The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-06-12

offered no protest or resistance, but fol-
! lowed the visitors intrusted with the duty
of notifying him OF his doom to the scene
of his interment, actually helping them
to dig his grave.
Elaborate Ceremonies.
| Ordinarily. however the obsequies or
! living person in China are attended by
more pomp and ceremony than this, es
| pecially when it is not misconduct but
merely disease or old age that causes
| the family and fellow citizens OF the
candidate for funeral honors to desire
| his departure for another world, Every
| thing possible is done to smooth the
/ way. and to cheer if one may be allow
! ed to use the expression the last mo-
| ments of the person about to die. Rela-
| tives and neighbors combine to purchase
/ the most expensive coffin they can afford.
/ At the funeral repast which precedes
the burial, the victim is the guest of hon
! or, and as soon as the feasting has been
| brought to a conclusion the procession
| to the grave begins. Immedid tely follow
! ing the empty coffin. and chief mourn
er, walks the individual about to die. He
is magnifcenuy arrayed. bearing a fan
in one hand and a prayer written on
piece of paper in the other. Then follow
the members of the family, the village or
town authorities and the neighbors On
reaching the cage OF tne grave the prln-
cipal actor in this extra ordinary perform
ance takes solemn leave of all present,
arranges his garments in the most con-
venient and comfortable fashion. takes
last big swallow of opium and then lies
down in the coffin. A piece of silver
having been place on his chin, the lid is
nailed down by the nearest relative. The
coffin is then lowered into the grave,
the earth is heaped upon it, and all is
over.
Instances Wen Authenticated.
These statements may seem to be mere
travellers tales-absurd exaggerations,
ennbroideries of fact to which people who
have jouneyed far are popularity sup.
posed TO be addicted. But confirmation
is afforded by duly authenticated in
stances recorded in one of the recent
numbers of the Austrian Oriental Review.
one of the most erudite and weighty of
all publications dealing with Asiatic af-
fairs.
The object of the Chinese in burylng
people alive in this way is to get rid of
them in a manner calculated to free those
who have taken part in the affair from
all responsibility in this world, and at
the same time to save the victim from
the odium of suicide in the next world
Theoretically, at least, the person buried
is a consenting party to his death, and
are merely executing his last, and, there
fore, sacred wishes, in mailing down the
coffin and in burying him.
Strictly speaking, from a Chinese point
of view, there is no murder, no execution,
no suicide. 1t is merely a sort of mutual
arrangement, satisfactory alike to all con-
cerned, the occupant of the coffin comply
ing with the desire of his relatives and
neighbors for his departure. while they on
their side endeavor by every means in
their power to render the departure
agreeable and easy.
Europeans and Christians.
With regard to the Bjeguni. who prac
tlce the rite of living burial in Russia, it
should be understood that they are not
only Europeans. but also Christ ans form
ing an utra-fanatic division of the sect
of dissenters called the old believers" 1t
may be said that the leaders of the Bic
gum are men and women of rank and ed
ucation. Developing an altogether phe-
nomenal religious fervor, one such Wo-
man of noble birth suddenly disappeared
from the orthodox convent in which she
held the Office of superior under the name
of Mother Vera Makaveya, and when
next heard of was the high priestess of
the Bjeguni in the district of Teraspol.
she was known among the old believ-
ers" as Vitala. and at the time when the
first census of the entire Russian Empire
was taken, three or four years ago, gave
no end of trouble to the authorities by
warning her disciples and followers
against answering any of the questions
asked by the census enumerators, on the
ground that the government intended to
use the Information thus obtained TO
force the Bjeguni into the Orthodox
Church, in which event they would be
irrevocaby doomed to everlasting perd-
tion. To escape this dread fate, and In
the hope of saving their souls at the ex-
pense of their lives, several of the Bic
gum, Mother Nitalia among the number,
resorted to self-immolaion by means of
living burial
The Russian Ceremony.
The way in which this sacrifice was ac-
complshed was brought to light by the
course of the trial at Odessa of Kovaleff.
He was arrested on suspicion of having
murdered his wife and two children, and
was proved by the judicial investigation
to have entombed them alive in defer
ence to the recommendations of the High
Priestess Nitalia. and likewise to have
taken part in her burial and in those of
number of others of the sect to which
he belonged. According to the evidence
produced in court. all these living burias
took place at night, and in conjunction
with solemn religious ceremonies. The
victims. previous to the sacrificial rite,
arrayed themselves in their best clothes,
and over these donned funeral shrouds
They then Frustrated themselves silently
and resignedly in their graves. Thereupon
without uttering any moan or cry. with
QUE so much as moving hand, they per-
mitted themselves to be slowly buried
alive. by the covering of earth deliber-
ately shoveled upon them by Kovalem and
! eOn1c of his fpIlauy he1iavarc