| Mahout | |
|---|---|
| Mahout | |
| Country | Historical India |
| Branch | Cavalry (melee) |
%2c_f.117v_-_BL_Add._27255.jpg)
Amahout is anelephant rider, trainer, or keeper.[1] Mahouts were used since antiquity for both civilian and military use. Traditionally, mahouts came from ethnic groups with generations of elephant keeping experience, with a mahout retaining his elephant throughout its working life or service years.[2]
The wordmahout derives from theHindi wordsmahaut (महौत) andmahavat (महावत), and originally from theSanskritmahamatra (महामात्र).
Another term iscornac orkornak, which entered many European languages viaPortuguese. This word derives ultimately from the Sanskrit termkarināyaka, acompound ofkarin (elephant) andnayaka (leader). InKannada, a person who takes care of elephants is called amaavuta, and inTelugu the word used ismavati; this word is also derived from Sanskrit. InTamil, the word used ispahan, which means 'elephant keeper', and inSinhalakurawanayaka ('stable master'). InMalayalam the word used ispaappaan.
InBurma, the profession is calledu-si; inThailandkwan-chang (ควาญช้าง); and inVietnamquản tượng.
The most common tools used by mahouts are chains and theaṅkuśa (goad, alsoankus[3] oranlius) – a sharp metal hook used as guide in the training and handling of the elephant.[4]
InIndia, especiallyKerala, mahouts use three types of device to control elephants. Thethotti (hook), which is 3.5 feet in length and about 1 inch thick; thevaliya kol (long pole), which is 10.5 feet in length and about 1 inch in thickness; and thecheru kol (short pole).[5]
Elephants, and therefore also mahouts, have long been integral to politics and the economy throughout Southern and South-eastern Asia. The animals are given away per request of government ministers and sometimes as gifts. In addition to more traditional occupations, today mahouts are employed in many countries by forestry services and the logging industry, as well as in tourism.
Elephants can remember tone, melody, and words, allowing them to recognise more than 20 verbal commands.[6] TheSingapore Zoo featured a show called "elephants at work and play" until 2018, where the elephants' caretakers were referred to as "mahouts", and demonstrated how elephants are used as beasts of burden in south-east Asia. The verbal commands given to the elephants by the mahouts are all in Sinhala, one of the two official languages ofSri Lanka.
A shop display advertising "Mahout" cigarettes features prominently in the background of the "rain dance" sequence of the 1952Gene Kelly filmSingin' in the Rain. The word "mahout" also features in the lyrics of the song "Drop the Pilot", byJoan Armatrading.
George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" discusses the relationship of an elephant to its mahout: "It was not, of course, a wild elephant, but a tame one which had gone 'must.' It had been chained up, as tame elephants always are when their attack of 'must' is due, but on the previous night it had broken its chain and escaped. Its mahout, the only person who could manage it when it was in that state, had set out in pursuit, but had taken the wrong direction and was now twelve hours' journey away..."[7]
