The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-03-03

Burmese husband and wife quarrel and de-
does all the marketing--goes out and buys
two little candles Of equal length, which
them home. She and her husband sit down
on the floor, placing the candies between
them, and light them simultaneously. One
candle stands for him.. the other for her.
The one whose candle burns cut first rises
and goes out Of the house forever. with ~,
The one whose candle has survived longest,
even by a second. takes everything. So
you can call that a division-are settled. It
looks fair enough. considered as an even
gamble, but it isn't likely to be. Where
did you ever know of woman being mixed
up in anything that she did not manage TO
f the on best OF way it S Sp az Mt hs Candies
takes a tiny scraping from the bottom or
one of them. A very little will be enough.
of pretty much every thing but children. she
takes the shortened candle and walks out
furnished and the husbands possessions are
considerable he gets the short candle ana
mo Burmese woman would be Sc foolish
as to consent to cremation with her hus-
bands body. The suttee obtains only among
the Hindoos and the English have pretty
well put a stop to it there-which is one
good thing they have done IN lndla;
that rather surprise an American or Eu-
ropean who sees one for the first time. It
is treated as sort of Joyful occasion. Iney
happy in being freed from the cares and
sufferings and sorrows of life-as Christians
which Christians don't. AS soon as death
occurs, the bereaved family, the 'mourners'
as we would call them, leave the house.
more during all the subsequent proceedings.
which are entirely run by neighbors ana
friends. who not only arrange everything,
but pay the expenses. They keep open house
treating to sweetmeats, delcacies and nom
Intoxicating drinks everybody who comes
1nr1u for ana fxvn mr.
they form procession, headed by. band
playing joyous music and go to the place
white and so is everybody else. White. and
flowers are everywhere: no depressing black,
luguhrious music, hirea mourners, offensive
In little while the body is ashes and the
affair is over From my point OF view,
we might advantageously take pointers from
the Buddhists of Burmah and other parts
of the East.
WOMEN sARB THE WORKERS.
sThe social condition of women in Siam
where as I have already said, Buddhism
is so perverted as to be nothing but
name-is not to be approved. Neither
Burmese nor Siamese men take kindly to
work of any sort They will hunt, fish
steal and a few may engage in some light
clerical occupation in desultory way, but
they are TOO lazy for any honest labor. |
don't think I ever say Burmese man at
any kind of work. Chinese coolies and
Tarnil, men, or Kings from South India,
are the laborers among them. Naturally,
poverty goes with iaziness. They are very
poor-that IT, the mass Of the people. And
poverty always falls hardest on the wvom-
en-. They have to work and do anything
they can to get food for themselves ana
their families. There are no hotels In Siam,
but the traveller viii always find an empty
house thar he can rent for almost nothing
possession A lie viii have before him
dozen mothers in eager competition Offering
to sell him their daughters for wives he
may buy as many as he cares to pay
about s. each for. His little Siamese wife
will keep his house in order. do his mar
keting-and be economical about it, too
and from a financial point. of view, is
y good investment. And she seems content
and happy. When he goes away, after
present--she does not expect more than So
says goodbye and that is their divorce
I'm brilliant contrast with the revolving
laziness of the Burmese and Siamese is
the manly energy. of the Nepaulese. the
finest men in India's common people They
grow wheat rice and other staples. but
their country is 1,500 miles from a market,
SO all they raise they, consume themselves,
and living is marvelouSly cheap among
them. There is great strictness in their re-
ligious observances, and their women are
Nepaulese. as also of a. peculiar caste
known..a as the Cattys. or Chattys as they
osJ s wne are The ehay
black, always big fat. fellow. strict
vegetarian. the most. polite person mag
withal He wears a white spot on his fore
head between the eyes, which is his caste
ma and bresst wh aas sDss wbpss
are signs of his business His attire is
white cloth thirty o or forty irni feet long
his body and legs. Head and feet are bare.
If a Chatty dies insolvent his relatives all
chip in according to their several means
to pay his debts to the last penny. Even
to the fourth cousins 1t is held sacred
apS o b sh pay Whs
ever sacrifice of their interests the duty
may require: so, as you may. imagine
Chattys credit is always good.
II spoke of the white spot being caste
mark, and so understand it, but I know
it is not one of the four great castles of
India. So far as / could make out, those
castles are great divisions in which there
are Subdivisions which they call castles, too.
to be sects But the caste lines are SO
mixed up and intricate and what are
wildering variety that / doubt if any white
man ever gets clear idea on the subject.
One thing there can be no doubt about,
that the caste system is the curse of India,
and if Gautama Buddha had done nothing
else than attack 1t. as h. did. ne would
by humanity forever.
There is no end to the strange things
that evolve from among the caste distinc-
tions, queer. seni-romantic crimes among
the rest. There was that case of the woman
near Poonah south s of BOMBAY ISL, She left
into another country-which was near
Poonah--where she got in with another
caste than the one she belonged to, by
falsely representing herself as of the caste
of those to whom she came. Somebody
married her and she was trusted to prepare
the food for a festival. The people whom
she had joined were forbidden, by their
caste laws, the eating OF mutton. To taste
sheep would make them outcasts. She. for
reasons of her own, some deep-seated
grudge, no doubt treacherousy cooked for
their feast Jot of mutton. choppng it up
small and concealing its flavor by the hot
curry in which ii served When they
had eaten the mess she stood up and tri-
umphantly proclaimed what she had done,
glorying in the fact that she had made
them all 'outcasts.' Straightway home of
the men killed her and the English court,
before which they were taken to answer
for the deed, acquitted them, deeming their
act justifabe under their extraordinary
provocation."
VAuVEs OF THE PEANUT CROP