846 Observations upon the past and present [Oct« 



sheltered in their insignificance, do not seem to have been hindered*, 

 and probably profited by the troubled state of the kingdom, and soon 

 spread themselves over Guzerat and Hindustan settling at Surat, 

 Ahmedabad, Sidpore, Burhanpore, Oujein and Rampura. Their num- 

 bers at present may be roughly estimated at 100,000 soulsf. 



The most remarkable person of the sect at Oujein, is decidedly their 

 head mulla, Esau, to whom all Europeans apply for information on 

 visiting the city, for as he has resided there about 40 years ; he is a 

 living chronicle of the " times of trouble" and to boot like Crebillon's 

 Shah Bahmun, ' il est sans contredit l'homme de sa ville qui possede 

 le mieux l'histoire des 6venemens qui ne sont jamais arrives.' 



It is a mistake to suppose that he partakes of any of the divine 

 authority with which the bohras invest their chief priest, of whose 

 orders he is merely the organ ; nor has he any particular respect paid 

 him by his flock ; for as we walked together at a mela, where num- 

 bers of them were assembled, I remarked that they almost all passed 

 him without notice or salutation. He seemed to guess my thoughts, 

 and said rather tartly, ' we are a plain people, not addicted to bowing 

 and scraping.' 



The succession among the chief priests, is solely determined by the 

 will of the reigning mulla, who in case of incapacity in his own 

 family, from youth, bad conduct, &c. will transfer the honor to another 

 house ; and one of the first acts on ascending the gaddi, is to nomi- 

 nate the next heir to it. The last mulla, who was the saggd 

 brother of mulla Esau, died in the beginning of March, and was 

 succeeded by Mahomed Badar u'ddi'n who is about 27 years of age. 

 The bohras have three separate wards in Oujein, or as they them- 

 selves count them five, for two are large and double. Their religious 

 buildings are hardly worth visiting except perhaps one mosque, to 

 which is attached a low, small, dark room where rest the remains of 

 7 or 8 of their chief mullas : the tombs are placed side by side, 

 on a raised foundation of fine white marble, on which verses of the 

 quran are thickly sculptured. A sort of awning is spread above them 

 consisting of a board, into which pieces of looking glass are closely 

 fitted together, and these with the common wall shades round the 

 room give it the neat but tawdry appearance which characterises 

 their shops. When lighted up on festivals, it may look gay enough, 

 but on common days, its only ornament, the pure marble (to preserve 



* There is a slight allusion to their having been expelled from Sidpore and 

 Ahmedabad. 



f I speak from native authority, without means of confirming it. 



