62 
L. A. Waddell —Place and River-names in Sikhim , fyc. [No. 2, 
As a result of this loose style of nomenclature, the same river pos¬ 
sesses different names at different parts of its course, e. g ., the Lachhung 
is called the ‘Yum-thang chhu’ and ‘ Home chhu ’ opposite these two 
villages. 
Exceptions to this practice are had in the following amongst 
others :— 
r 
Dik-chhu = W dig (pr. tik or dik), staggering or reeling 4- chhu. 
A snow-fed stream which in a rocky bed descends about 10,000 
feet in a course of about twelve miles. 
CS 
Ri'-ze chhu ( Ang. Rishi) X* ri a mountain -f ^zar (pr. ze) a 
torrent. A mountain torrent crossed on the way from Tibet. 
Tsang-chhu = gdsang, pure -f chhu: ‘the pure water’—the 
Bhotiya name of the Tista, deriving the name from its pro¬ 
perty possessed in common with all large rivers of tending to 
become quickly purified from defilement. 
Le-ti chhu = ST sle, to twist or plait -f- Tikhrifr (pr. ti), to 
twist or coil. 
-V „ AT 
Ro-ro chhu = -X. E 1’^ S 1 T rok-rok, black or gloomy. 
Lakes are neither large nor numerous in this area, but such as do 
exist have usually mythological names and are believed to be 
the spouses of the hills in the neighbourhood. A small lake 
on Lebong Spur which was filled up last year in preparing the 
Station polo-ground was called Me-long tsho or ‘ the mirror- 
lake ’. Another lake valley is called Chhu lonk-yo, said to mean 
* a spoon of water ’. 
Nepali ( Parbatiya ) River-names. 
The Pahariyas have accepted the Lepcha and Bhotiya names for 
the rivers within the hills, but have usually contorted these names by 
mispronunciation to an almost unrecognizable extent: e. g ., the ‘ Ra-do * 
and the ‘ Kale ’ of the Lepchas have become the Ladlioma and Kulhait 
of the Pahariyas. 
The small hill streamlets are called by them jhora from the Skt. 
WK, jhara, & cascade or water-fall, from the root jha, to waste. These 
jhoras are individualized by being named after the adjoining village, or 
the special use they are put to, e. g ., Dhobi-jhora (H. vtf 5 ! dhobi , a 
washerman) = ‘ the washerman’s stream ’ ; Kak jhora ( H . kak a 
crow) * the crow’s brook ’, near the municipality rubbish-heap at 
Darjiling, where crows and kites congregate. When a hill-stream is 
subject to very sudden and violent outbursts, it is called Paglet jhora 
(R. qjl^rr, pagla insane or mad) ‘ the mad stream,* on account of its 
furious and erratic behaviour. 
