The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-04-02
A GRAVEYARD DANCE.
GHosTLY CEREMONY WITNESSED IN
A JAPANESE CEMETERY.


Buryine Grounds Richly aud LuXuri-
ousIy decorated with Gariands and
Ternpdug Niaads.
DR.. G. H. Cotton Salter, who for many
years was United States consul in Japan
and afterward entered the Chinese gov
eminent service, gazed thoughtfully into
the glowing embers in the CRATE and
after a short pause told the following
tale:
The many stories published about
Indian ghost dances and the Messiah
craze remind me of one of the most re-
markable incidents have ever witnessed
during my long career i'll the Orient,
and am sure there are but few Amer
cans or Europeans who have had the
opportunity to see the sights of which l
am going to tell.
The native religion of the japanese is,
as You know, Buddhism, and there is no
creed which is as full of superstition.
Some of the ancient beliefs of the Bud
dhists are calculated to brighten the faith
full and wildly portray the horrible pun
ishment that awaits the sinful man after
he closes his earthly career, while others,
with charming simplicity, show that the
greatest aim of the Hindoo religion is
the release from existence.
The doctrine of the TRANSPORTATION of
souls and hope for better fate in
future life are the principal foundations
upon which Buddhism rests. Nagasaki,
where | resided for many years, was
famed for the splendid festivals in honor
of Buddah, or Gautama, the founder of
the religion. Owing to the work of
missionaries and the consequent spread
of Christianity in Japan, many of the
religious fetes are no longer publicly OBJ
served, and the one of which am about
to speak had its last grand celebration in
1886, lust before | left Nagasaki.
DECORATED GRAvEYARDs.
1t is called the Matsidri and was held
during the last week in August or the
first week in September, continuing four
days. These days were set aside for the
reception of the spirits of the dead, who,
according to legendary belief, return
once a year to their old homes. For
many weeks previous to the festival
preparations had been in progress. The
houses of the believers had all been care
fully swept, cleaned and polished, and
the home affairs, which are to be found
in every native house, had been redecO-
rated and refurnished. The interior of
all the buildings had been profusely
adorned with flowers, the streets had
been repaired and the whole city was
clothed in holiday attire.
On the morning of the first day the
dead were received with much ceremony
in the graveyard, which is in beautiful
grove. Each mound was profusely dec
GRATED with lighted lanterns and gar
lands of many colored paper globes hung
from tree to tree. On the top of every
grave food of the daintiest kind was
spread in temptingmanner and in guam
titles sufficient to appease the appetites
of an army of the hungriest kind of
ghosts. On mats spread about the
graves sat all the living descendants of
the person who had been buried in that
particular spot. Not single tomb was
neglected. If in the course of years the
family of any one Of the silent sleepers
had completely died out his grave had
been embellished and supplied by stran-
gers.
The spirits were supposed to arrive and
depart by water from the sea, and for
four days and nights the living commune
with their dead and We're with them in
spirit. The souls of the departed were
supposed to hover around the tombs like
substantial visible beings, and they were
treated with every attention due to sacred
, and distinguished visitors from the other
. world.
The night of the second day was de-
voted to grand terpsichorean entertain
ment or spirit dance, and the graveyard
was transformed for once into a ball
room, where ghostly dancers were sup
posed to hold revelry.
A SPLENDID SIGHT.
F The scenes made a strong and ever
lasting impression on me. The night
F was perfect, the moon was at its full and
the air was fragrant with the perfumes
| of thousands of flowers. Myriads of
, lights were Pickering on the hillsides
which surround the city, and the colOred
, lanterns swayed gently to and fro, keep
ing time to the chimes of the silvery
bells in the temple tower, which fur
nished the music for the mystic enter
tainment. Around an artificial lake in
f the center of the graveyard the people
r knelt in silent devotion, worshiping on
: the shrine of Buddha, whose emblem,
D the lotus flower, rose from the middle of
3 the lake.
= Every one of the four days and nights
f brought new surprises and ceremonies,
y many Of the latter being held in the
= temple, the doors of which were closed
g and guarded against the entrance of
e infdels. On the last16ght-or the night
t of nights, as it was called-a grand pro-
/. cession finished the festival. The people
marched in parade to escort their spirit
visitors to the water front, where they
were to depart.
t Boatmen carried on their shoulders a
a gigantic craft built of wood and straw,