86 Geological and Statistical Account of the [Feb. 



gree stands upon the road, opposite to the house, reading a portion of 

 the Khubbo-wah, a book that is held in particular veneration. A fur- 

 ther ceremony is sometimes observed by the invalid as an additional 

 security for a complete restoration to health ; but it is only performed 

 by those who feel themselves, as it is termed, possessed, and called to 

 the exercise of the duty required of them, as a propitiatory sacrifice 

 to the malignant spirit from whose ill will their sickness is supposed 

 to originate. This ceremony, which is called Ndth-Kadey, very much 

 reminds me of the antics played by the dancing Dervises of old. A 

 brass dish, or any piece of metal highly burnished, is put up in a frame, 

 and in front of this are laid offerings of fruit, flowers, and sweetmeats. 

 When every thing has been properly arranged, the invalid commences 

 dancing, throwing the body into the most ludicrous attitudes ; and 

 pretending to see the object of worship reflected upon the plate of 

 metal makes still greater exertions, until the limbs are overpowered, 

 and the dancer sinks exhausted upon the ground. Should the sick 

 person be so weak as to render such assistance necessary, he, (or she,) 

 is supported by a friend placed on each side during the whole of the 

 ceremony. It is by no means improbable that this violent exertion has 

 on many occasions proved highly beneficial, realizing the most sanguine 

 expectations of the people. In cases of ague or rheumatism, where a 

 profuse perspiration, and a more general circulation of the blood 

 throughout the human frame is required, there is perhaps no other 

 mode of treatment more likely to produce the desired effect ; and could 

 some proper substitute be found for a piece of metal, the Ndth-Kadey 

 might be introduced with advantage into our own hospitals. 



Superstition, the companion of ignorance, is a part and parcel of 

 this benighted land. Was I to credit all that is said of ghosts and 

 goblins, it would appear wonderful how this poor people contrived to 

 pass through life unscathed. Every tree or rock that has any singu- 

 larity of appearance is said to be the nightly residence of some hob- 

 goblin or departed spirit. Yet with all this absurdity, some of the 

 opinions held by the Mughs with regard to a future state of existence 

 are by no means unfavourable to the cultivation of virtuous habits. 

 It is their belief that there are many worlds, and that the earth has 

 been subject to the several and repeated actions of fire and water. (A 

 fact that will not perhaps be disputed by some of the most celebrated 

 geologists of the present day.) The soul, they affirm, may pass through 

 many stages of existence, either in this or another world ; the nature of 

 each change depending upon its moral condition. For instance, a person 

 of virtuous habits may aspire to a stats of being far more elevated 

 than that before enjoyed : if on the contrary, he shall have been of a 



