☙

candy

See also kandi.

1

Also spelled kandy. In Burma, ? – 20th century, a unit of mass. According to the United Nations Statistical Bureau,¹ the candy = 18,000 pounds (approximately 8.165 metric tonnes). It is difficult to credit this value, as reliable earlier sources, such as Kelly (1835), say the candy was 500 pounds, which is consistent with its value in other countries.

1. United Nations 1966)

Technical Factors..., 1972, page 120.

2

Also spelled gandy. In Ceylon and later Sri Lanka, 20ᵗʰ century, a unit of mass used for copra, = 560 pounds (approximately 254.50 kilograms). Earlier Waverly reported it was in use for “native goods” at a value of 500 pounds, and equivalent to a bahar.

United Nations, 1966.

Technical Factors..., 1972, page 128.

3

In East India, 20ᵗʰ century (UN 1966), a unit of weight for rice and other grains, approximately 210.636 kilograms.

4

In India, the candy (khaṅḍí) was both a unit of weight and of capacity, depending on the locality and the commodity. Some of the more important candys commercially, were:

sources

1

Several inscriptions⁴⁶ refer just to kha which stands for khaṇḍuga or khaṇḍi. Khaṇḍuga and khaṇḍaga in Kannada is synonymous with khaṇḍi in Marathi and Gujarati.

At present khaṇḍuga is used in Kannaḍa and Telugu speaking areas as a weight of 192,200 tolas for silk, sugar, drugs and cotton. As a dry measure it varies from 409,600 (Belgaum), 134,440 (Mysore) and 128,000 tolas (Coorg) in different places. Khaṇḍi varies with different articles also. Khaṇḍi at Masilipatnam has three weights, namely 488 lbs. for tobacco, 500 lbs. for metals, hardware, etc., and 560 lbs. for sugar, dates and soft articles.⁴⁷ Generally 20 kolages are equivalent to a khaṇḍi. In the Portuguese records of the 17ᵗʰ century, it is spelt as canḍil.

46. SII, 247, 256, 281, 288. [South Indian Inscriptions]

47. JAHRS, XXXII, p. 111. [Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society]

Saradha Srnivasan.
Mensuration in Ancient India.
Delhi: Ajanta Publications, 1979.
Page 99.

2

Kanḍi, Tam., Mal. () A measure of weight : commonly, Kandy, but more correctly, Khandí, q. v.

H. H. Wilson, 1855, page 257.

Khaṇḍí, incorrectly, Kundee, Mar. (, from S[anskrit]. ) A measure of weight and capacity, commonly termed Candy (from the Tamil spelling Kandi, q. v.) : its value varies in different places : at Bombay it consists of twenty Bombay maunds, or, for particular substances, of only eight maunds ; at Poona it is of twenty Poona maunds, and varies, therefore, with the weight of the maund; in Malayalam it is equal to twenty-eight Tulams, or, corruptly, Telongs, or 500 lb.: according to Prinsep's tables the Candy of Anjengo is called 560 lb., that of Bombay also 560 lb., and that of Madras 500 lb. : in another statement it is said that in Malabar the Khandí is equal to 560 lb. for sea customs, and 480 lb. for land customs, while the country rate varies from 600 lb. to 720 lb. ; the latest statements make the Madras Khandí of 20 maunds 500 lb., the Bombay Khandí of 20 maunds 560 lb., the Surat of 20 maunds 746.666 lb., and the Travancore of 20 maunds 640 lb. The number of maunds varies, however, and with it, of course, the value of the Khandí.—Note by J. W. Crawford, Esq., Accountant-General, Bombay, 1840. In Malabar there is also a Khandí for timber about 2 feet 4 inches square ; and in the Maratha country there is a land measure termed, corruptly, Cundy, considered equal to 120 bíghás; but it varied formerly from 15 to 45 bíghás, and is also called 20 to 35: it also means, in Marathi, a score generally.

H. H. Wilson, 1855, pages 277-278.

3

The Madras Candy is equal to 500 lb. The Surat Candy is equal to 746¹⁄₃ lb.

The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China, and Australasia. Vol. 23. August, 1837.
London: Wm. H. Allen and Co., 1837.
Page 332.

Copyright © 2000-2014 Sizes, Inc.  All rights reserved.
Last revised: 27 February 2014.