An Unidentified Territory of Southern India

1922 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-175
Author(s):  
K. V. Subrahmanya Aiyer

Free intercourse with Malabar was long denied to the rest of Southern India by the formidable natural obstacle of the Western Ghats with their impenetrable fastnesses and few passes. Owing chiefly to this circumstance that part of the country remained to a great extent isolated and secure from frequent invasions by other southern powers. This isolation, coupled with the conservative nature of the people of this tract, accounts for the preservation intact of several ancient customs of the Indians. Even in later times, whenever there had been any general disaster affecting the whole of the Dekhan, such as an invasion by the Muhammadan kings of the Khilji and Taghlak lines, the west coast afforded a safe asylum to the rest of the south. There is nothing unnatural in the following exclamation of the poet-composer of the Tiruvālaṅgāḍu plates of the eleventh century a.d.:—“Excepting Paramēśvara, who else in this world could contemplate even in mind the humiliation of that country which is protected by the glory of the crest jewel of the Bhrgu race (i.e. Paraśu-Rāma) and the austerities of its chiefs, and which had not been injured by enemies.”

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayesh Phadtare ◽  
Jennifer Fletcher ◽  
Andrew Ross ◽  
Andy Turner ◽  
Thorwald Stein ◽  
...  

<p>Precipitation distribution around an orographic barrier is controlled by the Froude Number (Fr) of the impinging flow. Fr is essentially a ratio of kinetic energy and stratification of winds around the orography. For Fr > 1 (Fr <1), the flow is unblocked (blocked) and precipitation occurs over the mountain peaks and the lee region (upwind region). While idealized modelling studies have robustly established this relationship, its widespread real-world application is hampered by the dearth of relevant observations. Nevertheless, the data collected in the field campaigns give us an opportunity to explore this relationship and provide a testbed for numerical models. A realistic distribution of precipitation over a mountainous region in these models is necessary for flash-flood and landslide forecasting. The Western Ghats region is a classic example where the orographically induced precipitation leads to floods and landslides during the summer monsoon season. In the recent INCOMPASS field campaign, it was shown that the precipitation over the west coast of India occurred in alternate offshore and onshore phases. The Western Ghats received precipitation predominantly during the onshore phase which was characterized by a stronger westerly flow. Here, using the radiosonde data from a station over the Indian west coast and IMERG precipitation product, we show that climatologically, these phases can be mapped over an Fr-based classification of the monsoonal westerly flow. Classifying the flow as 'High Fr' (Fr >1), 'Moderate Fr' ( 0.5 < Fr ≤ 1) and 'Low Fr' ( Fr ≤ 0.5 ) gives three topographical modes of precipitation -- 'Orographic', 'Coastal' and 'Offshore', respectively.  Moreover, these modes are not sensitive to the choice of radiosonde station over the west coast.</p>


1941 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. H. Johnston

The Periplus Marts Erythræ describes the seaports below Barygaza in the following way according to Schoff's translation: “The market-towns of this region are, in order, after Barygaza: Suppara, and the city of Calliena, which in the time of the elder Saraganus became a lawful market-town; but since it came into the possession of Sandares [an unjustified conjecture for the text's Sandanes] the port is much obstructed, and Greek ships landing there may chance to be taken to Barygaza under guard. Beyond Calliena there are other market-towns of this region; Semylla.…” Suppara is now Sopara on the coast above Bassein, Semylla is Cemūla of two inscriptions, now Chaul, and Calliena is Kalyāṇa. This last, situated at the foot of the two regular ascents of the Western Ghats leading towards Nasik and Poona respectively and with good access to the sea, was the natural outlet for the commerce of the Andhra dominions on the west coast, and the notice, just quoted, shows how its trade was stifled, as the Kṣaharātas extended their rule southwards from Broach. It is unnecessary here to consider who are the kings alluded to in this passage or in the earlier one mentioning Nambanus (a conjecture for the text's Mambarus), but clearly we are dealing with the rivalry of the Western Satraps and the Andhra kings. That the former were successful in their policy towards Kalyāṇa is shown by Ptolemy's omission of the town. The order he gives (taking Renou's text) is Souppara mouth of the River Goaris, Dounga, mouth of the River Bêndas, Semyla.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 10-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oye Gureje

Nigeria is a huge country. It covers an area of 924 000 km2 on the west coast of Africa. It has a population of about 110 million, which means that every one in six Africans is a Nigerian. It is a country of diverse ethnicity, with over 200 spoken languages, even though three of those are spoken by about 60% of the population. Administratively, it is divided into 36 states and operates a federal system of government, with constitutional responsibilities allocated to the various tiers of government – central, state and local. There are two main religions, Islam (predominantly in the north) and Christianity (predominantly in the south). However, a large proportion of the people still practise traditional religions exclusively or in addition to either Islam or Christianity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Namera C. Karun ◽  
Kandikere R. Sridhar

Inventory in different locations of the Western Ghats and west coast of India during 2011–2013 yielded six species of geasters (<em>Geastrum fimbriatum</em>, <em>G. lageniforme</em>, <em>G. pseudostriatum</em>, <em>G. saccatum</em>, <em>G. schweinitzii</em> and <em>G. triplex</em>). Based on fresh basidiomata, illustrations of geasters are presented with macroscopic and microscopic observations. Fruit bodies of <em>G. lageniforme</em> were gregarious and abundant followed by <em>G. triplex</em>, while <em>G. pseudostriatum</em> were rare and solitary. Among the geasters, <em>G. triplex</em> was ectomycorrhizal with native tree <em>Terminalia paniculata</em> of the west coast. <em>Geastrum fimbriatum</em>, <em>G. pseudostriatum</em> and <em>G. schweinitzii</em> constitute the first record for the Western Ghats of India. Distribution, substrate preference, ectomycorrhizal features, economic value and conservation of geasters are discussed.


1932 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 963-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. G. Ivens

Marau Sound lies at the south-east end of the island called Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. There is no native name for the Sound as a whole, and it received its present name owing to the fact that the island which lies at the eastern entrance to the Sound is called Marau, i.e. Island. Other islands in the Sound are named Peura, Sinamairuka (Sinamailuka), Tawaihi, Marapa. The last-named island, Marapa (Malapa), is the “ home of the dead ” for the peoples of the South-East Solomons. The local native name for the hill districts above the Sound is Kera. The name which was given both to the Sound, and to the coastal districts of the mainland near, by the first white visitors in modern days, Bishops G. A. Selwyn and J. C. Patteson, is Gera, which is the name used of the Sound by the people of San Cristoval. The people of the Sound are immigrants from Wairokai, Waisisi, Wairoha, and Uhu on the west coast of Big Mala, and their language is closely allied to that of Oroha, Little Mala, and Areare, the language spoken at Wairokai, etc. It is probable that the first migration from Mala to the Sound settled at Marau, the island at the eastern entrance. There is a ghost called Huu ni nima connected with Marau Island, who is said to have led the migration. War and fighting are said to have been the reasons which led to the migration. The present Mala people were already occupying the islands in the Sound at the time of the visit of the Spanish explorers in 1568, as is shown by the fact that they acted as guides and took the Spaniards to the neighbourhood of Wairokai and Waisisi.


Author(s):  
A. Stuart

In dealing with this subject it is essential to define the high rainfall districts, and on, perusing a rainfall map it was found, contrary to expectations, that the greater part of the North Island, as represented by the Auckland Province and Taranaki, has a rainfall of over 50 inches per annum. In the same category falls the West Coast of the South Island and all of Stewart Island.


1876 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-154
Author(s):  
A. H. Schindler

The part of Belúchistán now under Persian rule is bounded upon the north by Seistán, upon the east by Panjgúr and Kej, upon the south by the Indian Ocean, and upon the west by Núrámshír, Rúdbár, and the Báshákerd mountains.This country enjoys a variety of climates; almost unbearable heat exists on the Mekrán coast, we find a temperate climate on the hill slopes and on the slightly raised plains as at Duzek and Bampúr, and a cool climate in the mountainous districts Serhad and Bazmán. The heat at Jálq is said to be so intense in summer that the gazelles lie down exhausted in the plains, and let themselves be taken by the people without any trouble.


1982 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 61-76
Author(s):  
Finn Fuglestad

At some undefined time in the fairly recent past central and western Madagascar witnessed a conceptual 'revolution' which had far-reaching political consequences. The religious beliefs and symbols which constituted the main ingredients of this 'revolution'--and probably also the people who propagated them--were in some way connected with the Zafindraminia-Antanosy and the Anteimoro of the southeastern and eastern coast. It is quite clear that these and similar groups had been strongly influenced by Islam and that they practiced what could perhaps be described as a corrupt or diluted Islam or a syncretic 'pagan' Muslim religion. (It is significant that as their name indicates the Zafindraminia claim descent from Raminia who they hold to have been the mother of Muhammad.) One of the main ingredients of this religion was the cult of the ody or guardian amulets, objects usually made of wood which are strikingly reminiscent of the so-called “charms” or “gris-gris” sold by Muslim clerics over much of Africa. Another ingredient is represented by the institution of ombiasy. The ombiasy (the main manufacturers of ody) whom the Frenchman Etienne de Flacourt at Fort-Dauphin in the seventeenth century took to be Muslim clerics were originally the “priests” (or the “devins guérisseurs,” according to Hubert Deschamps) of the Anteimoro and the Zafindraminia-Antanosy. Subsequently this institution was disseminated throughout nearly the whole of Madagascar. Yet another ingredient was the system of divination known as sikidy, which also spread to other parts of Madagascar, including Imerina and the Sakalava country.These beliefs, symbols, and institutions deeply influenced the people of the west coast (the present-day Sakalava country) and of central Madagascar (Imerina and Betsileo country).


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