03-03-192
192
HALLM.
Hallm is spoken in Hill Tipperah and Sylhet. In Sylhet 1,600 individuals
were returned as speaking Kuki. A few words which have been translated in different
parts of the district seem to show that three dialects, Th
do, Hall
m,
and Langrong, have been brought together under this denomination. We may, therefore,
provisionally put down 533 as belonging to Hall
m. To these must be added
about 8,000 individuals who were returned as speaking Tipur
. Most of these
latter are immigrants from Hill Tipperah and speak Hall
m. Their language
is mixed up with Aryan words to a greater extent than is the case with the Hall
m
of Hill Tipperah. We thus arrive at the following total for Hall
m:-
Hill Tipperah... |
18,000
|
Sylhet... |
8,533
|
TOTAL.
|
26,533
|
I am indebted to Mr. A. Porteous, I.C.S., Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet,
for two specimens and a list of standard words and phrases in this language.
They have been prepared by Babu Padmanth Bha
ch
ryya with
the aid of an educated Hall
m. A translation of the Parable of the Prodigal
Son and a list of words and phrases in Hall
m have also been received from
Hill Tipperah. The two versions of the parable differ in so many points that
I have thought it best to print both. The specimen received from Hill Tipperah
is, however, carelessly done, and must, accordingly, be used with caution. The
list of standard words and phrases printed on pp. 292 and ff. is that received
from Sylhet. Where the Hill Tipperah list differs, and where the Sylhet list
is wanting, the words of the former are given within parentheses.
The name Hallm may be connected with Mr. Damant's Khelma, which tribe
he says lives in North Cachar. The short vocabulary which he publishes agrees
with Hall
m. The same is the case with the vocabulary of Sak
jaib or Shekasip
which Mr. Soppitt has published. Sak
jaib has been returned as the language
of 315 individuals in North Cachar. By adding these 315 speakers of Sak
jaib
to the estimates given above we arrive at a total of 26,848 for Hall
m.
AUTHORITIES-
CAMPBELL, SIR GEORGE,-Specimens of Languages of India, including those of the Aboriginal Tribes of Bengal, the Central Provinces, and the Eastern Frontier. Calcutta, 1874. Hallamee of Tipperah on pp. 204 and ff.
HUNTER, W.W.,-Statistical Account of Bengal. Vol. vi, London, 1876. Short note on the Hallam tribe on pp. 488 and f.
DAMANT, G.H., M.A., M.R.A.S.,-Notes on the Locality and Population of the
Tribes Dwelling between the Brahmaputra and Ningthi Rivers. Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society, New Series, Vol. xii, 1880, pp. 228 and ff. Account of old
Kuki on pp. 237 and f., Vocabularies, Khelma, tc., on p. 255.
SOPPITT, C.A.,-A short Account of the Kuki-Lushai Tribes on the North-East
Frontier (Districts Cachar, Sylhet, Nga Hills, etc., and the North Cachar
Hills) with An Outline Grammar of the Rangkhol- Lushai Language and A Comparison
of Lushai with other Dialects. Shillong, 1887. Account of old Kuki tribes on
p. 3; Vocabulary and Sentences, Sak
jaib, etc., on pp. 79 and ff.
As far as can be seen from the scanty materials at my disposal, Khelma and
Sakjaib are identical with Hall
m. According to Mr. Soppitt the Sak
jaibs
are an off-shoot of the R
ngkh
ls, and their languages differ very little.
In the few instances