The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-11-25
rlsE mrrDoO COW.
How g IL worsnfppea BY the Faith.
ful--Extraordinary sancfstty or shs
Animal.

mas ever arrived NJ Surn ut2nltles " TIC
Hlndoo COW. The monkey Is sufficiently
sacred, and II goes bard with the novice
who, unconscious Of his sacrilege, shoots
the village peacocks. In other countries, as
In the case Of the dog aud baboon. bull and
ram, crocodile, hawk, and This Of ancient
Egypt, or the eagle and crow, snake,
wolf, shark, and pike OF the modern
clan-animal worship, many birds and
beasts, reptiles and fishes, have attracted
TO themselves the homage OF nations. But,
putting them all together, whether In fur.
feather, or scales, they do not collectively
outweigh the stupendous sanctity with
which Brabmanism has invested the COW.
The bull shares in some degree its part
ner's honors, and In the more exclusively
Iiindoo towns sacred cattle OF both sexes
lounge about the streets. No place Is for
hidden TO them, and they are free Of every
stall. Wherever they choose TO feed, there
they are at liberty to eat, and wherever
they choose 10 lie down, that place Is
theirs. The sweetmeat-seller may bride
the sacred beast with q lump OF sugar.
stuff to pass on TO the next stall, or the
grain-seller may exchange chatty Of
cheaper grain for that into which the las.
tidious beast has plunged its black muzzle,
yet they are never struck and seldom re-
preached, except with qualifying phrases
of respect. In which the merchant depre-
Gates his four.legged visitors displeasure,
or apologies for his refusal OF more viands
on the score OF his own poverty. The COW
and not the bull, however, is prominently
the object OF worship. The latter may be
specially sacred as the "yehicle" OF this
god or particular symbol OF that, but the
former pervades the whole religion, and it.
self adds a sanctity TO every deity in the
Pantheon. When Brahma, the all-father,
took upon himself the beneficent func-
ton of creation, he first made the gods,
and then the holy men. and the cow and
the Brabman were produced by the same
act OF creative power. SO Brahmanism
and The cow are inseparable. and the ami
NAL, the twin, as it were, OF the holy
twice-born," takes rank above many
castles OF men. To save the life OF COW,
| TO do il a service, TO tend it in sickness, to
revere Ii all times, are almost as advantage
Gus i'm the hereafter as IL the same acts
| had been done toward n Brahman. To
kill COW, TO wound 1t, or to
insult it, is reckoned, in the full austerity
Of Brahmanism, n more heinous offence
than similar wrongs inflicted upon
the lowest castles Of human beings. The
mere act OF eating "ghee "-caritied but
ter-condones many sins, while the con-
sumption OF ''the five products " of the
COW cleanses from all pollution. The camel
selected TO carry the Sultan's annual gift
of the new veil TO Mecca Is in memory OF
the beast which the prophet rode, treated
with all the pomp and care that would
be extended to majesty itself, and the
competition for the honorable posts OF
attendance upon the brute is some
tunes very keen. So, too, in Egypt
once a year the sacred animals become, by
priestly condescension, the objects Of public
solicitude and recipients OF public service.
Among the Hindoos every COW lives in the
same sanchty perennially, and enjoys
universal tenderness OF treatment from
years end to years end. During all the
rest OF the twelyemontb, when it is not
lettering along the caravan route to the
Holy city, the camel Of Islam receives but
scant respect from a provoked rider or
short-tempered owner. So, too, the furry
obliquities of Egyptian alteration relapsed
in the majority of cases and for the
greater part Of the year into their proper
places in the animal world. But the glory
OF the COW OF Hindostan, like that OF
its prototype in Vedic legends, is never in
eclipse. 1t is always at the meridian. In
the old primitive fancies with which
geological mythology so largely concerns
itself. the cow was, beyond all comparison,
the most conspicuous feature. 1t was the
sun, moon, and stars, thunder and light
ming, rain and wind and mist. Everything
that could be seen in nature, and nearly
everything that could be guessed at, found
4
OF the cow-''the mother OF the
GODS" "goddess OF abundance" "cher-
Usher OF man." So to this day we
find 1t in Hindoo zo0latry rs the supreme
expression OF the kindness of the powers
Of nature tc man, and authentic proof OF
the goodness Of the gods. Though all the
herds that other peoples worshipped have
gone from the earth with the credulties
upon which they pastured, the bull Of
SILVA and the COW OF Brahma have still
their affairs in thousand temples, and ar
rogate the central dignity in q religion
which has two hundred millions of be-
levers. To this day Hindoos devoutly be- |
lieve in Kamadhuk, the "Cow OF Plenty"
which yields in Heaven, from her eXube- |
rant udders, every gift and blessing which |
the spirits OF the dead can demand.
In Difference TO the extraordinary sane |
tity of the ANIMAL it is an order of Govern |
ment that beef should only be prepared for |
the market, for European and native alike, |
at certain specified spots, as far as possible |
from every risk OF offending Hindoos, and |
selected very often by the Hindoos them |
selves as the least Objectionable place for |
the abominab;e act. The driving Of cattle |
to slaughter-yards is the same way protect |
ed by regulations, so that the worshppers |
OF the horned things shall not be distressed |
by seeing the objects OF their reverence |
subjected TO a drover's rough treatment |
or hearing them insulted by his abusive |
language. After death, again, the carcass |
can only be exhibited within certain pre-
mises-the special beef market set apart |
Tor the purpose. SO that, as far as admin
istratiye vigilance can accomplish il, the |
sentiments OF the Hlndoo in the matter of |
its sacred cattle are carefully guard |
ed against the chances OF affront.
The mutual bitterness Of the two great |
religions, however, in spite OF the pro-
digious results attained by education and |
the comparative modernizatlon Of the up
per classes OF native society, is still terri
bly, keen, and Hindoo and Mohammedan
alike are perpetually on the alert to sus-
pect an insult or avenge one. The Mo-
hammedan droyer, therefore, il In par
dcularly wilful humor, will sometimes so
manage it that his FESTIVE charge escapes,
and that, being carefully hunted by him
in the direction OF the Hindoo bazaars, some
popular temple, or bathing-ghat, il shall pa
rade its misfortunes and proclaim the fate
which awaits ii TO as many Hindoos as Dos
sible. Every chance he gets of striking il
with his "lathe" is nimbly seized. and
when the animal is not within reach Of
stan or stone he vociferousy assails il with
abuse; for he knows that many who see
him strike the COW would willingly submit