Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-12-01
SOciaI Life in India - WidOwhOod In
HeunoI

HeuUnls
Gsngooly, the Christianized Brahmin, says
in his work just published:
The very day girl becomes a widow, her
colored clothes, silver and golden ornaments,
are all taken off, and a mark of red powder,
which every married woman wears on the
forehead, is rubbed out. Hencetorth she is
to dress in white, and wear no ornament of
any kind whatever during her lifetime. Her
daily meals are reduced to one, aud that is
prepared in the simplest way possible, She
is strictly prohibited the use of any sort of
animal food. This restriction has been car
ried to such an extreme, that, if a scale Of
fish be found in the plate of a widow, she
must Immediately stop eating and go with
out food the same day. Each widow is re-
quired to cook her own food, and to abstain
entirely from food and drink two days, aka
Husly, in every month. There are other
fasting days for this class of wretched
women, but the young ones feel satisfied with
observing the two fixed ones. Who can
witness the sufferings, the sighs Of the Ben
galee widow of thirteen or fourteen years, on
the fast days, without pity2 In the warm
days of April when the burning sun dries
up the ponds of their water, scorches the
leaves of the trees, these poor victims to the
rigidness of superstition faint and pant in
hunger and thirst. fthey are dying on the
aka thasly day, a little water will be put to
the lips, merely to wet them. In order to
escape these continued sufferings, it has been
the practice with many widows to burn
themselves with the corpse of the husband
and though the subtle Brahmins inculcate
various rewards for the burning of the Shut
tee, yet can not see any thing more weighty
than the putting an end at once to all their
troubles, even at the guilt of suicide. They
have no hope of ever cheering their widow
hood in the world.
A learned Brahmin, the principal of CAL
cutta Sanscrit College, is earnestly engaged
in redeeming the condition of the widows,
by introducing the system of widow mar
riage. Having o deep knowledge of the
natioral literature also the Scriptures of the
country, he traced back its customs and in-
stitutions, and wrote pamphlet in which
he succeeded in proving that widow mar
riage had been known 10 the Hindoos of old.
His reference to the aneients, his able argn-
ments and pathetic discourses in behalf of
the wretched millions, were met by the peo-
pie with the ferocity of lions. Nearly sixty
pamphlets were published by the enemies of
the widows, against this great reformer.
Amid the heavy shower and thunder of re-
proach from his blind countrymen, this noble
child of God, with few friends by his side,
with the love of humanity in his heart and
the smile of his Father upon his head, stood
firmly, and, summing all his forces, main
tdlIeu Tie uOuOT uHu superiority III Ine Helu,
With an elaborate work he answered his OPP
ponents, confuted their mistaken reasonings,
and 10 their great modification, married a
hSoung Brahmin widow of sixteen to a suit
able bridegroom. May he be successful in
instituting this wished-for system, which will
save the females of Bengal from manifold
suferings and sins ..r sr-a
1t ought to be observed in this place, that
no widow is asked or forced to die with her
husband. She who voluntarily takes up her
cross and follows after her beloved husband
of life is welcome. Every preparation win
be made to help her in this act of mistaken
devotion. / have heard of some widows,
who made all the necessary arrangements
for this mode of suicide while their husbands
were living. AS it would be disgrace to
the family in case Of her failure, the people
ask her to consider the matter well, and fnd-
ing her firm in her position, bind her and
her dead husband together with some cords,
| and lay them both on the Chitta or funeNl-
pile, where she is burned alive amid the
praises of the spectators. In many instances,
the devoted widows, forsaking their little
ones, and committing them 10 the care of
others, have followed after their husbands.
| It'll heart-rending scene, indeed, to behold
| the wretched children, who, with horror un-
| speakable witness the death of their two
dearest relatives on earth-the one taken
away by the natural death, the other, yea
| the sweeter, the tenderer of thetwo, victim
to superstition, martyr to her conviction of
the mistaken precepts OF her priests.