Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-09-12
.HINDOo ACCoUNT-Bo0KS
The Va1tee PoQja scuh Which PiOms H:n-
docs Begin the Business Year.
Tho ROW Ga1 tfa


The Vahee Poqja Nth Watch Pioms H:m-
docs Begin the business Year.
tFrom the Bombay Gazette.l
A correspondent writes "Dewalee,
the feast of lanterns, has often been de-
scribed in your columns. I proceed to
describe the interesting ceremony of
Vahee Pooia, which was invited to wit
ness at the Office of distinguished native
arm. Among the natives of India, wheth-
er they be Parsees, Mohammedans or
Hindoos, for practical purposes the new
year commences with that of the Hin
docs. The ceremony of Vahee Pooja, as
its name denotes, is worshiping of the
accountbook for the new year. It takes
place q day before the Dewalee, and is
performed not only by every merchant
and trader, but even by private persons.
In short, the new year among natives of
India, whether for business or house
hold affairs, commences with the new
year of the Hindoos. This necessitates
the closing of old accounts and opening
of new ones, and for the latter purpose
new books are used, but before they can
be utilized they must be worshiped, and
each according to his means does this.
The wealthier native firms avail them
selves Of the opportunity to invite their
friends and constituents to be present to
wish them happy and prosperous year.
The firm who had invited me is one of
the oldest Parsee firms in Bombay. I
of course expected the pooja, or cere-
mony of worshiping, would be performed
by the mobeds or dustoors-a sort of
jasun ceremony-but I was surprised on
entering the Office to see the place of
honor assigned to half-starved and very
dirty looking Brahmin. On the floor of
one of the rooms was spread a clean
hoor-cloth with huge cushions near the
walls, in the center of which were placed
silver trays containing pans paree,
cocoanuts, 60ttasas, dried dates, sugar
cane, coriander seeds and silver and cop
per coins. In an adjoining room was
placed silver vase containing fire and
round it stood one of the high priests,
dustoors, of the Parsees, attended by
several mobeds. When all the prepare
lions were completed we took our seats
by the well-adjusted cushions. and all
who knew Guzerai were given a new
account-book and new pen, and each
wrote on the second leaf of the book
what seemed to be supplication to the
deity invoking his blessings lin as many
names as he is known by in the Zoroas-
trian calendar) for the new year, which
is written in full with its corresponding
English and Parsee dates. When some
thirty books had been so written up, the
Brahmin who sat in the center amid
trays containing the articles above
enumerated-had them submerged in
gulal and the red stuff used by natives
on all suspicious occasions and thus
the dustoor and his mobeds on the one
hand, and the Brahmin on the other,
invoked the deity's blessings. The
duties of the Brahmin were not, how.
ever, confined to simply supplicating his
gods to bless the undertakings for the
coming year of the Parsee firm they
seemed to be of multifarious nature, fo,
he appeared to have had to bless (by
muttering something in Sanscrit) each
article as he took it from the tray, and
after besmearing it with the red stuff, tt
place it on one of the many new account
books near him. This wenton until the
trays were emptied of their contents
Then in small silver dish were mixec
some coriander-seed with sugar ani
4 given to all the guests to eat and then
as it were by way Of q final dramati,
effect, the Brahmin took a small silve
vessel, and in it placed some of the ret
stuff with two or three pieces of ignitet
camphor, and had it taken about tn,
room while he stood up shouting at tn,
top of his voice, "Brahma Brahma
Then. were distributed money, nosegay
and pa,a-suparee to all those present
and the proceedings terminated. I wa
informed that the books and article
would be left undisturbed on the foo
as placed by the Brahmin until the new
years day.