A fakir (that is to say, a wandering Mohammedan ascetic) from Delhi
took up his quarters by the tomb of a departed fakir, who is buried by
the side of a footpath, in the field of which the Mission property at
Yerandawana forms part. There are many such-like tombs, here and
there, all about India. They somewhat resemble rude altar-tombs in
appearance, two or three feet high, made of brick or stone, and
whitewashed. Generally they are under the shade of a tree, either
planted at the time of burial or growing there already. On the
anniversary of the day of death faithful Mohammedans will often cover
the tomb with a kind of coarse muslin, edged with gold or yellow
tinsel, and decorate it with flowers. That these tombs are numerous,
and that they are often found in remote country districts, is
accounted for, firstly, by the fact that this kind of asceticism was
formerly much more popular than is the case now; and, secondly, that
as the fakirs wandered everywhere, and ultimately died in the course
of their wanderings, each would be buried where he happened to die.
The Mohammedans of the district would then build up the, not very
expensive, tomb as a tribute to his religious profession, without much
reference perhaps as to the amount of strictness with which he
fulfilled his obligations.
The tomb at Yerandawana is in a very exposed situation. The only
shelter, several yards off, is a _barbel_, which is a tree bearing
small leaves and covered with thorns, and hardly affords any shade at
all, so that the fakir was exposed to the scorching rays of the sun
all day long. This has not the same malignant effect on an Indian that
it would speedily have upon an Englishman, but the former dislikes
sitting in the sun in the middle of the day quite as much as he values
the genial warmth of its morning rays in the cold weather.
After the fakir had lived here a while I went to call upon him, and
squatted down beside the tomb. A tall slender bamboo, which in such
cases is usually adorned with a little flag, marked the spot. He had a
small lantern burning at night, which I used to see glimmering when I
closed the church door after Compline. His other property consisted of
the crutch-stick, which is the emblem of his profession; a brass bowl
for water; a piece of sacking and an old blanket for his bed. There
was also a large accumulation of ashes from the wood fire on which he
prepared his food.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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