Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1888-01-05
Rites and Rituals OF Hiniu.tanese


In no part Of the world at the
present time is the belief in
deInonology, or deyil-lore, aud witch
craft so widely prevalent as among
the native population OF England 5
Eastern Empire, SAYS writer III the
San Francisco Examiner. Through
the length and breadth of Hindustan
worshippers of the devil are to be
found, forming numerous seets whose
doctrines are essentially similar,
whether they inhabit the Coromandel
coast. the Highlands of Central India
or the borders of Afghanistan. Be-
tween these widely divergent points of
the great Indian Peninsula there can
not have been for ages, if there ever
had been much intcrcommunication
of the people, who are in many in
stances ethnologically different and
speak a language entirely foreign to
each other.
The fundamental doctrine of the
devil worshippers' creed. as gathered
by the writer in conversation with
members O. the sect in various
parts of Hudustan, is that it is inn
proper, if not actually blasphemous,
for human beings TO offer prayer or
sacrifice to propitiate Il divinity whose
merciful aud forgiviug benignity is in
comceiyabIy beyond all his other at
tributes, ana who could not, even if
be would, do augtt that is inimical
to the present or future happiness,
spiritual or material. of beings created
after his own image and loved with
undying and unreasonable love. With
all the subtlety OF thought and illogical
mental cunning incidental TO the
oriental intellect. they will eXpouud
in verbose and highly imaginative
language the grounds on which are
based the reasonings that warrant be-
lief in tbeir creed To the devil, rs
the omaopiteut incarnation of evil,
they attribute essentials which are
plausbly advanced to give color to
tho doctrines Of tliC;r sect Shaitan,
as named in Hindu san, is, according
to his worshippers Unfortunately ego,isti-
cal, and they, with the hope OF gain
ing his good favor in their behalf,
natter him by the most elaborate
ceremonials and fervid prayers, con-
Quoted with all the surroundings incl
dental to Eastern pageantries, religious
and otherwise.
The ritual of devil-worship, as well
as the tenets of the creed, modify con-
siderably, according to the varying
conditions climatic and geographical,
which obtain from the perpetually
snow-clad Himalayas To the torrid
regions of Cape ComOrin and along to
the equatorial line. The doctrine Of
devil worship is not confined to the
low or illiterate classes of the people.
1t prevails more or less extensively
among those oriental intellectual
dreamers who read the institutes Of
Manu- in the original and discuss alb
struse theological and metaphysical
theories in Sanscri t. To the mind of
the willy Hindoo and the bodily
efieminate, but mentally active fol-
lowers of the Prophet, occult teachings
of the most visionary school have al
ways had an irresistible fascination
and the spread of European civilization
and the introduction of the English
educational system has increased
rather than diminished the oriental
fondness for sem-comatose speculation
in the realms Of religious thought
Witcheraft also predominates to
an extraordinary extent among the
ignorant classes, which means nine
tenths of the population, and the en-
tire social life both of Hindoos and
Mussulmans in the motusse or
country districts is strongly i'm
pregnated with the doctrines of devil
worship and belief in witches and
witch,ore and all the supersttons
which surround tho recognized pro-
fession of the black art Necroman-
GERS aud adopts in divination are
numerous, and their persons are held
sacred and their supernatural powers
are acknowledged by the people as if
they were recognized teachers of the
religion of Brahma or Moliaho ex-
OouudiuU the laws of the Koran