The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1897-03-01
BUDDHIST RITES
Services For RGpOSG Of D0Wager
Empress.
JAPANESE AT INDEPENDENCE
Interesting to Orienta1s
Only.
JAPANESE AT INDEPENDENCE'PAR
Not Large Gathering Considering
Population-Very Few White
PeopIesPreSent.

What would be termed in Catholic
Church circles the first Solemn
requiem mass" for the repose of the
soul of the Dowager Empress of Japan
was said with great pomp and cere-
mony at independence Park pavilion
Saturday night. To the IA white people,
exclusive of members of the band, the
ceremonies were neither interesting or
edifying
The grounds around the entrance to
the park were brilliantly Illuminated
with lanterns of the election procession
variety, and a miniature light house on
either side of the bridge guided the
faithful to the hall, where the high
and say prayers for the dead At the
street gate guests were received by
committee of Japanese, and their names
recorded by members of another COM
mittee, sitting at a table on which
were stuck some tallow candles Fe-
males were provided with small pieces
of white silk, which they pinned in
their hair at the crown of their heads.
The men folks were decorated with
bands of black crepe, fastened around
their left arms. These decorations were
The open sesame at the entrance to the
pavilion
The hall was neither brilliantly il
Illuminated or elaborately decorated
upper edge with black, constituting all
there was out of the ordinary The al
tar faced the door, and was decorated
with evergreens and tall pyramids. con
tanning Japanese characters. Two
large candles, painted red. Illuminated
the space set apart for devotions by the
priests. Half a dozen bowls of various
sizes, from which smoke emitted after
the manner of Kilauea on an off day,
represented, possibly. the various way
stations at which her late majesty
paused before reaching goal. On one
side of the raised altar was a stack of
apples and oranges; on the opposite, a
pyramid of biscuits, made of rice, much |
resembling, in heft and texture, a
brides first attempt in this line. At a
fair sum per pound. the collection |
would bring a fortune to a manufac- |
at the Eva end of the hall Professor
Berger and the full Hawaiian Band was
stationed. and promptly at 7:45 played |
the Dead March from Saul" the crowd |
in the meantime fling in. the constant |
patter of the mud shoes breaking the |
harmony of the music, and crying ba- |
bies added to the discord. One side Of |
the hall contained chairs for little jap
anese maidens. while the men were rel
egated to chairs on the other end The
few white people present were placed in
a corner near the altar. few min
utes before s four richly garbed priests
entered and took their places on the
altar and began their prayers. one at a
time. in low wall. which resembled to
a degree the yawp that goes with an at
tack Of NOlOkai channel sea-sickness.
The more earnest the devotions the
louder was the yawp. This continued
at intervals until Q o'clock the band
filling in the gap with selections of
mOrOse japanese music. 4 half hour
before the services terminated some
members Of the committee arranged a
row of tables, each containing a saucer
filed with dry powder, and a bowl con
tanning a smouldering mass. At a sign
the men in the audience lined up. and,
taking a pinch of the powder, raised it
close to their fOreheads, and then cast
it into the bowl This act was repeated
twice. and then each man said a prayer
and kOwtowed to the priests. When the
men had finished the women went
through the same performance. and
then followed a distribution of the
fruit and biscuits among the multitude
Promptly at Q O'Clock the band played
another funeral march, and the services
closed with Sweet Bye and Bye"
There were no addresses. no remarks
of any kind to the people assembled by
any of the Buddhist priests or people
in the audience, and the only ones pres
ent whose faces bore solemn express
sion were the members of the band and
the four priests.
The white guests were: Miss Ma