﻿45s AN ACCOUNT OF THE CAZ EF.GURS, 



knees may Itp over each other. The merriment of 

 the evening- now begins, all parties dancino-, siniiin^, 

 chinking' and smoking, except the bride, who for this 

 one day in licr hfe is expected to refrain from tlie in- 

 toxicating- dranght. After a sliort space they arise, 

 and the bridegroom, <iccomi)r.nied by tl.e female part 

 of the company, conveys the bride to the liouse, 

 Mliere the bridegroom and bride's mothers are assem- 

 bled ; neither of whom are permitted to appe.ir bcr 

 fore him this night: however, this restriction damps 

 not the joy of tlie i^\(\ hull's; licjuor is plentifully 

 supplied, and they partake freely of it. 



T!;e bridrgrooni ha\ing reinincd the party in the 

 square, every one sets setiously to work, and it ap- 

 pears now a fair trial to pro\e ^\ho shall most ex- 

 peditiously accor..pl!sh the important business of 

 intoxicatioa. A iitt'c after day-liglit the cavaU 

 cade prepare to set off for th.e bridegroom's house. 

 Whatever dowry the parents can give is now deli- 

 vered, and the little fingers of this happy couple being 

 again joined, as before described, tliey lead the way. 

 Before the briilegroom's (or rather Ijefore his parent's 

 door, it being to their house they are conducted,) 

 stands an earthern pot filled with Mater, and in which 

 is placed a .small fresh branch of a mangoe tree, in- 

 tended, as I should conjecture, as an emblem of 

 plenty. The mother then comes forwards with a 

 sieve containing a roopee, some unhusked rice, paint, 

 and Doob grass *. This she waves round each of their 

 lieads three times, and touches their foreheads with 



* This is probably one of the most common, ufeful, and benutiful 

 grasses in this or any other country ; and, like the cow which feeds 

 upon it, is held in high religious veneration by many tribes of ///Woo^v 

 A natural velvet carpet, if the expression be admissible here, may at 

 any time be formed of this elegant grass, in the space oi two or three 

 weeks, merely by chopping it in pieces, and sprinkling these on pre- 

 pared ground mixed with earth, In this way the banks of rivers, pub- 



