[1] Though Edwards called the species he figured (_ut supra_) a
titmouse, he properly remarked that there was no genus of European
birds to which he could liken it.
[2] The figures are repeated by Darwin (_Descent of Man_, &c., ii.
66).
MANAOAG, a town in the north central part of the province of Pangasinán,
Luzon, Philippine Islands, on the Angalacan river, 21 m. N.E. of
Lingayen. Pop. (1903), 16,793. The inhabitants devote themselves
especially to rice-culture, though tobacco, Indian corn, sugar-cane,
fruit and vegetables are also raised. A statue of the Virgin Mary here
is visited annually (especially during May) by thousands from Pangasinán
and adjoining provinces. The inhabitants are mostly Ilocanos. Manaoag
includes the town proper and eighteen barrios.
MANÁOS, a city and port of Brazil and capital of the state of Amazonas,
on the left bank of the Rio Negro 12 m. above its junction with the
Solimões, or Amazon, and 908 m. (Wappäus) above the mouth of the latter,
in lat. 3° 8´ 4´´ S., long. 60° W. Pop. (1908), about 40,000, including
a large percentage of Indians, negroes and mixed-bloods; the city is
growing rapidly. Manáos stands on a slight eminence overlooking the
river, 106 ft. above sea-level, traversed by several "igarapés" (canoe
paths) or side channels, and beautified by the luxuriant vegetation of
the Amazon valley. The climate is agreeable and healthful, the average
temperature for the year (1902) being 84°, the number of rainy days 130,
and the total rainfall 66.4 in. Up to the beginning of the 20th century
the only noteworthy public edifices were the church of N.S. da
Conceição, the St Sebastião asylum and, possibly, a Misericordia
hospital; but a government building, a custom-house, a municipal hall,
courts of justice, a marketplace and a handsome theatre were
subsequently erected, and a modern water-supply system, electric light
and electric tramways were provided. The "igarapés" are spanned by a
number of bridges. Higher education is provided by a lyceum or high
school, besides which there is a noteworthy school (bearing the name of
Benjamin Constant) for poor orphan girls. Manáos has a famous botanical
garden, an interesting museum, a public library, and a meteorological
observatory. The port of Manáos, which is the commercial centre of the
whole upper Amazon region, was nothing but a river anchorage before
1902. In that year a foreign corporation began improvements, which
include a stone river-wall or quay, storehouses for merchandise, and
floating wharves or landing stages connected with the quay by floating
bridges or roadways. The floating wharves and bridges are made necessary
by the rise and fall of the river, the difference between the maximum
and minimum levels being about 33 ft.
The principal exports are rubber, nuts, cacao, dried fish, hides and
piassava fibre. The markets of Manáos receive their supplies of beef
from the national stock ranges on the Rio Branco, and it is from this
region that hides and horns are received for export. The shipping
movement of the port has become large and important, the total arrivals
in 1907, including small trading boats, being 1589, of which 133 were
ocean-going steamers from Europe and the United States, 75 from south
Brazilian ports, and 227 river steamers from Pará. This rapid growth in
its direct trade is due to a provincial law of 1878 which authorized an
abatement of 3% in the export duties on direct shipments, and a state
law of 1900 which made it compulsory to land and ship all products of
the state from the Manáos custom-house.
The first European settlement on the site of Manáos was made in 1660,
when a small fort was built here by Francisco da Motta Falcão, and was
named São José de Rio Negro. The mission and village which followed was
called Villa de Barra, or Barra do Rio Negro (the name "Barra" being
derived from the "bar" in the current of the river, occasioned by the
setback caused by its encounter with the Amazon). It succeeded Barcellos
as the capital of the old _capitania_ of Rio Negro in 1809, and became
the capital of Amazonas when that province was created in 1850, its name
being then changed to Manáos, the name of the principal tribe of Indians
living on the Rio Negro at the time of its discovery. In 1892 Manáos
became the see of the new bishopric of Amazonas.
MANASSAS, a district of Prince William county, Virginia, and a town of
the district, about 30 m. W.S.W. of Washington, D.C. Pop. (1910) of the
district, 3381; of the town, 1217. The village of Manassas (in the
town), known also as Manassas Junction, is served by the Chesapeake &
Ohio and the Southern railways. North of the junction is Bull Run, a
small stream which empties into the Occoquan, an arm of the Potomac. In
this neighbourhood two important battles of the American Civil War, the
first and second battles of Bull Run, were fought on the 21st of July
1861 and on the 29th-30th of August 1862 respectively; by Southern
historians these battles are called the battles of Manassas. At Manassas
is the Manassas Industrial School for Coloured Youth (non-sectarian;
privately supported), which was founded in 1892 and opened in 1894; in
1908-1909 it had nine teachers (all negroes) and 121 pupils, all in
elementary grades.
MANASSEH (7th cent. B.C.), son of Hezekiah, and king of Judah (2 Kings
xxi. 1-18). His reign of fifty-five years was marked by a reaction
against the reforming policy of his father, and his persistent idolatry
and bloodshed were subsequently regarded as the cause of the destruction
of Jerusalem and of the dispersion of the people (2 Kings xxiii. 26
seq.; Jer. xv. 4). As a vassal of Assyria he was contemporary with
Sennacherib, Esar-haddon (681-668 B.C.) and Assur-bani-pal (668-626
B.C.), and his name (_Me-na-si-e_) appears among the tributaries of the
two latter. Little is known of his history. The chronicler, however,
relates that the Assyrian army took him in chains to Babylon, and that
after his repentance he returned, and distinguished himself by his
piety, by building operations in Jerusalem and by military organization
(2 Chron. xxxiii. 10 sqq.). The story of his penitence referred to in
xxxiii. 22, is untrustworthy, but the historical foundation may have
been some share in the revolt of the Babylonian Samas-sum-ukin (648
B.C.), on which occasion he may have been summoned before Assur-bani-pal
with other rebels and subsequently reinstated. See further Driver, in
Hogarth, _Authority and Archaeology_, pp. 114 sqq. Manasseh was
succeeded by his son Amon, who after a brief reign of two years perished
in a conspiracy, his place being taken by Amon's son (or brother) Josiah
(q.v.). A lament formerly ascribed to Manasseh (cf. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 18)
is preserved in the Apocrypha (see MANASSES, PRAYER OF; and APOCRYPHAL
LITERATURE). On Judg. xviii. 30 (marg.), see JONATHAN.
MANASSEH (apparently Hebrew for "he who causes to forget," but see H. W.
Hogg, _Encyc. Bib._, s.v.); in the Bible, a tribe of Israel, the elder
but less important of the "sons" of Joseph. Its seat lay to the north of
Ephraim, but its boundaries can scarcely be defined. It merged itself
with its "brother" in the south, and with Issachar, Zebulun and other
tribes in the north (Josh. xvii. 7 sqq.). From the latter it was
separated for a time by a line of Canaanite cities extending from Dor to
Bethshean, which apparently were not all subdued till the days of David
or Solomon (Judg. i. 27; 1 Sam. xxxi. 10; 1 Kings ix. 15). Besides its
western settlement in the fertile glades of northern Samaria, running
out into the great plain, there were territories east of the Jordan
reckoned to Manasseh. Gilead and Bashan were said to have been taken by
Machir, and a number of places of uncertain identification were occupied
by Nobah and Jair (Num. xxxii. 41; Judg. x. 3-5). It seems most natural
to suppose that these districts were held before the Israelites crossed
over to the west (cf. the tradition Num. xxi., Deut. iii.). On the other
hand, in Judg. v. 14, Machir may conceivably belong to the west, and it
is possible that, according to another tradition, these movements were
the result of the complaint of the Joseph tribes that their original
territory was too restricted.[1] In the genealogical lists, Machir,
perhaps originally an independent branch, is the eldest son of Manasseh
(Josh. xvii. 1 _b_, 2); but according to later schemes he is Manasseh's
only son (Num. xxvi. 28-34). Intermixture with Arameans is indicated in
the view that he was the son of Manasseh and an Aramean concubine (1
Chron. vii. 14), and this is supported by the statement that the
Arameans of Geshur and Maacah (cf. 2 Sam. x. 6; Gen. xxii. 24) dwelt
among the Israelites of eastern Jordan (Josh. xiii. 13). Subsequently,
at an unknown period of history, sixty cities were lost (1 Chron. ii.
23). The story of the daughters of the Manassite Zelophehad is of
interest for the Hebrew law of inheritance (Num. xxvii. 1-11, xxxvi.).
Some details of the history of this twofold branch of the Israelites
are contained in the stories of Gideon (W. Manasseh) and Jephthah (E.
Manasseh). The relations between Saul and Jabesh-Gilead point to the
close bond uniting the two districts, but the details have been
variously interpreted: Winckler, for example, suggesting that Saul
himself was originally from E. Manasseh and that he followed in the
steps of Jephthah (_Keilinschr. u. d. alte Test._, pp. 216 seq. 227).
Generally speaking, its position in the west made it share the
fortunes of Ephraim, whilst on the east the proximity of Ammonites and
Moabites controlled its history; see also the articles on its southern
neighbours, GAD and REUBEN, and the articles GENEALOGY (Biblical); and
JEWS: _History_. (S. A. C.)