Note 44 — CHAPTER 26
Reading edition
Mom in the language of Egypt signifies ‘wax,’ says some ancient authority: so it is the usual name of that article in Persian. Mummy is probably thence derived. I remember playing a trick on old Silu, our khabardar [spy] at Sindhia’s camp, who had been solicited to obtain a piece of momiai for a chieftain’s wife. As we are supposed to possess everything valuable in the healing art, he would take no refusal; so I substituted a piece of indiarubber. [For the virtues of momiāi see Crooke, Popular Religion and Folklore of N. India, ii. 176 ff.]