The terms of adulation common in India in the mouths of inferiors addressing superiors have no equivalents in Malay. It is noticeable, however, that some of the most ordinary Malay phrases of politeness are Sanskrit. Tâbek (J. and S. tabé; Bat. santabi; Mak. tabeya; D. tabi; Tag. and Bis. tabi; Tag. santabi, to show respect), which corresponds to the Indian salaam in communications between Europeans and Malays, means properly “pardon,” and is derived from the Sanskrit kshantavya, excusable; sîla, to sit cross-legged20 (the respectful attitude indoors), is the Sanskrit çîl, to meditate, to worship; and sîla, a Malay term of politeness, which in some respects answers to our “if you please,” but which also means “to invite,” has its origin in the Sanskrit word çîla, good conduct, moral practice. The same language, too, supplies a considerable number of words denoting family and relationship:—
| English. | Malay. | Sanskrit. | Other Languages. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Father | âyah | vayas (prime of life) | J. ayah, grandson; S. aya; Mak. aya, mother. |
| Brother | sûdâra | sodarya | J. saudara. |
| Husband | swâmî | svâmin | |
| Wife | istrî | strî (a woman) | J. estri; S. istri. |
| Virgin | ânak dâra | dâra (wife), adâra (unmarried) | Kw. dara; J. lara; Bat. dara; Mak. rara; S. dara, a young woman who has just got her first child. |
| Relationship | pangkat | paṅkti (a line, row) | |
| Race | bangsa | vaṃça | J. wongsa; S., Bat., and D. bangsa; Mak. bansa. |
| Family | kulawarga | kula (family), varga (class) | J. kulawarga. |
| Do. | kulawangsa | vaṃça |
The few astronomical terms known to the Malays have been borrowed either from Sanskrit or Arabic, the former supplying the following:—
| English. | Malay. | Sanskrit. | Other Languages. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eclipse | grahana | grahaṇa | J. grahana. |
| Firmament | udara | adhara (lower) | |
| Celestial sphere | chakrawâla | chakra-vâla (horizon; a range of mountains supposed to encircle the earth and to be the limit of light and darkness) | |
| Atmosphere | bumantâra | cf. dyumantara (brilliancy) | Kw. bomantara; J. jumantara. |
| The heavens, æther | angkasa | âkâça | Kw. and S. akasa. |
| The milky-way | bîmasaktî | bhîma (terrible), çakti (strength, power) | S. bimasakti; J. bimasakti, the name of a star |
| Pleiades | kertîka | kṛittikâ (the third of the lunar mansions) | |
| The sign Cancer in the Zodiac | mangkâra | makara | J. mangkara, crab. |
| Astrology | panchalîma | panchan (five) |
To these may be added Râhû (Sansk. Râhu, a deity to whom eclipses are ascribed) and Kedû (Sansk. Ketu, the mythological name of the descending node, represented as a headless demon), monsters who are supposed by the Malays to cause eclipses by swallowing the moon. To denote the points of the compass the Malays have native, Sanskrit, and Arabic terms. Utâra (uttara),21 the north, and daḳsina (dakshiṇa), the south, are Sanskrit words; and paḳsina, the north, has evidently been coined by Malays in imitation of daḳsina.
The elephant is most generally known all over the Archipelago by its Sanskrit name gajah. Sanskrit terms are also used to signify the driver of an elephant and several articles used in connection with this animal. From these circumstances we may probably conclude, with Crawfurd, that the art of training and domesticating elephants was first learned by the Malays from natives of India.22
| English. | Malay. | Sanskrit. | Other Languages. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elephant | gâjah | gaja | J., S., and D. gajah; Bat. and Mak. gaja; Tag. gadia; Bis. gadya. |
| Elephant-driver | gambâla-gâjah | gopâla (herdsman) | |
| Goad | ângkus, kwâsa | aṅkuça | |
| Foot-chain | ândûwân | andu (chain) | |
| Front part of the head | gomba, kumba | kumbha | |
| Unbroken, vicious (of an elephant); the condition called musth | meta | mada (elephant in rut) | Kw. meta, wild elephant. |
| Hobbles for securing the feet | sengkăla | çṛiṅkhala (a chain) |
The words of command used by elephant-drivers in the Malay peninsula appear, however, to be adapted mainly from the Siamese, and it is from this people that the Malays of the continent have acquired much of their modern knowledge of the art of capturing, subduing, and training the elephant. The names of animals, birds, &c., indicate, as might be expected, that while most of the varieties known to the Malays are indigenous, there are some species which have been imported, or which, belonging to other countries, are known by name only in the Archipelago. The word morga, (mṛiga) and satwâ (sattva),23 both meaning “an animal,” are Sanskrit, and if the commoner word benâtang is derived, as seems possible, from the Sanskrit vana, forest, there is no purely native generic term to signify a beast or animal. While, therefore, the early Malay tribes had names for all the animals domesticated by them, as well as those which they encountered in their forests, it was not until the period of their intercourse with more civilised races from India that they learned to generalise and to comprehend the brute creation under one term. The following Sanskrit words for animals, &c., occur in Malay:—
| English. | Malay. | Sanskrit. | Other Languages. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lion | sînga | siṃha | J. and S. singa and singha; Mak. and D. singa. |
| Jackal | srîgâla | cṛigâla | Bat. sorigala; J. segawon, a dog. |
| Camel | onta | ushṭra (a camel) | J. and Mak. unta; S. onta. |
| Wild bull | ândâka | dhâka | Kw. daka and andaka. |
| Ichneumon | charpalei | sarpâri (sarpa, a snake) | |
| A small yellow snake, about a span long | chintâ-mani | chintâ-maṇi (a fabulous gem, the possessor of which gets all he wishes for) | |
| Scorpion | kâla | kâla (black) | J., S., D., and Malg. kala; Bat. kala; Mak. pati-kala. |
| Crow | gâgak | kâka | J. and S. gayak; Bat. gak; Mak. kala; D. kak. |
| Peacock | mĕraḳ | barha, varha | J. and S. merak; Mak. muraka; D. marak. |
| Goose24 | angsa, hangsa, gangsa | haṃsa | J. ongsa; S. gangsa. |
| Pigeon | mĕr-ăpâti, perapâti | pârâpatî | S. japati; Bat. darapati; Tag. palapati; Bis. salapati. |
| Eagle-falcon | râjawâlî | rajjuvâla (a species of bird) | |
| Indian cuckoo (Gracula religiosa) | kokila | kokila | J. kokila. |
Perhaps the Malay word harîmau (Kw. rimong; Bat. arimo, tiger-cat; D. harimaung, panther), a tiger, may have been formed from Hari (Krishna or Vishnu) and mṛiga (an animal). Words similarly compounded with mṛiga (Malay