PREMATURE BURIAL AND CREMATION IN INDIA.
THE following are some of the facts and experiences which were brought
to the author’s notice during a visit to India in the early part of
1896.
THE CALCUTTA BURNING GHAT.
On February 9, 1896, I visited the Burning Ghat on the banks of the
Ganges, Calcutta, where twenty bodies are reduced to ashes by fire
daily. The corpse of an aged Hindu woman had just been brought in on
my arrival, death, we were told, having occurred but an hour before.
The deputy registrar asked the nearest relative a few questions as to
the age, caste, next of kin, cause of death, which were duly recorded
in a book kept for that purpose, and, the charges having been paid,
the body, which was as supple as in life (and, except for want of
volition, bore no visible marks of death), was placed upon the logs,
which were alternately crossed over each other, other logs being placed
on the top of the body, with straw underneath. The family being poor in
this case, no expensive spiced oils, ghee, or sandal wood were used.
The pyre having been sprinkled with water from the sacred river, the
nearest male relative took a wisp of lighted straw and ran seven times
round it, shouting “Ram, Ram, sach hai” (the god Ram is true and great
indeed). He then applied the torch, which in a few seconds reached the
body, while a Hindu priest recited verses from the Vedas. The process
of burning occupied about four hours. Two other bodies, one an adult,
and the other a child, were nearly burnt to ashes during my visit.
It appears that in India, when the body is motionless, and assumes a
death-like appearance, as in trance or catalepsy, no attempt is ever
made at resuscitation, no matter how suddenly or unexpectedly the
supposed death may occur, nor is there any proper method of examination
for the purpose of death certification. Amongst the Hindus death is not
considered an evil, but is the gate leading to a better and happier
world. Many Hindus when ill are carried by their friends to the banks
of the sacred Ganges, where they meet death with much hope, and without
fear.
At the General Hospital, Colombo, I was told by Dr. Van Lagenberg
that there was absolutely no protection against premature burials for
persons subject to trance, as, although according to the law medical
certification was obligatory, medical examination was not; the doctor
taking the word of the friends as to the fact of death, and certifying
accordingly. Early burial (about six hours after death) was the rule.
The Mother Superior to the staff of nurses mentioned the case of the
venerable Father Vestarani, an aged Catholic priest of Colombo, who was
subject to attacks of epilepsy: these were followed by apparent death,
and he had several narrow escapes from premature burial. This case was
also known to my friend, Mr. Peter de Abrew, of Colombo, and others.
The house surgeon, Dr. H. M. Fernando, said that amongst the Moslems
burial followed apparent death very quickly, sometimes in an hour.
From Mr. Vira Raghava Chri, of Madras, manager of the _Hindu_, I
learned that the Brahmins always burn the dead soon after death occurs.
The relatives, if they reside within easy reach, are sent for. The body
is washed in cold water, and after two or three hours the religious
service begins, which is performed by the priests, and consists of
citations from the Vedas having reference to the departure of the soul
from the body, and to the lessons the solemn event teaches. These
ceremonies generally last for two or three hours, after which the body
is taken to be burned. In answer to my inquiries as to what would
happen if within that time no sign of decomposition was exhibited, Mr.
Chri informed me that under no circumstances would they wait for more
than six hours before the body was taken to be burned. He had heard of
cases of persons declared to be dead coming to life while being carried
to the funeral pyre, when they were restored to and welcomed by their
friends. Cases were also known of the corpse sitting up amidst the
flames, and being beaten down by those in charge of the funeral. They
were believed to be the victims of premature cremation. He thought,
however, that such cases were rare amongst his co-religionists.
[DIFFICULTY OF DIAGNOSIS.]
Mr. Mohan Chunder Roy, M.B., of Benares, said that it was a very
difficult matter, even for a medical practitioner, to distinguish the
living from the dead, and, where there were no signs of putrefaction,
it was his custom to advise the relatives to wait before burial, or
before sending the body to the burning ghat, which they were very
reluctant to do. When apparent revivals to consciousness occurred on
the pyre, the superstitious people believed that it was due to the
presence of evil spirits, and the attempt to escape is frustrated by
cremators in charge of the burning ghat. This barbarous custom has been
repeatedly affirmed to me by intelligent natives as a matter of common
notoriety.
One reason why Hindus are hurried to the cremation ground so quickly,
and without waiting to see whether the case is one of trance or
suspended animation, is that the relatives are not allowed either to
eat or drink while the body remains in the house. If a person touches
any article in the house of mourning, that article must be washed and
purified. After the cremation all the relatives purify themselves by
bathing before they are allowed to eat or drink.
Mr. Durga Prasad, editor of the _Harbinger_, Lahore, writes, February
29, 1896:--“I recollect, when about twelve years old, my grandmother,
who was held in great esteem for her piety and experience, told me that
she was once declared to be dead, and was therefore carried to our
crematorium, or burning-place; but when about to be burnt she came back
to life.”
Mr. Joseph, assistant secretary at the Public Library and Museum,
Colombo, told the author that his father, owing to weakness of the
heart, was subject to frequent attacks of trance-like insensibility.
They passed away by simple treatment in a few hours, but were sometimes
quite alarming. He was afraid, owing to the superstitious fear of death
among the ignorant classes in Ceylon, and the terror which keeping a
corpse, or a person in a state of catalepsy, where volition had ceased,
excited, that many were buried or burned alive, as it was the custom,
particularly amongst the Mahomedans, to carry the body away a few hours
after death. Signs of decomposition quickly appeared in a tropical
climate, but this unequivocal mode of verifying death was not often
waited for by Moslems.
SRI SUMANGALA ON SINHALESE BURIALS IN CEYLON.
[BURIAL IN CEYLON.]
Sri Sumangala, the venerable High Priest of the Buddhists of Ceylon,
and Principal of the College for Buddhist Priests, at an interview the
author had with him in January, 1895, stated that among the Sinhalese
the chances of burial or cremation of the apparently dead are not
frequent. Their customs are such that a corpse is seldom or never
removed for burial or cremation before the expiry of twenty-four hours
after death is said to have taken place. During that time climatic
influence renders signs of decomposition and putrefaction apparent.
Only one case came under the observation of the venerable theologian,
which was that of a person bitten by a cobra. The man apparently
succumbed, but a native specialist, having arrived at the cemetery
just before the burial, examined the case, and said that life was _not
extinct_, and saved the man from a premature grave.
The following is from the _British Medical Journal_, April 26, 1884, p.
844:--
“PREMATURE INTERMENT.
“The _Times of India_, for March 21, has the following story:--On last
Friday morning the family of a Goanese, named Manuel, aged seventy
years, who had been for the last four months suffering from dysentery,
thinking that he was dead, made preparations for his funeral. He was
placed in a coffin and taken from his house, at Worlee, to a chapel
at Lower Mahim, preparatory to burial. The priest, on putting his hand
on the man’s chest, found his heart still beating. He was thereupon
removed to the Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Hospital, where he remained in an
unconscious state up to a late hour on last Friday night, when he
died.”
In a communication to the author from Mr. Nasarvariji F. Billimoria,
dated March 14, 1896, the writer says that, where cases of premature
burning have occurred in India, the relatives are unwilling to have
the facts published, and shrink from making them known. Moreover, when
members of a family once declared dead have been rejected by their
friends in the land of shadows, and have returned to this life, they
are believed to bring misfortune with them, and discredit is attached
to the families in consequence. Mr. Billimoria says the following cases
can be relied upon as authentic:--
“In the year 18--, in the town of B----, a Marwari was taken as dead
and carried to the cremation ground. Unfortunately, at that time a
superstition was prevalent among all classes of Indians that, if a
dead one is brought back to his or her house, a plague would break
out in the town. When, therefore, the Marwari survived, instead
of bringing him back to the house, or even allowing him to roam
elsewhere, he was killed, it is said, by a hatchet, which they were
in the habit of carrying with them to break the fuel for the funeral
pyre. This had happened in the old Gaekwari days when Governments did
not interfere in the superstitious customs of the people.”
Fortunately, however, those days are gone, and with them the old
superstitions. Some time ago a fisherwoman, after taking a liberal
dose of alcoholic drink and opium, was found (apparently) dead by her
relatives--low-caste Hindus. No time is lost among the Hindus, high or
low caste, to remove the body to the cremation ground after a man is
found dead.
“A bamboo bier was being prepared to carry the fisherwoman to the
_Samashân_ (cremation ground), upon which the body was laid as usual,
and the relatives were to lift it to their shoulders: when, lo! the
woman turned herself on the bier on her side, and, thanks to the good
sense of the fishermen, she is still enjoying her life while I am
writing.
[HASTY CREMATION.]
“A young daughter of a Bania was sick for a long time, and was found
apparently dead by her relatives, and carried to the _Samashân_. These
grounds are generally situated at a river side. When the bier was
prepared for certain ceremonies, the girl showed signs of revival,
and, one by one, the relatives would go near the bier, bend down,
stare at the face, and retire aghast. Information had reached the town
that the girl had survived; but the body, nevertheless, was cremated,
and never brought back to the house. It is believed that in this case,
although the girl had revived for a little time, she had died soon
afterwards, as she had been ill for a long time previously. Granting
that it was a case in which the dying became actively conscious a few
minutes before real death, it is certain that great and indecent haste
was practised by the relatives in pressing on the cremation, as is the
usual mode in India.”
The _Bombay Guardian_, January 11, 1896, under the head of “The Week’s
News,” announced that--
“A Brahmin went to Poona to attend the National Congress. He was laid
up with fever, became dangerously ill, and fell into a trance. His
friends, thinking him dead, made the necessary arrangements for the
funeral. They took the supposed dead man to the river to be burned,
but, just as the funeral procession arrived near the Shane temple, his
head and hands were seen moving. The cloth having been removed from
his face, he opened his eyes and tried to speak. He was taken home.”
This case was reported also in the _Times of India_.
The subject of hasty and premature burials in India might with much
profit be introduced at the National Congress. The author believes
that thousands of people are annually buried and burned in a state of
suspended animation--particularly in places where cholera, small-pox,
and other devastating plagues prevail. It is usual, both amongst
the Parsees and the Hindus, to begin preparations for the religious
ceremonies when the case is considered hopeless.
Dr. Roger S. Chew, of Calcutta, who for some years occupied the
position of army surgeon in India, writes to me:--“Though there is
every risk of live interment with those classes who bury their dead,
this is a risk (save in cases of epidemic or battlefield) the British
soldier never runs in India, where the military law requires that a
_post-mortem_ examination, not earlier than twelve hours after decease,
must be held on every soldier who dies from any cause except a highly
contagious or infectious disease.” In the present unsatisfactory state
of the law might not this safeguard be generally adopted?
THE TOWERS OF SILENCE, BOMBAY.
On Sunday, March 15, 1896, my daughter and I were accompanied to the
Towers of Silence, situated on the highest part of Malabar Hill,
Bombay, by Mr. Phiroze C. Sethna, a highly accomplished Parsee
merchant, to whom we were indebted for many acts of kindness during our
sojourn in the city. The position is one of rare beauty, commanding
as it does charming panoramic views of Bombay and the surrounding
neighbourhood, while immediately below are extensive cocoa and other
tropical plantations. At the entrance to the towers is a notice-board
in English, stating that none but Parsees are admitted. We passed under
the porch into the sacred enclosure, and found ourselves in the midst
of a lovely garden planted with choice shrubs and trees, and were each
presented by the gardener with bouquets of freshly-cut flowers.
[THE TOWERS OF SILENCE.]
The towers are five in number, the smallest having been erected in
1669, all modelled after the same pattern, and are about twenty-five
feet high. Inside is a circular platform about three hundred feet in
circumference paved with large slabs, and divided into rows of shallow
open receptacles in which the bodies are placed. There are three
sections--for males, females, and children. We noticed a number of
vultures sitting on the adjacent trees, and were informed that, when a
funeral is on its way, large numbers congregate upon the coping of the
tower, ready to seize the body and devour it the moment it is deposited
by the corpse-bearers on the slabs, after the conclusion of the funeral
ceremonies. In an hour or less the corpse is completely stripped of its
flesh, when the bones are thrown into a well. From a sanitary point of
view, the plan is preferable to burying or to cremation, which last,
as it is carried out in India, is a slow and tedious process. Vultures
have never been known to attack children, or even babies left by their
mothers tied for safety to a branch of a tree, and will not, it is
said, attack a person only apparently dead, as in a trance or coma.
Another custom amongst the Parsees in the treatment of their dead is
to bring a dog to the corpse before it is removed from the house, and
another dog on its arrival at the Tower of Silence. This ceremony is
known as the Sagdeed. In a pamphlet on the “Funeral Ceremonies of the
Parsees,” by Ervad Jivanji Jamshedje Mody, B.A., a learned priest of
the Parsee cult, with whom the author had the pleasure of an interview,
the explanation is that, according to the ancient belief, the spotted
dog can discriminate between the really and the apparently dead. Dr.
Franz Hartmann and other writers appear also to be of the opinion,
which the author considers highly probable, that a dog knows whether
his master is really dead or only in a trance; but that a strange dog
would be able to discriminate and act as a sentinel to prevent a living
person being mistaken for a dead one, is highly improbable.
Having heard of several cases of persons taken to the Towers of Silence
who recovered consciousness after being laid within the enclosure, I
asked Mr. Jivanji Mody what would happen in such a case, and what means
of escape there would be? Mr. Mody replied that within the tower there
is a chain hanging from the coping to the floor, by which a person
could draw himself up to the top of the structure, and he would then be
seen and rescued. In a neatly-constructed model of these towers at the
museum, Victoria Gardens, Bombay, no chain is visible. The subject of
apparent death, or suspended animation, and how to prevent premature
burial, premature cremation, and premature exposure in the Towers of
Silence, is beginning to excite interest in some parts of India. Mr.
Ardeshar Nowroji, Fort Bombay, student of Zoroastrian literature, is to
read a paper on the subject before the Debating Society at Elphinstone
College. Mr. Soabjee Dhunjeebhoy Wadia is also studying literature
bearing on the same topic.
Mr. Dadabhoy Nusserwanje, a Bombay Parsee and merchant, residing
at Colombo, Ceylon, informed the author, January 28, 1896, that he
knew of two cases where his co-religionists had been declared dead,
and the bodies prepared for burial (the preparation including the
long religious service as prescribed by their formulas), who were
only in a trance. This was proved by their having come back to life
when placed in the Towers of Silence in Bombay. It appears that any
persons officially and religiously given over for dead were formerly
not allowed to be restored to their relatives, or to the society to
which they belonged, as they were supposed to carry with them, from
their dead associates, liability to plagues or ill luck, and they are
consequently obliged to migrate to distant parts of the country. My
informant said that this superstition was so deeply rooted in the minds
of the Parsee people that he did not think a reform was possible.
Cases of persons in a trance, mistaken for dead, are by no means
uncommon, as would appear from the following communication from Mr.
Nasarvariji F. Billimoria, a Parsee of Bombay, addressed to Dr. Franz
Hartmann, and not previously published:-
“Several cases of revival of the apparently dead among the Parsees,”
writes Mr. Billimoria, “have come to my notice.
“A Parsee, whom I shall call M---- B----, was given up as dead. The
body was laid on the ground, and the usual ceremonies were being
performed, when, to the surprise of the people surrounding the body,
he rose and described some spiritual experience. He died long after
this event took place, at a good old age, at Bilimora, a town about
eighty miles north of Bombay.
“S----, a girl of about ten years, was also taken as dead in the same
town, and, after laying her body on the ground, prayers were being
recited by the priests. She rose and said that she had been to some
other land, where she saw an old lady who ordered her to go away, as
she was not required there just then. She died at a good old age a few
months ago.
“A woman in the garb of a Hindu beggar was some time ago in the habit
of interviewing Parsee ladies at odd times, viz., at about three or
four o’clock in the morning, at the same place, and asking several
questions pertaining to religion. It was afterwards found that she was
K---- (widow of a Parsee priest), who had apparently died a short time
before, and, after revival, had emerged from the Tower of Silence,
and, a superstition being prevalent among the people that none should
be taken back among us who return from the dead, she dared not unite
with the Parsees, and hence led a wanderer’s life.
“In Bombay, too, I have heard of some cases of the revival of the
apparently dead among the Parsees, the principal of them being a
lady of a wealthy family, and a Parsee who afterwards carried on his
profession as a physician. The physician was living as a Christian on
account of the prejudice among the Parsees before referred to. He was
called “Mûtchala Dâktar,” _i.e._, doctor with big moustache.
“Similar cases had also occurred in Surat, where two Parsee women had
returned from the Towers of Silence, one of whom lived afterwards as a
Sanyasini. What became of the other I cannot say.”
“The funeral ceremonies among the Parsees provide that, after the signs
of death are manifest, the body be washed with warm water, and laid on
a clean sheet; two persons hold the hands of the dead person, joining
themselves by a _paivand_ of tape. The priests recite certain prayers,
after which the body is laid on ground set apart for the purpose in
the house. Here it lies for several hours, during which time priests
recite alternately certain prayers, while a fire is kept alive with
fragrant combustibles near the body. The Nasasâlârs, or corpse-bearers,
arrive at the appointed time, when the fire is taken away, and other
manthrâ or prayers, which occupy an hour or so, are recited by two
priests conjointly, gazing first on the iron bier, and then on the face
of the body. A procession is then formed, and the body is carried by
the Nasasâlârs only, the others walking in pairs, joining themselves
by holding a handkerchief in their hands, several yards distant from
the body. The Towers of Silence are removed from the habitations of
mankind, sometimes, miles distant, where, after the arrival of the
funeral procession, the last obeisance is performed, and the body
is carried into the tower, which is called _Dukhmâh_, the mourners,
except the Nasasâlârs, remaining outside. The procession returns after
further prayers. The towers are entirely open from above to allow ample
sunlight, and to allow the carrion-birds access to the dead.
“From the foregoing it would appear that, with regard to the disposal
of the dead, the Parsee system offers advantages, in respect of the
revival of the supposed dead persons, over the European system of
burial. After real or supposed death, a fire is kept burning near the
body, the heat of which would indirectly assist in resuscitating those
in a state of suspended animation.
“If a man dies in the afternoon, his body is not carried to the towers
till next day, and in that case the fire is kept alive the whole night
near the body, two priests alternately reciting manthrâs. Some time is
thus allowed to intervene between the supposed death and the disposal
of the body in the Towers of Silence. There, too, the body is not laid
without Zoroastrian ceremony. But in the system of disposal itself
we see another protection, in that the carrion-birds do not touch the
body unless they instinctively find evidence of putrefaction. It is a
fact that in not a few cases persons have escaped from the dismal and
terrible fate of being laid alive in the Towers of Silence. The system
of disposal in the tower may appear to non-Zoroastrians repulsive; but
neither the system of cremation nor burial will give us back those
whom they have once devoured. That the Parsees do not allow those who
have returned from the Towers of Silence to intermingle among them is
another question. This too, however, has attracted the attention of
this small community; and I hear that there is a standing order issued
from the trustees of the Parsee Panchayet at Bombay to the Nasasâlârs
(the corpse-bearers) to the effect that they would be rewarded if they
would give information or bring back any body which had been revived
after it had been carried to the Towers of Silence.”
The Parsee custom of using the dog is suggestive. There are numerous
cases on record where a dog, following his master to the grave as one
of the mourners, has refused to leave the grave; and these have been
quoted as a proof of the undying love of the master’s canine friend.
May it not be that dogs are gifted, as believed by the Parsees,
with another sense denied to most men--the faculty of discerning
between real and apparent death? A medical correspondent relates the
following:--
“In Austria, in 1870, a man seemed to be dead, and was placed in a
coffin. After the usual three days of watching over the supposed
corpse, the funeral was commenced; and when the coffin was being
carried out of the house, it was noticed that the dog which belonged
to the supposed defunct became very cross, and manifested great
eagerness toward the coffin, and could not be driven away. Finally,
as the coffin was about to be placed in the hearse, the dog attacked
the bearers so furiously that they dropped it on the ground; and in
the shock the lid was broken off, and the man inside awoke from his
lethargic condition, and soon recovered his full consciousness. He was
alive and well at last news of him. Dogs might possibly be of use in
deciding doubtful cases, where their master was concerned.”
Also the following:--
[INTELLIGENCE OF DOGS.]
“The postmaster of a village in Moravia ‘died’ in a fit of epilepsy,
and was buried three days afterwards in due form. He had a little pet
dog which showed great affection towards him, and after the burial
the dog remained upon the man’s grave and howled dismally, and would
not be driven away. Several times the dog was taken home forcibly,
but whenever it could escape it immediately returned. This lasted for
a week, and became the talk of the village. About a year afterwards
that part of the grave-yard had to be removed owing to an enlargement
in building the church, and consequently the grave of the postmaster
was opened, and the body was found in such a state and position as
to leave no doubt that he had been buried alive, had returned to
consciousness, and had died in the grave. The physician who had signed
the certificate of death went insane on that account, soon after the
discovery was made.”--_Premature Burial, p. 109, London ed._