Glossary
[Note: Kinship terms may refer to any person of the appropriate gender and age.]
- akka
- older sister/woman
- amma
- mother
- anna
- (older) brother
- appa
- father
- arre
- “What!” “Hey!”
- atta
- attic
- avva
- mother, woman (respectful)
- ayyo
- a cry of distress, pain, surprise, anxiety, etc.
- badmash
- used to scold men or boys (borrowed from Hindi/Urdu)
- bava
- holy man
- bhappare
- can mean either “Well done!” or “Terrible!”
- Brahma
- Hindu god, especially of creation
- burning ghat
- cremation ground on a riverbank
- che, che
- expression of rejection or disapproval (cf. “No, no” or “tsk, tsk”)
- dasayya
- wandering holy man
- dhoti
- man's sarong-like lower garment
- duddu
- generic term for money, coins
- garuda
- bird, upon which the god Visnu rides
- gosavi
- wandering holy man
- gowda
- village headman (+re=honorific)
- Idiga:
- low caste, toddy-tappers
- Indra
- king of the gods, god of rain and clouds
- Kashi
- holy city of Benares
- Kshatriya
- warrior caste
- lakh
- 100,000
- Lakshmana
- epic hero, brother of Rama
- Lakshmi
- goddess of wealth, wife of Visnu
- naga
- snake
- ninga
- a variant of linga, the phallic image of Siva
- palla
- unit of measurement
- Parvati
- goddess, wife of Siva
- pativrata
- a faithful wife
- punya
- religious merit
- ragi
- a kind of grain
- rakshasa
- malevolent being, enemy of good, “demon”
- Rama
- epic hero
- rangoli
- geometric designs made on the ground with powder; part of a woman's housekeeping
- rishi
- a sage, holy man
- sadhu
- wandering holy man
- samsara
- cycle of birth and death; worldly life
- sanyasi
- wandering holy man
- saukar
- rich man
- Savitri
- mythological exemplar of the devoted wife
- Siva
- Hindu god
- swami
- holy man, god, master
- tapas
- religious austerities
- vina
- musical instrument
- yojana
- unit of measurement (cf. league)