Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/222

DUDEKULA some of them speak Hindustāni also. Their customs are a mixture of those of the Musalmans and the Hindus. Inheritance is apparently according to Muhammadan law. They pray in mosques, and circumcise their boys, and yet some of them observe the Hindu festivals. They worship their tools at Bakrid and not at the Dasara; they raise the azān or Muhammadan call to prayers at sunset, and they pray at the tombs of Musalman saints." In the Vizagapatam district, the Dūdēkulas are described as beating cotton, and blowing horns. For the following note on the Dūdēkulas of the Ceded Districts, I am indebted to Mr. Haji Khaja Hussain. They claim Bava Faqrud-din Pir of Penukonda in the Anantapur district as their patron saint. Large numbers of Muhammadans, including Dūdēkulas, collect at the annual festival (mēla) at his shrine, and offer their homage in the shape of a fatiha. This, meaning opener, is the name of the first chapter of the Kōran, which is repeated when prayers are offered for the souls of the departed. For this ceremony a pilau, made of flesh, rice and ghī (clarified butter) is prepared, and the Khāzi repeats the chapter, and offers the food to the soul of the deceased saint or relation. The story of Faqrud-dīn Pīr is as follows. He was born in A.H. 564 (about A.D. 1122), and was King of Seistan in Persia. One day, while he was administering justice, a merchant brought some horses before him for sale. His attention was diverted, and he became for a time absorbed in contemplation of the beauty of one of the horses. Awakening from his reverie, he blamed himself for allowing his thoughts to wander when he was engaged in the most sacred of his duties as a king. He summoned a meeting of all the learned moulvis in his kingdom, and enquired of them what was the penalty