Chapter XI: Part II: , by Dr. Grierson, Calcutta, 1903, pages 1-17 and ff

[49] A very similar construction in Assamese may be compared with this, viz:

Father.

My mór bópai
Your tór baper
His tár bapek--[Ed.]

[50] The writer would again refer the student to Dr. Grierson's work, part 7-15, where the whole subject of the agglutinative verb with its stem and infixes, &c., is dealt with with admirable force, clearness and knowledge of the subject.--[S.E.]

[51] See The Garos, by Major A. Playfair, David Nutt. 1909.--Ed.

[52] Hi-chu, i.e., hi earth, chi high: cf. Kachári há-jo, i.e., há earth, gajo, high.

[53] "Patál," one of the seven regions which Hindus believe to exist under the earth.

[54] Pad-jal, i.e., pad a foot, and jal water, "foot-water"; water in which a Gosain has dipped his foot, or (at least) his great toe, and which is therefore looked upon as sacred. It is otherwise known as charanámrita, i.e., charan foot, and ámrita, umtal ambrosia.

[55] For other information about Garos, see Garo Monograph, pp. 17, 19, 21.--Ed.

[56] See paper by Major P. R. T. Gurdon, in Journal of A. S. B., Vol. LXXIII., Part I, No. 1, 1904.

[57] Hábung-iyá, perhaps from há earth, bung for su-bung men; hence hábung-iya, autochthones, adscripti gleboe, something like the serfs of the old feudal system in Europe.

[58] I.e., dasa, the tenth.--Ed.

[59] See Outline Grammar of the Deori Chutiya Language, by W. B. Brown, B.A., I.C.S., Shillong, Assam Secretariat Press, a scholarly work to which the writer gladly takes this opportunity of acknowledging his manifold obligations.

[60] But the Gáros plant either a mandal tree or a Euphorbia cactus near their Kosi or sacrificial stones, hence recognising the sacred character of the siju tree (see Gáro Monograph, p. 97).--Ed.

[61] Bar = big, saru = small.--Ed.

[62] Cf. the old Jewish law regarding animals for sacrifice being "without blemish," Exodus, xii. 5; Leviticus, xxii. 19-21.

[63] A long island in the Brahmaputra.--Ed.

[64] I.e., the putting on of kháru (bracelets) and mani (necklace).--Ed.

[65] This Appendix is written by Mr. J. D. Anderson, the compiler of the little work on Kachári folk-tales mentioned on p. 54.--Ed.

[66] San = literally, the sun.

[67] Zakhai = a group of four, like the Hindi ganda.

[68] Ha-gra; ha = earth, cf. ha-zo, high earth, mountain; ha-bru, dirty earth, mud. So also dui-bru, dirty water, whence we get Dibrugarh.

[69] The infix hui conveys a sense of "at" or "from a distance." v. Mr. Anderson's account of the 'agglutinative' verb; vol. III, part II, pp. 7-15 of the Linguistic Survey of India.--Ed.

[70] The infix bai signifies continuance.

[71] Nang, gnang are very like the Assamese lag and the Bengali lag in the double sense of "sticking" and necessity.

[72] Huru. Kacháris, like Assamese, are very fond of such expletives, which though they have little, if any, meaning, add to the liveliness of narration. Many others will be found later on.

[73] S'lai, or z'lai, implies mutual action, exchange.

[74] A good instance of the characteristic double negative of Kachári, or, rather, of the fact that the inflexion khuise is only used with the negative verb.

[75] Det, which by a common idiom can be made adjectival by adding the usual prefix, thus, ge-det = big.

[76] Bongfang = tree, fang-se = one, ni = sign of the genitive. As to fang-se, see many other instances of the Kachári generic way of counting; e.g., mansui sa-se, one man; mosa ma-se, one tiger, etc. There are several instances in these stories.

[77] Lang-za-nai, the curious "passive" or "middle" participle. Perhaps the most characteristic instance of its use I have come across is in another story not given here, where a giant insults the Kachári Jack-the-giant-killer by calling him a "godo-i-au set-ba gakhir on-khat-nai gotho," literally a "on-throat-squeezing-milk-exuding-boy," i.e., a babe in whose mouth is still his mother's milk.

[78] Ha-ha-lagi. The first ha is the word for "earth," the second is the same word used as a datival affix = "up to," while lagi is the common Assamese word repeating the idea of the second ha.

[79] Mau of course = ma-au, the locative of ma = what.

[80] Grang = an affix commonly used to indicate the possessor of a quality. a = sign of nominative.

[81] Ba is the sign of the conditional tense, and the adjective mazáng is turned into a verb by its use.

[82] Ma kham-nu (in the infinitive) is curiously like the French use of "que faire?"

[83] Ga-ham = good; ham-a = not good, bad; ham-dang = is good; ham-a-bai = was not good, etc.

[84] Azang is simply the Assamese e jan, used distributively by repetition and heightened by the indigenous sa-se, which means the same as Assamese e.

[85] Thang-ui is the adverbial participle, something like "going-ly." Gaham-ui = well.

[86] Zo-bai-tha-nai = sit-continue-stay-ing.

[87] San sa-se = lit. "sun one." Sa is usually the distributive word used in counting humans. I imagine its use here is not to indicate personification, but for euphony, as a jingle to san. Man-se would be the normal construction.

[88] I have not marked gangsu as an Assamese word, but it is probably a Kachári version of ghas.

[89] Ba-brap-bai-nai-au; this is the locative case of the "passive" participle in nai of the "agglutinative" verb, ba-brap-bai. The infix brap signifies anger, restlessness, and bai means wandering about.

[90] Gar = to lose.

[91] Thang = go; lai = severally, the same root as occurs in s'lai = exchange.

[92] Lubui-dang-ba, a rather rare case of a double inflection. Lubui-ba would have sufficed. Much the same difference as between "if you wish" and "if you are wishing."

[93] Ga-ma, adjectival form conjugated with the verbal inflexion -bai. Cf. Lakh-ma = hide.

[94] Nai-nai, root repeated to signify continuous action.

[95] Girima is plainly from Sanskrit grihasta.

[96] Ha-bai-tha-dangman = fall-continue-stay-was.

[97] Thro = a common infix commonly used to express completeness of action. E.g., Thoi-thro-bai = was utterly slain.

[98] Ga-ham man-gan = will get advantage, good.

[99] Man = get; e (euphonic for a) = not; khai = by reason of.

[100] Hui is an interesting infix, and implies "went and did," or "did from a distance." Man-hui-ba = although he went and got; man = get.

[101] Namai-e = euphonic for namai-ui.

[102] Bung-nai-au, an interesting idiom; bungnanui, the present participle, apparently imitated from the Assamese, when the agglutinative verb began to decay, would have done as well; bung-nai-au is the locative of the "middle" participle; bung-nai = "on saying."

[103] Sinai is evidently chini (Assamese).

[104] Fi-sikhi; sikhi = friend; fi is the causal prefix which also occurs in the word fi-sa, a son; i.e. a made person, "the being you cause to exist."

[105] Ozai = the Assamese hadai, with the intensive nu added.

[106] Luguse = evidently, the Assamese lagat.

[107] Rai = converse; lai = mutually; naise is the inflection.

[108] Gakhu = climb; gakhu-hui = went and climbed.

[109] No = house; au = datival inflection; the i is inserted for euphony.

[110] Pha-phin; an infix implying "returning."

[111] Thaso may perhaps be a corruption of Assamese kasu.

[112] Thu and lui are examples of idiomatic expletives which are practically untranslatable. So also hera.

[113] Khuser is of course Assamese khusiyar.

[114] Nu = see; za = be, become; hui = going.

[115] Za = eat (the imperative is always the bare root, as in so many other languages). The word reminds me of a little story which shows the perplexities of bilingual people. A Kachári went to see his Assamese mother-in-law, who provided food and hospitably said (in Assamese) "Kha, kha." On which her son-in-law, obeying her injunction in Kachári, bound her hand and foot. Seeing his mistake, she laughed and said, in Kachári, "Za, za." On which he, much puzzled, went away!

[116] A good example of the agglutinative verb, for which in Hinduised Kachári would be substituted a long succession of participles, such as nu-nanui, za-nanui, thang-nanui, etc. It is impossible, of course, to translate all the infixes severally.

[117] Perhaps mukhang is Assamese, as well as atheng which occurs elsewhere, and modom may be badan.

[118] Ba-brap-bai-naise = wandered distractedly about. The infix bai signifies wandering, and babrap being in pain or wrath.

[119] Raza-lung-ha-ni = a literal translation of Assamese raja-hatar.

[120] An instance of the rare passive, a manifest imitation of the Assamese idiom ot-za-nu, "bit-become-to," to be bitten.

[121] An expressive phrase for "last of all."

[122] Lit. "throwing."

[123] "Father" used affectionately for "child."

[124] Hor = hot = "throw."