Perth Amboy evening news., 1903-10-22
PECULIAR INDIAN CUSTOMS.
Days IN which MOhnmmcdans VIII
Not Dathe-FreedOm of
Cattle.

Mohammendans of India are yer.
superstitious. No Mohammedan will
take a bath on Sunday or Tuesday. Blu
if one battles on Wednesday all mis-
fortunes andmisery th;A are in store TO
him till next Wednesday will be avert
ed. As a rule all Mohammedans bath'
on Fridays before going to perform thu
jumma prayers. For Gonning new
clothes Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday
are regarded as bad days. Ii anyone
dons a new dress or puts on a new
cloth or allows his tailor to cut a piece
of new cloth on these days he viii
live a miserable life till that dress Of
cloth gets torn or is thrown away. Il
a shirt is torn and if the wearer wants
to stitch it, it must pc taken off, for Il
it is stitched while it is on the body
the person will soon die. A Moham-
medap will never allow a barber to
come near him on Tuesdays, for Tues
days and also Saturdays and Sundays
are bad days for shaving purposes. II
absolutely necessary he will get him.
self shaved on Saturday or Sunday
but never on Tuesday, as his star is
supposed to fall in blood if he does so
If n receives money or some valu-
able thing it is taken with the right
hand, for If it is taken with the left
the person receiving it is said to for
get all aoout il very soon or to mislay
it. A devout Mohammedan will not
start on a journey on Wednesday, for it
Is believed he will never return home
safely if he does so. And it is said that
ever a snake never ventures out OF its
hole on this day.
In Fec, the capital of Morocco, most
of the houses consist of several stories,
each being provided with a light err
anda running round it and connecting
the rooms. All the windows and doors
open out in the patio, or courtyard, the
window openings in the upper stories
being covered with close trellis work.
All the houses have fiat roofs, with a
wall some four to six feet high run
ming around, and from four p. m. until
sunset the roofs are given over to the
ladies exclusively, who can than walk
about and take the fresh air without
being seen by any of the opposite sex.
This reservation is a law which Is
never broken and no man would be
guilty of being seen on his or on any
other roof during the forbidden hours.
Owing to the fact that the women of
the house are not allowed to be seen
by any other mar than their lord and
master, all domestic offices are stu
Rted away from the house proper. In
many of the larger houses, besides the
water fountains, others playing scent
or scented water are to be found. Sec
tons of the courtyard also are slightly
sunk and these portions are filled with
scented Oil, which is used to perfume
the rooms. The Moors are exception
ally particular in discarding their
footgear before entering a room or
crossing a rug or carpet; they even
change slippers before entering the
courtyard from the street. Thus the
houses are kept beautifully clean and
sweet and are not, as many people
would suppose, musty II close.
Few people travelling in India can
fail to notice the part played, whether
in the flesh or it's representation, by
the COW and the OK. Sacred cattle wan
der ~unmolested and unmolesting
through the streets Of the cities, more
especially in the south, generally deco
rated with garlands of flowers; stone
''nandis," the bulls of silva, keep guard
before his temples and round his
tanks; they are portrayed in fresco or
In carving on the walls of many a rock
cavern. Oxen TURF mills, pillow the
land, are the drawers and carriers Of
water and, above all, are invaluable
for drawing loads. Cattle, as is well
known, are by Hindoos held in great
and superstitious reverence, Ganges
water poured over a cows tail being
equivalent to the kissing of the
sacred book or taking an oath,
Yet, unfortunately the draft bull
often receives very rough treat
ment at his drivers hands. So long as
the animals life is not taken ill-treat-
ment counts as nothing among these
people who regard the brutes as sacred.