Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-10-26


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Brahmans in religion, Buddhism having its his,s
further east in the peninsula. The Bra hmans.
as caste are homogeneous, except in the class
called kuleen Brahmans, where pOlygamy is
not only allowable. but is quite extensively
practiced. To procure the marriage Of q
daughter into the Kuleen class is an honor
much sought tier aad highly priced, and an
unusually heavy dowry always accompanies
the child wife The peculiar I doc
trias of the transmigration of souls
which distinguishes the Brahman faith, reacts
upon their daily regimen, excluding tterefrom
all forms. of lungea animals and making it
crime to kill even noxious animals, birds and
/ snakes. Mon keys and cattle and elephants are
regarded as objects Of worship. and the deadly
cobra and viper are passed by unmoiested ss
sacred, though supposed to be inhabited
The fakars tpronounc9d fawkeers>, the beg
gars Of India, when refused aims by the En-.
glish, will always curse them miserable
flesh eating Christians" their voca hulary con-
tanning no more opprobrious epithet These
fakirs, by the way, are an anomalous class,
half natural beggar and half religious enthus-
last, who subsist upon the charity
and fears OF the community. 4
man Of any caste who will do a
certain amount of severe penauoe, such as
sleeping upon sharp spikes or over hot ccals,
keeping perpetua! silence, Or taking part in
tue ceremonies Of Juggernsit, becomes
thereby al object Of worship and. if inclined,
faklr Tho H'ndoo religion imposes no
especial obligation to care for the sick or de-
creplt; hence there are no asyiunls nor irfirmar-
les IN India excerpts such as have been established
by the English, and among the higher classes
the Old people are we'll and even affect:onatey
cared for by the Children and tlIis duty is
enforced by the priesthood Each house
among the Bra!ln2ans has special priest, who
exclusively visits IL aud couduc:s the religious
E0rViCHS DtfRrA the family ;6n] ffteSo maj,
are, as a rule, Intelligent, and respectful and
KIND to their own people and TO the mission
aries, bus their ceremonies and many OF their
doGnlAs are revolving and obscene.
Somewhat in the nature Of the public shrinas
which stand upon the thoroughfares of dovout
Cataokc countries, there ara found upon the
streets and roads Of Bengal email brick tenn
pies containing idols. before which tho way
farer may PROSTATE himself in devotion as be
hasteDs his journey.
MARRIAGE CEREMONIES
There are what may be calle1 two marriages
in the history of every Brahman wife; one,
which IS really the pighting of troth, at the
average age Of five or SIX years, and the other,
The real nuptials, at ten or tive We. During
this IN erval the glrl is kept carefully guarded,
IN. her fathers house, from he ou,er world, as
afterWa'u in her husbans zenana; and should
the husband die, she becomes 4 widow, ex-
actly as though the final ceremony had been
performed. | have taught widows not over
GOF oiA ySdlS vi aSE 1 uc III )udlilulSIduS nave u
81 Ihewhat peculiar marriage, which may be not
inaptiy described as ''luohiuS through glass
darkly." The husband and wife Ito be- are
seated on a raised pla form, with a screen be-
tween them, hiding each from the other; the
proper time the screen is slightly raised and
discloses a horizontal mirror, in which their
furtive glancos Tor the first time discover the
beauties and defornlities Of their future help
meets. The marriage ceremonies OF the Brah-
mans have never seen, but have often heard,
aud they are described as mere orgies, Teasing
and carousiug, and degrading in the extreme
JENNA WORK
lt:ls easy now IN -Aidnapore and many other
indian clllas for missionary women to gain
access 10 the zenanas, wealthy men often eollc-
ltlny the teachers to visit them But in the
beginning i. was very difficult to get this per-
MISSION; and that it ever was obtained is due
to the fancy work, embroidered sIppers, caps.
etc.. which the missionary women made. Their
81. gance, and the fact that they were made by
women, excited the admiration of tho babies
or native gentlemen. whose curiosity coon got
the better OF their superstition, did their
ambition Of social custom; and thus the needle
opeued the doors upon the'most heart grinding
Captivity in the world Though the Hindoos
are bgcted, yet they we're more easily i'm
pressed VIII. the policy of educating 5hoir
women, aud reading, writing and the scri ptures
quickly followed the needle in the curIiculum-
The instruction is given, Of course, i'll the
zeuanas, and by. women, either native
OF white; but, each new scholar
becomes soon q teacher in turn, and thus the
work goes on in an ever Increasing ratio Most
of the teaching is the Rensalee tongue.
though some English instruction is giysn,
peclaily IN the schools, and some evangeliZing
is carried on among the MoDamnaeGans in
Arabic. The zenana women are ready scholars,
and are particularly bright in studies
depending upon memory. Mathematics and
other branches requiring much use of The rea-
souing faculties are found to perplex them 8
good deal Geography is difficult for them,
Also as it can we'll be imagined it would be
for those whose whole world since infancy had
been nsrrow court yard and it's encomp passing
walls IN composition they ara very
apt. often learning to write very
good letters in eight months. Tneir
progress il Christianity is necessarily slow.
They are hampored BY their traditional faith
and b. the disgrace which custom heaps upon
them if they ba tlZed, that is, they lose
caste then. forever. Nevertheless, some Of
themin my department. have become profess
ing Christians and abide the consequences
heroicaltv. We do not seek their baptism,
however; preierring to have them retain their
caste for the sake Of the good they can do in
the household
SOME sCGGEsTIcNs.t
The Hindoos can never become civilized. atA
cording to orr standard, uuti they SHAH lose
theic old religion. This faith is so iuterwoven
with the tissue Of their everyday life that they
are Uesoi 1ieo lIOiu ~ toi MCMeNh ioy 1ta
influence they still pIow with al ron-sEod
stick, reap with q sickle anil thresh the grain
beneath the feet of oxen. it slYes them no idea
Of right and wrong, according to our standard
1t inculcaies cbiia marriages aud the terrors
Of 7sldo~tood:A Vt fosters female infauticide BY
it's doctrine Of female depravIy and WORTH
lessnes.. In short it is D. vast Improvement
over fetlc-lism aud Parseeism, but it falls short
Of the real needs of manklni, and it is only
through this foreign missionary work and Its
active support that these poor, bsnighted,
down-trodden and heart broken sisters Of
ours can ever be lifted out of this utter dark
ness,into ,he light of truth and happiness.