Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c27.s3.45

v2.c27.s3.45

On the last day, the Rana feasts his chiefs, and the camp breaks up with the distribution of *khanda nariyal*, or swords and coco-nuts, to the chiefs and all “ whom the king delighteth to honour.” These *khandas* are but ‘of lath,’ in shape like the Andrea Ferrara, or long cut-and-thrust, the favourite weapon of the Rajput. They are painted in various ways, like Harlequin’s sword, and meant as a burlesque, in unison with the character of the day, when war is banished, and the multiplication,¹ not the destruction, of man is the behest of the goddess who rules the spring. At nightfall, the forty days conclude with ‘the burning of the Holi,’ when they light large fires, into which various substances, as well as the crimson *abira*, are thrown, and around which groups of children are dancing and screaming in the streets like so many infernals. Until three hours after sunrise of the new month of Chait, these orgies are continued with increased vigour, when the natives bathe, change their garments, worship, and return to the rank of sober citizens; and princes and chiefs receive gifts from their domestics.²