Note 24 — Chapter V · MAGIC RITES CONNECTED WITH THE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS OF NATURE

Gĕndala, elsewhere mĕnala (v. infr.): (a) I can find nothing nearer to it in the dictionaries than gĕndala (with a cross-reference to kendala) in Klinkert, who explains it as meaning an obstacle or hindrance. If this is right it may perhaps be translated “Hold-fast,” as a euphemism for “snares”; (b) on the other hand, if, as seems most likely, mĕnala is the correct form, it may simply stand for mendala (= bandala, a bundle), and so mean “enter my sack”; (c) or it may even conceivably mean “enter my circle” (referring to the circular hut), from a Sanskrit word meaning circle or disc (v. Kl. s.v.). This, however, seems far-fetched, and perhaps (b) is the most natural explanation. ↑