Page:Malabari, Behramji M. - Gujarat and the Gujaratis (1882).djvu/269

253 HOLIDAYS.

glance at some of the national holidays of Gujarát may not be an unfitting conclusion of our itinerary. Chief among Hindu holidays is, of course, the far-famed

No description of Diwáli would be complete that did not extend from nine days before Dasará to fifteen days after Diwáli proper. The holiday preceding Dasará is called nava rátri, "nine nights," which in vulgar parlance has come to be called nortá.

These nine nights are sacred to garbás, generally amorous ditties sung in the streets of Gujarát. A few oil-lamps are placed on a lamp-holder in the centre of an area, close to which are placed