SINGAPORE. 431 



this arrangement, the friends of the bridegroom wait upon the bride's 

 father, to whom they present a ring and a few clothes. The nuptial 

 expenses are then agreed upon, and the portion of the bride is set 

 aside. This is about thirty rupees, and is always paid in silver or 

 gold. The betrothal takes place before witnesses and an agent of 

 the bride, whose consent is asked as a matter of form. After this 

 the husband may take his wife whenever she arrives at the age of 

 puberty, and carry her to his own house; but she always remains 

 with her father until that event takes place. 



On these occasions, when the parties are wealthy, a feast of buffalo- 

 meat is given. The bride, three days before marriage, cuts off her 

 hair in front, and dyes her nails and the palms of her hands yellow 

 with henna. 



The ceremonies after death are not less curious : washing and 

 shrouding of the corpse always take place, and it is clad in the 

 best clothing of the deceased. On the third, seventh, fourteenth, for- 

 tieth, and hundredth days, oblations of spices, aloe-wood, and flowers, 

 are offered. 



The Mussulmans of India, in digging graves, never exceed the 

 depth of the navel for a man, while those for a female are always 

 breast-deep. Near the bottom is dug a side niche, into which the 

 body is put. The niche is then closed with boards placed on their 

 edges, after which the grave is filled with earth. The first portion 

 put in is thrown on loose branches, that are laid over the grave in 

 order to sift it and allow it to fall more lightly. Their graves are 

 marked with two small wooden pillars, with the earth heaped up 

 between them; the largest of these denotes the position of the head. 



On the Malayan peninsula they have various feasts and festivals, 

 that partake more of the customs of the Arabs than of the islands of 

 India. On these occasions sacrifices of buffaloes take place, a prac- 

 tice which is thought to be peculiar to this part of the East, The 

 buffalo selected for this purpose must be without blemish or disease. 

 The animal about to be sacrificed is taken to the mosque, where it is 

 thrown down, its fore and hind legs tied, and the head secured; water 

 is poured over it, and the offering made. The priest, after saying 

 prayers, cuts the throat; the carcass is then flayed and divided into 

 two equal parts. One-half is given to the inhabitants, and is gene- 

 rally cooked and eaten on the spot ; the other is divided among the 

 higher orders. The leg-bones are never suffered to be broken, even 

 after death ; neither is the spine, nor are the horns of animals sacri- 



