Observations on the Mussulmauns of India Part 19

[7] See p. 48.

[8] See p. 43.

[9] _Nalki_, a kind of litter, the use of which was regarded as a mark of dignity: see Sleeman, _Rambles_, p. 135.

[10] A coin worth, about Rs. 16.

[11] Haarh is a name given to any sort of ornament which we should designate a necklace. The haarhs presented on these occasions at the Oude court are composed of silver ribands very prettily platted and confined at each division of plats by k.n.o.bs covered with silver riband.

The prices of these haarhs are from five to twenty-five rupees each, depending on the size. [_Author_.] See p. 62.

[12] _'Itr_, essence of roses.

[13]_Khuda hafiz_.

[14] _Jhul_.

[15] _Shahji_, 'my lord'.

[16] _Chapkan_, the ca.s.sock-like frock, which is the usual dress of respectable natives.

[17] _Labada_, a sort of overcoat.

[18] _Kamarband_, 'loin-band'.

[19] _Lahaf_, a corruption of _ghilaf_, 'a wrapper'.

[20] _Rumal_, 'face-wiper'.

[21] _Zamindar_, 'a landowner'.

[22] _Ra'iyat_.

[23] Many native gentlemen are allowed to be seated in the king's presence at court daily, but not at the banquet, which is a distinction reserved only for the n.o.bility and favourites. [_Author_.]

[24] For an account of the animal fights before Lord W. Bentinck in 1831 see Mrs. F. Parks, _Wanderings of a Pilgrim_, i. 176 ff.; W. Knighton, _Private Life of an Eastern King_, p. 147 ff.

[25] _Nauroz_. Specially a Persian feast: see Sir J. Malcolm, _History of Persia_,[2] ii. 341 _n_., 404; S.G.W. Benjamin, _Persia and the Persians_, p. 198; O.J. Wills, _The Land of the Lion and the Sun_, ed.

1891, p. 48.

[26] _Nauroz mubarak_.

[27] Basant or spring feast, held at the vernal equinox.

[28] Sawan, the fourth month of the Hindu year, July-August.

[29] The feast is held in honour of the mythical Khwaja Khizr, 'the green one', a water spirit identified with the Prophet Elisha (see Sale on _Koran_, xviii. 63). The launching of the little boats is, in essence, a form of magic intended to carry away the evils which menace the community, and to secure abundant rainfall.

[30] _Ilyas ki kishti_.

[31] This is known as Hilal.

[32] The Semites, like other races, believed in the influence of the moon.

'The sun shall not strike thee by day, nor the moon by night' (Ps.

cxxi. 6). It was believed to cause blindness and epilepsy. Sir J.G.

Frazer has exhaustively discussed the question of the influence of the moon. The harvest moon, in particular, brings fertility, and hears the prayers of women in travail: the moon causes growth and decay, and she is dangerous to children. Many practical rules are based on her influence at the various phases (_The Golden Bough_[3] Part I, vol. ii, p. 128; Part IV, vol. ii, p. 132 ff.).

[33] 'The sixth house is Scorpio, which is that of slaves and servants, and of diseases' (Abul Fazl, _Akbarnama_, tr. H. Beveridge, ii. 12).

[34] Here the moon is supposed to exert a curative influence.

[35] Hindus believe that during an eclipse the moon is being strangled by a demon, Rahu. Cries are raised, drums and brazen pans are beaten to scare him.

[36] Properly the Mu'azzin or official summoner to prayer.

[37] _Allahu akbar_.

[38] All offerings of intercession or thanksgivings are denominated sutkah [_Author_] (_sadaqah_, see p. 136).

[39] Lime liniment, composed of equal parts of lime-water and a bland oil, is recognized in surgical practice.

[40] _Shab-i-bara'at_, 'the night of record', is a feast held on the 15th of the month Sha'ban, when a vigil is kept, with prayers and illuminations. On this occasion service in memory of the deceased ancestors of the family is performed. On this night the fortunes of mortals during the coming year are said to be recorded in Heaven. See p. 51.

[41] Al-Fatihah, 'the opening one', the first chapter of the Koran.

[42] _Mitha, mithai_, 'sweetmeats'.

[43] Imam Mahdi, see pp. 72, 76.

[44] _Ziyarat_, see p. 15.

[45] Compare the oracular trees of the Greeks (Sir J.G. Frazer, _Pausanias_, ii. 160). For legends of speaking trees in India, W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folklore of N. India_,[2] ii. 89.

LETTER XII

The Zeenahnah.--Its interior described.--Furniture, decorations, &c.--The Purdah (curtains).--Bedstead.--The Musnud (seat of honour).--Mirrors and ornamental furniture disused.--Display on occasions of festivity.--Observations on the Mussulmaun Ladies.--Happiness in their state of seclusion.--Origin of secluding females by Mahumud.--Anecdote.--Tamerlane's command prohibiting females being seen in public.--The Palankeen.--Bearers.--Their general utility and contentedness of disposition.--Habits peculiar to Mussulmaun Ladies.--Domestic arrangements of a Zeenahnah.--Dinner and its accompanying observances.--The Lota and Lugguns.--The Hookha.--Further investigation of the customs adopted in Zeenahnahs.

Before I introduce the ladies of a Mussulmaun zeenahnah to your notice, I propose giving you a description of their apartments.

Imagine to yourself a tolerably sized quadrangle, three sides of which is occupied by habitable buildings, and the fourth by kitchens, offices, lumber rooms, &c.; leaving in the centre an open court-yard. The habitable buildings are raised a few steps from the court; a line of pillars forms the front of the building, which has no upper rooms; the roof is flat, and the sides and back without windows, or any aperture through which air can be received. The sides and back are merely high walls forming an enclosure, and the only air is admitted from the fronts of the dwelling-place facing the court-yard. The apartments are divided into long halls, the extreme corners having small rooms or dark closets purposely built for the repository of valuables or stores; doors are fixed to these closets, which are the only places I have seen with them in a zeenahnah or mahul[1]

(house or palace occupied by females); the floor is either of beaten earth, bricks, or stones; boarded floors are not yet introduced.

As they have neither doors nor windows to the halls, warmth or privacy is secured by means of thick wadded curtains, made to fit each opening between the pillars. Some zeenahnahs have two rows of pillars in the halls with wadded curtains to each, thus forming two distinct halls, as occasion may serve, or greater warmth be required: this is a convenient arrangement where the establishment of servants, slaves, &c., is extensive.

The wadded curtains are called purdahs[2]; these are sometimes made of woollen cloth, but more generally of coa.r.s.e calico, of two colours, in patchwork style, striped, vand.y.k.ed, or in some other ingeniously contrived and ornamented way, according to their individual taste.