102 Notes on Sirdjuddaidah and the town of Murshiddbad. [No. 2, 



with great pomp and illuminations. A body of infantry and cavalry 

 march in procession before the mehndi, the Nawab and attendants 

 follow, and elegies are chaunted. 



" On the 7th day the Imambarah is turned into a harem and the 

 Begums attend. They put fetters on the Nawab, according to custom, 

 and a chain round his neck. Hundreds of women, high and low, 

 receive presents 6n this occasion, as the Begums distribute thousands 

 of rupees, in order to fulfil certain vows. 



" On the 8th day the flags are carried from the palace. The Nawab 

 accompanies them, barefooted and walking slowly, with pensive mien 

 and great dignity, whilst tears unceasingly flow from his august eye. 



" On the 10th day, called 'Ashura, before sunrise, the flags and 

 the coffins are carried to Amaniganj, a place about 2 kos from the 

 palace, where the coffins are buried. The Nawab again walks bare- 

 footed in the procession, and, having arrived at the burial-place, 

 orders elegies to be chaunted. The prayer appointed for this day is 

 then read. About noon the Nawab returns to his palace. The others 

 do not return before the evening. The gathering of the people in 

 Amaniganj is very great ; for all kinds of food are distributed there 

 to the poor and the inhabitants in general. Besides there is in 

 Amaniganj a place resembling Kerbala, laid out, from pious motives, 

 by the Nawab Nazir Sayyidi Darab 'Ali. A meeting is held there on 

 the 2nd Thursday of every month. 



" As the relatives of a dead person prepare a dinner 40 days after 

 his death, a large public dinner is also prepared in the Imambarah, 40 

 days after the end of the Muharram festivities, i. e. on the 20th day 

 of the month of £afar." 



I may remark that the above ceremonies are purely Shi'ah. Edu- 

 cated Sunnis abhor them, but low Sunnis take a part both in the 

 Shi'ah, and also in Hindoo festivities, all over India. The Shi'ahs in 

 Calcutta have a house near Manicktollah, where they celebrate the 

 10th day of the Muharram by carrying flags about. Elegies are also 

 sung and the shewan is performed. The house, which is called 

 Karbala, is let during the year, but the tenants have to leave it 

 during the Muharram. 



I take this opportunity to correct a prevalent error, which even 

 many of our lexicographers have made, viz. that the ta'ziahs are 



