with a very strong accent on the first syllable. The cadence is not unpleasing. If a small coin is flung to them they all spring into the water, and nothing is seen but scores of heels disappearing under the surface as they dive for the money. It is astonishing that no accident happens, for sharks are numerous, and other fish are almost as ravenIn 1877 a rock cod between 5 and 6 ft. long seized a man who was diving and tore off the flesh of his thigh. The man's brother went down with a knife and killed the cod, which was brought ashore and photographed at Aden, as was the wounded man. ous. As soon as the captain has fixed the hour at which he will leave the port, a notice is posted, and then passengers generally start for the shore to escape the dust and heat during coaling. All the ports are closed, and the heat and closeness of the cabins will be found quite insupportable. It takes from twelve to twenty minutes to land at the Post Office Pier, which is broad and sheltered. The band occasionally plays there. To the left, after a walk or drive of a mile, one arrives at the hotels. There is also a large shop for wares of all kinds kept by a Parsi. At a short distance N. of the hotels is a condenser belonging to a private proprietor. There are three such condensers belonging to Government, and several the property of private companies, and by these and an aqueduct from Shekh Uthman, 7 m. beyond the Barrier Gate, Aden is supplied with water. Condensed water costs from about 2 rs. per 100 gallons. Besides these there are tanks, which are worth a visit. The distance to them from the pier is about 5 m. Altogether there are about fifty tanks in Aden, which, if entirely cleared out, would have an aggregate capacity of nearly 30,000,000 imperial gallons. It is supposed that they were commenced about the second Persian invasion of Yaman in 600 A.D. Mr. Salt, who saw them in 1809, says, "The most remarkable of these reservoirs consists of a line of cisterns situated on the N.W. side of the town, three of which are fully 80 ft. wide and proportionally deep, all excavated out of the solid rock, and lined with a thick coat of fine stucco. A broad aqueduct may still be traced which formerly conducted the water to these cisterns from a deep ravine in the mountain above; higher up is another still entire, which at the time we visited it was partly filled with water." In 1856 the restoration of these magnificent works was undertaken (see the Aden Handbook, by Captain F. M. Hunter). And thirteen have been completed, capable of holding 8,000,000 gallons of water. The range of hills which was the crater of Aden is nearly circular. On the W. side the hills are precipitous, and the rain that descends from them rushes speedily to the sea. On the E. side the descent is broken by a tableland winding between the the sea, which occupies a quarter of the entire superficies ravines which intersect this plateau converge into one by moderate fall of rain suffices to send a considerable sum' torrent down it. This water is partly retained in the tanks which were made to receive it, and which are so constructed, that the overflow of the upper tank falls into a lower, and so on in succession. As the annual rainfall at Aden did not exceed 6 or 7 in., Malik al Mansur, King of Yaman, at the close of the 15th century, built an aqueduct to bring the water of the Bir Hamid into Aden (see Playfair's History of Yaman). Aden is hot, but healthy. Snakes and scorpions are rather numerous. After leaving Aden the only land usually approached by steamers bound for India is the Island of Socotra, which is about 150 m. E. of Cape Guardafui, the E. point of the African continent. The island is 71 m. long, and 22 broad. Most of the surface is a tableland about 800 ft. above sea-level. The capital is Tamarida or Hadibu, on the N. coast. The population is only 4000, or 4 to the square mile. It is politically a British possession subordinate to Aden, but administered in its internal affairs by its own chiefs. THE PEOPLE OF INDIA THE MOHAMMEDANS Eras.-The Mohammedan era of the Hijrah, "departure," is used in all inscriptions. It is necessary to give a brief account of it here. It takes its name from the "departure" of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina on Friday the 16th of July 622 A.D. This date was ordered by the Khalifah Umar to be used as their era by Mohammedans. Their year consists of twelve lunar months, as follows: Their year, therefore, is 11 days short of the solar year, and their New Year's Day is every year 11 days earlier than in the preceding year. In every 30 years the month Zi hijjah is made to consist 11 times of 30 days instead of 29, which accounts for the 9 hours in the lunar year, which = 354 days, 9 hours. To bring the Hijrah year into accordance with the Christian year, express the former in years and decimals of a year, and multiply by 970225, add 621.54, and the total will correspond exactly to the Christian year. Or to effect the same correspondence roughly, deduct 3 per cent from the Hijrah year, add 621-54, and the result will be the period of the Christian year when the Mohammedan year begins. All trouble, however, of co parison is saved by Dr. Ferdinand Wüstenfeld's Comparative T Leipzig, 1854. The Tarikh Ilahi, or Era of Akbar, and the Fasli or Harvest Era. These eras begin from the commencement of Akbar's reign on Friday the 5th of Rabiu's-sani, 963 A.H.= 19th of February 1556. To make them correspond with the Christian, 593 must be added to the latter. MOHAMMEDAN FESTIVALS Bakari 'Id or 'Id-i-Kurban, held on the 10th of Zi'l hijjah in memory of Abraham's, offering Ism'ail or Ishmael. See Sale's Koran p. 337. This festival is also called 'Idu Zuha, when camels, cows, sheep, goats, kids, or lambs, are sacrificed. Muharram, a fast in remembrance of the death of Hasan and Husain, the sons of 'Ali, and Fatimah the daughter of Mohammed. Hasan was poisoned by Yezid in 49 A.H., and Husain was murdered at Karbala on the 10th of Muharram, 61 a.í. = 9th October 680 A.D.. The fast begins on the 1st of Muharram and lasts 10 days. Moslems of the Shi'ah persuasion assemble in the T'aziyah Khana, house of mourning. On the night of the 7th an image of Burak, the animal (vehicle) on which Mohammed ascended to heaven, is carried in procession, and on the 10th a Tabut or bier. The Tabuts are thrown into the sea, or other water, and in the absence of water are buried in the earth. The mourners move in a circle, beating their breasts with cries of "Alas! Hasan. Alas! Husain." At this time the fanatical spirit is at its height, and serious disturbances often take place (see Hobson Jobson in Yule's Glossary of Anglo-Indian Terms). Akhiri Chahar Shambah, held on the last Wednesday of Safar, when Mohammed recovered a little in his last illness and bathed for the last time. It is proper to write out seven blessings, wash off the ink and drink it, as also to bathe and repeat prayers. Bari Wafat, held on the 13th of Rabi'u 'l avval in memory of Mohammed's death, 11 A.H. Pir-i-Dastgir, held on the 10th of Rabi'u 'l akhir in honour of Saiyad 'Abdu'l Kadir Gilani, called Pir Piran or Saint of Saints, who taught and died at Baghdad. During epidemics a green flag is carried in his name, Chiraghan-i-Zindah Shah Madar, held on the 17th of Jaumada 'l avval in honour of a saint who lived at Makkhanpur, and who is thought to be still alive, whence he is called Zindah, “living.” Urs-i-Kadir Wali, held on the 11th of Jumada 'l akhir, in honour of Khwajah Mu'inu-din Chisti, who was buried at Ajmere in 628 A.H. Muraj-i-Muhammad, held on the 25th of Rajab, when the Prophet ascended to heaven. Shab-i-barat, night of record, held on the 16th of Sh'aban, when Akbar, Abu'l fath, Jalalu-din Muhammad consolidated they say men's actions for next year are recorded. The Koran ought to be read all night, and the next day a fast should be observed. Ramazan, the month long fast of the Mohammedans. The night of the 27th is called Lailatu 'l-Kadr, "night of power," because the Koran came down from heaven on that night. 'Idu 'l-fitr, the festival when the fast of the Ramazan is broken. The evening is spent in rejoicing and in exhibitions of the Nautch girls. Chiraghan-i-Bandah Nawaz, held on the 16th of Zi'l k'adah in honour of a saint of the Chisti family, who is buried at Kalbarga and is also called Gisu Daraz, "long ringlets." MOGUL EMPERORS OF HINDUSTAN Babar, Zahiru-din Muhammad (mounted the throne on Humayun, Nasiru-din Muhammad; in 946 defeated by Shir Shah Humayun, Nasiru-din Muhammad, founded the Mogul Empire Jehangir, Abu'l Muzaffar Nuru-din Muhammad 7th October, Shah Jehan, Shahabu-din Ghazi 'Azim Shah, Muhammad Shahid Bahadur Shah, Shah 'Alam, Abul 3d March, 11th January, Farrukhsiyar, Muhammad Raf'iu-darjat, Shamsu din 11th January, 18th January, Raf'iu-daulat, Shahjehan Sani Muhammad Nikosiyar Muhammad Shah, Abu'l fath Nasiru-din Sultan Muhammad Ibrahim Ahmad Shah, Abu'l Nasir 26th April, May, 28th August, 4th October, 20th April, 'Alamgir II., 'Azizu-din Muhammad 2d June, Shahjehan Shah Alam, Jalalu-din (Mirza 'Abdu'llah, 'Ali Gohar') According to the Hindus, the world is now in its 4th Yug, or Age, the Kali-Yug, which commenced from the equinox in March 3102 B.C., and will last 432,000 years. The 3 preceding ages were the Satya, the Treta, and the Dwapara. The Satya, or Age of Truth, lasted 1,728,000 years; the Treta (from tra, "to preserve") lasted 1,296,000; and the Dwapara (from dwa, "two," and par, "after") 864,000 years. The Era of Vikramaditya, or Samwat This era commenced from the 1st year of King Vikramaditya, who began to reign at Ujjain 57 B.C. To convert Samwat years into Christian deduct 57. But if the Samwat year be less than 58, deduct its number from 58, and the remainder will be the year B.C. 66 The Shaka Era, or Era of Shalivahana Shalivahana, "borne on a tree," from Shali, the Shorea robusta, and vahana, “ vehicle," was a king who reigned in the S. of India, and whose capital was Pratishthánah. He is said to have been the enemy of Vikramaditya, and is identified by Wilford with Christ. The Shaka dates from the birth of Shalivahana on the 1st of Vaisakh, 3179 of the Kali-Yug = Monday, 14th of March 78 A.D. the dates of this era correspond with the Christian add 78. Era of Parashurama To make This is the era which, according to Colonel Warren's work, the Kala Sankalita, "Arrangement of Time," is used in Malayala, that is, in the provinces of Malabar and Travancore down to Cape Comorin. It is named from a king who reigned 1176 years B.C., or in 1925 of the Kali-Yug. The year is sidereal, and commences when the sun enters Virgo in the solar month Ashwin. The era is reckoned in cycles of 1000 years, and the 977th year of the 3d cycle began 14th of September 1800 A.D. The Hindu year has 6 seasons or ritus: Vasanta, " spring," grishma, "the hot season,” varsha, “the rains,” sharada, "the autumn" (from shri "to injure "), hemanta, "the winter," shishira, "the cool season." Table of the Seasons and Months in Sanscrit, Hindi, and English |