72 SOUTHERN INDIA AND THE STRAITS. 



though it has a Sanskrit equivalent has also probably come 

 through Tamil, for in Sanskrit it means "bag" or "basket." while 

 in Tamil it has exactly the same meaning as in Malay. What can 

 be clearer evidence of commercial intercourse — nay, of the 

 Tamils having actually introduced the Malays to trade in bulk ? 

 They also imported and brought into use certain articles of 

 commerce and animals with which the Malays were previously 

 unacquainted, as is shown by the wards cherutu, " a cigar ; " 

 badam, "an almond;" kalde, "an ass;" the fruit belimbing ; beludu 

 "velvet;" bedi, "a gun" (from the Tamil word "vedi," an ex- 

 plosion. or report). All the above are pure Tamil. The deriva- 

 tion of kudd* u a horse," from kuthirai is not certain; but the 

 pure Tamil padagu, " boat," may reasonably be taken to be the 

 parent of the Malay prahu. If this be so. it would seem as if 

 the Tamils first introduced the Malays to even the most elemen- 

 tary navigation, and, as they also gave them kapal, taught them 

 to " go down to the sea in ships." A large number of words 

 derived from the Sanskrit are common to both Tamil and Malay, 

 the greater number of which were acquired independently by 

 the two languages. The following are examples : — Mai. Kali, 

 Tarn, kalam ; Mai. denda. Tarn, tkendam : Mai. bahaya, Tarn. 

 ba.yam; Mai. niuka, Tarn, mugam, &c. In nearly all these the 

 terminal "m" is characteristic of Tamil: and where w T e find 

 words derived from the Sanskrit which have this termination in 

 Malay as well as in Tamil, we may fairly conclude that they 

 come through the latter language and not direct from Sanskrit : 

 e. g\ kolam, "a pond" Tarn, kulaift^— Sans, kola : and manigam, 

 " a ruby, " Tarn, maivihkam and Sanskrit manikya. Mampelam, 

 •• a mango," is said by Maxwell to be derived from the Sans. 

 maha pala= " great fruit," through Telegu ; but the Tamil for 

 mango is also mdmpalam. and I can see no reason for assuming 

 it to be derived from the Telegu. Some other words derived 

 from various languages, such as Persian, Hindustani, and Arabic, 

 would seem to have also come through the Tamil, whose in- 

 fluence on Malay was undoubtedly antecedent to that of 

 Arabic. As examples I may quote meja, "a table" (Pers.), Tarn. 

 mesai or mesa \ bakL " balance " or "remainder" (Ar.), Tamil 

 bahki\ kdpi (Beng.), "a pulley," Tamil kappi\ topi (Beng.). 

 %, ahat," Tamil tdppi; apam, "a cake" (given by Marsden as 



