150 EVERYDAY LIFE ON A 



The magnificent jewelled belts which these 

 chiefs inherit from their ancestors are of such 

 a huge size, that really this great quantity of 

 muslin sometimes 60 yards, is required to 

 keep them on. These peg top figures are 

 surmounted by a curiously shaped, almost flat 

 white hat, impossible to describe. 



The Chiefs are preceded by their distinctive 

 banners, and followed by their retainers to 

 the number of some hundreds, a motley crew, 

 but nevertheless picturesque, seen by the 

 light of torches and braziers held high aloft — 

 indeed the whole procession, which extends 

 for about half a mile, is well lighted, and the 

 gold and silver and jewels flash in the weird 

 flaring glow. 



Elephants, bands, dancers or jugglers, chiefs, 

 retainers follow each other over and over again 

 in the same order as I have described. 

 There are four subsidiary temples, and they 

 each send their contingent. The whole thing 

 winds up with four richly curtained Palanquin 

 in which are borne vessels of gold and silver 

 gilt, containing holy water extracted the 

 preceding year, for temple use, from the sacred 

 river the Mahavillagange (the Ganges of 

 Ptolemy). 



The procession was not without its comic 

 elements. One was the police marshal, a 

 ruddy portly Englishman, who looked red, 



