The Sunday herald., 1886-11-28
THE RITE OF JoHUR.
An AwfuI Sacrifice Made by Fnnoticsl
Women In OLD India.
IA Hindoo IN the Pail Mail Gazette. |

A HindOo IN the Pail Mall Gazette.l
In a Renters telegram Of the 2lst q October !
curred In Brahmin village near Neemuch, In Benz
gal the object being TO avoid the TonH Durbar as
funeral pyre, ar and srayey met death. Tho villagers
afterward took their charrcd heads 10 Odeypore.n
Neemuch is town and British cautonmcnt In tie
territory OF Gwalior, and Is situated at short dis
lance from the boundary separating that tract Of
country from the state Of odeypore, in Rajpooiana
place, il anywhere, for it is essentially Rsjpoot
rite, like The sacrifice OF widows aud infants.
The present case IL remarkable one. for Johur, IN
past history, was never used to avoid assessment
and the telegram does not say whether the victims
are male or female.
come extinct by It. as is seen by several instances
recorded In the history Of the Rajpoot staes What
II signifies is the burning OF women to save their
honor OF his women, and 10 prevent their falling into
the hands OF conquerers then to bc delt with as was
has recourse to tho Iohnr-tSst ia to say, ie mIno-
ls,ion OF every female OF the family. And the Raj
poot woman gladly embraces such refuge from
forced away as captive. she would prefer II to liv-
| Ing on rs widow.
fine loss OF hattie or the capture of city du ring
the Mahometan invasons was usually the time when
this dreadful rite was practised AT the end OF the
famed seige OF Cheetore, by Aaujdin, In 1903, the
Ra!poot chief, after an arduous day, passed the
night In ponderlng the means by which, he might
save from the general destruction one atleast OF MS
Twelve sons: Eleven OF them fell during the 81 mex, ext
1
| Rama he proclaimed the Johur The funeral pyre
| was lighted within subterrancau chambers where
the SUMS rays mad entered, and the defenders
OF Cheeiore beheld the queens, and their own wives
and daughters to the number OF several thousands
pass In procession TO the i1re. The beautiful Pud
mani the consort Of tho Rama, who was believed tc
he the chief object Of attraction for the conquerine
Tartar, came last In the thrOng. The door OF the
caverns closed; the nresraged within; and the honoi
| OF the RaJpOnt women was saved. When aftcr
wards Ala-uddin entered the capital on the death o
the Rama and his surviving son. who fell In the con
nlct, he found II strewn with the bodies OF It's de
| tenders, while smoke yet issued from the recesses
whore the women had perishcd.
| Again during the second siege 0f Chectore by
Bahadoor Shan OF Gulrat In 1890, when the bravest
had fallen In defending the breach caused by his
artillery ut was served by Portuguese adventurers)
the Johur was proclaimed. There was llttio tim,
to build the pyre. Combustibes were heaped up II
| hnrredly- made hoows In the ground aud maya
zines were placed around them. The mother OF the
Infant prince led the procession OF willing vicim
to their doom and $4,000 females were thus immo
lated at once.
In the Jonur on the occasion OF. Firoz Shahs at
tack upon Jessulmir some years after the even
a6eve described, $4,000 females were destroyed.
| The JOhur was practlsed not only when the fo
was the lustful aud bloodthirsty Tartar there ar,
also instances of II In the ntcrtribal wars OF tn
RajpOOts. Numerous Inscriptions on stone and oi
brass, according to the arch@Ologsis record as th
first token OF victory the captive wives of the foe
aud the law of Manu- with regard to female captive
In war is analogous to those OF Moses and Mahome
on the same point,