1 lURBUGE CUSTOM& 181
2 tioM MmMiiilea' occupy a year or tw9i hat whea he 19 iicli« tibf
3 period if not abo^e two or three numtha. The eeremonle^ of the
4 marriage «se w ezacdj the same with those of the Persians,* that a
5 a ahoft teoouift of them here wfll suffice.
6 The marriage contract is drawn up by the Ganay* and ^nmally
7 igreed to hy the woman as weO as by the man, (the consent of teta^
8 tionsbemgof noavail). The articles simulate fiv a pnmsion for the
9 wife^ in ctoe of a divorce or of her husband's death ; and are s^ed by
10 'both parties, as well as by the Cauay and competent witnesses. Soon
11 aftor this, the bride andhridiegroom dye their hands and feet with por-
12 tionsof the same henna, (a (htant used for this species of ornament by
13 women and young men in Aiost Asiatic countries). On the next night,
14 the bride goes in prcHsession to the houseof her future husband, attended
15 by a band of nuiue and singers, by the relations of both, and by parties
16 of the neighbour, wheeling in circles on horseback, firing their match-
17 locks, and flourishing their swords. When the bride reaches the
18 house, she is presented to her husband, and the whole condudee with
19 a wedding fuy^per.
20 A marriage is conducted in the same matiner in the country j but,
21 as the women there to unveiled, and there is less restrairtt in the in-
22 tercourse i)olwe«n the sexes, the match generally ori^inati's in the
23 ^tachmeiU of (be parties, and all the previous negoci;! lions ;in- saved.
24 It is even in the power of an enteq)riziiig lo\ t 1 to obtani his mistress
25 without the consent of her parents, by seizing an opportunity of cutting
26 off a lock of her haii, snatching away her veil, or throwing a sheet
27 over her, aiul proclainiing her his affianced wife. These proceedings,
28 which are supposed to be done with the girl's comiivaiice, would pre-
29 vent any other suitor proposing to her, and would incline the parents
30 to bestow her on the declaared lover ; but; as they would not exempt
31 him from the necessity of paying some price, and, as they mi^ be
32 taken up aa an affiont by the relations, they are not often resorted to i
33 • gee FwaMiBfti Ten to Blwicgw
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