and performed in private. They have distinct and separate orders among themselves; and the mysteries divulged to the higher orders are not known to the lower, who are gradually initiated into the arcana of the higher circles as they advance in faith. The religious formula (mantra) of the sect is as follows:— ‘O Great Lord Kartá Aul! In thy happiness I walk and talk. I speak what thou dictatest; I eat what thou givest. Not a moment am I without thee. The Guide Guru is true; falsehood is misery!’ (The last sentence is repeated three times.)
The Kartábhajás observe ordinary Hindu rites and ceremonies, and perform the prescribed pújás or offerings. They accept as a rule of life, ‘amidst men to follow the ways of men, but to know that amongst the true gurus there is only one law.’ They still pretend to cure diseases; and the water of a certain tank called the Himságar, or a handful of earth taken from below a pomegranate tree in the garden of the Páls, where Rám Smaran’s wife was buried, are believed to be peculiarly efficacious. If these remedies fail to procure relief, the result is attributed to the sufferer’s want of faith in the Kartá. The Kartá or Spiritual Head celebrates the Dol Játrá, or swinging festival, every March, on which occasion thousands of his followers proceed to Ghoshpárá, in Nadiyá, the village where the fair is held, and offer presents to their spiritual leader.
The Musalmans, according to the Census of 1872, number 1,020,984 souls, including Calcutta, or 38.4 per cent. of the total population, the proportion of males to females being 55.2 per cent. The Collector reports that the large Muhammadan population in the 24 Parganás is probably descended from the Hindu or aboriginal inhabitants of the District, who were converted to Islámism either by force or persuasion during the time of Muhammadan rule. No new sects of Musalmáns seem to be springing up. A few Wahábís are found in the District, but they are not actively fanatical.
Christians.—In 1870, the Collector reported that the number of Native Christians in the District, excluding those in the town and suburbs of Calcutta, was about six thousand. They are for the most part cultivators, and are generally as well off as the rest of the peasant class. In 1872, the Census disclosed a Christian population of 13,767 in the general District, and 21,356 in Calcutta, making a total Christian population of 35,123. It must be remembered that this includes Europeans, Americans, Eurasians, etc. These classes numbered 24,748 throughout the District, inclusive of
