Chapter KOBANG to KOËL of K by The Hobson Jobson Dictionary

KOBANG to KOËL

KOBANG, s. The name (lit. ‘greater division’) of a Japanese gold coin, of the same form and class as the obang (q.v.). The coin was issued occasionally from 1580 to 1860, and its most usual weight was 222 grs. troy. The shape was oblong, of an average length of 2½ inches and width of 1½.

[1599.—“Cowpan.” See under TAEL.]

1616.—“Aug. 22.—About 10 a clock we departed from Shrongo, and paid our host for the howse a bar of Coban gould, vallued at 5 tais 4 mas. …”—Cocks’s Diary, i. 165.

„ Sept. 17.—“I received two bars Coban gould with two ichibos (see ITZEBOO) of 4 to a coban, all gould, of Mr. Eaton to be acco. for as I should have occasion to use them.”—Ibid. 176.

1705.—“Outre ces roupies il y a encore des pièces d’or qu’on appelle coupans, qui valent dix-neuf roupies. … Ces pièces s’appellant coupans parce-qu’elles sont longues, et si plates qu’on en pourroit couper, et c’est par allusion à notre langue qu’on les appellent ainsi.”—Luillier, 256–7.

1727.—“My friend took my advice and complimented the Doctor with five Japon Cupangs, or fifty Dutch Dollars.”—A. Hamilton, ii. 86; [ed. 1744, ii. 85].

1726.—“I gold Koebang (which is no more seen now) used to make 10 ryx dollars, 1 Itzebo making 2½ ryx dollars.”—Valentijn; iv. 356.

1768–71.—“The coins current at Batavia are the following:—The milled Dutch gold ducat, which is worth 6 gilders and 12 stivers; the Japan gold coupangs, of which the old go for 24 gilders, and the new for 14 gilders and 8 stivers.”—Stavorinus, E.T. i. 307.

[1813.—“Copang.” See under MACE.]

1880.—“Never give a Kobang to a cat.”—Jap. Proverb, in Miss Bird, i. 367.

KOËL, s. This is the common name in northern India of Eudynamys orientalis, L. (Fam. of Cuckoos), also called kokila and kokla. The name koil is taken from its cry during the breeding season, “ku- il, ku-il, increasing in vigour and intensity as it goes on. The male bird has also another note, which Blyth syllables as Ho-whee-ho, or Ho-a-o, or Ho-y-o. When it takes flight it has yet another somewhat melodious and rich liquid call; all thoroughly cuculine.” (Jerdon.)

c. 1526.—“Another is the Koel, which in length may be equal to the crow, but is much thinner. It has a kind of song, and is the nightingale of Hindustan. It is respected by the natives of Hindustan as much as the nightingale is by us. It inhabits gardens where the trees are close planted.”—Baber, p. 323.

c. 1590.—“The Koyil resembles the myneh (see MYNA), but is blacker, and has red eyes and a long tail. It is fabled to be enamoured of the rose, in the same manner as the nightingale.”—Ayeen, ed. Gladwin, ii. 381; [ed. Jarrett, iii. 121].

c. 1790.—“Le plaisir que cause la fraîcheur dont on jouit sous cette belle verdure est augmenté encore par le gazouillement des oiseaux et les cris clairs et perçans du Koewil. …”—Haafner, ii. 9.

1810.—“The Kokeela and a few other birds of song.”—Maria Graham, 22.

1883.—“This same crow-pheasant has a second or third cousin called the Koel, which deposits its eggs in the nest of the crow, and has its young brought up by that discreditable foster-parent. Now this bird supposes that it has a musical voice, and devotes the best part of the night to vocal exercise, after the manner of the nightingale. You may call it the Indian nightingale if you like. There is a difference however in its song … when it gets to the very top of its pitch, its voice cracks and there is an end of it, or rather there is not, for the persevering musician begins again. … Does not the Maratha novelist, dwelling on the delights of a spring morning in an Indian village, tell how the air was filled with the dulcet melody of the Koel, the green parrot, and the peacock?”—Tribes on My Frontier, 156.