Bango´rian Controversy, a controversy stirred up by a sermon preached before George I in 1717 by Dr. Hoadly, Bishop of Bangor, from the text "My kingdom is not of this world" (John, xviii, 36), in which the bishop contended in the most pronounced manner for the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom. The controversy was carried on with great heat for many years, and resulted in an enormous collection of pamphlets.
Bangs´ring. See Banxring.
Bangweo´lo, or Bangweulu, Lake, in South Africa, the southernmost of the great lake reservoirs of the Congo, heard of in 1798, was reached by Livingstone in 1868, an oval-shaped shallow sheet of water, said to be 150 miles in length along its greater axis, from east to west, and about 75 miles in width, but its exact limits are uncertain. It was first circumnavigated by Poulett Weatherley in 1896. See Congo.
Ban´ian, or Ban´yan, an Indian trader or merchant, one engaged in commerce generally, but more particularly one of the great traders of Western India, as in the seaports of Bombay, Kurrachee, &c., who carry on a large trade by means of caravans with the interior of Asia, and with Africa by vessels. They form a class of the Vaisya caste, wear a peculiar dress, and are strict in the observance of fasts and in abstaining from the use of flesh. Hence, Banian days, days in which sailors in the navy had no flesh meat served out to them. Banian days are now abolished, but the term is still applied to days of poor fare.
Banian Tree. See Banyan.
Ba´nim, John, an Irish novelist, dramatist, and poet, born in 1798, died 1842. His chief early work was a poem, The Celt's Paradise (1821). Having settled in London, he made various contributions to magazines and to the stage; but his fame rests on his novels, particularly the O'Hara Tales, in which Irish life is admirably portrayed. In these, as in some of his other publications, his brother, Michael Banim (born 1796, died 1874), had an important share, if not an equal claim to praise. The two brothers have been justly called 'the first national novelists of Ireland'.
Banishment. See Exile.
Ban´jarmassin, a district and town in the south-east of Borneo, under the government of the Dutch. The town is situated on an arm of the Banjar, about 14 miles above its mouth, in a marshy locality, the houses being built on piles, and many of them on rafts. Exports: pepper, benzoin, bezoar, ratans, dragon's-blood, birds'-nests, &c.; imports: rice, salt, sugar, opium, &c. Pop. 52,000, mostly Dyaks.
Ban´jo (a negro corruption of bandore; It. pandora, from Lat. pandura, a three-stringed instrument), the favourite musical instrument of the negroes of the Southern States of America. It is six-stringed, has a body like a tambourine and a neck like a guitar, and is played by stopping the strings with the fingers of the left hand and twitching or striking them with the fingers of the right. The upper or octave string, however, is never stopped. The banjo was introduced into England in 1846.