Good day all Listmembers,
Messrs. Henry Yule and A.C. Burnell in their HOBSON-JOBSON can add to 'that', i.e. Tim Connell's query (see below).
I quote:
But the name of Thug first became thoroughly familiar not merely to that part of the British public taking an interest in Indian affairs, but even to the mass of Anglo-Indian society, through the publication of the late Sir William Sleeman's book "Ramaseeana; or a Vocabulary of the puculiar language used by the Thugs, with an Introduction and Appendix, descriptive of that Fraternity, and of the Measures which have been adopted by the Supreme Government of India for its Suppression" - how is that for a title? (Dick) - Calcutta, 1836; and by an article on it which appeared in the Edinburgh Review, for Jan. 1837, (lxiv. 357). One of Col. Meadows Taylor's Indian romances also, Memoirs of a Thug (1839), has served to make the name and system familar. The suppression of the system, for there is every reason to believe that it was brought to an end, was organised by Sir W. (then Capt.) Sleeman, a wise and admirable man, under the government and support of Lord William Bentinck (of Dutch decent by the way, Dick).
To Michael Jefferson's remark of the 13th inst.:
'Sthagati' ,the root word from which 'Thug' is derived translates as covers or conceals, and it has, strangely enough, a link with the Old English 'thaec' Thatch.(cover).
I would like to add:
1) not that strange, Sanskrit, English, Dutch, German, etc. are afterall Indo-European languages with a common source. Dutch "dak" means roof, "dekken" (a-umlaut, very regular in Germanic languages) means to cover; German has "Dach" and "decken" resp.; Dutch "deksel" is Enlish cover, i.e. lid, etc. etc.
2) Hindi noun "thag", from Sanskrit noun "sthaga" (verb is sthagati indeed), means 'a cheat, a swindler', so Master's book could also have been titled 'The Swindlers' ?!
Best regards to all, Dick A. van den Toorn.
----- Original Message -----
From: Connell, Tim
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2003 10:11 AM
Subject: Re: Kipling on a sect which uses poison.
**If I remember rightly, the Thuggee were broken up by a British Army Officer called Sleeman who did indeed pass off as one of them, and I believe he wrote a set of memoirs about it. Can anyone add to that?
Tim Connell
-----Original Message-----
From: Jane Keskar [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 12 April 2003 20:00
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Kipling on a sect which uses poison.
A correspondent asks if Kipling wrote about the Thugs, or another sect which uses poison. Can any one help? All that comes to mind is John Masters The Deceivers.
Many thanks,
Jane Keskar
