The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1886-12-15
A FIGHT WITH A GIANT.
An Account OF the Ram Lila Festival
in India-Thc One Great CarnI-
val of the IIindoOs.

IN InQlU-lne One 1Tcub SuTul-
val OF the IIindoos.
The following account of the Ram
Lila festival in India, which has this
year been the Occas on of serious T. OF
ing at Delhi and elsewhere, may be Of
interest TO our readers:
1t was brilliant, blazing day in
October, and was the day of the great
religious festival of the Ilindoos. known
rs the Ram Lila We were at Fyzabad
in Oudh, only six miles from one of the
greatest strongholds of liindooism, the
sacred and ancient city of Ajudhia,
whose antiqu ty dates from mythology
cal times, some thousands OF years be-
fore our Christian era. and whose
sanctity as the birthplace OF he
monkey-god Hunuman, and, also, that
line of sun-begotten kinga, is not SUR
passed by any other OF the cities ON
earth.
We had been invited by the Mahara-
jah Man Singh to 60 and witness the
combat between Rama and the demon
giant Ravana, and wher halfway to
Adjudhia found one OF tn, maharajah's
elephants waiting for us, splendid
fellow with his face and ears and
trunk painted deliberately in brilliant
colors. He was covered with cloth of
crimson and green and purple velvet
reaching to within few inches OF the
ground, and heavy with gold embroid-
cry, and on the back was a silver
howdah. Having mounted, we pro-
ceeded in state with native servant
perched up behind us, .olding over
our honored head a huge red umbrella,
and were shortly met by = number of
native gentlemen on elephants nearly
as gorgeous as our own, Sho followed
us to the fete.
The road was thronged with dense
crowds OF men, women, and children
in bright. clean holiday clothes, with II
liberal sprinkling of fakirs among
them, always distinguishable by their
absence of clothes and extreme dirt
nesy Ascetics never have held that
holy men we passed who had painted
his wholc body white. his coat of
paint being his only garment, and who
was apparently hanging from tree.
Another was standing on his h 'ad with
four large firee burning close rOuhL
him, which seemed super fluous with
such blazing gun over head. Bells
were jangling, cymbA's c'ask.ng, toni
toms humping, all softened and har-
mOnized by the all-pervading hum of
the many-lhroated crowd. The scene
was one to be remembered-the great
swaying dark masses of people their
white tirbans standing as thick rs ears
of corn in a wheat-field; tho elephants
rising above the level of tho crowd and
majestically cleaving it asupder as they
strobe silently onward; the countless
domes of mosques and temples stand
ing out sharp and clear in the white
sunlight against the deep blue sky; the
fiat roots and the tops Of tho walls and
balconies covered with swarming
crowds OF women, brilliant as u
kaleidoscope.
And now we were close to the scene
of action, and so tightly wedged were
the people that the elephants could no
longer force Il passage. Towering
twenty feet or more above all surround
ing objects we saw the huge uncouth
figure of tho giant havana. made of
bamboo framework covered with paper
and calico, being drawn to and fro. with
arms outspread, on little wheeled
platform. while two boys representing
Rama and his brother attacked him
from an elephant with lows and ar
rows, and crowds of boys with monkey
masks and tails, representing Hunu
mans monkey ARM. made l>laughts
with fierce shouts and blows. Our clc-
plant was not very sianch, and VIII III
The shouts of battle rose shrill and
savage he woald turn short rogn |,
spreading CONSERVATION and nearly de-
molish ng q sweetmeat stall that was
unwisely near his heels. The interest
of the crowd in the combat was intense
giant was overthrow all struggle |
wildly to get blow at him, while u
mighty roar of triumph filed The all.
mingled with the firing of guns and III.
deep trumpcting of the elephants. who
thoroughly infected with the excitement |
of the moment In a miracuously /
short time the giant was torn to shreds !
and his manglcd remains scattered far |
and wide with vengcful energy. Hun
uman and their beloved Rama had won
the victory.
This is the one great carnival of the
Hindoos. aud when, as sometimes hap |
pens, its date comedies with that of
the great Mohammedan feast of the
there is always great risk
Of collision.