1683.—"We were forced to track our boat till 4 in the Afternoon, when we saw a great black cloud arise out of ye North with much lightning and thunder, which made our Mangee or Steerman advise us to fasten our boat in some Creeke."—Hedges, Diary, Hak. Soc. i. 88.
[1706.—"Manjee." See under HARRY.]
1781.—"This is to give notice that the principal Gaut Mangies of Calcutta have entered into engagements at the Police Office to supply all Persons that apply there with Boats and Budgerows, and to give security for the Dandies."—India Gazette, Feb. 17.
1784.—"Mr. Austin and his head bearer, who were both in the room of the budgerow, are the only persons known to be drowned. The manjee and dandees have not appeared."—In Seton-Karr, i. 25.
1810.—"Their manjies will not fail to take every advantage of whatever distress, or difficulty, the passenger may labour under."—Williamson, V. M. i. 148.
For the Pahari use, see Long's Selections, p. 561.
[1864.—"The Khond chiefs of villages and Mootas are termed Maji instead of Mulliko as in Goomsur, or Khonro as in Boad...."—Campbell, Wild Tribes of Khondistan, 120.]
MANNICKJORE, s. Hind. mānikjoṛ; the white-necked stork (Ciconia leucocephala, Gmelin); sometimes, according to Jerdon, called in Bengal the 'Beef-steak bird,' because palatable when cooked in that fashion. "The name of Manikjor means the companion of Manik, a Saint, and some Mussulmans in consequence abstain from eating it" (Jerdon). [Platts derives it from mānik, 'a ruby.']
[1840.—"I reached the jheel, and found it to contain many manickchors, ibis, paddy birds, &c...."—Davidson, Travels in Upper India, ii. 165.]
MANUCODIATA. (See BIRD OF PARADISE.)
MARAMUT, MURRUMUT, s. Hind. from Ar. maramma(t), 'repair.' In this sense the use is general in Hindustani (in which the terminal t is always pronounced, though not by the Arabs), whether as applied to a stocking, a fortress, or a ship. But in Madras Presidency the word had formerly a very specialised sense as the recognised title of that branch of the Executive which included the conservation of irrigation tanks and the like, and which was worked under the District Civil Officers, there being then no separate department of the State in charge of Civil Public Works. It is a curious illustration of the wide spread at one time of Musulman power that the same Arabic word, in the form Marama, is still applied in Sicily to a standing committee charged with repairs to the Duomo or Cathedral of Palermo. An analogous instance of the wide grasp of the Saracenic power is mentioned by one of the Musulman authors whom Amari quotes in his History of the Mahommedan rule in Sicily. It is that the Caliph Al-Māmūn, under whom conquest was advancing in India and in Sicily simultaneously, ordered that the idols taken from the infidels in India should be sent for sale to the infidels in Sicily!
[1757.—"On the 6th the Major (Eyre Coote) left Muxadabad with ... 10 Marmutty men, or pioneers to clear the road."—Ives, 156.
[1873.—"For the actual execution of works there was a Maramat Department constituted under the Collector."—Boswell, Man. of Nellore, 642.]
MARGOSA, s. A name in the S. of India and Ceylon for the Nīm (see NEEM) tree. The word is a corruption of Port. amargosa, 'bitter,' indicating the character of the tree. This gives rise to an old Indian proverb, traceable as far back as the Jātakas, that you cannot sweeten the nīm tree though you water it with syrup and ghee (Naturam expellas furcâ, &c.).
1727.—"The wealth of an evil man shall another evil man take from him, just as the crows come and eat the fruit of the margoise tree as soon as it is ripe."—Apophthegms translated in Valentijn, v. (Ceylon) 390.
1782.—"... ils lavent le malade avec de l'eau froide, ensuite ils le frottent rudement avec de la feuille de Margosier."—Sonnerat, i. 208.
1834.—"Adjacent to the Church stand a number of tamarind and margosa trees."—Chitty, Ceylon Gazetteer, 183.
MARKHORE, s. Pers. mār-khōr, 'snake-eater.' A fine wild goat of the Western Himālaya; Capra megaceros, Hutton.
[1851.—"Hence the people of the country call it the Markhor (eater of serpents)."—Edwardes, A Year on the Punjab Frontier, i. 474.
[1895.—"Never more would he chase the ibex and makor."—Mrs. Croker, Village Tales, 112.]
MARTABAN, n.p. This is the conventional name, long used by all the trading nations, Asiatic and European, for a port on the east of the Irawadi Delta and of the Sitang estuary, formerly of great trade, but now in comparative decay. The original name is Talaing, Mūt-ta-man, the meaning of which we have been unable to ascertain.
1514.—"... passed then before Martaman, the people also heathens; men expert in everything, and first-rate merchants; great masters of accounts, and in fact the greatest in the world. They keep their accounts in books like us. In the said country is great produce of lac, cloths, and provisions."—Letter of Giov. da Empoli, p. 80.
1545.—"At the end of these two days the King ... caused the Captains that were at the Guard of the Gates to leave them and retire; whereupon the miserable City of Martabano was delivered to the mercy of the Souldiers ... and therein showed themselves so cruel-minded, that the thing they made least reckoning of was to kill 100 men for a crown."—Pinto, in Cogan, 203.
1553.—"And the towns which stand outside this gulf of the Isles of Pegu (of which we have spoken) and are placed along the coast of that country, are Vagara, Martaban, a city notable in the great trade that it enjoys, and further on Rey, Talaga, and Tavay."—Barros, I. ix. 1.
1568.—"Trouassimo nella città di Martauan intorno a nouanta Portoghesi, tra mercadanti e huomini vagabondi, li quali stauano in gran differenza co' Rettorì della città."—Ces. Federici, in Ramusio, iii. 393.
1586.—"The city of Martaban hath its front to the south-east, south, and south-west, and stands on a river which there enters the sea ... it is a city of Mauparagia, a Prince of the King of Pegu's."—Gasparo Balbi, f. 129v, 130v.
1680.—"That the English may settle ffactorys at Serian, Pegu, and Ava ... and alsoe that they may settle a ffactory in like manner at Mortavan...."—Articles to be proposed to the King of Barma and Pegu in Notes and Exts., No. iii. p. 8.
1695.—"Concerning Bartholomew Rodrigues.... I am informed and do believe he put into Mortavan for want of wood and water, and was there seized by the King's officers, because not bound to that Place."—Governor Higginson, in Dalrymple, Or. Repert. ii. 342-3.
MARTABAN, s. This name was given to vessels of a peculiar pottery, of very large size, and glazed, which were famous all over the East for many centuries, and were exported from Martaban. They were sometimes called Pegu jars, and under that name specimens were shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851. We have not been able to obtain recent information on the subject of this manufacture. The word appears to be now obsolete in India, except as a colloquial term in Telegu. [The word is certainly not obsolete in Upper India: "The 'martaban' (Plate ii. fig. 10) is a small deep jar with an elongated body, which is used by Hindus and Muhammadans to keep pickles and acid articles" (Hallifax, Mono. of Punjab Pottery, p. 9). In the endeavour to supply a Hindi derivation it has been derived from imrita-bān, 'the holder of the water of immortality.' In the Arabian Nights the word appears in the form bartaman, and is used for a crock in which gold is buried. (Burton, xi. 26). Mr. Bell saw some large earthenware jars at Malé, some about 2 feet high, called rumba; others larger and barrel-shaped, called mātabān. (Pyrard, Hak. Soc. i. 259.) For the modern manufacture, see Scott, Gazetteer of Upper Burma, 1900, Pt. i. vol. ii. 399 seq.]
c. 1350.—"Then the Princess made me a present consisting of dresses, of two elephant-loads of rice, of two she-buffaloes, ten sheep, four rotls of cordial syrup, and four Martabāns, or huge jars, filled with pepper, citron, and mango, all prepared with salt, as for a sea-voyage."—Ibn Batuta, iv. 253.
(?).—"Un grand bassin de Martabani."—1001 Jours, ed. Paris 1826, ii. 19. We do not know the date of these stories. The French translator has a note explaining "porcelaine verte."
1508.—"The lac (lacre) which your Highness desired me to send, it will be a piece of good luck to get, because these ships depart early, and the vessels from Pegu and Martaban come late. But I hope for a good quantity of it, as I have given orders for it."—Letter from the Viceroy Dom Francisco Almeida to the King. In Correa, i. 900.
1516.—"In this town of Martaban are made very large and beautiful porcelain vases, and some of glazed earthenware of a black colour, which are highly valued among the Moors, and they export them as merchandize."—Barbosa, 185.
1598.—"In this towne many of the great earthen pots are made, which in India are called Martauanas, and many of them carryed throughout all India, of all sortes both small and great; some are so great that they will hold full two pipes of water. The cause why so many are brought into India is for that they vse them in every house, and in their shippes insteede of caskes."—Linschoten, p. 30; [Hak. Soc. i. 101; see also i. 28, 268].
c. 1610.—"... des iarres les plus belles, les mieux vernis et les mieux façonnées que j'aye veu ailleurs. Il y en a qui tiennent autant qu'vne pippe et plus. Elles se font au Royaume de Martabane, d'ou on les apporte, et d'où elles prennent leur nom par toute l'Inde."—Pyrard de Laval, i. 179; [Hak. Soc. i. 259].
1615.—"Vasa figulina quae vulgo Martabania dicuntur per Indiam nota sunt.... Per Orientem omnem, quin et Lusitaniam, horum est usus."—Jarric, Thesaurus Rer. Indic. pt. ii. 389.
1673.—"Je vis un vase d'une certaine terre verte qui vient des Indes, dont les Turcs ... font un grand estime, et qu'ils acheptent bien cher à cause de la propriété qu'elle a de se rompre à la présence du poison.... Ceste terre se nomme Merdebani."—Journal d' Ant. Galland, ii. 110.
1673.—"... to that end offer Rice, Oyl, and Cocoe-Nuts in a thick Grove, where they piled an huge Heap of long Jars like Mortivans."—Fryer, 180.
1688.—"They took it out of the cask, and put it into earthen Jars that held about eight Barrels apiece. These they call Montaban Jars, from a town of that name in Pegu, whence they are brought, and carried all over India."—Dampier, ii. 98.
c. 1690.—"Sunt autem haec vastissimae ac turgidae ollae in regionibus Martavana et Siama confectae, quae per totam transferuntur Indiam ad varios liquores conservandos."—Rumphius, i. ch. iii.
1711.—"... Pegu, Quedah, Jahore and all their own Coasts, whence they are plentifully supply'd with several Necessarys, they otherwise must want; As Ivory, Beeswax, Mortivan and small Jars, Pepper, &c."—Lockyer, 35.
1726.—"... and the Martavaans containing the water to drink, when empty require two persons to carry them."—Valentijn, v. 254.
" "The goods exported hitherward (from Pegu) are ... glazed pots (called Martavans after the district where they properly belong), both large and little."—Ibid. v. 128.
1727.—"Martavan was one of the most flourishing Towns for Trade in the East.... They make earthen Ware there still, and glaze them with Lead-oar. I have seen some Jars made there that could contain two Hogsheads of Liquor."—A. Hamilton, i. 63, [ed. 1744, ii. 62].
1740.—"The Pay Master is likewise ordered ... to look out for all the Pegu Jars in Town, or other vessels proper for keeping water."—In Wheeler, iii. 194.
Such jars were apparently imitated in other countries, but kept the original name. Thus Baillie Fraser says that "certain jars called Martaban were manufactured in Oman."—Journey into Khorasan, 18.
1851.—"Assortment of Pegu Jars as used in the Honourable Company's Dispensary at Calcutta."
"Two large Pegu Jars from Moulmein."—Official Catal. Exhibition of 1851, ii. 921.
MARTIL, MARTOL, s. A hammer. Hind. mārtol, from Port. martello, but assisted by imaginary connection with Hind. mār-nā, 'to strike.'
MARTINGALE, s. This is no specially Anglo-Indian word; our excuse for introducing it is the belief that it is of Arabic origin. Popular assumption, we believe, derives the name from a mythical Colonel Martingale. But the word seems to come to us from the French, in which language, besides the English use, Littré gives chauses à la martingale as meaning "culottes dont le pont était placé par derriere," and this he strangely declares to be the true and original meaning of the word. His etymology, after Ménage, is from Martigues in Provence, where, it is alleged, breeches of this kind were worn. Skeat seems to accept these explanations. [But see his Concise Dict., where he inclines to the view given in this article, and adds: "I find Arab. rataka given by Richardson as a verbal root, whence ratak, going with a short quick step."] But there is a Span. word al-martaga, for a kind of bridle, which Urrea quoted by Dozy derives from verb Arab. rataka, "qui, à la IVe forme signifie 'effecit ut brevibus assibus incederet.'" This is precisely the effect of a martingale. And we venture to say that probably the word bore its English meaning originally also in French and Spanish, and came from Arabic direct into the latter tongue. Dozy himself, we should add, is inclined to derive the Span. word from al-mirta'a, 'a halter.'
MARWÁREE, n.p. and s. This word Mārwāṛī, properly a man of the Mārwār [Skt. maru, 'desert'], or Jodhpur country in Rājputāna, is used in many parts of India as synonymous with Banya (see BANYAN) or Sowcar, from the fact that many of the traders and money-lenders have come originally from Mārwār, most frequently Jains in religion. Compare the Lombard of medieval England, and the caorsino of Dante's time.
[1819.—"Miseries seem to follow the footsteps of the Marwarees."—Tr. Lit. Soc. Bo. i. 297.
[1826.—"One of my master's under-shopmen, Sewchund, a Marwarry."—Pandurang Hari, ed. 1873, i. 233.]
MARYACAR, n.p. According to R. Drummond and a MS. note on the India Library copy of his book R. Catholics in Malabar were so called. Marya Karar, or 'Mary's People.' [The word appears to be really marakkar, of which two explanations are given. Logan (Malabar, i. 332 note) says that Marakkar means 'doer or follower of the Law' (marggam), and is applied to a foreign religion, like that of Christians and Mohammedans. The Madras Gloss. (iii. 474) derives it from Mal. marakkalam, 'boat,' and kar, a termination showing possession, and defines it as a "titular appellation of the Moplah Mahommedans on the S.W. coast."]
MASCABAR, s. This is given by C. P. Brown (MS. notes) as an Indo-Portuguese word for 'the last day of the month,' quoting Calcutta Review, viii. 345. He suggests as its etymon Hind. mās-ke-ba'ad, 'after a month.' [In N. Indian public offices the māskabār is well known as the monthly statement of cases decided during the month. It has been suggested that it represents the Port. mes-acabar, 'end of the month'; but according to Platts, it is more probably a corruption of Hind. māsik-wār or mās-kā-wār.]
MASH, s. Hind. māsh, [Skt. māsha, 'a bean']; Phaseolus radiatus, Roxb. One of the common Hindu pulses. [See MOONG.]
MASKEE. This is a term in Chinese "pigeon," meaning 'never mind,' 'n'importe,' which is constantly in the mouths of Europeans in China. It is supposed that it may be the corruption or ellipsis of a Portuguese expression, but nothing satisfactory has been suggested. [Mr. Skeat writes: "Surely this is simply Port. mas que, probably imported direct through Macao, in the sense of 'although, even, in spite of,' like French malgre. And this seems to be its meaning in 'pigeon':
"That nightey tim begin chop-chop,
One young man walkee—no can stop.
Maskee snow, maskee ice!
He cally flag with chop so nice—
Topside Galow!
'Excelsior,' in 'pigeon.'"]
MASULIPATAM, n.p. This coast town of the Madras Presidency is sometimes vulgarly called Machhli-patan or Machhli-bandar, or simply Bandar (see BUNDER, 2); and its name explained (Hind. machhlī, 'fish') as Fish-town, [the Madras Gloss. says from an old tradition of a whale being stranded on the shore.] The etymology may originally have had such a connection, but there can be no doubt that the name is a trace of the Μαισωλία and Μαισώλου ποταμοῦ ἐκβολαὶ which we find in Ptolemy's Tables; and of the Μασαλία producing muslins, in the Periplus. [In one of the old Logs the name is transformed into Mesopotamia (J. R. As. Soc., Jan. 1900, p. 158). In a letter of 1605-6 it appears as Mesepatamya (Birdwood, First Letter Book, 73).
[1613.—"Concerning the Darling was departed for Mossapotam."—Foster, Letters, ii. 14.
[1615.—"Only here are no returns of any large sum to be employed, unless a factory at Messepotan."—Ibid. iv. 5.]
1619.—"Master Methwold came from Missulapatam in one of the country Boats."—Pring, in Purchas, i. 638.
[1623.—"Mislipatan." P. della Valle, Hak. Soc. i. 148.
[c. 1661.—"It was reported, at one time, that he was arrived at Massipatam...."—Bernier, ed. Constable, 112.]
c. 1681.—"The road between had been covered with brocade velvet, and Machlibender chintz."—Seir Mutaqherin, iii. 370.
1684.—"These sort of Women are so nimble and active that when the present king went to see Maslipatan, nine of them undertook to represent the figure of an Elephant; four making the four feet, four the body, and one the trunk; upon which the King, sitting in a kind of Throne, made his entry into the City."—Tavernier, E.T. ii. 65; [ed. Ball, i. 158].
1789.—"Masulipatam, which last word, by the bye, ought to be written Machlipatan (Fish-town), because of a Whale that happened to be stranded there 150 years ago."—Note on Seir Mutaqherin, iii. 370.
c. 1790.—"... cloths of great value ... from the countries of Bengal, Bunaras, China, Kashmeer, Boorhanpoor, Mutchliputtun, &c."—Meer Hussein Ali, H. of Hydur Na'ik, 383.
MATE, MATY, s. An assistant under a head servant; in which sense or something near it, but also sometimes in the sense of a 'head-man,' the word is in use almost all over India. In the Bengal Presidency we have a mate-bearer for the assistant body-servant (see BEARER); the mate attendant on an elephant under the mahout; a mate (head) of coolies or jomponnies (qq.v.) (see JOMPON), &c. And in Madras the maty is an under-servant, whose business it is to clean crockery, knives, &c., to attend to lamps, and so forth.
The origin of the word is obscure, if indeed it has not more than one origin. Some have supposed it to be taken from the English word in the sense of comrade, &c.; whilst Wilson gives meṭṭi as a distinct Malayālam word for an inferior domestic servant, [which the Madras Gloss. derives from Tamil mel, 'high']. The last word is of very doubtful genuineness. Neither derivation will explain the fact that the word occurs in the Āīn, in which the three classes of attendants on an elephant in Akbar's establishment are styled respectively Mahāwat, Bhoī, and Meth; two of which terms would, under other circumstances, probably be regarded as corruptions of English words. This use of the word we find in Skt. dictionaries as meṭha, meṇṭha, and meṇḍa, 'an elephant-keeper or feeder.' But for the more general use we would query whether it may not be a genuine Prakrit form from Skt. mitra, 'associate, friend'? We have in Pali metta, 'friendship,' from Skt. maitra.
c. 1590.—"A met'h fetches fodder and assists in caparisoning the elephant. Met'hs of all classes get on the march 4 dáms daily, and at other times 3½."—Āīn, ed. Blochmann, i. 125.
1810.—"In some families mates or assistants are allowed, who do the drudgery."—Williamson, V. M. i. 241.
1837.—"One matee."—See Letters from Madras, 106.
1872.—"At last the morning of our departure came. A crowd of porters stood without the veranda, chattering and squabbling, and the mate distributed the boxes and bundles among them."—A True Reformer, ch. vi.
1873.—"To procure this latter supply (of green food) is the daily duty of one of the attendants, who in Indian phraseology is termed a mate, the title of Mahout being reserved for the head keeper" (of an elephant).—Sat. Rev. Sept. 6, 302.
MATRANEE, s. Properly Hind. from Pers. mihtarānī; a female sweeper (see MEHTAR). [In the following extract the writer seems to mean Bhaṭhiyāran or Bhaṭhiyārin, the wife of a Bhaṭhiyāra or inn-keeper.
[1785.—"... a handsome serai ... where a number of people, chiefly women, called metrahnees, take up their abode to attend strangers on their arrival in the city."—Diary, in Forbes, Or. Mem. 2nd ed. ii. 404.]
MATROSS, s. An inferior class of soldier in the Artillery. The word is quite obsolete, and is introduced here because it seems to have survived a good deal longer in India than in England, and occurs frequently in old Indian narratives. It is Germ. matrose, Dutch matroos, 'a sailor,' identical no doubt with Fr. matelot. The origin is so obscure that it seems hardly worth while to quote the conjectures regarding it. In the establishment of a company of Royal Artillery in 1771, as given in Duncan's Hist. of that corps, we have besides sergeants and corporals, "4 Bombardiers, 8 Gunners, 34 Matrosses, and 2 Drummers." A definition of the Matross is given in our 3rd quotation. We have not ascertained when the term was disused in the R.A. It appears in the Establishment as given by Grose in 1801 (Military Antiq. i. 315). As far as Major Duncan's book informs us, it appears first in 1639, and has disappeared by 1793, when we find the men of an artillery force divided (excluding sergeants, corporals, and bombardiers) into First Gunners, Second Gunners, and Military Drivers.
1673.—"There being in pay for the Honourable East India Company of English and Portuguese, 700, reckoning the Montrosses and Gunners."—Fryer, 38.
1745.—"... We were told with regard to the Fortifications, that no Expense should be grudged that was necessary for the Defence of the Settlement, and in 1741, a Person was sent out in the character of an Engineer for our Place; but ... he lived not to come among us; and therefore, we could only judge of his Merit and Qualifications by the Value of his Stipend, Six Pagodas a Month, or about Eighteen Pence a Day, scarce the Pay of a common Matross...."—Letter from Mr. Barnett to the Secret Committee, in Letter to a Proprietor of the E.I. Co., p. 45.
1757.—"I have with me one Gunner, one Matross, and two Lascars."—Letter in Dalrymple, Or. Repert. i. 203.
1779.—"Matrosses are properly apprentices to the gunner, being soldiers in the royal regiment of artillery, and next to them; they assist in loading, firing, and spunging the great guns. They carry firelocks, and march along with the guns and store-waggons, both as a guard, and to give their assistance in every emergency."—Capt. G. Smith's Universal Military Dictionary.
1792.—"Wednesday evening, the 25th inst., a Matross of Artillery deserted from the Mount, and took away with him his firelock, and nine rounds of powder and ball."—Madras Courier, Feb. 2.
[1800.—"A serjeant and two matrosses employed under a general committee on the captured military stores in Seringapatam."—Wellington Suppl. Desp. ii. 32 (Stanf. Dict.).]
MATT, s. Touch (of gold). Tamil mārru (pron. māṭṭu), perhaps from Skt. mātra, 'measure.' Very pure gold is said to be 9 mārru, inferior gold of 5 or 6 mārru.
[1615.—"Tecalls the matte Janggamay 8 is Sciam 7½."—Foster, Letters, iii. 156.
[1680.—"Matt." See under BATTA.]
1693.—"Gold, purified from all other metals ... by us is reckoned as of four-and-Twenty Carats, but by the blacks is here divided and reckoned as of ten mat."—Havart, 106.
1727.—At Mocha ... "the Coffee Trade brings in a continual Supply of Silver and Gold ... from Turkey, Ebramies and Mograbis, Gold of low Matt."—A. Hamilton, i. 43, [ed. 1744].
1752.—"... to find the Value of the Touch in Fanams, multiply the Matt by 10, and then by 8, which gives it in Fanams."—T. Brooks, 25.
The same word was used in Japan for a measure, sometimes called a fathom.
[1614.—"The Matt which is about two yards."—Foster, Letters, ii. 3.]
MAUMLET, s. Domestic Hind. māmlat, for 'omelet'; [Māmlēt is 'marmalade'].
MAUND, s. The authorised Anglo-Indian form of the name of a weight (Hind. man, Mahr. maṇ), which, with varying values, has been current over Western Asia from time immemorial. Professor Sayce traces it (mana) back to the Accadian language.[162] But in any case it was the Babylonian name for 1⁄80 of a talent, whence it passed, with the Babylonian weights and measures, almost all over the ancient world. Compare the men or mna of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions, preserved in the emna or amna of the Copts, the Hebrew māneh, the Greek μνᾶ, and the Roman mina. The introduction of the word into India may have occurred during the extensive commerce of the Arabs with that country during the 8th and 9th centuries; possibly at an earlier date. Through the Arabs also we find an old Spanish word almena, and in old French almène, for a weight of about 20 lbs. (Marcel Devic).
The quotations will show how the Portuguese converted man into mão, of which the English made maune, and so (probably by the influence of the old English word maund)[163] our present form, which occurs as early as 1611. Some of the older travellers, like Linschoten, misled by the Portuguese mão, identified it with the word for 'hand' in that language, and so rendered it.
The values of the man as weight, even in modern times, have varied immensely, i.e. from little more than 2 lbs. to upwards of 160. The 'Indian Maund,' which is the standard of weight in British India, is of 40 sers, each ser being divided into 16 chhiṭāks; and this is the general scale of sub-division in the local weights of Bengal, and Upper and Central India, though the value of the ser varies. That of the standard ser is 80 tolas (q.v.) or rupee-weights, and thus the maund = 822⁄7 lbs. avoirdupois. The Bombay maund (or man) of 48 sers = 28 lbs.; the Madras one of 40 sers = 25 lbs. The Palloda man of Aḥmadnagar contained 64 sers, and was = 163¼ lbs. This is the largest man we find in the 'Useful Tables.' The smallest Indian man again is that of Colachy in Travancore, and that = 18 lbs. 12 oz. 13 dr. The Persian Tabrīzī man is, however, a little less than 7 lbs.; the man shāhī twice that; the smallest of all on the list named is the Jeddah man = 2 lbs. 3 oz. 9¾ dr.
B.C. 692.—In the "Eponymy of Zazai," a house in Nineveh, with its shrubbery and gates, is sold for one maneh of silver according to the royal standard. Quoted by Sayce, u.s.
B.C. 667.—We find Nergal-sarra-nacir lending "four manehs of silver, according to the maneh of Carchemish."—Ibid.
c. B.C. 524.—"Cambyses received the Libyan presents very graciously, but not so the gifts of the Cyrenaeans. They had sent no more than 500 minae of silver, which Cambyses, I imagine, thought too little. He therefore snatched the money from them, and with his own hand scattered it among the soldiers."—Herodot. iii. ch. 13 (E.T. by Rawlinson).
c. A.D. 70.—"Et quoniam in mensuris quoque ac ponderibus crebro Graecis nominibus utendum est, interpretationem eorum semel in hoc loco ponemus: ... mna, quam nostri minam vocant pendet drachmas Atticas c."—Pliny, xxi., at end.
c. 1020.—"The gold and silver ingots amounted to 700,400 mans in weight."—Al 'Utbi, in Elliot, ii. 35.
1040.—"The Amír said:—'Let us keep fair measure, and fill the cups evenly.'... Each goblet contained half a man."—Baihaki, ibid. ii. 144.
c. 1343.—
| "The Mena of Sarai makes in Genoa weight | lb. 6 oz. 2 |
| The Mena of Organci (Urghanj) in Genoa | lb. 3 oz. 9 |
| The Mena of Oltrarre (Otrār) in Genoa | lb. 3 oz. 9 |
| The Mena of Armalecho (Al-maligh) in Genoa | lb. 2 oz. 8 |
| The Mena of Camexu (Kancheu in N.W. China) | lb. 2" |
| Pegolotti, 4. | |
1563.—"The value of stones is only because people desire to have them, and because they are scarce, but as for virtues, those of the loadstone, which staunches blood, are very much greater and better attested than those of the emerald. And yet the former sells by maos, which are in Cambay ... equal to 26 arratels each, and the latter by ratis, which weigh 3 grains of wheat."—Garcia, f. 159v.
1598.—"They have another weight called Mao, which is a Hand, and is 12 pounds."—Linschoten, 69; [Hak. Soc. i. 245].
1610.—"He was found ... to have sixtie maunes in Gold, and euery maune is five and fiftie pound weight."—Hawkins, in Purchas, i. 218.
1611.—"Each maund being three and thirtie pound English weight."—Middleton, ibid. i. 270.
[1645.—"As for the weights, the ordinary mand is 69 livres, and the livre is of 16 onces; but the mand, which is used to weigh indigo, is only 53 livres. At Surat you speak of a seer, which is 1¾ livres, and the livre is 16 onces."—Tavernier, ed. Ball, i. 38.]
c. 1665.—"Le man pese quarante livres par toutes les Indes, mais ces livres ou serres sont differentes selon les Pais."—Thevenot, v. 54.
1673.—"A Lumbrico (Sconce) of pure Gold, weighing about one Maund and a quarter, which is Forty-two pounds."—Fryer, 78.
"
"The Surat Maund ... is 40 Sear, of 20 Pice the Sear, which is 37l.
The Pucka Maund at Agra is double as much, where is also the
Ecbarry Maund which is 40 Sear, of 30 Pice to the Sear...."
Ibid. 205.
1683.—"Agreed with Chittur Mullsaw and Muttradas, Merchants of this place (Hugly), for 1,500 Bales of ye best Tissinda Sugar, each bale to weigh 2 Maunds, 6½ Seers, Factory weight."—Hedges, Diary, April 5; [Hak. Soc. i. 75].
1711.—"Sugar, Coffee, Tutanague, all sorts of Drugs, &c., are sold by the Maund Tabrees; which in the Factory and Custom house is nearest 6¾l. Avoirdupoiz.... Eatables, and all sorts of Fruit ... &c. are sold by the Maund Copara of 7¾l.... The Maund Shaw is two Maunds Tabrees, used at Ispahan."—Lockyer, 230.
c. 1760.—Grose says, "the maund they weigh their indicos with is only 53 lb." He states the maund of Upper India as 69 lb.; at Bombay, 28 lb.; at Goa, 14 lb.; at Surat, 37½ lb.; at Coromandel, 25 lb.; in Bengal, 75 lb.
1854.—"... You only consent to make play when you have packed a good maund of traps on your back."—Life of Lord Lawrence, i. 433.
MAYLA, s. Hind. melā, 'a fair,' almost always connected with some religious celebration, as were so many of the medieval fairs in Europe. The word is Skt. mela, melaka, 'meeting, concourse, assembly.'
[1832.—"A party of foreigners ... wished to see what was going on at this far-famed mayllah...."—Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali, Observations, ii. 321-2.]
1869.—"Le Mela n'est pas précisément une foire telle que nous l'entendent; c'est le nom qu'on donne aux réunions de pèlerins et des marchands qui ... se rendent dans les lieux considérés comme sacrés, aux fêtes de certaine dieux indiens et des personnages reputés saints parmi les musulmans."—Garcin de Tassy, Rel. Mus. p. 26.
MAZAGONG, MAZAGON, n.p. A suburb of Bombay, containing a large Portuguese population. [The name is said to be originally Maheśa-grāma, 'the village of the Great Lord,' Śiva.]
1543.—
"Mazaguão, por 15,000 fedeas,
Monbaym (Bombay), por 15,000."
S. Botelho, Tombo, 149.
1644.—"Going up the stream from this town (Mombaym, i.e. Bombay) some 2 leagues, you come to the aldea of Mazagam."—Bocarro, MS. f. 227.
1673.—"... for some miles together, till the Sea break in between them; over against which lies Massegoung, a great Fishing Town.... The Ground between this and the Great Breach is well ploughed and bears good Batty. Here the Portugals have another Church and Religious House belonging to the Franciscans."—Fryer, p. 67.
[MEARBAR, s. Pers. mīrbaḥr, 'master of the bay,' a harbour-master. Mīrbaḥrī, which appears in Botelho (Tombo, p. 56) as mirabary, means 'ferry dues.'
[1675.—"There is another hangs up at the daily Waiters, or Meerbar's Choultry, by the Landing-place...."—Fryer, 98.]
[1682.—"... ordering them to bring away ye boat from ye Mearbar."—Hedges, Diary, Hak. Soc. i. 34.]
MECKLEY, n.p. One of the names of the State of Munneepore.
MEEANA, MYANNA, s. H.—P. mīyāna, 'middle-sized.' The name of a kind of palankin; that kind out of which the palankin used by Europeans has been developed, and which has been generally adopted in India for the last century. [Buchanan Hamilton writes: "The lowest kind of palanquins, which are small litters suspended under a straight bamboo, by which they are carried, and shaded by a frame covered with cloth, do not admit the passenger to lie at length, and are here called miyana, or Mahapa. In some places, these terms are considered as synonymous, in others the Miyana is open at the sides, while the Mahapa, intended for women, is surrounded with curtains." (Eastern India, ii. 426).] In Williamson's Vade Mecum (i. 319) the word is written Mohannah.
1784.—"... an entire new myannah, painted and gilt, lined with orange silk, with curtains and bedding complete."—In Seton-Karr, i. 49.
" "Patna common chairs, couches and teapoys, two Mahana palanquins."—Ibid. 62.
1793.—"To be sold ... an Elegant New Bengal Meana, with Hair Bedding and furniture."—Bombay Courier, Nov. 2.
1795.—"For Sale, an Elegant Fashionable New Meanna from Calcutta."—Ibid. May 16.
MEERASS, s., MEERASSY, adj., MEERASSIDAR, s. 'Inheritance,' 'hereditary,' 'a holder of hereditary property.' Hind. from Arab. mīrās̤, mīrās̤ī, mīrās̤dār; and these from waris̤, 'to inherit.'
1806.—"Every meerassdar in Tanjore has been furnished with a separate pottah (q.v.) for the land held by him."—Fifth Report (1812), 774.
1812.—"The term meerassee ... was introduced by the Mahommedans."—Ibid. 136.
1877.—"All miras rights were reclaimable within a forty years' absence."—Meadows Taylor, Story of My Life, ii. 211.
" "I found a great proportion of the occupants of land to be mirasdars,—that is, persons who held their portions of land in hereditary occupancy."—Ibid. 210.
MEHAUL, s. Hind. from Arab. maḥāll, being properly the pl. of Arab. maḥall. The word is used with a considerable variety of application, the explanation of which would involve a greater amount of technical detail than is consistent with the purpose of this work. On this Wilson may be consulted. But the most usual Anglo-Indian application of maḥāll (used as a singular and generally written, incorrectly, maḥāl) is to 'an estate,' in the Revenue sense, i.e. 'a parcel or parcels of land separately assessed for revenue.' The sing. maḥall (also written in the vernaculars maḥal, and maḥāl) is often used for a palace or important edifice, e.g. (see SHISHMUHULL, TAJ-MAHAL).
MEHTAR, s. A sweeper or scavenger. This name is usual in the Bengal Presidency, especially for the domestic servant of this class. The word is Pers. comp. mihtar (Lat. major), 'a great personage,' 'a prince,' and has been applied to the class in question in irony, or rather in consolation, as the domestic tailor is called caleefa. But the name has so completely adhered in this application, that all sense of either irony or consolation has perished; mehtar is a sweeper and nought else. His wife is the Matranee. It is not unusual to hear two mehtars hailing each other as Mahārāj! In Persia the menial application of the word seems to be different (see below). The same class of servant is usually called in W. India bhangī (see BUNGY), a name which in Upper India is applied to the caste generally and specially to those not in the service of Europeans. [Examples of the word used in the honorific sense will be found below.]