Observations on the Mussulmauns of India Part 4

[9] _Mulaqat_.

[10] _Mimbar_, sometimes a wooden structure, sometimes of masonry.

[11] Green is the Sayyid colour (E.W. Lane, _Modern Egyptians_, i. 38).

But it is an innovation in Islam, and Sayyids in Al-Hijaz, as a general rule, do not wear a green turban (Burton, _Pilgrimage_, ii. 4).

[12] The spread hand designates the Sheah sect. There are times when holding up the spread hand declares the Sheah, whilst the Soonie is distinguished by his holding up three fingers only. In villages, the spread hand is marked on the walls where Sheahs reside during Mahurrum.

[_Author_.]

[The five spread fingers are regarded as emblematical of the Prophet, Fatimah, 'Ali, Hasan, and Husain. The Sunnis prefer three fingers, signifying the first three Caliphs. In its ultimate origin, the spread hand is a charm against demons and evil spirits.]

[13] _Maulavi_, a Muhammadan doctor of law, a judge.

[14] From Dhie, ten; Mudgelluss, a.s.sembling together for sacred purposes.

[_Author_.] or [_Dah_, or _Dahha majlis_ denotes the ten days of Muharram; see Sir L. Pelly, _The Miracle Play of Hasan and Husain_, i. 74.]

[15] Corrupted by Anglo-Indians into _Hobson-Jobson_, the t.i.tle of Sir H.

Yule's _Anglo-Indian Glossary_.

[16] _Matam_, 'mourning'.

[17] _Pan_, 'betel leaf'.

[18] Cardamom.

[19] _Dhaniya_ (_Coriandrum sativitm_).

[20] _Huqqah_, 'a water tobacco pipe'.

[21] _Marsiyah_, 'a funeral elegy'.

[22] _Palang_, a more pretentious piece of furniture than the _charpai_, or common 'cot'.

[23] _Masnad_, 'a thing leaned on', a pile of cushions; the throne of a sovereign.

[24] _Khichar_.

[25] _Khichri_, the 'Kedgeree' of Anglo-Indians.

[26] _Gota_.

[27] Catechu, Hindi _Kath_.

[28] _Batua_.

[29] _Jamdani_, properly a portmanteau for holding clothes (_Jama_): a kind of flowered cloth.

[30] _Nath_.

[31] _Joshan_, an ornament worn on the upper arm.

[32] _Pa[~e]jama_, 'leg clothing', drawers.

[33] _Dopatta_, a sheet made of two breadths of cloth.

[34] Amongst the Muhammadans the proportion of widows has declined steadily since 1881, and is now only 143 per mille compared with 170 in that year. It would seem that the prejudices against widow-marriages are gradually becoming weaker.--_Report Census of India_, 1911, i. 273.

[35] [~A]y[~a], from Portuguese _aia_, 'a nurse'.

[36] After much, entreaty, this humble zealot was induced to take a sweet lime, occasionally, to cool her poor parched mouth. She survived the trial, and lived many years to repeat her practised abstinence at the return of Mahurrum. [_Author_.]

[37] _Butkhanah_.

[38] This was a primitive Semitic taboo (Exodus iii. 5; Joshua v. 15, &c.).

The reason of this prohibition is that shoes could not be easily washed.--W.R. Smith, _Religion of the Semites_[2], 453.

[39] Mordaunt Ricketts was Resident at Lucknow between 1821 and 1830, when he was 'superannuated' owing to financial scandals, for the details of which see Sir G. Trevelyan, _Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay_, cap.

x; H.G. Keene, _Here and There_, 10; on November 1, 1824, he was married at Lucknow by Bishop Heber to the widow of George Ravenscroft, the civilian who was Collector of Cawnpore, and there embezzled large sums of money, the property of Government. He fled with his wife and child to Bhinga in Oudh, where, on May 6, 1823, he was murdered by Dacoits. The strange story is well told by Sleeman, _A Journey through the Kingdom of Oudh_, i. 112 ff.

[40] Persian _ustad, ustadji_, 'an instructor'.

[41] Lamentation for the dead was strictly prohibited by the Prophet; but, like all orientals, the Indian Musalmans indulge in it.

(_Mishkat_, i, chap, vii.)

[42] _Mulla_, the Persian form of Maulavi, 'a doctor of law'.

[43] It is a mistake to suppose that the procession of the Ta'ziya or Tabut is peculiar to India. It is practised in Persia and Egypt.

[44] The Prophet was obliged to make some compromise with idolatry, as in the case of the Black Stone at Mecca. But he protested against idols in one of the earliest Suurahs of the Koraan (lii 35-43), and in other pa.s.sages.

LETTER III

Continuation of Mahurrum.--Consecration of Banners.--Durgah at Lucknow.--Its origin explained.--Regarded with peculiar veneration.--The Nuwaub vows to build a new one.--Its description.--Procession to the Durgah.--Najoomies.--Influence possessed and practised by them.--Eunuchs.--Anecdotes of some having attained great honours and wealth.--Presents bestowed upon them generally revert to the donor.--Rich attire of male and female slaves.

After the Tazia is brought home (as the temporary ones are from the bazaar on the eve of Mahurrum, attended by a ceremonious display of persons, music, flags, flambeaux, &c.), there is little to remark of out-door parade beyond the continual activity of the mult.i.tude making the sacred visits to their several Emaum-baarahs, until the fifth day, when the banners are conveyed from each of them in solemn procession, to be consecrated at the Durgah[1] (literally translated, 'The threshold' or 'Entrance to a sanctified place').

This custom is perhaps exclusively observed by the inhabitants of Lucknow, where I have had the privilege of acquiring a knowledge of the motives which guide most of their proceedings; and as there is a story attached to the Durgah, not generally known to European visitors, I propose relating it here, as it particularly tends to explain the reasons for the Mussulmauns conveying their banners for consecration to that celebrated shrine.

'A native of India--I forget his name--remarkable for his devotion and holy life, undertook the pilgrimage to Mecca; whilst engaged in these duties at the "holy house", he was visited with a prophetic dream. Aba.s.s Ali (the standard-bearer and relation of Hosein) appeared to him in his dream, commanding him, that as soon as his duties at Mecca were fulfilled he should, without delay, proceed to Kraabaallah, to the tomb of Hosein; directing him, with great precision, how he was to find the exact spot of earth where was deposited the very Allum[2] (banner) of Hosein, which he (Aba.s.s Ali) had, on the great day of Kraabaallah, carried to the field.

The man was further instructed to possess himself of this relic secretly, and convey it about his person until he should reach his native country, when he would be more fully directed by the orderings of Providence how the relic should be disposed of.

'The Hadjee followed all the injunctions he had received punctually; the exact spot was easily discovered, by the impressions from his dream; and, fearing the jealousy of the Arabs, he used the utmost precaution, working by night, to secure to himself the possession of so inestimable a prize, without exciting their suspicion, or attracting the notice of the numerous pilgrims who thronged the shrine by day. After several nights of severe labour he discovered, to his great joy, the metal crest of the banner; and concluding the banner and staff to have mouldered away, from their having been so long entombed in the earth, he cautiously secreted the crest about his person, and after enduring the many vicissitudes and privations, attendant on the long journey from Arabia to India, he finally succeeded in reaching Lucknow in safety with his prize.

'The Nuwaub Asof ood Duolah[3] ruled at this period in Oude; the pilgrim made his adventures known to him, narrating his dream, and the circ.u.mstances which led to his gaining possession of the crest. The Nuwaub gave full credence to his story, and became the holder of the relic himself, rewarding the Hadjee handsomely for his trouble, and gave immediate orders for a small building to be erected under the denomination of "Huzerut Aba.s.s Ali Ke Durgah",[4] in which the crest was safely deposited with due honours, and the fortunate pilgrim was appointed guardian with a liberal salary.