The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1896-12-15
A TALK ON india
KaVaialaO Church People Listen
to Dr.. Emily B. Ryder.
G0UNTRY'S FOUR RELIGIONS
Help Needed For Poor
Women.
Some PecuIiarities in Mode of
Burial-Interesting Description
of Christianity's Growth.

DR.. Emily B. Ryder, who is here in
the interest of the child-wives of In
dia, gave a short and very entertaining
talk on the subject of India" in Ka-
waiahao Church last night. Among
her interested listeners were quite
number of foreigners. The substance
of DR.. Ryder's remarks was as follows:
India is very large country, compris-
ing in all about 2SS,OOO,OOO people. This
great population is divided into re-
Hgious sections, according as they are
Hindoos, Mohammedans, Parsees and
Christians. The greatest number be-
long to the Hindoo religion. They be-
lieve in one universal and omnipresent
God who fills all air and space and is
everywhere and in everything
Dr. Ryder then traced briefly the
history of their religion up to the pres
ent dates when their gods have in
creased from three to 100000 Next
followed description of the making of
idols and their mode of conservation
The tom-tom or music" which the
Hindoos employ to ''serenade" the gods
was described by DR.. Ryder as being
particularly unpleasant to the ears of
people used to the ordinary kind of
music Christians in India live as far
away from the temples as it is posi-
BILE, in order to avoid the noise Upon
being asked what the noise meant, a
Parsee gentleman answered: "Oh, il
is only the Hindoos making a noise tc
awaken their gods before praying tC
them. You know it is about the same
with Christians. They always ring &
bell and play the organ, in order t.
awaken their gods before beginning t
pray"
Every family has what is known as {
domestic idol. If the man of the house
happens to be a priest, then he can de
the praying, but if not, priest mus
be employed to come each day and tt
spend an hour.
After priest has worshipped the goo
he puts what is known as the god
This is either a ''V," representing Wish
nu, or three parallel lines, representing
silva.
After the god-mark has been put OF
the seal of marriage is put on the fore
head of the wives-a red wafer be
tween the eyes.
This is about the only attention tina
Hindoo wife gets. The Hindoo re
ligion shows no respect for women
They have no souls; therefore, they arr
not entitled to either love, respect o.
kindness. A woman is the only soul
less thing alive. Even dogs, cats, rat
and all other animals have souls.
A Hindoo gentleman was asked t.
give the exact position of woman
whereupon he answered that she il
lower than a dog, cat or rat, because
she has no soul, and higher thai
kitchen utensils, because she has lif,
and can move.
Asked if Hindoo woman could OBJ
tain soul, the gentleman replied tina
this was only possible by marriage, +;
provision made by the Hindoo religion
The reason these marriages occur wheI
the females are so young is to Civ,
them a soul as soon as possible. WheI
this event occurs the wife is owned by
her husband, soul, mind and body, ani
she must obey him in every particu
lar. She must never speak unless spok
en- to, and then her answers must bt
in monosyllables.
If a husband dies before the wife, i
is the fault of the latter, and she mus
submit to the most severe discipline
possible. Either she has done SOM
wrong in this life or in some previous
incarnation.
Before the English Government
came into power in India it was tn,
custom to burn the bodies of the wive
along with those of the dead husbands
Now that this is forbidden by TIL
Government the wives are not burned
but they are made to live a life of pro
longed misery. They are allowed to ca
only once in "a hours, and usually be
come slaves in the family of their de
ceased husband.
The Mohammedans constitute larg
part of the people. They are not idol
alters, but believe in one universal ant
supreme God, whose prophet is Ma
homet. They treat their women rath
er better and believe that they hav
souls However, they have no educa
ton, and are kept shut up in rooms
Some of these women have been within
the limits of their own yards for 80 o
40 years. Others have been in room
for several years. These are know
as ''veiled women"
Some of them learn to read and writ
at home, but these are few. Their lif
is restricted, and very monotonous.
The Mohammedans try to make con
verts by the sword, if not by the voice
They have their workers in Australi
and Africa now. In the latter plac
they are making great Roadway.
The Mohammedans bury their dea
in graves. They are wound in windin
sheets, upon which are written man
texts of the Koran.
A Mohammedan must pray five time
during the day. 1t is not an uncom
mon sight to see a Mohammedan q