National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

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Death.—At death the chin of the corpse is tied up with a chin cloth, and the thumbs of the hands are tied together and the big toes of the feet, the body being washed and laid out.

If a wife lose her husband, she wears mourning (a black cloth over her shoulders, and on the red cloth of the stripes worn in virtue of her having become " Jewan" a small cross bar of black) for 40 days, the black cross bar on the stripes remains until she marries again. No cooking is done in the house of the dead for three days; all that is required being supplied by relatives or friends. On the fourth day a feast is prepared for mullahs who speak in praise of the dead. The corpse is, however, only retained in the house during 24, hours. After her husband's death, the wife uses his name in her prayers on every Thursday and daily.

If the wife dies, the husband wears a white cloth (chitta) as a kummerbund. The following derges are in common use:—

For husband.—Wai Khwojum Eéh; Wai Humrabirn Eéh; Wai Akhoonun Eéh; Sun Munnitashlub Kitting Mun ; Kaida Kelsum Khwojurn Eéh.

For wife.—Wai Humrahim Eéh; Wai Khanim Eéh; Bullalu Yatin Kalding Khanim Eéh.

For father.—Wai Dadum; Mecca Um Dadum; Medina Um Dadum; Yatini Kalding Akhoon Dadum.

For mother.—Wai Amun Eéh; Mecca Um Amun ; Medina Um Amun.

For son.—Wai Bullum Eéh; Wai Bullum Eéli; Kaida Kelsum Bullum Eéh. For daughter.—Wai Bullum Khanim Bullum; Cherailik Bullum.

The following short account of a funeral witnessed at Yangi-Hissar and of the ceremonies which followed, will explain the customs in force :—On the 29th of April a mullah died in Yangi His=ar; he left two women in his house, the one his wife and the other his sister, besides one daughter and two sons. At the funeral the two women preceded the corpse, wearing each a black robe down to the heels, with white kummerbunds; immediately behind the corpse came the two boys, and after them the daughter (who was about ten years of age), riding a pony and dressed in the patched-garment of a Kullah Darvesh, to signify that owing to her father's death she had become a fakir. The following day two elderly females established themselves in the house for three days to console the bereaved. On the night of the funeral, and the following night, two mullahs remained at the cemetery reading the Koran. On the 7th day the women took off their black robes and placed a black cloth over the bars on their dresses, which implied their being " Jewans." On this day an ash was distributed amongst the acquaintances of the deceased, and a large iron vessel, containing one dearak of ash, was conveyed to the cemetery, a mullah being in attendance to read a portion of the Koran. The mullah and the bereaved women partook at the grave, after which they returned home and the mourning was at an end ; the women then having remained for seven days in the house were at liberty to move about. Mourning for father or mother on the part of a woman is indicated by covering the upper part of the head dress with a piece of white cloth.

Food.—The crops noted under the head of agricultural productions will have indicated that the nature of the food of the people of Kâshghar differs but little from that of most European countries. Flesh is very freely consumed, and so cheap as to be within the reach of all classes as a constituent of the daily meal. In the time of the Chinese, there were no prohibitions in the matter of eating and drinking, and consequently the flesh of all animals was eaten without distinction, and drinks and liquors of all sorts found a ready sale in the markets. This is now all changed; the flesh of ass, swine, dog, &c., is strictly prohibited, and only that of those animals is allowed to be used which are pronounced lawful by the Shariat. Thus excellent beef, mutton, and horse-flesh are exposed for sale in the butchers' stalls, and the variety is occasionally increased by that of the camel and goat, and cutks or yak ox, and to a more limited extent by that of the wild sheep, the wild stag, the wild goat, and the antelope. Wild-fowl and gaine are also occasionally exposed for sale, but more generally they are limited to the royal court and the courts of the district governors. They comprise the wild-goose, teal and ducks in great variety, partridges, quail, and the pheasant, both snow and desert, together with the sand grouse, florican, pigeons, &c., and the hare.