A word from Hindi, meaning "
the madness". It is known from Rudyard Kipling's work The
Jungle Book as a sickness known to be caused by the bite of a jackal,
potentially referring to some form of the rabies or another.
"Even the tiger runs when little Tabaqui goes mad, for madness is the most
disgraceful thing that can overtake a wild creature. We call it
hydrophobia, but they call it dewanee-the madness-and run." - Passage from the first page of The
Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling