VII

one another. But by far the largest class was that composed of Tamil, Telugu and North Indian indentured and freed labourers. The indentured labourers were those who went to Natal on an agreement to serve for five years, and came to be known there as girmitiyas from girmit , which was the corrupt form of the English word “agreement.” The other three classes had none but business relations with this class. Englishmen called them “coolies,” and as the majority of Indians belonged to the labouring class, all Indians were called “coolies,” or “ samis .” “ Sami ” is a Tamil suffix occurring after many Tamil names, and it is nothing else than the Samskrit Swami , meaning a master. Whenever, therefore, an Indian resented being addressed as a “ sami ” and had enough wit in him, he would try to return the compliment in this wise: “You may call me sami , but you forget that sami means a master. I am not your master!” Some Englishmen would wince at this, while others would get angry, swear at the Indian and, if there was a chance, would even belabour him; for “ sami ”