IMPORTANCE AND HISTORY 23 



Tassel : dhanbal or dhanahra. CHAP. 



Silk : bhua (to the west) ; ghua (south-west Shahabad) ; L 

 san (Champaran and Gaya) ; monchh (Patna); moccha (South 

 Munger) ; moch or mocha (Tirhut and South Bhagalpur) ; it 

 is also called kesi. 



Young Ear (when the grains begin to form but are not yet 

 fit for eating) : sancha. 



Unripe Ear : duddha (to the west generally) ; dodha 

 (Shahabad); khichcha or aju (Tirhut); dudhghottu (Gaya); 

 duddha makaT (Saran and Patna) ; dudhbhoro (South Bhagal- 

 pur) ; dant kamra (South Munger). 



Ripe Ear and fit for eating : bhutta l or bal. 



Roasted Ear: horha (generally); orha (to the east). 



Dead-ripe Ears (grain hard and unfit for eating) : pakthail. 



Blind Ear (i.e. with no grain on it) : bhorah or bhorha 

 (north of the Ganges). 



Ear with few Grains : pachgotiya. 



Cob (after the grains are shelled off) : lenrha (generally) ; 

 lenruri (Shahabad) ; nerha (east Tirhut) ; baluri (an optional 

 name in Patna and south-east Tirhut) ; balri (an optional name 

 in south-east Tirhut and south Munger); khukhuri 2 or 

 khonkhri (south-west Shahabad) ; haddi (south Bhagalpur). 



Shelled Grain : gota or got. 



Husk : balkhoiya or bokla (generally) ; khoi'ya (to the 

 west); khoincha (east Tirhut); pataura (South Munger); 

 pocho (South Bhagalpur) ; in Champaran another name is 

 kalchoi'ya, and in south-west Tirhut balko or kosa. 



Italy : maice, maiz ; grano Turco or Granturco ; grano 

 d'India, grano Siciliano ; melliga or melgone (Lombardy). 

 Jamaica : maysi. 



Japan : nan bamthbi, sjo-kuso, too-kibbi, tomoro-koski, 

 or tomorokoshi. 



1 Sir George Watt (1) says that the word bhutta (Bengal and Bihar; Hin- 

 dustani but, mukka-bhuta, elsewhere maki pyaungbu) may possibly be derived 

 from bhukta or butta, to eat. Sir George Grierson says that it may be derived 

 from Skr. bhrsta, roasted, which is suggestive in view of the method of cooking 

 the young ears. 



2 The word kukri is used in the Panjab for some form of maize ; and in 

 south-west Shahabad khukhuri or khonkhri is the word for the maize cob after 

 the grains have been shelled off. This suggests a connection with the Slav 

 word kukuru (Turkey); kukurusa (Roumania) ; kukoricza (Magyar); kukurutz 

 (Austria); kukurice (Bohemia). 



