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NOVEMBER, 1881.]
CHINGHIZ KHAN AND HIS ANCESTORS.
under the foundations of their fort. But when they saw the scar of the knife wound on Akbar they let him go. The Emperor recollected Mulla Dopiâzâ, and thanked him in his heart, and when he returned home, he brought him to great honour.
Lastly, where evil influences are supposed to be especially powerful, as an extreme measure, the new-born child is given to a sweeper woman (mehtaráni) to suckle. This is prevalent among all classes, even high caste Hindus, who sometimes, however, employ Musalman women for this purpose.
Daughters do not, as a rule, bear such names as are above mentioned: they are not usually considered so much worth preserving from evil influences.
These customs are said to be entirely con- fined to the women, whose lives are made up to a much larger extent than one would imagine in practising superstitious puerilities, and are not believed in by the men, who are often ashamed of their nicked ears, &c., but as a Panjabi husband, Musalman or Hindu, has next door to no influence over his wife and her female friends, they are universal
An examination of these names clears up two points of common observation; the frequent occurrence of names common to Hindus and Musalmans, and the dressing up of little boys as girls.
Several of the above names have the ordinary Musalman and Hindu additions tacked on to them to give them the ordinary look of the names in every day use. Of these the commonest is Mall, Panj, a wrestler, champion, brave man, which is by Hindus added to the names
Chha, Billa, Bata, Kauda, Chhajju, Ladhu, Labhu, Búra, Nathu, etc. Rám is also added to Lábhu. Musalmans add Bakhsh to Jiwân, and Khan and Shâh to Bulâqi.
These names are not confined to the poor or uneducated, witness-Nathu Mall Srâf, Billâ Mall Śráf, Chûhê Mall Mahajan, Jiwan Bakhsh Saudagar, Buliqi Khân, all well known characters about Firozpůr; Nathu Kalal (Musalmán) is a large excise contractor in the district.
Gobardhan (vulgo Gordhan) in the Panjáb is not an opprobrious name as in Bengal, but refers to the mountain (Govardhana) in Bindraban (Vrindāvana).
(6) Women's names. Mothers who have lost several children are not called by special names; but second wives married on the death of former wives are sometimes called in their husband's family by opprobrious names.
The custom is for the new wife, on entering her husband's house for the first time, to carry on her head, if poor, a pot of water or milk, or a basket of vegetables; if rich to have it carried for her by a woman of the Mehrâ (carrier) caste in the first case, of the gardener caste in the second, and of the cowherd caste in the third.
Such women are henceforth called in the family according to the circumstances of their first entrance
(1) Mehri ......(mehrá, a carrier). (2) Milan ......(mali, a gardener). (3) Gujjri ..... (gujjar, a cowherd).
It may be noted here as a custom that a man losing two or three wives in succession, is made to marry bird with all ceremony before another family will give him their daughter."
CHINGHIZ KHAN AND HIS ANCESTORS.
BY HENRY H. HOWORTH, F.S.A.
(Continued from p. 269.) XII.
guard, Chinghiz Khan marched against him We will now again revert to our story. We swiftly and furtively. When he reached the have seen how having put his enemy off his defile of Jerkhabuchikha in the mountains
. This superstition is said to have been very prevalent p. 141.-R.C.T. in the days previous to the establishment of the British I add as a note three more names to indicate how Government in India, the idea being that the blood of the some of the natives get their names: an enquiry into buried man consolidated the foundations. It is said this phase of nomenclature might repay the trouble : to have been one of the ways of getting rid of condemned (1) Aitaarl, Sunday, the name of my cook born on a criminals. Lately in Calcutta when building the piers
Sunday. of the floating bridge over the Hooghly a regalar panio (2) Bakrade, a bheestie, born on the day of the great was created among the poorer classes by the spread of Muhammadan feast. story that the English were going to consolidate the (3) Nigóhdy, a Jatt cultivator, born at Nigah, Dera foundations with the blood of young children - R.C.T. Ghazi Khan District, where the shrine of the great
10 Gobardhan, dungrade-seo Ind. Ant., vol. IX, Panjabi sint Sakhi Sarwar is.-R. O. T.
