________________
OCTOBER, 1898.]
CURRENCY AND COINAGE AMONG THE BURMESE.
261
Then comes the crox, - the nomenclature of the intermediate divisions of the rupee, the uncoined odd annas of account, where so much depends on the individual intelligence of the examinee. Here the Eastern Lushai counted straight ahead, - 2, 3, 5, 6 annas and so on (puré, sôm, tangá, tarik - úni), varying his nomenclature only when he came to four annas and eight annas, which he called by the names for the coins, spli, and t'agási. He used, however, pa-und for "one anna," just as he used p'làp for one rupee," and notable term a'wat-und for "10 annas," where one would have expected hi-and.
But one of the Western Lushais gave a list, which was very pazzling, - probably he was puzzled himself, and I give it here with the explanation, just as it was given me.
Divisions of the Rupee. The Western Lushai's Terms.
English,
Lushai.
Sense of the Läshai.
lanna...
2 annas
copper-coins four19 2-anna piece (doanní, Indian) 12 (pice) quarter (of a rupee) 15 (pice)20 20 (pice)21 24 (pice)2
...
... hulf rupee
dårtaiga pali ... duana ... sôm-le-pani siki 80m-le-pak'nga ... somni ... ... sômni-pali hîdali ... ... hâdalf-18-palt ...
hädali-lê-pargat ... hádali-18-paryat-pali
Bôm-18-pent .. Bôm-lê-patum
sôm-le-pali ... sôm-18-pak'ngå ... ... taiga ... ...
..half with 4 (pice)
half with 8 (pice) ... half with 8 and 4 (pice) ... 12 (annas)
13 (annas)
14 (annas) ... 15 (annas)
...........
rupee ...
The working of this, in reality intelligent, savage's mind comes out clearly in the above table. His “anna" was to him a concrete thing, vis, a quartette of (ooined) pioe, and be painfully tried to multiply out his quartettes, making mistakes in the effort before long, until he came to the half rapoo, or halali. Here he gained breathing time, until again the multiplication became too much for him, which caused him to boldly enumerate the annas direct at 12 annas and onward. He thus used the same exprossion for “12 apnas" as he had already
11 I. o., four pice. 11 Should be 8 pioe, awn-pal.
* Should be 16 pioe, om--parók. na Should be 28 pice, sumntparyet.
