Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c41.s1.32

v3.c41.s1.32

² Pal is the term for a community of any of the aboriginal mountain races; its import is a ‘defile,’ or ‘valley,’ fitted for cultivation and defence. It is probable that Poligar may be a corruption of Paligar, or the region (*gar*) of these *Pals*. Palita, Bhilita, Philita are terms used by the learned for the Bhil tribes. Maina, Maira, Mairot all designate mountaineers, from Mair, or *Mer*, a hill. [The ‘Palita’ of the note is possibly from a vague recollection of the Phyllitai or ‘leaf-clad’ applied to some aboriginal tribes by Ptolemy (vii. 1. 66) (McCrindle, *Ptolemy*, 159 f.).]