Reflections.
In the ready belief which the inhabitants of Mooltan grant to such absurdities, we see little to exalt them in the scale of reasonable beings; but it seems inherent in the people to propagate and uphold such delusions, for there are tales equally improbable regarding every tomb in the city. Rookn-i-alum, the son of Bhawul Huq, removed to his present sepulchre when dead.
Religion of the Seiks.
At Mooltan we first saw the practice of religion amongst the Seiks. In a veranda of the tomb of Shumsi-Tabreezee, a “Gooroo,” or priest of that persuasion, had taken up his abode since the conquest of the city. We found him seated on the ground, with a huge volume in front of him; and a place covered with cloth, like an altar, at one end of the apartment: he opened the book at my request, and repeating the words “wa gooroojee ka futteh,”[11] touched the volume with his forehead, and all the Seiks in attendance immediately bowed to the ground: he then read and explained the first passage that he turned up, which was as follows—“All of you have sinned; endeavour therefore to purify yourselves: if you neglect the caution, evil will at last overtake you.” I need hardly mention that the volume was the “Grinth,” or holy book of the Seiks: their reverence for it amounts to veneration, and the priest waves a “choury,” or a Tibet cow’s tail, over it, as if he were fanning an emperor. The Gooroo was free from pomp and pride, and gave a willing explanation to our enquiries: he opened his holy book to acknowledge the gift of a few rupees, that I made in due form, and requested my acceptance of some confections in return.
Intolerance.
The presence of a Seik priest, and the paraphernalia of his order, under the roof of a Mahommedan tomb, will furnish a good commentary on the state of that religion in this country; it is barely tolerated. In this city, which held for upwards of 800 years, so high a Mahommedan supremacy, there is now no public “numaz;” the true believer dare not lift his voice in public. The “Eeds” and the Mohurum pass without the usual observances; the “Ullaho Acbar” of the priest is never heard; the mosques are yet frequented, but the pious are reduced to offering up their orisons in silence. Such has been the state of things since Mooltan fell, in 1818, and yet the number of Seiks is confined to that of the garrison, from four to five hundred men. The Mahommedans, who amount to about 40,000 souls, suffer no other inconvenience from their new masters, who afford every protection to their trade. The Seiks excuse themselves, by alleging, that they have not inflicted, in retribution, one fourth of their own sufferings at the hands of the Mahommedans. They are, I believe, correct in the averment, but religious persecution, is always revolting, and exercises a baneful influence in every age and country.
Climate.
The climate of Mooltan differs from that of the countries lower down the Indus; showers of rain are common at all seasons, and yet the dust is intolerable. For nine successive evenings, we had a tornado of it from the westward, with lightning, and distant thunder. Such storms are said to be frequent; they appear to set in from the Sooliman mountains, between which and the Indus the sand or dust is raised. The heat and dust of Mooltan have grown into a proverb, to which have been added, not unmeritedly, the prevalence of beggars, and the number of the tombs, in the following Persian couplet:—
“Chuhar cheez hust, toohfujat-i-Mooltan.
Gird, guda, gurma wu goristan.”