AND RUINS AT MAVALIPURAM. 1S3 



mother of Mercury. At the fame time that the Tamulic 

 termination en, which renders the word Pooden, creates 

 a refemblance between this and the Woden of the Gothic 

 nations, from which the fame day of the week is deno- 

 minated, and which, on that and other accounts, is 

 allowed to be the Mercury of the Greeks. 



zdly. The temples of Sommonaeodom are called Pi- 

 hdn ; and round them are habitations for the priefis, 

 refembling a college ; fo thofe of Buddou are called 

 Vihdr, and the principal priefis live in them as in a 

 college. The word Vihdr, or, as the natives of Ben- 

 gal would write it, Bihar, is Shanfcrit ; and Ftrijk* 

 tah, in his Hiftory of Bengal, fays, that this na ne was 

 given by the Hindoos to the Province of Behdr, be- 

 caufe it was formerly fo full of Bramins, as to be, as 

 it were, one great feviinary of learning, as the word 

 imports. 



%dly. The Siamefe have two orders of priefts, and 

 fo have the worfhippers of Buddou. Both the one and 

 the other are diftinguifhed by a yellow habit, and by 

 another circumftance which muft be mentioned in the 

 ■words of the refpettive authors. Knox fays of the 

 Buddou priefts, " They have the honour of carrying 

 " the Tallipot with the broad end over their heads 

 " foremoft, which none but the King does." And 

 M. de la L »UBEkE fays of the Siamefe pneits, " To 

 " defend them lei ves from the fun they have the Tala- 

 " pat, which is their little umbrella, in the form of a 

 *' fcreen*." 



The 



* " Pour se garentir du soleil ils ont le Talapat, qui est leur 

 * petit parasol en Forme d'ecrau." 



