Tag: Animal

[116]

In his 1631 treatise Historiae naturalis et medicae Indiae orientalis, Dutch physician and explorer Jacobus Bontius wrote, of a tribe he’d encountered in the jungles of what is now Indonesia, that “the Malays informed him that the X could talk, but preferred not to, lest they be compelled to labor.”*

Bontius’ mention of X was the Western world’s first introduction to the name of this tribe, a word that passed from Dutch to Portuguese to English and is still used today in slightly modified form – ironically, even speakers of modern Malay and Indonesian use the European corruption of the name, even though its etymology lies in Old Malay.

Who are the X?

*Considering Bontius was there as part of a Dutch East India Company expedition, this was probably a very good idea.

Show Answer
Orangutans. Orang hutan ("forest person" in Malay) originally referred to just people that lived in the forest, but had shifted in meaning to include the apes who shared the forest with them by the time Europeans showed up. The name was passed on from Dutch to Portuguese to English, losing the h and coalescing into a single word in the process. Modern Malay and Indonesian stole it right back, so native Indonesians also call them orangutans now.

[77]

Arjan Singh Nalva, was the fourth son of Hari Singh Nalva, the Commander-in-Chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army. After his father’s death, Arjan Singh continued the legacy and fought against the Britishers in the second Anglo-Sikh War.
The actions of Arjan were immortalized in a Punjabi folklore song & was entered into mainstream media through an Indian movie released in 2023.
Identify the song.

Show Answer
Arjan Vailly from Animal.
The folklore hero was known to take on multiple enemies with his battleaxe (much like the depiction in the movie)
Here's the Full Story