MUNDARI POETRY, MUSIC AND DANCES. 101 



knows what is meant by biana-boeona, kere-bore, limang-lomong , mondol-mondol , etc., 

 etc. But if you ask them what is the meaning of biana or of bore or of lomong or of 

 mondol, etc., etc., they will answer that they do not know ; some will even say that 

 they never heard that word. As soon, however, as you reconstitute the jingle and say : 

 biana-boeona, kere-bore, limang-lomong, mondol-mondol, etc., they at once recognize it 

 as a familiar sound or word. 



(b) Even in their full form they cannot, like all other Mundari words, be used as 

 independent predicates in ordinary conversational language. They must be completed 

 i.e., specified by some other appropriate predicate. 



He ! means, yes ! Used as intransitive predicate it means to agree. Hence he- 

 eae, he will agree ; hetanae ) he does agree ; hekedae, he agreed ; heakadae, he has agreed. 



But you cannot say mondol-mondol ea, it will smell sweetly ; mondol-mondol- 

 tana y it does smell sweetly; mondol-mondol-keda , it did smell sweetly. The specifying 

 predicate soan, to smell, must be added to the jingle : mondol-mondol ge soana, it will 

 smell sweetly ; mondol-mondolge soankena, it did smell sweetly, etc. 



It is noteworthy, however, that an independent predicate can be formed with the 

 present tense affix tan and with that only : mondol-modoVtana, it does smell sweetly. 



It would be interesting to find out from a comparison with cognate languages 

 whether the component parts of these jingles had or still have, in some of them, a dis- 

 tinct meaning of their own which enabled them to stand as independent predicates 

 in ordinary conversation, or whether they were orginally intended to simply imitate 

 certain impressions. 



In poetry they enjoy a greater liberty ; they can stand as independent or complete 

 predicates without being specified by any other words. As such they may take the 

 categorical affix a, or the present tense affix tan with or without the affix a. These 

 affixes, however, seem to be used rather to complete the line ; the tendency is to merely 

 juxtapose them with their subjects, leaving to the mind the task of referring them to 

 their subject. It cannot be denied that this mode of forming sentences is very effective 

 in the presentation of word-pictures since these gain in proportion to their very simpli- 

 city of structure : here everything that could possibly distract the imagination is 

 purposely left aside, and only that feature or attribute which the poet intends presenting 

 is placed over against the subject. 



It may be remarked here that this mode of forming sentences is not limited to the 

 case where jingles stand as predicates, but it is extensively used in most of their word- 

 pictures. There are whole stanzas, sometimes entire songs in which no link- word 

 appears. As an instance take the following : — 



Pokri-pindire keora bado 

 Ba mondol-mondol keosr bado 

 Raja bandare barangubado 

 Ba nurae-barae. 



On the tank-bank the keora flower, 



The flower sweetly, sweetly smelling, the keora flower, 



