Smyrna times., 1877-12-05
Human Sacrifice in India.

In what may be called the Brahminica
period of Hindooism, human sacrifice mus
have prevailed. 1t is even believed b
many that the sects called the Sakta
formerly ate portions of the flesh and dranl
the blood OF the victims sacrificed at th
secret orgies. The first idea of sacrifice
seems to have been that of supplying tn,
deItleS with nOuriShment. Gods and mp1
all feasted together. Then succeeded tn,
notion OF the need of vicarious suffering. o.
life for life, blood for blood. Some deities wer,
believed to thirst for human blood, and the
blood of animals was substituted for that O
men. Other forms of immolation were
once common in India. The Thuss main
tanned that they sacrificed their victims tC
the goddess Kali. Now that ThusiSm Ina,
been suppressed, good deal Of datura
poisoning is practiced 10y the same class ot
people. The killing of female infants once
prevailed extensively in the Paniah and
ana hUphtana, owing to the difficulty OF
providing daughters with suitable husbands
anu the immense expenses entailcd by nun.
tial festivities.
Again, IN former days seifimmo,ation
was common. Many immolated themselves
at the great car festivals, voluntarily throw.
ing themselves under the enormous wheels.
not only or the car Of .Iagannath at Puri in
"l>S': Tut OF other idol cars also. found
HlhiiIar cars attached to every large pagOda
III the south Of India. Some of them are
50 large and heavy that they REQUIRE To be
supported on sixteen wheels, and on a par.
flcular day once a year they are drawn
through the streets by thousands of peo,lc.
Every now and then persons are crushed
under the wheels.
Seli-lmmolation, in other ways, was once
extensively prevalent. There are some
sand hills in the Satpura range dedicated
10 the god Siva-supposed to delight in
uestructlon-irOm rock on which many
youths have precipitated themselves. be.
cause their mothers, being without children.
nave dedicated their first born sons to the
god. with regard to the immolation of
the faithful wife commonly called Sutte,.
->atlJ who followed her husband in death.
and burned herself in his funeral nile
everywhere in India ! saw scattered about
IN various places monuments erected over
The ashes Of Salts, and everywhere sucb
monuments are still regarded with the
greatest veneration by the people. IappiIv
We put stop to this in 1899. though we
had previously sanctioned it under certain
regulations, believing that we ought not To
interfere with an ancient religious custom.
IN one year an official report Of 500 widows
burnt was received at Calcutta. Between
1913 and 1923 the average varied from 500
10 6OO per annum.
VI course, Ieprosv in India, as in other
eastern countries, Is kind Of living death.
Aepefs are excluded from society, and can
Set no employment: and they often gave
themselves up of their own acct rd to be
hn
desIre to be released from physical suffer |
lng. This was called performing samalh |
l9"hSkrIt, Samadhi, suspending the cnnnec-
ton between soul and body by religious
abstracton)
A very respectable Hindoo gentleman |
came to the river Narbada, attended by |
large retinue, to perform samadh, in con. |
sequence OF an inCurable disease under
which he labored. After taking leave of
MS family, he entered boat, which con. |
EvIGyed hln to the deepest part of the river.
lie then loaded himself with sand. and
stepping into the water disappeared
!he population is increasing in degree
which threatens to become wholly nm.
Manageable. Their widows never marry
again not even if their boy husbands die.
leaving them widows at the aye of G. a
woman Is supposed to be sacramentlv
united to one husband, and belongs to him
forever Every town, every village. almost
every house Is full Of widows who are do.
barred from all amusem@nts, and converted
INTO household drudges. They often lead
DAD lives. Their life, like that of the lepers,
Is KIND OF living death, and they would
Oiteh cheeriully give themselves up to be
burned alive it the law would let them.
Ohiy the other day in Napal, where our
-
WIDOWS OF Sir Jung Bahadur became Salts
and burned themselves with their bus.
bands. '''0'' nus
Then, again, the increase in the nuuber
ol eiris who cannot find suitable husbands
- now causing much embarrassment in
1. 1oiiie u'stricts; and even the lepers. wbosa
ltcs i.o. we preserve, involve us in ,,eculiar
uIincdltles. These unfortunate craatrras
roam about the country exacting food rro,,,
the people 10y threatening TO touch ,hnir
children. Here and there we have L,;i,
l'eper Vllllages-rOw Of cottages under treas
devoted to their use; and we make tbo
towns contribute from their local funds IN
support them, while charity ekes out the
pittance they receive.
Formerly, it was possible for devotaes-
WIN tbe object of exciting admiration or
sIAtorlihg ~ aims, or under the delusion that
'heir selttorture was an act of religions
swing in the air attached 10
io'y Pole by means of rope and hook
passed through the muscles of the bacr
Io1ch : seli.inflcted mutilation is now nro.
hlhi'ed. Yet, even in the present day. 10
acquire reputation for sanetity. or TO re.
ceive homage and offerings from the multi.
cuae, or under the idea Of accumulatinc a
store OF merit, all sorts of bodily sufferines.
pehances, and auterities, even to virtual ,
suicide are undergone-the latter being ,
sometimes actually perpetrated out of mere ,
revenge as Its consequences are supposed {