Remonstrantie 14: [ 13 .] RELIGIOUS SUPERSTITIONS.
Jahangir's India (Moreland, Geyl) 14
- Language
- English
[ 13 .] RELIGIOUS SUPERSTITIONS.
14.1
An account of the religion of Muhammad, taken from the Koran, has been published in our language, but it makes no reference to a large number of superstitions which are prevalent in this country. I shall therefore say a little about some which are common here, and which seem not unlike the views of the papists; for when Muhammad compiled his Koran, he picked various opinions from all religions—and there were a good many, owing to the disunion and schisms in the church—particularly those which were false and pleasing to worldly eyes. Thus they have among them as many pirs, or prophets, as the papists have saints; they do not make images of them, and that practice is absolutely forbidden by their law ; but all the same they put forward their silly mundane fables about them. They say that every earthly king has his regular court of princes and lords, each employed according to his merits in the administration with great care and supervision, and that no one can approach the king unless he has one of them for a friend; and they argue from this example that even in heaven a man must have a spokesman or advocate with God, who will put forward his request or his prayer, and obtain an order to grant his petition according to his deserts.
14.2
Thus these mistaken men clearly agree with the papists, for they do not understand that God is the Knower of all hearts, but obscure the incomprehensible illumination of the beams of His almighty compassion, and bestow it on poor earthworms and false hypocrites. Through the subtlety of the devil these men in their lifetime blind the eyes of the poor; and sometimes the deception is continued after their death by crafty mendicants or disciples, who, by posing as their successors, batten on the innocent poor. These men know how to establish their position by means of sorcery, or perhaps it is that the popular imagination is led to accept their pretensions by the strange and ridiculous fables they tell of what has already been achieved by their companions.
14.3
For example, there is Pir Ghazi Muinuddin, who is buried in a very costly tomb at Ajmer, whither pilgrims journey annually from distant places, and most of those who are childless travel there barefooted. King Akbar also, who had no children in his youth, made a vow to this saint, and went there from Agra on foot with his wife Miryam Makani, travelling four kos a day. As a memorial, he erected a minar, or milestone, at every kos of the whole road, with a well beside it for the convenience of travellers, and also mahals or women's houses, 8 kos apart. It so happened that his wife became pregnant, giving birth to the present king, Jahangir or Shah Salim, and consequently the people now believe confidently that the Pir was the giver of this child, and are all the more confirmed in their error. There are immense numbers of such pirs, each with his own skill and power of granting requests. In Makanpur, 70 kos from Agra on the eastern road, is buried Pir Shah Madar, who is said to possess many gifts and wield many powers. The pilgrimage to his tomb is in February, when immense numbers of people from all quarters gather near Sikandra, beyond Agra, and march thither like an army, accompanied by even greater numbers of mendicants than the devotees, who there take various parties under their standards for protection. There are many such festivals, but to write of them all would be interminable, and I think it will be better to describe only the chief feast-days.
14.4
I should not, however, willingly pass over some of their holy men whom I have seen in their lifetime, particularly Sultan Khusru, the eldest son of the present King. He was murdered in the fort at Burhanpur, in February, 1621, at the instance of his younger brother Sultan Khurram, because he was thought to be next in succession to the throne; the murder was committed by a slave named Raza, who during the night strangled him with a lungi, or cloth, so as to raise the less suspicion of violence, and suggest a natural death. His body was brought to Agra, and taken thence to Allahabad, to be buried beside his mother. In the excitement or mourning which followed his death, for he was much beloved by the common people, although he was held a prisoner by his brother under the King's orders, some mendicants presumed to make a representation of a grave at a spot where the bier or corpse had rested for a night on the journey, and announced to the common people that their God had in their sleep ordered them to do so, because Khusru was an innocent martyr; and consequently that everyone should come to make offerings at similar shrines every Thursday, and their prayers would certainly be granted, because Khusru occupied as great a position in heaven as he had held on earth.
14.5
This devilish folly made such headway in various towns, such as Burhanpur, Sironj, Agra, and Allahabad, that both Hindus and Moslems in vast numbers went in procession every Thursday with flags, pipes, and drums to his worship; he was accepted as a true pir, or saint; and they carried matters so far that they were foolish enough never to take an oath except by 'the head of the Sultan,' which was regarded as more binding than if they had sworn by God Himself. His father the King prohibited this practice, saying that Khusru was in his lifetime a sinful, nay, a rebellious son, and if he was really murdered by his brother, the guilt attached to the murderer, but did not operate to absolve Khusru, or to justify his being regarded as a saint. On this, Kasim Khan, the Governor of Agra, destroyed and obliterated the shrine, which had been built at great cost; the attendants or receivers of offerings were driven away; and everything that was found was confiscated for the King. Three classes of the people are affected in consequence. First there are the mendicants, who on the day of worship used to gather on the road in thousands and swarm like flies, so that no one could walk a yard without molestation, and, calling on no name but that of 'the head of the Sultan,' earned enough in that day to provide them with food for the week.
14.6
Next there are the confectioners, who used to line the whole road in great numbers with stalls of sweetstuffs, and sold great quantities, together with the hawkers of toys (like pedlars at our fairs), for no one would return without having bought something for the children. The roads and open places were full, too, of jugglers, dancers, players, and such rabble, the noise was deafening, and the crowd made it even more impossible to see, or find room to move. Lastly, and the greatest sufferers of all, comes the class of secluded ladies. Under pretext of a pilgrimage, they used to come without reproach to see, and perhaps even speak to their lovers. Assignations were made in the gardens, which are numerous in the neighbourhood, and there passion was given the food for which it hungered, and for which, in the case of many, no opportunity could be found on any other day. On such occasions new passions were aroused by the sight of a handsome youth, who took the lady's fancy, and while she saw him, he might not be able to see her. Thus nobody more regrets these gardens, or is more grieved, than these pitiable little creatures of Agra; for the festival still continues in Burhanpur, Sironj and other places on the road. All their saints have origins of the kind which I have described, and they have dabbled largely in magic. The Moslems count their Muhammad superior to all the prophets who have been sent by God, with the exception of Christ;
14.7
but they hold that on his advent the Christian faith was killed or annihilated, just as Judaism was by the coming of Christ. The only title they give to Muhammad is the Messenger of God. They attribute to him superhuman or fabulous gifts during his life on earth, for instance that a cloud or shadow always rested above his head; that his body cast no shadow; that flies never settled on it; that a long journey was shortened for him, and the road contracted; and that no one ever saw his excrement, which the earth opened and absorbed. There are many similar absurdities, which I will omit, and come to the two great festivals, called Id, which they keep very strictly. The dates depend upon the moon; I remember when the fast came in August, but this year it began in June. This fast is kept very strictly for a whole lunar month; they neither eat nor drink throughout the whole day, or until the stars appear or have become visible in the evening, and in the intolerable heat the prolonged abstinence from water is very trying; but food, be it fish or meat, is not prohibited at night. They sleep apart from their wives for the whole month, and they drink no wine, which, though it is described as unclean in their scriptures, they learn to drink in large quantities, neglecting the prohibition, and explaining it away after our fashion.
14.8
At the end of this month of fasting comes the great Id of which I have spoken, and which they keep as devoutly as we do Easter. In the morning they go to the great mosques named Idgah, which are usually outside the city, where the Kazis, who are their lawyers, offer prayers; people of all classes gather there, and return home in great joy, the great men in full state, the poor in clean white clothes. Friends send each other food accompanied by good wishes, and everyone is very gay because the heavy burden of fasting or abstinence is past, and nobody is bound or compelled to fast for longer than he chooses or wishes, nor is it any shame [not to do so]. The other Id comes 70 days later, and during the interval few or no marriages are allowed to take place. This feast commemorates God's mercy to Abraham, when he was about to sacrifice his only son Isaac, who was obedient to him, relying on his compassion. He prepared to make a worthy burnt-offering, even to slay his son; but an angel held back the knife, and the sacrifice was remitted, and he offered instead a goat which was standing behind a hedge. On that day therefore everyone who is able will sacrifice a goat in his house, and keep the day as a great festival. A month later comes the commemoration of Hasan and Husain, two brothers, sons of Ali, who was married to Bibi Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad. From these two, namely Muhammad and Ali, arose after their death a schism in the new faith;
14.9
for Persians, Usbegs, and Tartars hold by Ali rather than Muhammad, while Turks, Arabs, and Hindustanis, or the whole of this kingdom, hold only by Muhammad, and not at all by Ali; and thus there is a great distinction, the sects calling each other kafirs or infidels, and hating each other as bitterly as the papists hate our religion. Those who follow Muhammad are called sunnis, and those who follow Ali rawafiz [i.e. shias]. At first, the new-found faith was introduced in a deceitfully attractive form, and men were given remarkable latitude, and a broad ladder by which they could climb to heaven without difficulty, thus offering pleasant allurements for the innocent. When however they became powerful, and found their wings strong enough for flight, they adopted forcible methods to spread their creed, and waged war against those who did not accept it; and in a battle against a heathen king, Raja Bickhanhaar, Hasan and Husain were killed. In commemoration of this slaughter they make a great noise all night for a period of ten days; the men keep apart from their wives, and fast by day; the women sing lamentations, and make a display of mourning; in the chief streets of the city the men make two coffins, adorn them as richly as they can, and carry them round in the evening with many lights and large crowds attending, with great cries of mourning and noise.
14.10
The chief celebration is on the last night, when it seems from the great mourning as if God had plagued the whole country as in the time of Pharaoh's obstinacy, when all the first-born were slain in one day. The outcry lasts till the first quarter of the day; the coffins are brought to the river, and if two parties meet carrying their biers (it is worst on that day), and one will not give place to the other, then, if they are evenly matched, they may kill each other as if they were enemies at open war, for they run with naked swords like madmen. No Hindus can venture into the streets before midday, for even if they should escape with their life, at the least their arms and legs would be broken to pieces. This continues till at last they have thrown them [the coffins] into the river; then they bathe, return home finely dressed, and each goes to the graves of his deceased parents or friends, which have been newly whitewashed and decorated for the occasion, bringing food and flowers, and, after due mourning, giving the food to the poor. They believe that all good deeds or charities performed on that day on behalf of the dead, will benefit them whether they are in heaven or in hell, a fable which resembles the papist doctrine of purgatory;
14.11
and the festival may fairly be compared to All Souls' Day, when they read the seven psalms in the churches, or pay a penny to have them read, in order that the souls in purgatory may be given some respite or relief from the prescribed period, or occasionally may even be released and taken to heaven.