Page:The Industrial Arts of India.djvu/90

 of the ensigns of state “ which wise monarchs consider as marks of divine favour.”

The aurung or throne, the chutiur or umbrella, the ^ sayiban or sun fan ; and the kowkebah or stars in gold and other metals which are hung up in front of palaces : and these four ensigns are used only by kings.

The alum, the chut ter towk, and the tementowk, all varieties of standards of the highest dignity, appropriated solely to the king and his military officers of the highest rank.

Then follow the kowrekh or demameh, the nekareh , and the dehl, three kinds of drums ; the kerna of gold, silver, brass, or other metal, the serna , the ?iefeer , the sing , or horn of brass, made in the form of a cow’s horn, all different kinds of trumpets ; and the sing, or conch shell.

Formerly, adds Abdul Fazl, they used to blow the conch shell four hours before night, and the same time from daybreak ; but now the first blast is at midnight and the other at sunrise : — “And one hour before sunrise the lively blast of the serna awakens those who slumber ; and the kenvrekh is beat a little. These are presently joined by the kerna, the 7 iefeer , and all the other musical instruments excepting the nekareh. Then after a short pause, the serna and the nefeer play the musical modes, after which the nekareh is beat, and the people with one voice pray blessings on his majesty.” Thus was the reveille sounded in every camp and garrison of Hindustan and the Dakhan during the plenitude of the Mogol power in India, in the reign of the Emperor Akbar, 1556 — 1605 ; at the very moment when Queen Elizabeth was signing [31 December 1600] the charter of the East India Company, which was to prove its death warrant

In Herklot’s Quanoon-i -I$lam, [Canons of Isla 7 ti London, 1832, the alu 77 is used in the Moharram procession in India are described in detail. They are analogous to the standards used by the Greeks and Romans, and those figured on the