Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-09-13
The Feast OF Juggernaut.

Ihe Indian correspondent OF the
London Times thus alludes to this
Hindoo feast, at which he was pres
ent: .ie 1.
81 saw nothing at all like licen-
tiousness during my tour; and it is
curious fact that this is the one
festival that empties all the zcnanas.
The women arrive in crowds, num-
bering from thirty to forty each, in
some eases from long distances,
each woman bearing her offering of
rice, flowers, fruit, ETC., for the god.
No good Hindoo dares to refuse his
wife permission to assist in doing
honor to Juggernaut, and it is possi-
BILE that there may be improprie-
ties in some way before the mass
of the people reach home, though 1
am convinced that there is nothing
of the kind on the scale supposed
by many good people in England,
and what there is must be apart
from the festival.
''Temple is in large inclosure,
and. when l saw it last week, was
lighted up. The inclosure was
literally filled with people, mostly,
if not entirely, women and children,
all stretched on the ground, asleep
or trying to sleep. Not foot of
the inclosure was unoccupied. In
front of the car there is much
larger space of ground open to the
road, aud it was similarly crowded,
and SO were the sides of the roads,
highways and byways, for, I am
sure, two miles. The full moon,
shining from cloudless sky through
the picturesque bamboo, plantain
and cocoanut palm upon the white
coyerings-I can hardly say dress
and upturned faces (the latter the
very picture of placid serenity sup
piled light and shade for a picture
to which the practical life of Europe
has no counterpart, or anything at
all approaching one.
''For about half mile on each
side of the car the center Of the
road was densely crowded with men
fall castles and positions in life
laughing and chattering with a
noise that resembled nothing so
much as the distant roar of the
sea. And still the bands of women
came strolling in from every road
that led to the temple and the car;
and right glad many of them seem
ed when they had relieved them
selves of their loads and thrown
themselves down at the roadside to
pass away few hours before morn
ing. They all-men or women
courteously made way for our horse
slowly led along the road. They
made way also for each other.
There was no drinking, no quarrel
ing, few merry-go-rounds going
round, few peep-shows open,
books and thousand other articles
for sale; several native Christian
preachers denouncing Juggernaut
sturdily, and no one interfering with
them in the least, but in many cases
listening quietly, and going away
as quietly.
"That is the scene, roughly
sketched, of the night before the
bathing of Juggernaut. / do not
think there is a people in the world
who would SO patiently have
heard their god denounced under
the very shadow Of his temple-on
the sacred ground certainly-on the
night before the great festival. It
is marvellous scene, and would
make the fortune of a good artist
who could hit upon such night
for a sketch as a few friends and /
had for our view this year. | am
bound to say that believe the
festival to have been oftener dread
fully caricatured than even passably
fairly portrayed in England. l am
sure that if Dean Stanley had been
present, and master of the Ben
galee tongue, he would no more
have preached to that people than l
would"