cocoa-nut oil, with which they anoint their bodies.

MOGULANEE, a native Indian female of the Mahomedan persuasion. MOHTURAN, from Sanscrit, muhut, great, and turana, to cherish; i. e. lands set apart for the maintenance of a great or revered person or place. A Hindoo grant.

MOHUNT (abbot), the title of the heads of the monasteries of Geer, Bhartee, and Rawut Gosains, who are, or ought to be, religious ascetics. These people profess, and ought to be, dedicated wholly to religion, but their present practice corresponds much with that of the monks of old, and their superiors.

MOHUR, a gold coin in use in the East. Its value is sixteen rupees. The coin is now scarce, but the word is in use, to indicate the value of prizes at races, &c. MOHURRUM, an annual Mahomedan

festival. The celebration of the Mohurrum in all large Mahomedan communities of the Sheah sect, though, strictly speaking, a fast of the most mournful kind, is accompanied by so much pomp and splendour, that strangers are at some loss to distinguish it from festivals of pure rejoicing. The Sheahs, who are settled in Hindostan, are in some degree obnoxious to the charge of introducing rites and ceremonies almost bordering upon idolatry, in their devotion to the memory of the Imaums Hossein and Houssein. Imbibing a love of show, from long domestication with a people passionately attached to pageantry and spectacle, they have departed from the plainness and simplicity of the worship of their ancestors, and in the decorations of the tuzees (mimic tombs), and the processions which accompany them to the place of sepulture, display their reverential regard for Ali and his sons, in a manner which would be esteemed scandalous, if thus accompanied, in Persia and Arabia, where the grief of the Sheah is more quietly and so

berly manifested. Several processions take place during the celebration of the Mohurrum. At Lucknow, on the fifth day, the banners are carried to a celebrated shrine, or durgah, in the neighbourhood, to be consecrated, it being supposed that the standard of Hossein, miraculously pointed out to a devout believer, is preserved at this place. The veneration in which this sacred relic is held, nearly equalling that which in some places in Europe is displayed towards pieces of the true cross, affords another proof of the corruption of the Mahomedan religion by the Sheah sect of India. The durgah at Lucknow is not only visited at the commemoration of Hossein's obsequies, but prayers and oblations are offered in its holy precincts, upon recovery from illness, or any other occasion which calls for praise and thanksgiving. The gifts deposited at the durgah, consisting of money, clothes, and other valuable articles, become the property of the officiating priest, who is expected to disburse the greater portion in charity. All the Moslem inhabitants of Lucknow are anxious to consecrate the banners employed at the Mohurrum, by having them touched by the sacred relic, and for this purpose they are conveyed to the shrine, with as much pomp and ceremony as the circumstances of the proprietors will admit. A rich man sends his banners upon elephants, surrounded by an armed guard, and accompanied by bands of music. The arms and accoutrements, representing those worn by Hossein, are carried in some of these processions; and one of the most important features is Dhull Dhull, the horse slain with his master on the fatal field of Kurbelah: his trappings are dyed with blood, and arrows are seen sticking in his sides. Multitudes of people form these processions, which frequently stop while the moollahs recite the oft-told, but never-tiring story, or the tragic scene is enacted by young men

expert at broad-sword exercises; and as Hossein is surrounded and beaten down, muskets are fired off, and shouts and beatings of the breast attest the sincerity with which his followers bewail his untimely end. On the seventh night of the Mohurrum, the marriage of Hossein's daughter with her cousin, a faithful partisan of the house of Ali, is celebrated with much pomp and show. The procession of the marriage of the unfortunate Cossim and his ill-fated bride is distinguished by trays bearing the wedding presents, and covered palankeens, supposed to convey the lady and her attendants; the animals employed in the cavalcade, with the exception of the favoured Dhull Dhull, are left outside the walls; but the trays containing sweetmeats, &c., a model of the tomb of Cossim, and the palankeen of the bride, are brought into the interior and committed to the care of the keepers of the sanctuary until the last day, when they make a part of the final procession to the place of interment. The most extraordinary feature, however, in the commemoration of the deaths of Hossein and Houssein, is the participation of the Hindoos, who are frequently seen to vie with the disciples of Ali in their demonstrations of grief for the slaughter of his two martyred sons, and in the splendour of the pageant displayed at the anniversary of their fate. A very large proportion of Hindoos go into mourning during the ten days of the Mohurrum, clothing themselves in green garments, and assuming the guise of fakeers. The complaisance of the Hindoos is returned with interest at the Hooly, the Indian Saturnalia, in which the disciples of the prophet mingle with the heartiest good will, apparently too much delighted with the general licence and frolic revelries of that strange carnival, to be withheld from joining it by horror of its heathen origin. The ceremonials observed at the celebra

tion of the Mohurrum are not confined to processions out of doors; persons of wealth and respectability having an Imaum-barrah constructed in the interior of their own dwellings. This is usually a square building, containing a hall and other apartments, in which the mourning assemblages during the period of the festival are congregated. It is decorated for the time with all the splendour which the owners can afford. The tazee is placed upon the side facing Mecca, under a canopy of velvet or tissue richly embroidered, and near it there is a pulpit very handsomely constructed of silver, ivory, ebony, or carved wood, having a flight of stairs covered with an expensive carpeting of broad cloth, velvet, or cloth of gold. The tazee is lighted up by numerous wax candles, and near it are placed offerings of fruit and flowers, presented by pious ladies to do honour to the memory of the Imaums. The remainder of the hall is fitted up with considerable splendour, furnished with mirrors, which reflect the light from numerous lustres, lamps, and girandoles. Poorer persons are content with less glittering ornaments; and in all, an assemblage is held twice a day, that in the evening being the most imposing and attractive. The guests are seated round the apartment, the centre of which is occupied by a group of hired mourners, consisting of six or eight persons. These men are usually of large stature, and of considerable muscular strength. They are very scantily clothed in a drapery of green cloth, their breasts and heads being perfectly uncovered. A moollah or priest, selected on account of his superior elocution, ascends the pulpit, and proceeds to the recital of a portion of a poem in the Persian language, which contains a detailed account of the persecution and tragic fate of the Imaum. The composition is said to be very pure, and its effect upon the auditory is pro

digious. After some well-wrought passage, describing the sufferings of the unhappy princes, the reader pauses,and immediately the mourners on the ground commence violently beating their breasts, and shouting "Hossein! Houssein!" until at length they sink exhausted on the ground amid the piercing cries and lamentations of the spectators. A part of each day's service consists of a chant in the Hindostanee language, in which the whole assembly join; and the Sheahs end it by standing up and cursing the usurping Caliphs by name, devoting the memory of each offending individual to universal execration. The Soonnees hold these solemn assemblies; but their grief at the cruel sufferings of so many estimable members of the prophet's family does not assume so theatrical a character. Attired in the deepest mourning, they evince the most profound sorrow; and it is persons of this persuasion who manifest the greatest indignation when there is any risk of their processions being crossed by the heathen revelries of the Hindoos. The pomps and ceremonies which precede it are nothing to the grandeur reserved for the display on the last day of the Mohurrum, when the tazees are borne to the place of interment.

This pa

geant represents the military cavalcade of the battle of Kurbelah, together with the funeral procession of the young princes, and the wedding retinue of the bride and bridegroom, divorced by death upon their nuptial day. The banners are carried in advance, the poles being usually surmounted by a crest, composed of an extended hand, which is emblematic of the five holy personages of the prophet's family, and a symbol particularly designating the Sheah sect. Many make a declaration of their religious principles by holding up the hand; the Soonnee displays three fingers only, while the Sheah extends the whole five. The horse of Prince Hossein and his camp

equipage appear, furnished with all the attributes of sovereignty; some of the tazees, of which there is a great variety, are accompanied by a platform, on which three effigies are placed, the ass Borak, the animal selected by Mahomed to bear him on his ride to heaven, and two houries. The tomb of Cossim, the husband of Hossein's daughter, is honoured by being carried under a canopy; the bridal trays, palankeens, and other paraphernalia, accompany it, and the whole is profusely garlanded with flowers. These processions, followed by thousands of people, take the field at break of day, but there are so many pauses for the reading of the poem dedicated to this portion of the history of the events of Kurbelah, and such numerous rehearsals of Hossein's dying scene, that it is night before the commencement of the interment. Devout Mussulmans walk, on these occasions, with their heads and their feet bare, beating their breasts, and tearing their hair, and throwing ashes over their persons with all the vehemence of the most frantic grief; but many content themselves with a less inconvenient display of sorrow, leaving to hired mourners the task of inciting and inflaming the multitude by their lamentations and bewailments. The zeal and turbulence of the affliction of Ali's followers are peculiarly offensive to the Soonnees, who, professing to look upon Hossein and Houssein as holy and unfortunate members of the Prophet's family, and to regret the circumstances which led to their untimely end, are shocked by the almost idolatrous frenzy displayed by their less orthodox brethren; and the expression of this feeling often leads to serious disturbances, which break out upon the burial of the tazees. Private quarrels between the sects are frequently reserved for adjustment to this period, when, under pretext of religious zeal, each party may make an assault upon his enemy without

exposing the real ground of his enmity. In a few places which border the Ganges or Jumna, the tazees are thrown into the river; but generally there is a large piece of ground set apart for the purpose of the burial. It is rather a curious spectacle to see the tombs themselves consigned to earth, with the same ceremonies which would attend the inhumation of the bodies of deceased persons; the tazees are stripped of their ornaments, and when little is left except the bamboo frames, they are deposited in pits. This ceremony usually takes place by torch-light, the red glare of innumerable flambeaux adding considerably to the wild and picturesque effect of the scene. MOLUCCAS, a group of islands situated a little to the eastward of Celebes, and occupying nearly the same Latitudes in the Eastern Archipelago. The principal are Gilolo, Ternate, Tidor, Ceram, and Amboyna. Their most important articles of produce are cloves and nutmegs. They abound with sago, and Amboyna yields also indigo and cayaputi oil. They are free from beasts of prey, but possess the common domestic animals. The principal towns are Ossa in Gilolo, and Amboyna, or Fort Victoria, in Amboyna, the capital of the Dutch possessions. These islands are now generally termed the Molucca, or Spice Islands. They are inhabited partly by Mahomedans, and partly by Pagans of the brown race. They are distinguished as the most civilised and enterprising people of the whole Eastern Archipelago, particularly the Buggesses, who have always been actively employed in navigation and commerce, and are remarkable for their honesty and fair dealing. These islands are subject to the Dutch. The general language on the coast is the Malay.

MOLUNGHEE, manufacturer of salt in Bengal. The salt is procured by solar evaporation. Of the manufacture of this article in India the go

vernment enjoys a monopoly, which enables it to charge as much as three half-pence or two-pence per pound for the article. A large revenue is the consequence of the charge, but it is felt by the native as a very oppressive tax, especially as the insipid quality of his rice, pulse, or vegetable diet renders much seasoning indispensable.

MONGHYR, a town in India, in the province of Bahar, situated on the south side of the river Ganges, in Lat. 25 deg. 23 min. N., Long. 86 deg. 26 min. E. This was formerly a place of considerable importance. It is now principally noted for its iron and leather manufactures, including in the former, guns, pistols, &c. The gardeners of Monghyr are considered the best in that part of India. MONGOOSE, the ichneumon. This little animal is peculiarly serviceable in Indian domestic establishments. He is not only an enemy to serpents, but to rats, mice, cockroaches, and vermin of every description. It is customary to let him run loose about a domicile, and to give him ingress to the hollows beneath the boarded floors and above the ceilings of buildings. He is friendly to the human race, and submits to become as much of a pet as a favourite dog or cat.

MONSOON, a regular or periodical wind in the East Indian and other Asiatic seas, which blows constantly in the same direction during six months of the year, and contrariwise the remaining six months. In the Indian Ocean, the winds are partly general, and blow the whole year round from the same points, as in the Ethiopic Ocean; and partly periodical, namely, half the year from one way, and the other half year nearly on the opposite points: these points and times of alteration differ in different parts of the Indian Seas, and these latter winds are termed monsoons. The change of the monsoon does not occur at one precise period of time; in some

places the time of the change is accompanied by calm weather; at others, by variable winds; those of China in particular, on ceasing to blow westerly, are very liable to be tempestuous; such is their violence (appearing to be similar to the West Indian hurricanes), that the navigation of those seas is very hazardous in those seasons. These tempests the seamen call the breaking up of the monsoons.

MOOCHY, Hindostanee. Saddler; applied also to a bookbinder, or other who works in leather. MOOJDEH, Persian. A present for bringing good news. MOOJETCHECH, Persian. A highpriest.

MOOLAVY, or MOULVEE, a learned and religious man; an interpreter of the Mahomedan law. MOOLLAH, a learned man, a schoolmaster, a Mahomedan priest. MOOLTAN, a province of India, bounded on the north by the Punjab; east, by the Punjab and Ajmere; south, Ajmere and Scinde; west, the Indus. The divisions are Mooltan and Buhawulpoor; and the rivers are the Chenab and Sutlej. This province is generally level and open, in parts fertile and well cultivated, but with large tracts of arid, sandy soil; and partly from natural causes, but chiefly from its having been during many centuries the scene of continual invasions and warfare, it has become for the greater part a poor and thinly inhabited country. Its productions are wheat and other grains, cotton, and indigo. towns are Mooltan, Buhawulpoor, and Ooch. The inhabitants are principally Juts, with Beloochees, Sikhs, and Hindoos. The inhabitants of Buhawulpoor style themselves Daood pootras, or descendants of Daood, from a celebrated chief of that name. The religion is principally Mahomedanism, and the language generally the dialect spoken in Lahore, and called the Punjabee. MOOLTAN, one of the most ancient

The

cities in India, in the province of Mooltan, stands in Lat. 30 deg. 9 min. N., Long. 71 deg. 7 min. E., four miles from the left bank of the Chenab. This was formerly the capital of a Hindoo kingdom, and subsequently the residence of a viceroy of the Emperor of Delhi. MOOM, or MUM, a species of wax, like cobbler's-wax, found in Persia. De Bode says, 66 Near the Straits of Tengi-Teko, from whence the Kurdistan river issues into the plain above the ruins of Arrijan, and not far from the village of Peshkur, is a fissure high up in the mountains, out of which runs a black substance resembling pitch, which is gathered by the natives, and is much esteemed in Persia for its healing qualities, especially for bruises and fractures. It is called mumia, and sometimes mumia-i-Nai, from the name of the village Nai-deh, which lies at the foot of these mountains. The fissure was doubtless originally produced by a volcano now extinct. At the time Shiraz was visited by an earthquake, Behbehan likewise felt its effects; the rest of the hill, from whence the mumia oozed out sparingly, was widened, and since that time it runs out more abundantly, but the quality is said to be deteriorated."

MOONSHEE, or linguist, ordinarily a teacher of some language, particularly the Persian, Hindostanee, and Hindee, though numbers are employed only as interpreters, or as scribes. Learning is their sole pursuit; and so far as that can reach in a country where but little is understood of philosophy and mathematics, some of them advance themselves considerably. Generally speaking, however, a few volumes of tales, the lives of those great men who have either invaded or ruled the empire, some moral tracts, and the Koran (for moonshees are Mussulmans), constitute the acquirements of this class of servants.

MOONSIFF, literally, a just and equi