42 NOMENCLATURE OF PLACES. 



Singalela=SIngli-la, "tliehill or pass of the wild alder" [Betula 

 Bhojpa(lra), because covered with the tree of that name. Near these 

 places is Subarkum=:Sabar-kara, "the musk deer hunter's shelter or 

 cave." Quite recently musk deer were found here. 



Sandakphu. Dr. Waddell translates this name to be " the height 

 of the poison plant : " a translation only natural, when aconite and 

 poisonous rhododendron used to be so common that sheep and cattle 

 passing over had to be muzzled. The other classical interpretation, 

 "the height where to obtain meditation," seems very far-fetched. 

 The Pahariyas (Limbus) called a neighbouring and conspicuous hill 

 " Sindok-kok-ma," literally "the high ridge," so it is much more 

 probable that this name was ei-roneously transferred to our " Sanduk- 

 phoo," which was formerly known to the Lopchas as " Tarn," which 

 means a plateau. 



Tendong, "the up-raised horn," is the mountain which the 

 Lepchas assert arose when all the country was under water, and 

 supported a boat containing a few persons, all other people being 

 drowned. The hill rose up like a horn (hence its name) and then 

 subsided to its present form. To this day at the commencement of the 

 rains a monk is sent from the neighbouring monastery of Niamtchi 

 to the top of Tendong, where he has to remain dm-ing the wet season, 

 praying hard that a second flood may not be sent. This tradition of 

 a flood is traceable in another Lepcha name. 



Rungli Rungliot (lit. Rungion Rung Hot), " the waters of the Tista 

 (Rtmgniou) have come this far and retired," and a cliff or cutting 

 is pointed out as the channel by which the waters subsided. But the 

 story has been metamorphosed and now runs, that the Balasun courted 

 the Rungeet, daughter to the Tista, and at last persuaded her to 

 elope. The pair got as far as the Ghoom range, which the Balasun 

 safely crossed. The Rungeet's strength failed her, and she fell back 

 again into her old valley. The angry father pursued the Balasun, but 

 only succeeded in reaching Rungli Rungliot. Another version makes 

 out that the Balasun came over to steal the fish (and not the daughter) 

 of the Tista and succeeded; in fact until very recently no fish could 

 be caught with a line in the latter river. There is also a tradition of 

 a tower of Babel built at Dharmdin ; it had nearly reached the moon, 

 when word was sent down to send up a hook to throw over the horn 

 of the moon: this command was misunderstood, and the people below 

 cut away the foundations, so the building fell and killed numbers: 

 a mound of stones and potsherds is shown to this day, and the tribe 

 concerned (now extinct) were called " Na-oug " or " the blind 

 fools." 



Pankim. Dr. Waddell translates this "The King's Minister," 

 supposed to be an attendant of Kanchiujingna. The Tibetan 



