'The students were satisfied with his explanation, and their respect was increased for the good man who had thus taught them to see and to cherish the means of living peaceably with all mankind, whenever their actions do not tend to injure their religious faith, or infringe on the principles of morality and virtue.'
[1] See p. 158.
[2] For the right of the bride to her private property, see N.E.B. Baillie,Digest of Moohummudan Law(1875), 146 ff.
[3]Takht.
[4]Sachaq, the fruits and other gifts carried in procession in earthen pots ornamented with various devices.—Jaffur Shurreef,Qanoon-e-Islam, 73.
[5]Menhdi.
[6]Barat, barat: meaning 'bridegroom's procession'.
[7] Among the Khojas of West India a person from the lodge to which the parties belong recites the names of the Panjtan-i-pak, the five holy ones—Muhammad, 'Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, Husain—with the invocation: 'I begin the wedding of —— with ——, to wed as did Fatimah, the bright-faced Lady (on whom be peace!) with the Lord and Leader, the Receiver of the Testament of the Chosen and Pure, the Lord 'Ali, the son of Abu-Talib.'—Bombay Gazetteer, ix, part ii, 45.
[8]Pandan.
[9]Chilamchi.
[10]Lagan.
[11]Surahi.
[12]Rikab, 'a cup';patthari, 'made of stone'. China dishes are also supposed to betray poison: see J. Fryer,A New Account of East India and Persia(Hakluyt Society's edition), i. 87.
[13]Dulhin.
[14]Dulha.
[15]Menhdi: the henna plant,Lawsonia alba.
[16]Atishbazi, fire-play.
[17]Abrak, talc.
[18]Chaman, a flower-bed.
[19]Anna.
[20] Otto,'itrof roses.
[21] 'The dress of the bridegroom consisted entirely of cloth of gold; and across his forehead was bound a sort of fillet made of an embroidery of pearls, from which, long strings of gold hung down all over his face to his saddle-bow; and to his mouth he kept a red silk handkerchief closely pressed to prevent devils entering his mouth.'—Mrs. F. Parks,Wanderings of a Pilgrim, i. 438 f. This fillet is calledsihra, and it is intended to avert the influence of the Evil Eye and of demons.
[22] The officiating Mulla or Qazi lifts the bridegroom's veil, makes him gargle his throat three times with water, and seating him facing Mecca, requires him to repeat a prayer to Allah for forgiveness (istighfarullah); the four Qul, or chapters of theKorancommencing with the wordqul, 'say' (cix, cxii, cxiii, cxiv); the Kalima or Creed: 'There is no deity but Allah: Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah'; the Articles of Belief (Sifat-i-iman) in Allah, his Angels, the Scriptures, the Prophets, the Resurrection, and Day of Judgement. His absolute decree and predestination of Good and Evil; the Prayer of Obedience, said standing (du'a'l-qunut). If he be illiterate, the meaning of all these should be explained to him.—Jafnir Shurreef,Qanoon-e-Islam, 86.
[23] Mulla.
[24] The naarah is a cord of many threads dyed red and yellow; the moosul the heavy beam in use where rice is to be cleansed from the husks. The custom is altogether of Hindoo origin. [Author.] [When the condiment (ubtan), made of the flour of gram, mixed with oil and perfumes, which is rubbed on the bride and bridegroom, is being ground, the handle of the hand-mill is smeared with sandalwood paste, powder of a kind of nut (Vangueira spinosa), and some betel leaves; betel-nuts wrapped in a piece of new red cloth are tied to it. Then seven women, whose husbands are living, sit down to grind the condiment. Some raw rice is put in a red cloth, and with a parcel of betel-leaf is tied to the mill-handle with a thread (nara). Women pretend to beat it, and sing a marriage song. The rite is a form of fertility magic. The handle of the mill here represents the rice-pounder (musal) in the rite described in the text.—Bombay Gazetteer, ix, part i, 101; part ii, 163 f.[7]]
On the birth and management of children in Hindoostaun.—Increase of joy on the birth of a Son.—Preference generally shown to male children.—Treatment of Infants.—Day of Purification.—Offerings presented on this occasion to the child.—The anniversary of the birthday celebrated.—Visit of the father to the Durgah.—Pastimes of boys.—Kites.—Pigeons.—The Mhogdhur.—Sword-exercise.—The Bow and Arrows.—The Pellet-bow.—Crows.—Sports of Native gentlemen.—Cock-fighting.—Remarks upon horses, elephants, tigers, and leopards.—Pigeon-shooting.—Birds released from captivity on particular occasions.—Reasons for the extension of the royal clemency in Native Courts.—Influence of the Prime Minister in the administration of justice.
The bustle of a wedding in the family of a Mussulmaun having subsided, and the bride become familiar with her new relatives, the mother also reconciled to the separation from her child by the knowledge of her happiness,—for they are allowed frequent intercourse,—the next important subject which fills their whole hearts with hope and anxiety, is the expected addition to the living members of the family. Should this occur within the first year of their union, it is included in the catalogue of 'Fortune's favours', as an event of no small magnitude to call forth their joy and gratitude. Many are the trifling ceremonies observed by the females of this uneducated people, important in their view to the well-being of both mother and infant, but so strongly partaking of superstition that time would be wasted in speaking of them; I will therefore hasten to the period of the infant's birth, which, if a boy, is greeted by the warmest demonstrations of unaffected joy in the houses both of the parents of the bride and bridegroom. When a female child is born, there is much less clamourous rejoicing at its birth than when a son is added to honour the family;[1] but the good mother will never be dissatisfied with the nature of the gift, who can appreciate the source whence she receives the blessing. She rests satisfied that unerring Wisdom hath thus ordained, and bows with submission to His decree. She desires sons only as they are coveted by the father, and procure for the mother increased respect from the world, but she cannot actually love her infant less because it is a female.
The birth of a son is immediately announced by a discharge of artillery, where cannon are kept; or by musketry in the lower grades of the Native population, even to the meanest peasant, with whom a single match-lock proclaims the honour as effectually as the volley of his superiors. The women say the object in firing at the moment the child is born, is to prevent his being startled at sounds by giving him so early an introduction to the report of muskets; but in this they are evidently mistaken, since we never find a musket announcing the birth of a female child.[2] They fancy there is more honour attached to a house where are many sons. The men make them their companions, which in the present state of Mussulmaun society, girls cannot be at any age. Besides which, so great is the trouble and anxiety in getting suitable matches for their daughters, that they are disposed to be more solicitous for male than female children.
Amongst the better sort of people the mother very rarely nourishes her own infant; and I have known instances, when a wet-nurse could not be procured, where the infant has been reared by goals' milk, rather than the good lady should be obliged to fatigue herself with her infant. The great objection is, that in Mussulmaun families nurses are required to be abstemious in their diet, by no means an object of choice amongst so luxurious a people. A nurse is not allowed for the first month or more to taste animal food, and even during the two years—the usual period of supporting infancy by this nourishment—the nurse lives by rule both in quality and quantity of such food only as may be deemed essential to the well-being of the child.
The lower orders of the people benefit by their superiors' prejudices against nursing, and a wet-nurse once engaged in a family becomes a member of that house to the end of her days, unless she chooses to quit it herself.
On the fourth day after the birth of a son, the friends of both families are invited to share in the general joy testified by a noisy assembly of singing-women, people chattering, smell of savoury dishes, and constant bustle; which, to any other females in the world would be considered annoyances, but in their estimation are agreeable additions to the happiness of the mother, who is in most cases screened only by a curtain from the multitude of noisy visitors assembled to rejoice on the important event. I could not refrain, on one of these occasions, remarking on the injudicious arrangement at such a time, when I thought quiet was really needed to the invalid's comfort. The lady thought otherwise; she was too much rejoiced at this moment of her exaltation to think of quiet; all the world would know she was the mother of a son; this satisfied her for all that she suffered from the noisy mirth and increased heat arising from the multitude of her visitors, who stayed the usual time, three days and nights. The ladies, however, recover their strength rapidly. They are attended by females in their time of peril, and with scarcely an instance of failure. Nature is kind. Science has not yet stepped within the confines of the zeenahnah. All is Nature with these uneducated females, and as they are under no apprehension, the hour arrives without terror, and passes over without weakening fears. They trust in God, and suffer patiently. It may be questioned, however, whether their pains at that juncture equal those of females in Europe. Their figure has never been tortured by stays and whalebone; indeed, I do not recollect having met with an instance of deformity in the shape of any inhabitant of a zeenahnah.
On the ninth day the infant is well bathed,—I cannot call any of its previous ablutions a bath,[3]—then its little head is well oiled, and the fillet thrown aside, which is deemed necessary from the first to the ninth day. The infant from its birth is laid in soft beaten cotton, with but little clothing until it has been well bathed, and even then the dress would deserve to be considered more as ornamental covering than useful clothing; a thin muslin loose shirt, edged and bordered with silver ribands, and a small skull-cap to correspond, comprises their dress. Blankets, robes, and sleeping-dresses, are things unknown in the nursery of a zeenahnah. The baby is kept during the month in a reclining position, except when the nurse receives it in her arms to nourish it; indeed for many months the infant is but sparingly removed from its reclining position. They would consider it a most cruel disturbance of a baby's tranquillity, to set it up or hold it in the arms, except for the purpose of giving it nourishment.
The infant's first nourishment is of a medicinal kind, composed of umultass[4](cassia), a vegetable aperient, with sugar, and distilled water of aniseed; this is called gootlie,[5] and the baby has no other food for the first three days, after which it receives the nurse's aid. After the third day a small proportion of opium is administered, which practice is continued daily until the child is three or four years old.
The very little clothing on infants in India would of itself teach the propriety of keeping them in a reclining position, as the mere natural strength of the poor baby has nothing to support it by the aid of bandages or clothing. The nurse receives the baby on a thin pillow of calico quilted together, called gooderie;[6] it is changed us often us required, and is the only method as yet introduced amongst the Natives to secure cleanliness and comfort to their infants. In the cold season, when the thermometer may range from forty-five to fifty, the method of inducing warmth is by means of cotton or wadded quilts; flannel, as I have said before, they know not the use of. The children, however, thrive without any of those things we deem essential to the comfort of infancy, and the mamma is satisfied with the original customs, which, it may be supposed, are (without a single innovation) unchanged since the period of Abraham, their boasted forefather.
On the fortieth day after the infant's birth, the same rites are observed as by the Jews (with the exception of circumcision), and denominated, as with them, the Day of Purification. On this day the infant is submitted to the hands of the barber, who shaves the head, as commanded by their law. The mother bathes and dresses in her most costly attire. Dinner is cooked for the poor in abundance. Friends and relatives call on the mother to present nuzzas and offerings, and to bring presents to the child, after the manner of the wise men's offerings, so familiar to us in our Scriptures. The offerings to the child are often costly and pretty; bangles and various ornaments of the precious metals. The taawees[7] of gold and silver are tablets on which engraved verses from the Khoraun are inscribed in Arabic characters; these are strung on cords of gold thread, and suspended, when the child is old enough to bear their weight, over one shoulder, crossing the back and chest, and reaching below the hip on the opposite side; they have a remarkably good effect with the rich style of dressing Native children. In some of the offerings from the great people are to be observed precious stones set in necklaces, and bangles for the arms and ankles. All who visit at these times take something for the baby; it would be deemed an omen of evil in any one neglecting to follow this immemorial custom; not that they are avaricious, but that they are anxious for their infant's prosperity, which these tributes are supposed to indicate.[8]
The mother thus blessed with a darling son is almost the idol of the new family she has honoured; and when such a person happens to be an agreeable, prudent woman, she is likely to remain without a rival in her husband's heart, who has no inducement to add dhollie[9] wives to his establishment when his home is made happy to him by the only wife who can do him honour by the alliance.
The birthday of each son in a family is regularly kept. The term used for the occasion is Saul-girrah[10]—derived, from saul, a year, girrah, to tie a knot. The custom is duly maintained by tying a knot on a string kept for the purpose by the mother, on the return of her boy's birthday. The girls' years are numbered by a silver loop or ring being added yearly to the gurdonie,[11] or silver neck-ring. These are the only methods of registering the ages of Mussulmaun children.
The Saul-girrah is a day of annual rejoicing through the whole house of which the boy is a member; music, fireworks, toys, and whatever amusement suits his age and taste, are liberally granted to fill up the measure of his happiness; whilst his father and mother have each their assemblies to the fullest extent of their means. Dinner is provided liberally for the guests, and the poor are not neglected, whose prayers and blessings are coveted by the parents for their offspring's benefit; and they believe the blessings of the poor are certain mediations at the throne of mercy which cannot fail to produce benefits on the person in whose favour they are invoked.
The boy's nurse is on all occasions of rejoicing the first person to be considered in the distribution of gifts; she is, indeed, only second in the estimation of the parents to the child she has reared and nourished; and with the child, she is of more consequence even than his natural parents. The wet-nurse, I have said, is retained in the family to the end of her days, and whatever children she may have of her own, they are received into the family of her employer without reserve, either as servants or companions, and their interest in life regarded and watched over with the solicitude of relations, by the parents of the boy she has nursed.
At seven years old the boys are circumcised, as by their law directed. The thanksgiving when the child is allowed to emerge from confinement, gives rise to another jubilee in the family.
At Lucknow we see, almost daily, processions on their way to the Durgah (before described),[12] where the father conveys the young Mussulmaun to return thanks and public acknowledgements at the sainted shrine. The procession is planned on a grand scale, and all the male friends that can be collected attend in the cavalcade to do honour to so interesting an occasion.
When the prayer and thanksgiving have been duly offered in the boy's name at the Durgah, money is distributed amongst the assembled poor; and on the way home, silver and copper coins are thrown to the multitude who crowd around the procession. The scrambling and tumult on these occasions can only be relished by the Natives, who thus court popularity; but they rarely move in state without these scenes of confusion following in their train. I have witnessed thousands of people following the King's train, on his visiting the Durgah at Lucknow, when his Majesty and his Prime Minister scattered several thousands of rupees amongst the populace. The noise was deafening, some calling blessings on the King, others quarrelling and struggling to force away the prize from the happy one who had caught, in the passing shower, a rupee or two in his drapery. Some of the most cunning secure the prize in their mouths to save themselves from the plunderer; some are thrown down and trampled under foot; the sandy soil, however, renders their situation less alarming than such a calamity would be in London, but it is altogether a scene of confusion sufficient to terrify any one, except those who delight in their ancient customs without regarding consequences to individuals.
The amusements of boys in India differ widely from the juvenile sports of the English youth; here there are neither matches at cricket nor races; neither hoops nor any other game which requires exercise on foot. Marbles they have, and such other sports as suit their habits and climate, and can be indulged in without too much bodily exertion. They fly kites at all ages. I have seen men in years, even, engaged in this amusement, alike unconscious that they were wasting time, or employing it in pursuits fitted only for children. They are flown from the flat roofs of the houses, where it is common with the men to take their seat at sunset. They are much amused by a kind of contest with kites, which is carried on in the following manner. The neighbouring gentlemen, having provided themselves with lines, previously rubbed with paste and covered with pounded glass, raise their kites, which, when brought in contact with each other by a current of air, the topmost string cuts through the under one, when down falls the kite, to the evident amusement of the idlers in the streets or roadway, who with shouts and hurrahs seek to gain possession of the toy, with as much avidity as if it were a prize of the greatest value: however, from the numerous competitors, and their great zeal to obtain possession of it, it is usually torn to pieces. Much skill is shown in the endeavours of each party to keep his string uppermost, by which he is enabled to cut that of his adversary's kite.
The male population are great pigeon-fanciers, and are very choice in their breed, having every variety of the species they can possibly procure; some are brought from different parts of the world at an enormous expense. Each proprietor of a flock of pigeons knows his own birds from every other. They are generally confined in bamboo houses erected on the flat roofs of the mansions, where at early dawn and at sunset the owner takes his station to feed his pets and give them a short airing. Perhaps a neighbour's flock have also emerged from their cages at the same time, when mingling in the circuit round and round the buildings (as often happens), one or more from one person's flock will return home with those of another; in which case, they are his lawful prize for ever, unless his neighbour wishes to redeem the captives by a price, or by an exchange of prisoners. The fortunate holder, however, of such prize makes his own terms, which are perhaps exorbitant, particularly if he have any ill-will against the proprietor, or the stray pigeon happen to be of a peculiarly rare kind.[13] Many are the proofs of good breeding and civility, elicited on such occasions between gentlemen; and many, also, are the perpetuated quarrels where such a collision of interests happens between young men of bad feelings, or with persons having any previous dislike to each other.
The chief out-door exercise taken by the youth of India, is an occasional ride on horseback or the elephant. They do not consider walking necessary to health; besides which, it is plebeian, and few ever walk who can maintain a conveyance. They exercise the moghdhur[14] (dumb-bell) as the means of strengthening the muscles and opening the chest. These moghdhurs, much resembling the club of Hercules, are used in pairs, each weighing from eight to twenty pounds; they are brandished in various ways over the head, crossed behind, and back again, with great ease and rapidity by those with whom the art has become familiar by long use. Those who would excel in the use of the moghdhurs practise every evening regularly; when, after the exercise, they have their arms and shoulders plastered with a moist clay, which they suppose strengthens the muscles and prevents them from taking cold after so violent an exercise. The young men who are solicitous to wield the sabre with effect and grace, declare this practice to be of the greatest service to them in their sword exercise: they go so far as to say, that they only use the sword well who have practised the moghdhur for several years.
At their sword exercise, they practise 'the stroke' on the hide of a buffalo, or on a fish called rooey,[15] the scales of which form an excellent coat of mail, each being the size of a crown-piece, and the substance sufficient to turn the edge of a good sabre. The fish is produced alive from the river for this purpose; however revolting as the practice may appear to the European, it does not offend the feelings of the Natives, who consider the fish incapable of feeling after the first stroke; but, as regards the buffalo, I am told the most cruel inflictions have been made, by men who would try their blade and their skill on the staked animal without mercy.
The lance is practised by young men of good family as an exercise; and by the common people, as the means of rendering them eligible to the Native military service of India. It is surprising to witness the agility of some of the Natives in the exercise of the lance; they are generally good horsemen, and at full speed will throw the lance, dismount to recover it, and remount, often without stirrups, with a celerity inconceivable. I have seen them at these exercises with surprise, remembering the little activity they exhibit in their ordinary habits.
The Indian bow and arrow has greatly diminished as a weapon of defence in modern times; but all practise the use of the bow, as they fancy it opens the chest and gives ease and grace to the figure; things of no trifling importance with the Mussulmaun youth. I have seen some persons seated practising the bow, who were unable to bear the fatigue of standing; in those cases, a heavy weight and pulley are attached to the bow, which requires as much force in pulling as it would require to send an arrow from sixty to a hundred yards from the place they occupy.[16]
The pellet-bow is in daily use to frighten away the crows from the vicinity of man's abode; the pellets are made of clay baked in the sun, and although they do not wound they bruise most desperately. Were it not for this means of annoying these winged pests, they would prove a perfect nuisance to the inhabitants, particularly within the confines of a zeenahnah, where these impudent birds assemble at cooking-time, to the great annoyance of the cooks, watching their opportunity to pounce upon anything they may incautiously leave uncovered. I have often seen women placed as watchers with the pellet-bow, to deter the marauders the whole time dinner was preparing in the kitchen. The front of these cooking-rooms are open to the zeenahnah court-yard, neither doors, windows, nor curtains being deemed necessary, where the smoke has no other vent than through the open front into the court-yard.
The crows are so daring that they will enter the yard, where any of the children may be taking their meals (which they often do in preference to eating them under the confinement of the hall), and frequently seize the bread from the hands of the children, unless narrowly watched by the servants, or deterred by the pellet-bow. And at the season of building their nests, these birds will plunder from the habitations of man, whatever may be met with likely to make a soft lining for their nests; often, I am told, carrying off the skull-cap from the children's heads, and the women's pieces of calico or muslin from their laps when seated in the open air at work.
Many of the Natives are strongly attached to the brutal practice of cock-fighting; they are very choice in their breed of that gallant bird, and pride themselves on possessing the finest specimens in the world. The gay young men expend much money in these low contests: the birds are fought with or without artificial spurs, according to the views of the contending parties.[17] They have also a small bird which they call 'the buttaire',[18] a species of quail, which I hear are most valiant combatants; they are fed and trained for sport with much care and attention. I am told these poor little birds, when once brought to the contest, fight until they die. Many are the victims sacrificed to one mornings amusement of their cruel owners, who wager upon the favourite bird with a spirit and interest equal to that which may be found in more polished countries among the gentlemen of the turf.
Horse-racing has very lately been introduced at Lucknow, but I fancy the Natives have not yet acquired sufficient taste for the sport to take any great delight in it. As long as it is fashionable with European society, so long it may be viewed with comparative interest by the few. But their views of the breed and utility of a stud differ so much from those of a European, that there is but little probability of the sport of horse-racing ever becoming a favourite amusement with them,[19] When they are disposed to hunt, it is always on elephants, both for security and to save fatigue.
A horse of the finest temper, form, or breed, one that would be counted the most perfect animal by an English connoisseur, would be rejected by a Native if it possessed the slightest mark by them deemed 'unfortunate'. If the legs are not all of a colour, the horse is not worthy; if an unlucky turn of the hair, or a serpentine wave of another colour appears on any part of the animal, it is an 'omen of ill-luck' to the possessor, and must not be retained on the premises. A single blemish of the sort would be deemed by a Native gentleman as great a fault in an otherwise perfect animal, as if it could only move on three legs. The prejudice is so strongly grounded in their minds to these trifling marks, that they would not keep such horses in their stables one hour, even if it belonged to their dearest friend, fearing the evil consequences that might befall their house.[20]
The swiftness of a good English hunter would be no recommendation to a Native gentleman; he rides for pleasant exercise and amusement, and the pace therefore never exceeds the gentlest canter of an English lady's jennet. Many of their horses are trained to a pace I have never remarked in other countries; it is more than a walk but not quite a canter, the steps are taken very short, and is, I am assured, an agreeable exercise to the rider. I was once in possession of a strong hill pony, whose walk was as quick as the swiftest elephant; very few horses could keep up with him at a trot. The motion was very easy and agreeable, particularly suited to invalids in that trying climate.
The Native method of confining horses in their sheds or stables appears somewhat remarkable to a European. The halter is staked in the ground, and the two hind legs have a rope fastened to each; this is also staked in the ground behind. The ropes are left sufficiently long to allow of the animal lying down at his pleasure.
The food of horses is fresh grass, brought from the jungles daily, by the grass-cutters, who are kept solely for this purpose. In consequence of these men having to walk a distance of four or more miles before they reach the jungles, and the difficulty of finding sufficient grass when there, one man cannot procure more grass in a day than will suffice for one horse; the consequence is, that if a gentleman keep twenty horses, there are forty men to attend them; viz., twenty grooms, and as many grass-cutters. The grass of India, excepting only during the rainy season, is burnt up by the heat of the sun, in all exposed situations. In the jungles and forests of mango-trees, wherever there is any shade, the men search for grass, which is of a different species to any I have seen in Europe, called doob-grass,[21] a dwarf creeper, common throughout India; every other kind of grass is rejected by the horse; they would rather eat chaff in the absence of the doob-grass. The refuse of the grass given for food, answers the purpose of bedding; for in India straw is never brought into use, but as food for the cows, buffaloes, and oxen. The nature of straw is friable in India, perhaps induced by climate by the wise ordering of Divine Providence, of which indeed a reflecting mind must be convinced, since it is so essential an article for food to the cattle where grass is very scarce, excepting only during the season of rain.
When the corn is cut, the whole produce of a field is brought to one open spot, where the surface of the ground is hard and smooth; the oxen and their drivers trample in a continued circuit over the whole mass, until the corn is not only threshed from the husks, but the straw broken into fine chaff. They winnow it with their coarse blankets, or chuddahs[22] (the usual wrapper of a Native, resembling a coarse sheet), and house the separate articles in pits, dug in the earth, close to their habitations. Such things as barns, granaries, or stacks, are never seen to mark the abode of the Native farmers as in Europe.
An invading party could never discover the deposits of corn, whilst the Natives chose to keep their own secret. This method of depositing the corn and chaff in the earth, is the only secure way of preserving these valuable articles from the encroachment of white ants, whose visits to the grain are nearly as destructive, and quite as much dreaded, as the flights of locusts to the green blades.
The corn in general use for horses, sheep, and cattle, in called gram;[23] the flavour resembles our field pea much more than grain. It is produced on creepers, with pods; and bears a pretty lilac blossom, not unlike peas, or rather vetches, but smaller; the grain, however, is as large as a pea, irregularly shaped, of a dark brown skin, and pale yellow within. There are several other kinds of grain in use amongst the Natives for the use of cattle; one called moat,[24] of an olive green colour. It is considered very cooling in its nature, at certain seasons of the year, and is greatly preferred both for young horses and for cows giving milk.
Horses are subject to an infectious disease, which generally makes its appearance in the rainy season, and therefore called burrhsaatie.[25] Once in the stable, the disorder prevails through the stud, unless timely precautions are taken to prevent them being infected—removal from the stable is the most usual mode adopted—so easy is the infection conveyed from one animal to the other, that if the groom of the sick horse enters the stable of the healthy they rarely escape contagion. It is a tedious and painful disorder and in nine cases out of ten the infected animal either dies, or is rendered useless for the saddle. The legs break out in ulcers, and, I am informed, without the greatest care on the part of the groom, he is also liable to imbibe the corruption; if he has any cut or scratch on his hands, the disease may be received as by inoculation.
The Natives have the greatest aversion to docked-tailed horses, and will never permit the animals to be shorn of the beauty with which Nature has adorned them, either in length or fulness; besides which, they think it a barbarous want of taste in those who differ from them, though they fancy Nature is improved when the long tail and mane of a beautiful white Arab are dyed with mayndhie; his legs, up to the knees, stained with the same colour, and divers stars, crescents, &c., painted on the haunches, chest, and throat of the pretty gentle creature.[26]
When the horses are looking rough, the Natives feed them with a mixture of coarse brown sugar and ghee, which they say gives sleekness to the skin, and improves the constitution of the horse. When their horses grow old, they boil the gram with which they feed them, to make it easy of digestion; very few people, indeed, give corn at any age to the animal unsoaked, as they consider it injudicious to give dry corn to horses, which swells in the stomach of the animal and cannot digest: the grain swells exceedingly by soaking, and thus moistened, the horse requires less water than would be necessary with dry corn.
The numberless Native sports I have heard related in this country would take me too long to repeat at present; describe them I could not, for my feelings and views are at variance with the painful tortures inflicted on the brute creation for the perverted amusements of man, consisting of many unequal contests, which have sickened me to think they were viewed by mortals with pleasure or satisfaction. A poor unoffending antelope or stag, perhaps confined from the hour of its quitting its dam in a paddock, turned out in a confined space to the fury of a cheetah[27] (leopard) to make his morning's repast. Tigers and elephants are often made to combat for the amusement of spectators; also, tigers and buffaloes, or alligators. The battle between intoxicated elephants is a sport suited only for the cruel-hearted, and too often indulged. The mahouts[28] (the men who sit as drivers on the neck of the elephant) have frequently been the victims of the ignoble amusement of their noble masters; indeed, the danger they are exposed to is so great, that to escape is deemed a miracle. The fighting-elephants are males, and they are prepared for the sport by certain drugs mixed up with the wax from the human ear. The method of training elephants for fighting must be left to abler hands to describe. I have passed by places where the animal was firmly chained to a tree, in situations remote from the population of a city, as danger is always anticipated from their vicinity; and when one of these infuriated beasts break from their bonds, serious accidents often occur to individuals before they can again be secured.
Amongst the higher classes tigers and leopards are retained for field sports, under the charge of regular keepers. In many instances these wild inhabitants of the jungle are tamed to the obedience of dogs, or other domestic animals. I have often seen the young cubs sucking the teats of a goat, with which they play as familiarly as a kitten with its mother. A very intimate acquaintance of ours has several tigers and leopards, which are perfectly obedient to his command; they are led out by their keepers night and morning, but he always feeds them with his own hands, that he may thereby make them obedient to himself, when he sports in the jungles, which he often does with success, bringing home stags and antelopes to grace the board, and distribute amongst his English friends.
The tigers and cheetahs are very generally introduced after breakfast, when Native noblemen have European visitors. I remember on one of these occasions, these animals were brought into the banqueting-room, just as the self-performing cabinet organ had commenced a grand overture. The creatures' countenances were terrifying to the beholder, and one in particular could with great difficulty be reined in by his keepers. The Natives are, however, so accustomed to the society of tigers, that they smiled at my apprehension of mischief. I was only satisfied when they were forced away from the sounds that seemed to fill them with wonder, and perhaps with rage.
Pigeon-shooting is another amusement practised among the sporting men of Hindoostaun. I, of course, allude to the Mussulmauns, for most Hindoos hold it criminal to kill a crow, or even the meanest insect; and I have known them carry the principle of preserving life to the minutest insects, wearing crape or muslin over their mouths and noses in the open air, fearing a single animalcule that floats in the air should be destroyed by their breath. For the same reason, these men have every drop of water strained through muslin before it is used either for drinking or for cooking.[29]
There are people who make it a profitable means of subsistence to visit the jungles with nets, in order to collect birds, as pigeons, parrots, minas, &c.; these are brought in covered baskets to the towns, where they meet with a ready sale.
Many a basket have I delighted in purchasing, designing to rescue the pretty creatures from present danger. I am annoyed whenever I see birds immured in cages. If they could be trained to live with us, enjoying the same liberty, I should gladly court society with these innocent creatures; but a bird confined vexes me, my fingers itch to open the wicket and give the prisoner liberty. How have I delighted in seeing the pretty variegated parrots, minas, and pigeons fly from the basket when opened in my verandah! I have sometimes fancied in my evening walk that I could recognize the birds again in the gardens and grounds, which had been set at liberty in the morning by my hand.
The good ladies of India, from whom I have copied the practice of giving liberty to the captive birds, although different motives direct the action, believe, that if a member of their family is ill, such a release propitiates the favour of Heavenly mercy towards them.[30] A sovereign (amongst the Mussulmauns) will give liberty to a certain number of prisoners, confined in the common gaol, when he is anxious for the recovery of a sick member of his family; and so great is the merit of mercy esteemed in the creature to his fellow-mortal, that the birth of a son, a recovery from severe illness, accession to the throne, &c., are the precursors to royal clemency, when all prisoners are set at liberty whose return to society may not be deemed cruelty to the individual, or a calamity to his neighbours. I may here remark, the Mussulmaun laws do not allow of men being confined in prison for debt.[31] The government of Oude is absolute, yet to its praise be it said, during the first eight years of my sojourn I never heard of but one execution by the King's command; and that was for crimes of the greatest enormity, where to have been sparing would have been unjust.[32] In cases of crime such as murder, the nearest relative surviving is appealed to by the court of justice; if he demand the culprit's life, the court cannot save him from execution. But it is rarely demanded; they are by no means a revengeful people generally; there are ambitious, cruel tyrants to be found, but these individuals are exceptions to the mass of the people. Examples of mercy set by the King in all countries have an influence upon his subjects; and here the family of a murdered man, if poor, is maintained by the guilty party or else relieved by royal munificence, as the case may require. Acts of oppression may sometimes occur in Native States without the knowledge even, and much less by the command, of the Sovereign ruler, since the good order of the government mainly depends on the disposition of the Prime Minister for the time being. There is no check placed in the constitution of a Native government between the Prime Minister and his natural passions. If cruel, ambitious, or crafty, he practises all his art to keep his master in ignorance of his daily enormities; if the Prime Minister be a virtuous-minded person, he is subjected to innumerable trials, from the wiles of the designing and the ambitious, who strive by intrigue to root him from the favour and confidence of his sovereign, under the hope of acquiring for themselves the power they covet by his removal from office.
[1] When, a boy is born, the midwife, in order to avert the Evil Eye and evil spirits, says: 'It is only a girl blind of one eye!' If a girl is born, the fact is stated, because she excites no jealousy, and is thus protected from spirit attacks.
[2] This is intended to scare evil spirits, but has become a mere form ofannouncing the joyful event.
[3] After the first bath pieces of black thread are tied round the child'swrist and ankle as protection.
[4]Amaltas, Cassia fistula
[5] The purgative draught (guthl) is usually made of aniseed, myro-bolans, dried red rose leaves, senna, and the droppings of mice or goats.—Bombay Gazetteer, ix, part ii, 153.
[6]Gudri.
[7]Ta'awiz.
[8] Among the Khojahs of Bombay a stool is placed near the mother's bed, and as each, of the female relatives comes in she strews a little rice on the stool, lays on the ground a gold or silver anklet as a gift for the child, and bending over mother and baby, passes her hands over them, and cracks her finger-joints against her own temples, in order to take all their ill luck upon herself.—Bombay Gazetteer, ix, part ii, 45.
[9]Duli: see p. 184.
[10]Salgirahorbarasganth, 'year-knot'.
[11]Gardani.
[13] The Mahomedans are very keen on breeding pigeons in large numbers; they make them fly all together, calling out, whistling, and waving with a cloth fastened to the end of a stick, running and making signals from the terraced roofs, with a view of encouraging the pigeons to attack the flock of some one else…. Every owner is overjoyed in seeing his own pigeons the most dexterous in misleading their opponents.'—Manucci,Storia do Mogor, i. 107 f.
[14]Mugdar.
[15]Rohu, a kind of carp,Labeo rohita.
[16] The use of the bow and arrow has now disappeared in northern India, and survives only among some of the jungle tribes.
[17] A curious relic of the custom of cock-fighting at Lucknow survives in the picture by Zoffany of the famous match between the Nawab Asaf-ud-daula and Col. Mordaunt in 1786. The figures in the picture are portraits of the celebrities at the Court of Oudh, whose names are given by Smith,Catalogue of British Mezzotint Portrait, i. 273.
[18]Bater, Coturnix communis.
[19] Lucknow is now an important racing centre, and the Civil Service Cup for ponies has been won several times by native gentlemen.
[20] The feather or curl is one of the most important marks. If it faces towards the head, this is a horse to buy; if it points towards the tail, it is a 'female snake' (sampan), a bad blemish, as is a small star on the forehead. A curl at the bottom of the throat is very lucky, and cancels other blemishes. A piebald horse or one with five white points, a white face and four white stockings, is highly valued. The European who understands the rules can often buy an 'unlucky' horse at a bargain.
[21]Dub, Cynodon Dactylon.
[22]Chadar.
[23]Cicer arietinum: the word comes from Port,grão, a grain.
[24]Moth, the aconite-leaved kidney-bean,Phaseolus aconitifolius.
[25]Barsatifrombarsat, the rainy season; a pustular eruption breaking out on the head and fore parts of the body.
[26] The Native gentleman's charger, with his trained paces, his henna-stained crimson mane, tail, and fetlocks, is a picturesque sight now less common than it used to be.
[27]Chita, the hunting leopard.Felis jubata.
[28]Mahawat, originally meaning 'a high officer'.
[29] This specially applies to the Jain ascetics, who keep a brush to remove insects from their path, and cover their mouths with linen.
[30] A common piece of imitative magic: as the bird flies away it carries the disease with it. The practice of releasing prisoners when the King or a member of his family was sick, or as a thanksgiving on recovery, was common.—Sleeman,Journey, ii. 41.
[31] This is incorrect. Imprisonment for debt is allowed by Muhammadan Law.—Hughes,Dictionary of Islam, 82.
[32] This gives a too favourable account of the administration of justice in Oudh. 'A powerful landlord during the Nawabi could evict a tenant, or enhance his rent, or take away his wife from him, or cut his head off, with as much, or as little, likelihood of being called to account by Na zim or Chakladar for one act as for another' (H.C. Irwin,The Garden of India, 258). Gen. Sleeman points out that Musalmans wore practically immune from the death penalty, particularly if they happened to kill a Sunni. A Hindu, consenting after conviction to become a Musalman, was also immune (Journey Through Oudh, i. 135). Executions used constantly to occur in Lucknow under Nasir-ud-din (W. Knighton,Private Life of an Eastern King, 104).
Remarks on the trades and professions of Hindoostaun.—The Bazaars.—Naunbye (Bazaar cook).—The Butcher, and other trades.—Shroffs (Money-changers).—Popular cries in Native cities.—The articles enumerated and the venders of them described.—The Cuppers.—Leechwomen.—Ear-cleaners.—Old silver.—Pickles.—Confectionery.—Toys.—Fans.—Vegetables and fruit.—Mangoes.—Melons.—Melon-cyder.—Fish.—Bird-catcher.—The Butcher-bird, the Coel, and Lollah.—Fireworks.—Parched corn.—Wonder-workers.—Snakes.—Anecdote of the Moonshie and the Snake-catcher.—The Cutler.—Sour curds.—Clotted cream.—Butter.—Singular process of the Natives in making butter.—Ice.—How procured in India.—Ink.—All writing dedicated to God by the Mussulmauns.—The reverence for the name of God.—The Mayndhie and Sulmah.
The various trades of a Native city in Hindoostaun are almost generally carried on in the open air. The streets are narrow, and usually unpaved; the dukhauns[1] (shops) small, with the whole front open towards the street; a tattie[2] of coarse grass forming an awning to shelter the shopkeeper and his goods from the weather. In the long lines of dukhauns the open fronts exhibit to the view the manufacturer, the artisan, the vender, in every variety of useful and ornamental articles for general use and consumption. In one may be seen the naunbye[3] (bazaar cook) basting keebaubs[3] over a charcoal fire on the ground with one hand, and beating off the flies with a bunch of date-leaves in the other; beside him may be seen assistant cooks kneading dough for sheermaul[3] or other bread, or superintending sundry kettles and cauldrons of currie, pillau, matunjun,[3] &c., whilst others are equally active in preparing platters and trays, in order to forward the delicacies at the appointed hour to some great assembly.
The shop adjoining may probably be occupied by a butcher, his meat exposed for sale in little lean morsels carefully separated from every vestige of fat[4] or skin; the butcher's assistant is occupied in chopping up the coarser pieces of lean meat into mince meat.[5] Such shops as these are actually in a state of siege by the flies; there is, however, no remedy for the butcher but patience; his customers always wash their meat before it is cooked, so he never fails to sell even with all these disadvantages. But it is well for the venders of more delicate articles when neither of these fly-attracting emporiums are next door neighbours, or immediately opposite; yet if it even should be so, the merchant will bear with equanimity an evil he cannot control, and persuade his customers for silver shoes or other ornamental articles, that if they are not tarnished a fly spit or two cannot lessen their value.
The very next door to a working goldsmith may be occupied by a weaver of muslin; the first with his furnace and crucible, the latter with his loom, in constant employ. Then the snake-hookha manufacturer,[6] opposed to a mixer of tobacco, aiding each other's trade in their separate articles. The makers and venders of punkahs of all sorts and sizes, children's toys, of earth, wood, or lakh; milk and cream shops; jewellers, mercers, druggists selling tea, with other medicinal herbs. The bunyah[7] (corn-dealer) with large open baskets of sugar and flour, whose whiteness resembles each other so narrowly, that he is sometimes suspected of mixing the two articles by mistake, when certain sediments in sherbet indicate adulterated sugar.
It would take me too long were I to attempt enumerating all the varieties exposed in a Native street of shops. It may be presumed these people make no mystery of their several arts in manufacturing, by their choice of situation for carrying on their trades. The confectioner, for instance, prepares his dainties in despite of dust and flies, and pass by at what hour of the day you please, his stoves are hot, and the sugar simmering with ghee sends forth a savour to the air, inviting only to those who delight in the delicacies he prepares in countless varieties.
The most singular exhibitions in these cities are the several shroffs[8] (money-changers, or bankers), dispersed in every public bazaar, or line of shops. These men, who are chiefly Hindoos, and whose credit may perhaps extend throughout the continent of Asia for any reasonable amount, take their station in this humble line of buildings, having on their right and left, piles of copper coins and cowries.[9] These shroffs are occupied the whole day in exchanging pice for rupees or rupees for pice, selling or buying gold mohurs, and examining rupees; and to all such demands upon him he is entitled to exact a regulated per centage, about half a pice in a rupee. Small as this sum may seem yet the profits produce a handsome remuneration for his day's attention, as many thousands of rupees may have passed under his critical eye for examination, it being a common practice, both with shopkeepers and individuals, to send their rupees to the shroff for his inspection, always fearing imposition from the passers of base coin. These shroffs transact remittances to any part of India by hoondies,[10] which are equivalent to our bills of exchange, and on which the usual demand is two and a half per cent at ninety days, if required for any distant station.
The European order is here completely reversed, for the shopkeeper sits whilst the purchasers are compelled to stand. The bazaar merchant is seated on the floor of his dukhaun, near enough to the open front to enable him to transact business with his customers, who, one and all, stand in the street to examine the goods and to be served; let the weather be bad or good, none are admitted within the threshold of the dukhaun. In most places the shops are small, and look crowded with the articles for sale, and those where manufactories are carried on have not space to spare to their customers.
Very few gentlemen condescend to make their own purchases; they generally employ their confidential domestic to go to market for them; and with the ladies their women servants are deputed. In rich families it is an office of great trust, as they expend large sums and might be much imposed upon were their servants faithless. The servants always claim dustoor[11] (custom) from the shopkeepers, of one pice for every rupee they lay out; and when the merchants are sent for to the houses with their goods, the principal servant in the family is sure to exact his dustoor from the merchant; and this is often produced only after a war of words between the crafty and the thrifty.
The diversity of cries from those who hawk about their goods and wares in streets and roadways, is a feature in the general economy of the Natives not to be overlooked in my brief description of their habits. The following list of daily announcements by the several sonorous claimants on the public attention, may not be unacceptable with their translated accompaniments.
'Seepie wallah deelie sukha'[12] (Moist or dry cuppers).—Moist and dry cupping is performed both by men and women; the latter are most in request. They carry their instruments about with them, and traverse all parts of the city. The dry cupping is effected by a buffalo's horn and resorted to by patients suffering under rheumatic pains, and often in cases of fever, when to lose blood is either inconvenient on account of the moon's age, or not desirable by reason of the complaint or constitution of the patient.
'Jonk, or keerah luggarny wallie'[13] (The woman with leeches).—Women with leeches attend to apply the required remedy, and are allowed to take away the leeches after they have done their office. These women by a particular pressure on the leech oblige it to disgorge the blood, when they immediately place it in fresh water; by this practice the leeches continue healthy, and may be brought to use again the following day if required.
'Kaan sarf kerna wallah'[14] (Ear-cleaner).—The cleansing of ears is chiefly performed by men, who collecting this article make great profits from the sale of it, independent of the sums obtained from their employers. It is the chief ingredient in use for intoxicating elephants previous to the furious contests so often described as the amusement of Native Courts.
'Goatah chandnie bickhow'[15] (Sell your old silver trimmings).—The several articles of silver trimmings are invariably manufactured of the purest metal without any alloy, and when they have served their first purposes the old silver procures its weight in current rupees.
'Tale kee archah wallah'[16] (Oil pickles).—The method of pickling in oil is of all others in most request with the common people, who eat the greasy substance as a relish to their bread and dhall. The mustard-oil used in the preparation of this dainty is often preferred to ghee in curries.
The better sort of people prefer water pickle, which is made in most families during the hot and dry weather by a simple method; exposure to the sun being the chemical process to the parboiled carrots, turnips, radishes, &c., immersed in boiling water, with red pepper, green ginger, mustard-seed, and garlic. The flavour of this water pickle is superior to any other acid, and possesses the property of purifying the blood.
'Mittie wallah'[17] (Man with sweetmeats).—The many varieties of sweetmeats, or rather confectionery, in general estimation with the natives, are chiefly composed of sugar and ghee, prepared in countless ways, with occasional additions of cocoa-nut, pistachias, cardimuns, rose-water, &c., and constantly hawked about the streets on trays by men.
'Kallonie wallah'[18] (Man with toys).—Toys of every kind, of which no country in the world I suppose exhibits greater variety, in wood, lakh, uberuck[19] (tulk), paper, bamboo, clay, &c., are constantly cried in the streets and roadways of a Native city.
'Punkah wallah'[20] (Vender of fans).—The punkahs are of all descriptions in general use, their shape and material varying with taste and circumstances, the general form resembling hand-screens: they are made for common use of date-leaf, platted as the common mats are; some are formed of a single leaf from the tor[21]-tree, large or small, the largest would cover a tolerable sized round table; many have painted figures and devices, and from their lightness may be waved by children without much labour. I have seen very pretty punkahs made of sweet-scented flowers over a frame of bamboo. This, however, is a temporary indulgence, as the flowers soon lose their fragrance.
'Turkaaree', 'Mayvour'[22] (The first is vegetables; the last, fruit).—Vegetables of every kind and many sorts of fruits are carried about by men and women, who describe the name and quality of the articles they have to sell. It would occupy too large a space to enumerate here the several productions, indigenous and foreign, of the vegetable world in India. The Natives in their cookery, use every kind of vegetable and fruit in its unripe state. Two pounds of meat is in general all that is required to form a meal for twenty people, and with this they will cook several dishes by addition of as many different sorts of vegetables.
Herbs, or green leaves, are always denominated saag,[23] these are produced at all seasons of the year, in many varieties; the more substantial vegetables, as potatoes, turnips, carrots, &c., are called turkaaree.
The red and green spinach is brought to the market throughout the year, and a rich-flavoured sorrel, so delicious in curries, is cultivated in most months. Green peas, or, indeed, vegetables in general, are never served in the plain way in which we see them at our tables, but always in stews or curries. The green mango is used invariably to flavour their several dishes, and, at the proper season, they are peeled, cut, and dried for the year's consumption. They dislike the acid of the lemon in their stews, which is never resorted to when the green mango or tamarind can be procured.
The fruits of India in general estimation with the Natives are the mango and the melon. Mangoes are luscious and enticing fruit; the Natives eat them to an excess when they have been some hours soaked in water, which, they say, takes away from the fruit its detrimental quality; without this preparatory precaution those who indulge in a feast of mango are subject to fevers, and an increase of prickly heat, (a fiery irritable rash, which few persons are exempt from, more or less, in the hot weather); even biles, which equally prevail, are less troublesome to those persons who are careful only to eat mangoes that have been well soaked in water. The Natives have a practice, which is common among all classes, and therefore worthy the notice of foreigners, of drinking milk immediately after eating mangoes. It should be remembered that they never eat their fruit after dinner, nor do they at any time indulge in wine, spirits, or beer.
The mango in appearance and flavour has no resemblance to any of the fruits of England; they vary in weight from half an ounce to half a seer, nearly a pound; the skin is smooth, tough, and of the thickness of leather, strongly impregnated with a flavour of turpentine; the colour, when ripe, is grass green, or yellow in many shades, with occasional tinges and streaks of bright red; the pulp is as juicy as our wall-fruit, and the kernel protected by a hard shell, to which fine strong silky fibres are firmly attached. The kernel of the mango is of a hot and rather offensive flavour; the poor people, however, collect it, and when dried grind it into flour for bread, which is more wholesome than agreeable; in seasons of scarcity, however, it is a useful addition to the then scanty means of the lower orders of the people. The flavour of the fruit itself differs so much, that no description can be given of the taste of a mango—even the fruit of one tree vary in their flavour. A tope (orchard) of mango-trees is a little fortune to the possessor, and when in bloom a luxurious resort to the lovers of Nature.
The melon is cultivated in fields with great ease and little labour, due care always being taken to water the plants in their early growth. The varieties are countless, but the kind most esteemed, and known only in the Upper Provinces, are called chitlahs,[24] from their being spotted green on a surface of bright yellow; the skin is smooth and of the thickness of that of an apple; the fruit weighing from half-a-pound to three pounds. The flavour may be compared to our finest peaches, partaking of the same moist quality, and literally melting in the mouth.
The juice of the melon makes a delicious cider; I once tried the experiment with success. The Natives being prohibited from the use of all fermented liquors, I was induced by that consideration to be satisfied with the one experiment; but with persons who are differently situated the practice might be pursued with very little trouble, and a rich beverage produced, much more healthy than the usual arrack that is now distilled, to the deterioration of the health and morals of the several classes under the British rule, who are prone to indulge in the exhilarating draughts of fermented liquors.
At present my list of the indigenous vegetables of India must be short; so great, however, is the variety in Hindoostaun, both in their quality and properties, and so many are the benefits derived from their several uses in this wonderful country, that at some future time I may be induced to follow, with humility, in the path trodden by the more scientific naturalists who have laboured to enrich the minds of mankind by their researches.
The natives are herbalists in their medical practice. The properties of minerals are chiefly studied with the view to become the lucky discoverer of the means of transmuting metals; seldom with reference to their medicinal qualities. Quicksilver, however, in its unchanged state, is sometimes taken to renew the constitution.[25] One gentleman, whom I well knew, commenced with a single grain, increasing the number progressively, until his daily close was the contents of a large table-spoon; he certainly appeared to have benefited by the practice, for his appetite and spirits were those of a man at thirty, when he had counted eighty years.
'Muchullee'[26] (Fish).—Fish of several kinds are caught in the rivers and tanks; the flavour I can hardly describe, for, since I knew the practice of the Hindoos of throwing their dead bodies into the rivers the idea of fish as an article of food was too revolting to my taste. The Natives, however, have none of these qualms; even the Hindoos enjoy a currie of fish as a real delicacy, although it may be presumed some of their friends or neighbours have aided that identical fish in becoming a delicacy for the table.
There are some kinds of fish forbidden by the Mussulmaun law, which are, of course, never brought to their kitchens, as the eel, or any other fish having a smooth skin;[27] all sorts of shell-fish are likewise prohibited by their code. Those fish which have scales are the only sort allowable to them for food.
The rooey[28] is a large fish, and in Native families is much admired for its rich flavour; the size is about that of a salmon, the shape that of a carp; the flesh is white, and not unlike the silver mullet. The scales of this fish are extremely useful; which, on a tolerable sized fish, are in many parts as large as a crown-piece, and of a substance firmer than horn. It is not uncommon to see a suit of armour formed of these scales, which, they affirm, will turn the edge of the best metal, and from its lightness, compared with the chain armour, more advantageous to the wearer, though the appearance is not so agreeable to the eye.
'Chirryah wallah'[29] (Bird-man).—The bird-catcher cries his live birds fresh caught from the jungles: they seldom remain long on hand. I have before described the practice of letting off the birds, in cases of illness, as propitiatory sacrifices. The Natives take delight in petting talking-birds, minas and parrots particularly; and the bull-bull,[30] the subzah,[31] and many others for their sweet songs.
The numberless varieties of birds I have seen in India, together with their qualities, plumage, and habits, would occupy too much of my time at present to describe. I will here only remark a few of the most singular as they appeared to me. The butcher-bird,[32] so called from its habit, is known to live on seeds; yet it caters for the mina and others of the carnivorous feathered family, by collecting grasshoppers, which they convey in the beak to the thorny bushes, and there fix them on sharp thorns, (some of which are nearly two inches in length), and would almost seem to have been formed by Nature for this use only. The mina[33] follows his little friend's flight as if in the full assurance of the feast prepared for him.
The coel[34] is a small black bird, of extreme beauty in make and plumage; this bird's note is the harbinger of rain, and although one of the smallest of the feathered race, it is heard at a considerable distance.[35] The coel's food is simply the suction from the petals of sweet-scented flowers.
The lollah,[36] known to many by the name of haverdewatt, is a beautiful little creature, about one-third the size of a hedge sparrow. The great novelty in this pretty bird is, that the spots of white on its brown plumage change to a deep red at the approach of the rainy season; the Natives keep them by dozens in cages with a religious veneration, as their single note describes one of the terms in use to express an attribute of the Almighty.
But enough—I must hasten to finish my list of popular cries by the Indian pedlars, who roar out their merchandize and their calling to the inmates of dwellings bounded by high walls, whose principal views of the works of Nature and art are thus aided by those casual criers of the day.
'Artush-baajie'[37] (Fireworks).—Fireworks are considered here to be very well made, and the Native style much extolled by foreigners; every year they add some fresh novelty to their amusing pastime. They are hawked about at certain seasons, particularly at the Holie[38] (a festival of the Hindoos,) and the Shubh-burraat[39] of the Mussulmauns. Saltpetre being very reasonable, fireworks are sold for a small price. Most of the ingenious young men exercise their inventive powers to produce novelties in fireworks for any great season of rejoicing in their families.
'Chubbaynee'[40] (Parched corn).—The corn of which we have occasionally specimens in English gardens, known by the name of Indian corn, is here used as a sort of intermediate meal, particularly amongst the labouring classes, who cook but once a day, and that when the day's toil is over. This corn is placed in a sort of furnace with sand, and kept constantly moved about. By this process it is rendered as white as magnesia, crisp, and of a sweet flavour; a hungry man could not eat more than half-a-pound of this corn at once, yet it is not as nutritious as barley or wheat. I have never heard that the Natives use this corn for making bread.
'Tumaushbeen'[41] (Wonder-workers).—This call announces the rope-dancers and sleight-of-hand company; eating fire, swallowing pen-knives, spinning coloured yarn through the nose, tricks with cups and balls, and all the arts of the well-known jugglers. I have seen both men and women attached to these travelling companies perform extraordinary feats of agility and skill, also most surprising vaultings, by the aid of bamboos, and a frightful method of whirling round on the top of a pole or mast. This pole is from twenty to thirty feet high; on the top is a swivel hook, which fastens to a loop in a small piece of wood tied fast to the middle of the performer, who climbs the pole without any assistance, and catches the hook to the loop; at first he swings himself round very gently, but increasing gradually in swiftness, until the velocity is equal to that of a wheel set in motion by steam. This feat is sometimes continued for ten or fifteen minutes together, when his strength does not fail him; but it is too frightful a performance to give pleasure to a feeling audience.
'Samp-wallah'[42] (Snake-catchers).—These men blow a shrill pipe in addition to calling out the honourable profession of snake-catcher. I fancy it is all pretence with these fellows; if they catch a snake on the premises, it is probably one they have let loose secretly, and which they have tutored to come and go at the signal given: they profess to draw snakes from their hiding-place, and make a good living by duping the credulous.
The best proof I can offer of the impositions practised by these men on the weakness and credulity of their neighbours, may be conveyed in the following anecdote, with which I have been favoured by a very intelligent Mussulmaun gentleman, on whom the cheat was attempted during my residence in his neighbourhood at Lucknow.
'Moonshie Sahib,[43] as he is familiarly called by his friends, was absent from home on a certain day, during which period his wife and family fancied they heard the frightful sound of a snake, apparently as if it was very near to them in the compound (court-yard) of the zeenahnah. They were too much alarmed to venture from the hall to the compound to satisfy themselves or take steps to destroy the intruder if actually there. Whilst in this state of mental torture it happened (as they thought very fortunately) that a snake-catcher's shrill pipe was heard at no great distance, to whom a servant was sent; and when the ladies had shut themselves up securely in their purdahed apartment, the men servants were desired to introduce the samp-wallahs into the compound, to search for and secure this enemy to their repose.
'The snake-catcher made, to all appearance, a very minute scrutiny into every corner or aperture of the compound, as if in search of the reptile's retreat; and at last a moderate sized snake was seen moving across the open space in an opposite direction to the spot they were intent on examining. The greatest possible satisfaction was of course expressed by the whole of the servants and slaves assembled; the lady of the house was more than gratified at the reported success of "the charmers" and sent proofs of her gratitude to the men in a sum of money, proportioned to her sense of the service rendered on the occasion; the head samp-wallah placed the snake in his basket, (they always carry a covered basket about with them) and they departed well satisfied with the profits of this day's employment.
'The Moonshie says, he returned home soon after, and listened to his wife's account of the event of the morning, and her warm commendation of the skilful samp-wallahs; but although the servants confirmed all the lady had told her husband of the snake-charmers' diligence, still he could not but believe that these idle fellows had practised an imposition on his unwary lady by their pretended powers in charming the snake. But here it rested for the time; he could not decide without an opportunity of witnessing the samp-wallahs at their employment, which he resolved to do the next convenient opportunity.
'As might have been anticipated, the very same snake-catcher and his attendant returned to the Moonshie's gateway a very few days after their former success; Moonshie Sahib was at home, and, concealing his real intentions, he gave orders that the two men should be admitted; on their entrance, he said to them, "You say you can catch snakes; now, friends, if any of the same family remain of which you caught one the other day in this compound, I beg you will have the civility to draw them out from their hiding-places."[44]