[Customs of the Bishnois.] 7. “The Bishnois intermarry among themselves only, and by a ceremony of their own, in which it seems the circumambulation of the sacred fire, which is the binding ceremony among the Hindus generally, is omitted. They do not revere Brâhmans, but have priests (Sâdh) of their own chosen from among the laity. They do not burn their dead, but bury them below the cattle-stall or in a place frequented by cattle, such as a cattle pen. They observe the Holi in a different way from other Hindus. After sunset, on that day, they fast till the next forenoon, when, after hearing read the account of how Prahlâda was tortured by his infidel father, Hiranya Kasipu, for believing in the god Vishnu, until he was delivered by the god himself in his incarnation of the Lion-Man (Nara-Sinha), and mourning over Prahlâda’s sufferings, they light a sacrificial fire and partake of consecrated water, and after distributing unpurified sugar (gur) in commemoration of Prahlâda’s delivery from the fire into which he was thrown, they break their fast. “Bishnois go on pilgrimage where Jhâmbaji is buried, south of Bikâner, where there is a tomb (math) over his remains, and a temple (mandir) with regular attendants (pujâri). A festival takes place here every six months in Asauj and Phâlgun, when the pilgrims go to the sandhill on which Jhâmbaji lived, and there light sacrificial fires (hom) of jandi wood in vessels of stone, and offer a burnt offering of barley, sesamum (til), butter, and sugar, at the same time muttering set prayers. They also make presents to the attendants of the temple, and distribute grain for the peacocks and pigeons, which live there in numbers. Should any one have committed an offence, such as having killed an animal, or sold a cow or goat to a Musalmân, or allowed an animal to be killed when he could have prevented it, he is fined by the assembled Bishnois for the good of the temple, and the animals kept there. Another place of pilgrimage is a tomb called Chhambola, in the Jodhpur country, where a festival is held every year in Chait. There the pilgrims bathe in the tank and help to deepen it, and sing and play musical instruments and scatter grain to peacocks and pigeons. The Bishnois look with special attention to the fire sacrifice (hom); it is only the rich who perform this daily; the poor meet together to carry out the rite on the Amâwas day only. The Gâenas or Sâdhs, who are their priests and are fed by them like Brâhmans, are a hereditary class and do not intermarry with other Bishnois; nor do they take offerings from any but Bishnois. The Bishnois are a regular caste and have been shown as such in our tables; and the returns of the caste are much more to be relied on than those of the sect, for the reason given above that many Bishnois by sect must have been shown in our tables as Vaishnavas, and vice versâ.