Mahout

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Elephant taking bath with the help of mahouts in Kerala, South India

A mahout is a person who drives an elephant. The word mahout comes from the Hindi words mahaut and mahavat, derivatives of the Sanskrit word mahamatra, meaning "[one] having great measure."

Another term for mahout is cornac (as in French, from the Portuguese; kornak in Dutch and Polish, also a rather current last name), from the Singhalese kurawanayaka ('stable master' - also a former Hindu culture).

In Burma (Myanmar) the profession is called oozie, and in Thailand (Siam) kao-chang.

[edit] Description

Usually, a mahout starts as a boy in the 'family business' when he is assigned an elephant early in its life and they would be attached to each other throughout the elephant's life.

An elephant carrying Thidambu during Thrissur pooram temple festival in Kerala

The most common tool used by mahouts is a goad called anlius, or ankusha - a sharp hook used to guide a tamed elephant by prodding on the back of its head.

Sanskrit language distinguishes three types: Reghawan, who use love to control their elephants, Yukthiman, who use ingenuity to outsmart them and Balwan, those who control elephants with cruelty.

The job is described in detail in the on-line Mahout manual.

[edit] See also

• War elephant, for soldiers in the mahout role, often armed and combattant

[edit] Sources and references

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Elephant glossary