White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1932-09-29


Washington. D. C.-wNU Service
\ 4 ORE weird than the famous
II snake dance which was re-
Vl Gently held by the Hopi In
dams, perhaps, are the fire.
walking ceremonies held by East In
dams of the Strait Settlements.
This ceremony draws thousands of
devotees to the ceremonial stage. The
yard of the temple in which the main
act is staged is thronged with people
and the streets for many blocks
around overflow with humanity. Hindus,
Chinese and Malays make up the bulk of
the audience but there are also tour
lists from many parts Of the world to
witness the spectacle.
The task Of vending your way
through this seething mob is as diff
cult as that Of finding a place In a
New York subway express during the,
rush hour and vastly more unpleas-
ant, for most Of these human beings
wear practically no clothing. 1t is
with thankful sigh Of relief that one
sinks into chair on a balcony and
AOOho uOWh upOh IllC lAlOuSo, SOlli-
posed chiefly Of spectators.
There are several hundred devotees,
including a number OF women. Some
kneel and touch the earth with their
foreheads, while others, more devout,
literally grovel in the dirt. A few
endeavor to crawl or roll completely
around the temple, task which would
be difficult If the path was clear and
covered with velvety moss instead of
being rough, crowded, and thick with
dust. Elderly men seem at the end
Of their strength when they complete
their self-appointed penance, although
friends accompany them and lift them
over drains and other hindrances.
Many Of those who have made a vow
to undergo torture have prepared
their bodies the preceding month by
some form of penance and have re-
Trained from eating for day before
the event. While these zealots are
proceeding with their tasks, bed Of
Goals is prepared. Great piles of
wood are burned to embers; then the
ashes are raked into nest bed about
"a feet long. At the end Of the mass
Of live Goals Is dug pool, which is
filed with milk brought to the spot
In earthenware Jars. The images of
the gods are then brought from the
temple and plac ed near this pool of
milk.
Dash Across the Embers.
When all seems in readiness, one
hears the sound of drums and stir
of excitement sweeps over the crowds.
This signifies the return Of devotees
from the Serangoon road temple,
whittier they 60 to complete final prep
arations. The next instant two men
appear with goat, one holding the
frightened creatures head and the
other hind leg. Another man raises
a scythe-like knife and in an instant
the head is severed from the body.
fourth participant snatches the quiv-
ering, bleeding body and runs around
the bed of Goals, then disappears in
the throng.
BY this time the animated might be
feeling desperately i'll, but with no
possible chance Of escape, for the
crowds are now In a frenZied state and
1t would be unsafe to leave ones
refuge. The staring eyes of the dew
otees seem glued upon the idols at
the other end of the path of glowing
embers. Finally the priests who hold
back the devotees begin to lash them
with whips, and one by one they make
dash, barefooted, across the redhot
Goals into the pool Of milk. Each par
ticipant wears short covering Of
cheesecloth stained yellow by saffron
water, and each carries in his hands,
clenched above his head, twig OF
green from tree supposed to possess
curative properties. The wrists are
tied together with yellow amulets II
the person Is pure, the amulet will
remain unbroken.
The priests sometimes strike a dew
otee several times, and then give the
wrists singing blow before releas-
ing him. Not one flinches, nor do any
appear to have felt the cut Of the
whip. Some run and some walk slow
ly through the Goals. The women seem
much calmer than the men. Some of
them carry babies in their arms.
Legend Of Draupadi.
A legend seems to be at the base
of the origin of this ceremony. The
pandus-fve brothers who reigned in