The Portland daily press., 1891-12-25
ROYAL BURIAL IN INDIA.
Solemn Fnneral Obssquies Of a
MOhammedan Rajah.

Indian Chief-An Imposing Procession
to the Grave of a Ruler in Hindostan.
An Event That Interests Crowds.
From an early hour crowds Of Malays,
Arabs, Javanese and other Moham-
medan races had gathered in the grounds
of the house lately built for the descend
ant of the Singapore royal line at Kam-
pong CLAM. Before o'clock the large
rooms Of the house were filed with
white turbaned sheiks and Malays seated
in long lines on the mats and murmur-
ing in low toned unison prayers for the
dead. Within the house could be heard
the splashing Of water, where the corpse
was undergoing ceremonial publications
previous to burial. Outside stood the
bier, an enormous structure some twenty
feet by twelve, made of dashed rollers
and rooted in with yellow cloth, cut into
a fantastic fringe at the edges.
| Really it was bier within funeral
carriage, for the center was screened off
to contain the coffin, a space being left
all around for relatives of the deceased
Tungku to stand and scatter golden rice
over the crowd. In one corner of the
ground the coffin was having its finish
ing touches. This was massive box of
S-inch thick planks, dovetailed at the
| corners and stayed across the top. 1t
was in itself great weight and took
dozen men to carry it. The tone of the
crowd in the ground was quiet and SUBJ
dued, but by no means sad or despond-
| emit.
Behind the coffin itself, for instance,
was group of retainers quietly taking
meal. Swarms of Malay boys were
running about the ground, and the men,
some nicely dressed, many in their ordi-
nary clothing, chatted about their dead
| chief. A little distance from the bier
stood the gravestones of granite, also
swathed in royal yellow and dashed to
stage for convenience of carriage.
THE COFFIN.
The coffin, clean wood though it was,
was carried away and also washed, be-
ing then placed in the porch of the
house and half filed with clean white
sea sand to await the body. A posse of
! Malay policemen arrived to keep order,
and other police officials appeared. In
front of the house row of sixteen UNI
brellas, eight white and eight yellow,
was formed, and from many windows
peeped the women of the household. A
lelah or cannon in the Enclosure of the
mosque had been firing at frequent in
tervals, being tended by gigantic
negro. Meanwhile the occupants of the
house remained nearly silent, interest
being conferred in group Of katips
(priests) and Kalthis, who were seated
in front of curtain of striped satin, be-
hind which the body was being prepared
for the grave.
1t was considerably after 8 o'clock
when movement among those seated
in the house indicated that the time had
come when the body would be put in the
coffin. Amid considerable amount of
confusion and perfect babel of excited
cries, all that remained Of Tungku
Alum was carried down stairs, wrapped
in yellow cloth and infolded in red
edged mat Borne on the shoulders of
six priests the coffin was reached and
the body deposited in it, H. H., the
Sultan of Johore, reverently kissing it
when tho wraps were removed. The
bystandefs seemed perfectly frantic to
get look at the corpse ere it was placed
on its bed of sand in the coffin.
AT THE GRAVE.
Then, in response to cries, deathlike
silence eRsued, and an Imam, in a clear,
musical voice, chanted some verses in
Arabic, the bystanders responding in
deep toned murmur; Then the heavy
lid was put up, and with difficulty (the
sand making it exceedingly heavy the
coffin was put upon the bier or kranda.
Round about it placed themselves young
Malays with salvers, whence they threw
among the crowd yellow rice, spices,
money and scents.
| First marched a number of bows beat
ing censers or cups, some with spices,
many with incense. Next were about
thirty women in two lines, each with an
enormous yellow candle and slip of
yellow cloth tied round their necks.
Then came the kranda, borne by great
number OF men escorted by the umbrel-
las and followed by the gravestones and
the immense concourse of people.
The distance to the mosque, about 300
yards, was laid with yellow cloth. The
grave was in small structure adjoining
the mosque and abutting on the road.
On reaching there the coffin was lifted
from the bier This was apparently the
signal for the destruction of the latter.
In ten seconds it was surrounded by an
excited crowd who snatched at any part
of it to secure a relic of what they be-
lieve had been sanctified by contact with
the remains Of their chief, Not a shred
of the precious yellow cloth was left on
it and even the wood of the structure
was taken.
With much difficulty the coffin was
then lowered into the grave and close
upon dusk the ceremony which marked
the close of the ''reign" of another rajah
was concluded.-Singapore Free Press.
Old and Young.