1878.—"This dammar, which is the general Malayan name for resin, is dug out of the forests by the Malays, and seems to be the fossilised juices of former growth of jungle."—McNair, Perak, &c., 188.
1885.—"The other great industry of the place (in Sumatra) is dammar collecting. This substance, as is well known, is the resin which exudes from notches made in various species of coniferous and dipterocarpous trees ... out of whose stem ... the native cuts large notches up to a height of 40 or 50 feet from the ground. The tree is then left for 3 or 4 months when, if it be a very healthy one, sufficient dammar will have exuded to make it worth while collecting; the yield may then be as much as 94 Amsterdam pounds."—H. O. Forbes, A Naturalist's Wanderings, p. 135.
DANA, s. H. dāna, literally 'grain,' and therefore the exact translation of [gram] in its original sense (q.v.). It is often used in Bengal as synonymous with gram, thus: "Give the horse his dāna." We find it also in this specific way by an old traveller:
1616.—"A kind of graine called Donna, somewhat like our Pease, which they boyle, and when it is cold give them mingled with course Sugar, and twise or thrise in the Weeke, Butter to scoure their Bodies."—Terry, in Purchas, ii. 1471.
DANCING-GIRL, s. This, or among the older Anglo-Indians, Dancing-Wench, was the representative of the (Portuguese Bailadeira) [Bayadère], or [Nautch]-girl (q.v.), also Cunchunee. In S. India dancing-girls are all Hindus, [and known as Devadāsī or Bhogam-dāsī;] in N. India they are both Hindu, called Rāmjanī (see [RUM-JOHNNY]), and Mussulman, called Kanchanī (see [CUNCHUNEE]). In Dutch the phrase takes a very plain-spoken form, see quotation from Valentijn; [others are equally explicit, e.g. Sir T. Roe (Hak. Soc. i. 145) and P. della Valle, ii. 282.]
1606.—See description by Gouvea, f. 39.
1673.—"After supper they treated us with the Dancing Wenches, and good soops of Brandy and Delf Beer, till it was late enough."—Fryer, 152.
1701.—"The Governor conducted the Nabob into the Consultation Room ... after dinner they were diverted with the Dancing Wenches."—In Wheeler, i. 377.
1726.—"Wat de dans-Hoeren (anders Dewataschi (Deva-dāsī) ... genaamd, en an de Goden hunner Pagoden als getrouwd) belangd."—Valentijn, Chor. 54.
1763-78.—"Mandelslow tells a story of a Nabob who cut off the heads of a set of dancing girls ... because they did not come to his palace on the first summons."—Orme, i. 28 (ed. 1803).