The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-07-01

SUPERSTITION In INDIA.
TESTS APPLIED BY HlNDOos TO
DISCOVER THIEVES.

istence Accepted in Good Faith-Exor-
cising Devils at the Cost of Life.
The natives of India have many curious
beliefs and superstitiens.. some of which
are essentially. orientalcin their nature,
others comm0n7to nsny'nations and shared
by ourselves. only. a. few! centuries ago.
One day an English magistrate was paying
a visit to ffinaoo gentleman who wa. an
old friend of his;.in tie, course of which he
happened Ito yawna To his astonishmens
up jumped TIE raiah. as if, galvanized and
began furiously Swapping his fingers in
startling -proxinitySto his. face Observ-
ing his visiter's look Of uHfsigned surprise,
he explained that this was done TO scare
away the devils who might have otherwise
seized the opportunity TO jump down his
throat.
How strange it seems to Us, this pract4
cal belief il devils, and fear Of them, com
bined with SO insultin gfyg dow an idea of
their intelligence and power! L once heard,
however, an odd instsnee of the same ar
and yet contempt fer. q nseen.powers shown
by an English lady in:t.hesea ginning of this
century, bishops wife, tool-who was
afraid OF ghosts, and,if left alone IN the
house would whistle assHe walked through
the passages at1night in order that the
ghosts might take her.,fp man.
BELIEFS ABOUT TIRE DEVIL
The Seriptural belief in possession by
devil is held TO this day by the natives Of
India, and very recentlya case came before
81 English magistrate in Bengal in which
a Brahmin was charged with having caused
the death of lad by his attempts TO exor-
else an evil spirit The.bo had been made
to lie on his back, in the presence of his
parents and other syznpathizing relatives,
while the priest danced on his chest, call
ing on the name of his god, 20 Baal, hearr
But whether the god was sleeping, or
whether the devil in departing took with
him the boys own spirit, cannot be known
The boy died and the civil surgeon, know
ing nothing Of the nature of exorcism, TO
ported that he had died from injuries
caused by the priest.
Like the Russians of the present day, the
Hindoos think it brings person III luck to
be openly admired or praised, and if you
should praise or even look too admirinGly
at child the mother will hastily with
draw it from notice, and either beat IL or
say something disparaging oft in order to
counteract your i'll omened admiration and
avert the jealousy of the gods
The belief in some form of ordeal for
proving the guilt or innocence of an &C
cused person is another of the traditions Of
the past which we westerners have out
grown and cast aside, but which still forms
part of the practical belief of the people in
India.
DETECTING THIEVES.
ne fhiC Iar inc
within my own experience, on the occasion
Of robbery having been committed in my
house, when the police summoned the
whole of my servants-to the police station
In order that each one might separately
Snd solemnly be put to the test. 1t was q
droll sight to see the procession setting
forth on this mission, headed by the mag
nifcent Knansama and the imperious bear
er, and failing off through minor dignitaries
down to the indifferently clothed coolies
who brought up the rear. The ordeal is
conducted by a. Mohammedan priest, who
mutters certain mysterious invocations
over the Koran, which is then pronounced
to have the power of pointing out the
guilty person by opening miraculously st
condemnatory passage when touched by
him.
A factor in this experiment, doubtless
much, even if unconsciously, relied upon
for bringing it to successful issue, is the
power Of superstitious fear over the con-
science of the guilty person. To most
natures the idea of being discovered m this
supernatural and awful manner is so terri
bic that the culprit rather than risk it will
make voluntary confession, and so depre-
cate the heavier anger of the gods reserved
for those who defy them. On this occasion
the Koran unhesitatingly pointed out one
of the servants as the thief. Whether he
was innocent, "a he maintained or merely
pnimpressionable and hard of heart as we
had much reason for believing, cannot
say-but confess he would not, and, living
as we do in the Nineteenth century, he
could not be imprisoned On the sole testi-
mony, however conclusive, of the Koran,
nor, owing to the modern prejudice there
exists against applying torture, could he be
made TO confess. The conditions which
made trial by ordeal so generally success
full in the ages of faith are altogether want
ing il the present skeptical and scrupuIous
generation.
SUPERSTITION IN THE COURTS
The reproach of skepticism cannot, how
ever, be applied to the Hindustanis. Their
powers of belief are childlike was once
taken to see miraculous spring that had
suddenly appeared in a dry and barren
spot, and was bringing in much wealth to
the fasir who had appointed himself its
guardian. Ii was very sma1-scarcely to
be discerned until pointed out-and I Of
little faith even thought in secret that 1t
could be produced By the holy mans pour
ing in water every.night. But small as the
hole, he sucked thereout no small advan-
tage, for the peoples faith is large, and
crowds Of pious persons made pilgrimages
70 the divinsly favored spot.
Curious instances might be collected from
the records of Indian law courts illustrative
of the Old World beliefs of the people, which
are brought at times into such strange col
bsion with the legal forms Of procedure
established by our modern lawyers A man
was once being tried for murder when be
put forward plea such as could only have
occurred to an Oriental and TO believer IN
the transmigrston Of souls. he did not
deny having killed the msn-On the con-
trary he described in detail the particulars
Of the murdeT-bUt he stated in justifcA-
ton that his victim and he had been &C,
Suainted in a previous state OF existence,
when the now murdered man had murdered
him. in proof OF which he showed a great
seam across his side which had been the
sword cut that had ended lis previous ex-
istence he further said that wien rs
heard he WAS again 20 be sent into this
world ne entrested bis master 70 excuse
him from coming. as he bad 9 preseut.msot
that be Should nscs dis mJTdsrer and that
harm would come OF IL al this he stated
il perfect sarnesoress and simplicity. and
with evident, eouviczon Of its truth and
force oonvscsion shared by large RUIZ
her Of those m co1rs-Tezpls Bar.