1748.—"... that they have great reason to complain of Ensign English's conduct in not waiting at Placy ... and that if he had staid another day at Placy, as Tullerooy Caun was marching with a large force towards Cutway, they presume the Mahrattas would have retreated inland on their approach and left him an open passage...."—Letter from Council at Cossimbazar, in Long, p. 2.
[1757.—Clive's original report of the battle is dated on the "plain of Placis."—Birdwood, Report on Old Records, 57.]
1768-71.—"General Clive, who should have been the leader of the English troops in this battle (Plassy), left the command to Colonel Coote, and remained hid in his palankeen during the combat, out of the reach of the shot, and did not make his appearance before the enemy were put to flight."—Stavorinus, E.T. i. 486. This stupid and inaccurate writer says that several English officers who were present at the battle related this "anecdote" to him. This, it may be hoped, is as untrue as the rest of the story. Even to such a writer one would have supposed that Clive's mettle would be familiar.
PODÁR, s. Hind. poddār, corrn. of Pers. fot̤adār, from fot̤a, 'a bag of money.' A cash-keeper, or especially an officer attached to a treasury, whose business it is to weigh money and bullion and appraise the value of coins.
[c. 1590.—"The Treasurer. Called in the language of the day Fotadar."—Āīn, ed. Jarrett, ii. 49.]
1680.—"Podar." (See under DUSTOOR.)
1683.—"The like losses in proportion were preferred to be proved by Ramchurne Podar, Bendura bun Podar, and Mamoobishwas who produced their several books for evidence."—Hedges, Diary, Hak. Soc. i. 84.
[1772.—"Podār, a money-changer or teller, under a shroff."—Verelst, View of Bengal, Gloss. s.v.]
POGGLE, PUGGLY, &c., s. Properly Hind. pāgal; 'a madman, an idiot'; often used colloquially by Anglo-Indians. A friend belonging to that body used to adduce a macaronic adage which we fear the non-Indian will fail to appreciate: "Pagal et pecunia jaldè separantur!" [See NAUTCH.]
1829.—"It's true the people call me, I know not why, the pugley."—Mem. John Shipp, ii. 255.
1866.—"I was foolish enough to pay these budmashes beforehand, and they have thrown me over. I must have been a paugul to do it."—Trevelyan, The Dawk Bungalow, 385.
[1885.—"He told me that the native name for a regular picnic is a 'Poggle-khana,' that is, a fool's dinner."—Lady Dufferin, Viceregal Life, 88.]
POISON-NUT, s. Strychnos nux vomica, L.
POLEA, n.p. Mal. pulayan, [from Tam. pulam, 'a field,' because in Malabar they are occupied in rice cultivation]. A person of a low or impure tribe, who causes pollution (pula) to those of higher caste, if he approaches within a certain distance. [The rules which regulate their meeting with other people are given by Mr. Logan (Malabar, i. 118).] From pula the Portuguese formed also the verbs empolear-se, 'to become polluted by the touch of a low-caste person,' and desempolear-se, 'to purify oneself after such pollution' (Gouvea, f. 97, and Synod. f. 52v), superstitions which Menezes found prevailing among the Christians of Malabar. (See HIRAVA.)
1510.—"The fifth class are called Poliar, who collect pepper, wine, and nuts ... the Poliar may not approach either the Naeri (see NAIR) or the Brahmins within 50 paces, unless they have been called by them...."—Varthema, 142.
1516.—"There is another lower sort of gentiles called puler.... They do not speak to the nairs except for a long way off, as far as they can be heard speaking with a loud voice.... And whatever man or woman should touch them, their relations immediately kill them like a contaminated thing...."—Barbosa, 143.
1572.—
"A ley, da gente toda, ricca e pobre,
De fabulas composta se imagina:
Andão nus, e somente hum pano cobre
As partes que a cubrir natura ensina.
Dous modos ha de gente; porque a nobre
Nayres chamados são, e a minos dina
Poleas tem por nome, a quem obriga
A ley não misturar a casta antiga."
Camões, vii. 37.
By Burton:
"The Law that holds the people high and low,
is fraught with false phantastick tales long past;
they go unclothèd, but a wrap they throw
for decent purpose round the loins and waist:
Two modes of men are known: the nobles know
the name of Nayrs, who call the lower caste
Poléas, whom their haughty laws contain
from intermingling with the higher strain...."
1598.—"When the Portingales came first into India, and made league and composition with the King of Cochin, the Nayros desired that men shovld give them place, and turne out of the Way, when they mette in the Streetes, as the Polyas. ..." (used to do).—Linschoten, 78; [Hak. Soc. i. 281; also see i. 279].
1606.—"... he said by way of insult that he would order him to touch a Poleaa, which is one of the lowest castes of Malauar."—Gouvea, f. 76.
1626.—"These Puler are Theeves and Sorcerers."—Purchas, Pilgrimage, 553.
[1727.—"Poulias." (See under MUCOA.)
[1754.—"Niadde and Pullie are two low castes on the Malabar coast...."—Ives, 26.
[1766.—"... Poolighees, a cast hardly suffered to breathe the common air, being driven into the forrests and mountains out of the commerce of mankind...."—Grose, 2nd ed. ii. 161 seq.]
1770.—"Their degradation is still more complete on the Malabar coast, which has not been subdued by the Mogul, and where they (the pariahs) are called Pouliats."—Raynal, E.T. 1798, i. 6.
1865.—"Further south in India we find polyandry among ... Poleres of Malabar."—McLennan, Primitive Marriage, 179.
POLIGAR, s. This term is peculiar to the Madras Presidency. The persons so called were properly subordinate feudal chiefs, occupying tracts more or less wild, and generally of predatory habits in former days; they are now much the same as Zemindars in the highest use of that term (q.v.). The word is Tam. pāḷaiyakkāran, 'the holder of a pālaiyam,' or feudal estate; Tel. paḷegāḍu; and thence Mahr. pālegār; the English form being no doubt taken from one of the two latter. The southern Poligars gave much trouble about 100 years ago, and the "Poligar wars" were somewhat serious affairs. In various assaults on Pānjālamkurichi, one of their forts in Tinnevelly, between 1799 and 1801 there fell 15 British officers. Much regarding the Poligārs of the south will be found in Nelson's Madura, and in Bishop Caldwell's very interesting History of Tinnevelly. Most of the quotations apply to those southern districts. But the term was used north to the Mahratta boundary.
1681.—"They pulled down the Polegar's houses, who being conscious of his guilt, had fled and hid himself."—Wheeler, i. 118.
1701.—"Le lendemain je me rendis à Tailur, c'est une petite ville qui appartient à un autre Paleagaren."—Lett. Edif. x. 269.
1745.—"J'espère que Votre Eminence agréera l'établissement d'une nouvelle Mission près des Montagnes appellées vulgairement des Palleagares, où aucun Missionnaire n'avait paru jusqu'à présent. Cette contrée est soumise à divers petits Rois appellés également Palleagars, qui sont independans du Grand Mogul quoique placés presque au milieu de son Empire."—Norbert, Mem. ii. 406-7.
1754.—"A Polygar ... undertook to conduct them through defiles and passes known to very few except himself."—Orme, i. 373.
1780.—"He (Hyder) now moved towards the pass of Changana, and encamped upon his side of it, and sent ten thousand polygàrs to clear away the pass, and make a road sufficient to enable his artillery and stores to pass through."—Hon. James Lindsay, in Lives of the Lindsays, iii. 233.
" "The matchlock men are generally accompanied by poligars, a set of fellows that are almost savage, and make use of no other weapon than a pointed bamboo spear, 18 or 20 feet long."—Munro's Narrative, 131.
1783.—"To Mahomet Ali they twice sold the Kingdom of Tanjore. To the same Mahomet Ali they sold at least twelve sovereign Princes called the Polygars."—Burke's Speech on Fox's India Bill, in Works, iii. 458.
1800.—"I think Pournaya's mode of dealing with these rajahs ... is excellent. He sets them up in palankins, elephants, &c., and a great sowarry, and makes them attend to his person. They are treated with great respect, which they like, but can do no mischief in the country. Old Hyder adopted this plan, and his operations were seldom impeded by polygar wars."—A. Wellesley to T. Munro, in Arbuthnot's Mem. xcii.
1801.—"The southern Poligars, a race of rude warriors habituated to arms of independence, had been but lately subdued."—Welsh, i. 57.
1809.—"Tondiman is an hereditary title. His subjects are Polygars, and since the late war ... he is become the chief of those tribes, among whom the singular law exists of the female inheriting the sovereignty in preference to the male."—Ld. Valentia, i. 364.
1868.—"There are 72 bastions to the fort of Madura; and each of them was now formally placed in charge of a particular chief, who was bound for himself and his heirs to keep his post at all times, and under all circumstances. He was also bound to pay a fixed annual tribute; to supply and keep in readiness a quota of troops for the Governor's armies; to keep the Governor's peace over a particular tract of country.... A grant was made to him of a tract of a country ... together with the title of Páleiya Kâran (Poligar)...."—Nelson's Madura, Pt. iii. p. 99.
" "Some of the Poligars were placed in authority over others, and in time of war were answerable for the good conduct of their subordinates. Thus the Sethupati was chief of them all; and the Poligar of Dindigul is constantly spoken of as being the chief of eighteen Poligars ... when the levying of troops was required the Delavay (see DALAWAY) sent requisitions to such and such Poligars to furnish so many armed men within a certain time...."—Nelson's Madura, Pt. iii. p. 157.
The word got transferred in English parlance to the people under such Chiefs (see quotations above, 1780-1809); and especially, it would seem, to those whose habits were predatory:
1869.—"There is a third well-defined race mixed with the general population, to which a common origin may probably be assigned. I mean the predatory classes. In the south they are called Poligars, and consist of the tribes of Marawars, Kallars (see COLLERY), Bedars (see BYDE), Ramuses (see RAMOOSY): and in the North are represented by the Kolis (see COOLY) of Guzerat, and the Gujars (see GOOJUR) of the N.W. Provinces."—Sir Walter Elliot, in J. Ethn. Soc. L., N.S. i. 112.
[POLIGAR DOG, s. A large breed of dogs found in S. India. "The Polygar dog is large and powerful, and is peculiar in being without hair" (Balfour, Cycl. i. 568).]
[1853.—"It was evident that the original breed had been crossed with the bull-dog, or the large Poligar dog of India."—Campbell, Old Forest Ranger, 3rd ed. p. 12.]
POLLAM, s. Tam. pālaiyam; Tel. pāḷemu; (see under POLIGAR).
1783.—"The principal reason which they assigned against the extirpation of the polygars (see POLIGAR) was that the weavers were protected in their fortresses. They might have added, that the Company itself which stung them to death, had been warmed in the bosom of these unfortunate princes; for on the taking of Madras by the French, it was in their hospitable pollams that most of the inhabitants found refuge and protection."—Burke's Speech on Fox's E. I. Bill, in Works, iii. 488.
1795.—"Having submitted the general remarks on the Pollams I shall proceed to observe that in general the conduct of the Poligars is much better than could be expected from a race of men, who have hitherto been excluded from those advantages, which almost always attend conquered countries, an intercourse with their conquerors. With the exception of a very few, when I arrived they had never seen a European...."—Report on Dindigal, by Mr. Wynch, quoted in Nelson's Madura, Pt. iv. p. 15.
POLO, s. The game of hockey on horseback, introduced of late years into England, under this name, which comes from Baltī; polo being properly in the language of that region the ball used in the game. The game thus lately revived was once known and practised (though in various forms) from Provence to the borders of China (see CHICANE). It had continued to exist down to our own day, it would seem, only near the extreme East and the extreme West of the Himālaya, viz. at Manipur in the East (between Cachar and Burma), and on the West in the high valley of the Indus (in Ladāk, Balti, Astōr and Gilgit, and extending into Chitrāl). From the former it was first adopted by our countrymen at Calcutta, and a little later (about 1864) it was introduced into the Punjab, almost simultaneously from the Lower Provinces and from Kashmīr, where the summer visitors had taken it up. It was first played in England, it would seem at Aldershot, in July 1871, and in August of the same year at Dublin in the Phœnix Park. The next year it was played in many places.[224] But the first mention we can find in the Times is a notice of a match at Lillie-Bridge, July 11, 1874, in the next day's paper. There is mention of the game in the Illustrated London News of July 20, 1872, where it is treated as a new invention by British officers in India. [According to the author of the Badminton Library treatise on the game, it was adopted by Lieut. Sherer in 1854, and a club was formed in 1859. The same writer fixes its introduction into the Punjab and N.W.P. in 1861-62. See also an article in Baily's Magazine on "The Early History of Polo" (June 1890). The Central Asian form is described, under the name of Baiga or Kok-büra, 'grey wolf,' by Schuyler (Turkistan, i. 268 seqq.) and that in Dardistan by Biddulph (Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh, 84 seqq.).] In Ladāk it is not indigenous, but an introduction from Baltistan. See a careful and interesting account of the game of those parts in Mr. F. Drew's excellent book, The Jummoo and Kashmir Territories, 1875, pp. 380-392.
We learn from Professor Tylor that the game exists still in Japan, and a very curious circumstance is that the polo racket, just as that described by Jo. Cinnamus in the extract under CHICANE has survived there. [See Chamberlain, Things Japanese, 3rd ed. 333 seqq.]
1835.—"The ponies of Muneepoor hold a very conspicuous rank in the estimation of the inhabitants.... The national game of Hockey, which is played by every male of the country capable of sitting a horse, renders them all expert equestrians; and it was by men and horses so trained, that the princes of Muneepoor were able for many years not only to repel the aggressions of the Burmahs, but to save the whole country ... and plant their banners on the banks of the Irrawattee."—Pemberton's Report on the E. Frontier of Br. India, 31-32.
1838.—"At Shighur I first saw the game of the Chaughán, which was played the day after our arrival on the Mydan or plain laid out expressly for the purpose.... It is in fact hocky on horseback. The ball, which is larger than a cricket ball, is only a globe made of a kind of willow-wood, and is called in Tibeti 'Pulu.'... I can conceive that the Chaughán requires only to be seen to be played. It is the fit sport of an equestrian nation.... The game is played at almost every valley in Little Tibet and the adjoining countries ... Ladakh, Yessen, Chitral, &c.; and I should recommend it to be tried on the Hippodrome at Bayswater...."—Vigne, Travels in Kashmir, Ladakh, Iskardo, &c. (1842), ii. 289-392.
1848.—"An assembly of all the principal inhabitants took place at Iskardo, on some occasion of ceremony or festivity.... I was thus fortunate enough to be a witness of the chaugan, which is derived from Persia, and has been described by Mr. Vigne as hocky on horseback.... Large quadrangular enclosed meadows for this game may be seen in all the larger villages of Balti, often surrounded by rows of beautiful willow and poplar trees."—Dr. T. Thomson, Himalaya and Tibet, 260-261.
1875.—
"Polo, Tent-pegging, Hurlingham, the Rink,
I leave all these delights."
Browning, Inn Album, 23.
POLLOCK-SAUG, s. Hind. pālak, pālak-sāg; a poor vegetable, called also 'country spinach' (Beta vulgaris, or B. Bengalensis, Roxb.). [Riddell (Domest. Econ. 579) calls it 'Bengal Beet.']
POLONGA, TIC-POLONGA, s. A very poisonous snake, so called in Ceylon (Bungarus? or Daboia elegans?); Singh. poloñgarā. [The Madras Gloss. identifies it with the Daboia elegans, and calls it 'Chain viper,' 'Necklace snake,' 'Russell's viper,' or cobra manilla. The Singh. name is said to be titpolanga, tit, 'spotted,' polanga, 'viper.']
1681.—"There is another venomous snake called Polongo, the most venomous of all, that kills cattel. Two sorts of them I have seen, the one green, the other of reddish gray, full of white rings along the sides, and about five or six feet long."—Knox, 29.
1825.—"There are only four snakes ascertained to be poisonous; the cobra de capello is the most common, but its bite is not so certainly fatal as that of the tic polonga, which destroys life in a few minutes."—Mrs. Heber, in H.'s Journal, ed. 1844, ii. 167.
POMFRET, POMPHRET, s. A genus of sea-fish of broad compressed form, embracing several species, of good repute for the table on all the Indian coasts. According to Day they are all reducible to Stromateus sinensis, 'the white Pomfret,' Str. cinereus, which is, when immature, 'the silver Pomfret,' and when mature, 'the gray Pomfret,' and Str. niger, 'the black P.' The French of Pondicherry call the fish pample. We cannot connect it with the πομπίλος of Aelian (xv. 23) and Athenaeus (Lib. VII. cap. xviii. seqq.) which is identified with a very different fish, the 'pilot-fish' (Naucrates ductor of Day). The name is probably from the Portuguese, and a corruption of pampano, 'a vine-leaf,' from supposed resemblance; this is the Portuguese name of a fish which occurs just where the pomfret should be mentioned. Thus:
[1598.—"The best fish is called Mordexiin, Pampano, and Tatiingo."—Linschoten, Hak. Soc. ii. 11.]
1613.—"The fishes of this Mediterranean (the Malayan sea) are very savoury sables, and seer fish (serras) and pampanos, and rays...."—Godinho de Eredia, f. 33v.
[1703.—"... Albacores, Daulphins, Paumphlets."—In Yule, Hedges' Diary, Hak. Soc. ii. cccxxxiv.]
1727.—"Between Cunnaca and Ballasore Rivers ... a very delicious Fish called the Pamplee, come in Sholes, and are sold for two Pence per Hundred. Two of them are sufficient to dine a moderate Man."—A. Hamilton, i. 396; [ed. 1744].
1810.—
"Another face look'd broad and bland
Like pamplet floundering on the sand;
Whene'er she turned her piercing stare,
She seemed alert to spring in air."—
Malay verses, rendered by Dr. Leyden, in Maria Graham, 201.
1813.—"The pomfret is not unlike a small turbot, but of a more delicate flavour; and epicures esteem the black pomfret a great dainty."—Forbes, Or. Mem. i. 52-53; [2nd ed. i. 36].
[1822.—"... the lad was brought up to catch pamphlets and bombaloes...."—Wallace, Fifteen Years in India, 106.]
1874.—"The greatest pleasure in Bombay was eating a fish called 'pomfret.'"—Sat. Rev., 30th May, 690.
[1896.—"Another account of this sort of seine fishing, for catching pomfret fish, is given by Mr. Gueritz."—Ling Roth, Natives of Sarawak, i. 455.]
POMMELO, PAMPELMOOSE, &c., s. Citrus decumana, L., the largest of the orange-tribe. It is the same fruit as the shaddock of the West Indies; but to the larger varieties some form of the name Pommelo seems also to be applied in the West. A small variety, with a fine skin, is sold in London shops as "the Forbidden fruit." The fruit, though grown in gardens over a great part of India, really comes to perfection only near the Equator, and especially in Java, whence it was probably brought to the continent. For it is called in Bengal Batāvī nimbū (i.e. Citrus Bataviana). It probably did not come to India till the 17th century; it is not mentioned in the Āīn. According to Bretschneider the Pommelo is mentioned in the ancient Chinese Book of the Shu-King. Its Chinese name is Yu.
The form of the name which we have put first is that now general in Anglo-Indian use. But it is probably only a modern result of 'striving after meaning' (quasi Pomo-melone?). Among older authors the name goes through many strange shapes. Tavernier calls it pompone (Voy. des Indes, liv. iii. ch. 24; [ed. Ball, ii. 360]), but the usual French name is pampel-mousse. Dampier has Pumplenose (ii. 125); Lockyer, Pumplemuse (51); Forrest, Pummel-nose (32); Ives, 'pimple-noses, called in the West Indies Chadocks' [19]. Maria Graham uses the French spelling (22). Pompoleon is a form unknown to us, but given in the Eng. Cyclopaedia. Molesworth's Marāṭhi Dict. gives "papannas, papanas, or papanis (a word of. S. America)." We are unable to give the true etymology, though Littré says boldly "Tamoul, bambolimas." Ainslie (Mat. Medica, 1813) gives Poomlimas as the Tamil, whilst Balfour (Cycl. of India) gives Pumpalimas and Bambulimas as Tamil, Bombarimasa and Pampara-panasa as Telugu, Bambali naringi as Malayālim. But if these are real words they appear to be corruptions of some foreign term. [Mr. F. Brandt points out that the above forms are merely various attempts to transliterate a word which is in Tamil pambalimāsu, while the Malayālim is bambāli-nārakam 'bambili tree.' According to the Madras Gloss. all these, as well as the English forms, are ultimately derived from the Malay pumpulmas. Mr. Skeat writes: "In an obsolete Malay dict., by Howison (1801) I find 'poomplemoos, a fruit brought from India by Captain Shaddock, the seeds of which were planted at Barbadoes,' and afterwards obtained his name: the affix moos appears to be the Dutch moes, 'vegetable.'" If this be so, the Malay is not the original form.]
1661.—"The fruit called by the Netherlanders Pumpelmoos, by the Portuguese Jamboa, grows in superfluity outside the city of Batavia.... This fruit is larger than any of the lemon-kind, for it grows as large as the head of a child of 10 years old. The core or inside is for the most part reddish, and has a kind of sourish sweetness, tasting like unripe grapes."—Walter Schulzen, 236.
PONDICHERRY, n.p. This name of what is now the chief French settlement in India, is Pudu-ch'chēri, or Puthuççēri, 'New Town,' more correctly Pudu-vai, Puthuvai, meaning 'New Place.' C. P. Brown, however, says it is Pudi-cherū, 'New Tank.' The natives sometimes write it Phulcheri. [Mr. Garstin (Man. S. Arcot, 422) says that Hindus call it Puthuvai or Puthuççeri, while Musulmans call it Pulcheri, or as the Madras Gloss. writes the word, Pulchari.]
1680.—"Mr. Edward Brogden, arrived from Porto Novo, reports arrival at Puddicherry of two French ships from Surat, and the receipt of advices of the death of Sevajie."—Fort St. Geo. Consn., May 23. In Notes and Exts. No. iii. p. 20.
[1683.—"... Interlopers intend to settle att Verampatnam, a place neer Pullicherry...."—Pringle, Diary Ft. St. Geo., 1st ser. ii. 41. In iv. 113 (1685) we have Pondicherry.]
1711.—"The French and Danes likewise hire them (Portuguese) at Pont de Cheree and Trincombar."—Lockyer, 286.
1718.—"The Fifth Day we reached Budulscheri, a French Town, and the chief Seat of their Missionaries in India."—Prop. of the Gospel, p. 42.
1726.—"Poedechery," in Valentijn, Choro. 11.
1727.—"Punticherry is the next Place of Note on this Coast, a colony settled by the French."—A. Hamilton, i. 356; [ed. 1744].
1753.—"L'établissement des François à Pondicheri remonte jusqu'en l'année 1674; mais par de si foibles commencements, qu'on n'auroit eu de la peine à imaginer, que les suites en fussent aussi considerables."—D'Anville, p. 121.
1780.—"An English officer of rank, General Coote, who was unequalled among his compeers in ability and experience in war, and who had frequently fought with the French of Phoolcheri in the Karnatic and ... had as often gained the victory over them...."—H. of Hyder Naik, 413.
PONGOL, s. A festival of S. India, observed early in January. Tam. pŏngăl, 'boiling'; i.e. of the rice, because the first act in the feast is the boiling of the new rice. It is a kind of harvest-home. There is an interesting account of it by the late Mr. C. E. Gover (J. R. As. Soc. N.S. v. 91), but the connection which he traces with the old Vedic religion is hardly to be admitted. [See the meaning of the rite discussed by Dr. Fraser, Golden Bough, 2nd ed. iii. 305 seq.]
1651.—"... nous parlerons maintenant du Pongol, qui se celebre le 9 de Janvier en l'honneur du Soleil.... Ils cuisent du ris avec du laict.... Ce ris se cuit hors la maison, afin que le Soleil puisse luire dessus ... et quand ils voyent, qu'il semble le vouloir retirer, ils crient d'une voix intelligible, Pongol, Pongol, Pongol, Pongol...."—Abr. Roger, Fr. Tr. 1670, pp. 237-8.
1871.—"Nor does the gentle and kindly influence of the time cease here. The files of the Munsif's Court will have been examined with cases from litigious enemies or greedy money lenders. But as Pongol comes round many of them disappear.... The creditor thinks of his debtor, the debtor of the creditor. The one relents, the other is ashamed, and both parties are saved by a compromise. Often it happens that a process is postponed 'till after Pongol!'"—Gover, as above, p. 96.
POOJA, s. Properly applied to the Hindu ceremonies in idol-worship; Skt. pūjā; and colloquially to any kind of rite. Thus jhanḍā kī pūjā, or 'Pooja of the flag,' is the sepoy term for what in St. James's Park is called 'Trooping of the colours.' [Used in the plural, as in the quotation of 1900, it means the holidays of the Durgā Pūjā or Dussera.]
[1776.—"... the occupation of the Bramin should be ... to cause the performance of the poojen, i.e. the worship to Dewtàh...."—Halhed, Code, ed. 1781, Pref. xcix.
[1813.—"... the Pundits in attendance commenced the pooja, or sacrifice, by pouring milk and curds upon the branches, and smearing over the leaves with wetted rice."—Broughton, Letters, ed. 1892, p. 214.]
1826.—"The person whose steps I had been watching now approached the sacred tree, and having performed puja to a stone deity at its foot, proceeded to unmuffle himself from his shawls...."—Pandurang Hari, 26; [ed. 1873, i. 34].
1866.—"Yes, Sahib, I Christian boy. Plenty poojah do. Sunday time never no work do."—Trevelyan, The Dawk Bungalow, in Fraser, lxxiii. 226.
1874.—"The mass of the ryots who form the population of the village are too poor to have a family deity. They are forced to be content with ... the annual pujahs performed ... on behalf of the village community."—Cal. Rev. No. cxvii. 195.
1879.—"Among the curiosities of these lower galleries are little models of costumes and country scenes, among them a grand pooja under a tree."—Sat. Rev. No. 1251, p. 477.
[1900.—"Calcutta has been in the throes of the Pujahs since yesterday."—Pioneer Mail, 5 Oct.].
POOJAREE, s. Hind. pujārī. An officiating priest in an idol temple.
1702.—"L'office de poujari ou de Prêtresse de la Reine mère était incompatible avec le titre de servante du Seigneur."—Lett. Edif. xi. 111.
[1891.—"Then the Pūjāri, or priest, takes the Bhuta sword and bell in his hands...."—Monier-Williams, Brahmanism and Hinduism, 4th ed. 249.]
POOL, s. P.—H. pul, 'a bridge.' Used in two of the quotations under the next article for 'embankment.'
[1812.—"The bridge is thrown over the river ... it is called the Pool Khan...."—Morier, Journey through Persia, 124.]
POOLBUNDY, s. P.—H. pulbandī, 'Securing of bridges or embankments.' A name formerly given in Bengal to a civil department in charge of the embankments. Also sometimes used improperly for the embankment itself.
[1765.—"Deduct Poolbundy advanced for repairs of dykes, roads, &c."—Verelst, View of Bengal, App. 213.
[c. 1781.—"Pay your constant devoirs to Marian Allypore, or sell yourself soul and body to Poolbundy."—Ext. from Hicky's Gazette, in Busteed, Echoes of Old Calcutta, 3rd ed. 178. This refers to Impey, who was called by this name in allusion to a lucrative contract given to his relative, a Mr. Fraser.]
1786.—"That the Superintendent of Poolbundy Repairs, after an accurate and diligent survey of the bunds and pools, and the provincial Council of Burdwan ... had delivered it as their opinion...."—Articles of Charge against Warren Hastings, in Burke, vii. 98.
1802.—"The Collector of Midnapore has directed his attention to the subject of poolbundy, and in a very ample report to the Board of Revenue, has described certain abuses and oppressions, consisting chiefly of pressing ryots to work on the pools, which call aloud for a remedy."—Fifth Report, App. p. 558.
1810.—"... the whole is obliged to be preserved from inundation by an embankment called the pool bandy, maintained at a very great and regular expense."—Williamson, V. M., ii. 365.
POON, PEON, &c., s. Can. ponne, [Mal. punna, Skt. punnāga]. A timber tree (Calophyllum inophyllum, L.) which grows in the forests of Canara, &c., and which was formerly used for masts, whence also called mast-wood. [Linschoten refers to this tree, but not by name (Hak. Soc. i. 67).]
[1727.—"... good Poon-masts, stronger but heavier than Firr."—A. Hamilton, ed. 1744, i. 267.
[1776.—"... Pohoon-masts, chiefly from the Malabar coast."—Grose, 2nd ed. ii. 109.]
[1773.—"Poon tree ... the wood light but tolerably strong; it is frequently used for masts, but unless great care be taken to keep the wet from the ends of it, it soon rots."—Ives, 460.]
1835.—"Peon, or Puna ... the largest sort is of a light, bright colour, and may be had at Mangalore, from the forests of Corumcul in Canara, where it grows to a length of 150 feet. At Mangalore I procured a tree of this sort that would have made a foremast for the Leander, 60-gun ship, in one piece, for 1300 Rupees."—Edye, in J. R. As. Soc. ii. 354.
POONAMALEE, n.p. A town, and formerly a military station, in the Chingleput Dist. of Madras Presidency, 13 miles west of Madras. The name is given in the Imp. Gazetteer as Pūnamallu (?), and Ponda malāi, whilst Col. Branfill gives it as "Pūntha malli for Pūvirunthamalli," without further explanation. [The Madras Gloss. gives Tam. Pundamalli, 'town of the jasmine-creeper,' which is largely grown there for the supply of the Madras markets.
[1876.—"The dog, a small piebald cur, with a short tail, not unlike the 'Poonamallee terrier,' which the British soldier is wont to manufacture from Pariah dogs for 'Griffins' with sporting proclivities, was brought up for inspection."—McMahon, Karens of the Golden Chersonese, 236.]
POONGEE, PHOONGY, s. The name most commonly given to the Buddhist religieux in British Burma. The word (p'hun-gyi) signifies 'great glory.'
1782.—"... leurs Prêtres ... sont moins instruits que les Brames, et portent le nom de Ponguis."—Sonnerat, ii. 301.
1795.—"From the many convents in the neighbourhood of Rangoon, the number of Rhahans and Phongis must be very considerable; I was told it exceeded 1500."—Symes, Embassy to Ava, 210.
1834.—"The Talapoins are called by the Burmese Phonghis, which term means great glory, or Rahans, which means perfect."—Bp. Bigandet, in J. Ind. Archip. iv. 222-3.
[1886.—"Every Burman has for some time during his life to be a Pohngee, or monk."—Lady Dufferin, Viceregal Life, 177.]
POORÁNA, s. Skt. purāṇa, 'old,' hence 'legendary,' and thus applied as a common name to 18 books which contain the legendary mythology of the Brahmans.
1612.—"... These books are divided into bodies, members, and joints (cortos, membros, e articulos) ... six which they call Xastra (see SHASTER), which are the bodies; eighteen which they call Puraná, which are the members; twenty-eight called Agamon, which are the joints."—Couto, Dec. V. liv. vi. cap. 3.
1651.—"As their Poranas, i.e. old histories, relate."—Rogerius, 153.
[1667.—"When they have acquired a knowledge of Sanscrit ... they generally study the Purana, which is an abridgment and interpretation of the Beths" (see VEDAS).—Bernier, ed. Constable, p. 335.]
c. 1760.—"Le puran comprend dix-huit livres qui renferment l'histoire sacrée, qui contient les dogmes de la religion des Bramines."—Encyclopédie, xxvii. 807.
1806.—"Ceux-ci, calculoient tout haut de mémoire tandis que d'autres, plus avancés, lisoient, d'un ton chantant, leurs Pourans."—Haafner, i. 130.
POORUB, and POORBEEA, ss. Hind. pūrab, pūrb, 'the East,' from Skt. pūrva or pūrba, 'in front of,' as paścha (Hind. pachham) means 'behind' or 'westerly' and dakshina, 'right-hand' or southerly. In Upper India the term means usually Oudh, the Benares division, and Behar. Hence Poorbeea (pūrbiya), a man of those countries, was, in the days of the old Bengal army, often used for a sepoy, the majority being recruited in those provinces.
1553.—"Omaum (Humāyūn) Patxiah ... resolved to follow Xerchan (Sher Khān) and try his fortunes against him ... and they met close to the river Ganges before it unites with the river Jamona, where on the West bank of the river there is a city called Canose (Canauj), one of the chief of the kingdom of Dely. Xerchan was beyond the river in the tract which the natives call Purba...."—Barros, IV. ix. 9.
[1611.—"Pierb is 400 cose long."—Jourdain, quoted in Sir T. Roe, Hak. Soc. ii. 538.]
1616.—"Bengala, a most spacious and fruitful province, but more properly to be called a kingdom, which hath two very large provinces within it, Purb and Patan, the one lying on the east, the other on the west side of the river."—Terry, ed. 1665, p. 357.
1666.—"La Province de Halabas s'appelloit autrefois Purop...."—Thevenot, v. 197.
[1773.—"Instead of marching with the great army he had raised into the Purbunean country ... we were informed he had turned his arms against us...."—Ives, 91.]
1881.—
"... My lands were taken away,
And the Company gave me a pension of just eight annas a day;
And the Poorbeahs swaggered about our streets as if they had done it all...."
Attar Singh loquitur, by 'Sowar,' Sir M. Durand in an Indian paper, the name and date lost.
POOTLY NAUTCH, s. Properly Hind. kāṭh-putlī-nāch, 'wooden-puppet-dance.' A puppet show.
c. 1817.—"The day after tomorrow will be my lad James Dawson's birthday, and we are to have a puttully-nautch in the evening."—Mrs. Sherwood's Stories, 291.
POPPER-CAKE, in Bombay, and in Madras popadam, ss. These are apparently the same word and thing, though to the former is attributed a Hind. and Mahr. origin pāpaṛ, Skt. parpaṭa, and to the latter a Tamil one, pappaḍam, as an abbreviation of paruppu-aḍam, 'lentil cake.' [The Madras Gloss. gives Tel. appadam, Tam. appalam (see HOPPER), and Mal. pappatam, from parippu, 'dhall,' ata, 'cake.'] It is a kind of thin scone or wafer, made of any kind of pulse or lentil flour, seasoned with assafoetida, &c., fried in oil, and in W. India baked crisp, and often eaten at European tables as an accompaniment to curry. It is not bad, even to a novice.
1814.—"They are very fond of a thin cake, or wafer, called popper, made from the flour of oord or mash ... highly seasoned with assa-foetida; a salt called popper-khor; and a very hot massaula (see MUSSALLA), compounded of turmeric, black pepper, ginger, garlic, several kinds of warm seeds, and a quantity of the hottest Chili pepper."—Forbes, Or. Mem. ii. 50; [2nd ed. i. 347].
1820.—"Papaḍoms (fine cakes made of gram-flour and a fine species of alkali, which gives them an agreeable salt taste, and serves the purpose of yeast, making them rise, and become very crisp when fried...."—As. Researches, xiii. 315.
" "Paper, the flour of ooreed (see OORD), salt, assa-foetida, and various spices, made into a paste, rolled as thin as a wafer, and dried in the sun, and when wanted for the table baked crisp...."—T. Coates, in Tr. Lit. Soc. Bo. iii. 194.
PORCA, n.p. In Imp. Gazetteer Porakád, also called Piracada; properly Puṛākkāḍŭ, [or according to the Madras Gloss. Purakkātu, Mal. pura, 'outside,' kātu, 'jungle']. A town on the coast of Travancore, formerly a separate State. The Portuguese had a fort here, and the Dutch, in the 17th century, a factory. Fra Paolina (1796) speaks of it as a very populous city full of merchants, Mahommedan, Christian, and Hindu. It is now insignificant. [See Logan, Malabar, i. 338.]