PILGRIM AGES are extensively made by Hindus, and regarded as very meritorious. Of all the holy cities of the Hindus, Benares takes the first place ; but the shrines at Hardwar in the Himalaya, Dwaraka in Gujerat, Jaganath in Orissa, Panderpur on the Kistna, Tripati in N. Arcot, Srirangam near Trichinopoly, and the island of Ramiseram, are all sacred sites to which Hindus resort. There may also be mentioned Abu, Anupshahr, Aror, Badrachalam, Badrinath, Bhad reswar, Bhagulpur, Bhuvaneswar,Birbhurn, Dania, Dcogarh, Deoprayag, Ganga - Bal, Gaya, Gan hati, Govardhan, Kedarnath, Kurukshetra, Nasik, Parasnath, Puri, Rameswaram, Saugor Island, Sivaganga, Trichinopoly, Trembak. Of rivers, the Ganges takes the first place ; but Hindus reckon five Ganga, viz. the Ganges proper, the Godavery, Kistna, Cauvery, and Tumbudra, and they have twelve holy rivers. The objects of the Hindus in making their pilgrimages are as varied as the human motives, passions, and desires, but chiefly to fulfil a vow or to implore benefits, or in penance. The bulk of the Hindus who make pilgrimages are usually in poverty, and beg from place to place. Many die on the roads, exhausted by the prolonged exertions. To visit their various sacred sites, from the source to the mouth of the Ganges and back again, occupies six years. With Muhammadan of the Sunni sect, Mecca and Medina are the chief pilgrimage cities ; and the Shiah sect visit Medina and Karbala, and Ardabel, in lat. 38° 14' N., and long. 21' E. Tho principal places for their minor pilgrimages arc the tomb of Ali, called Mash'hid-i-Ali at Naj'f near Oda, the shrine of Imam Husain at Karbala, and that of Imam Rana at Maslehid in Khorasan, but tho tombs of all the numerous Innen-zadeli and holy characters throughout Asia are visited. The linnor pilgrimage to the Muhammadan saints of India is termed is Ziyarat, as distinguished from the llaj or great pilgrimage to Mecca in Arabia, but no Muhaintnarlan except the Maliki is bound to pilgrimage unless lie immecits a sum snflicient to support himself and his family. The streets of Mecca, however, abound in pathetic Indian beggars, who affect lank bodies, shrinking frames, whining voices, and all the circumstance of misery, because it supports them in idleness. There are about 1500 Indians at Mecca and Jedda, besides 700 or 800 in Yemen. The Mulianiimulana of Sumatra and of Netherland India largely resort to Mecca.
Amongst the Christians, Jerusalem in Western Asia, and St. Thonid or Mylapore on the Coro mandel coast, an outskirt of Madras, are the chief places of resort. An immense concourse of Christ
ians visit every year, on the 29th September, the fountain of St. Michael near Ballynaskellig, on the coast of Kerry. Then the feast of St. Michael coincides with the autumnal equinox, and conac quently with the sacrifices and the Baal-tinnes of the Druids, which also took place at this period. It is related that Arthga, son of Cathal, king of Connaught, took the pilgrim's staff, and set out for Hiona dia ailithre, a rock or upright stone, and itriallum, going round. Ailathre, used by the ancient Irish, is still employed to designate the pilgrimages to Iona, Jerusalem, or Rome.
The Buddhist pilgrims of Burma visit the great Shoay-dagon pagoda at Rangoon, and the pagoda at Prome, and all the southern Buddhists rever ence the Anaradhapura temple in Ceylon.
With all these races and religionists, Hindus, Hebrews, Buddhists, /duhammadans, and Christ ians, the circumambulation of the shrine forms part of the pilgrim's duty. This was a Jewish practice, it is often mentioned : Walk about Zion, and go round about her, tell the towers thereof.' In India, pilgrim taxes were instituted by Muhammadan rulers on Hindus, but were abol ished by an act passed by the British in 1840, and all interference with the religious cere monials or temples of the natives discontinued.
Pilgrim's-tree, also called Rag-tree, is to be observed throughout Southern Asia, in Egypt, and in Africa. They are trees on which rags are suspended, and Buddhists, Hindus, and Muliam madans alike add to them. In the Peninsula of India, it is usually the common babul tree, Acacia Arabica. Burton says that some believe that Mahomed permitted the practice, and explain the peculiar name of the expedition called Zatsur i Rukaat (place of shreds of cloth), by supposing it to be a term for a tree to which his followers hung their ex-voto rags. Hue in his travels mentions that the Tartars worship mountain - spirits by raising an ' obo,' dry branches hung with bones and strips of cloth, and planted in enormous heaps of stones. Park, also, in Western Africa, con formed to the example of his companions, in adding a charm or shred of cloth on a tree (at the entrance of the wilderness), which was completely with these guardian symbols. The Tarikh-l-Taban mentions it as a practice of the pagan Arabs, and talks of evil spirits residing in the date tree.— Burton's Mecca, i. p. 227.