1503.—"But Dom Vasco ... said that things must go on as they were to India, and there he would inquire into the truth. And so arriving in the Gulf (golfão) where the storm befel them, all were separated, and that vessel which steered badly, parted company with the fleet, and found itself at one of the first islands of Maldiva, at which they stopped some days enjoying themselves. For the island abounded in provisions, and the men indulged to excess in eating cocos, and fish, and in drinking bad stagnant water, and in disorders with women; so that many died."—Correa, i. 347.
[1512.—"Mafamede Maçay with two ships put into the Maldive islands (ilhas de Maldiva)."—Albuquerque, Cartas, p. 30.]
1563.—"R. Though it be somewhat to interrupt the business in hand,—why is that chain of islands called 'Islands of Maldiva'?
"O. In this matter of the nomenclature of lands and seas and kingdoms, many of our people make gerat mistakes even in regard to our own lands; how then can you expect that one can give you the rationale of etymologies of names in foreign tongues? But, nevertheless, I will tell you what I have heard say. And that is that the right name is not Maldiva, but Nalediva; for nale in Malabar means 'four,' and diva 'island,' so that in the Malabar tongue the name is as much as to say 'Four Isles.'... And in the same way we call a certain island that is 12 leagues from Goa Angediva (see [ANCHEDIVA]), because there are five in the group, and so the name in Malabar means 'Five Isles,' for ange is 'five.' But these derivations rest on common report, I don't detail them to you as demonstrable facts."—Garcia, Colloquios, f. 11.
1572.—"Nas ilhas de Maldiva." (See [COCO-DE-MER].)
c. 1610.—"Ce Royaume en leur langage s'appelle Malé-ragué, Royaume de Malé, et des autres peuples de l'Inde il s'appelle Malé-divar, et les peuples diues ... L'Isle principale, comme j'ay dit, s'appelle Malé, qui donne le nom à tout le reste des autres; car le mot Diues signifie vn nombre de petites isles amassées."—Pyrard de Laval, i. 63, 68, ed. 1679. [Hak. Soc. i. 83, 177.]
1683.—"Mr. Beard sent up his Couries, which he had received from ye Mauldivas, to be put off and passed by Mr. Charnock at Cassumbazar."—Hedges, Diary, Oct. 2; [Hak. Soc. i. 122].
MALUM, s. In a ship with English officers and native crew, the mate is called mālum sāhib. The word is Ar. mu'allim, literally 'the Instructor,' and is properly applied to the pilot or sailing-master. The word may be compared, thus used, with our 'master' in the Navy. In regard to the first quotation we may observe that Nākhuda (see [NACODA]) is, rather than Mu'allim, 'the captain'; though its proper meaning is the owner of the ship; the two capacities of owner and skipper being doubtless often combined. The distinction of Mu'allim from Nākhuda accounts for the former title being assigned to the mate.
1497.—"And he sent 20 cruzados in gold, and 20 testoons in silver for the Malemos, who were the pilots, for of these coins he would give each month whatever he (the Sheikh) should direct."—Correa, i. 38 (E.T. by Ld. Stanley of Alderley, 88). On this passage the Translator says: "The word is perhaps the Arabic for an instructor, a word in general use all over Africa." It is curious that his varied experience should have failed to recognise the habitual marine use of the term.
1541.—"Meanwhile he sent three [caturs] (q.v.) to the Port of the Malems (Porto dos Malemos) in order to get some pilot.... In this Port of the Bandel of the Malems the ships of the Moors take pilots when they enter the Straits, and when they return they leave them here again."[[159]]—Correa, iv. 168.