MSS EUR HODGSON/74 Languages and literature, ethnography, history 1820s
Ethnic languages and literature of Nepal and Tibet and some other places in the Himalayan region, different genealogies (royal and high official families), list of historical inscriptions, religious texts of Tibetan Buddhism and Hindu-Saivism, customs and manners of the Limbus, list of games of Nepal Valley (Kathmandu), a Bengali text.
1[vol.74 fol(s)1-3b] Lists of important Tibetan Buddhist texts Nepali hand-made paper, written in two types of Tibetan script and Nepali and English, fine condition, fair writing.
Tibetan English Nepali Farsi
Lists in Tibetan and Nagari with English and Farsi notes.
2[vol.74 fol(s)4] Kusunda language studied with four other ethnic languages, using the paradigm of the Nepali verb piṭnu ('to hit') Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, fair writing, this leaf was mistakenly separated from the MSS located at ff. 176-181 during binding.
Nepali Kirāti
Paradigm of verbs with first, second and third person singular, dual and plural compared with the Nepali word piṭnu 'to hit'; languages included in the paradigm are Khasa (Nepali), Kusunda, Pakhe, Thakse and Tharu; cross reference for the complete paradigm [vol 74/18 fol.176-181] .
3[vol.74 fol(s)5-19] Limbu cosmology, customs and manners Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, fair writing.
Limbu Nepali Bengali
ff. 5-7: Limbu text on cosmology (reference to translation by Iman Sing Chemjong for the India Office Library in 1961, British Library MSS. Eur. D537), mention of sexual relations between a Limbu brother and sister, Suhāṃphebā and Lāhādaṅnā, and a common Limbu belief that the majority of them are the offsprings of this unlawful union;
ff. 8 verso-19: Limbu texts on customs and manners regarding marriage, misconduct, evil spirits and jealousy, peace and consolation, house construction, creation of human beings, festivals (Dasain and Tihar), purification of women after childbirth (sutkerī cokhyāune), naming of a new-born baby (nvārān), in ff. 14 and 14 (verso) an unrelated Sanskrit vocabulary list has been included, most of the Limbu text is translated into Nepali with a few lines written in Bengali. Also translated in MSS Eur D537
4[vol.74 fol(s)20] Fragment of a note on evil spirits and traditional healers (bhut and dhāmī) Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, very poor writing.
Nepali
Description of the process of traditional healing by a Dhāmī (possibly a Limbuphedangba ?).
5[vol.74 fol(s)21] Family names of Magars Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, fair writing.
Nepali
Different family names of Magars with description of their ancestral origin and areas of settlement.
6[vol.74 fol(s)22] List of Limbu ritual items Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, rough writing.
Limbu Nepali
List of Limbu ritual equipment with quantities indicated by numerals.
7[vol.74 fol(s)23-33] Genealogy (vaṃśāvali) of Nepali rulers 1840s Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, fair writing.
Nepali
Vaṃśāvali with dates of various rulers of different dynasties up to the time of Rajendrabikram Shah (reigned 1816-1847).
8[vol.74 fol(s)34-88] List of Tibetan (Bhotiya) books purchased by Hodgson Nepali hand-made and machine-made paper, fine condition.
Tibetan Nepali Farsi
Lists of religious and literary texts written in different scripts and languages, Tibetan, Nepali-Sanskrit, Farsi; Hodgson's note in English on the purchase explaining that some of them were intended for Fort William College in Calcutta; some pages are related to Tibetan alphabets; folio 84 is just misplaced and is not related to Tibetan material but to genealogy in Item 7, ff. 23-33; Nepali and English title description.
9[vol.74 fol(s)89-94] List of inscriptions and documents from the late Malla period (early 15th to 18th century) collected by Hodgson Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, fair writing.
Nepali Newari
List of 81 inscriptions and written documents with the date, ruler or donor's name and a brief description of the subject matter of the inscription.
10[vol.74 fol(s)95a-b] Newari verses of rāga vasanta 1830s (copy) Haritāl pasted Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, fair writing.
Newari
The Newari verses of rāga vasanta composed during the reign of King Bhaskar Malla (reigned 1700-1722). In these verses, there are three love songs altogether which are commonly sung by the Newars during the Spring season in Kathmandu Valley.
11[vol.74 fol(s)96] List of four genealogies (vaṃśāvali) of Gorkha or Shah kings Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, excellent writing.
Nepali Hindi mixed
List of genealogies with source from which they were obtained, viz. Nigamananda, palace, Baḍā-ḍhaḍḍā of the palace, Sānā-ḍhaḍdā through Kimil Saheb; Farsi note and title description, Nepali title description.
12[vol.74 fol(s)97-104] Genealogy of kings and high officials of Gorkha 1824 (date acquired by Hodgson) Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, fairly poor writing.
Nepali
Genealogy with lists of 14 generations of the Shah dynasty (up to Rajendrabikram), Cautariyās (royal collaterals), major officials including six old families of Gorkha (thar-ghar), Thapa, Basnet, includes names of all high ranking officials. For Hodgson's English summary and translation cross, see [vol 18/02 fol.2-7] and for similar genealogical information, see [vol 52/13 fol.165-171] .
13[vol.74 fol(s)105-109] Genealogy of the rulers of Nepal from earliest times to the end of the Mallas (Hodgson's original title was Vaṃśāvali of Nevār Rajās) Haritāl pasted Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, fair writing.
Nepali
Version of the very widely known Nepālavaṃśāvali prepared by Hindu authors, includes genealogical list of the rulers of Nepal up to the end of the Malla dynasty and major historical events and religious activities. For Hodgson's English translation and summary, see [vol 18/05 fol.39-97] . Hodgson's title description in English does not exactly match the contents of the manuscript.
14[vol.74 fol(s)110-111] Bāise-cauvise ('the 22-24') and other principalities with yearly revenue 1834 Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, fair writing.
Nepali
List of bāise-caubise and other states, revenue from them and other sources. For Hodgson's English summary, see [vol 07/10 fol.73-76] ; Nepali and English title description.
15[vol.74 fol(s)112-123] Bengali-Assamese vocabulary 1840s Machine-made paper, some becoming brittle otherwise in fair condition, fair writing.
Assamese Bengali
List of Bengali-Assamese vocabulary containing 488 words and poems in both languages, possibly used for the list. The list in Bengali seems to include some Hindi/Urdu words.
16[vol.74 fol(s)124-125] List of Tibetan Buddhist texts sent to Calcutta College (Fort William College) in 1829 1829 Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, fair writing.
Sanskrit Tibetan
Name list of Tibetan texts with total number of pages and verses, the list begins with book Number 83 and there is a note which indicates that the books up to Number 82 had already been sent to Calcutta in 1827.
17[vol.74 fol(s)126] Games of Nepal Valley played in different months Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, rough writing.
Nepali Newari
List of seasonal and year-round Nepali games, mostly Newari games specified by gender and age group.
18[vol.74 fol(s)127-186 (1 leaf which should have been folio 181 mistakenly bound as folio 4)] Vocabularies and paradigms of verbs of different ethnic languages including Kusunda 1846-1855 Nepali hand-made paper, fine condition, different hands, some fair some rough, one final folio misplaced to folio 4.
Nepali different ethnic languages
Vocabularies of Gurung, Magar, Rai (Chamling/Chaurase, Sunuwar), Limbu (Cyangya/Change or Tamorkhole, Khojum or Chathare, Panchthare including Chauvise, Phakphok ff. 133-135 and 143-146), Murmi (Tamang), Tibetan (Bhote) of Sikache or Digarcha, Newari, Dhangar (Kol-kola), Lepcha, Sikkimese Bhotiya, Dukpa Bhotiya. Under the Ethnologue classification of Rai dialects, Chamling (for which Hodgson in the first section of his published 'Comparative Vocabulary of the Kiranti Languages’ (Hodgson [Hodgson_1858b:][Hodgson_1880:I, 176-193]) also used the group's own name for themselves 'Rodong') is largely spoken in parts of Khotang and Udaypur districts, whilst Chourase is a separate variety found in parts of Dhankuta, Udayapur and Okhaldhunga districts and alternatively known as 'Umbule’ (although van Driem (2001: [van_Driem_2001:718]) uses the spelling 'Chaurasiya’ and treats Ombule and Jero as two sub-dialects). In [van_Driem_2001:725] Sunuwar is similarly treated as a Rai language, though its speakers, numbering around 27,000 people in Okhaldhunga and Ramechhap Districts, are regarded in Nepal as a separate 'nationality'. Tamorkhole, Pantare and Chattare are the Ethnologue’s preferred terms for three of the four main Limbu dialects. The other is Phedappe (currently the most prestigious), which possibly equates with Hodgson's 'Phakphok’ (unless 'Phakphok’ is not a fourth dialect in this annotation but a sub-category of Pan(ch)thare). The name 'Dhangar’ is now usually applied to the dialect of Kurux (also spelled 'Kurukh’) spoken in the Tarai west of the Kosi river; the name 'Jhangar’ is used for Kurukh speakers east of the river. There was a combined total of around 30,000 speakers for the two dialects in 2001. Kurukh, a Dravidian language. is spoken by about 1.5 million people in hilly areas of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. The Nepalese Kurukh population entered the Tarai around 150 years ago. See [van_Driem_2001:1026-1029].
ff. 171-174 and 176-184: Two comparative vocabulary charts of different ethnic languages, the first including Pahari, Bamu, Darahi, Danuwar and Chepang and the other Khasa, Kusunda, Pakhe, Thakse and Tharu languages with 142 words as examples, and a paradigm of the verb 'piṭnu' (to hit), for misplaced folio containing rest of the information on Kusunda language, see cross reference [vol 74/02 fol.04] . The second chart appears to be the source for Hodgson's second one in 'Vocabulary of the Broken Tribes of Nepal’ ([Hodgson_1880:I, 171-175]), which uses the spellings 'Pakh’ya’ for Pakhe and 'Thak’sya' for 'Thakse' (perhaps equivalent to 'Thaksya', an alternative name for Thakali). See also [van Driem_2001:176-193, 718, 725, 1026-1029, 1172.] 'Pakhe’ is presumably a dialect of Ma(n)jhi (spoken by a people known by that name in the hills but called 'Bote’ in the Tarai and living largely along the Kali Gandaki Valley) as this word, a rather derogatory term meaning 'on arid land’, is applied to one section of them (van Driem 2001: 1172). The Ethnologue distinguishes 'Majhi' from 'Bote-Majhi’ and the Nepal census shows 'Manjhi’ and 'Bote' as separate languages. Some Majhi are also called 'Kuswar’ or Kushar and van Driem suggests that Hodgson’s words for a language of that name in his first 'Broken Tribes’ list ([Hodgson_1880:I, 164-70]) are in fact Majhi. If so, then Hodgson's informants were speakers of different dialects as that list differs considerably from the Pakhe one although both are Indo-Aryan dialects with a very large percentage of their vocabulary borrowed from Hindi or Nepali. The Federation of Indigenous Nationalities consider the Majhis a sub-division of the Denwars (see note on Volume 22, Item 6). Kusunda, with only a handful of speakers surviving, is reckoned to be one of Nepal’s oldest languages and has been linked (very controversially) with languages of the Andaman Islands and Papua New Guinea ([Whitehouse_et_al_2004:]). For Hodgson's English notes and summaries on ethnic languages and comparative vocabularies, see various items in Volumes 22 to 24.
Names and addresses of key informants speaking different ethnic languages and dialects; notes in Nepali and English; mention of the date January 11, 1855 (folio 185).
19[vol.74 fol(s)187-188] A rough Shisha text Nepali hand-made and machine-made paper.
Farsi Tibetan Shisha
Needs further reading; Farsi and Tibetan fragmented notes in a few places but giving no particular meaning. Shisha script resembles Chinese characters.