Tamarind

“ The other banyan has no rootlets nor supporting stems to its branches, and its long arms suffer badly when the cyclone sweeps in from the Bay of Bengal.
The tamarind is a familiar tree common to most compounds. In shape it is not unlike an elm. Its foliage, of the character of acacia, is extremely fine, each tiny leaflet being barely half an inch long and not more than an eighth of an inch broad, yet its green crown is so thick that the rays of the sun scarcely penetrate, and the weary traveller and tired cooly eagerly seek its shade during the fierce noontide heat. ”

“ In the low ground lying close to the river, which the tamarinds I saw yesterday shew to be dark marsh ground, I, for the first time, examined closely, a kind of mimosa, called talle, distinguished by its reddish rind from the whitish rind of the tamarind, the boughs of which are twisted nearly like those of oaks. The rind of the talle-tree is used like that of the geïlid, to be burnt as a perfume: a little also, grated, and strewn on the merissa, gives it a piquant flavour. ”

“ TAMARIND.—The Tamarindus Indica is in Ceylon dedicated to Siva, as the god of destruction. The natives of India have a prejudice against sleeping under the Tamarind, and the acid damp from the tree is known to affect the cloth of tents that are pitched under them for any length of time. So strong is the prejudice of the natives against the Tamarind-tree, that it is difficult to prevent them from destroying it, as they believe it hurtful to vegetation. ”

“ For the last-mentioned purpose a red variety is the most esteemed, both the timber and the fruit being of a sanguine hue. The tamarind, however, is chiefly planted by the roadside, or on the rising banks of a tank; and in the lower parts of Bengal, where it grows in the natural forests of the Sunderbunds, it is the most common kind of firewood, being never used for any more dignified purpose. The native never chooses this beautiful tree, as he does the palm, the neem, or the mourungosh, to overshadow his hut ”

“ The shade of the tamarind-tree, and the coolness of the air, invited us to rest on this delightful spot, though otherwise, perhaps, it was not exactly conformable to the rules of prudence, as we saw several huts and families of the Hazorta along the side of the stream, with their flocks feeding on the branches of trees and bushes, entirely neglectful of the grass they were treading under foot.
The caper-tree here grows as high as the tallest English elm; its flower is white, and its fruit, though not ripe, was fully as large as an apricot. ”

“ But they had not proceeded far when the wind rose in fury, the lightning flashed, the thunder growled, and big drops of rain poured down too unmistakably.
"We shall be drenched to death," said Karuna, "can we not shelter ourselves beneath this tree?"
"Come then," said Matangini, as she led the way to the covert afforded by the overspreading boughs of a large tamarind. Just then a sudden flash of light illuminated the earth and revealed by its momentary gleam a human figure standing at the foot of the tree, within speaking distance of themselves. ”

“ Then there is the tamarind. I thought tamarinds were made to eat, but that was probably not the idea. I ate several, and it seemed to me that they were rather sour that year. They pursed up my lips, till they resembled the stem-end of a tomato, and I had to take my sustenance through a quill for twenty-four hours.
They sharpened my teeth till I could have shaved with them, and gave them a “wire edge” that I was afraid would stay; but a citizen said “no, it will come off when the enamel does”—which was comforting, at any rate. ”

“ They have an odd fashion of staining their gums black, using for the purpose a mixture of the tamarind seed calcined and powdered, and then mixed with a salt of copper. The men carry their weapons when walking, and seldom appear without a bow and arrows, a five-feet-long stick with a knob at one end, and a pipe. ”

“ I see they are tamarind-trees; their fruit contains a pulp which is very useful in medicine, and which will suit your mother, I think, as well as the juice of the orange or lemon. We shall find some of the latter at our plantation near Tent Honse; but, in the mean time, do you climb the tamarind-tree, and gather some of those pods which resemble those of beans, fill one side of the bag with them, the other we will reserve for the oranges and lemons. Not to lose any time, I will go on to Tent House to seek for the two chests, and you can follow me."
Fritz was up the tamarind-tree in a moment. ”

“ The preliminary operations are performed by the women, and the weaving is carried out by the men, who sit, each in his own pit, while they pass the shuttle through the warp with repeated applications of tamarind paste from a pot at their side.
Kurnool.—Blankets are manufactured in 39 villages. Sheep’s wool is beaten and cleaned, and spun into yarn with hand spindles. In the case of the mutaka, or coarse cumblies used by the poorer classes, the thread used for the warp is well rubbed with a gruel made of tamarind seeds before being fitted up in the loom, which is generally in the open air. ”

“ The prejudice against encamping or sleeping under a tamarind tree is general in India. But, curiously, Bp. Pallegoix speaks of it as the practice of the Siamese "to rest and play under the beneficent shade of the Tamarind."— (Desc. du Royaume Thai ou Siam, i. 136) . ”

“ Tamarinds are prodigiously common and as cheap; the people however either do not know how to put them up as the West Indians do, or do not practise it, but cure them with Salt, by which means they become a black mass so disagreable to the sight and taste that few Europeans chuse to meddle with them. ”

“ The above description was obtained from an Urali Nāyar of Calicut taluk. In other localities and castes, the details vary considerably. Sometimes the mixture is simply poured into the woman's mouth, instead of being dripped off a knife. Some castes use a small spoon of gold or silver instead of the jack leaves. In South Malabar there is not as a rule any procession to the tamarind tree. Among Agathu Charna Nāyars of South Malabar, the ceremony takes place in the nadumittam, whither the tamarind branch is brought by a Tiyan. ”

“ In tamarind only three stamens are fertile. The largest suborder, Papilionatae, has a flower zygomorphic in the median plane (figs. 6, 7) . The five sepals are generally united (figs. 7, 9) , and have an ascending imbricate arrangement (fig. 6) ; the calyx is often two-lipped (fig. 9 [1] ) . The corolla has five unequal petals with a descending imbricate arrangement; the upper and largest, the standard (vexillum) , stands erect, the lateral pair, the wings or alae, are long-clawed, while the anterior pair cohere to form the keel or carina, in which are enclosed the stamens and pistil. ”

“ Then the girl and her brother, holding hands, dig a hole with the charakkōl and pisankatti, and plant the tamarind branch in the nadumittam, and water it. Then the juice is administered. Until she is confined, the girl waters the tamarind branch, and offers rice, flowers, and lighted wicks to it three times a day. When labour begins, she uproots the branch.”
“At delivery,” Mr. Balakrishnan Nāyar writes, “women of the barber caste officiate as midwives. ”

“ Mr and Mrs Davenant, when they contrast the melancholy accounts of the end of Selina's scheming with the happy married life of their younger daughter, cannot but own how superior was the wisdom of the latter; and they now cordially acknowledge the veracity of that golden sentiment of one of our modern sages—'One who is always true in the great duties of life is nearly always wise.'
THE TAMARIND-TREE.
Everybody knows the agreeable tamarind preserve we receive from the West Indies; everybody has occasionally produced by its aid a cooling and welcome beverage ”

“ No khitmutgar, or cook, will hang a piece of meat on a tamarind-tree: he believes that meat thus exposed does not keep well, and that it becomes unfit for salting. A traveller, though very willing to eat of the fruit, will not unload his pack or rest under its branches; and a soldier, tired as he may be with a long march, will rather wander farther on than pile his arms in its shade. ”

“ The tamarind trees grow here in great perfection, and the fruit of them is excellent, being much used in medicine, for which purpose they are very valuable, and the timber of the trees is very serviceable. ”

“ An object of great interest in this locality is the venerable tamarind tree on the south of the [Pg 198] temple, in the huge hollow trunk of which all the baby-monkeys are born. Around that tree young and old mothers may be seen, attending with the utmost maternal care on their young—nursing, feeding, or playing with them. The solicitude and anxious look of some of these for puny, sickly “babies” is most ludicrous to watch. ”

“ Till I went to Ashanti, between Christiansborg and Accra was the only bit of good road I had seen on the English coast of Guinea, and that was probably made by the Danes, for there is along part of it an avenue of fine old tamarind trees, which only this careful people would take the trouble to plant. They are slow-growing trees, I believe, and must be planted for shelter between other trees which may be cut down when the beautiful tamarinds grow old enough to take care of themselves. ”

“ The sherbet prepared from the fruit is excellent; the leaves and fruit are used medicinally. The natives are impressed with a notion that it is dangerous to sleep under the tamarind tree, especially during the night; grass or vegetation of any kind is seldom seen growing in such situations, and never with luxuriance. In times of scarcity the seeds are eaten by the poor ”

“ There are two varieties of this species. The East Indian variety has long pods, with six to twelve seeds. The variety cultivated in the West Indies has shorter pods, containing one to four seeds. Tamarinds owe their grateful acidity to the presence of citric, tartaric, and other vegetable acids. The pulp mixed with salt is used for a liniment by the Creoles of the Mauritius. Every part of the plant has had medicinal virtues ascribed to it. Fish pickled with tamarinds are considered a great delicacy. ”

“ The tamarind (Tamarindus officinalis) is found all over the country, and its pulpy pods make a wholesome and cooling drink. There are many other fruits which I have not tasted and cannot describe; but they are generally those that a stranger does not especially like, nor are they abundant. While our common garden vegetables can be easily raised, if kept from ants, especially from the ravages of the zompopos, there are few gardens that contain any of them.
With food for man, it is important to provide well for his faithful servants, horses, mules, and cattle. ”

“ Some villages at the west base of the mountain occupy a better soil, and are surrounded with richer cultivation; palms, mangos, and the tamarind, the first and last rare features in this part of Bengal, appeared to be common, with fields of rice and broad acres of flax and rape, through the latter of which the blue Orobanche indica swarmed. The short route to Maddaobund, through narrow rocky valleys, was impracticable for the elephants, and we had to make a very considerable detour, only reaching that village at 2 p.m. All the hill people we observed were a fine-looking athletic race ”

“ They contain a sweetish astringent pulp of a bright brown hue. When crushed and exposed to the heat of a water-bath, they emit a pleasant odour like sandal-wood. The pulp is coloured dark blackish green by perchloride of iron.
TAMARINDI PULPA.
Tamarindus, Fructus Tamarindi; Tamarinds; F. Tamarins; G. Tamarinden.
Botanical Origin—Tamarindus indica L.—The tamarind is a large handsome tree, growing to a height of 60 to 80 feet, and having abruptly pinnate leaves of 10 to 20 pairs of small oblong leaflets, constituting an abundant and umbrageous foliage. ”

“ Old wretched beggar-women, with their skeleton bodies and long white hair, are pursuing the budgerow, uttering their monotonous cries for charity. There is a tope of tamarind-trees that looks most inviting at Bar, and the tar or fan palms are remarkably fine—the natives say they are fifty cubits high. There are many spreading banyan-trees near this place, and the scenery of the interior looks very inviting. The large town and mart of Bar is on the right bank of the river, sixty miles above Monghir, and fifty below Dinapūr, a bye depôt for steamers’ coals ”

“ Tamarinds (Tamarindus indica, Linn.) (Tagálog, Sampáloc) are never planted for the sake of the fruit. The tree grows wild, and the fruit resembles a bean. Picked whilst green, it is used by the natives to impart a flavour to certain fish sauces. When allowed to ripen fully, the fruit-pod takes a light-brown colour—is brittle, and cracks all over under a slight pressure of the fingers. The whole of the ripe fruit can then be drawn out by pulling the bean-stalk. ”

“ At five o’clock we sailed from hence W., and then W.N.W.; made three miles, and followed the course of the river to S.W. As the sun sets, we seem to sail through a blooming park. On the right shore are isolated dark tamarinds, shining like gold, magnificent masses of creepers, and bowers of flowers on a green, grass ground, the blooming lotus shining through them. We extend our gaze across this island over the country, on the right shore, and perceive only a few tamarinds. ”

“ In a march of four hours from this point, we arrived at a hor, or ravine, when we halted beneath a large tamarind tree, and pitched the tent according to the instructions of our guide. The plain from the Settite to the base of the hilly range that we had crossed, is about twenty-two miles wide by forty in length, and, like all the table-land in this country, it is well adapted for cotton cultivation. Were the route secure through the Base country, loaded camels might reach Cassala in six days and from thence to Souakim. All this country is uninhabited. ”