The Irish standard., 1893-08-12
THE HINDOO GINEE.
A Well Known Figure in the Fam.
lilies Of the Orient.
She IL Household Queen Who Leads {
Life of Self Sacrifice and Rules Over
Her Subjects with = Rod
of Kindness.

Al
Life of Self Sacrifice and Rules Over
Her Subjects with = Rod
of kindaess.
The Ginee is generally the mother
or wife of the eldest male member of
the family, She rises from her bed
about an hour and half before sun
rise and looks to the sweeping and
cleaning of the house, particularly the
door lintels, the yards and the cow
shed. She then collects flowers from
the shrubs and goes to battle in the
river Bhagirathee, if the river be not
more than mile or SO from the house.
The sun has not yet appeared in the
horizon, but most of the Women have
left their beds and many Join to GO to
battle in the river, talking on their
way, says Kali Prasanna N1ukerji,
writing to the Theoscphical society.
They all battle and perform their de-
votional actions called puja on the
bank of the river and return home
about eight a. m. The Ginee then pre-
pares herself for cooking, in which act
she is assisted by the younger women
of the family, who must have bathed
themselves by this time. Out of mex
pensive vegeta bles, some of which are
planted and taken care of by the wom-
en- themselves in little bit of ground
near by, the Ginee prepares excellent
dishes and the cooking is all complete
between eleven and twelve a. M. The
children take their meals first, then
, the men, then the younger WON
en-, then the servants and last
of all the Ginee herself. AS
a rule she never enjoys anything that
| is liked by either the children or the
| male members, and she has to distrib-
ute and superintend the. partaking of
food by every member OF the fam
lily, the servants included. It is
very seldom that she condescends to
take food cooked by any other woman,
even Of her own family.
Taking meals is generally over lit
tie before two p. M. The female mem
bers then congregate in long room,
where some lie down for rest, some
! knit and sew and some are engaged in
talking about the incidents mentioned
in the Ramayana and the Mahabarats.
! At about four p. m. the Ginee goes
to her neighbors, for a chat or any
trifing business that she might think
of, and for the purpose of washing her
self She must return before dusk to
see watering and sweeping done TO the
rooms, the shed and the door linteis,
and that the cows are properly looked
uf &c
lighted, and then cooking again begins
a little later In the afternoon some
of the male members partake Of a lit
tie refreshment, consisting generally
of fresh fruits and sweetmeats, but this
is managed by Others
, At about eight clock p. m the chill
dren, having partaker OF their meals.
20 with the Ginee to lie down in their
beds. Here the Ginee begins to tell
them stories till they are asleep. These
stories are almost all of them common
to all the families of the village. A
king had two queens, one much be-
loved by him, the other neglected.;
kind Providence favored the latter and
the former was humbled.. A prince, q
minister's son. commander in chiefs
son and merchants son were great
friends; they started to see the corners
of the world; sew many wonderful
things; had many haroreadth escapes
and at last all returned home safe and
sound. A princess of great beauty lay
enchanted in castle by the Cyclops:
prince goes there bychance, kills the
monster in some remarkable manner
through the advice of the disenchanted
princess, falls in love with her and
marries her. Such, in substance, are
the stories told by the Ginee to her de-
lighted little audience, who are all
very fond of hearing from her. She
then takes them over tx, their mothers
and comes to the cool1-room again.
The younger women take food, then
the men, the servants, and, last of all,
the Ginee herself. She goes to bed at
about eleven o'clock p. m.
! The Ginee is a little talkative, rather
hard on the weakness of her neighbors,
partial to the members of her family,
and is not much loved by young daugh-
ters-in-law of the family. who have
often to invent excuses for rising late
and going to bed early. The Ginee has
a fair knowledge of domestic med
icines for small complaints and often
irritates the family priest by presum-
ing to correct him when he happens to
omit anything in a family religious
ceremony. The Ginee is no respecter
of persons and often tells disagreeable
truths to ones face. She is kind to
the servants and beggars and loves to
feed Brahmins on particular suspicious
days of the year. She generally spoils
the young children by always taking
their sides and often, makes them ill
by overlooking them.
| Thus pass the lives Of many middle
class ladies of lower Bengal; in indus
try, peace, self-denial and devotion,
beloved by all, teaching others to do
their household, duties.
But perhaps twenty-five years hence
this will be thing of the past. Sci
fshness and righteousness are max
ing sad inroads in families, and dis
union. want of peace and patieace are
driving members of the Hindoo family
| tn find happiness and comfort in that