The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1895-02-07
ing with merry voices. It was Parsee

wedding in a building erected especial
ly for the marriage ceremony. We came
to the door and proposed to go in, but
at first were not permitted. They saw
we were not Parsees, and that we were
not even natives. So, very politely, they
halted US on the doorsteps. This temple
of nuptials was chiefly occupied by
women, their ears and neeks and hands
ahame with jewels or limitations of
jewels. By pantomime and ges-
ture as we had no use of their vocabu-
larry, we told them we were strangers
and were curious to see by what pro-
cess Parsees were married. Gradually
we worked our way inside. the door.
The building and the surroundings
were lllumined by hundreds of candles
in glasses and lanterns, il unique and
grotesque holdings. Conversation ran
high, and laughter bubbled over, and
all was gay. Then there was a sound
of an advancing band of music,
but the instruments for the
most part were strange to our
ears and eyes. Louder and louder
| were the outside voices and the winA
and stringed instruments, until the
procession halted at the door of the
| temple and the bridegroom mounted
the steps. Then the music ceases, and
all the voices were still. The mother
of the bridegroom, with platter load
| ed with aromatics and articles OF food,
confronted her son and began to
address him. Then she took from
the platter bottle of perfume
and sprinkled his face with the redol-
ence. All the while speaking in
droning tone, she took from the
platter a handful of rice, throwing
some of it on his head, spilling some
of it on his shoulder, pouring some of
| it on his hands. She took from the
platter a cocoanut and waved it
about his head. She lifted a garland
| of flowers and threw it over his neck
and boquet of flowers and put it in
his hand. Her part of the ceremony COM
pleted, the band resumed its music, and
through another door the bridegroom
was conducted into the center of the
building. The bride was in the room,
but there was nothing to designate her
where is the bride?" I said
''Where is the bride?" After awhile
she was made evident. The bride and
groom were seated on chairs opposite
each other. A white curtain was
dropped between them SO that they
could not see each other. The attend
ants put their arms under this curtain,
took long rope of linen and wound it
around the neck of the bride and the
groom in token that they were to be
bound together. for life. Then some
silk strings were wound around
the couple, now around this
one and now around that.
Then the groom threw a handful OF
rice across the curtain on the head OF
the bride, and the bride responded by
throwing a handful of rice across the
curtain on the head of the groom.
Thereupon the curtain dropped, and
the brides chair was removed and put
beside that of the groom. Then a
priest of the Parsee religion arose and
faced the couple. Before the priest
was placed a platter of rice. He began
to address the young man and woman.
We could not hear word, but we un'
derstoood just as we'll as if we had heard
Ever and anon he punctuated his
ceremony by handful of rice
; which he picked up from the plat
ter and flung now toward the groom
and now toward the bride. The
ceremony went on interminably. We
wanted to hear the conclusion, but
were told that the ceremony would &c
, on for a long while, indeed that il
!, would not conclude until 2 o'clock il
the morning, and this was only be
, tween 7 and o'clock in the evening
, in the ceremony, but it would be taker
up again in earnest at half past H. W.
enjoyed what we had seen, but felt in
, capacitated for six more hours of wed
ding ceremony. Silently wishing the
couple a happy life in each others com
panionship, we pressed our way throngl
the throng of congratulatory Parsees
: All of them seemed bright and appre
ciative of the occasion. The streets
outside joyously sympathized with th'
transactions inside.
: We rode on toward our hotel wish
ing that marriage in all India might bs
, as much honored as in the ceremony
, we had that evening witnessed at tn,
Parsee wedding. The Hindoo womer
are not so married. They are simply
cursed into the conjugal relation
Many of the girls are married at sever
and ten years of age, and some O
.ao4n are grandmothers at thirty
They can never go forth into the sun
light with their faces uncovered
!. They must stay at home. AL
styles of maltrea tment are theirs
, If they become Christians, they becom
, outcasts. A missionary told me in In
{ dia of Hindoo woman who became
, Christian. Sne had nine children. He
husband was over seventy years of age
And yet at her Christian baptism h
, told her to go, and she went out home
, less. AS long as woman is down Indi
will be down. No nation was ever ele
, waited except through the elevation o
woman. Parsee marriage is an i'm
: provement on Hindoo marriage, bu
Christian marriage is an improvement
! on Parsee marriage.