New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-28

ma ges from the Koran, thus announcing u oio
neighbours and to all passsrs by that the man Is
dead Soon the house Is hlled Win laihen'ine
friends and kindred, above whose tumulo Ilse"
high and clear the shrill yelling OF the proie'-
slonal mourners The women relatives put Oh
mourning costumes and the men take knives
and rim omen some Of the seams OF their own
garments, to give them the appearance of having
been rent asunder in paroXysms OF grlei. lheS
also daub their hats with mud, IN lieu Oh thro"-
ing dust upon their heads Finally the washers
of the dead" come. They are despised outcas's'
who gain a livelihood By the performance of this
work They wash the corpse wrap 1t In shrouu,
place camphor about it, and put it in frall
wooden coffin.
The burial always occurs within twenty-four
hours of the death The coffin is placed upon
bier and the relatives contend with each other
for the honor OF bearing it to the grave. his
is esteemed great privilege in all Mahometan
countries The graveyard is a bare spot outside
the town. the home of the jackal and the hyena'
There are no waving expresses. as in Turkey.
4 few small shrnes mark where some holy men
have been Inferred Grotesquc stone lions OF lie
size mark the graves of those who were WARRIORS
while little square inches yard high contain
highly colorcd pictures of unwedded youths, or OF
those slain in war As rule, however, small
fat stones record the names OF the dead, Il few
texts from the Koran marking the pety of their
relatives: but often the little mounds have merely
a row of fints that loving hands placed th6re,
or a rough bit Of rock, a tile at head ana ioot
The nearest relatives lay the body in the shallow
grave a priest says prayer the shroud Is
looscned that the dead man may be enabled to arise
at the resurrection without trouble, and the colin
lid is replaced. Then another prayer is read.
JV,o " Eatih at- chantp of the Koran Is re-
cited by al-it is merely short praycr-the
grave is closed little water is sprinkled on 1t,
and all is over If the family of the deceased
can afford IT, tiny tent is pitched and priest
remains to pray and TO read the Koran over the
grave for many day0
The whole of the attendants Of the funeral are
entertained at dinner at the house OF the de-
ceased The mourning is continued for a snort
pcriod-a few days or month, according TO the
wealth of the family. Then another lavish eX-
crcise Of hospitality and dole to the poor take
place and this is the sign that the days OF mourn
ing are over. Sombre garments are cast aside;
the family go to the public BATH once more they
dye their hair with henna, also the soles OF their
feet and the palms of their hands, their nails ana
Gnger-tips The sigDalizc the end OF
their mourning by visit 10 the cemetery, taking
with them sweetmcats and peculiar kind of
bread they eat at the gravesidc small quantity
Of these and what remains is given 20 the poor.
4 widow Will often VOW monthly or yearly dole
at her husbands grave and the vow is always
pionGly carried out.
Often among the rich or religious the body is
merely placed in some mosque or shrine as
"amanat"-tha is TO say, on deposit. After
some months or weeks or years II il wrapped IN
thin felt and dispatched with hundreds Of Others
by mule caravan 70 Meshcd 10 he buried near
Imam Raza or to Kcrhela. to lie beside the blessed
IIosscn In travelling In Persia. one frequently
meets these caravans. Two or even four collins
are strapped on each mule. They stop NJ cara
treated Ms though they carried only common
merchandise But as transmitters Of contagious
diseases such the cholera, they are most potent
instruments