Chapter TRINCOMALEE to TUCKÁVEE of T by The Hobson Jobson Dictionary

head of the island, lest the Portuguese should obtain possession of them.…”—Comment. of Alboquerque, E.T. by Birch, i. 175.

„ “Meanwhile the Captain-Major ordered Afonso Lopes de Costa and João da Nova, and Manuel Teles with his people to proceed along the water’s edge, whilst he with all the rest of the force would follow, and come to a place called Turumbaque, which is on the water’s edge, in which there were some palm-trees, and wells of brackish water, which supplied the people of the city with drink when the water-boats were not arriving, as sometimes happened owing to a contrary wind.”—Correa, i. 830.

1610.—“The island has no fresh water…only in Torunpaque, which is a piece of white salt clay, at the extremity of the island, there is a well of fresh water, of which the King and the Wazir take advantage, to water the gardens which they have there, and which produce perfectly everything which is planted.”—Teixeira, Rel. de los Reyes de Harmuz, 115.

1682.—“Behind the hills, to the S.S.W. and W.S.W. there is another part of the island, lying over against the anchorage that we have mentioned, and which includes the place called Turumbake…here one sees the ancient pleasure-house of the old Kings of Ormus, with a few small trees, and sundry date-palms. There are also here two great wells of water, called after the name of the place, ‘The Wells of Turumbake’; which water is the most wholesome and the freshest in the whole island.”—Nieuhof, Zee en Lant-Reize, ii. 86.

TUAN, s. Malay tuan and tuwan, ‘lord, master.’ The word is used in the English and Dutch settlements of the Archipelago exactly as sahib is in India. [An early Chinese form of the word is referred to under SUMATRA.]

1553.—“Dom Paulo da Gama, who was a worthy son of his father in his zeal to do the King good service…equipped a good fleet, of which the King of Ugentana (see UJUNGTANAH) had presently notice, who in all speed set forth his own, consisting of 30 lancharas, with a large force on board, and in command of which he put a valiant Moor called Tuam-bár, to whom the King gave orders that as soon as our force had quitted the fortress (of Malacca) not leaving enough people to defend it, he should attack the town of the Queleys (see KLING) and burn and destroy as much as he could.”—Correa, iii. 486.

1553.—“For where this word Raja is used, derived from the kingly title, it attaches to a person on whom the King bestows the title, almost as among us that of Count, whilst the style Tuam is like our Dom; only the latter of the two is put before the person’s proper name, whilst the former is put after it, as we see in the names of these two Javanese, Vtimuti Raja, and Tuam Colascar.”—Barros, II. vi. 3.

[1893.—“…the cooly talked over the affairs of the Tuan Ingris (English gentleman) to a crowd of natives.”—W. B. Worsfold, A Visit to Java, 145.]

TUCKA, s. Hind. taka, Beng. taka, [Skt. tankaka, ‘stamped silver money’]. This is the word commonly used among Bengalis for a rupee. But in other parts of India it (or at least taka) is used differently; as for aggregates of 4, or of 2 pice (generally in N.W.P. panch taka paisa=five taka of pice, 20 pice). Compare TANGA.

[1809.—“A requisition of four tukhas, or eight pice, is made upon each shop.…”—Broughton, Letters from a Mahr. Camp, ed. 1892, p. 84.]

1874.—“ ‘…How much did my father pay for her?’

“ ‘He paid only ten tákás.’

“I may state here that the word rupeyá, or as it is commonly written rupee or rupi, is unknown to the peasantry of Bengal, at least to Bengali Hindu peasants; the word they invariably use is táká.”—Govinda Samanta, i. 209.

TUCKÁVEE, s. Money advanced to a ryot by his superior to enable him to carry on his cultivation, and recoverable with his quota of revenue. It is Ar.—H. takavi, from Ar. kavi, ‘strength,’ thus literally ‘a reinforcement.’

[1800.—“A great many of them, who have now been forced to work as labourers, would have thankfully received tacavy, to be repaid, by instalments, in the course of two or three years.”—Buchanan, Mysore, ii. 188.]

1880.—“When the Sirkar disposed of lands which reverted to it…it sold them almost always for a nazarána (see NUZZERANA). It sometimes gave them gratis, but it never paid money, and seldom or ever advanced takávi to the tenant or owner.”—Minutes of Sir T. Munro, i. 71. These words are not in Munro’s spelling. The Editor has reformed the orthography.