Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/71

Rh Mēlnādu.— Mēlnādu, or Mēlnātar, meaning western country, is the name of a territorial sub-division of Kallan and Shānān.  Mēlu Sakkare.— A name, meaning western Sakkare, by which Upparas in Mysore style themselves. They claim descent from a mythical individual, named Sagara, who dug the Bay of Bengal. Some Upparas explain that they work in salt, which is more essential than sugar, and that Mēl Sakkara means superior sugar.  Mēman.— More than three hundred members of this Muhammadan class of Bombay traders were returned at the Madras Census, 1901. It is recorded, in the Bombay Gazetteer, that many Cutch Mēmans are prospering as traders in Kurrachee, Bombay, the Malabar coast, Hyderabad, Madras, Calcutta, and Zanzibar.  Menasu (pepper or chillies). — An exogamous sept of Kuruba, and gōtra of Kurni.  Mēnōkki (overseer). — Mēnōkki and Mēnōki have been returned, in the Travancore and Cochin Census Reports, as a sub-division of Nāyars, who are employed as accountants in temples. The name is derived from mēl, above, nōkki, from nōkkunnu to look after.  Mēnōn.— By Wigram,* Mēnōn is defined as "a title originally conferred by the Zamorin on his agents and writers. It is now used by all classes of Nāyars. In Malabar, the village karnam (accountant) is called Mēnōn." In the Travancore Census Report, 1901, Mēnōn is said to be "a contraction of Mēnavan (a superior person). The title was conferred upon several families by the Rāja of Cochin, and corresponds to 