Analysis of the manuscript of Haft Tamāshā from an anthropological perspective

Mirza Mohammad Hasan, with the nom de plume Qateel, a Persian speaking poet and writer of the Indian Subcontinent, composed the book Haft Tamāshā, in 1226 H./ 1811 CE, his objective being the recording of the custom and practices of Hindus and Muslims living in the Subcontinent. The major part of this work is devoted to a description of the practices and rituals of the inhabitants of such cities as Kashmir, Ponjab, Shāhjahānabād (Delhi). Some of these traditional practices are specific to Hidus and some to Muslims, and yet there are others common among the two groups. Qateel has tried to impartially expound the practices most of which he himself had observed directly, and that were closely connected to his social life. The sections on the traditions and rituals of marriage, including marriage proposal, sācheq kardan (sending clothes, jewelry and confectionaries by a groom to his bride the day before the wedding day) , hanā bandān (staining fingers and nails with henna) and wedding ceremony, are among the most fascinating part of the book, written rather extensively in a simple and eloquent prose.
In this article, the Haft Tamāshā MS has been probed from an anthropological viewpoint.