_Lionheart_.--The full vernacular title of this Prince was Sherdil
Shahryâr Shahrâbâd, Lionheart, the Friend and Restorer of the City.
All these names are common titles of oriental monarchs.
_Knifegrinder_, _Blacksmith_, _Carpenter_.--In the
vernacular _sânwâlâ_, _lohár_, _tarkhân_. The first in
the East, like his brother in the West, is an itinerant journeyman, who
wanders about with a wheel for grinding.
_Demon_.--Here _bhût_, a malignant ghost or vampire, but as
his doings in the tale correspond more to those of a _deo_, demon,
than of a _bhût_, the word has been translated by 'demon.'
_Pîpal_.--Constantly occurring in folk-tales, is the _Ficus
religiosa_ of botanists, and a large fig-tree much valued for its
shade. It is sacred to Hindus, and never cut by them. One reason
perhaps may be that its shade is very valuable and its wood valueless.
Its leaves are used in divination to find out witches, thieves, liars,
_etc_., and it is the chosen haunt of ghosts and hobgoblins of all
sorts--hence its frequent appearance in folk-lore.
_Mannikin_.--The word used was the ordinary expression _maddhrâ_,
Panjâbî for a dwarf or pigmy.
_Ghost_.--_Churel_, properly the ghost of a woman who dies in
childbirth. The belief in these malignant spirits is universal, and a
source of much terror to natives by night. Their personal appearance is
fairly described in the text: very ugly and black, breastless,
protruding in stomach and navel, and feet turned back. This last is the
real test of a _churel_, even in her beautiful transformation. A
detailed account of the _churel_ and beliefs in her and the methods
of exorcism will be found in the _Calcutta Review_, No. cliii. p.
180 ff.
_Jinn_.--A Muhammadan spirit, properly neither man, angel, nor
devil, but superhuman. According to correct Muhammadan tradition, there
are five classes of _Jinns_ worth noting here for information--Jânn,
Jinn, Shaitân, 'Ifrît, and Mârid. They are all mentioned in Musalmân
folk-tales, and but seldom distinguished in annotations. In genuine
Indian folk-tales, however, the character ascribed to the Jinn, as here,
has been borrowed from the Rakshasa, which is Hindu in origin, and an
ogre in every sense of the European word.
_Smell of a man_.--The expression used is always in the vernacular
_mânushgandh_, _i.e._ man-smell. The direct Sanskrit descent
of the compound is worthy of remark.
_Starling_.--_Mainâ_: the _Gracula religiosa_, a talking
bird, much valued, and held sacred. It very frequently appears in
folk-tales, like the parrot, probably from being so often domesticated by
people of means and position for its talking qualities.
_Cup_.--_Donâ_, a cup made of leaves, used by the very poor as
a receptacle for food.
_Wise woman_.--_Kutnî_ and _paphe-kutnî_ were the words
used, of which perhaps 'wise woman' is the best rendering. _Kutnî_
is always a term of abuse and reproach, and is used in the sense of witch
or wise woman, but the bearers do not seem to possess, as a rule, any
supernatural powers. Hag, harridan, or any similar term will usually
correctly render the word.
_Flying palanquin_.--The words used for this were indifferently
_dolâ_, a bridal palanquin, and _burj_, a common word for a
balloon.