The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-03-25
THE PROFESSION OF LALUN.
The HindOo Monk, Kananda, Says 1t Is
Not Proper to Talk of 1t.

Detroit Tribune.
"Lalun is member of the most ancient
profession in the world. Lilith was her
very observation-disclosures, and that was be-
fore the days Of Eve, as everyone knows
In the West people say rude things about
Lalun's profession and write lectures about
II, and distribute the lectures to young per-
sons in order that morality may be pre-
served. In the East, where the profession is
hereditary. descending from mother to
daughter nobody writes lectures or takes
any notice.
The story of which the sentences that pre-
cede this one are paragraph. were written
In India. They We're written by Rudyard
Kipling, from whom most of us have
learned all that we definitely know about
India, with the exception of the fact that
India raises wheat enough to be great
competitor of our own farmers, that men
work there for cents day and that
women throw their babies into the Ganges.
which is the sacred river of the country.
But Vive Kananda, since he came to this
country. has exploded the story about the
women of India feeding their babies to the
alligators and now he says that he never
heard of Rudyard Kipling until he came to
to talk of such a profession as that of La
lun out of which Mr.. Kipling has made one
of his most delightful and instructive tai IS.
I'm India" said kananda yesterday, We
do not discuss such things. No one ever
speaks of those unfortunate women. Whsn
a woman is discovered TO be uncnaste IN
India she is hurled out from her caste NO
one thereafter can touch or speak TO her
Ii she went into the house they would take
up and clean the carpets and wash the
walls she breathed against. NO one can
have anything to do with SUCH person
There are no women who are not vlrtuouS
in Indian society. 1t is not at all as IL Is
in this country. Here there are bad women
living side by side with virtuous women IN
your society. One cannot know VINO Is PAD
and who is good in America But In lndla
once a woman slips she is an outcast IoI-
ever she and her children, sons ana oaugn-
ters 1t is terrible, l admit, but 1t Keeps
society pure. =, .,,>
"How about the men?" was asked. Does
the same rule hold in regard TO them!
Are they outcasts when they are proven 10
"Oh. no. 1t is quite different with them.
IF would be So perhaps, If they could be
found out But the men move about. They
can go from place to place. 1t Is not pos
sible to discover them the women mel, ar, are
discovered If they do anything wrong. ana
when they are discovered they are thrown
ont Nothing can save them. Sometimes
it is very hard when a father has to give
up his daughter or a husband his wlie;
But If they do not give them up they VIII
different in this country. Women cannot
go about there and make associations as
they do here. 1t is very terrible out IL
81 think that unchastity is the one great
sin of your country. 1t must be SO, there
is so much luxury here. A poor girl would
so where there is so much luxury. 3.
Mr. Kipling says this about Lalun and
her profession aiuns real nus bsne b rer
bands in the East. was great Dig 1uluDe
tree. Her mamma, who had married a
Wse.dding, which was blessed by forty-seven
clergymen of mammals church. and distrib-
uted 5000 rupees in charity to the poor.
And that was a custom of the land Al
In India when woman is unfaithful to
her husband she loses her caste, but none
of her civil or religious rights. she can
still own property. and the temples are
YES" said Kananda, "a bad woman is
not allowed to marry. She cannot marry
anyone without their being an outcast like
herself, so she marries a tree, or some
times a sword. 1t is the custom. Some
come very charitable, but they can never
regain their caste. In the interior towns,
where they still adhere to the old customs,
she cannot ride in a carriage, no matter
how wealthy she may be- the best that
she is allowed is a pair of bullocks. And
then in India she has to wear a dress OF
her own, so that she can be distinguished.
You can see these people going by but no
one ever speaks to them. The greatest
number Of these women is in the cities.
A good many of them are foreigners. There
are great many Germans and Americans.
A good many of them are Jews too, but
they all have different re quarters e OF the
Is a singular thing that bad as they are.
they will not admit a Christian lover. They
will not eat with them or touch them
the 'omniverous barbarians,' as they call
them. They call them that because they
eat everything. Do you know what that
disease. the unspeakable disease, Is called
in India? 1t is called Bad Faringan,
which means the Christian disease 1t
was the Christians that brought it into
India"
HAS there been any attempt in India
to solve this question? Is 1t a public ques-
ton the way 1t is in American"
India There Is great field for women
missionaries II they would convert the pros
titutes Of India, They do nothing in India.
nava, who try to reclaim these women.
This is a religious sect I think aboat
80 per cent. Of all prostitutes belong to this
sect This sect does not believe in caste
and they go everywhere without refer
cree TO caste. There are certain temples
no caste. Everybody who goes into that
town takes off his caste while he Is there
because that is holy ground and every
he goes outside he resumes it again, for
caste is "a mere worldly thing. You know
thew will '' not eat any food unless 1t i
prepared by themselves. They will not
touch any one outside or yhelr caste. But
i'm this city they all live together. This is
the only sect in India that makes prose
lytes. 1t makes everybody member OF its
Sseh i d into the YOU perSaps %
not know that there were wild men In
India Yes, there are. They dwell at the
foot OF the Himalayas-"
rs there any ceremony by which q
woman Is declared unchaste, a civil pro-
cess?' Kananda was asked
mo. il is not a civil process. 1t is just
custom. Sometimes there is q formal cere-
mony and sometimes there is not They
simply male pariahs OF them When any
woman Is suspected sometimes they get to-
gether and give her a sort of trial, and
If ii is decided that she is guilty then n
note is sent around to all the other mem
bers of the caste and she is banished.
Mind you," he exclaimed, 81 do not mean
to saw that this is a solution of the Ques-
ton The custom is terribly rigid. But
you have no solution Of the question, either
1t is terrible thing. 1t is the great wrong
of the western world.