Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1886-12-22
THE HINDU WIDOW.
Looked Upon ss the Evil One Of tho
Household.

Household.
The formal period OF mourning for q
widow in Bengal lasts for one month
with the KayaSths. the most numerous
and influential class in that part of
India-thc Iir,hmins keeping only ten
days. During this time she has to pre-
pare her own food, conIining herself
to q single meal a day, which consists
of boiled rice. simplest vegetables, CHI
or clarified butter, aud milk; she can
OH 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 upon her body. She must put on
the same cotton Snri day aud night even
when il is wet, ami must cSchew the
pleasure of a bcd and lie down on bare
ground. or pvrilal,S on Il coarse blanket
spread on 1t; in some cascs she cannot
even have her hair dried in the sun after
her daily morning ahlutioIi, which she
must go through before she can put q
particle of fo"l in her mouth. The old
women say that tn" soul Of Il man after
his death ascrt,ls To heaven quickly
and pleasantly in proportion to the
bodily intlictions which his wife can
undergo in the month after the death of
her husband. Consequently the new
made widow, il not for any other
reason, at least for the benefit of the
81 4
submit to continuous abs tinence
and excruciaiing sclf-inllictions. A
whole month passes in this state of
semi-Starvation; the funeral ceremon-
les, which drag on till the end of that
period, are all performed, and the rigid
obscrvanccs of the widow are little
relaxed, if il may be SD 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
after the first month. II is not enough
that she is quite hcart-brOkcn for her
deceased husband. AMI that she under
goes all the above mentioned bodily
privations: she must also continually
bear the most CALLING indignities and
the most humliating self-sacriiices.
She cannot take an active part in any
religious or social ceremony. III there
be q 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 poojdhS, or religious festivals, she
is but grudgingly allowed to approach
near the object Of vcncration, and In
some bigoted families the contact of q
widow is supposed to pollutc the mate
rials requisite for the performance of
marriage ccr,r"niv'. The widow is,
in fact, looked upon ~ the "cvil one"
Of the house. II she has no son or
daughter to comfort her. ar il she has
to pass her whole life. ;,s is often the
case, with her husbands family, her
condition truly becomes Il helpless one.
During anyccrcmony or grand occasion
she has silently to look on, others
around her enjoying and disporting
themselves. and If some kind relation
does not come to relieve her tcdium she
has hardly any thing To do but to rumi-
nate OH her present sad. wretched con-
dition. Every female member of n
family, whether married, can go to par
ties, but widow cannot, and il she ex-
presses any wish to join the family on
such occasions il is instantly repressed
by the curt rcbuke of her mother-in-
law or some other relation that "she is
a widow, and she must not have such
wishes"