The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-05-10
HINDOO CREMATION.
THEY BURN THE BODIES OF THEIR
DEAD IN THE OPEN AIR.

a strange ana sanitary 1touc winch Las
Boon Practiccd ny Them For Thousands
of Ycars-Tho Blessed State From tho
Hindoo Standpoint.
Although wo are beginning to believe
moro and moro every year III cremation
and think ourselves accordingly ad-
vanced, the Hindoos have practiced it
for thousands of years. Tho funeral pile
of n rajah sometimes costs laos of rupees
A Hindoo body is sometimes burned
when 8 rupees cover tho entire expenses.
The rich Hindoo may DO somewhat ex-
elusive. Tho Hindoo masses do every
thing simply and openly. They battle
out of doors, they pray out of doors, they
cook out of doors, they die out Of doors
and their bodies are burned out Of doors,
There are three burning CHATS In Cal
cutta
Awriter to the Pail Mall Budget tells
very entertainingly of visit she made
to one of the cheapest and most pr1mi-
tive of these three
Just as sho entered into tho Enclosure
where burning CHAT was in full opc-
ration there was crack-a sharp rotort
like pistol Tho heat had just broken
through dead mans skull It was the
last human part to protest against the
extingu1shment of death.
The funeral pile of o poor Hintloo
looks like an ordinary kitchen yard
wood pile. But if you go up close to it
you discover something very like hu-
man form, glowing, charred mass dis
tinguished from every other shape ami
mate or inanimnte, for tho Hindoos lit
orally purify thor dead by fire The
body is burned until absolutely nothing
remains but handful Of ashes, ashes
wholly free from any unclean OF poison
GUS matter. AS the writer was closely
observing the glowing pile now body
was brought in and the rite begun.
Two coolies carried tho body upon
rude litter, woven from coarse grasses
and held together by outlines Of bamboo
Two Of the dead mans brothers follow
ed, chatting pleasantly. -Four stout
sticks of wood were driven upright into
the ground, at the corners Of an imagi-
nary parallelogran about six feet by
two Between these four posts were
loosely laid sticks Of dry, cheap wood
When the pile was little more than
three feet high, tho body was laid upon
it. A dirty piece Of crash, of the quality
the coolies wear about their loins, partly
wrapped the dead One of tho brothers
stepped up and poured about four ounces
OF oil over tho body. This insured
quicker cremation, but WAS something
of n luxury and not q universal practice.
The Oil must have cost about threo pice-
The other brother paid tho coolies, who
shouldcred the light empty litter ind
marched gayly out
More wood was piled upon tho dead
A thin stick was lighted at the other
funeral pile, which WIS now flaming
finely, the second pile was lighted, and
the cremation of tho newcomer was be-
gun The two brothers appeared very
interested in tho igniting and decidedly
pleased when it was accomplished They
squatted down upon tho ground, just SO
far from the pile that they might feel
that their scant, filthy garments were
fairly safe from the sparks, but near
enough to watch all the changing phases
of tho cremation and to see easily when
1t was consummatcd
They united dirty rag from about a
small bundle ono of them had brought
with them They took out small Garth
ell bowl. 1t was clean and shining, and
SO was tho brass chattce each lifted from
his filthy trlrbancd head The chattecs
held water. The bowl held curry and
rice. They fell to eating with gusto
And, pray, why not? They were eating
to live. Their brother was burning to
hvo-to live i'll Hinloo paradise From
the Hindoo point of view this state was
far more blessed
The cremation which was i'll full blast
when the writer arrived was finally
completed Two distinct kinds of ashes
were left The human ashes wcro care
fully gathered into an old chatteo Tho
authorities do not allow those ashes to
be thrown into the river, and thoy arc
never thrown there in the presence Of
Europeans. Tho ashes of the wood were
swept swiftly away. The bits Of wood
not quite burned We're frugally collected
to be utilized III the next pile
The correspondent also tells of a visit
to burning CHAT after shutdown.
might, " she goes on, sis the time Of
Hindoo leisure, as indeed it is of most
primitive peoples. The inclosuro was
crowded with burning piles.
eve sailed down the Ganges. Tho
outlines of tho attendants Of the dead
and of the funeral pile were sharply
silhoucttcd against the black background
of tho dark night by the flames of tho
grcwsomc death fires. And from that
part of the shore sacred to Hindoo wor-
ship came the shricl1ing and the songs
Of many thousand half mad dcvotees.
IN primitive part of interior India
u l..