The Orangeburg democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1879-1881, 1879-04-04
MOURNING.
HOW 1T is OBSERVED IN DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES. :"

As W. looh pach upon Wy sCru5Sies
of man, ,up"t to the present stage of
civilization, we find that many and
yarled have Been the heans devised
by him for showing forth to the pub
lie the grief ensuing upon death.
The Hebrews of old found vent for
their feelings upon the death of rela-
tives and friends in frantically smiL
ing themselves and tearing their gar
ments and hair. They neither bathea
nor shaved, nor did they cut their
nails, nor dress themselves. Their
beds were not made up. They shut
themselves Hp in their houses, and
salnted nobody. Fortunate ely the Pc
riod for these exhaustipg manifesto
tions was short, being mostly seven,
and never over thirty days. The
mourning customs of the Egyptians
Rero similar to those of the Hebrews,
With slight variation. Their women
ran crying through the streets.
Among the Greeks and Romans
also, mourning for the departed was
conducted in much the same style,
but carried to a greater extreme.
They wore coarse black stuff for
apparel, and rolled themselves in the
mire or dust. They put ashes on
their heads, tore their hair, shaved
their beads, and SCARED their faces.
They cried aloud with often.repeated
drawling tores of lamentation. They
excluded themselves from all enter
tainments and public solemnlties, as
we'll as denied themselves the pleas
ure of music, and drank no wine.
When popular general died the
whole army cut off their hair and the
names Of their horses.
Among the Syrians exhibition Of
grief was deemed SO unmanly that
any man wearing mourning was COM
PEELED to put on female attire.
There are many curious ways of
manifesting sorrow for the departed
still existing in Arabia. While the
men show no evidence of grief, the
women stain their hands and feet
with indigo, which they wear for
eight days: During this period they
will drink no milk, its white color
not according with the gloom Of their
minds. In Syria they have very
affective SCENES ct funerals, by means
Of hired mourning women, who are
adopts in tho art of weeping. A
death there is often ruinous event
for the finances of a family the COM
memorative feasts being 80 costly
and so indefinitely prolonged. White
is the color:'of mourning in China.
All their apparel, even the cord which
ties the gowns, and the very shoes,
must be Of that color. The wearing
is enforced by law under heavy pen
alties. They employ mourning wo-
men at their funerals, who appear to
have immense fountains of tears at
commend. the Japanese also mourn
in white. They shut themselves up
in their houses for fifty days, during
which time they neither shave their
heads nor cut their nails.
Among savages are found many
curious customs for mourning the
dead With the Africans in Nuhier,
tho business of loud lamentation
is understood to perfection, and if a
man die leaying a little property, it
is most likely wholly exhausted by
the 'feasts which are held in honor of
hig memory. If woman die, her
friends of her: own. sex continue for
many successive evenings after her
funeral to make pilgrimages to her
grave. Man must not look upon the
face of woman while engaged IN these
mourning duties. Arrived at the
grave the whole noighborhood is made
to resound with their lamentations
and wailingg. Among some yet
more savage people, the Feejee Is
landers, We find that some fifty to a
hundred fingers are ampptated, and
PLACED oyer the tomb Of a chief, and
although they fast until the evening
during the first ten days after his
death; the period is enlivened by
comic games held in honor Of his
memory. Among the Sandwich Is
land nhtiyee, they blacken tho lower
part of the face, in mourning, and
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