The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-12-14
A TALK ON INDIA
KaWaiahaO Church People Listen
to Dr.. Emily B. Ryder.
COUNTRY'S FOUR RELIGIONS
Help Needed For Poor
Women.
Some PeCuliarities in Mode of
BuriaI-Interesting Description
of Christianity's Growth.

DR.. Emily 3. Ryder, who is here in
the interest of the chiId-wives of In
dia, gave short and very entertaining
talk on the subject of India in Ka-
waiahaO Church last night. Among
her interested listeners were quite a
number of foreigners. The substance
of DR.. Ryder's remarks was as follows:
India is very large country, compris-
ing in all about 28S,OOO,0OO people. This
great population is divided into re-
ligious 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 33O,0OO,OOO Next
followed a 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, it
is only the Hindoos making a noise to
awaken their gods before praying to
them. You know it is about the same
with Christians. They always ring a
bell and play the organ, in order to
awaken their gods before beginning to
pray
Every family has what is known as
domestic idol. If the man of the house
happens to be priest, then he can do
the praying, but if not, a priest must
be employed to come each day and to
spend an hour.
After a priest has wOrshipped the god
he puts what is known as the god
mark on the foreheads of the men.
This is either " representing Wish
nu, or three parallel lines, representing
silva.
After the god-mark has been put on
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 that
"a HindoO wife gets. The HindOo re-
ligion shows no respect for women.
They have no souls; therefore, they are
not entitled to either love. respect or
kindness. A woman is the only soul
less thing alive. Even dogs, cats, rats
and all other animals have souls.
A HindoO gentleman was asked to
give the exact position of woman
whereupOn he answered that she is
lower than dog, cat or rat, because
she has no soul, and higher than
kitchen utensils, because she has life
and can move.
Asked if a Hindoo woman could OBJ
! tain a SOUL the gentleman replied that
this was only possible by marriage, a
provision made by the HindOO religion.
| The reason these marriages occur when
the females are so young is to give
them a soul as soon as possible. When
| this event occurs the wife is owned by
! her husband, soul. mind and body, and
| she must obey him in every particu-
| lar. She must never speak unless spOk-
en- to. and then her answers must be
in mOnosyllables.
If a husband dies before the wife, it
is the fault of the latter, and she must
submit to the most severe discipline
possible. Either she has done some
wrong in this life or in some previous
incarnation.
Before the English Government
came into power in India it was the
custom to burn the bodies of the wives
along with those of the dead husbands
Now that this is forbidden by the
Government the wives are not burned
but they are made to live life of pro
Ilonged misery. They are allowed to eat
only once in "a hours. and usually be
come slaves in the family of their de
ceased husband.
The MOhammedans constitute large
part of the people They are not idol
Eaters. but believe in one universal and