172 PUHAREIE PESTIYAL. 



for a fjrand feast to be held on the 14th 

 August. 



Upon this occasion the deptha, or ark, is 

 brought forth with much solemnity, and the 

 people decked out with flowers and ears of 

 com dance around it. The deptha and the 

 attendant ceremonies, from all that I heard 

 and witnessed, reminded me of the ark of 

 the Jewish nation. In it the Deity is 

 supposed to dwell, and it is kept with all 

 reverence under the charge of the priests or 

 Brahmins, in the temple of the village or 

 villages to which it belongs. Once a year, 

 upon the occasion which I mention, it is 

 brought forth, and carried round the village 

 with the people dancing before it. This ark 

 belonged not only to Jalah, but to Sookee, 

 a neighbouring village ; it was a sort of 

 wooden coffer, covered with a cloth; but 

 unwilKng to satisfy mere cui'iosity at the 

 expense of offending perhaps their religious 

 prejudices, I did not attempt to uncover or 

 examine it closely. 



The entire ceremony somewhat resembled 



