table man; officially, a native justice or judge. MOORADABAD, a town in India, in the province of Delhi, stands on the western bank of the river Ramgunga, in Lat. 28 deg. 51 min. N., Long. 78 42 min. E. It is one of the most populous and flourishing commercial towns in the province. MOORSHEDABAD, a town in India, in the province of Bengal, situated on both sides of the most sacred branch of the river Ganges, named the Bhagerattee, or Cossimbazar river, about 120 miles above Calcutta, in Lat. 24 deg. 11 min. N., Long. 88 deg. 15 min. E. It is a large, but very meanly built city, and contains about 160,000 inhabitants. In 1704, it became the capital of Bengal, and continued so until superseded by Calcutta. It is now the principal civil station of the district, and a place of extensive inland traffic. MOORUT, a Hindoo idol. MOPILLAS, a tribe of Arabs settled on the Malabar coast. They are chiefly pedlars by profession. MORAH, Hindostanee. A foot-stool; often a seat formed of cane, circular at the top, and contracted in the centre, somewhat in the shape of an hourglass. They are commonly covered with cloth, varnished, and painted with representations of flowers, animals, fanciful arabesques, &c. MORDA-FEROSH, literally, a sweeper of dead bodies or skulls; a menial of great utility to the dwellers on the banks of the Ganges, whose olfactories are often disturbed by the proximity of putrid carcases, which the receding tide leaves upon the shore. MOSQUE, Arabic. A temple, or place of religious adoration among the Mahomedans. All mosques square buildings, generally constructed of stone. Every mosque has six high towers, called minarets, from thence, instead of a bell, the people are summoned to prayers by certain appointed persons. Each mosque has also a place called tarbe, | are which is the burying-place of its founders; within it is a tomb, with several seats round it, for those who read the Koran and pray for the souls of the deceased. MOULMEIN, a town in India, the principal one in the British province of Ava, being the chief military station. It lies nearly opposite to the Burmese town of Martaban, and is 27 miles higher up the river Saluen than Amherst. MUCKUN-WALLAHS, in Bengalee, butter-men. In Bombay, Muskawallah is the term. MUEZZINS, Mahomedans, whose business it is to ascend the minarets or steeples of the mosques and call the people to prayer. The cry is uttered in a loud shrill voice, and in a musical measure. It is a substitute for the "church-going bell." MUFFRUSHES, travelling packages used in Persia. MUFTI, the chief of the Mahomedan religion in Turkey. MUGDAH, heavy wooden clubs with handles, used by the natives of India after the fashion of dumb-bells, to expand the chest, strengthen the muscles, and render the joints supple. The dexterity with which the upcountry Rajpoots, the sepoys, &c., use these implements, is perfectly astonishing. MUGGRA, sulky. A Hindostanee term. MUGS, natives of the coast of Arracan. They formerly committed great depredations in the river Ganges, but since the war with the Burmese in 1824 and 1825 they have settled down into domestics, seamen, sepoys, or rustics. MUHANUDDEE, the. A river in India, which rises in the province of Gondwana, it is supposed near Kyragur. It runs eastward, in a very winding course, of 550 miles, through Gondwana and Orissa, and falls into the Bay of Bengal in the district of Cuttack. Diamonds of good quality are found in this river. MUHUL, literally signifying "the place," but meaning the residence of the ladies in any large house in India, to allude to whom among polished Moslems is considered very impolite, and whom to name would be an insult. This feeling, originating and strongly existing among the Moslems, has partially spread among the Hindoos, even among the lower classes, who might be supposed less scrupulous in these matters. It is no uncommon thing to hear a woman of low caste addressed, not by her own name, but by that of her son, as "Aree Teencouree Ki Ma"- "Hollo, mother of Master Three-farthings," for such names does it delight them to give their sons. MUHULEH, a word in Persia answering to Okel in Turkey. The "quarter" of a city assigned to Jews, Christians, or other sects. MUN, or MAUND, an Indian weight, equivalent to one hundred pounds troy. MUNDOOGURH, or MANDOO, in the province of Malwa, in India. The place is now in ruins, and uninhabited, but it was formerly much celebrated as the capital of the Pathan sovereigns of Malwa during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was then twenty-eight miles in circumference, and contained many splendid edifices, the ruins of which still remain. MUNDOOK, the bull-frog. These amphibious reptiles grow to an enormous size in India, and croak with a vehemence and force unknown in England. MUNGULA, in Hindoo mythology, is the Mars of the Hindoos. He is one of the planets, and is of the Kettrie caste. He was produced from the sweat of Siva's brow; and is painted of a red or flame-colour, with four arms, holding in his hands a trident, a club, a lotus, and a spear. MUNTUR, or MUNTRA-WALLAHS, men who pretend to the art of magic. They are generally Brahmuns, trading upon the ignorance and credulity of the masses. They affect the power to work miracles through the agency of rice, battasahs (sweetmeats), goolal (red powder), incense, and incantations. MUNTURS, or MUNTRAS, prayers, orisons. MUSALCHEE, an Indian domestic, like unto the scullion in British households, but who looks to being one day a Khedmutgar, and who has even attained, though in rare instances, the Khansamaship itself. The analogy between the Musalchee and the scullion, indeed, is not complete in all its parts: for the former cleans knives, plates, spoons, glasses, &c., and does, in a word, the under work of the butler's pantry, which is somewhat above the performance of the nymph of the scullery. MUSHED, the burying-place of Imaum Reza, the eighth Imaum of the Sheah Mahometans, who was poisoned at Toos, in Khorasan, by Mamoon, son of Caliph Haroon al Rasheed. MUSHROOT, Hindostanee. Stipulated, conditional. As applied to grants of lands, it signifies that the grants are, either wholly or in part, to be appropriated to particular uses. MUSJEED, a Mahomedan mosque. The word is more frequently used in India than in Persia, though the thing itself is equally common in both countries. MUSNUD, the Hindostanee word for a throne. MUSQUITOES, large gnats, which swarm in India, and inflict irritating wounds upon men and animals. At night the attacks of these insects, especially during the hot and damp months, are incessant, rendering sleep (except under gauze curtains tucked under the bedding) an impossibility. Europeans in India often wear loose trousers passing under the feet, or stockings bagged over the instep, for the protection of their nether limbs from the attacks of musquitoes when the legs are under a table. Scratching the parts stung by the musquitoes often causes very serious sores upon healthy persons newly arrived from England, which sores leave a mark for a very considerable time. MUSSALAH, curry-stuff. The ingredients which go to the composition of a dish of curry, minus the fish or meat. MUSSOOREE, a European station in the Himalaya Mountains, about 8000 feet above the level of the sea. Its proximity to the principal military stations of Meerut, Cawnpore, &c., causes it to be much resorted to in the hot season. MUSSUCK, the leathern bag, composed of the entire skin of a sheep, in which the bheestie, puckauly, or watercarrier, transports the water taken from the tanks or wells for house or camp use in India. MUSSULMAN, a true believer, one resigned to God. The Mahomedans modestly arrogate the title to themselves as the only elect of God. MUTHA KAMRUNGA (averrhoa carambola), the star apple. Of this very handsome and valuable fruit there are two varieties in India, the acid and the sweet kind; the latter of which is only eaten (when boiled) with various dishes, to which, like the tamarind, it gives its acid flavour; and an acid stew or curry is a favourite dish with eastern nations. The rich taste of the star apple, of which the flavour of the best kinds, when fully ripe, resembles more that of apple jelly or marmalade than any other to which we can compare it, has made it a favourite in almost every country, except with the English in India, who, generally speaking, know little of the fruit, and less of its invaluable properties for the sick. The tree is small, but of handsome appearance; the leaves are sensitive, when somewhat roughly handled, and are by the Malays, and even by the natives of India, often eaten as sorel, to which family the tree belongs. MUTTRA, or MATHURA, a town in India, in the province of Agra, situated on the west bank of the river Jumna, in Lat. 27 deg. 31 min. N., Long. 77 deg. 33 min. E. This is a place of great antiquity, much celebrated in the legends of the Hindoos, by whom it is supposed to be sacred. On account of its position, it is still considered one of the principal towns in the province, and forms an English military station. Muttra must be the same word as, or, at least, have some connection with, the Mithra or Sun God of the ancient Persians; and hence, probably, they derived the leading features of their simple and sublime superstition,-magnificent truly; for if any palliation can be found for him who bows to the creature rather than to the Creator, it must be for the sun-worshipper, who prostrates himself in gratitude, awe, and wonder, before the resplendent glories of the god of day. Mathura contains many curious and ancient buildings, some of them in a ruinous state; they are for the most part complex and irregular, some having courts, cloisters, and arcades, with ghauts or flights of steps, overshadowed by trees, leading from them to the Jumna. The construction of such works of utility confers a well-earned fame on the wealthy in India, and they have a saying, that the man is sure of heaven, "who digs a well, plants a grove, and becomes the father of a child." About these sacred edifices, numerous Brahmuns, mendicants, and other pious Hindoos, may be seen incessantly engaged in bathing, anointing their brazen gods, blowing conchs, and in the other ten thousand and one idle observances and foolish mummeries of this most extraordinary superstition, which furnishes one of the strongest examples extant of how completely forms and ceremonies, unduly multiplied, tend to encourage indolence and destroy all mental vigour. About the Ghauts where the people bathe are swarms of fish and turtle, the latter so voracious, and in such a hurry to be fed, that instances have been known of their seizing young children by the feet, when the parents have been washing them, and dragging them into the stream in a moment. In one part of the town is a large mansion, in the Hindoo taste, and not far from it a fine, but dilapidated mosque, constructed on the spot where once stood a Hindoo temple of considerable sanctity, built by a prince of celebrity, whose fame still lives amongst his grateful and admiring countrymen in Bundelkhund. Matura, or Muttra, must be one of the paradises of monkeys, for in no part of the world are they more cherished and respected. Even princes consider it an honour to contribute to their comfort and support. The place absolutely swarms with them, and in riding through the narrow and crooked streets, they may be everywhere seen, gambolling, pilfering, nursing their young, or engaged in those entomological researches to which these quadrupeds are so much addicted. Every now and then you stumble on a young one, who shows his little teeth and grins with terror, or, perched on the corner of some temple, or on the wall of a bunyah's shop, you encounter some stolid old fellow, devoured apparently with chagrin and melancholy, who, however, no sooner catches a glimpse of the strangelooking topee wala (hat-man), than, arousing from his trance, he becomes endued with astonishing animation and fury, gnashing his teeth as you pass, in a manner unequivocally hostile. The monkeys are usually of the common greyish-green sort; nevertheless, the Hanuman, or great black-faced ape, which is a very fine creature, is common enough. The Hanuman is he who cuts so conspicuous a figure in the history of Hindoo superstitions; who is the hero of some of their tales, and so frequently represented both by painting and sculpture in their temples. The Hanumans do not associate with the other monkeys; no doubt it would be infra dig. in monkeys of such high historical pretensions to do so. In certain parts of the town are terraces a few feet high, and of a circular form, on which, at certain times of the day, the monkeys are fed; the Brahmun, or he whose duty it is to cater for them, after spreading out the grain, makes a signal, and the tribe of satyrs, great and small, come trooping down from the trees and house-tops, and are soon busily engaged. MUTWALLAH, a Hindoo phrase, signifying a drunken fellow. MUZERA, a cultivated field sown, or ready for sowing. In the Northern Circars (q. v.) the term implies a component part of a monza, or village. MYSORE, a province of India, bounded on the north by the Dooab and Ceded Districts; east, by the mountains separating it from the Carnatic, Baramahal, and Salem; south, by Coimbatoor; and west, by Koorg, Malabar, and Kanara. It is divided into three great districts, namely, Chutakul or Chittledroog, Nugger or Bednore, and Puttun or Seringapatam. The largest of the three, Chittledroog, which occupies the northern part of the province, consists of an extensive open plain. It is not very fertile, not being well supplied with water, but it abounds with sheep. Nugger is situated in the midst of the western mountains, and is for the greater part covered with forest, producing abundance of sandal wood, pepper, betel, and cardamoms. This district was formerly an independent principality, under a Hindoo rajah. In 1762 it was conquered by Hyder Ali, who annexed it to Mysore, with which it has since remained. The Puttun district is partly mountainous and partly plain, and abounds with rocky hills and forest. The principal rivers are the Toombudra, Vedavuth, Pennar, Panar, Patar, and Cavery, all of which, except the Cavery, have their sources in this province. This province presents every variety of appearance in its different districts. It is enclosed on two sides by the Eastern and Western mountains, or ghauts, and thus forms an elevated table-land, from which rise clusters of lofty hills, containing the sources of nearly all the rivers which water the low countries adjacent. The altitude of the level land varies from 1800 to 2000 feet above the sea! Sivagunga, which is the highest hill in the province, is 4600 feet above the sea. Mysore produces rice, raggy, wheat, and other grains; sugar, betel, opium, castor-oil, and various other articles. Raggy, or ragee, is the grain principally cultivated, as it forms the food of all the poorer classes. The western forests yield rich supplies of sandal and other valuable woods. Sheep are very numerous-red, white, and black; and there is also an inferior breed of horses. Mysore abounds in iron ore, which is worked by the natives, but in a very imperfect manner. Its principal manufactures are black and white cumlies and woollen carpets, and shawls. Cotton manufactures are few and of inferior qualities. The principal towns are Hurryhar, Chittledroog, Nuggur, Simooga, Sera, Colar Bangalore, Seringapatam, and Mysore. The inhabitants of the province, or Mysoreans, are chiefly Hindoos, and they are generally stouter and taller than the people of the Carnatic. There are also considerable numbers of Mahomedans dispersed through different parts. The total population is estimated at about 3,000,000. The religion is Hindooism and Mahomedanism. The general language of the province is the Karnataka, or Kanarese. The official documents of the government are usually written in Mahratee. MYSORE, a city in India, the ancient and present capital of the province of Mysore, situated about nine miles south from Seringapatam. M The town is large and populous, and the fort, which is separated from it, is built in imitation of the European style. The rajah's palace is inside the fort, and the British residency, on a rising ground, a short distance outside. A large tank extends from near the fort towards the foot of Mysore hill, which is a conical mountain, about 1000 feet high, rising from the plain at five miles' distance from the city. On the summit is a house belonging to the British residency, and on the southwestern declivity, in the midst of a Brahmun village, there are two pagodas of great repute, to which the rajah is accustomed to make an annual visit. Lower down, on the same part of the hill, is a figure of a bull, sixteen feet high, cut out of the rock. The name Mysore, or as it is termed by the natives Mysoor, is a corruption of Mahesh Usoora, a fabulous monster of Hindoo mythology. N. NAGA, the hooded serpent; the copra The India, situated in the district of Tanjore, in the province of Southern Carnatic; lies on the coast, thirteen miles south of Tranquebar. It is a populous and busy place, and possesses a number of trading vessels, some of them of a considerable size. main branch of the Nagore river forms its harbour. There is here a curious minar, 150 feet high, and several mosques, erected at different times by the nabobs of the Carnatic. NAGPORE, a city in India, the capital of the province of Gondwana, and of the Bhonsla Mahratta State, is situated in Lat. 21 deg. 9 min. N., Long. 79 deg. 11 min. E. It is a large town, but meanly built, and its site is low and swampy. It contains about 115,000 inhabitants of various classes. |