harmonious even in the mouth of the most vulgar and illiterate. It has justly been called the Italian of the East." Kōmatis are clever at learning languages other than their own. In the Tamil and Canarese districts, they are conversant with the languages thereof, and in Bombay they speak Marāthi. In the Ganjam and Vizagapatam Agencies, they speak the Kondh and Savara languages very fluently.
As a commercial caste, the Kōmatis have a secret trade language of their own, which is substantially the same all over the country. It will be seen from the tables given how complete their numerical tables are, ranging, as they do, from one pie to a thousand rupees. It will be observed that the rupee is represented by the word thēlupu, which means white. Some Tamil trading castes in like manner call the rupee vellē (white): —
- 1. Pie table.
| PIES. | PIES. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nakili batu | 1 | Rāyam batu | 4 |
| Ke batu | 2 | Rāyam nakili batu | 5 |
| Kēvu nakili batu | 3 |
- 2.Anna table
| ANNAS. | ANNAS. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Thāpi kamanālu | ¼ | Uddulam anālu | 3 |
| Nakili ana | ½ | Uddulam nakili anālu | 3½ |
| Kēv ana | 1 | Kungidu anālu | 4 |
| Kēvan nakili ana | 1½ | Sulalu anālu | 12 |
| Rāyam anālu | 2 |
The word sūlalu is connected with trisūlam, the trident emblem of Siva, and sometimes used to denote three annas.
