The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1873-05-22

thmaRa 9 narrow Dark alley aai up
two threo sights rf ftckeiy stairs
eith ae two ar three rooms. CA one
side of which Is a.a-a throne elaborate
Is auamcuicl With auseI aa which
are placed their gods. images ta &
feet high dpped ia silk ard t.nseI they
have q god af GODDESS fsE each and
everything. IF rivers raiut fire, harry
est. loFe. evil, etc Some of the gods
sre coed looking. others arc hiieaus,
ugller thsa the worst likeness ] ever
imagined al the ID himself Ibree
og four feet DO front 81 this throne
stauds 81 altar feet high, ornamen-
tod 10 trout. with brass images of gods,
mon, dragons, and devils Over the
altar is hung a lamp ia which a fame
is kept constantly burning. on the
altar are numerous metallic vessels Of
yaiiaus shapes two on three Of which
are filled with holy earth brought from
China. Ia each Joss House the
priests have a private room where they
keep the articles necessary for worship.
Each worsbipper buys as he wants, say
one to q dozen, red wax tapers, or can
dies 3 to ( inches long formed on the
end Of a small sandal wood stick six
inches long, which they light and stick
into the holy earth, where they burn
very slowly and give on q nasty stink
ing smoke then bow three times to
the gods. then kneel and bow their
head to the floor three times, each de-
yotee performs this ceremony before
the god or gods he wishes 10 propiti.
ate, there are several priests in charge
of each House The Joss Houses are
open day and evening, at night they
are lighted with red transparent Ian
terms, as large as half barrel on
which are painted all sorts Of ugly ami
mails, birds, monsters and dragons. In
all these ceremonies there is very little
Of what we would call solemnity, those
performing devotional ceremonies may
feel as solemn as lis, but the others
move about, and talk and laugh as if
they were on the street
/ At funerals, a Chinaman rides on the
hcarse, who throws out on the street,
/ little papers inches wide and 6 long
on which are pasted Chinese eharact-
ers cut from silvered paper, 50 that
they mark the line Of the procession
from the residence to the cemetery,
this is to keep away evil spirits. The
mourners wear white, in one, or more
carriages, and the Lired mourners, with
/ gongs, cymbals, etc, with which, and
their voices, they make an awful din.
Each company has a lot in the cemetery
in which they bury the dead belonging
to their organization. -Four times a
year they "leed the dead" this is one
of their religious ceremonies, a kind OF
pic mic; parties Of two, or three, to
ten or twenty, 60 out in wagons, with
| hogs roasted whole, chickens, boiled
rice, cakes, fruit, Chinese wine, tea,
etc. On each lot is placed a circular
wall about 5 feet high, on which at the
centre opposite the entrance are
Chinese characters name of the com.
pany owning the lot etc, J front of this
is stone platform, on which
they place the hogs, fowls, etc. The
rice is distributed in saucers with a
pair Of chop sticks to each, wines are
poured into small cups, one ofthe men
bows three times to the hogs, then
kneels and bows his head to the
ground three times, another hands him
a cup of wine, which he pours on the
floor, others of the party 50 through
the same ceremony. Bundles Of pa.
pers Of different colors and shapes are
held towards the hogs, etc, and after
3 bows are handed to others who open
and burn them on kind of oven
( They also burn fre-crackers to keep
off evil spirits, some persons perform
I the same ceremonies at a single grave
only with piece Of roast pork, instead
Of a whole hog probably this is an Of
fcring to a brother or particular friend
1 These ceremonies last three or foul
days After the bowling, etc, they all
eat Of the chicken, rice, etc and drink
wine and tea, The remainder Of the
food with the hogs wloie is taken back
to the city and used for food. To show
4, the extent Of this ieasting, | mention
that one lady living on one Of the
streets leading TO the cemetery, couu
ted over 600 whole roasted hogs which
passed her house in one day, en- route
to the cemetery. In the cemetery is d
separate lot for the burial Of women
aud girls
. About foug years after burial thr
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