260 S. E. Peal—A peculiarity of the river names in Asam.  [No. 4, 
“ Kara-su,” @. e. black water, is perhaps the commonest of this group 
of words (being also of a generic character). The name extends from the 
east of China to Turkey in Europe, and from Turkestan to the Arctic Ocean. 
A list of instances with Latitudes and Longitudes is given further on. 
In Longitude they lie mainly between 21° 50’ east and 69° east, while 
in Latitude the name oceurs mainly between 35° N. and 45° N., a very 
restricted belt, corresponding with the Mongolian invasions westwards.* 
Notwithstanding the fact that the whole of Central, Eastern, and Southern 
Asia, were probably originally peopled by non-Aryans, apparently spreading 
from China westward, it is noteworthy how effectually the Himalaya stood 
as a speech-parting, dividing the races spreading south of it from those 
to the north, even when tested by this one word for “ water.” 
In studies of this kind much needless confusion has been caused by 
the very various modes of spelling adopted, ere the Hunterian system was 
introduced; the real name being often so disguised as to be barely seen. 
Indeed, in many cases we have boldly changed the original name for ano- 
ther, as when Rennel turned the Ai-ti (mother water) into Barelly, simply 
because the former sounded to him absurd. The Amins also, who were 
with Buchanan, endeavoured to turn Tista into Trista or Tristota, and 
against the protest of the inhabitants. Carelessness has also had a great 
deal to do with the confusion we see, and the first mode of spelling that 
was chanced on remained, whether corrector no. Some riversare spelt four 
or five different ways and at times as many as eight, and it is common to find 
the same river even on the same map spelt two different ways; thus we 
have Dee, De, Di, Dy interchangeable. 
It must also be borne in mind that maps seldom give more than one 
name where there may be several well known locally to distinct tribes 
near. Thus Mbong-kha of the Singphtis is the Ti-keng of the Nagas. 
Dinoi of the Singphis is Ning-thi of the Munipuris (the beautiful water), 
and it is Nam-tonai of the Shans and Kyendween or Thanla wati of the 
Burmese. Probably it has also Naga names. Many rivers therefore may 
not at first sight seem to fall into the following list, that are yet very con- 
spicuous, as the Dhansiri, but on investigation it turns out that the old 
name is nearly obsolete, z. e., the “ Di-ma,’’ whence Di-ma-pur. It is or 
was also called the Ti-mt. 
In some cases again the name of the river is obviously recent, as the 
Godadhur, its true name being the Macht, chu being the Bhutan varia- 
* I am not here in a position to follow out the word ‘kara’ (black) and trace its 
relationship to ‘kala’; possibly it has been done, but if not, it would seem to offer an 
interesting and instructive case whereby we may possibly collate the non-Aryan lan- 
guages with the Aryan. On the other hand it may simply have been imported from 
one to the other and modified lately. 
