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SEPTEMBER, 1907.1 A REPORT ON THE PANJAB HILL TRIBES.
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91. Different ceremonies are performed at the birth of a child. Poor men prepare good food and distribute it among the Brahmans and people of their own brotherhool. On the third day after the birth of the child the farvily celebrate the first feast. The priest comes and prepares the horoscope of the child. Sugar and sweetmeat is distributed among friunds. Singing and dancing parties are given and guns are fired. The second feast comes after seven days, the third after nine, and the fourth after eleven days. The lying-in woman is kept, at the time of child birth, in the lowest story of the house. After the fourth feast the woman takes the child ia her lap. Music is played and songs are sung, and thus the mother, together with some other women, in the first place, worships the sun, and then the gate of the house. Afterwards the household god is worshipped, and some alms are paid to the Brahmans. Among all the women present, presents and sweet meats are distributed. Peoplo of the surrounding territories come with their guns and fire them. They are given soine money or sugar. They present some green grass to the father of the chill as a good omen. They call this grass diib turf). The four feasts are celebrated only at the birth of a son, and this ceremony is named gauntrala. After eleven days, when the last gruntrala has been performad, the mother can go and live in the upper flats of the house. Haran (sacrifice ) is also performed. At the birth of a girl no cereinony, except that of good fool, is perforinel, nor is there any special rule a'out this. As long as the last gauntrala is not performed, nobody either eats food or drinks water from the house of the person where the child was born, except his relatives and people of low castes. This period is termel súčak (impure state). The Brâ'imais are parificl after te days; th: Kshatriyas after twelve days; Banias, Böhrâ an l Süds after fi.teen days, and other castes after one month.
92. If the father be a poor man, th:n he stops his business for three days, becanse his relatives, frien ls anl men of the brotherhood come to congratulat: him. He luas to present to them, ascorlin; to his capacity, some money, sugar or cloth. In wealthy families, feasts and distribution of alms extend over all the eleven days. All the poor men, Brihrans, mendicants, priests and barbers get alms and rewaris. Green turf is presinted and presunts ar given. Dances and other entertain. ments take place. At the birth of a girl the father stops his business for one day, or at the most three day3. Generally on such occasions only food is distributod, and alms and rewards are not given.
93. There is no reasoa, except the on, mentionell above, for stopping business. 94. No special rule or ceremony is necessary to be observed at the birth of twins.
XXVI. - Adoption. 95. There is no particular role for a loption. Generally the custom in the hills is that the adopter calls to his bouse the buy whom he wants to adopt and paints his forchen with san lal paste. A coatract is malo according to the conditions agreed upon. Then they go to the toplo of thy god and break the lingi (a pi-ce of wood, to signify truth of parpose) there, and make a solemn vow before the god that if they do not carry out the contract, then the god may punish them. Soue remuneration is given to the priest an l oversver of the templ, and this is callo lishti. Then the buy bucot he's bound to surve his adopter as his father. The adopter gives every authority to the boy as his son. One rupee is offered to the god.
90. Until the contract has been reluced to writing, or the clingi bas been broken at the Leinpla of thgod, the adoption is consilerel invalid.
97. The validity of the adoption depends upon the performance of this ceremony alone.
93. No custoin, other than thos. given above, prvails in the hill taxts. There is no restriction of age for a loption. However, it is necessary that this lopte le of the sanie blood as the adopter.
XXVII. — Puberty. 99. A ceremony is performed to mark the biginning of pub:rty, which is tormd dasitan Alins are listributed and Brahmans ar feil. In the hills this custom is observel by very few people, except the high castu Kshatriy s.
100. The period of puberty is marked among tbe Ilindus by wearing the sacred thread, and along the Muhammadans by circumcision. Both these ceremoni.'s are performed at a tim: when the boy has gained enough wisdom and sensu to distinguish between right and wrong, and good and b..d.
