国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

642   217. ELCIDAI

side of the Yellow River. Ning-hsia's importance dates from the time when it was walled and made the Hsi-Hsia capital towards 1020. It was then named A j'f j Hsing-chou, which was changed later to II ifR Hsing-ch'ing-fu and to r$t 1 jf Chung-hsing-fu (see also « Calacian »). The name of Ning-hsia was given to it in 1288 ( YS, 60, 12 b).

When Chinghiz-khan conquered the Hsi-Hsia capital later called Ning-hsia, the Hsi-Hsia sovereign sought refuge in Dörmägäi, named in the Secret History (§ 267) with the correct equivalence Ling-chou; this is the « Turmegei » of SCHMIDT, 508. Iryai is sometimes named along with Tämägätü (« [Place] with camels »), and SCHMIDT thought (p. 416) that Tämägätü was perhaps another form of Dörmägäi; but Tämägätü was the Mongol name of Yü-lin (inside the north-eastern corner of the great bend); cf TP, 1931-1932, 480. It is Dörmägäi which was misread « Deresgai » and « Derssekai » in Y, I, 281, and « Dersekai » in Ber, III, 95. Dörmägäi seems to be Mongolian; the word dörmägäi occurs in the Secret History (§ 276), with the translation hsia-têng, « inferior », « low class ». RAMSTEDT (Kalm. Wörterbuch, 992) gives a word dörrltkE, « violent », « excited », written Mong. *dörümkäi, probably the same word which is transcribed türimäkäi by KOVALEVSKIY, 19382, and translated « strong », « audacious »; but the meaning does not agree with that attributed to Dörmägäi in the Chinese translation. Another Kalmuck word, türrpki, written Mong. *türümkäi, means « poor », «miserable» (RAMSTEDT, lot. tit., 4162); although I do not know the true history of this word, I think it is the same as the dörmägäi of the Secret History.

217.  ELCIDAI elcidai F, L

«Elcidai» can represent two different names which have sometimes become confused, particularly in Chinese texts, to wit Al6idai and Äljigidäi; cf. Pel, 116, 117, 154. I do not doubt that the man meant here is the emir « Ildschidai » of Hal, I, 396, and Polo's spelling tends to show that his name ought to be transcribed El6idäi (? < Aicidai).

YULE has shown that this is the name that survives in « Mount Dely », properly « Monte d'Ely », a conspicuous promontory jutting into the sea some 16 miles north of Cananore (cf. Y, II, 386-388; Y1, I, 309; II, 115; Iv, 26, 74, 75; Hobson-Jobson2, 303; DAMES, Barbosa, II, 1-2). The Malayalam form is Eli, but the etymology is doubtful. YULE is certainly right in saying that « Dely » is a mis-