Maund Explained

The maund, mun or mann (Bengali: Bengali: মণ; Urdu: Urdu: من) is the anglicized name for a traditional unit of mass used in British India, and also in Afghanistan, Persia, and Arabia:[1] the same unit in the Mughal Empire was sometimes written as mann or mun in English, while the equivalent unit in the Ottoman Empire and Central Asia was called the batman. At different times, and in different South Asian localities, the mass of the maund has varied, from as low as 25 pounds (11 kg) to as high as 160 pounds (72 kg): even greater variation is seen in Persia and Arabia.[2] [3]

History

In British India, the maund was first standardized in the Bengal Presidency in 1833, where it was set equal to 100 Troy pounds (82.28 lbs. av.). This standard spread throughout the British Raj.[4] After the independence of India and Pakistan, the definition formed the basis for metrication, one maund becoming exactly 37.3242 kilograms.[5] [6] A similar metric definition is used in Bangladesh and Nepal. Throughout Bangladesh, one মণ/mun/mann is 40 kg. In Nepal's southern plains one Mann equals 40 kilograms and is generally used to measure agricultural output.

The Old English, 'maund' may also be the origin of Maundy Thursday. As a verb, 'maund' : to beg; as a noun, 'a maund' : a small basket held out for alms.

South Asia

Delhi Sultanate

During the reign of Alauddin Khalji of the Delhi Sultanate, 1 mann was roughly equivalent to 15 kg.[7]

Mughal Empire

Prinsep (1840) summarizes the evidence as to the weight of the mun (later "maund") during the reign (1556–1605) of Akbar the Great,[8] which comes from the Ain-i-Akbari written by the vizier Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (anglicized as "Abul Fuzl"). The principal definition is that the mun is forty seers; and that each seer is thirty dams.

1 mun = 40 seers = 1200 damsThe problem arises in assigning the values of the smaller units.

The section of the Ain-i-Akbari that defines the mun also defines the dam as five tanks. A separate section defines the tank as twenty-four ruttees. However, by the 19th century, the tank was no longer a uniform unit across the former Mughal territories: Prinsep quotes values of 50 grains (3.24 g) in Darwar, 72 grains (4.67 g) in Bombay and 268 grains (17.37 g) in Ahmednugur.[8]

The jilály, a square silver rupee coin issued by Akbar, was said by the Ain-i-Akbari to be  mashas in weight: surviving jilály and other Mughal rupee coins weigh 170–175 Troy grains (11.02–11.34 g), so the masha, defined as eight ruttees, would be about  grains (1 g). Masha weights sent back to London in 1819 agree with this value.[9] This basis gives a mun of  lb. av. (15.75 kg). One Koni was 4 muns.[10]

However, in yet another section of the Ain-i-Akbari, the dam is said to be "twenty mashas seven ruttees": using this definition would imply an Imperial mass of about 47 lb. av. (21.3 kg) for the mun. Between these two values, the maund in Central India was often found to be around 40 lb. av. (18 kg) in the East India Company survey of 1821.

A Maund was 55.5 British pounds mass under Akbar.[11]

Nineteenth century

Prinsep's values for the maund come from a survey organized by the East India Company in 1821. The Company's agents were asked to send back examples of the standard weights and measures used in the places they were stationed, and these were compared with the English standards in London by Patrick Kelly, the leading British metrologist of the time. The results were published as an appendix to the second edition of Kelly's Universal Cambist (1831), and later as a separate book entitled Oriental Metrology (1832).

It will be seen from Kelly's results below that Prinsep's generalizations are only partially correct. The Gujarat maund is more closely related to the Central Indian maund than to the standardized Bombay maund, except in the town of Anjar, except that it is divided into 40 seers instead of 20 as was found in Malwa.

Central India and Gujarat

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Place[12] Sub-
division		ImperialMetric
kg
lb.oz.dr.
Ahmadābād, in Gujarat40 seersalign=right 42align=right 4align=right 13align=right 19.817
Amod, in Broach40 seersalign=right 40align=right 8align=right 12align=right
Anjar, in Cutch40 seersalign=right 27align=right 3align=right 8align=right
Bairseah, in Malwa40 seersalign=right 77align=right 1align=right 12align=right
Bārdoli, in Surat seers, 2 picealign=right 37align=right 4align=right align=right
Broach, in Gujarat40 seersalign=right 40align=right 8align=right 12align=right
Baroda, in Gujarat42 seersalign=right 44align=right 9align=right 10align=right
Cambay, in Gujarat40 seersalign=right 37align=right 8align=right 0align=right
Chanadore, Central Provinces64 seersalign=right 149align=right 12align=right 0align=right
Dewas, in Malwa64 seersalign=right 137align=right 8align=right 2align=right
Doongurpoor, in Rajputana40 seersalign=right 50align=right 1align=right 14align=right
Hānsot, in Broach40 seers, "market"align=right 38align=right 9align=right 9align=right
42 seers, for oilalign=right 40align=right 8align=right 6align=right
40 pergunna seersalign=right 39align=right 3align=right 10align=right
Indore, in Malwa20 seers, for grainalign=right 40align=right 8align=right 6align=right
40 seers, for opiumalign=right 81align=right 0align=right 12align=right
Jambusar, in Broach40 seers, "market"align=right 40align=right 6align=right 4align=right
42 seers, for cottonalign=right 42align=right 6align=right 9align=right
Kota, in Rajputana40 seersalign=right 30align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Kumbharia, in Surat40 seers 8 picealign=right 37align=right 13align=right 10align=right
Kurod, in Surat40 seers 15 picealign=right 37align=right 15align=right align=right
Malwa20 seersalign=right 40align=right 7align=right 8align=right
Mundissor, in Malwa15 seersalign=right 34align=right 4align=right align=right
Okalesur, in Broach40 seersalign=right 38align=right 8align=right 13align=right
40 seers, "pergunna"align=right 40align=right 6align=right 13align=right
Omutwara, in Malwa28 seersalign=right 54align=right 10align=right 8align=right
Oujein, in Malwa seersalign=right 33align=right 5align=right 13align=right
Pertabgurh, in Ajmer20 seersalign=right 38align=right 8align=right 14align=right
Rutlam, in Malwa20 seersalign=right 40align=right 7align=right 8align=right
Surat, in Gujarat40 seersalign=right 37align=right 8align=right 0align=right
Source: Kelly's Oriental Metrology (1832)

Bombay Presidency

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PlaceSub-
division		ImperialMetric
kg
lb.oz.dr.
Ahmadnagar40 seersalign=right 78align=right 15align=right 12align=right
Aurangabad40 seersalign=right 74align=right 10align=right 10align=right
Belgaum44 seersalign=right 26align=right 3align=right 15align=right
Bombay40 seersalign=right 28align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Carwar, in Kanara42 seersalign=right 26align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Dindoor64 seersalign=right 157align=right 10align=right 10align=right
Dukhun Poona seers, for ghee, etc.align=right 24align=right 10align=right align=right
14 seers, for metalsalign=right 27align=right 9align=right align=right
48 seers, for grainalign=right 94align=right 9align=right 8align=right
Goa (Portuguese)—align=right 24align=right 12align=right 0align=right
Jamkhair, in Ahmednagar64 seersalign=right 147align=right 10align=right 0align=right
Jaulnah, in Hyderabad40 seersalign=right 80align=right 2align=right 8align=right
Onore, in Kanara40–44 seersalign=right 25align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Poona seers, for ghee, etc.align=right 24align=right 10align=right align=right
14 seers, for metalsalign=right 27align=right 9align=right align=right
48 seers, for grainalign=right 94align=right 9align=right 8align=right
Roombharee, in Ahmednagar64 seersalign=right 160align=right 13align=right 8align=right
Source: Kelly's Oriental Metrology (1832)

Madras Presidency

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PlaceSub-
division		ImperialMetric
kg
lb.oz.dr.
Anjengo, in Travancore—align=right 28align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Bangalore, in Mysore40 seersalign=right 25align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Bellary, in Madras48 seersalign=right 25align=right 6align=right 0align=right
Calicut, in Malabar68 seersalign=right 34align=right 11align=right 11align=right
Cochin, in Malabar seersalign=right 27align=right 2align=right 11align=right
Coimbatoor, in Mysore40 seersalign=right 24align=right 1align=right 0align=right
Colachy, in Travancore125 pollumsalign=right 18align=right 12align=right 13align=right
Hyderabad, in Madras12 seers, "kucha"align=right 23align=right 13align=right 0align=right
40 seers, "pucka"align=right 79align=right 6align=right 0align=right
Madras40 seers, or 8 visalign=right 25align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Madura, in Carnatic39.244 seersalign=right 25align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Mangalore46 seers, "market"align=right 28align=right 2align=right 4align=right
46 seers, "Company's"align=right 28align=right 8align=right 13align=right
40 seers, for sugaralign=right 24align=right 7align=right 8align=right
Masulipatam, in Madras"kucha"align=right 35align=right 10align=right 0align=right
"pucka"align=right 80align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Negapatam, in Carnatic41.558 seersalign=right 25align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Pondicherry8 visalign=right 25align=right 14align=right align=right
Quilon, in Travancore25 old Dutch poundsalign=right 27align=right 5align=right 8align=right
Sankeridroog, in Carnatic41.256 seersalign=right 25align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Seringapatam40 seers, "kucha"align=right 24align=right 4align=right 8align=right
Tellicherry, in Malabar64 seersalign=right 32align=right 11align=right 0align=right
Tranquebar, in Coromandel68 Danish poundsalign=right 74align=right 12align=right 9.6align=right
Travancore, in Madras—align=right 25align=right 0align=right align=right
Trichinopoly, in Carnatic13.114 seersalign=right 25align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Vizagapatam, in Madras"kucha"align=right 35align=right 10align=right 0align=right
"pucka"align=right 80align=right 0align=right 0align=right
Source: Kelly's Oriental Metrology (1832)
Maund was known as Mudi in Tulu language

Bengal

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PlaceSub-
division		ImperialMetric
kg
lb.oz.dr.
Calcutta40 seersalign=right 82align=right 4align=right align=right
Luckipoor, in Bengalas Calcuttaalign=right 82align=right 4align=right align=right
Source: Kelly's Oriental Metrology (1832)

External links

Notes and References

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  6. Schedule 1 to the Standard Weights and Measures Act (No. 89 of 1956).
  7. Book: Satish Chandra . Satish Chandra . History of Medieval India: 800-1700 . 2014 . 2007 . Orient Longman . 978-81-250-3226-7 . 103 .
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  10. https://books.google.com/books?id=O2WSRW2t3XYC&dq=koni+mughal+weight&pg=PA73 Kashmir Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh
  11. Book: Narang. Kirpal Singh. Gupta. Hari Ram. History of the Pubnab, 1500-1858. 2nd.. 1969. U.C. Kapur. Delhi. 181.
  12. Kelly's transliterations of place names have been retained, but the transliterations of names of districts have been updated where possible.

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