as her husband is dead, and continually repeats the name of the god
he had worshipped. When the hour arrives, she adorns herself with
rich clothes and jewels, and goes to the funeral pile, attended by
her relations and friends, with the sound of musical instruments. The
Bramins give her drink in which opium is mixed, and sing songs in
praise of heroism. It is said that before the ceremony they try to
dissuade her from her project; but the resolution once taken is sacred.
One of them being warned of the pain she would endure, held her finger
in the fire for some time, and then burned incense on the palm of her
hand, to prove her contempt of suffering. Mr. Forbes mentions a female
whose husband had amply provided for her by will, and, contrary to
the usual custom of the Hindoos, had made her perfectly independent
of his family. “She persisted in her determination to accompany him
to a better world, and suffered not the tears and supplications of
an aged mother and three helpless infants to change her purpose. An
immense concourse of people of all ranks assembled, and a band of music
accompanied the Bramins, who superintended the ceremony. The bower
of death, enwreathed with sacred flowers, was erected over a pile of
sandal-wood and spices, on which lay the body of the deceased. After
various ceremonies, the music ceased, and the crowd in solemn silence
waited the arrival of the heroine. She was attended by her mother and
three lovely children, arrayed in rich attire, and wearing the hymeneal
crown. After a few religious ceremonies, the attendants took off her
jewels, and anointed her dishevelled hair with consecrated ghee, as
also the skirts of her yellow muslin robe. She then distributed her
ornaments among weeping friends, while two lisping infants clung around
her knees to dissuade her from the fatal purpose; the last pledge of
conjugal love was taken from her bosom by an aged parent in speechless
agony. Freed from these heart-piercing mourners, the lovely widow, with
an air of solemn majesty, received a lighted torch from the Bramins,
with which she walked seven times round the pyre. Stopping near the
entrance of the bower, for the last time she addressed the fire, and
worshipped the other deities prescribed; then setting fire to her hair
and the skirts of her robe, to render herself the only brand worthy of
illuminating the sacred pile, she threw away the torch, rushed into the
bower, and embracing her husband, thus communicated the flames to the
surrounding branches. The musicians immediately struck up the loudest
strains, to drown the cries of the victim, should her courage have
forsaken her; but several of the spectators declared that the serenity
of her countenance and the dignity of her behavior surpassed all the
sacrifices of a similar nature they had ever witnessed.”
Such an event is deemed very glorious to the family of the victim,
and that of her husband. They are proud of her in proportion to the
calmness and heroism with which she meets her fate. If the resolution
of the poor creatures fail them at the last moment, they bring
irretrievable disgrace on their connections. If they try to go back,
they are often put to death by relatives, or expelled from their caste,
and forever cut off from all intercourse with relations or friends. But
notwithstanding religious enthusiasm, and the prejudices of education,
they are not always resigned to their cruel fate.
In 1796, the widow of a Bramin determined to be burned with the body of
her husband. It was dark and rainy when the pile was lighted, and when
she began to be scorched by the flames, she crept away unperceived,
and hid herself in the brushwood. It was soon discovered, and they
dragged her forth. Her own son insisted that she should be thrown on
the pile again, or else hang herself. She pleaded hard for life, but
pleaded in vain. The son said he should be expelled from his caste,
unless the sacrifice were completed, and that either he or she must
die. Finding her still unwilling to destroy herself, the son and his
companions bound her limbs and threw her on the funeral pile, where
she quickly perished. The bones are carefully collected in vases, and
thrown into some sacred river. The next day the Bramins sprinkle milk
and consecrated water over the place, and sometimes erect a chapel.
It not unfrequently happens that a number of wives are burned at once
with the dead body of their husband; and a willingness to make this
sacrifice is said to be still more a point of honor with mistresses
than with wives. When the chief Rao Lacka died, fifteen mistresses
perished with him, but not one of his wives offered to sacrifice
herself. A Koolin Bramin of Bagnuparu had more than a hundred wives,
twenty-two of whom were consumed with his corpse. The fire was kept
kindled for three days, waiting the arrival of the numerous victims.
Some of them were forty years old, and others no more than sixteen.
Nineteen of them had seldom even seen the husband with whom they
consented to perish.
It is said the widows of Bramins less frequently immolate themselves
than women of the other superior castes, because the Bramins often take
wives without any inclination for the union on either side.
In 1819, a girl of fifteen determined to become a suttee.[6] The
person to whom she had been betrothed died when she was six years old,
and, according to custom, she had ever after remained unmarried. No
entreaties could prevail on her to consent to live. She asked for a
fiddle which had belonged to her betrothed, and jumped into the flames.
Among the Mahrattas, and some other tribes, whose custom it is to bury
their dead, the sacrifice is made in a different manner. The widow
is escorted to the grave by a solemn procession; having listened to
the exhortations of the Bramins, and parted her jewels among friends,
she places upon her head a pot filled with rice, plantain, betel, and
water; then with clasped hands she bids farewell to the spectators,
and descends into the grave by means of a bamboo ladder; she seats
herself by the body of her husband, the ladder is drawn up, and the
music resounds, while the relatives throw in a quantity of earth to
suffocate the poor creature.
The Shaster, or Hindoo Bible, forbids a woman to see dancing, hear
music, wear jewels, blacken her eyebrows, eat dainty food, sit at a
window, or view herself in a mirror, during the absence of her husband;
and it allows him to divorce her if she has no sons, injures his
property, scolds him, quarrels with another, or presumes to eat before
he has finished his meal.
Truly, in no part of the world does the condition of women appear more
dreary than in Hindostan. The arbitrary power of a father disposes of
them in childhood; if the boy to whom they are betrothed dies before
the completion of the marriage, they are condemned forever after to
perpetual celibacy; under these restraints, if their affections become
interested and lead them into any imprudence, they are punished with
irretrievable disgrace, and in many districts with death; if married,
their husbands have despotic control over them; if unable to support
them, they can lend or sell them to a neighbor; and in the Hindoo
rage for gambling, wives and children are frequently staked and lost;
if they survive their husbands, they must pay implicit obedience to
the oldest son; if they have no sons, the nearest male relative holds
them in subjection; and if there happen to be no kinsmen, they must be
dependent on the chief of the tribe. Having spent life with scanty
opportunities to partake of its enjoyments, they become objects of
contempt if they refuse to depart from it, in compliance with a most
cruel custom.
The self-immolation of widows is of great antiquity. The natives have
a tradition that women many centuries ago frequently murdered their
husbands; and the Bramins, finding the severest punishments of no
avail, put an effectual check to it, by saying it was the will of
the gods, that widows should be burned on the funeral pile of their
husbands.
The English government have made great exertions to abolish this
abominable practice, and it is now prohibited by law in every part of
British India.
The Hindoo character is proverbial for patient mildness; yet their
religious superstitions continually lead them to the most ferocious
deeds. Fond as the women are of their children, they make a great merit
of throwing them to the sacred crocodiles, and not unfrequently cast
them from steep rocks, in fulfilment of some superstitious vow.
They themselves undergo the most frightful penances, and willingly
lie down to be devoured by crocodiles, or crushed beneath the car of
Juggernaut. Among the lighter penances, is that of conveying a great
quantity of water from the sacred Ganges to a temple at some distance.
Women of the higher castes, being unwilling to appear in the streets,
hire others to perform this expiatory duty for them.
The Rev. Dr. Buchanan, in his description of the sacrifices at the
temple of Juggernaut, says: “At the place of skulls, I beheld a poor
woman lying dead, or nearly dead, with her two children by her, looking
at the dogs and vultures which were near. The people passed by without
noticing the children. I asked them where was their home. They said
they had no home but where their mother was.”
This bigoted attachment to customs so horrid and unnatural, is
remarkable in a people who are so tolerant of the opinions of others.
It is a singular fact that the Hindoos reverence the objects held
sacred by other nations; hence their women and children are frequently
seen bringing offerings of fruit and flowers to the mosque of the
Mohammedan, and the chapel of the Catholic. They say, “Heaven is like a
palace with many doors, and every one may enter in his own way.”
The custom of murdering female infants, which formerly prevailed
throughout several districts in India, is so unnatural that it could
not be believed, if it were not proved beyond all possibility of
doubt. The horrid act was generally done by the mothers themselves,
either by administering opium as soon as a child was born, smothering
it, or neglecting the precautions necessary to preserve life. Now and
then a wealthy man saved one daughter, especially if he had no sons;
but the practice of infanticide was so general, that when the young
men wanted wives, they were obliged to seek them in such neighboring
tribes as their laws permitted them to marry. The marquis of Wellesley,
during his government in India, made great exertions to have this
abominable custom abolished; but the natives were very stubborn in
their prejudices. They urged the natural inferiority of females, the
great responsibility which attended their bringing up, and the expense
incident upon their marriages. The arguments of the English, aided by
the influence of certain solemn sentences from some of their sacred
books, did, however, at last persuade them to abolish the barbarous
practice. Colonel Walker was the British officer who, after much
difficulty, prevailed on the Jarejah tribe to relinquish the custom.
A year or two after, many of the Jarejah fathers and mothers brought
their infant daughters to his tent, and exhibited them with the utmost
pride and fondness. Grateful for the change produced in their habits,
the mothers placed their children in colonel Walker’s hands, called
them _his_ children, and begged him to protect those whom he had
preserved.
The gentle and inoffensive character of the Hindoos is not without
exceptions. Bands of robbers infest the more northern parts; and some
of them make use of a singular stratagem to decoy travellers. They send
out a beautiful woman, who with many tears complains of some misfortune
that has befallen her, and implores their protection. No sooner has the
unwary traveller taken her behind him on horseback, than she strangles
him with a noose, or stuns him with a blow on the head, until the
robbers come from their hiding-place, and complete his destruction. It
is generally supposed that these murderers came into India with the
Mohammedan conquerors.
The Hindoos are very fond of shows and amusements; but in these the
women, especially of the higher classes, have little share. The female
pastimes consist principally of bathing, dressing, chewing betel,
listening to story-tellers, and playing a species of draughts.
In March the Hindoos keep a great festival called _hohlee_; and it is
a singular coincidence that during one of these holydays it is common
to send people on absurd errands, in order to create a laugh at their
expense, just as we do on the first of April. They likewise divert
themselves with throwing about great quantities of earth used in
painting, and known by the name of India red. The sport is to cast it
into the eyes, mouth, and nose. Sometimes it is powdered with talc to
make it glitter, and then if it gets into the eyes it is very painful.
They likewise splash each other all over, with squirts filled with
orange-colored water, made of the flowers of the _dak_ tree. These
frolics usually take place under the front awning of wealthy houses,
or the terraces of the gardens, but sometimes within the buildings. A
rajah, surrounded by his numerous wives, has a fair chance to get his
full share of powdering and drenching.
The hohlee is observed by all classes throughout Hindostan, with the
most boisterous merriment. The utmost freedom is allowed to all ranks.
Young men and old parade about the streets, singing indecent songs.
Sometimes an individual dresses himself up in the most fantastic style,
to personify the _hohlee_, and is followed by crowds throwing red dust
and orange-colored water. This custom, which is said to be connected
with some religious tradition, is very similar to the observance of
the carnival in Catholic countries. The Hindoo ladies have their share
of the festivities; but no one is allowed to join their parties except
their husbands, or very young brothers.
The wives of jugglers follow the same profession as their husbands. It
is a common sight to see young women walking on their heads, with their
feet in the air, turning round like a wheel, or walking on their hands
and feet, with the body bent backward.
A recent traveller thus describes one of the tricks which he saw
performed: “A young and beautifully formed woman fixed on her head a
stiff strong fillet, to which were fastened, at equal distances, twenty
pieces of string, with a noose at the end of each. Under her arm she
carried a basket containing twenty eggs. She advanced near us, and
began to move rapidly round upon a spot not more than eighteen inches
in diameter, from which she never deviated for an instant, though her
rotation became so exceedingly rapid as to render it painful to look at
her. She absolutely spun round like a top. When her body had reached
its extreme point of acceleration, she quickly drew down one of the
strings, which had formed a horizontal circle round her, and put an egg
into the noose. She then jerked it back to its original position, and
continuing her gyrations with undiminished velocity, she secured all
the eggs in the nooses prepared for them, until they were all flying
around her head in one unbroken circular line. After this she continued
her motions with undiminished velocity for at least five minutes, then
seized the eggs one by one, and replaced them in the basket. This being
done, she stopped in an instant, without the movement of a limb, or
the vibration of a muscle, as if she had been suddenly transformed
to marble. She received our applauses with a calm countenance, and
an apparent modesty of demeanor, which was doubtless the result of
constitutional apathy, rather than refinement of feeling; for these
jugglers are generally among the most depraved of their caste.”
The reputed wealth and fertile soil of Hindostan have attracted
foreigners from all parts of the world. Some entered as conquerors,
some sought refuge from persecution, and others went there for
commercial purposes. The peculiar manners of these different nations
have become too variously modified to be particularly described.
The Mohammedans, who obtained certain districts by conquest, are
extravagantly fond of pomp and splendor. The nabob Asuf gave a proof
of this in the wedding of his adopted son Vizier Aly. The bridegroom
was about thirteen years of age, the bride ten. The prince could hardly
move under the weight of his jewels. The procession consisted of about
twelve hundred elephants richly caparisoned, of which one hundred in
the centre had _houdas_, or castles, on their backs, covered with
silver. In the midst was the nabob himself, within a _houda_ covered
with gold and set with precious stones. On both sides of the road
was raised artificial scenery of bamboo-work, representing arches,
minarets, and towers, covered with lighted glass lamps. On each side
were carried platforms, covered with gold and silver cloth, on which
were musicians and dancing girls superbly dressed. The ground was
inlaid with fireworks, and at every step of the elephants, rockets and
fiery serpents shot forth, kindling the night into day. Three thousand
flambeaux were likewise carried by men hired for the occasion.
The palanquins in which the wealthy are carried are sometimes very
magnificent. They are painted and gilded, ornamented with gold, silver,
and jewels, with cushions and coverings of crimson velvet.
The religion of Brama, as well as that of Mohammed, forbids women to
appear in public; but the lower classes of Hindoos do not attempt to
comply with the inconvenient requisition. The Mohammedan women, on the
contrary, are extremely punctilious on this point; even the poorest
never venture out of doors without being enveloped in a cotton veil
made like a bag, with a slight net-work over the eyes and mouth. Those
who cannot afford to travel in palanquins, ride astride on a bullock,
which has a bell suspended to the neck, and a bridle passed through the
nostrils. A more uncouth or unpleasant sight cannot well be imagined,
unless it might be a shrouded corpse thus mounted.
Mrs. Graham, in her very entertaining account of India, gives the
following description of a visit to the harem of a Mohammedan chief:
“My sister and I were allowed to enter, but we could by no means
persuade the cazy to admit any of the gentlemen of our family. We
ascended to the women’s apartment by a ladder, which is removed when
not in immediate use, to prevent the ladies from escaping. We were
received by the cazy’s wife’s mother, a fine old woman dressed in
white, and without ornaments, as becomes a widow. The cazy’s mother,
and the rest of his father’s widows, were first presented; then Fatima,
his wife, to whom our visit was paid; and afterward his sisters, some
of them fine, lively young women. They all crowded round us to examine
our dress, and the materials of which it was composed. They were
surprised at our wearing so few ornaments; but we told them it was the
custom of our country, and they replied that it was good. I was not
sorry they so openly expressed their curiosity, as it gave us a better
opportunity of gratifying our own. The apartment in which we were
received was about twenty feet square, and rather low. Round it were
smaller rooms, most of them crowded with small beds, with white muslin
curtains; these were not particularly clean, and the whole suit seemed
close and disagreeable. Most of the women were becomingly dressed.
Fatima’s arms, feet, and neck were covered with rings and chains; her
fingers and toes were loaded with rings; her head was surrounded with a
fillet of pearls, some strings of which crossed it several ways, and
confined her hair, which was knotted up behind. On her forehead hung a
cluster of colored stones, from which depended a large pearl, and round
her face small strings of pearl hung at equal distances. Her ear-rings
were very beautiful; but I do not like the custom of boring the hem of
the ear, and studding it all round with _joys_, or jewels; and not even
Fatima’s beautiful face could reconcile me to the nose jewel. Her large
black eyes (the _chesme ahoo_, or stag eyes, of the eastern poets)
were rendered more striking by the black streaks with which they were
adorned, and lengthened out at the corners. The palms of her hands, the
soles of her feet, and her nails, were stained with henna, a plant, the
juice of whose seeds is of a deep-red color.”
“Fatima’s manner is modest, gentle, and indolent. Before her husband,
she neither lifts her eyes nor speaks, and hardly moves without
permission from the elder ladies of the harem. She presented us with
perfumed sherbet, (a drink little different from lemonade,) fruit,
and sweetmeats, chiefly made of _ghee_, poppy seeds, and sugar. Some
of them were tolerably good, but it required all my politeness to
swallow others. Prepared as I was to expect very little from Mussulman
ladies, I could not help being shocked to find them so totally devoid
of cultivation as I found them. They mutter their prayers, and some
of them read the Koran, but not one in a thousand understands it.
Still fewer can read their own language, or write at all; and the only
work they do is a little embroidery. They string beads, plait colored
threads, sleep, quarrel, make pastry, and chew betel, in the same daily
round. It is only at a death, a birth, or a marriage, that the monotony
of their lives is interrupted. When we took leave, we were sprinkled
with rose-water, and presented with flowers, and betel nut wrapped in
the leaves of an aromatic plant.”
Yet where talent exists it has sometimes found means to manifest
itself, even within the circumscribed limits of the harem.
Many beautiful designs for Cashmere shawls, embroidery, and printed
cottons, have been designed by these secluded women. Mherul-Nisa,
afterward favorite sultana of Jehangire, emperor of Hindostan, being
shut up with other slaves in a mean apartment of the seraglio, exerted
her ingenuity to increase her scanty support. She embroidered splendid
tapestry, painted silks with exquisite skill, and invented a variety
of fanciful ornaments. These being extensively bought, and much
admired in the city of Delhi, excited the emperor’s curiosity. He paid
her a visit; and from that moment she never lost the extraordinary
influence which she suddenly acquired over him. She became his favorite
wife, under the title of Noor Jehan, signifying _the light of the
world_; her relations were placed in the principal employments of the
empire, ranked with princes of the blood, and admitted to the private
apartments of the seraglio; her name was stamped on the coin with that
of the emperor; and the most expensive pageants, consisting of music,
fireworks, and illuminations, were continually kept up to please her.
The discovery of that exquisite perfume called attar of roses is
attributed to Noor Jehan. She had not only baths, but whole canals,
filled with rose-water, that she might enjoy its fragrance. One fine
morning, walking with the emperor along one of these canals, in his
magnificent gardens at Cashmere, she observed a fine scum floating on
the surface. She took up some of it, and perceived that it yielded a
powerful odour. She caused the chemists to examine it, and from it they
produced the essence which has ever since commanded so high a price.
Noor Jehan gave it the name of Atyr Jehangire, in honor of her husband,
and introduced the use of it throughout Hindostan.
Among the foreign nations settled in India are the Parsees, descendants
from the ancient Persians, who, like them, worship fire and sun, not as
God, but as his most perfect symbol. There are among them holy women,
who keep a perpetual fire burning before their habitations, and are
very strict in the observance of religious rites; these women are held
in the highest veneration.
The Parsees, like most other oriental women, are in the habit of
bringing water on their heads from the rivers and wells. They are well
shaped, and almost as fair as Europeans. They have large black eyes,
and aquiline noses. They are married very young, but generally remain
with their parents some time after the wedding. The Parsees are allowed
to marry but one wife, and she must be of their own nation.
The Hindoos in general believe in witchcraft. If the crops are
blighted, sickness prevails, or any unusual misfortunes occur, they
write the names of all the women in the village on branches of the
saul-tree, and let them remain in water four hours and a half; if
any branch withers, the person whose name is on it is decided to
be a witch. Other superstitious ordeals are likewise resorted to,
and certain forms of investigation are gone through with, which not
unfrequently end in the death of the accused.
They believe in the existence of demons, and use various exorcisms to
expel them from those who are possessed. Women are almost always the
persons in whom these evil spirits are supposed to have fixed their
residence.
The Hindoos people the stars, the air, the woods, and the ocean with
deities; among which the goddesses are about as numerous as the gods.
The two most conspicuous are Saraswadi, goddess of literature and the
arts, and Parvati, goddess of time and of enchantments; the latter,
like Venus, was born of the foam of the sea, and is the mother of
Love. The Hindoo Cupid is called Camdeo, or Manmadin. His bow is of
sugar-cane, his arrows made of flowers, and pointed with honey-comb.
He is usually represented riding on a parrot, and is particularly
worshipped by women desirous to obtain faithful lovers and good
husbands.