TIGER HILLS

Sarita Mandanna

GLOSSARY

Adig: Coorg choker, made of gold, rubies and pearls

Akka: Literally, elder sister, used as a term of respect to address a girl or woman older than the user
Anna: Literally, elder brother, used as a term of respect to address a boy or man older than the user
Appaiah: Father
Avvaiah: Mother
Ayappa: Hindu God
Ayurveda: Traditional form of medicine practiced in India
Ayya: Term of respect used to address an older man, or a man of higher status or income than the user
Bal battkara: The person who is first to touch a downed animal, whether dead or alive, in a hunt;
traditionally considered to be as brave as the first person to knock down an enemys flag, but not as brave
as the one bringing down the enemy (or the animal, in the case of a hunt)
Barfi: Indian sweet made of condensed milk and sugar
Beedi: Local Indian cigarette, made from tobacco wrapped in tendu leaves
Cent percent guarantee: Local syntax for guaranteed one hundred percent
Chee Chee: Derogatory slang for someone born of mixed Indian and British parentage
Chiroti: Sweet made of layered dough and powdered sugar
Chokra: Hindi for boy; derogatory usage for a boy of low status and income
Cowrie: A marine gastropod; cowrie shells are sometimes used for divining purposes
Dariya: Sea
Dilli: Delhi
Dosa: Thin pancake made from rice and gram

TIGER HILLS

Sarita Mandanna

Faggot: From fag, British public school slang for a student who was required to perform menial tasks
for a senior student
Galla mees: Traditional Coorg moustache and sideburns that a killer of tigers sported as a badge of
honor
Ganapati: Another name for Ganesha, a Hindu deity
Gilli danda: Childhood game in India played with sticks of two lengths, a gilli and a danda
Ginn: Sweet made from the colostrum- rich milk of a cow that has recently calved
Goolies: Slang for testicles
Goondah: Rogue, or hoodlum
Holig: Pancake like sweet
Idli: Savory cake of ground lentils and fermented rice
Iguthappa: Hindu deity
Inji: Polluted by virtue of coming in contact with someones saliva
Jaangir: Sweet of lentils and sugar syrup
Jaggery: Unrefined cane sugar
Jhumki: Hanging earring, typically with a top stud and a cupola-like bottom
Jodi kadaga: Coorg double bracelet of gold and rubies
Jomal: Coorg necklace of two strands of gold beads strung on black or gold cord
Junglee: Of the jungle; a mannerless person
Kabab: Meat or poultry dish roasted on a skewer
Kailpodh: Coorg festival that celebrates the appearance of the first ears of paddy in the paddy fields, and
the commencement of the hunting season
Kaimada: Shrine to venerate the ancestors of a clan

TIGER HILLS

Sarita Mandanna

Kartamani: Literally, black jewel; chain of black glass beads worn by married women in India
Kapad: Protect. Swami Kapad: Lord, protect (us)
Kokkthathi: Coorg necklace of gold with a crescent shaped pendant bordered with seed pearls
Koramas: Forest dwelling tribe in Coorg
Kunyi: Child
Kupya: Traditional attire of Coorg men . A wraparound, collarless, V necked tunic with short sleeves that
is fastened by a brocade and silk sash at the waist.
Laddoo: Ball shaped sweet made from flour and sugar
Lungi: Sarong fastened around the waist and typically worn by men
Maava: Father in law
Maavi: Mother in law
Machan: Hunting platform erected in the trees
Maryadi: From the Sanskrit maryada meaning border, limit, boundary. Used by extension to mean ethics
and a sense of propriety
Masala: A mixture of spices
Monae: Son
Mughal: From the Mughal Empire. The Mughals were Islamic kings who ruled much of the Indian
subcontinent beginning in the early 1500s
Mundu: Another variation of the lungi (see above); a sarong fastened around the waist and typically worn
by men
Naan: Indian bread
Nari Mangala: Tiger Wedding; ancient Coorg custom of venerating the killer of a tiger by a mock
wedding of the hunter with the spirit of the dead tiger
Odikathi: War knife with a broad, curved blade

TIGER HILLS

Sarita Mandanna

Ottis: Flat rice bread

Pathak: Coorg necklace of corals and gold, slung with a snake hooded pendant
Payasam: Sweet made from condensed milk, sugar, and rice or vermicelli
Peechekathi: Coorg dagger in a gold and silver scabbard with a handle made from ivory
Poli, Poli Deva: Invocation to the Gods at harvest time; literally, Shower, shower (your blessings) O
God
Pisachi: Evil spirit
Poleya: A tribe of people who traditionally worked on the landholdings of the Coorgs
Pooja: Indian prayer ceremony
Puthari: Coorg harvest festival
Puttu: Cake, typically savory
Sabse Achha: Literally, best of all
Sardarji: A title for men from the Sikh faith
Sepoy: Indian soldier
Shastras: From the Sanskrit shastra, meaning rules; used to mean a set of rules of conduct as laid down
in ancient texts and treatises
Swami, Swamiye: Term for God
Tamasha: Show or spectacle
Tantras: Ritualistic doctrine of enlightenment incorporating tenets of Hinduism and paganism
Tayi: Grandmother
Teli-neer: A mixture of clean water, cooked rice and embers from the fireplace, used in ritual purification
Tiffin: A midday meal or luncheon; used by extension to mean food
Tambola / Tombola : An Indian lottery

TIGER HILLS

Sarita Mandanna

Tuck shop: British term for a candy store

Vaidya: Traditional Indian physician
Veera: Spirits of men who suffered violent deaths
Verboten: German for forbidden
Vibhuti: Sacred ash, used in Indian prayer ceremonies