40 NOMENCLATOEE OF PLACES. 



high ridge, the intervening narrow tract which constitutes Sikhim 

 presents within itself an unusual number of ridges (crests) running 

 more or less in N. to S. direction transverse to the vista from Nepal. 

 This name is not at all likely to be related to Skt. si%, sek, to wet or 

 moisten, for the climate of Sikhim does not appear to be more moist 

 than that of the adjoining portion of Eastern Nepal. Nor does the 

 conjecture seem tenable that it is a Parbatiya translation of one of the 

 vulgar forms of the Bhutea name for the country, viz., ' Demo-jong,' 

 or ' the happy country,' from xa^. suJcJd^ happy, as this word is never 

 spelt or pronounced with a u, and the country was a most inhospitable 

 one." 



Dr. Waddell, however, is not correct in saying that the word is 

 never spelt or pronounced with an "u;" on the contrary, it is more 

 often pronounced with an "u" than with an "i," and so may have 

 been derived from two Limbu words " Su," new, and "Khim," 

 a house or palace : and the name was first given to the country when 

 the Tibetan Penchoo Namgu(i, the first Raja, built a " new palace " 

 at Rubdentse and established a new kingdom. Curiousl}^ enough 

 in an old map in Hamilton the place where Rubdentse stands is 

 marked "Sikhim," and it may be noted that Kirkpatrick, writing in 

 1793, speaks of " the town and district of Sookhim," and of a place 

 Sikhem in the itinerary from Bijapore to Baling, and this place 

 would fall somewhere near the Rungect. It is clear, therefore, that 

 the name was originally given to a place and not a country. 



Nearly every place in Sikhim that has a name has been so called 

 from some special or striking natural feature, or in commemoration 

 of some event that has occurred there: and connected with all the 

 more conspicuous places there is often a legend attached. A few 

 of the best known are here given, though the list of examples might 

 be indefinitely enlarged. 



As might be expected, names of Lcpcha origin are ;chiefly found 

 in the southern or lower portions of Sikhim, while Nepalese or 

 Pahariya names are very rare and modern. The bulk of the deriva- 

 tions are Tibetan. 



In Lepcha " Rang or Rung" means "a stream" and "Ung or 

 Ong" " water." In Tibetan " Chhu " is " water or stream," 

 "Tsho" (properly wiTsho) " a lake or pond," "Ri" " a mountain," 

 " La " " a pass," " Kang " (pro. Kangs) " perpetual snow," " Chhen " 

 " great or full of," " Thang " (vulgarly " Tong" or "Tang ") '• a plain 

 or meadow." 



Omitting affixes denoting river, mountain, «Ssc., we find the 

 following Lepcha names for rivers : — 



"Rang-nyt^t" (Rimgeet) = "the two streams," as there are 

 two main branches, the Little Rungeet in British territory and the 



