[c. 1220.—"'ATTABI." See under SUCLAT.]

TABOOT, s. The name applied in India to a kind of shrine, or model of a Mahommedan mausoleum, of flimsy material, intended to represent the tomb of Husain at Kerbela, which is carried in procession during the Moharram (see _Herklots_, 2nd ed. 119 _seqq._, and _Garcin de Tassy, Rel. Musulm. dans l'Inde_, 36). [The word is Ar. _tabūt_, 'a wooden box, coffin.' The term used in N. India is _ta'ziya_ (see TAZEEA).]

[1856.—"There is generally over the vault in which the corpse is
deposited an oblong monument of stone or brick (called 'tarkeebeh') or
wood (in which case it is called 'TABOOT')."—_Lane, Mod. Egypt._, 5th ed.
i. 299.]

[TACK-RAVAN, s. A litter carried on men's shoulders, used only by royal personages. It is Pers. _takht-ravān_, 'travelling-throne.' In the Hindi of Behar the word is corrupted into _tartarwān_.

[c. 1660.—"... several articles of _Chinese_ and _Japan_ workmanship;
among which were a _paleky_ and a TACK-RAVAN, or travelling throne, of
exquisite beauty, and much admired."—_Bernier_, ed. _Constable_, 128; in
370, TACT-RAVAN.

[1753.—"Mahommed Shah, emperor of Hindostan, seated in a royal litter
(TAKHT REVAN, which signifies a moving throne) issued from his
camp...."—_Hanway_, iv. 169.]

TAEL, s. This is the trade-name of the Chinese ounce, viz., 1/16 of a CATTY (q.v.); and also of the Chinese money of account, often called "the ounce of silver," but in Chinese called _liang_. The standard _liang_ or _tael_ is, according to Dr. Wells Williams, = 579.84 grs. troy. It was formerly equivalent to a string of 1000 _tsien_, or (according to the trade-name) CASH (q.v.). The China _tael_ used to be reckoned as worth 6_s._ 8_d._, but the rate really varied with the price of silver. In 1879 an article in the _Fortnightly Review_ puts it at 5_s._ 7½_d._ (Sept. p. 362); the exchange at Shanghai in London by telegraphic transfer, April 13, 1885, was 4_s._ 9⅜_d._; [on Oct. 3, 1901, 2_s._ 7¼_d._]. The word was apparently got from the Malays, among whom _taïl_ or _tahil_ is the name of a weight; and this again, as Crawfurd indicates, is probably from the India TOLA (q.v.). [Mr. Pringle writes: "Sir H. Yule does not refer to such forms as TAHE (see below), TAIES (plural in Fryer's _New Account_, p. 210, sub _Machawo_), TAYE (see quotation below from Saris), TAYES (see quotation below from Mocquet), or TAEY, and TAEYS (Philip's translation of _Linschoten_, Hak. Soc. i. 149). These probably come through the medium of the Portuguese, in which the final _l_ of the singular TAEL is changed into _s_ in the plural. Such a form as TAEIS might easily suggest a singular wanting the final _s_, and from such a singular French and English plurals of the ordinary type would in turn be fashioned" (_Diary Ft. St. Geo._, 1st ser. ii. 126).]

The Chinese scale of weight, with their trade-names, runs: 16 TAELS = 1 CATTY, 100 _catties_ = 1 PECUL = 133½ _lbs. avoird._ Milburn gives the weights of Achin as 4 _copangs_ (see KOPANG) = 1 MACE, 5 MACE = 1 _mayam_, 16 _mayam_ = 1 _tale_ (see TAEL), 5 _tales_ = 1 _buncal_, 20 _buncals_ = 1 CATTY, 200 _catties_ = 1 BAHAR; and the _catty_ of Achīn as = 2 _lbs._ 1 _oz._ 13 _dr._ Of these names, MACE, TALE and BAHAR (qq.v.) seem to be of Indian origin, _mayam_, _bangkal_, and _kati_ Malay.

1540.—"And those three junks which were then taken, according to the
assertion of those who were aboard, had contained in silver alone 200,000
TAELS (_taeis_), which are in our money 300,000 _cruzados_, besides much
else of value with which they were freighted."—_Pinto_, cap. xxxv.

1598.—"A TAEL is a full ounce and a halfe Portingale
weight."—_Linschoten_, 44; [Hak. Soc. i. 149].

1599.—"Est et ponderis genus, quod TAEL vocant in Malacca. TAEL unum in
Malacca pendet 16 MASAS."—_De Bry_, ii. 64.

" "Four hundred CASHES make a _cowpan_ (see KOBANG). Foure
_cowpans_ are one MAS. Foure _masses_ make a _Perdaw_ (see PARDAO). Four
_Perdaws_ make a TAYEL."—_Capt. T. Davis_, in _Purchas_, i. 123.

c. 1608.—"Bezar stones are thus bought by the TAILE ... which is one
Ounce, and the third part English."—_Saris_, in _do._, 392.

1613.—"A TAYE is five shillinge sterling."—_Saris_, in _do._ 369.

1643.—"Les Portugais sont fort desireux de ces Chinois pour esclaves ...
il y a des Chinois faicts à ce mestier ... quand ils voyent quelque beau
petit garçon ou fille ... les enleuent par force et les cachent ... puis
viennent sur la riue de la mer, ou ils sçauent que sont les trafiquans à
qui ils les vendent 12 et 15 TAYES chacun, qui est enuiron 25
escus."—_Mocquet_, 342.

c. 1656.—"Vn Religieux Chinois qui a esté surpris auec des femmes de
debauche ... l'on a percé le col avec vn fer chaud; à ce fer est attaché
vne chaisne de fer d'enuiron dix brasses qu'il est obligé de traisner
jusques à ce qu'il ait apporté au Couuent trente THEYLS d'argent qu'il
faut qu'il amasse en demandant l'aumosne."—In _Thevenot, Divers Voyages_,
ii. 67.

[1683.—"The abovesaid Musk weyes Cattee 10: TAHE 14: Mas
03...."—_Pringle, Diary Ft. St. Geo._, 1st ser. ii. 34.]

TAHSEELDAR, s. The chief (native) revenue officer of a subdivision (_taḥsīl_, conf. PERGUNNAH, TALOOK) of a district (see ZILLAH). Hind. from Pers. _taḥsīldār_, and that from Ar. _taḥsīl_, 'collection.' This is a term of the Mahommedan administration which we have adopted. It appears by the quotation from Williamson that the term was formerly employed in Calcutta to designate the cash-keeper in a firm or private establishment, but this use is long obsolete. [Possibly there was a confusion with _taḥvīldār_, 'a cashier.']

[1772.—"TAHSILDAR, or _Sezawaul_, an officer employed for a monthly
salary to collect the revenues."—_Glossary_, in _Verelst, View of
Bengal_, s.v.]

1799.—"... He (Tippoo) divided his country into 37 Provinces under Dewans
(see DEWAUN) ... and he subdivided these again into 1025 inferior
districts, having each a TISHELDAR."—Letter of _Munro_, in _Life_, i.
215.

1808.—"... he continues to this hour TEHSILDAR of the petty pergunnah of
Sheopore."—_Fifth Report_, 583.

1810.—"... the sircar, or TUSSEELDAR (cash-keeper) receiving one key, and
the master retaining the other."—_Williamson, V.M._ i. 209.

[1826.—"... I told him ... that I was ... the bearer of letters to his
head collector or T,HUSEELDAM (_sic_) there."—_Pandurang Hari_, ed. 1873,
i. 155.]

TAILOR-BIRD, s. This bird is so called from the fact that it is in the habit of drawing together "one leaf or more, generally two leaves, on each side of the nest, and stitches them together with cotton, either woven by itself, or cotton thread picked up; and after putting the thread through the leaf, it makes a knot at the end to fix it" (_Jerdon_). It is _Orthrotomos longicauda_, Gmelin (sub-fam. _Drymoicinae_).

[1813.—"Equally curious in the structure of its nest, and far superior
(to the BAYA) in the variety and elegance of its plumage, is the
TAILOR-BIRD of Hindostan" (here follows a description of its
nest).—_Forbes, Or. Mem._, 2nd ed. i. 33.]

1883.—"Clear and loud above all ... sounds the to-whee, to-whee, to-whee
of the TAILOR-BIRD, a most plain-looking little greenish thing, but a
skilful workman and a very Beaconsfield in the matter of keeping its own
counsel. Aided by its industrious spouse, it will, when the monsoon comes
on, spin cotton, or steal thread from the DURZEE, and sew together two
broad leaves of the laurel in the pot on your very doorstep, and when it
has warmly lined the bag so formed it will bring up therein a large
family of little tailors."—_Tribes on My Frontier_, 145.

TAJ, s. Pers. _tāj_, 'a crown.' The most famous and beautiful mausoleum in Asia; the _Tāj Mahal_ at Agra, erected by Shāh Jahān over the burial-place of his favourite wife Mumtāz-i-Mahal ('Ornament of the Palace') Banū Begam.

1663.—"I shall not stay to discourse of the Monument of _Ekbar_, because
whatever beauty is there, is found in a far higher degree in that of TAJ
MEHALE, which I am now going to describe to you ... judge whether I had
reason to say that the _Mausoleum_, or Tomb of TAJ-MEHALE, is something
worthy to be admired. For my part I do not yet well know, whether I am
somewhat infected still with Indianisme; but I must needs say, that I
believe it ought to be reckoned amongst the Wonders of the
World...."—_Bernier_, E.T. 94-96; [ed. _Constable_, 293].

1665.—"Of all the Monuments that are to be seen at _Agra_, that of the
Wife of _Cha-Jehan_ is the most magnificent; she caus'd it to be set up
on purpose near the _Tasimacan_, to which all strangers must come, that
they should admire it. The _Tasimacan_ [? Tāj-i-mukām, 'Place of the
Tāj'] is a great _Bazar_, or Market-place, comprised of six great courts,
all encompass'd with Portico's; under which there are Warehouses for
Merchants.... The monument of this _Begum_ or _Sultaness_, stands on the
East side of the City.... I saw the beginning and compleating of this
great work, that cost two and twenty years labour, and 20,000 men always
at work."—_Tavernier_, E.T. ii. 50; [ed. _Ball_, i. 109].

1856.—

"But far beyond compare, the glorious TAJ,
Seen from old Agra's towering battlements,
And mirrored clear in Jumna's silent stream;
Sun-lighted, like a pearly diadem
Set royal on the melancholy brow
Of withered Hindostan; but, when the moon
Dims the white marble with a softer light,
Like some queened maiden, veiled in dainty lace,
And waiting for her bridegroom, stately, pale,
But yet transcendent in her loveliness."
_The Banyan Tree._

TALAING, n.p. The name by which the chief race inhabiting Pegu (or the Delta of the Irawadi) is known to the Burmese. The Talaings were long the rivals of the Burmese, alternately conquering and conquered, but the Burmese have, on the whole, so long predominated, even in the Delta, that the use of the Talaing language is now nearly extinct in Pegu proper, though it is still spoken in Martaban, and among the descendants of emigrants into Siamese territory. We have adopted the name from the Burmese to designate the race, but their own name for their people is _Mōn_ or _Mūn_ (see MONE).

Sir Arthur Phayre has regarded the name _Talaing_ as almost undoubtedly a form of TELINGA. The reasons given are plausible, and may be briefly stated in two extracts from his Essay _On the History of Pegu_ (_J. As. Soc. Beng._, vol. xlii. Pt. i.): "The names given in the histories of Tha-htun and Pegu to the first Kings of those cities are Indian; but they cannot be accepted as historically true. The countries from which the Kings are said to have derived their origin ... may be recognised as Karnáta, _Kalinga_, Venga and Vizianagaram ... probably mistaken for the more famous Vijayanagar.... The word _Talingána_ never occurs in the Peguan histories, but only the more ancient name Kalinga" (_op. cit._ pp. 32-33). "The early settlement of a colony or city for trade, on the coast of Rámanya by settlers from Talingána, satisfactorily accounts for the name TALAING, by which the people of Pegu are known to the Burmese and all peoples of the west. But the Peguans call themselves by a different name ... _Mun_, _Mwun_, or _Mon_" (_ibid._ p. 34).

Prof. Forchhammer, however, who has lately devoted much labour to the study of Talaing archæology and literature, entirely rejects this view. He states that prior to the time of Alompra's conquest of Pegu (middle of 18th century) the name Talaing was entirely unknown as an appellation of the Muns, and that it nowhere occurs in either inscriptions or older palm-leaves, and that by all nations of Further India the people in question is known by names related to either _Mun_ or _Pegu_. He goes on: "The word 'Talaing' is the term by which the Muns acknowledged their total defeat, their being vanquished and the slaves of their Burmese conqueror. They were no longer to bear the name of Muns or Peguans. Alompra stigmatized them with an appellation suggestive at once of their submission and disgrace. Talaing means" (in the Mun language) "'one who is trodden under foot, a slave.'... Alompra could not have devised more effective means to extirpate the national consciousness of a people than by burning their books, forbidding the use of their language, and by substituting a term of abject reproach for the name under which they had maintained themselves for nearly 2000 years in the marine provinces of Burma. The similarity of the two words 'Talaing' and 'Telingana' is purely accidental; and all deductions, historical or etymological ... from the resemblance ... must necessarily be void _ab initio_" (_Notes on Early Hist. and Geog. of Br. Burma_, Pt. ii. pp. 11-12, Rangoon, 1884).

Here we leave the question. It is not clear whether Prof. F. gives the story of Alompra as a historical fact, or as a probable explanation founded on the etymology. Till this be clear we cannot say that we are altogether satisfied. But the fact that we have been unable to find any occurrence of _Talaing_ earlier than Symes's narrative is in favour of his view.

Of the relics of Talaing literature almost nothing is known. Much is to be hoped from the studies of Prof. Forchhammer himself.

There are linguistic reasons for connecting the _Talaing_ or Mun people with the so-called Kolarian tribes of the interior of India, but the point is not yet a settled one. [Mr. Baines notes coincidences between the Mon and Munda languages, and accepts the connection of Talaing with Telinga (_Census Report_, 1891, i. p. 128).]

1795.—"The present King of the Birmans ... has abrogated some severe
penal laws imposed by his predecessors on the TALIENS, or native Peguers.
Justice is now impartially distributed, and the only distinction at
present between a Birman and a TALIEN, consists in the exclusion of the
latter from places of public trust and power."—_Symes_, 183.

TALAPOIN, s. A word used by the Portuguese, and after them by French and other Continental writers, as well as by some English travellers of the 17th century, to designate the Buddhist monks of Ceylon and the Indo-Chinese countries. The origin of the expression is obscure. Monseigneur Pallegoix, in his _Desc. du Royaume Thai ou Siam_ (ii. 23) says: "Les Européens les ont appelés TALAPOINS, probablement du nom de l'éventail qu'ils tiennent à la main, lequel s'appelle _talapat_, qui signifie _feuille de palmier_." Childers gives _Talapannam_, Pali, 'a leaf used in writing, &c.' This at first sight seems to have nothing to support it except similarity of sound; but the quotations from Pinto throw some possible light, and afford probability to this origin, which is also accepted by Koeppen (_Rel. des Buddhas_, i. 331 _note_), and by Bishop Bigandet (_J. Ind. Archip._ iv. 220). [Others, however, derive it from Peguan _Tilapoin_, _tala_ (not _tila_), 'lord,' _poin_, 'wealth.']

c. 1554.—"... hũa procissão ... na qual se affirmou ... que hião quarenta
mil Sacerdotes ... dos quaes muytos tinhão differentes dignidades, come
erão _Grepos_ (?), TALAGREPOS, _Rolins_, _Neepois_, _Bicos_, _Sacareus_ e
_Chanfarauhos_, os quaes todas pelas vestiduras, de que hião ornados, _e
pelas divisas, e insignias, que levarão nas mãos, se conhecião_, quaes
erão huno, e quaes erão outros."—_F. M. Pinto_, ch. clx. Thus rendered by
Cogan: "A Procession ... it was the common opinion of all, that in this
Procession were 40,000 Priests ... most of them were of different
dignities, and called Grepos, TALAGREPOS (&c.). Now by the ornaments they
wear, as also by the devices and ensigns which they carry in their hands,
they may be distinguished."—p. 218.

" "O _Chaubainha_ lhe mandou hũa carta por hum seu _Grepo_ TALAPOY,
religioso já de idade de oitenta annos."—_Pinto_, ch. cxlix. By Cogan:
"The _Chaubinhaa_ sent the King a Letter by one of his Priests that was
fourscore years of age."—_Cogan_, 199.

[1566.—"TALAPOINS." See under COSMIN.]

c. 1583.—"... Sì veggono le case di legno tutte dorate, et ornate di
bellissimi giardini fatti alla loro vsanza, nelle quali habitano tutti i
TALAPOI, che sono i loro Frati, che stanno a gouerno del
Pagodo."—_Gasparo Balbi_, f. 96.

1586.—"There are ... many good houses for the TALLAPOIES to preach
in."—_R. Fitch_, in _Hakl._ ii. 93.

1597.—"The TALIPOIS persuaded the _Iangoman_, brother to the King of
_Pegu_, to vsurpe the Kingdome, which he refused, pretending his Oath.
They replied that no Religion hindered, if he placed his brother in the
_Vahat_, that is, a _Golden Throne_, to be adored of the people for a
God."—_Nicolas Pimenta_, in _Purchas_, ii. 1747.

1612.—"There are in all those Kingdoms many persons belonging to
different Religious Orders; one of which in Pegu they call
TALAPOIS."—_Couto_, V. vi. 1.

1659.—"Whilst we looked on these temples, wherin these horrid idols sat,
there came the Aracan TALPOOYS, or Priests, and fell down before the
idols."—_Walter Schulze, Reisen_, 77.

1689.—"S'il vous arrive de fermer la bouche aux TALAPOINS et de mettre en
évidence leurs erreurs, ne vous attendez qu'à les avoir pour ennemis
implacables."—_Lett. Edif._ xxv. 64.

1690.—"Their Religious they call TELAPOI, who are not unlike mendicant
_Fryers_, living upon the Alms of the People, and so highly venerated by
them that they would be glad to drink the Water wherein they wash their
Hands."—_Ovington_, 592.

1696.—"... à permettre l'entrée de son royaume aux TALAPOINS."—_La
Bruyère, Caractères_, ed. Jouast, 1881, ii. 305.

1725.—"This great train is usually closed by the Priests or TALAPOIS and
Musicians."—_Valentijn_, v. 142.

1727.—"The other Sects are taught by the TALAPOINS, who ... preach up
Morality to be the best Guide to human Life, and affirm that a good Life
in this World can only recommend us in the next to have our Souls
transmigrated into the Body of some innocent Beast."—_A. Hamilton_, i.
151; [ed. 1744, i. 152].

" "The great God, whose Adoration is left to their TALLAPOIES or
Priests."—_Ibid._ ii.; [ed. 1744, ii. 54].

1759.—"When asked if they believed the existence of any SUPERIOR BEING,
they (the _Carianners_ (CARENS)) replied that the Bûraghmahs and Pegu
TALLOPINS told them so."—Letter in _Dalrymple, Or. Rep._ i. 100.

1766.—"_André Des Couches._ Combien avez-vous de soldats? _Croutef._
Quatre-vingt-mille, fort médiocrement payés. _A. des C._ Et de TALAPOINS?
_Cr._ Cent vingt mille, tous faineans et très riches. Il est vrai que
dans la dernière guerre nous avons été bien battus; mais, en récompense,
nos TALAPOINS ont fait très grande chère," &c.—_Voltaire_, Dial. xxii.
_André Des Couches à Siam._

c. 1818.—"A certain priest or TALAPOIN conceived an inordinate affection
for a garment of an elegant shape, which he possessed, and which he
diligently preserved to prevent its wearing out. He died without
correcting his irregular affection, and immediately becoming a louse,
took up his abode in his favourite garment."—_Sangermano_, p. 20.

1880.—"The _Phongyies_ (POONGEE), or Buddhist Monks, sometimes called
TALAPOINS, a name given to them, and introduced into Europe by the
Portuguese, from their carrying a fan formed of _tála-pat_, or
palm-leaves."—_Saty. Rev._, Feb. 21, p. 266, quoting _Bp. Bigandet_.

TALEE, s. Tam. _tāli_. A small trinket of gold which is fastened by a string round the neck of a married woman in S. India. It may be a curious question whether the word may not be an adaptation from the Ar. _tahlīl_, "qui signifie proprement: prononcer la formule _lâ ilâha illâ 'llâh_.... Cette formule, écrite sur un morceau de papier, servait d'amulette ... le tout était renfermé dans un étui auquel on donnait le nom de _tahlīl_" (_Dozy & Engelmann_, 346). These Mahommedan _tahlīls_ were worn by a band, and were the origin of the Span. word _tali_, 'a baldrick.' [But the _talee_ is a Hindu, not a Mahommedan ornament, and there seems no doubt that it takes its name from Skt. _tāla_, 'the palmyra' (see TALIPOT), it being the original practice for women to wear this leaf dipped in saffron-water (_Mad. Gloss._ s.v. _Logan, Malabar_, i. 134).] The Indian word appears to occur first in Abraham Rogerius, but the custom is alluded to by early writers, _e.g._ Gouvea, _Synodo_, f. 43_v_.

1651.—"So the Bridegroom takes this TALI, and ties it round the neck of
his bride."—_Rogerius_, 45.

1672.—"Among some of the Christians there is also an evil custom, that
they for the greater tightening and fast-making of the marriage bond,
allow the Bridegroom to tie a TALI or little band round the Bride's neck;
although in my time this was as much as possible denounced, seeing that
it is a custom derived from Heathenism."—_Baldaeus, Zeylon_ (German),
408.

1674.—"The bridegroom attaches to the neck of the bride a line from which
hang three little pieces of gold in honour of the three gods: and this
they call TALE; and it is the sign of being a married woman."—_Faria y
Sousa, Asia Port._, ii. 707.

1704.—"Praeterea, quum moris hujus Regionis sit, ut infantes sex vel
septem annorum, interdum etiam in teneriori aetate, ex genitorum
consensu, matrimonium indissolubile de praesenti contrahant, per
impositionem TALII, seu aureae tesserae nuptialis, uxoris collo pensilis:
missionariis mandamus ne hujusmodi irrita matrimonia inter Christianos
fieri permittant."—_Decree of Card. Tournon_, in _Norbert, Mem. Hist._ i.
155.

1726.—"And on the betrothal day the TALI, or bride's betrothal band, is
tied round her neck by the Bramin ... and this she must not untie in her
husband's life."—_Valentijn, Choro._ 51.

[1813.—"... the TALI, which is a ribbon with a gold head hanging to it,
is held ready; and, being shown to the company, some prayers and
blessings are pronounced; after which the bridegroom takes it, and hangs
it about the bride's neck."—_Forbes, Or. Mem._ 2nd ed. ii. 312.]

TALIAR, TARRYAR, s. A watchman (S. India). Tam. _talaiyāri_, [from _talai_, 'head,' a chief watchman].

1680.—"The Peons and TARRYARS sent in quest of two soldiers who had
deserted ... returned with answer that they could not light of them,
whereupon the Peons were turned out of service, but upon Verona's
intercession were taken in again and fined each one month's pay, and to
repay the money paid them for Battee (see BATTA); also the Pedda Naigu
was fined in like manner for his TARRYARS."—_Fort St. Geo. Consns._, Feb.
10. In _Notes and Exts._, Madras, 1873, No. III. p. 3.

1693.—"TALIARS and Peons appointed to watch the Black Town...."—In
_Wheeler_, i. 267.

1707.—"Resolving to march 250 soldiers, 200 TALLIARS, and 200
peons."—_Ibid._ ii. 74.

[1800.—"In every village a particular officer, called TALLIARI, keeps
watch at night, and is answerable for all that may be stolen."—_Buchanan,
Mysore_, i. 3.]

TALIPOT, s. The great-leaved fan-palm of S. India and Ceylon, _Corypha umbraculifera_, L. The name, from Skt. _tāla-pattra_, Hind. _tālpāt_, 'leaf of the _tāla_ tree,' properly applies to the _leaf_ of such a tree, or to the smaller leaf of the palmyra (_Borassus flabelliformis_), used for many purposes, _e.g._ for slips to write on, to make fans and umbrellas, &c. See OLLAH, PALMYRA, TALAPOIN. Sometimes we find the word used for an umbrella, but this is not common. The quotation from Jordanus, though using no name, refers to this tree. [Arrian says: "These trees were called in Indian speech _tala_, and there grew on them, as there grows at the tops of the palm-trees, a fruit resembling balls of wool" (_Indika_, vii.).]

c. 1328.—"In this India are certain trees which have leaves so big that
five or six men can very well stand under the shade of one of them."—_Fr.
Jordanus_, 29-30.

c. 1430.—"These leaves are used in this country for writing upon instead
of paper, and in rainy weather are carried on the head as a covering, to
keep off the wet. Three or four persons travelling together can be
covered by one of these leaves stretched out." And again: "There is also
a tree called TAL, the leaves of which are extremely large, and upon
which they write."—_N. Conti_, in _India in the XV. Cent._, 7 and 13.

1672.—"TALPETS or sunshades."—_Baldaeus_, Dutch ed., 102.

1681.—"There are three other trees that must not be omitted. The first is
TALIPOT...."—_Knox_, 15.

" "They (the priests) have the honour of carrying the TALLIPOT with
the broad end over their heads foremost; which none but the King
does."—_Ibid._ 74. [See TALAPOIN.]

1803.—"The TALIPOT tree ... affords a prodigious leaf, impenetrable to
sun or rain, and large enough to shelter ten men. It is a natural
umbrella, and is of as eminent service in that country as a great-coat
tree would be in this. A leaf of the TALIPOT-tree is a tent to the
soldier, a parasol to the traveller, and a book to the scholar."—_Sydney
Smith, Works_, 3rd ed. iii. 15.

1874.—"... dans les embrasures ... s'étalaient des bananiers, des
TALLIPOTS...."—_Franz, Souvenirs d'un Cosaque_, ch. iv.

1881.—"The lofty head of the TALIPOT palm ... the proud queen of the
tribe in Ceylon, towers above the scrub on every side. Its trunk is
perfectly straight and white, like a slender marble column, and often
more than 100 feet high. Each of the fans that compose the crown of
leaves covers a semicircle of from 12 to 16 feet radius, a surface of 150
to 200 square feet."—_Haeckel's Visit to Ceylon_, E.T. p. 129.

TALISMAN, s. This word is used by many medieval and post-medieval writers for what we should now call a MOOLLAH, or the like, a member of the Mahommedan clergy, so to call them. It is doubtless the corruption of some Ar. term, but of _what_ it is not easy to say. Qu. _talāmiẓa_, 'disciples, students'? [See _Burton, Ar. Nights_, ix. 165.] On this Prof. Robertson Smith writes: "I have got some fresh light on your _Talisman_.

"W. Bedwell, the father of English Arabists, in his _Catalogue_ of the Chapters of the _Turkish Alkoran_, published (1615) along with the _Mohammedis Imposturae_, and _Arabian Trudgman_, has the following, quoted from _Postellus de Orbis Concordia_, i. 13: 'Haec precatio (the _fātiḥa_) illis est communis ut nobis dominica: et ita quibusdum ad battologiam usque recitatur ut centies idem, aut duo aut tria vocabula repetant dicendo, _Alhamdu lillah, hamdu lillah, hamdu lillah_, et cetera ejus vocabula eodem modo. Idque facit in publicà oratione TAALIMA, id est sacrificulus, pro his qui negligenter orant ut aiunt, ut ea repititione suppleat eorum erroribus.... Quidam medio in campo tam assiduè, ut defessi considant; alii circumgirando corpus,' etc.

"Here then we have a form without the _s_, and one which from the vowels seem to be _ti'lima_, 'a very learned man.' This, owing to the influence of the guttural, would sound in modern pronunciation nearly as _Taalima_. At the same time _ti'lima_ is not the name of an office, and prayers on behalf of others can be undertaken by any one who receives a mandate, and is paid for them; so it is very possible that Postellus, who was an Arabic scholar, made the pointing suit his idea of the word meant, and that the real word is _talāmi_, a shortened form, recognised by Jawhari, and other lexicographers, of TALĀMIDH, 'disciples.' That students should turn a penny by saying prayers for others is very natural." This, therefore, confirms our conjecture of the origin.

1338.—"They treated me civilly, and set me in front of their mosque
during their Easter; at which mosque, on account of its being their
Easter, there were assembled from divers quarters a number of their
_Cadini_, _i.e._ of their bishops, and of their TALISMANI, _i.e._ of
their priests."—Letter of _Friar Pascal_, in _Cathay_, &c., p. 235.

1471.—"In questa città è vna fossa d'acqua nel modo di vna fontana, la
qual'è guardata da quelli suoi THALASSIMANI, cioè preti; quest'acqua
dicono che ha gran vertù contra la lebra, e contra le
caualette."—_Giosafa Barbaro_, in _Ramusio_, ii. f. 107.

1535.—

"Non vi sarebbe più confusione
S'a Damasco il Soldan desse l'assalto;
Un muover d'arme, un correr di persone
E di TALACIMANNI un gridar d'alto."
_Ariosto_, xviii. 7.

1554.—"TALISMÁNNOS habent hominum genus templorum ministerio
dicatum...."—_Busbeq. Epistola._ i. p. 40.

c. 1590.—"Vt TALISMANNI, qui sint commodius intelligatur: sciendum,
certos esse gradus Mahumetanis eorum qui legum apud ipsos periti sunt, et
partim jus dicunt, partim legem interpretantur. Ludovicus Bassanus
Iadrensis in hunc modum comparat eos cum nostris Ecclesiasticis....
_Muphtim_ dicit esse inter ipsos instar vel Papae nostro, vel Patriarchae
Graecorum.... Huic proximi sunt _Cadilescheri_.... Bassanus hos cum
Archiepiscopis nostris comparat. Sequuntur CADIJ ... locum obtinent
Episcopi. Secundum hos sunt eis _Hoggiae_,[262] qui seniores dicuntur, vt
Graecis et nostris Presbyteri. Excipiunt _Hoggias_ TALISMANI, seu
Presbyteros Diaconi. Vltimi sunt DERVISII, qui Calogeris Graecorum,
monachis nostris respondent. TALISMANI Mahumetanis ad preces interdiu et
noctu quinquis excitant."—_Leunclavius, Annales Sultanorum Othmanidarum_,
ed. 1650, 414.

1610.—"Some hauing two, some foure, some sixe adioyning turrets,
exceeding high, and exceeding slender: tarrast aloft on the outside like
the maine top of a ship ... from which the TALISMANNI with elated voices
(for they vse no bels) do congregate the people...."—_Sandys_, p. 31.

c. 1630.—"The _Fylalli_ converse most in the Alcoran. The _Deruissi_ are
wandering wolves in sheepes clothing. The TALISMANNI regard the houres of
prayer by turning the 4 hour'd glasse. The _Muyezini_ crie from the tops
of Mosques, battologuizing Llala Hyllula."—_Sir T. Herbert_, 267; [and
see ed. 1677, p. 323].

1678.—"If he can read like a Clerk a Chapter out of the Alcoran ... he
shall be crowned with the honour of being a Mullah or
TALMAN...."—_Fryer_, 368.

1687.—"... It is reported by the Turks that ... the victorious Sultan ...
went with all Magnificent pomp and solemnity to pay his thanksgiving and
devotions at the church of Sancta Sophia; the Magnificence so pleased
him, that he immediately added a yearly Rent of 10,000 zechins to the
former Endowments, for the maintenance of IMAUMS or Priests, Doctours of
their Law, TALISMANS and others who continually attend there for the
education of youth...."—_Sir P. Rycaut, Present State of the Ottoman
Empire_, p. 54.

TĀLIYAMĀR, s. Sea-Hind. for 'cut-water.' Port. _talhamar_.—_Roebuck._

TALLICA, s. Hind. from Ar. _ta'līḳah_. An invoice or schedule.

1682.—"... that he ... would send another Droga (DAROGA) or CUSTOMER on
purpose to take our TALLICAS."—_Hedges, Diary_, Dec. 26; [Hak. Soc. i.
60. Also see under KUZZANNA].

TALOOK, s. This word, Ar. _ta'alluḳ_, from root _'alaḳ_, 'to hang or depend,' has various shades of meaning in different parts of India. In S. and W. India it is the subdivision of a district, presided over as regards revenue matters by a TAHSEELDAR. In Bengal it is applied to tracts of proprietary land, sometimes not easily distinguished from _Zemindaries_, and sometimes subordinate to or dependent on Zemindars. In the N.W. Prov. and Oudh the _ta'alluḳ_ is an estate the profits of which are divided between different proprietors, one being superior, the other inferior (see TALOOKDAR). _Ta'alluḳ_ is also used in Hind. for 'department' of administration.

1885.—"In October, 1779, the Dacca Council were greatly disturbed in
their minds by the appearance amongst them of John Doe, who was then
still in his prime. One Chundermonee demised to John Doe and his assigns
certain lands in the pergunna Bullera ... whereupon George III., by the
Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of
the Faith, and so forth, commanded the Sheriff of Calcutta to give John
Doe possession. At this Mr. Shakspeare burst into fury, and in language
which must have surprised John Doe, proposed 'that a _sezawul_ be
appointed for the collection of Patparrah TALOOK, with directions to pay
the same into Bullera CUTCHERRY.'"—_Sir J. Stephen, Nuncomar and Impey_,
ii. 159-60. A _sazãwal_ is "an officer specially appointed to collect the
revenue of an estate, from the management of which the owner or farmer
has been removed."—(_Wilson_).

TALOOKDĀR, s. Hind. from Pers. _ta'alluḳdār_, 'the holder of a _ta'alluḳ_' (see TALOOK) in either of the senses of that word; _i.e._ either a Government officer collecting the revenue of a _ta'alluḳ_ (though in this sense it is probably now obsolete everywhere), or the holder of an estate so designated. The famous _Talookdars_ of Oudh are large landowners, possessing both villages of which they are sole proprietors, and other villages, in which there are subordinate holders, in which the _Talookdar_ is only the superior proprietor (see _Carnegie, Kachari Technicalities_).

[1769.—"... inticements are frequently employed by the TALOOKDARS to
augment the concourse to their lands."—_Verelst, View of Bengal_, App.
233. In his _Glossary_ he defines "_Talookdar_, the Zemeen-dar of a small
district."]

TAMARIND, s. The pod of the tree which takes its name from that product, _Tamarindus indica_, L., N.O. _Leguminosae_. It is a tree cultivated throughout India and Burma for the sake of the acid pulp of the pod, which is laxative and cooling, forming a most refreshing drink in fever. The tree is not believed by Dr. Brandis to be indigenous in India, but is supposed to be so in tropical Africa. The origin of the name is curious. It is Ar. _tamar-u'l-Hind_, 'date of India,' or perhaps rather in Persian form, _tamar-i-Hindī_. It is possible that the original name may have been _thamar_, 'fruit' of India, rather than _tamar_, 'date.'

1298.—"When they have taken a merchant vessel, they force the merchants
to swallow a stuff called TAMARINDI, mixed in sea-water, which produces a
violent purging."—_Marco Polo_, 2nd ed., ii. 383.

c. 1335.—"L'arbre appelé _ḥammar_, c'est à dire AL-TAMAR-AL-HINDI, est un
arbre sauvage qui couvre les montagnes."—_Masālik-al-abṣar_, in _Not. et
Ext._ xiii. 175.

1563.—"It is called in Malavar _puli_, and in Guzerat _ambili_, and this
is the name they have among all the other people of this India; and the
Arab calls it TAMARINDI, because _tamar_, as you well know, is our
_tamara_, or, as the Castilians say, _datil_ [_i.e._ date], so that
TAMARINDI are 'dates of India'; and this was because the Arabs could not
think of a name more appropriate on account of its having stones inside,
and not because either the tree or the fruit had any
resemblance."—_Garcia_, f. 200. [_Puli_ is the Malayāl. name; _ambilii_
is probably Hind. _imlī_, Skt. _amlikā_, 'the tamarind.']

c. 1580.—"In febribus verò pestilentibus, atque omnibus aliis ex
putridis, exurentibus, aquam, in qua multa copia TAMARINDORUM infusa
fuerit cum saccharo ebibunt."—_Prosper Alpinus (De Plantis Aegypt.)_ ed.
Lugd. Bat. 1735, ii. 20.

1582.—"They have a great store of TAMARINDOS...."—_Castañeda_, by N.L. f.
94.

[1598.—"TAMARINDE is by the Aegyptians called _Derelside_ (qu.
_dār-al-sayyida_, 'Our Lady's tree'?)."—_Linschoten_, Hak. Soc. ii. 121.]

1611.—"That wood which we cut for firewood did all hang trased with cods
of greene fruit (as big as a Bean-cod in England) called TAMERIM; it hath
a very soure tast, and by the Apothecaries is held good against the
Scurvie."—_N. Dounton_, in _Purchas_, i. 277.

[1623.—"TAMARINDS, which the Indians call _Hambele_" (_imlī_, as in
quotation from Garcia above).—_P. della Valle_, Hak. Soc. i. 92.]

1829.—"A singularly beautiful TAMARIND tree (ever the most graceful, and
amongst the most magnificent of trees)...."—_Mem. of Col. Mountain_, 98.

1877.—"The natives have a saying that sleeping beneath the 'DATE OF HIND'
gives you fever, which you cure by sleeping under a _nim_ tree (_Melia
azedirachta_), the lilac of Persia."—_Burton, Sind Revisited_, i. 92. The
_nim_ (see NEEM) (_pace_ Capt. Burton) is not the 'lilac of Persia' (see
BUCKYNE). The prejudice against encamping or sleeping under a tamarind
tree is general in India. But, curiously, Bp. Pallegoix speaks of it as
the practice of the Siamese "to rest and play under the beneficent shade
of the TAMARIND."—(_Desc. du Royaume Thai ou Siam_, i. 136).

TAMARIND-FISH, s. This is an excellent zest, consisting, according to Dr. Balfour, of white POMFRET, cut in transverse slices, and preserved in tamarinds. The following is a note kindly given by the highest authority on Indian fish matters, Dr. Francis Day:

"My account of TAMARIND FISH is very short, and in my _Fishes of Malabar_
as follows:—

"'The best TAMARIND FISH is prepared from the Seir fish (see SEER-FISH),
and from the _Lates calcarifer_, known as COCKUP in Calcutta; and a
rather inferior quality from the _Polynemus_ (or Roe-ball, to which genus
the MANGO-FISH belongs), and the more common from any kind of fish.' The
above refers to Malabar, and more especially to Cochin. Since I wrote my
_Fishes of Malabar_ I have made many inquiries as to TAMARIND FISH, and
found that the white pomfret, where it is taken, appears to be the best
for making the preparation."

TAMBERANEE, s. Malayāl. _tam-burān_, 'Lord; God, or King.' It is a title of honour among the NAIRS, and is also assumed by Saiva monks in the Tamil countries. [The word is derived from Mal. _tam_, 'one's own,' _purān_, 'lord.' The junior male members of the Malayāli Rāja's family, until they come of age, are called _Tambān_, and after that _Tamburān_. The female members are similarly styled _Tambaṭṭi_ and _Tamburaṭṭi_ (_Logan, Malabar_, iii. _Gloss._ s.v.).]

1510.—"Dice l'altro TAMARAI: zoe Per Dio? L'altro respõde TAMARANI: zoe
Per Dio."—_Varthema_, ed. 1517, f. 45.

[c. 1610.—"They (the Nairs) call the King in their language TAMBIRAINE,
meaning 'God.'"—_Pyrard de Laval_, Hak. Soc. i. 357.]

TANA, TANNA, n.p. _Thāna_, a town on the Island of Salsette on the strait ('River of Tana') dividing that island from the mainland and 20 m. N.E. of Bombay, and in the early Middle Ages the seat of a Hindu kingdom of the Konkan (see CONCAN), as well as a seaport of importance. It is still a small port, and is the chief town of the District which bears its name.

c. 1020.—"From Dhár southwards to the river Nerbudda, nine; thence to
Mahratdes ... eighteen; thence to Konkan, of which the capital is TANA,
on the sea-shore, twenty-five parasangs."—_Al-Birūnī_, in _Elliot_, i.
60.

[c. 1150.—"TANAH," miswritten BANAH. See under TABASHEER.]

1298.—"TANA is a great Kingdom lying towards the West.... There is much
traffic here, and many ships and merchants frequent the place."—_Marco
Polo_, Bk. III. ch. 27.

1321.—"After their blessed martyrdom, which occurred on the Thursday
before Palm Sunday in THANA of India, I baptised about 90 persons in a
certain city called Parocco, ten days' journey distant therefrom, and I
have since baptised more than twenty, besides thirty-five who were
baptised between THANA and Supera (SUPARA)."—_Letter of Friar Jordanus_,
in _Cathay_, &c., 226.

c. 1323.—"And having thus embarked I passed over in 28 days to TANA,
where for the faith of Christ four of our Minor Friars had suffered
martyrdom.... The land is under the dominion of the Saracens...."—_Fr.
Odoric_, _Ibid._ i. 57-58.

1516.—"25 leagues further on the coast is a fortress of the before-named
king, called TANA-_Mayambu_" (this is perhaps rather BOMBAY).—_Barbosa_,
68.

1529.—"And because the norwest winds blew strong, winds contrary to his
course, after going a little way he turned and anchored in sight of the
island, where were stationed the foists with their captain-in-chief
Alixa, who seeing our fleet in motion put on his oars and assembled at
the River of TANA, and when the wind came round our fleet made sail, and
anchored at the mouth of the River of TANA, for the wind would not allow
of its entering."—_Correa_, iii. 290.

1673.—"The Chief City of this Island is called TANAW; in which are Seven
Churches and Colleges, the chiefest one of the _Paulistines_ (see
PAULIST).... Here are made good Stuffs of Silk and Cotton."—_Fryer_, 73.

TANA, THANA, s. A Police station. Hind. _thāna_, _thānā_, [Skt. _sthāna_, 'a place of standing, a post']. From the quotation following it would seem that the term originally meant a fortified post, with its garrison, for the military occupation of the country; a meaning however closely allied to the present use.

c. 1640-50.—"THÁNAH means a corps of cavalry, matchlockmen, and archers,
stationed within an enclosure. Their duty is to guard the roads, to hold
the places surrounding the THÁNAH, and to despatch provisions (_rasad_,
see RUSSUD) to the next THÁNAH."—_Pádisháh námah_, quoted by _Blochmann_,
in _Āīn_, i. 345.