JANUARY, 1873.]

CORRESPONDENCE, &c.

27

religious and social ceremonies, even the same songs among their females and the language peculiar to

mothers, and orphans, loudly bewailing the loss of those dear to them, surrounded the palace asking for

them.

support. There was no such thing as a pension under the Muhammadan rule. Promising them to devise

It is natural that by long intercourse with Hindus and Muhammadans, many customs should be ex

changed, and pure Hindi has with them already given place to mixed Urdu. As Khatris mostly in habit the Muhammadan capitals—Lahor, Dehli, Agra, Lakhnau, &c.—many Moslem customs, as wearing the Sarhi on marriage, the use of shoes by females, &c., have crept not only into our society, but also among Kayaths, Agrawál Banias, Oswals,&c. Khatris and Kayaths use a greater number of Persian words in familiar language than other Hindus.

I append the following notes, which may interest some readers:—

1.

In the time of Nānak the site on which the now

commercial town of Amritsar stands, was a forest with a pond, a solitary place well fitted for retired

fakirs. Nānak, once in company with many others, went to bathe in it; he dipped in and was lost sight of. His associates gave him up for lost, and remained there without food and drink, bewailing the untimely death of their favourite. They searched for his body in the water but could not find it. On the third day, to their great joy and astonishment, he suddenly appeared on the surface of the water with

steaming hot Monbhog (a sweetmeat), since held sacred to him, in his right hand and repeating the words “Wäh Gurūj; / Dhanyah Gurūji. Sath Gurū ji "" meaning ‘Glory to the Teacher. He is blessed. He alone is true." The terms signifying God are mostly used on solemn occasions and in saluting one another. His companions, thus convinced of his divine origin, became his proselytes. To comme morate the miracle the institution of Kadhāyā Prasāda (#3 PIſ Rāſī) was established” among the Khatris. 2. The Khatris are descendants of a warlike race.

The name Khatri occurs in the Indian History since the time of Baber when he visited Guru Nānak.

They were constantly employed by the Mughul emperors as soldiers. Toder Mall, the celebrated financier of Akbar, belonged to this caste.f Au rangzeb sent all the Khatri forces on the great expedition into the Dekhan against the kings of Golkonda and Bijapur and the Marāthas. Great was the slaughter in the imperial armies; the Khatri and Hindu forces were almost annihilated.

On the

return of the camp to Dehli, the widows, sisters,

• This ceremony is celebrated by Khatris on occasions

of marriage or child-birth, and sometimes as a thanks giving when blest with prosperity in any dealing, or when relieved from distress. The large pan in which the Monbhoº, a sweetmeat made with butter, wheat-flour, and sugar, in equal proportions, has been prepared, is placed on a wooden elevated plate and covered with a white sheet. A Nänak Shāhi fakir, either quru of the family, or any one else known for his religious knowledge and merit,

presiding, takes a seat just behind the pan; the Granth Sāheb or words of Nānak and his followers being reve

rentially placed on a wooden stool before him. He reads from it to the audience, which is chiefly composed of the

suitable means for their maintenance, Aurangzeb bade them go home; and summoned Lallu and Jagdhar, two Khatri chiefs, to take their advice in the matter.

The prudent Muhammadan ruler thought of the desirability of re-marrying their widows, but they said, in reply, that it was beyond their power to in troduce the system, though very advisable, until they should consult with their caste-fellows on the matter. A grand meeting of the Khatris of Dehli was called for the purpose. Some agreed find signed

a bond, but when Lallu and Jagdhar's turn came, they refused until they should get the permission of their old mother. They went home and explained the whole to her. She tauntingly answered—“If you are fully determined to introduce the Muham madan Nikah system among us, which shall for ever stamp your name with the black stain of heter

odoxy, select a good old fellow of eighty for my husband.” The youths, thus put to shame, went no more to the Panchayat. The meeting waited Lallu and Jagdhar's return from morning till evening ; one of the number in despair taking a stone threw it into a well, repeat ing the words “aise ki tasi main jaya Lallu aur Jagdhar, meaning ‘let Lallu and Jagdhar go, I won't wait any longer.’ The sentence has since passed into a proverb. The meeting dispersed without deciding the question. On the following day the report was made of this disregard to the royal

mandate; the Emperor, in his usual indignation, dismissed all Khatris from the imperial service and proclaimed that they should never be taken into state employ. Thus thousands were thrown out of busi ness and began to starve. One day they suddenly surrounded the imperial palace, humbly supplicat ing the Emperor to provide for their livelihood. Aurangzeb thought it prudent to appease the en raged mob. He promised them support, but he was not willing to restore them to their former positions. The next day a royal firman was granted them, conferring on their caste the sole privilege and monopoly of Dalāli, or profession of broker, in the bazars of Dehli and Agra. Since that time the pro fession, though now humble, has been confined to Khatris.

Even under British rule, in which free

dom of choice is the privilege of every subject, celebrator's friends, relations, and neighbours, invited for the occasion.

When the sermon is over, the presiding

fakir stands up, and with him all the party. He repeats aloud the tenets and prayers—ſidis sabda composed by Nanak in glo rification of the one Eternal Being without form, Creator and Protector of the Universe. At the end of each hymn

the party joins with the fakir in the acclamation Wäh Gurūji'ſ After this every one presents to the fakir some

thing in money (BIFT8) according to his means. The ceremony ends with the distribution of the contents of the pan as a treat (pras'dida) to all present. + See my letter on Rajah Toder Mall.—Proceedings of Asiatic Society of Bengal for August 1872. -