Page images
PDF
EPUB

ward to Jaffna, in the island of Ceylon, and from Jaffna southward along the western coast to Putlam. The general opinion respecting them is, that they at first came over into the island from the opposite coast of India. They are a more enterprising, active, and industrious people than the Cingalese, and are possessed of equal selfishness. They are divided into four principal tribes: the Piramas, Katriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. The Piramas, besides being alone permitted to officiate as priests, are chiefly engaged in agriculture or commerce. Katriyas constitute the royal race of warriors. This tribe, however, though recognised in their classification, exists not in Ceylon. The Vaisyas constitutes the nobility. They are divided into, 1. Merchants, commonly called Chetties (the most honourable, and industrious, and enterprising race of men on the island); 2. Husbandmen and herdsmen. The Sudras, or fourth tribe, perform all the lower offices of life. They are likewise bound to serve the three preceding classes of Vaisyas during the public ceremonies, and are incapable of raising themselves to any superior rank. They are divided into two classes, the one including all kinds of domestic servants, and the other all kinds of town or public servants. The Tamulians in general are a stouter and more active race of men than the Cingalese. They are less cringing in their manner, more independent and adventurous, and more faithful servants and subjects of government. Many of the Chetties are employed by merchants and others in various parts of the island as copolies, that is, collectors of their bills, at a certain per centage; and in this way a great deal of money from time to time passes through their hands, and they are very seldom found dishonest. The native merchants are almost all of this class. They deal largely in cloths, rice, &c. The dress of the

men is a long piece of white muslin or calico tied round their bodies neatly and gracefully, and reaching down to the ankles, and a jacket somewhat like the one worn by the Cingalese. They wear turbans, and have large bunches of ear-rings, in each ear four or five rings, the smallest about two inches, and the largest about three inches in diameter. These sometimes reach as low as their shoulders, and make the aperture in the ear very large. The poorer classes have fewer earrings, and those of smaller dimensions; and a great many have none at all.

TAN. There are very many words in Hindostanee, like this for instance, which the European exile in India has arbitrarily abbreviated. "Tan" is a contraction of the word "tanno," "to pull." It is usually applied to the pulling of the punkah, with the appendix of the word "joorsay" (strongly), and also sometimes to boatmen.

TANJORE, a city in India, the capital of the district so named in the province of Southern Carnatic, situated in a fertile plain, in Lat. 10 deg. 42 min. N., Long. 79 deg. 11 min. E., about thirty-eight miles easterly from Trichinopoly. It consists of two parts; the fortified town, and the fort or citadel, both on the same level, and connected together by a wall. The city is regularly built, and contains many good edifices. In the fort is a celebrated pagoda, one of the finest specimens of the pyramidical temple in India. Its principal tower is 199 feet high. In ancient times, Tanjore was one of the chief seats of learning in Southern India.

TANK, Hindostanee, tullao. An artificial pond, constructed for the purpose of supplying towns and villages with water, and affording the people opportunities for bathing. To dig a tank is a work of piety, and therefore often performed by penitent or ostentatiously religious Hindoos,

who likewise bequeath money for such purposes. TANNAH, Hindostanee. A station; a military post, or station, often protected by a small fort; a petty police jurisdiction, subordinate to that of a darogah (q.v.) TANNAHDAR, the keeper or commandant of a tannah; a petty police officer, whose jurisdiction is subordinate to that of a durogah. TAPASS, propitiatory austerities practised by Hindoo fakeers to obtain the more especial divine favour and blessings of the gods. This consists in standing on one toe, the shin of the same leg having the heel of the other foot resting upon it. The arms are at the same time raised over the head; and the eyes must, during the day, be constantly gazing upon the sun.

TAREE, palm wine. It is a beverage derived from the Taul-gatch, or Palmyra tree, and early in the morning, when just drawn, is cool, salutary, and exhilarating; but when fermented by the heat of the sun, it becomes highly intoxicating; its potent and maddening qualities being not unfrequently increased by an infusion of Datura juice, which possesses a strongly narcotic and deleterious quality. Taree is called toddy by the Europeans in India. The natives, owners of the trees, extract it by bleeding a branch of the palm, and attaching thereto an earthen pot, with its mouth to the incision, over night. TARTARY, in Asia (properly so called), lies between about 24 deg. and 50 deg. N. Lat., and 50 deg. and 75 deg. E. Long. It is bounded on the north by Russian Tartary; east, by Chinese Tartary; south, by Afghanistan and Persia; west, by Persia, the Caspian Sea, and part of Russian Tartary. Its divisions are, Toorkistan, Khiva, Kokan, Bokhara, Toorkmania, Koondooz. The principal rivers are, the Jaxartes, ZurUfshan, the Oxus, and the Moorghab. The Jaxartes, called by

Asiatics the Sir, or Sihoon, rises in the Beloot Tagh, and flows westerly and northerly through Kokan, Bokhara, and Toorkistan, into the sea of Aral. The Zur-Ufshan (scatterer of gold), called also the Kohuk, rises in the mountains eastward of Samarcand, and flows westerly and southerly past Samarcand and Bokhara, some distance to the southward of which last city, it forms a small lake. The Oxus, called by Asiatics the Jihoon, and more commonly the Amoo, has its source on the northern side of the Hindoo Koosh, and flows westerly, and northerly through Koondooz, Bokhara, and Khiva, into the sea of Aral. The Moorghab, or river of Merve, rises on the northern side of the Paropomisan mountains, and flows north-westerly past Merve, fifty miles beyond which place it falls into a small lake. Between the northern part of Khiva and Toorkistan is an inland sea, about 200 miles in length from north to south, by seventy in breadth, named the sea of Aral. It is supposed, by the common people of the country, to flow below ground into the Caspian Sea. The principal mountains are the Beloot Tagh, running from north to south along the eastern frontier; and the Ghour mountains, Hindoo Koosh, and Paropomisan on the south. The southern and eastern parts of the country produce rice, wheat, barley, and other grains, with fruits of different kinds in great abundance. Horses, camels, and sheep, are very numerous throughout, particularly in the northern and western divisions, where each horde has large herds and flocks of them. The horses of Bokhara, called Uzbekees, and of Toorkistan, and Toorkmania, known as Toorkmanees, are particularly celebrated for their great strength, and power of enduring fatigue. The camel is of a large, strong breed, with two humps, commonly known as the Bactrian camel; the Indian camel, with the single hump, being pro

perly the dromedary. The wild animals are principally tigers, which are found in the Beloot Tagh mountains, wolves, horses, asses, and the chamois goat. There are also numerous smaller animals, such as ermines, and others affording valuable furs. Gold is found in the sand of the Oxus, and to a smaller extent in the Zur-Ufshan and other rivers; and the mountainous parts contain silver, copper, iron, vitriol, and different kinds of valuable stones and marbles. There are large cotton manufactories at Bokhara, and a considerable trade with the neighbouring countries in silk, wool, and lamb-skins. The people of Bokhara make great use of tea, which they obtain from China. The name of Tartary is not known in eastern geography, the general name given by eastern writers to the country north of the Jaxartes being Toorkistan, and to that part between the Jaxartes and the Oxus, Mawur-oolNuhr. The religion in Tartary is generally Mahomedanism of the Soonnee sect, with the exception of the Kalmuk Tartars, who follow the Lama system. The prevailing language is the Toorkmanee, amongst the Tajiks, Persian. TARTARY, Chinese, in Asia. This country lies between Lat. 35 deg. and 55 deg. N., and Long. 70 deg. and 145 deg. E., and is bounded on the north by Siberia; east, by the Gulf of Tartary and the Sea of Japan; south, by the Yellow Sea, China, and Thibet; and west, by Tartary. It may be divided into the country of the Eliauts, or Kalmuk Tartars, the country of the Mooghuls, and the country of the Manshoors. The Kalmuks occupy the western parts, including Little Bucharia, or Eastern Toorkistan, the Mooghuls the Central, and the Manshoors the Eastern. Belonging to the Manshoor country, and separated from it by the Gulf of Tartary, and a very narrow strait, is the island of Sagalin. It has several rivers, but none of any im

and

portance. The principal is the Sagalin, flowing eastward into the Gulf of Tartary. There are also several large lakes. Its principal ranges of mountains are, the Altaian on the north, and Beloot Tagh, dividing it from Tartary, on the west. The Beloot Tagh mountains are named in ancient geography the Imaus. The face of this country is much diversified with mountain and plain, though with little forest. The greater part consists of a vast plain, supported like a table by the Thibet mountains on the south, and the Altaian on the north, and considered the most elevated level land on the face of the globe. Part of this plain is occupied by two large sandy deserts, the Desert of Cobi, and the Desert of Sharno. The rest is devoted to pasturage. The productions of this country, as far as they are known, are few; the Tartar tribes in general paying little or no attention to agriculture or manufactures, but depending chiefly upon their flocks and herds, of which they have great numbers. Horses and cattle are very abundant; they have also the bush-tailed, or grunting ox, and the camel. Wild horses and asses are numerous, and the tiger is also found in different parts. Ginsing root, and sable and other furs, form the principal part of their trade, and in the Manshoor country pearls are found in some of the rivers. The different tribes in general form wandering hordes, and live in tents, which they remove from place to place, according to the season, or as they find pasturage for their flocks. Except in the western division, inhabited by the Kalmuks, there are consequently few towns. The principal are Kashgar, Turfan, and Yarkhund, in Little Bucharia; Homi, or Chamil, in the Mooghul country; and Sangalin Oula, Tsitchikar, and Chinyang, or Moogden, in the Manshoor country. The general name of Tartary has been applied to this country by Europeans, but it has no

distinct native appellation, the different tribes having each different names for their respective lands. The inhabitants may be divided into three principal tribes of Kalmuks, Mooghuls, and Manshoors.

Their complexion is generally of a reddish, or yellowish brown. The prevailing religion of the tribes is Booddhism, of the Lama sect. Many are also followers of what is called Shamanism, that is, idolaters who acknowledge a Supreme Being, but worship a multitude of inferior deities. In little Bucharia there are also Mahomedans of the Soonnee sect. The languages of the tribes are distinct; that of the Manshoors is said to be exceedingly copious, though not written till the seventeenth century, when the Mooghul character was introduced.

TASSISUDON, in Asia, a town in the country of Bootan, of which it is the capital. The name is pronounced Tassjung by the natives. It stands in Lat. 27 deg. 5 min. N., Long. 99 deg. 40 min. E., about 100 miles north from the town of Kooch Bahar. It is pleasantly situated, and has a number of handsome buildings, and has a large manufactory for paper, which is fabricated from the bark of a tree named dea, growing in the neighbourhood.

TATAR, or TARTAR, a Turkish

messenger. These mounted couriers are excellent horsemen, of robust constitutions, capable of travelling, at a quick pace, very considerable distances, upon a small quantity of food. They often travel unarmed, for, being known to the tribes and robbers on their respective routes as the emissaries of the Sultan or the pachas, their persons are respected. TATTA, the ancient capital of the province of Scinde, in India, stands on the right bank of the river Indus, about 130 miles from the sea, in Lat. 24 deg. 44 min. N. It is believed to be the Pattala mentioned by the Greeks, and was a place of considerable importance before the Maho

medan invasion. During the existence of the Mooghul empire, it continued to be much celebrated as a city of considerable commerce, and was famous for its manufactures of silk. It has since greatly decayed, and does not now contain more than 15,000 inhabitants. It is still visited by numbers of Hindoos, being on the high road to Hinglaj, in Beloochistan, a place of pilgrimage much resorted to by the people of the western provinces.

TATTIES, screens made of the roots of kuss kuss, a long grass which abounds in most of the jungles in India, and which corresponds exactly with Guinea grass. The fibres are of a rusty brown colour, devious in their direction, and may be from ten to twenty inches in length. The frame in which this material is enclosed to form a screen, is made of split bamboo, chequered into squares of about four inches each way, and in the whole sufficiently extensive to overlap the exterior of the door or window to which it is applied, at least six inches, or perhaps a foot, at the sides and above. The kuss kuss is then placed very regularly on the bamboo frame, as it lies on the ground, in the same manner as tiles, each layer being bound down, under a thin slip of bamboo, extending the full breadth of the tatty. The great art is to make the tatty neither too thick, which would exclude the wind, nor too thin, as it would then let the dust pass through, without rendering the interior sufficiently cool. In the western provinces, and other parts of India, tatties are frequently made of a short, prickly bush, that thrives during the hottest months on sandy plains, especially in places inundated during the rainy season. This shrub is called jewassah; its leaves are not unlike, but not so numerous, nor of so deep a green, as those of rue. It is extremely prickly, being everywhere furnished with spines about the size of a pin. The Europeans in India employ a bheesty, or water

carrier, to saturate the tatties with water, for their fragrance is then most powerfully elicited, and the wind passing through them becomes cooled and discharged of the particles of dust it gathers on its course across the plains.

TATTOO, the Indian term for a little pony.

TAZA-WALAIT, fresh European. A phrase employed by the natives of Eastern India to describe a recent arrival from England.

TAZEAH, a representation of the shrine of Kerbela, generally formed of paper and lath, painted and gilded, and borne in procession at the Mahomedan festival of the Mohurrum. TCHOCADAR, an attendant upon a Turkish gentleman or nobleman. They generally follow him in the streets, or linger about the house, to perform any service that may be required of them.

TEERUT, or TEERUTH, a place of pilgrimage and sacred bathing among the Hindoo Mahrattas.

TEHSIL, or TEHSEEL, Hindostanee. Acquisition, attainment; collection of the public revenues. TEHSILDAR, one who has charge of the India revenue collections; a native collector of a district acting under a European, or a Zemindar. TEKA-GAHA, the teak-tree, is a large and stately tree, which grows in the island of Ceylon and on the Malabar coast. It is of great value, owing to its hardness and capability of resisting the attacks of all kinds of insects. It has sometimes been called the Indian oak, and in India is frequently used for building ships. The trees have often a ragged appearance, as the soft parts of the large green leaves are eaten away by insects, while the small fibres still remain untouched.

It has a

small dull white blossom, from which arises a seed as big as the hazel-nut. A kind of red ink is made from its leaves. TELLICHERRY, a small sea-port town, in the province of Malabar, in

India, situated in Lat. 11 deg. 45 min. N., Long. 75 deg. 33 min. E. It was for many years the principal English settlement on the western coast, a factory having been established there in 1683. It is the principal mart in India for sandalwood, brought from the forests above the ghauts, and for the cardamoms of Wynaad, which are considered the best on the coast. TELOOGOO, the Gentoo language, peculiar to the Hindoos of the northeastern provinces of the Indian peninsula. This language is also called "Telinga."

TESHOO-SOOMBOO, a town in the country of Thibet, in Asia, situated in Lat. 29 deg. 7 min. N., Long. 80 deg. 2 min. E., 180 miles north from the frontier of the Rungpore district of Bengal. It is the second town in Thibet, and the residence of the teshoo lama.

THER, the wild goat of the Himalayas. It is the Jemla goat of Hamilton Smith; it is also called Capra Quadrimammis, from the circumstance of its having four teats. Besides the Tehr, or Quadrimammis, there are three other wild goats to the northward, viz. Capra Ibex Emodi vel Skeen, vel Sukeen; Capra Ophrophagus vel Markhor, so called, because he destroys reptiles, has straight flattened horns, like the sheath of a sword, twisted on its axis; and another Markhor, or Soorkha, with round horns, and is a very large animal. These goats are, in some places, so numerous, as to afford food, and their hairy wool, raiment for the people of the country. Hunting days are appointed by the chief, and seventy heads of them is not reckoned an extraordinary day's slaughter.

THIBET, a country in Asia, lying on the northern frontier of Hindostan. It is bounded on the north by Chinese Tartary; east, by China; south, by Assam, Bootan, and Hindostan; west, by Cashmere and Tartary. In general terms it may be said to be

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »