The natives of Orissa, composed, as we have seen, of different tribes, of course do not all speak in one tongue, but though there are a score or more of dialects, there are only three principal vernacular languages spoken by the Orissans. 1. The Oriya, one of the Hindu fam- ily of languages, derived principally from the Sanscrit. This is spoken by the greater part of the Hindil popu- lation. 2. The Hindostani, derived principally from the Arabic and Persian, and spoken by the Moham- medans. 3. The Santal, with which may be classed the Bhumija, they both being dialects of the same lan- guage. The Oriya contains many religious and lit- erary works, some translated from the Sanscrit, and others original. Most of the religious books are poet- ical, and some of them possess a great degree of literary merit.
Jlissionari/ Labors. — Thus far comparatively little has been effected for Christianizing the natives of Oris- sa. The districts of Puru and Cuttack are occupied by the English General Baptist missionaries, who be- gan labors there in 1821. Although they had to wait six years for their first convert, many followed, and this mission is now in a flourishing condition. It has fur- nished many native teachers and preachers. To coun- teract, in some measure, the evils which were consequent upon the abandonment of caste, the missionaries have established Christian villages where the converts co- operate. A carefully executed version of the Bible into the Oriya tongue was prepared by Mr. Sutton, one of the missionaries. He also prepared a dictionary and a grammar. The district of Balasore is the site of the Free-will Baptist mission. This district lies on the west side of the Bay of Bengal. It is about eighty miles long, and on an average thirty or forty miles wide, and contains about 500,000 inhabitants. On its northern boundary lies a considerable tract belonging to the province of Bengal, which is inhabited bj- Oriyas.
OrJvNEY ISLANDS
446
ORLAY
The Free-will Bai)tists began their labors in 1835, and now ciiiiildv there 4 missionaries, 4 native preachers, 2 churches with 75 members, and several well-conducted schools. See Bachelcr, Jliiiduisni and Christianity in Orissa ; Sterling, Orissa ; Sutton, Narrative of the Oi-issa Mission; Hunter, Orissa under Native and Brit- ish Rule (1872, 2 vols. r2mo) ; Newcomb, Cyclop, of Missions, s. v. ; Chambers, Cyclop, s. v. ; Aikman, Ci/ctoj). of Christian Missions, p. 158, 339; Brit. Qu. Rev, Julv, i87-2. p. 120 sq.
Orkney Islands (Norse, Orkneyar, from orTc, "whale," and eyar, "islands;" Latin, Oi-cades), a com- pact group, separated from Caithness by the Pentland Firth, and counted a Scottish possession, are situated between 58° 41' 24" and 59° 23' 2" N. lat., and be- tween 2' 22' 2" and 3° 25' 10" W. long.; and cover an area of 244.8 square miles, or 1.56,672 acres. The surface is very irregular, and the land is indented by numerous arms of the sea. Previous to the middle of the last century the agriculture of Orkney was, in more than an ordinary degree for the time, in a primitive state. There was little communication then with the mainland, and improvements were slowly adopted. The spinning-wheel, for instance, was not introduced there for half a century after it was in use elsewhere. Until towards the end of last century, little advance seems to have been made in the management of the land, the inhabitants deeming it more important and profitable to direct their attention to the manufacture of kelp. They suffered periodically from bad seasons and vio- lent storms, when less help could be afforded to them from without. In recent times the agricultural and mechanical industries have been in a more healthy state, and their exports, which in 1848 amounted only to £49,308, now run up to £200,000 annually. The temperature of the Orkneys is comparatively mild, considering their northern latitude. This arises partly from the surrounding sea, but chiefly from the neigh- borhood of the Gulf Stream to the western shores. The mean temperature in February, the coldest month, tak- ing a series of tliirty-three years from 1826, was 38°, and in July 55.14°. Only twice during that period did the mean monthly temperature fall below the freezing-point, in February, 1838 and 1855, when it fell to 31° and 31.64°; and during the same period it was never so high as 60°, except in 1852, when it reached 60.64°. Of the 67 isl- ands, only about 40 are inhabited, by 31,274 (in 1871) people. The principal of these inhabited islands are Pomona, or Mainland, Hoy, North and South Konald- shay, Westray, Sanday, Eday, Stronsay, Rorsay, and Shapinshay. The chief towns are Kirkwall, the capital, and .Stromness.
History. — The Orkneys, under the name Orcades (whence the modern adjective Orcadian), are mentioned by the ancient geographers, Pliny, Ptolemy, Mela, and by other classical writers, but of their inhabitants we know almost nothing till the dawn of the Middle Ages. They were most probably of the same stock as the British Celts. From an early period, however, the Norsemen resorted to these islands, as a convenient spot from which to make a descent on the Scotch and Eng- lish coasts. In 87(i Harald Ilaarfager conquered both them and the Hebrides. During the greater part of the 10th century thej' were ruled by independent Scan- dinavian jarls (earls), but in 1098 they became formally subject to the Norwegian crown. Thus they remained till 1468, when they were given to James III of Scot- land as a security for the dowry of his wife, INIargarct of Denmark. The islands were never redeemed from this pledge; and in 1590, on the marriage of James I with the Danish princess Anne, Denmark formally re- signed all pretensions to the sovereignty of the Ork- neys. During their long connection, however, with Norway and Denmark, all traces of the primitive Celtic population disappeared, and the present inhabitants are of the pure Scandinavian stock.