Tanga

“ The economic centre of gravity, therefore, for our whole colonial activity lies at present in this north-eastern district. This, by the bye, is evident from the whole aspect of European life at Tanga. After passing many months on end in the Usambara mountains, with no opportunities for social 412intercourse, the planter suddenly feels the need of society, and in a few hours’ time we may behold him seated in the club at Tanga.
Where there are Germans, there is also music. Dar es Salam enjoys the advantage of two bands—that of the sailors from the two cruisers, and that of the askari. ”

“ The use of ornaments and trinkets of various kinds is almost confined to the men. The women wear a bracelet on the wrists, but none on the neck, and no comb in the hair; they have a garter below the knee, worn tight from infancy, for the purpose of swelling out the calf, which they consider a great beauty. While dancing in their festivals, the women wear a small tanga, or apron, made of beads, prettily arranged: it is only about six inches square, but is never worn at any other time, and immediately the dance is over, it is taken off. ”

“ In their dress they differ in the women always wearing a small tanga of turúri, instead of going perfectly naked, as among the Uaupés; they also wear more necklaces and bracelets, and the men fewer, and the latter do not make use of so many feather-ornaments and decorations in their festivals. ”

“ To this Tangaloa agreed without argument, resigning himself like a little child to O'olo's guidance, and making no demur when the Tongan said: "Let us rise and go, for by dawn we must be on the heights, and beyond pursuit." ”

“ Tavernes and Taverny, in France.
TAING, TANGA (Teut. and Scand.) ,
TUNGA,
a tongue, a point of land; e.g. Tongue, a parish in Sutherlandshire; Tong, in Ross; Tongland, in Kirkcudbright, upon a peninsula formed by the Rivers Dee and Tarf; Tonge, in Lancashire; but Tongres, Tongrinnes, and Tongerloo, in Belgium, derive their names from the Tungri, a tribe; Tong-fell, in Cumberland, and Tangfjeld, Norway, and Tunga-fell, Iceland (the mountain with the tongue or point) ; Thong-castle, in Kent, and Thong-castor, near Grimsby.
TAL (Cym.-Cel.) ,
the forehead, or, as an adjective, high; e.g. ”

“ A well-known writer has said that wherever the African negro has gone, he has left traces in the music of that country. The Spanish Habanera, which we have danced by the name of Tango came from Africa; even the 18name is African, “tangara,” and was a vulgar dance unfit for civilized people. The rhythm of the African dance and of our tango is the same.
Like other savages, the African negro loved rhythm better than melody. His songs were monotonous and were made up of a few tones and short repeated phrases. They used the scale, of five tones (called pentatonic) , the same as the Indian’s. ”

“ Who is happiest—he revelling in the luxuries of Unyanyembe, or I, standing on the summit of this mountain, looking down with glad eyes and proud heart on the Tanganika? We are descending the western slope of the mountain, with the valley of the Liuche before us. Something like an hour before noon we have gained the thick matete brake, which grows on both banks of the river; we wade through the clear stream, arrive on the other side, emerge out of the brake, and the gardens of the Wajiji are around us—a perfect marvel of vegetable wealth. ”

“ We ascend a hill overgrown with bamboo, descend into a ravine through which dashes an impetuous little torrent, ascend another short hill, then, along a smooth footpath running across the slope of a long ridge, we push on as only eager, lighthearted men can do. In two hours I am warned to prepare for a view of the Tanganika, for, from the top of a steep mountain the kirangozi says I can see it. I almost vent the feeling of my heart in cries. But wait, we must behold it first. And we press forward and up the hill breathlessly, lest the grand scene hasten away. We are at last on the summit. ”

“ The Tonga Islands have a tradition, recorded by Mariner, that Tangaloa, one of their principal gods, had two sons, of which the elder was called Tupo, the younger, Vaka-ako-uli. The first was indolent and shiftless, the other industrious and prosperous. Jealousy induced the former to kill the other. Then Tangaloa called the older brother and the family of the younger before him and thus addressed the latter: “Your bodies shall be fair, as the spirit of your father was good and pure; take your canoes and travel to the eastward and all good things attend you.” ”

“ And the voice was like the leaping of fish and the croaking of frogs, and it said: 'O Te Turi, I am TANGAROA, god of fish and reptiles. All through thy life thou shalt have fish to eat and sharks' teeth for ornament, and whalebone and whales' ribs for thy weapons. And the little lizards shall not affright thee, nor the great Taniwha [5] harm thee. ”

“ And you men keep close together, and keep firing until we halt in the market-place, or before the white man's house. You have said to me often that you could smell the fish of the Tanganika—I can smell the fish of the Tanganika now. There are fish, and beer, and a long rest waiting for you. MARCH!" Before we had gone a hundred yards our repeated volleys had the effect desired. We had awakened Ujiji to the knowledge that a caravan was coming, and the people were witnessed rushing up in hundreds to meet us. ”

“ I hear of the Māppillas talking among themselves that one or two of the ancestors of Taramal Tangal died fighting, that, the present man being advanced in age, it is time for him to follow the same course, and that the above-mentioned men affected with hāl ilakkam, when their number swells to four hundred, will engage in a fight with Kāfirs, and die in company with the Tangal. ”

“ In their manners both these species of Fire Tangaras are much alike; they inhabit the extensive forests of America, where they are found in pairs, living a very quiet and retired life, and generally perching upon the topmost branches of the trees. ”

“ But even that very human failing was forgivable, for competition was keen among the poets of those days, and I myself heard many followers of the Muse, as they stood on those Parnassian heathen slopes, cursing the lying tongue of some wandering scribe who had forestalled them by arriving at the forum-stump before they did. However, it’s not my wish to go into detail over Tangalora’s failings; all I will attempt is to tell from my own impressions some of the incidents of the extempore verse which he rattled off in his cavern homestead. ”

“ Muini Kheri said also, as corroborative of the increase of the Tanganika, that thirty years ago the Arabs were able to ford the channel between Bangwé Island and the mainland; that they then cultivated rice-fields three miles farther west than the present beach; that every year the Tanganika encroaches upon their shores and fields; and that they are compelled to move every five years farther inland. In my photograph of Ujiji, an inlet may be seen on a site which was dry land, occupied by fishing-nets and pasture-ground, in 1871. ”

“ There is also a kind of money which is called Tangas, not that there is any such coined, but are so named onely in telling, five Tangas is one Pardaw or Xeraphin, badde money, for you must understande that in telling they have two kinds of money, good and badde.... Wherefore when they buy and sell, they bargain for good or badde money," &c.—Linschoten, ch. 35; [Hak. Soc. i. 241, and for another version see XERAPHINE] .
" "They have a kind of money called Pagodes which is of Gold, of two or three sortes, and are above 8 tangas in value. ”

“ Suqe is not known in all parts of the island; his place is perhaps supplied by Tagaro-lawua, who answers also to Tangaro-loloqong in the Banks' Island stories. It was Tagaro who made fruit-trees, food, pigs, and lastly men, and he is still invisibly active in human affairs, and therefore invoked in sickness and all difficulties. Tagaro-lawua, the Big, was a boaster and incapable; Tagaro-mbiti, the Little, was exceedingly knowing and powerful; if Tagaro is spoken of it is Tagaro-mbiti who is meant. As Qat is represented by Tagaro-mbiti, so Merambuto, also a vui, answers to Qasavara. ”

“ Wearing such a robe Tang Ling was indeed Emperor of Porcelain, the Son of Heaven. In such raiment would he paint his own portrait on the vase.
And so he set to work. If he could achieve his desire, the slender graceful girl would be his. That the object he had set for himself could only be accomplished' by alchemy and a large measure of magic was of little purport. Had not the great Wu Tao-tzu in the golden age of Tang painted with such skill that scores of legends have grown up about him. ”

“ With no warning of its approach, a creature, semi-human in form, walked into view from behind the tree trunk. Tang stifled his instinctive urge to reach for his pistol and stood motionless. He had learned long ago, that when playing a strange game, to let the other fellow play first.
The native possessed two limbs upon which he stood, and two others, set where its shoulders should have been, but there his human likeness ceased. Yet there was something about him that more nearly approached the human standard of a man than did the stick-insect which he had observed earlier. ”

“ On April 25 we rode over the Ting-la pass; at its foot is a mani in good preservation, with a yak skull as ornament, a form of prayer being incised in the frontal bone between the horns. From the top of the pass Targo-gangri is seen expanded into a row of peaks covered with snow. The whole region is like a sea with a strong swell on, and the Targo-gangri is as white foaming surf on the coast. A little later the summits of the mass stood clearly out white on a background of bluish-black clouds; the highest two, twin peaks, had the form of a Tibetan tent on two poles. ”

“ The faces of the men are smooth. The women seldom exceed five feet in height, and a man is tall at five feet four.
The male costume is a long, loose, woollen coat with a girdle, trousers, under-garments, woollen leggings, and a cap with a turned- up point over each ear. The girdle is the depository of many things dear to a Tibetan—his purse, rude knife, heavy tinder-box, tobacco pouch, pipe, distaff, and sundry charms and amulets. In the capacious breast of his coat he carries wool for spinning—for he spins as he walks—balls of cold barley dough, and much besides. ”

“ The Tarjum and his men were profuse in their bows, and there was, as usual, a great display of tongues. These were, I noticed, of an unhealthy whitish colour, caused throughout Tibet by excessive tea-drinking, a practice which ruins the digestion, and furs their tongues. We had rugs placed outside our principal tent, and the doctor and I sat on one, asking the Tarjum to sit on the one facing us. His followers squatted around him. It is a well-known fact that in Tibet, if you are a "somebody," or if you wish people to recognise your importance, you must have an umbrella spread over your head. ”

“ Near a big river, and between two high mountains, a man and his wife lived in a cottage a long, long time ago. A dense forest lay all round the cottage, and there was hardly a path or a tree in the whole wood that was not familiar to the peasant from his boyhood. In one of his wanderings he had made friends with a hare, and many an hour the two passed together, when the man was resting by the roadside, eating his dinner.
Now this strange friendship was observed by the Tanuki, a wicked, quarrelsome beast, who hated the peasant, and was never tired of doing him an ill turn. ”

“ Dangka in Bali is the name of a petty village official under the Gaduh or Mandor, and are Sudras by birth. Bat. Trans. Vol. 23, On consulting Mr. Friederich regarding this word Dangka, he writes me „Dangka is not Sanscrit, [1] nor can I find any word from which it could be corrupted. It can hardly be expected to be a corruption from Tangka, in these parts. Tangka, after all means- axe, crow, stone-cutter's chisel; grief upon separation from a beloved object; fear, terror- root tak, to live in distress. ”

“ The sharp in-twist of the foot is one of the points of individuality both of the Tango and the dance of the Arab. Now, probable family relationship puts the Tango under no obligation to family traits, for the sake of family dignity ”

“ And Tang was certain the mind picture had been communicated to him by the clober at his side. He had made his first telepathic contact with the planet's denizens!
For a half-hour after he arose Tang was unable to reestablish contact with the little doughball. Then he realized that he was trying too hard.
He sat down and forced himself to relax. His mind gradually calmed and made itself receptive. Food? Hungry? the clober's thoughts reached him.
Tang rose and walked to the door. The mahutes had left a small bundle of shoots at the side of the hut, as they had done every morning for Lutscher. ”

“ Pulses that have long refused to throb a beat faster in the tangle of the "tango," may yet have the life to quicken in the sensuous abandon of the Marquesan hula. And in fancy cannot one hear it all over again? "The 'Hatiheu Hug' and the 'Taio-haie Throttle'—who says they're disgusting? If one wants to dance them disgustingly, of course—" How long will it be, I wonder? ”

“ This is a place of great trade in cotton and cotton cloth, formerly a kingdom, but now subject to the great Mogor. The people are great idolaters, going naked with only a cloth about their middles, and the country hath many tigers, wild buffaloes, and wild fowl. Tanda is about a league from the river Ganges, as in times past the river flowed over its banks in the rainy season, and drowned a considerable extent of country with many villages, and so it yet remains, and the old bed of the river still remains dry, by which means the city now stands at a distance from the water. ”