DAMES, Mansel Longworth. Bath 1850 — Guildford, Surrey 8.1.1922. British Civil Servant, Baluchi Scholar and Historian of India. Son of Captain George Longworth Dames (of Irish background) and Caroline Amelia Brunswick. Passed the I.C.S. examination in 1868 and 1870 joined Bengal Civil Service. Served long time in Dera Ghazi Khan, where he could study Baluchi and Pashto. Retired in 1897 as Commissioner of Rawalpindi region. Married 1877 Mary Jane Ivens, one daughter. Beside folklore and language he was interested in Gandhāra art and Portuguese colonial history. Active member of the R.A.S. Married.
Publications: Books and articles on Indian history, numismatics, etc.
– A grammar and vocabulary of the northern Balochi Language. 171 p. JASB Extra No. Calcutta 1880.
– A Text Book of the Balochi language: consisting of miscellaneous stories, legends, poems and Balochi-English vocabulary. 1891, 2nd ed. 109 p. Lahore 1922.
– The Baloch Race: A Historical and Ethnological Sketch. 90 p. Asiatic Soc. Monogr. 4. London 1904.
– Popular Poetry of the Baloches. Vol. 1. 39+204 p. Asiatic Soc. Monogr. 9. London 1907.
– “The Coins of the Durrānīs”, NC 3:8, 1888, 325-363, 377f.; “Some Coins of the Mughal Emperors”, NC 4:2, 1902, 275-309; “The Mint of Kuraman”, JRAS 1908, 389-408.
– Translated: The Book of Duarte Barbosa. 1-2. 118+524 p. Hakluyt Soc. L. 1918-20.
– “The Portuguese and Turks in the Indian Ocean in the 16th century”, JRAS 1921, 1-28.
– Further articles in JASB, Folk-lore and JRAS; Reviews in Man.
Sources: W. Crooke, Folk-lore 33, 1922, 131f.; R.C. Temple & H.H. Howorth, JRAS 1922, 301-305; R.C. Temple, Man 22, 1922, 57f. with photo; Wikipedia; not in Br. Biogr. Arch. 1st & 2nd series.
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