172 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. XXII, 



Barbiis phiitiinio, a widely distributed Indian species, is said 

 to have been introduced into ponds in the Residency gardens at 

 Imphal, in which alone it was found, as an ornamental fish. 



Thus we see that the two important elements of the fish- 

 fauna of the S, watershed are the endemic Manipur element and 

 the Burmese element. The endemic element is chiefly confined to 

 the hill-streams and strictly speaking is an isolated one. vSome of 

 the species (for examjjle Boiia histrionica, Botia berdmorei, Macro- 

 nes affinis, Neiiiachilus zonalternans , Lepidoccphalichthys berdmorei) , 

 which have so far been known only from a small number of 

 specimens obtained in Burma, are among the commonest species 

 of the Manipur Valle}- and are represented by large series in our 

 collection. 



LOCAL NAMES OF FLSH AND THEIR ECONOMIC 

 VALUE, ETC. 



Nga is the ordinary word both in Burma and Manipur for 

 fish; but it is never omitted by Manipuris, except in a few cases, 

 when referring to a particular species. Even the large water-bug 

 (Belostoma indicnin), which Manipuris eat, is called iS! ga-Ki-Hum. 

 Those fish that do not occur in the valley, but are found in the 

 northern watershed, are called comprehensively Ching-Nga or 

 " mountain-fish.'' For most of these species I could obtain no 

 Manipuri name. 



Most of the local names were checked in the field b}' calling 

 them out to a party of fishermen and getting the corresponding 

 fish. The meanings of the names were for the most part given 

 to me bj' Tumba vSingh, whose services were lent to us by the 

 Political Agent. They were also confirmed by other persons, 

 who knew the Manipuri language very well. 



There was some difficulty in writing the local names in 

 roman characters, because it was rather difficult to follow their 

 sound, which is partly nasal. However, I was able to get a com- 

 plete list of the Manipuri fishes in Hindi characters, which I can 

 read myself, and the spellings of the various names may thus be 

 regarded as fairly reliable. 



The Manipuris are a very intelligent and observant people and 

 in giving names to the various species have had some regard 

 either for its habit, colouration or resemblance to other animals 

 (e.g. sarinkhoibi=otier mourhed) . Thus all the species of Barilius 

 are called Nga-wa, " ah-?ish," and all Nemachihis with vertical 

 Viands Nga-tup, '■ segmented-fish," and any striped fish Nga-raiig, 

 "f5triped-fish." 



During my visit to Manipur I obtained a considerable amount 

 of information regarding the local names of fish, their value as 

 food and the method by which they are captured and cooked. In 

 the table below I have given the names of all species from the 

 area with which this paper deals, though in a few cases I have not 

 been able to discover the local names or their meanings. 



