Sierra County advocate. [volume] (Kingston, N.M.) 1884-1960, 1886-10-30
HlNDOO WIDOWS.
The Truly Helpless Condition OF These lin
fortunate Women.


fortunate Women.
The formal period of mourning for a
widow in Bengal lasts for one month
with the Kayasths. the most numerous
and influential class in that part of In
dia--the Brahmins keeping only ten
DAYS. During this time she has TO pre-
pare her own food, eonfining herself to
single meal day, which consists of
boiled coarse rice, simplest vegetables,
clarified butter, and milk. She can on
no account touch meat, fish, eggs, or
any delicacy at all; she is forbidden to
do up her hair and to put any scent or
oil on her body. She must put on the
same cotton sari day and night, even
when it is wet, and must eschew the
pleasure of bed and lie down on
bare ground or perhaps on coarse
blanket spread on it. In some cases
she can not even have her haIr dried
in the sun after her daily morning
ablution, which she must go through
before she can put particle Of food in
her mouth. The old women say that
the soul of a man after his death AS
cends to Heaven quickly and pleasant
ly in proportion 20 the bodily inilictions
which his wife can undergo in the
month after the death of her husband.
Consequently the new-made widow, if
not for any other reason, at least Tor
the benefit of the soul of her departed
husband, must submit to continuous
abstinence and cXcrucating self-intlc-
tions. A whole month passes in this
state of semi-stnrvation. The funeral
ceremonies which drag on till the end
of that period, are all performed, and
the rigid obscrvanccs of the widow of II
little relaxed. if it may be so termed,
since the only relaxation allowed to
her is that she need not prepare the
food with her own hands, and that she
can change her clothes, but always
using only plain cotton saris. The
real misery of the widow, however,
begins alter the first month. 1t is not
enough that she is quite heart-broken
for her deceased husband, and that she
undergoes all the aforementioned
bodily privations. She must also bear
the most CALLING indigntes and the
most humiliating sclf-sacrilices. She
can not take an active part in any
religious or social ceremony. If there
be wedding in the house the widow
must not touch or in any way interfere
with the articles that are used to keep
the curious marriage customs. During
the pooiahs, or religious festivals, she
is but grudgingly allowed to approach
near the object of veneration, and in
some bigoted families the contact of a
widow is supposed to pollutc the ma
terials requisite for the performance of
marriage ceremonies. The widow is,
in fact, looked upon as the "evil ono"
of the house If she has no son or
daughter to comfort her, or if she has
to pass her whole life, as is often the
case, with her husbands family, her
condition truly becomes helpless one.
During any ceremony or grand occa-
sion she has silently to look on, others
around her enjoying and sporting
themselves, and if some kind relation
does not come TO relieve her tedium
she has hardly any thing TO do but to
ruminatc on her present sad, wretchGd
condition. Every female member of a
family, whether married or unmarried,
can 90 to parties, but widow can not,
and if she expresses amy wish to join
the family on such occasions it is in
stantly rcpresscd by the curt rcbuke of
her mothcr-in'law or some other rcla-
ton that "shc is a widow and she must
not have such wishes. ~ DdrcndrG ".
DaS, IN Nineteenth century.