Note 16 — CHAPTER 1

Pal is the term for a community of any of the aboriginal mountain races; its import is a ‘defile,’ or ‘valley,’ fitted for cultivation and defence. It is probable that Poligar may be a corruption of Paligar, or the region (gar) of these Pals. Palita, Bhilita, Philita are terms used by the learned for the Bhil tribes. Maina, Maira, Mairot all designate mountaineers, from Mair, or Mer, a hill. [The ‘Palita’ of the note is possibly from a vague recollection of the Phyllītai or ‘leaf-clad’ applied to some aboriginal tribes by Ptolemy (vii. 1. 66) (McCrindle, Ptolemy, 159 f.).]