American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1881-09-24
Hindu Domestic Life.

A notable feature in the dome site life
of the Hindus is the concentration of
| households. Father and sons, with the
| sons wives and children, all con grcgate
| together under the one roof. That roof
is enlarged to meet the enlarged re-
quirements, but the establishment of
separate homestcads appears to be OPP
posed to National instincts, customs and
| religion In the town or in the country
the senior of the family is the common
father of all it's members, and in this
respect there has probably been little
| change for some thousands of years.
No legal act is signed, no important
| business negotiated, no new connection
formed, no family ceremony connected
with birth, marriage, or death, per-
mitted until the head of the family has
been consulted IN the first instance.
| Nor is this an idle ceremony His
voice is supreme, and all the members
of the household so regard it. In the
daily distribution of food the younger
members of family are helped first,
| and the mistress OF the household sell
dom attends to the other matters until
| this important portion OF the days duty
| is complete. On occasions of fcstivity
! the male head of the household and his
mistress are enjoined. both by social
| law and practice, to fast till the last
guest has been served. Even then the
mistress will not take her meal until
| her husband has finished eating; but
this is practice of self denial familiar
to the female members of Hindu house
holds. Festival days are very numer-
Gus in India, and well-constituted fami-
lies pride themselves on a rigid atten-
ton to punctilious observances during
such times.
The mistress of the family is usually
content with the food left by the male
members of the hou> ehold. 1t is I'M
usual for any particular food to be pre-
pared for her especially when in good
health. The thought of her being the
head of the household is supposed TO be
sufficient to make her despise all de-
priyations. She does not seek person.
al comfort. She would have all the
members of the household live happily
and contentedly together. Brothers
and sisters, husbands and wives, domes-
ties and slaves, are treated alike with
consideration by the intelligent and de-
voted head of the family. There is Il
certain simplicity in the domestic life
of a well-regulated Hindu household
that is very charming. For instance,
at a feast or festival, all the members
of the household consider themselves
bound in honor to attend chiefly to the
comfort and en- joyment of the guests.
They never think of their own wants in
comparison. 1t is only when the
guests have been abundantly supplied
and attended to that they think
of themselves. Among the high
er castles the food consists
chiefly of wheat and maize, flour,
grain, pulse, clarified butter or
ghee, milk and sweets. Fish and
meats, particularly mutton and fowls,
are not objected to by the lower castles
if they can procure them, but beef is
an abomination as coming from a
sacred animal, and pork is abhorred as
vile, and as containing the germs of
disease. Only outcast Hindus partake
of these last. Like the Buddhsts, the
higher castles of Hindus reverence the
sanctity of life. They are warned by
their religious writings against shed
ding of blood, against the iniliction of
pain, against the taking of life. They
hold every living animal as sacred as
human being; in Bengal, however, fish
is very generally used as an article of
diet by all classes, in contradiction to
their religious tenets. Nor does this
abstinence from animal food impair the
physical strength or warlike vigor of
Mahratta cavalry have been praised
for endurance and courage by all our
writer's, and the Gurkas and Tilingas
are admitted to make tirst-rate soldiers
-wiry, Obedient to discipline, ready to
endure fatigue and hardship, and by
no means deficient in energy and cour-
age.
The household expenses are usually
betrayed by the senior member or head
OF the family, who is supplied with
funds by all the residents in the house
hold possessed of separate incomes. 1t
is not usual for any interference to be
caused by the other members as to the
details of the daily expenditures, nor is
any attempt usually made to apportion
those expenses ratably. The whole is
done in a spirit of mutual Cancellation
and family affection; nor are quarreis
as to the nature of the provisions sup
piled matters of frequent occurrence.
Living under the same roof and partak-
ing of the same food constitute the chief
ingredients OF domestic concern and
amity among the Hindus. Their sys-
tenn of caste renders the family circle
very exclusive, and prevents much in
discriminate entertainment. In many
respects the Hindu life resembles that
of ancient Greece. In both we find the
same reverence for the family home
stead, the same comparative freedom
of women in the management of the
households, and the same embodiment
of pathological legends in the ancient
history of the country. In culture and
civilization the Bengals are the Athe-
mans of India. --English Magazine.
DySnenSia