In reply to:
wallah is a parsee(?) term for 'by occupation'
The Parsees are a religious grouping rather than a linguistic one. They are the last remnants of the religion revealed to the human race by Zoroaster at(according to who you believe) the end of the 2nd millennium BCE or in the first half of the 1st millennium BCE. (Fortunately whether millennia begin or end in the year ending 00 is irrelevant here.) In a later form, which spread throughout the Roman Empire, it is called Mithraism, and the birthday of Mithras (as the Sun in one of his manifestations) was celebrated on Dec. 25th, hence the timing of our jollifications next week. After the fall of the Sassanid empire, some Persians fled to India where they preserved the old beliefs and the scriptures in Avestan, but for every day purposes use the language of their neighbours.
Bingley
