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are so far civilised as to comprehend the nature of traffic, which they carry on with the Buggesses and Chinese, from whom they purchase iron tools, crockery, and cloths, in exchange for slaves, missoy-bark, ambergris, sea-slug, birds of paradise, loorees, and other birds, which they dry and preserve with great skill. The origin of this race is not known. They formerly were found in all the islands of the Archipelago, and are still to be found in the mountain districts; and the aborigines of Malaya, as well as the natives of the Andaman Islands, seem to be of the same stock, though much inferior to the Papuans, who are robust and powerful men. Their arms are chiefly bows and arrows. The word Papua is a corruption of Pua Pua, the term used by the brown tribes to designate the Negro race. The name New Guinea was given by Europeans on account of the resemblance of the inhabitants to the Africans. PARASU RAMA, in Hindoo mythology, the sixth avatar of Vishnu. In this avatar Vishnu no longer assumes the form of a monster, but as a youthful hero claims admiration for his filial piety and undaunted prowess in exterminating a race of tyrants, the Khetrie, or warrior tribe of India, who had oppressed mankind, and barbarously caused the death of his parents. PARBUNNY, what relates to the Hindoo festivals at the new and full moon. A tax sometimes levied by Zemindars and farmers on the tenants.

PARBUTTEE. See PARVATI. PARIAH, the lowest caste of Hindoos.

The distance and aversion which the other castes, and the Brahmuns in particular, manifest for the Pariahs, are carried so far, that in many places their very approach is considered sufficient to pollute the whole neighbourhood. They are not permitted to enter the street where the Brahmuns live: if they venture to transgress, those superior beings would

have the right, not to assault them themselves, because it would be pollution to touch them even with the end of a long pole, but they would be entitled to perform the operation by deputy, or even to make an end of them, which has often happened by the orders of the native princes, without dispute or inquiry. Any person who, from whatever accident, has eaten with Pariahs, or of food provided by them, or even drank of the water which they have drawn, or which was contained in earthen vessels which they have handled; any one who has set his foot in their houses or permitted them to enter his own, would be proscribed without pity from his caste, and would never be restored without a number of troublesome ceremonies and great expense. The Pariahs are considered far beneath the beasts who traverse the forests. It is not permitted to them to erect a house, but only a sort of shed, supported on four bamboos, and open on all sides. It shelters them from the rain, but not from the injuries of the weather. They dare not walk on the common road, as their steps would defile it. When they see any person coming at a distance, they must give him notice by a loud cry, and make a great circuit to let him pass. PARIAH DOG, an Indian cur, whose breed is exceedingly doubtful. PARSEE, the fire worshipper of Western India, a descendant of the Guebres of Persia, who fled from Mahomedan persecution to Surat, Bombay, and other places on the Malabar coast. These disciples of Zoroaster are among the most industrious and enterprising of the people of the West. As merchants, ship-builders, bankers, shop-keepers, and domestics of the higher classes, they monopolise much of the business of Bombay, Poona, the Concans, and Guzerat. They hold together much like the Jews and the Quakers, and, through the exercise of the qualities which distinguish those

people, such as thrift, industry, patience, and intelligence, they have acquired great wealth and a high position. One of their body (Jemsetjee Jejeebhoy), whose father was a buyer and seller of bottles, and so acquired the sobriquet of bottly-wallah, was created a knight by patent of Queen Vietoria. The charities of the Parsees are extensive and munificent. They contribute largely to institutions erected for the benefit of Europeans and Hindoos. See AUGIAREE.

PARVATI, or PARBUTTEE. According to Hindoo mythology, the goddess Bhavani (or nature), divided herself into three females, for the purpose of marrying her three sons, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva; to the last of whom she united herself under the name of Parvati. Some accounts make Parvati the daughter of Brahma, in his earthly form (or avatar) of Daksha, named Suti. Parvati is the goddess of a thousand names; and both her forms and powers are more various and extensive than those of any of the other Hindoo deities. She acts, sometimes dependent on, at others wholly independent of, her husband, Siva. Parvati has been described under numerous forms; but they are only variations of the more important ones, Bhavani, Devi, Doorga, and Kali. As Parvati, she is described of a white; as Kali, of a dark blue or black; and as the majestic and tremendous Doorga, of a yellow colour.

PATNA, a city in India, in the province of Bahar, situated on the south side of the river Ganges, which is here, during the rainy season, five miles wide, in Lat. 25 deg. 37 min. N., Long. 85 deg, 15 min. E. It is the capital of the province, large, but irregularly built, and contains about 300,000 inhabitants. always been a place of considerable trade, and was resorted to at an early period by the English, Dutch, French, and Danes, who all had factories here. PAUL, a small tent, used for the ac

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commodation of sepoys and private soldiers in the Bengal army. It is likewise used by officers as a cooking tent, or a shelter for their domestics. PAVANA, in Hindoo mythology, the god of the winds, generally represented sitting on a deer, holding in his hand a hook for guiding the elephant.

PAWN, PAUNSOOPAREE, the leaf of the betel-nut plant. It is chewed by the natives, and prepared in the following manner:-The leaves are cleaned and the stalks removed up to their very centres; four or five leaves are then laid one above the other, when the upper one is smeared with shell-lime, a little moistened with water. The seeds of the elatchee, or cardamom, are added, together with about the fourth part of a betel-nut (the areka), and, the whole being lapped up by folding the leaves over their contents, the little packet is kept together in its due form, which is usually triangular, by means of a slice of betel-nut, cut into a thin wedge, so as to transfix it completely. It is in its prepared state that the pawn acquires the name of paunsooparee. The chewing of pawn (which occasions the saliva to be tinctured as red as blood) is certainly fragrant, and an excellent stomachic; but its too frequent use produces costiveness, which, in India, ever induces serious illness. The saliva will not be tinctured, if the churram (i. e., the lime) be omitted; hence it is evident that the alkali produces the colour from the juices contained in the pawn. The colour thus obtained does not stain linen. Some use the k'hut, which is the same as our Terra Japonica, and is procured by bleeding various kinds of trees, principally the mimosa, abounding in most of the jungles (or wildernesses). Some persons attribute the blackness of the teeth, in both males and females, throughout India, to the use of the pawn; under the opinion that the discoloration is effected by the lime

blended therein. Such is, however, wide of the fact: pawn is found to be highly favourable to the gums when the lime is omitted; and so sensible are those who chew it of the bad effects produced by the alkali upon the enamel of the teeth, that in order to preserve them from corrosion, they rub them frequently with the preparation called missee; thereby coating them with that black substance, which does not readily give way, even to the most powerful dentrifice.

PEADAH, the name by which peons (q. v.) are known in Bengal. PED'R SUKTEH, Persian. The most common term of abuse in a Persian's mouth. It implies one whose father is burning in eternal fires. PEEK-DAUN, an Indian spittingpot, made generally of phool, which is a very tolerable kind of tuten ague. PEEPUL, an Indian tree (ficus indicus ficus religiosa). It is found in great abundance, and, as some suppose, grows spontaneously; assuredly it rises in most extraordinary places, and often to the great detriment of public buildings, growing out of the cement which connects stones and bricks, and by the violence of its pressure gradually destroying the edifices. The branches of the young peepul afford a grateful shade, and the growth of the tree is, therefore, encouraged by the natives. It

makes its appearance by the sides of the flights of stone-steps leading down to bowlies or large wells, above the domes of mosques, through the walls of gardens, &c. No Hindoo dares, and no Christian or Mahomedan will condescend to lop off the heads of these young trees, and, if they did, it would only put off the evil and inevitable day, for such are the vital powers of their roots, when they have once penetrated deeply into a building, that they will send out their branches again, cut them off as often as you may, and carry on their internal attack with undiminished vigour. "No wonder,"

says Colonel Sleeman, "that superstition should have consecrated this tree, delicate and beautiful as it is, to the gods. The palace, the castle, the temple, and the tomb, all those works which man is most proud to raise, to spread, and to perpetuate his name, crumble to dust beneath her withering grasp. She rises triumphant over them all in her lofty beauty, bearing, high in air, amidst her light green foliage, fragments of the wreck she has made, to show the nothingness of man's greatest efforts." In the very rudest state of society, among the woods and hills of India, the people have some deity whose power they dread, and whose name they invoke when much is supposed to depend upon the truth of what one man is about to declare. The peepul tree being everywhere sacred to the gods, who are supposed to delight to sit among its leaves and listen to the music of their rustling, the deponent takes one of these leaves in his hand, and invokes the god who sits above him, to crush him, or those dear to him, as he crushes the leaf in his hand; if he speaks any thing but the truth; he then plucks and crushes the leaf, and states what he has to say. The large cotton tree is, among the wild tribes of India, the favourite seat of gods still more terrible, because their superintendence is confined exclusively to the neighbourhood, and having their attention less occupied, they can venture to make a more minute scrutiny into the conduct of the people immediately around them. The peepul is occupied (according to the Hindoos) by one or other of the Hindoo triad, the god of creation, preservation, or destruction, who have the affairs of the universe to look after, but the cotton and other trees are occupied by some minor deities, who are vested with a local superintendence over the affairs of a district, or, perhaps, of a single village. PEER. See WULLEE.

PEERALEE, a Hindoo who has lost caste by intercourse with Mahomedans.

PEERAN, from peer, a confessor, or

spiritual guide. Lands set apart for a peer; a Moslem grant. PEGU, a town in the country of Ava, in Asia, formerly the capital of the kingdom of Pegu, situated about ninety miles from Rangoon. It was taken in the year 1757 by the Burmese, under Alompra, who destroyed the city, leaving only the temples, and dispersing all its inhabitants. In 1799, the Burmese government ordered it to be rebuilt, but it has never recovered its former consequence, and is now little more than a large, open village. PEISH, KHIDMUT, Persian. A body

servant.

PEISHWA, guide, leader. The title

of the last prime minister of the Mahratta government. PENANG, an island of Asia, situated opposite to the coast of Queda, in Malaya, from which it is separated by a strait two miles broad. It is of an irregular four-sided figure, containing about 160 square miles. It is mountainous and woody, well supplied with water and well-cultivated. Its principal article of produce is pepper. It also yields betel, coffee, spices, sugar, rice, kayapootee oil, and caoutchouc, commonly named Indian rubber. In the forests there is also abundance of excellent timber. The town of Penang, called by the English George Town, with a fort named Fort Cornwallis, is situated on the north-eastern corner, in Lat. 5 deg. 25 min. N., Long. 100 deg. 19 min. E. The hill overlooking the town, on which the flag-staff is placed, is the highest point in the island, its elevation being 2248 feet above the sea. This island, called by the English Prince of Wales' Island, and by the natives Pulo Penang, was granted, in 1785, by the King of Queda, as a marriage portion with his daughter, to Captain Light, of an English country ship,

and by him transferred to the British government. In 1800, the King of Queda further sold to the British a tract on the main land opposite, now called Province Wellesley. Penang is believed to have been peopled by the Malayas or others in early times; but, when taken possession of by the British, it was one large forest, with no inhabitants, excepting a few fishermen on the coasts. Its population is now about 50,000, comprising a mixed assemblage of almost all the nations of the East, about one-half being Malays. PENDALLS, huts, temporary barracks. The term is only used in Western India.

PENNAR, the, a river in India, which rises in the hills near Nundydroog, in the province of Mysore. It runs northward until near Gooty, in the province of Balaghat, when it runs to the eastward, and flows between Northern and Central Carnatic into the Bay of Bengal, near Nellore. PEON, a chuprassy, or messenger, who carries letters, runs by palankeens, stands behind carriages, and is also a functionary of consequence. When forming part of the official establishment of a civil servant, he is feared, hated, and outwardly reverenced by the natives of the district; for then he acts as bailiff, processserver, and all manner of hateful things, and invariably turns his power into a source of unlawful profit, from exactions and general corruption.

PERGUNNAH, the largest division of a land in a zemindarree. PESHANUM, a species of fine Indian rice; the peshanum harvest begins about the latter end of January, and ends about the beginning of June. PESHAWUR, a city in the country of Afghanistan, in Asia, situated in Lat. 34 deg. 6 min. N., Long. 71 deg. 13 min. E. It stands in a well cultivated populous plain, forming a circle of about thirty-five miles across, and nearly surrounded by mountains. This city was founded

by the Emperor Acbar, and from its convenient situation between western Afghanistan and India, it has become a place of considerable commerce. Its population is estimated at 100,000, principally of Indian origin. It was captured in 1825 by Runjeet Singh, and has since remained in possession of the Sikhs. PESHCAR, a chief agent in India, or manager; chief assistant. PESHCUSH, Hindostanee. A present,

particularly to government, in consideration of an appointment, or as an acknowledgment of any tenure. Tribute, fine, quit-rent, advance on the stipulated revenues. The tribute formerly paid by the Poligars to government. The first fruits of an appointment, or grant of land. PETTAH, the suburbs of a fortified town in India.

PETTARAH, a square box, formed of tin and painted green, or a basket of rattan work covered with wax cloth impervious to rain, and of a size adapted to the reception of twenty (or more) pounds' weight of clothes, &c. A pair of pettarahs, slung at either end of a bamboo four feet long, form a load for a banghybearer, and are generally made to contain the wardrobe and et ceteras of a dawk traveller.

PEYTUN, properly PUTTUN, a town

in India, in the province of Berar, situated on the river Godavery, in Lat. 19 deg. 26 min. N., Long. 75 deg. 35 min. E. This place was formerly noted for the manufacture of cloths, with beautiful gold, silver, and silk borders. PHANSEEGHAR. See THUG. PHARSAGH, a Persian mile; some

times called fursuk, or fursung. PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. See MA

NILLAS.

PHOONGEE, a Burmese priest of the

Buddhist persuasion, who inhabits a Keoung, or monastery. PILAO, PILAFF, a favourite dish in Persia, and not disrelished in India. It consists of rice, meat (chiefly fowl or mutton), raisins, almonds, chillies, cardamoms, all boiled together, and

served up with a sweet gravy and fried onions.

PINDARRAS, freebooters inhabiting Central India. The name of Pindarra may be found in Indian history as early as the commencement of the last century; several bands of these freebooters followed the Mahratta armies in their early wars in Hindostan. They were divided into Durrahs, or tribes, commanded by Sirdars, or chiefs; people of every country, and of every religion, were indiscriminately enrolled in this heterogeneous community, and a horse and sword were deemed sufficient qualifications for admission. A common interest kept them united; the chiefs acquired wealth and renown in the Mahratta wars; they seized upon lands which they were afterwards tacitly permitted to retain, and transmitted, with their estates, the services of their adherents to their descendants. In 1814 they entered the province of Bahar, and threatened Bengal; and in the two following years invaded the British territories under Fort St. George. Passing with the rapidity of lightning through the country of the Nizam, they suddenly broke in upon the defenceless district of Guntoor, and in an instant spread themselves over the face of the country, everywhere committing the most shocking and wanton atrocities. In 1816, they returned with redoubled numbers, and extending themselves from the coast of the Concan to that of Orissa, threw the whole southern part of the peninsula into a state of alarm. They again passed without difficulty, and without opposition, through the dominions of our then allies, the Peishwah and the Nizam, carried fire and sword almost from one end to the other of the district of Ganjam, and returned home laden with the spoil, and stained with the blood of our subjects. The result of these daring attacks on the British territories and those of our allies, was the complete overthrow of these rapacious tribes,

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