ting his right hand on his wife's shoulder, belly, &c. At the close of these and other ceremonies, a woman brings a jug of water, and leads the husband by the right hand into his house, pouring out water as he goes; the wife follows close to her husband. A fee is given to the officiating bramhun, and the whole is concluded with a feast.

At the moment of birth, what is called the Jatu-kurmů is attended to, in which the shraddhů, the burnt-sacrifice,* and other ceremonies, which occupy about two hours, are performed, and then the umbilical cord is cut. Immediately after this, a similar ceremony called Nishkrůmůně, is performed, which also occupies about two hours, and in which petitions are offered for the long life and prosperity of the child.

When the child is ten or eleven days old, the name is given (Namŭ-kŭrůnů,) at which time offerings are presented to deceased ancestors, and a burnt-sacrifice offered; the husband, sitting by his wife, who has the child in her arms, also repeats a number of prayers after the priest, and mentions the name of the child.

At six months old, the child is, for the first time, fed with rice (Unnů-prashŭnů), when offerings to deceased ancestors, and a burnt sacrifice, having been presented, the child, with ornaments on its neck, wrists, and ancles, and dressed in new silk clothes, is brought in the arms of its father or uncle, who sits down with it in the midst of the company, and, repeating two formulas, puts a little boiled rice into its mouth; then washing its hands and mouth, he places on its head a turban, and gives it beetle-nut. At the close of the ceremony, the relations and guests give the child pieces of money, according to their ability, and are then dismissed.

When the child is two years old, the barber shaves its head, cuts its nails, and bores its ears. This ceremony, called Chōōra-Kürünü, is preceded by offerings to the manes, and is followed by rubbing the child with turmerick and oil, bathing it, and dressing it in new apparel. It is then brought near the altar, where prayers are re

* The sagnikŭ bramhuns preserve the fire which is kindled at this sacrifice, use it in their daily burnt offerings, at their weddings, and at the burning of the body, after which the son may preserve it for the same purposes for himself.

peated, and the burnt-sacrifice offered. A fee is given to the priest, and the whole closes with an entertainment.

At eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, or fifteen years of age, on some fortunate day, the boy is invested with the poita (Oopŭnůyŭnů), which is announced to the neighbours four or five days preceding the ceremony, by anointing the lad with turmerick: a number of persons, during these days, feast him separately at their houses, and the day before the investiture, the parents invite all the women of the village to a feast, who carry a metal bason to the house of entertainment, where female barbers pare their nails, and paint the sides of their feet red; the women of the house also anoint the bodies of these their guests with perfumes, paint their foreheads; rub oil in their hair, place beetle, perfumes, and turmerick, in their hands, and, filling their basons with oil, dismiss them; if the person be rich, the female guests receive a piece of cloth, and a metal bason each, in addition to the bason of oil. During the day, a feast is given, and in the evening, all the bramhuns of the town and neighbourhood are invited, whom the master of the feast adorns with garlands of flowers; paints their foreheads red, and offers them presents of beetle; after the feast, accompanied by the musicians, the whole family assembles and carefully preserves the dust of the feet of their bramhun guests. About two o'clock the next morning, the females of the family, some with lamps in their hands, others with empty basons, and others carrying oil in cups, parade through the village, with music playing, and receive from the houses of the bramhuns, water in pitchers, giving a little oil in return. About five o'clock, these women, and the boy, who is to be invested, eat some curds, sweetmeats, plantains, &c. mixed together in one dish; and about six, the family bathe, at which time, the musicians and priest arriving, the music begins to play. Under an awning before the house, at each corner of which a plantain tree is fixed, and from each side of which branches of the mango are suspended, the father, through the priest, first presents offerings to the manes, and then, (his son sitting near him) repeats certain formulas, taking up sixteen or twenty different offerings, one after the other, and with them touching the shalgramů, the earth, and then his son's forehead, he lays each down again. The boy then rises, has his head shaved, is anointed with oil and turmerick, bathes, and puts on new garments, and being thus prepared, he sits upon one

of the wooden seats while the ceremony of investiture is performed. The priest first offers a burnt sacrifice, and worships the shaligramů, repeating a number of prayers; the boy's white garments are then taken off, and he is dressed in red, and a cloth is brought over his head, that no shoodrà may see his face; after which, he takes in his right hand a branch of the vilwŭ, and a piece of cloth in the form of a pocket, and places the branch on his shoulder. A poita of three threads, made of the fibres of the suru, to which a piece of deer's skin is fastened, is suspended from the boy's left shoulder falling under his right arm, during the reading of incantations. By the help of the priest, the father now repeats certain formulas, and some passages from the védŭs; and, in a low tone of voice, lest any shoodrů should hear, pronounces the words of the gay tree to the boy three times, the son repeating it after him, viz. "Let us meditate on the adorable light of the divine ruler (Savitree):* may it guide our intellects." After this, the suri poita is taken off, and the real poita, consisting of six or more threads of cotton, and prepared by the wives or daughters of bramhuns, is put on. During the investiture with the cotton poita, the father repeats the appointed formulas, and fastens the sură poita to the vilwă staff. Shoes are now put upon the boy's feet, and an umbrella in his hand; and thus apparelled as a Brămhŭcharee, with a staff upon his shoulder, and the pocket hanging by his side, he appears before his mother, repeating a word of Súngskriti, who gives him a few grains of rice, a poita or two, and a piece of money. He next solicits alms of his father and the rest of the company, who give according to their ability, some a roopee, and others a goldmohŭr; sometimes as many as a hundred roopees are thus given. The boy then sits down, while his father offers another burnt-sacrifice, repeating incantations; and at the close of these ceremonies, the boy, being previously instructed, rises in a pretended passion, and declares that he will leave home, and, as a Brumhucharee, seek a subsistance by begging; but his father, mother, or some other relation, taking hold of his arm, invites him to follow a secular life; in consequence of which, he returns, and sits down. Certain formulas are now repeated, when the boy takes a bamboo staff instead of his vilwŭ one, and throws it over his shoulder like the former. Other forms are repeated, after which the father presents a fee to the priest, and the boy goes into the

* The sun.

H

house, a woman pouring out water before him as he goes. To this succeeds the service called sundhya; at the close of which, the boy eats of the rice which has been offered in the burnt-sacrifice; and thus the ceremony ends.

The following duties are enjoined on a youth after his investiture. During twelve nights, he is to sleep only on a bed of kooshi, or on a blanket, a deer's skin, or on a carpet called doolicha, made of sheep's wool, and painted different colours. He is enjoined to eat only rice and spices, without oil, salt, &c. once a day, nor must he see a shōodru, nor suffer a person of this cast to see him; with his face covered, he is to bathe in the river very early, continually committing to memory the forms of the daily service, including the gayutree; nor is he permitted to leave home without his Brumhicharee staff. If the boy's father have been in the habit of eating undressed food occasionally in the house of a shōodrů, then, on the day of investiture, a certain person of this cast is allowed, with a present in his hand, to see the boy's face, but he lays himself under an obligation to be kind to the boy in future life. At the end of the twelve days, the boy throws his Brumhucharee staff into the Ganges, lays aside the character of a mendicant, and enters upon what is called grust'hu-dhurmu, i. e. a secular state; on which day a few bramhans are feasted at his house,

As the egg, at one time impregnated with life, is afterwards hatched by the parents, so the receiving of the poita and the gayutree is accounted the second birth of bramhuns, who are from that time denominated dwiju, or the twice-bora. If a boy who has recently received the poita be awkward at washing it, and gives it to another, he must hold the clothes of the other while he washes it, that he may not be said to part with it, or lose the virtue of it, for a moment. The repeating of the gayutre is supposed to be an act of infinite merit, and to wipe away the foulest sins.

Having been invested with the poita, at any convenient time after this the boy may be married. For the ceremonies of marriage, see a succeeding article.

Of these ten ceremonies, called Singskari, the three first only are performed for the first child; but the seven last for every child. Strict bramhuns, in the southern parts of Hindoost'hani, attend to most of them for their daughters as well as their sons.

The smritees assign to bramhuns the offering of sacrifices; the offices of the priesthood; the study of the védus; explaining the shastrus to others; giving alms; and receiving presents. Till the iron age, the bramhuns, it is said, employed the whole day in religious ceremonies; but at present, the greater part of the persons of this order curtail these duties, and bring the performance of what they imagine themselves compelled to attend to, within the compass of an hour or less. One bramhún in a hundred thousand may repeat the morning and noon services separately, but almost all unite them, after which they eat, and proceed to business; a few repeat the evening service, either at home, or by the side of the river.

Formerly, only one order, called Satshutee bramhans, were found in Bengal, all of whom were equal in honour. Matters stood thus till the time of Adishoorn, a Bengal raja, who, offended with the ignorance of the bramhuns then in Bengal, and wishing to offer a sacrifice to obtain rain, solicited from Veeră-singhu, the king of Kanyŭkoovju, five bramhuns, to officiate at this sacrifice. The first bramhüns were rejected, because they wore stockings, and rode on horses; those afterwards sent by the king were approved: their names were Bhuttu-narayănů, Dükshů, Védü-gürblů, Chandürŭ, and Shree-hurshů. These priests went through the sacrifice to the great satisfaction of the monarch, who gave them grants of land, in what the Hindoos call the province of Rarhu; and from these five bramhuns are descended almost all the families of bramhuns now in Bengal; they still retain the family names of their original ancestors, as Kashyupus, from Kushyupu, the sage; Bhurudwajus, from the sage Bhurudwaju; Sandilyus, from the sage Sandilyü; Savurnus, from the sage Sŭvůrnů; Batsyus, from the sage Bütsyй. Some of the descendants of these Künoju bramhŭns, in consequence of removing into the province of Vüréndru, were called Varéndru bramhons, and those who remained in Rarhu, received the name Rarhees. These comprize all the bramhuns in Bengal, except the voidikus, and about 1,500 or 2,000 families of the Satshutee, or original Bengal bramhuns, of whom there were about 700 families in the time of Adishōorů. The voidikus are said to have fled from Orissa

Those bramhuns who have not two garments, take with them, when about to perform the sundhya, a second poita, as it is improper to perform this ceremony having on only one garment,