The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1885-02-13
The Offerings of the Dead.


Probably few among us fully realize
how tremendous q proportion of the
worlds worship, in all ages, and in all
countries, has ever been, and even con-
tinues to be, lavished on deceased ances-
tors. Next to the simplest forms of ma
ture worship must assuredly rank that
not only of the great departed the he
roes are exalted to the rank of dcmi-
gods-but the human ancestors of every
degree. Time would fail us, were we
TO allow ourselves a retrospective glance
over bygone ages, to note the place held
by this reverence among all the might
est races of the earth. We find it in the
rude worship of African tribes, when the
careless slaughter of snake or a crow
is sufficient to exasperate races who be-
lieve that under these forms their an
cestors are guarding them from harm.
And in many Pacific isles that reverence
takes almost identical forms, and the
fear of angering the dead, forms the
necessity of propitiating them, is per-
petual care overshadowing the living. To
turn to the more elaborated systems of
civilized man, we cannot but note
how largely homage to the dead enters
into the devotions of the living. Look,
for instance, at India, and the Brahmini-
cal teaching on this subject accepted by
two hundred millions of our fellow
subjects. They are taught that no mat
ter how good a man has been, if his
funeral rites are not properly conducted,
and his cremation is neglected, he be
comes malignant demon, unless in
deed his remains should find their way
to the holy river Ganges). The man
who dies violent death-by the hand
of the eXccutioner, by suicide, or by ac-
cident-and whose cOrpse is not rescued
and duly hOnorcd, becomes Bhuta, i. e.,
and evil demon. Should it be impossible
to recover the body, his son ought to
make an image of sacred kusa grass to
represent him. and cremato that in his
stead. Among tho unhappy demon
spirits are numbered all those who have
died without leaving sons to make offer
ings on their behalf; therefore the
ancient Nedas provided for special ser
vices of extraordinary length, and most
intricate ritual, to be conducted by six
teen classes of priests. These continued
for weeks and sometimes for years, their
object being to obtain from the favor of
the gods an Tnbroken line of descendants
for three generations, in order to secure
the proper performance of funeral rites
AS every man was bound to Sc
cure the happiness of three past gen
erations, so he himself was dependent on
the three that came after him, and thus
were seven generations ever linked to-
gether. In those ancient days, 500 i. c.,
ere cattle had become objects of worship
a COW was sacrificed at funerals that the
dead might feast on the aroma, as doubt
less the surveyors did on the substantial
reality; portions were also placed in the
hands and on other parts Of the corpse,
which was then burned, ana the spirit
was waited upward on the smoke. Then
for many days the family daily offered
balls of rice at the place of cremation,
that the germ of new body might feed
thereon and develop; till this was &C
complshed, the dead was restless, dis
embodied ghost, incapable of suffering
hell or enjoying heaven. After this the
ashes were collected in an urn and
buried, and thenccforth periodical offer
ings of water and rice balls were offered,
with prayers to all the dead relations of
the three last generations. who then, as
now, were wholly dependent on the liv-
ing for the supply of all things nccdiul
to them, as we'll as their dcliverance
from purgatory. british Quarterly Re
Tiejr