The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-08-14
100000 WIDOWS.
There Is That Number I'm India as
Result of Infant Marriages.

mere IS Ihnt NUMBER IN Anota as
Result Of Infant Marriages.
Prom London answers.
There are to-day nearly 26.0o0.0OO wild
ows in India. and they are there chiefly
as the outcome Of the revolving practice
whereby mere infants are united TO each
other in the bon Is of matrimony.
When the Indian maiden has taken
the fateful step she enjoys none Of the
privilege OF the English bride For she
must live in complete secluslon. and
cover her face with the purdah. or ven
She cannot indulge in the luxury Of at
tending summer sales. and even the de-
lights OF the shop windows are denied
her
Practically. her whole lie after mar
riage is passed within the walls Of her
own apartment or garden, and she
meets no men except those Of her imme-
date household. In many cases even
her brOthers-in-law are excluded.
India is. indeed. the land OF mysticism,
many Of them quite incOmprehensibIe 10
the Western mind.
Technically, "suttee." or "sati." is the
self-immoIatIon OF widow on the fu-
neral pyre of her husband
Eighty years ago the first governor
general OF Indla-Lord William Benunck
declared "suttee" must cease, and his
successors in Office have severally sup
ported him. The happy consequence IS
70 10
heard OF. But the records Of India are
black with the degrading sacrifice to an
Oriental superstition. "Suttee," in fact,
fiourished for 200 years or more
Decked with jewels and arrayed in
gorgeous fnery. the widow Of a high
caste Hindoo would. on the appointed day.
walk slowly round the great fire on
which the dead body OF her lord and
master was being slowly consumed.
Around her stood her followers. and TO
these she distributed her various gar
ments and jewels. then flung herself into
the flames. AS she embraced the corpse
and persisted. her agonizing cry Of
'Satya, Sstya" (truth) rang through
the air
In her heather mind the belief was
firmly established that this act OF self
destruction would bring her great re-
wards, one Of them being a reunion with
her husband in paradise
British authority now exercises a great
influence in India But II must not be
forgotten that the native or feudatory
states occupy more than one-third Of
the country. 1t is here that many OF the
old customs still hold their sway In
certain provinces-that OF Udaiur for
lnstanct-it Is an insult to mention the
name OF the Maharanee. the wife Of the
Maharana. You may not even inquire
after her health
But there have been cases where wom-
en- have adopted the suffragette attitude
and stood up FOR their rights. At the
time OF the great mutiny one Rance. or
ruling queen, led her OWN troops And
there still exists at Jhansi the fort where
she defed the British for seventeen days.
Many OF the Indian sects are violent
" opposed TO each other Not long age
there was held the festival OF Bakh ID
on this particular occasion the true be-
lever offers up a COW as a sacrifice.
which guarantees him a safe Journey on
the same beasts back 20 paradise
Almost anything that possesses a Ger
tain amount OF power becomes a god or
goddess az some time or other The
sql 10 asBuI sql VI psdlusIoN 81 pIQo9
queen OF snakes. and there IS actually
a goddess OF cholera. who goes under
the name Of Ola Bib.