The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-06-04
OLD CUSTOMS IN CHINA.
REFORMS WHICH HAVE BEEN Ac-
coMPLISHED BY THE ENGLISH.

to in Spite OF Outside Pressure-The
women-Thrashing Wives.
The people of India have stubbornly
resisted the changes that have gradually
taken place since the establishment of Eng
fish domination in that country But there
is every reason to hope that western civil
lzation will make itself effectively felt there
in the future. A correspondent writes that
slavery and infanticide, tbs two greatest
curses OF the country, have been suppressed
as far as government of half dozen Eu-
ropeans, unaided in the least by public
opinion. has been able to effect it, Inianti-
eide, he says, though probably stil common
among the higher castles, is not now carried
on as recognized privilege sanctioned by
law and usage Ii q husband sells his wife
it is not done in the open market, as il was
down to 1856 Widows are no longer put
up at auction by the heirs and relatives OF
their deceased husbands An elder brother
has no longer such power in his family that
he can ell his own sisters or younger broth
ers into slavery t. pay his debtsat least he
can not do so openly. A whole race, the
Dums, were until this century held as
slaves and could be bought like 50 many
cattle, That is no longer the case What
kumaon used to be like we can in some
degree Judge by the present barbarous con
dition of Nepal, a condition to which ] be-
lieve kumaon would return after ten years
of native rule.
UsAGES OF THE PEASANTRY.
The English have done what they could,
but custom has been too strong for them in
many directions; the marriage of children
is just as common as formerly, the rule 81
the Brahman Just as hard, the condition oil
women just as low Certain usageg of the
peasantry still remain but little shorn of
their original barbarity. The kalatari game
was introduced from Nepal, but the same
custom prevails in many cities of western
Asia, at Shiraz, for instance ON an annual
festival the crowd divided into two parties
and a mimic battle was fought with sings
Many were injured by the stones, and all
the prisoners were sacrificed to Devi kali.
Mr.. Colvin, resident at kathmandu, was in
jured while watching this sport" remon-
strances were made with the Gurkha gov
eminent, and accordingly the people now
pelt bowder instead of each other But
in Jumla, Dot, and the Rail valley, be-
lieve the kalatari is still practiced, and at
Jhula met u man who had lost an eye on
such an occasion.
A singular custom is the basti or rope
festival. Every little group of Kumaoni
villages has its own family of badis or pro-
| fessional acrobats and rope dancers They
are low, despisei caste, they own no land
and have no agricultural duties 1t is be-
lieved that grain sown by badi will not
terminate, and that if h. drives the pillow
the oxen will fall down in the furrow
| and die. A badi is the chief actor
| in the basti ceremony. When the crops
are endangered by long drought, when
the foot-and mouth disease breaks out
| among the cattle, when an nnavenged muir
| der brings a curse on the field where it was
committed, when man eating tiger infests
| the Jungle the wrath of the gods is averted
| in the following manner: A rope of great
length and strength is stretched slantingly
| from the top of the ridge or precipice to the
bottom of the valley below. On this is
placed wooden saddle grooved underneath,
and the badi bestrides it at the top of the
cliff balanced by two heavy bags of sand
| tied to his feet, and speeds whizling down
| the long descent Formerly ii he lost his
| equilibrium and fell, the peasants made a
| rush at him and chopped him into small
| pieces with their knives; nowadays he
merely forfeits his pay This is very con-
| siderable for kumaon gets a rupee 40
cents for every fifty yards of rope and the
rope is sometimes 3, 900 feet along 1t is
| then united and cut into small lengths,
which are scattered over the fields. The
basti is now performed chieflysin Carnival,
but the village badis are still maintained at
the public expense throughout Kumaon, and
near khati | was shown precipice where
the rope had formerly been stretched II
could not have been less than 500 or t;0O
feet high
| THE SUPPRESSION OF SUICIDE.
One of the best things the English have
done in Carnival is the suppression of suicide
at kidarnath, where crowds used to gather
on festal occasions to see men jump over the
| cliff and die in honor of silva. In these
days they devote themselves there less
publicly; they wander around in the snow
above the lofty shrine at the source of the
Gauges till they sink exhausted by cold and
fatigue, and the sleep they think will bring
them to the blessed abodes of kailasa falls
upon them. Suicide by leaping over preci
pleas is still common in India, and one
| III hdtutdNhT,-IS DAT
ticularly celebrated for the frequency OF
these acts Their suppression at Kidanarth
was a triumph of English sagacity. The
temple Brahmans were told that if such
things occurred in future thev would be
held responsible. 1t was, in fact, the ex
hortations of the priests, the music the
garlands, the rapt admiration of the as
sembled crowds that drove the poor fanatic,
to the fatal leap.
1he women Of Nepal are greatly desired
as wives because they work well and dom
mind being thrashed Perhaps like the kir
| giz women they regard it as a proof OF af
lection The law, however, forbids them tc
marry outside of their own country. Sc
the young kumaunis form kidnapping com
pany limited, and the way in which they
conduct business is this: They hire ped
dler to go about among the Nepalese vii
lagos just beyond the Kali, and while HI
peddles he tells the women extraordinary
les about the delights of kamaon, and in
duces n number of them TO agree to run
| away-gitls who have not been sou hit in
marriage, wives unhappy in theirs, an,
widows forbidden by Hindoo law to con
tract another. But the only bridge ovel
| the Kali is guarded at both ends by sol
diers. and the river is swift and hard tt
cross So some dark night the shareholder,
meet and with a courage worthy, as thu
books say, of a better cause, they form 6
line across the roaring water and pass th.
Swomen over. Then they pick out tho one,
they like best the nuptual knot is tied lit
orally, an important feature of the mar
riage is the knotting together of the cloth
ing of the bride and bridegroom by SOM
Gretna Green Brahman on the kumaoI
side of the stream, and the daring kidnapel
has the satisfaction of getting wife with
out paying a price for her, an advantage
thoroughly appreciated in India
New York Tribune.
When the Fish Ii an Infant.