Plurality of wives.--Mahumud's motive for permitting this
privilege.--State of society at the commencement of the Prophet's
mission.--His injunctions respecting marriage.--Parents invariably
determine on the selection of a husband.--First marriages attended by
a public ceremony.--The first wife takes precedence of all
others.--Generosity of deposition evinced by the Mussulmaun
ladies.--Divorces obtained under certain restrictions.--Period of
solemnizing marriage.--Method adopted in choosing a husband or
wife.--Overtures and contracts of marriage, how regulated.--Mugganee,
the first contract.--Dress of the bride elect on this occasion.--The
ceremonies described as witnessed.--Remarks on the bride.--Present
from the bridegroom on Buckrah Eade.
The Mussulmauns have permission from their Lawgiver to be pluralists in
wives, as well as the Israelites of old.[1] Mahumud's motive for
restricting the number of wives each man might lawfully marry, was, say
his biographers, for the purpose of reforming the then existing state of
society, and correcting abuses of long standing amongst the Arabians.
My authority tells me, that at the period of Mahumud's commencing his
mission, the Arabians were a most abandoned and dissolute people, guilty
of every excess that can debase the character of man: drunkards,
profligate, and overbearing barbarians, both in principle and action.
Mahumud is said unvariedly to have manifested kindly feelings towards the
weaker sex, who, he considered, were intended to be the companion and
solace of man, and not the slave of his ungovernable sensuality or caprice;
he set the best possible example in his own domestic circle, and
instituted such laws as were then needed to restrain vice and promote the
happiness of those Arabians who had received him as a Prophet. He forbade
all kinds of fermented liquors, which were then in common use; and to the
frequent intoxication of the men, were attributed their vicious habits,
base pursuits, and unmanly cruelty to the poor females. Mahumud's code of
laws relating to marriage restricted them to a limited number of wives;
for at that period they all possessed crowded harems, many of the
inhabitants of which were the victims of their reckless persecution; young
females torn from the bosom of their families and immured in the vilest
state of bondage, to be cast out upon the wide world to starvation and
misery, whenever the base master of the house or tent desired to make room
for a fresh supply, often the spoils of his predatory excursions.
By the laws of Mahumud his followers are restrained from concubinage; they
are equally restricted from forced marriages. The number of their wives
must be regulated by their means of supporting them, the law strictly
forbidding neglect, or unkind treatment of any one of the number his
followers may deem it convenient to marry.
At the period when Mahumud issued these necessary laws for the security of
female comfort and the moral habits of the males, there existed a practice
with the Arabs of forcing young women to marry against their inclination,
adding, year by year, to the many wretched creatures doomed, for a time,
to all the miseries of a crowded hut; and at last, when tired of their
persons or unable to provide them with sustenance, turning them adrift
without a home, a friend, or a meal. To the present day the law against
forced marriages is revered, and no marriage contract can be deemed lawful
without the necessary form of inquiry by the Maulvee, who, in the presence
of witnesses, demands of the young lady, 'whether the contract is by her
own free will and consent?' This, however, I am disposed to think, in the
present age, is little else than a mere form of 'fulfilling the law' since
the engagement is made by the parents of both parties, the young couple
being passive subjects to the parental arrangement, for their benefit as
they are assured. The young lady, from her rigid seclusion, has no prior
attachment, and she is educated to be 'obedient to her husband'. She is
taught from her earliest youth to look forward to such match as her kind
parents may think proper to provide for her; and, therefore, can have no
objection to accepting the husband selected for her by them. The parents,
loving their daughter, and aware of the responsibility resting on them,
are cautious in selecting for their girls suitable husbands, according to
their particular view of the eligibility of the suitor.
The first marriage of a Mussulmaun is the only one where a public display
of the ceremony is deemed necessary, and the first wife is always
considered the head of his female establishment. Although he may be the
husband of many wives in the course of time, and some of them prove
greater favourites, yet the first wife takes precedence in all matters
where dignity is to be preserved. And when the several wives meet--each
have separate habitations if possible--all the rest pay to the first wife
that deference which superiority exacts from inferiors; not only do the
secondary wives pay this respect to the first, but the whole circle of
relations and friends make the same distinction, as a matter of course;
for the first wife takes precedence in every way.
Should the first wife fortunately present her husband with a son, he is
the undisputed heir; but the children of every subsequent wife are equals
in the father's estimation. Should the husband be dissolute and have
offspring by concubines--which is not very common,--those children are
remembered and provided for in the distribution of his property; and, as
very often occurs, they are cherished by the wives with nearly as much
care as their own children; but illegitimate offspring very seldom marry
in the same rank their father held in society.
The latitude allowed by 'the law' preserves the many-wived Mussulmaun from
the world's censure; and his conscience rests unaccused when he adds to
his numbers, if he cannot reproach himself with having neglected or
unkindly treated any of the number bound to him, or their children. But
the privilege is not always indulged in by the Mussulmauns; much depends
on circumstances, and more on the man's disposition. If it be the happy
lot of a kind-hearted, good man to be married to a woman of assimilating
mind, possessing the needful requisites to render home agreeable, and a
prospect of an increasing family, then the husband has no motive to draw
him into further engagements, and he is satisfied with one wife. Many such
men I have known in Hindoostaun, particularly among the Syaads and
religious characters, who deem a plurality of wives a plague to the
possessors in proportion to their numbers.
The affluent, the sensualist, and the ambitious, are most prone to swell
the numbers in their harem. With some men, who are not highly gifted
intellectually, it is esteemed a mark of gentility to have several wives.
There are some instances of remarkable generosity in the conduct of good
wives (which would hardly gain credit with females differently educated),
not necessary to the subject before me; but I may here add to the praise
of a good wife among these people, that she never utters a reproach, nor
gives evidence by word or manner in her husband's presence that she has
any cause for regret; she receives him with undisguised pleasure, although
she has just before learned that another member has been added to his
well-peopled harem. The good and forbearing wife, by this line of conduct,
secures to herself the confidence of her husband; who, feeling assured
that the amiable woman has an interest in his happiness, will consult her
and take her advice in the domestic affairs of his children by other wives,
and even arrange by her judgment all the settlements for their marriages,
&c. He can speak of other wives without restraint,--for she knows he has
others,--and her education has taught her, that they deserve her respect
in proportion as they contribute to her husband's happiness. The children
of her husband are admitted at all times and seasons, without restraint or
prejudice; she loves them next to her own, because they are her husband's.
She receives the mothers of such children without a shade of jealousy in
her manner, and delights in distinguishing them by favours and presents
according to their several merits. From this picture of many living wives
in Mussulmaun society, it must not be supposed I am speaking of women
without attachment to their husbands; on the contrary, they are persons
who are really susceptible of pure love, and the generosity of their
conduct is one of the ways in which they prove themselves devoted to their
husband's happiness. This, they say, was the lesson taught them by their
amiable mother, and this is the example they would set for the imitation
of their daughters.
I do not mean to say this is a faithful picture of all the females of
zeenahnah life. The mixture of good and bad tempers or dispositions is not
confined to any class or complexion of people, but is to be met with in
every quarter of the globe. In general, I have observed those females of
the Mussulmaun population who have any claim to genteel life, and whose
habits are guided by religious principles, evince such traits of character
as would constitute the virtuous and thoroughly obedient wife in any
country; and many, whom I have had the honour to know personally, would do
credit to the most enlightened people in the world.
Should the first wife prove a termagant or unfaithful--rare occurrences
amongst the inmates of the harem,--the husband has the liberty of
divorcing her by paying down her stipulated dowry. This dowry is an
engagement made by the husband on the night of Baarraat[2] (when the
bridegroom is about to take his bride from her parents to his own home).
On which occasion the Maulvee asks the bridegroom to name the amount of
his wife's dowry, in the event of separation; the young man is at liberty
to name any sum he pleases. It would not prevent the marriage if the
smallest amount were promised; but he is in the presence of his bride's
family, and within her hearing also, though he has not yet seen her;--it
is a critical moment for him, thus surrounded. Besides, as he never
intends to separate from the lady, in the strict letter of the law, he
cannot refrain from gratifying those interested in the honour he is about
to confer by the value of the promised dowry, and, therefore, he names a
very heavy sum, which perhaps his whole generation never could have
collected in their joint lives. This sum would of itself be a barrier to
divorce; but that is not the only object which influences the Mussulmaun
generally to waive the divorce; it is because they would not publish their
own disgrace, by divorcing an unfaithful or undutiful wife.
If the first wife dies, a second is sought after on the same principle
which guided the first--'a superior to head his house'. In this case there
would be the same public display which marked the first wife's marriage;
all the minor or secondary wives being introduced to the zeenahnah
privately; they are in consequence termed Dhollie[3] wives, or brought
home under cover.
Many great men appear to be close imitators of King Solomon, with whose
history they are perfectly conversant, for I have heard of the sovereign
princes in Hindoostaun having seven or eight hundred wives at one time in
their palaces. This is hearsay report only, and I should hope an
exaggeration.[4]
The first marriage is usually solemnized when the youth is eighteen, and
the young lady thirteen, or fourteen at the most; many are married at an
earlier age, when, in the opinion of the parents, an eligible match is to
be secured. And in some cases, where the parents on both sides have the
union of their children at heart, they contract them at six or seven years
old, which marriage they solemnly bind themselves to fulfil when the
children have reached a proper age; under these circumstances the children
are allowed to live in the same house, and often form an attachment for
each other, which renders their union a life of real happiness.
There are to be found in Mussulmaun society parents of mercenary minds,
who prefer giving their daughters in marriage as dhollie wives to noblemen
or men of property, to the preferable plan of uniting them with a husband
of their own grade, with whom the girl would most likely live without a
rival in the mud-walled tenement; this will explain the facilities offered
to a sovereign or nobleman in extending the numbers of his harem.
Some parents excuse themselves in thus disposing of their daughters on the
score of poverty, and the difficulty they find in defraying the expenses
of a wedding: this I conceive to be one great error in the economy of the
Mussulmaun people,--unnecessary expense incurred in their marriage
ceremonies, which hampers them through life in their circumstances.
Parents, however poor, will not allow their daughter to be conveyed from
their home, where the projected union is with an equal, without a
seemingly needless parade of music, and a marriage-portion in goods and
chattels, if they have no fortune to give beside; then the expense of
providing dinners for friends to make the event conspicuous, and the
useless articles of finery for the girl's person, with many other ways of
expending money, to the detriment of the parents' finances, without any
very substantial benefit to the young couple. But this dearly-loved custom
cannot be passed over; and if the parents find it impossible to meet the
pecuniary demands of these ceremonies, the girl has no alternative but to
live out her days singly, unless by an agent's influence she is accepted
as a dhollie wife to some man of wealth.
Girls are considered to have passed their prime when they number from
sixteen to eighteen years; even the poorest peasant would object to a wife
of eighteen.
There has been the same difficulty to encounter in every age of Mussulmaun
history in Hindoostaun; and in the darker periods of civilization, the
obstacles to settling their daughters to advantage induced the villagers
and the uneducated to follow the example of the Rajpoots, viz., to destroy
the greater proportion of females at their birth. In the present age, this
horrid custom is never heard of amongst any classes of the Mussulmaun
population[5]; but by the Rajpoot Hindoos it is still practised, as one of
their chiefs very lately acknowledged in the presence of a friend of mine.
I have often heard Meer Hadjee Shaah declare that it was a common
occurrence within his recollection, among the lower classes of the people
in the immediate vicinity of Loodeeanah,[6] where he lived when a boy; and
that the same practice existed in the Oude territory, amongst the
peasantry even at a much later date. One of the Nuwaubs of Oude,--I think
Asoof ood Dowlah,--hearing with horror of the frequent recurrence of this
atrocity in the remote parts of his province, issued a proclamation to his
subjects, commanding them to desist from the barbarous custom[7]; and, as
an inducement to the wicked parents to preserve their female offspring
alive, grants of land were to be awarded to every female as a
marriage-portion on her arriving at a proper age.
It is generally to be observed in a Mussulmaun's family, even at this day,
that the birth of a girl produces a temporary gloom, whilst the birth of a
boy gives rise to a festival in the zeenahnah. Some are wicked enough to
say, 'It is more honourable to have sons than daughters', but I believe
the real cause is the difficulty to be encountered in settling the latter
suitably.
The important affair of fixing upon a desirable match for their sons and
daughters is the source of constant anxiety in the family of every
Mussulmaun, from the children's earliest years to the period of its
accomplishment.
There is a class of people who make it the business of their lives to
negotiate marriages. Both men and women of this description are of course
ingeniously expert in the art of talking, and able to put the best
colouring on the affair they undertake; they occupy every day of their
lives in roving about from house to house, and, as they have always
something entertaining to say, they generally gain easy admittance; they
make themselves acquainted with the domestic affairs of one family in
order to convey them to another, and so continue in their line of
gossiping, until the economy of every person's house is familiar to all.
The female gossip in her researches in zeenahnahs, finds out all the
expectations a mother entertains for her marriageable sons or daughters,
and details whatever she learns in such or such a zeenahnah, as likely to
meet the views of her present hostess. Every one knows the object of these
visits, and if they have any secret that the world may not participate in,
there is due caution observed that it may not transpire before this Mrs.
Gad-about.
When intelligence is brought, by means of such agency, to the mother of a
son who happens to be marriageable, that a lady of proper rank has a
daughter to be sought, she consults with her husband, and further
inquiries are instituted amongst their several friends, male and female;
after due deliberation, the connexion being found desirable, the father
will consult an omen before negotiations are commenced. The omen to decide
the important step is as follows:--Several slips of paper are cut up, on
half the number is written 'to be', on the other half, 'not to be'; these
papers are mixed together and placed under the prayer-carpet. When the
good Mussulmaun is preparing for his evening Namaaz he fails not in his
devotions to ask for help and guidance in an affair of so much importance
to the father as the happiness and well-being of his son. At the portion
of the service when he bows down his head to God, he beseeches with much
humility, calling on the great power and goodness of God to instruct and
guide him for the best interest of his child; and then he repeats a short
prayer expressive of his reliance on the wisdom of God, and his perfect
submission to whatever may be His wise decree in this important business.
The prayer concluded, he seats himself with solemn gravity on the
prayer-carpet, again and again imploring Divine guidance, without which he
is sure nothing good can accrue: he then draws one slip from under his
carpet; if 'to be' is produced, he places it by his left side;--a second
slip is drawn out, should that also bear the words 'to be' the business is
so far decided. He then offers thanks and praises to God, congratulates
his wife on the successful issue of the omen, and discusses those plans
which appear most likely to further the prospects of their dearly-loved
son. But should the second and third papers say 'not to be' he is assured
in his heart it was so decided by 'that Wisdom which cannot err:' to whom
he gives praise and glory for all mercies received at His hand: after this
no overture or negotiation would be listened to by the pious father from
the same quarter.[8]
The omen, however, proving favourable, the affair is decided; and in order
to gain the best possible information of the real disposition of all
parties concerned, a confidential friend is sent to the zeenahnah of the
young lady's mother to make her own observations on what passes within;
and to ascertain, if possible, whether the report brought by the female
agent was true or exaggerated; and finally, to learn if their son would be
received or rejected as a suitor, provided advances were made.
The female friend returns, after a day or two's absence, to the anxious
parents of the youth, and details all she has seen or heard during her
visit. The young lady may, perhaps, have been seen (this is not always
conceded to such visitors), in which case her person, her manners, her
apparent disposition, the hospitality and good breeding of the mother and
other members of the zeenahnah, are described; and lastly, it is hinted
that, all other things suiting, the young lady being yet disengaged, the
projected offer would not be disagreeable to her parents.
The father of the youth then resolves on sending a male agent in due form
to negotiate a marriage, unless he happens to be personally acquainted
with the girl's father; in which case the lady is desired to send her
female agent on the embassy, and the father of the youth speaks on the
subject in the meantime to the girl's father.
A very intimate friend of mine was seeking for a suitable match for her
son, and being much in her confidence, I was initiated in all the
mysteries and arrangements (according to Mussulmaun rule) of the affair
pending the marriage of her son.
The young lady to be sought (wooed we should have it), had been described
as amiable and pretty--advantages as much esteemed as her rank;--fortune
she had none worth mentioning, but it was what is termed in Indian society
a good and equal match. The overture was, therefore, to be made from the
youth's family in the following manner:
On a silver tray covered with gold brocade and fringed with silver, was
laid the youth's pedigree, traced by a neat writer in the Persian
character, on richly embossed paper ornamented and emblazoned with gold
figures. The youth being a Syaad, his pedigree was traced up to Mahumud,
in both paternal and maternal lines, and many a hero and Begum of their
noble blood filled up the space from the Prophet down to the youthful Meer
Mahumud, my friend's son.
On the tray, with the pedigree, was laid a nuzza, or offering of five gold
mohurs, and twenty-one (the lucky number) rupees; a brocaded cover,
fringed with silver, was spread over the whole, and this was conveyed by
the male agent to the young Begum's father. The tray and its contents are
retained for ever, if the proposal is accepted: if rejected, the parties
return the whole without delay, which is received as a tacit proof that
the suitor is rejected: no further explanation is ever given or required.
In the present instance the tray was detained, and in a few days after a
female from their family was sent to my friend's house to make a general
scrutiny of the zeenahnah and its inmates. This female was pressed to stay
a day or two, and in that time many important subjects underwent
discussion. The youth was introduced, and everything according with the
views entertained by both parties, the fathers met, and the marriage, it
was decided, should take place within a twelvemonth, when the young lady
would have accomplished her thirteenth year.
'Do you decide on having Mugganee[9] performed?' is the question proposed
by the father of the youth to the father of the young maiden. In the
present case it was chosen, and great were the preparations of my friend
to do all possible honour to the future bride of her son.
Mugganee is the first contract, by which the parties are bound to fulfil
their engagement at an appointed time.
The dress for a bride[10] differs in one material point from the general
style of Hindoostaunie costume: a sort of gown is worn, made of silver
tissue, or some equally expensive article, about the walking length of an
English dress; the skirt is open in front, and contains about twenty
breadths of the material, a tight body and long sleeves. The whole dress
is trimmed very richly with embroidered trimming and silver riband; the
deputtah (drapery) is made to correspond. This style of dress is the
original Hindoo fashion, and was worn at the Court of Delhi for many
centuries; but of late years it has been used only on marriage festivals
amongst the better sort of people in Hindoostaun, except Kings or Nuwaubs
sending khillauts to females, when this dress, called a jhammah,[11] is
invariably one of the articles.
The costly dresses for the present Mugganee my friend prepared at a great
expense, and with much good taste; to which were added a ruby ring of
great value, large gold ear-rings, offerings of money, the flower-garlands
for the head, neck, wrists, and ankles, formed of the sweet-scented
jessamine; choice confectionery set out in trays with the pawns and fruits;
the whole conveyed under an escort of soldiers and servants with a band of
music, from the residence of Meer Mahumud to that of his bride elect,
accompanied by many friends of the family. These offerings from the youth
bind the contract with the young lady, who wears his ring from that day to
the end of her life.
The poorer sort of people perform Mugganee by the youth simply sending a
rupee in a silk band, to be tied on the girl's arm.
Being curious to know the whole business of a wedding ceremony amongst the
Mussulmaun people, I was allowed to perform the part of 'officiating
friend' on this occasion of celebrating the Mugganee. The parents of the
young lady having been consulted, my visit was a source of solicitude to
the whole family, who made every possible preparation to receive me with
becoming respect; I went just in time to reach the gate at the moment the
parade arrived. I was handed to the door of the zeenahnah by the girl's
father, and was soon surrounded by the young members of the family,
together with many lady-visitors, slaves, and women-servants of the
establishment. They had never before seen an English-woman, and the
novelty, I fancy, surprised the whole group; they examined my dress,
my complexion, hair, hands, &c., and looked the wonder they could not
express in words. The young Begum was not amongst the gazing throng;
some preliminary customs detained her behind the purdah, where it may
be supposed she endured all the agony of suspense and curiosity by her
compliance with the prescribed forms.
The lady of the mansion waited my approach to the dulhaun[12] (great hall)
with all due etiquette, standing to receive and embrace me on my advancing
towards her. This ceremony performed, I was invited to take a seat on the
musnud-carpet with her on the ground; a chair had been provided for me,
but I chose to respect the lady's preference, and the seat on the floor
suited me for the time without much inconvenience.
After some time had been passed in conversation on such subjects as suited
the taste of the lady of the house, I was surprised at the servants
entering with trays, which they placed immediately before me, containing a
full-dress suit in the costume of Hindoostaun. The hostess told me she had
prepared this dress for me, and I must condescend to wear it. I would have
declined the gaudy array, but one of her friends whispered me, 'The custom
is of long standing; when the face of a stranger is first seen a dress is
always presented; I should displease Sumdun Begum by my refusal;--besides,
it would be deemed an ill omen at the Mugganee of the young Bohue[13] Begum
if I did not put on the Native dress before I saw the face of the bride
elect.' These I found to be weighty arguments, and felt constrained to
quiet their apprehensions of ill-luck by compliance; I therefore forced
the gold dress and the glittering drapery over my other clothes, at the
expense of some suffering from the heat, for it was at the very hottest
season of the year, and the dulhaun was crowded with visitors.
This important point conceded to them, I was led to a side hall, where the
little girl was seated on her carpet of rich embroidery, her face resting
on her knees in apparent bashfulness. I could not directly ascertain
whether she was plain, or pretty as the female agent had represented. I
was allowed the privilege of decorating the young lady with the sweet
jessamine guinahs,[14] and placing the ring on the forefinger of the right
hand; after which, the ear-rings, the gold-tissue dress, the deputtah were
all in their turn put on, the offering of money presented, and then I had
the first embrace before her mother. She looked very pretty, just turned
twelve. If I could have prevailed on her to be cheerful, I should have
been much gratified to have extended my visit in her apartment, but the
poor child seemed ready to sink with timidity; and out of compassion to
the dear girl, I hurried away from the hall, to relieve her from the
burden my presence seemed to inflict, the moment I had accomplished my
last duty, which was to feed her with my own hand, giving her seven pieces
of sugar-candy; seven, on this occasion, is the lucky number, I presume,
as I was particularly cautioned to feed her with exactly that number of
pieces.
Returning to the assembly in the dulhaun, I would have gladly taken leave;
but there was yet one other custom to be observed to secure a happy omen
to the young people's union. Once again seated on the musnud with Sumdun
Begum,[15] the female slaves entered with sherbet in silver basins. Each
person taking sherbet is expected to deposit gold or silver coins in the
tray; the sherbet-money at this house is collected for the bride; and when
during the three days' performance of the marriage ceremony at the
bridegroom's house sherbet is presented to the guests, the money collected
there is reserved for him. The produce of the two houses is afterwards
compared, and conclusions drawn as to the greatest portion of respect paid
by the friends on either side. The poor people find the sherbet-money a
useful fund to help them to keep house; but with the rich it is a mere
matter to boast of, that so much money was collected in consequence of the
number of visitors who attended the nuptials.
After the Mugganee ceremony had been performed, and before the marriage
was solemnized, the festival of Buckrah Eade occurred;--in the eleventh
Letter you will find it remarked, the bride and bridegroom elect then
exchange presents;--my friend was resolved her son's presents should do
honour to both houses, and the following may give you an idea of an
Eade-gift.
Thirty-five goats and sheep of the finest breed procurable, which I
succeeded in having sent in their natural dress, instead of being adorned
with gold-cloth and painted horns: it was, however, with some persuasion
the folly of this general practice was omitted in this instance.
The guinah or garland, of flowers on a tray covered with brocade. The
guinah are sweet-scented flowers without stalks, threaded into garlands in
many pretty ways, with great taste and ingenuity, intermixed with silver
ribands; they are formed into bracelets, necklaces, armlets, chaplets for
the head, and bangles for the legs. There are people in Lucknow who make
the preparing of guinahs a profitable business, as the population is so
extensive as to render these flower-ornaments articles of great request.
A tray filled with pawns, prepared with the usual ingredients, as lime,
cuttie[16] (a bitter gum), betel-nut, tobacco, spices, &c.; these pawns
are tied up in packets of a triangular form and covered with enamelled
foil of many bright colours. Several trays of ripe fruits of the season,
viz., kurbootahs[17] (shaddock), kabooza[18] (melons), ununas[19] (pine
apple), guavers,[20] sherreefha[21] (custard-apple), kummeruck,[22]
jarmun[23] (purple olives), orme[24] (mango), falsah,[25] kirhnee,[26]
baer,[27] leechie,[28] ormpeach,[29] carounder,[30] and many other kinds
of less repute.
Confectionery and sweetmeats, on trays, in all the varieties of Indian
invention; a full-dress suit for the young lady; and on a silver tray the
youth's nuzza of five gold mohurs, and twenty-one rupees.
The Eade offering of Meer Mahumud was escorted by servants, soldiers, and
a band of music; and the young lady returned a present to the bridegroom
elect of thirty-five goats and sheep, and a variety of undress skull-caps,
supposed to be her own work, in spangles and embroidery. I may state here,
that the Natives of India never go bare-headed in the house. The turban is
always worn in company, whatever may be the inconvenience from heat; and
in private life, a small skull-cap, often of plain white muslin, just
covers the head. It is considered disgraceful in men to expose the head
bare; removing the turban from the head of an individual would be deemed
as insulting as pulling a nose in Europe.
Whatever Eade or festival may occur between the Mugganee and the final
celebration of nuptials, presents are always interchanged by the young
bride and bridegroom; and with all such observances there is one
prevailing custom, which is, that though there should be nothing at hand
but part of their own gifts, the trays are not allowed to go back without
some trifling things to keep the custom in full force.
[1] The _Koran_ (iv. 3) allows Musalmans to marry 'by twos, or
threes, or fours'; but the passage has been interpreted in various
ways.
[2] _Barat_.
[3] _Duli_, 'the Anglo-Indian 'dhooly'. Such wives are so called
because they are brought to the houses of their husbands in an
informal way, without a regular marriage procession.
[4] The King of Vijayanagar had twelve thousand wives: four thousand
followed him on foot and served in the kitchen; the same number
marched with him on horseback; the remainder in litters, and two or
three thousand of them were bound to burn themselves with his corpse
(Nicolo Conti, _India in the Fifteenth Century_, part iii, p. 6). In
Orissa a palm-leaf record states that one monarch died prematurely
just as he had married his sixty-thousandth wife, and a European
traveller speaks of a later prince who had four thousand ladies (Sir
W. Hunter, _Orissa_. ii, 132 f.). Manucci states that there were more
than thirty thousand women in the palace of Shah Jahan at Dheli,
and that he usually had two thousand women of different races in his
zenana (_Storia de Major_, i. 195, ii. 330). Tippoo Sultan of
Mysore married nine hundred women (Jaffur Shurreef, _Qanoon-e-Islam_,
93).
[5] There in evidence that infanticide did prevail among some Musalman
tribes. Where actual infanticide has disappeared, it has often been
replaced by neglect of female infants, except in those castes where,
owing to a scarcity of girls, they command a high price.--_Reports
Census of India_, 1911, i. 216 ff; _Panjab_, 1911, i. 231.
[6] Ludhiana.
[7] No record of this proclamation has been traced in the histories of the
time.
[8] The bride is often selected by praying for a dream in sleep, by
manipulating the rosary, or by opening the _Koran_ at random, and
reading the first verse which comes under the eye. Another method is
to ascertain to which of the elements--fire, air, earth, water--the
initials of the names of the pair correspond. If these agree, it is
believed that the engagement will be prosperous.--Jaffur Shurreef,
_Qanoon-e-Islam_, 37.
[9] _Mangni_, 'the asking'.
[10] Compare the full account of brides' dress in Mrs. F. Parks,
_Wanderings of a Pilgrim_, i. 425.
[11] _Jama_.
[12] _Dalan_.
[13] _Bahu_, properly a son's wife or daughter-in-law: commonly applied
to a bride or young wife.
[14] Probably the _genda_ or French marigold (_Tagetes erecta_).
[15] Sumdun is always the title of the bride's mamma; Bohue, that of the
young wife, and, therefore, my thus designating her here is premature.
[_Samdhan_ means a connexion by marriage. The mothers of bride and
bridegroom are _samdhan_ to each other.]
[16] _Kuth, kuttha_, the gum of _Acacia catechu_.
[17] The shaddock (_Citrus decumana_) is called _chakoira_; possibly
confused with the next.
[18] _Kharbuzah, Cucumis melo_.
[19] _Ananas, Ananassa saliva_.
[20] Guava.
[21] _Sharifah, Anona squamosa_.
[22] _Kamrak, Averrhoa Carambola_.
[23] _Jamun, jaman, Eugenia Jambolana_.
[24] _Am, Mangifera indica_.
[25] _Falsa, phalsa, Greuria asiatica_.
[26] _Kirni, Canthium parviflorum_.
[27] _Ber, Zizyphus Jujuba_.
[28] _Lichi, Nephelium Lichi_.
[29] Possibly some confusion between _um_, the mango, and _alu,
aru_, the peach.
[30] _Karaunda, Carissa Carandas_.