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COOLIN to COOLY COOLIN, adj. A class of Brahmans of Bengal Proper, who make extraordinary claims to purity of caste and exclusiveness. Beng. kulinas, from Skt. kula, a caste or family, kulina, belonging to a noble family. The y are much sought in marriage for the daughters of Brahmans of less exalted pretensions, and often take many brides for the sake of the presents they receive. The system is one of the greatest abuses in Bengali Hinduism. [Risley, Tribes and Castes of Bengal, i. 146 seqq.] 1820.Some inferior Kooleenus marry many wives; I have heard of persons having 120; many have 15 or 20, and others 40 and 50 each. Numbers procure a subsistence by this excessive polygamy. Ward, i. 81. COOLUNG, COOLEN, and in W. India CULLUM, s. Properly the great grey crane (Grus cinerea), H. kulang (said by the dictionaries to be Persian, but Jerdon gives Mahr. kallam, and Tel. kulangi, kolangi, which seem against the Persian origin), [and Platts seems to connect it with Skt. kurankara, the Indian crane, Ardea Sibirica (Williams)]. Great companies of these are common in many parts of India, especially on the sands of the less frequented rivers; and their clanging, trumpet-like call is often heard as they pass high overhead at night. Ille gruumThe name, in the form Coolen, is often misapplied to the Demoiselle Crane (Anthropoides virgo, L.), which is one of the best of Indian birds for the table (see Jerdon, ed. 1877, ii. 667, and last quotation below). The true Coolung, though inferior, is tolerably good eating. This bird, which is now quite unknown in Scotland, was in the 15th century not uncommon there, and was a favourite dish at great entertainments (see Accts. of L. H. Treasurer of Scotland, i. ccv.). 1698.Peculiarly Brand- geese, Colum, and Serass, a species of the former.Fryer, 117. c. 1809.Large flocks of a crane called Kolong, and of another called Saros (Ardea Antigonesee CYRUS), frequent this district in winter. They come from the north in the beginning of the cold season, and retire when the heats commence.Buchanans Rungpoor, in Eastern India, iii. 579. 1813.Peacocks, partridges, quails, doves, and green - pigeons supplied our table, and with the addition of two stately birds, called the Sahras and cullum, added much to the animated beauty of the country.Forbes, Or. Mem. ii. 29; [2nd ed. i. 331]. 1883.Not being so green as I was, I let the tempting herd of antelopes pass, but the kullum I cannot resist. They are feeding in thousands at the other end of a large field, and to reach them it will only be necessary to crawl round behind the hedge for a quarter of a mile or so. But what will one not do with roast kullum looming in the vista of the future?Tribes on my Frontier, p. 162. *** N.B.I have applied the word kullum, as everybody does, to the demoiselle crane, which, however, is not properly the kullum but the Koonja.Ibid. p. 171. COOLY, s. A hired labourer, or burden-carrier; and, in modern days especially, a labourer induced to
emigrate from India, or from China, to labour in the plantations of Mauritius, Réunion, or the West Indies,
sometimes under circumstances, especially in French colonies, which have brought the coolys condition
very near to slavery. In Upper India the term has frequently a specific application to the lower class of
labourer who carries earth, bricks, &c., as distinguished from the skilled workman, and even from the
digger. |
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