^84 



ANNUAL REGISTER, I817, 



built upon it, similar to the one in 

 the house, only it was large.-, and 

 fixed upon an elephant,, made in a 

 kneeling- posture. 



\Vheu the time for the cei'emony 

 approached, the principal people 

 of every street -were connnandeil 

 each to picpare a rocket, and an 

 image (the ohape of some animal,) 

 to which the rocket was to be 

 fixed. Besides these large rockets, 

 a great number of smaller ones 

 was also prepaicd, as well as other 

 fire- works. The Bur man new 

 year began either on the 13th or 

 14th of April, 1 do not exactly re- 

 member which, when the festival 

 celebrated by sprinkling of water 

 commenced, which would have 

 continued six or seven days, had 

 not the viceroy put a stop to it to ad- 

 mit of the burning of this Telapoy. 

 On the 17 th, the figures to which 

 the rockets were to be fastened 

 were drawn in procession round 

 the town ; and from tliis day to 

 tlie end of the ceremony, all the 

 ])eople of the town and its vicinity, 

 both male and female, were com- 

 pelled to assist. The figures were 

 drawn in procession, one after 

 another, in the following order j 

 first, six or eight flags were car- 

 ried, these were followed by a 

 number of dancing boys and girls, 

 then the carriages with the figures, 

 some drawn by boys, and others 

 by bullocks, followed; and after 

 them went a number of young 

 women, dancing and singing, with 

 an older woman between each row, 

 lo keep them in order. Women 

 were never known to attend such 

 })rocessions before, but this was 

 done in consequence of a particular 

 order from the viceroy. On this 

 occasion even the wives and daugh- 

 ters of tlie i)rincipal officers of 



government were obliged to dance, 

 some with umbrellas held over 

 them, and others under an awning 

 large enough to shade forty or 

 fifty persons, and supported by six 

 or eight men ; last of all followed 

 the men in like manner, singing, 

 clapping their hands, and dancing, 

 with two men between each row 

 to keep them in order. 



The people of each street at- 

 tended their own carriages, and 

 in this manner proceeded round 

 the town, one company after ano- 

 ther. The figures were very large, 

 much larger than the animals 

 they were intended to represent. 

 Some of them were representa- 

 tions of buffaloes, others of bulls, 

 lions, bears, elephants, horses, or 

 men. There were not less than 

 thirty, of a very large size, about 

 tiurty feet in height, and a great 

 number of smaller ones. 



The next day was spent in 

 drawing the body of the Poongee 

 in his carriage, backwards and 

 forwards, or rather in pulling 

 against each otiier. All the people, 

 being divided into two parties, 

 drew the corpse, from the place 

 where it formeily was, to an ex- 

 tensive valley, near the hill wheie 

 it was to be burnt. In the front 

 of the valley the viceroy had a 

 temporary house erected, from 

 which he could ^iew the whole 

 show. Four cables were fastened 

 to the axle-tree of the carriage, 

 two each way ; these were held 

 by the people, who every now and 

 tlien uttered a loud shout and 

 pulled both ways at the same time. 

 That day neither party gained any 

 advantage over tlie other, till near 

 e\cnjng, when or.e of the cables 

 broke and theopposite party gained 

 the victory. 



The 



