APPENDIX. 
65 
As for primary education there are maHab Jchanas or schools in every ward or 
sub-division of the cities and attached to most of the mosques. Here the children, 
both male and female, may be heard repeating their lessons in the usual sing-song 
style, while they rock their bodies to and fro. In the bitter winter weather they 
have a curious way of providing for the warmth of these little bodies. Along one 
or more sides of the school-room runs a long sort of earthen trough, or manger, 
with a broad lip. This trough is filled with straw and the children squat in this, 
putting their books before them on the rim. They learn to read and to repeat their 
religious exercises. The girls do not often go further than this. Some of the boys 
learn to write and read as far as four books in Persian or Turki, and those that have 
a liking for knowledge continue their education at the colleges. Some of the elder 
girls learn the Qur’an at home. 
F 
