Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057352).pdf/131

 PAR 123 of primitive furniture to be commonly seen in the interior of a Partabgarh peasant's hut. As a rule the owner is careful in observing the old maxim- a place for everything and everything in its place; for one seldom sees confusion and untidiness in his internal arrangements. Filtb and rubbish may reign rampant outside and around the dwelling, but, generally speaking, the inside will be found to be neat and clean. Food. As might be expected from the foregoing details, the food of the masses is exceedingly simple, and varies with each harvest. After the rabi harvest cakes made of wheaten flour, ground barley, peas, grain, &c., are chiefly eaten. Rice and other kharíf grains succeed to these in their season, and are varied with lentils (dál). As a savoury adjunct ghi is mixed with their food by those who can afford it. “Gur" (molasses) is also a luxury which but few comparatively can afford daily. It is chiefly eaten with the noon-tide " chabena" or parched grain. Vegetables and fruit are, in their seasons, largely consumed. The first meal is gene- rally taken between 9 A.M. and noon, and the second after sunset. Sel- dom is food taken before 9 o'clock in the morning. For those engaged in agricultural pursuits, the women of the house always cook and prepare their food. In fact, the hard work and general drudgery of the household here, as elsewhere in India, falls to the lot of the weaker vessel. Dress and ornaments.—Excluding the wealthier classes, who can afford fine muslins, silks, &c., the mass of the population may be separated into two divisions with regard to the nature of the material with which they usually clothe themselves. The least poor of these two divisions wear, as a rule, the English fabrics here known as “ márkín" and "nainsukh," while the dress of the poorest class is almost entirely composed of the coarse country materials called "gárha," "dhotar," and " gazi." The ordinary dress of the Hindu is the “mirzái," or short jacket with sleeves, below which is worn the “dhoti." Round the head is twisted the "dupatta,' which is a long narrow strip of any common material. The Muhammadan usually wears tight “páejámas," fastened round the waist and reaching about six inches below the knee, over which he throws the "kurta," or long loose garment with sleeves, which falls down as far as the knees. The mirzai of the Hindu is fastened in front on the right, while the similar fastening of the Muhammadan garment is on the left. The Hindu female peasant attire is the dboti and the "lahnga pharia." lhe former is, as a rule, the dress of the older women, and the latter that of the younger. The dhoti is simply a large sheet, two-thirds of which are rolled round the body, and the remainder thrown over the head and shoulders. The "lahnga pharia," consists of two garments viz., the lahnga, au kind of petticoat, commonly made of some stripped or coloured material, fastened at the waist, and the pharia, a simple piece of some coarse mate- rial like gárha, &c., and not unlike the dhoti . It is thrown over the head and upper portion of the body, and the ends in front are tucked in beneath the lahnga. A " kurti" or short jacket, without sleeves, or with very small sleeves, is often worn with either style of dress. The dress of the Muhammadan women does not much differ from the above, except that the Qureshi women often wear loose páejámas and a sheet (or as it is in