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OCTOBER, 1897.)
NOTES ON THE NICOBARESE.
273
At Car Nicobar the terms used are as follows:
Sun-rise, manat-la-ta-wūe ;35 pühü. Morning, ko-ta-nen'-pühü. Forenoon, tî ran'-pühü. Noon, så-kam'. About 3 p. m., ta-ran'-harap.
» 5 » ko-ta-nen'-harap. Sunset, minat-ta-ta-wue.36 Evening, hârap. Dusk, parūe-yamat. About 9 p. m., arū-hárap.
11, kūa-meng' a-häre. midnight, chyūal-håtām.
3 . m., chinriüi-ta-pü. » 4 , ro-haiyam (lit., "cock-crow").
4-30, al.kūa-pü. Dawn, mūaka.
Sunrise, shortly before, ta-pü. There is an alternative method for indicating periods of time on moonlight nights, viz., by applying the terms used for daylight-hours with the substitution of káhe (moon) for heng (sun), and by adding kahe to those terms which are complete without the prefix or suffix of heny: e. g., danákla-káhē, moon-rise; kim-kihē, the meridian altitude of the moon; chin-faichachòng-káhē, two hours later (i. e., than kám-kahē), etc. It will thus be apparent that the entire list of terms from dandkla-kahē to shup-kéhē can be employed only at full-moon; and, as the equivalent clock-time of such of the terms as can be used on other nights during the lunation - both before and after fall-moon - necessarily differs to the extent of some 50 minutes from that of the next preceding or succeeding night, it is necessary to note the exact phase of the lunation in order to determine whether the term employed refers to some hour before or after midnight.
The practice of reckoning length of time by nights (rdin or dam) instead of by days is usual but not universal. Ex.:- enfoan hinga rám na kapah, he died 8 days (lit., nights) ago; again, shon-lõe hala rám sh 01-n jare chông-heo, the Steamer will retorn (soatb waris) 13 days (lit., nights) hence. In these examples shinkim (day) might be employed in place of ram.
3. Time and Distance.
In order to express any short period of time or to indicate the distance of some village or spot on the same island, the Nicobarese would say that it was one (or more, as the caso might be) "betel-quid-taking-time," so that a halt or visit occupying some 15 minutes, or a walk of about a mile, would be described as “one betel-quid-taking period." Ex:án lohot hè maiyá leät tang, we all reached it - some place about 2 miles distant - in two betel-quids' time. Similarly, a walk of about 4 miles would be considered and described as equivalent to "4 betel-quids," and so on. But in order to convey an approximate idea of some distance by sea in a canoe (say, from 2 to 20 miles between one island and another) they say that it is one (or more)" young-cocoanut-drinks" distant. Thus a canoe trip of less than two miles would be spoken of as less than one young-cocoanut-drink," while a trip from Nancowry Harbour to Chowra would perhaps be regarded by the majority as one of 6 "young-cocoanat
# The substitution of t fort is all that distinguishes the word for "guneet" from that for "sunrise."
