Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 2.djvu/308

 ^6li CHARACTER OF MAHOMEDANISM ceremonies, takes his seat on the throne, the chiefs of all ranks, from the highest to the lowest, squat- ting on the bare ground, the heir to the throne only being, when in high favour, admitted to a seat of some little distinction. The troops of all descrip- tions, whether those of the household or the rabble militia of the provinces, then pass before the prince in review, moving mostly according to the man- ners of the country in a strutting or dancing atti- tude, and exhibiting costumes the most grotesque and ludicrous than can well be- imagined. Some appear in the ancient dress, — others in the more mo- dern garb of the country, and these to an Euro- pean are the most becoming ; others superadd some of the more antiquated portions of the costume of Holland, The absurd solemnity of some of the figures, and the extravagant and wild gestures of others, afford to a stranger a trial too severe for the most determined gravity. The public charity to be distributed in confor- mity to the institutions of Mahomed, is now dis- played in slow procession, to the sound of a hun- dred bands of native music. It consists of dressed food, chiefly rice, piled up into a conical mass of four or five feet high, tastefully decorated with flowers, and each mass supported on a separate lit- ter, borne along by porters dressed for the occa- sion. From their shape and size, and still more because they are thought to be emblematic of the