Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
Old Daniel; or, Memoir of a Converted Hindoo and Description of Village
Life in India.
By Thomas Hodson, with Introduction by the Rev W. Arthur, M.A.
Published about 1877.
________________________________________________________________________
The title of this book is somewhat odd, for, though certainly greatly
about the life and doings of Chickka the washerman, and his conversion
to Christianity, the memoirs are certainly not his, and indeed it is a
little difficult to see whose they are. Not apparently those of Thomas
Hodson, who is mentioned frequently in the third person, and who appears
to be as much of an ordained minister as the Reverend W. Arthur.
Strange also is the fact that the title page promises an Introduction,
but what we actually get, on the very next page, is a Preface.
However, these are minor grumbles, because what you do get is a head-on
description of village life in India, as promised, and some very nice
illustrations.
As Editor, I must hasten to say that Thomas Hodson, the author of some
of the short chapters, is no relation of mine. In fact my ancestor
Thomas Hodson, who also worked in India, but as an administrator, was
only a small child in England at the time the book was published. But
my family have had a long connection with India, and that has led to my
own great interest in the Indian sub-continent. I was very interested
to read and edit this book, and commend it to anyone who would like to
know more about Indian Village Life 150 and even 200 years ago (the hero
of the tale was born in 1799).
Although this book is constructed from pieces written by devoted
Missionaries, and although they deride the local Gods and religious
practices, I do not think the book is very convincing as an argument for
Christianity, although I describe myself as a Christian. N.H.
________________________________________________________________________
OLD DANIEL; OR, MEMOIR OF A CONVERTED HINDOO AND DESCRIPTION OF VILLAGE
LIFE IN INDIA.
BY THOMAS HODSON, WITH INTRODUCTION BY THE REV W. ARTHUR, M.A.
PREFACE.
I can now, in my mind's eye, see Chickka, the washerman, as if I had met
him yesterday; and I can see the mud houses of Singonahully, the mud
wall of the village, and the temple of Runga, as if they were all before
me. Yet five and thirty years are passed and gone since the afternoon
when, in quest of medical aid, I rode past the village, hoping yet to
see it the abode of many follower's of Christ, not knowing that I was
never to see it more. At that time Chickka was still a heathen. He was
then between forty and fifty years of age, a grey-headed, resolute,
self-controlled looking man.
At the mission-house of Goobbe we knew Chickka well. He was often
present at our family prayer, but gave no signs of any religious
conviction; and I cannot remember that he ever expressed more
disapproval of idolatry than many did, who to this day have continued in
their heathenism. Certainly I had no idea of the processes through
which the mind of the washer man had passed. It would have been hard to
conceive that one so ignorant and so simple, had as a boy, all untaught,
seen as clearly the vanity of idols as well-instructed men could do, and
had in his own simple way taken practical and striking steps to convince
others of the justice of his views.
In the lifelike narrative of Mr Hodson,--where every touch is that of
one who has lived among the people, till their sayings and their doings,
their surrounding scenes and modes of thought, are all familiar,--the
reader will find a very curious light upon the processes of thought
which, in the deepest night of paganism, may be passing in the mind of a
labourer's lad who knows not a letter. We may feel assured that similar
lights are shining in the darkest places now, and that millions of young
minds are being prepared, as was the mind of Chickka, to turn from dumb
idols to serve the living and the true God. Even were the incidents
detailed in the following pages those only of the life of a single boy,
they would be of great interest. But it is not as incidents that give
interest to the story of an inward change of one mind, or of the outward
windings of one life, but as a sign of what is going on in multitudes,
and as a foretoken of the changes that are to come, that the highest
interest attaches to such scenes as that of Chickka breaking the
serpent-gods, turning the sword-gods into plough-shares, refusing to bow
to the idol, or speaking lightly of the great god of the vicinity when
his car was burned. Even the procession, which in all forms of
idolatry, from that of India to that of Rome, forms an important
instrument of public impression, failed to command the feelings of
Chickka. How many men in countries where weeping Madonnas are exhibited
have been tormented with the same curiosity which seized Chickka on
seeing the tears streaming down the cheeks of Mari, the goddess of
diseases! But seldom have courage and opportunity combined to carry the
inquirer to a conclusion so decisive as that which rewarded the research
of the poor washerman's son. I seem now as if I could trace the boy, in
the struggling grey of the morning, down the gentle slope, till he
reached the tank, found the spot where the idol had been cast into it,
and, daring to break its head, laid bare all the mystery of the tears.
That, too, was a step preparing him for the great change when he was to
turn to One who is not the work of men's hands, but is the Maker of the
mighty and the weak. And the same influences which prepared Chickka,
and which eventually changed him into Daniel, are now at work in, I
repeat it, millions of minds, where the influences are as much unseen
and unsuspected as were at the time those of which the reader will find
the account so striking.
Good Edward Hardey, whose words were the first that were sent home to
the heart of the washerman with the power that quickens dry corns into
sprouting seeds, and good Matthew Trevan Male, who baptized him as the
firstfruits unto Christ in Goobbe, are both gone to their rest. Many
others who have sowed on that field are also gone. Daniel has ended his
course in peace. And still the harvest is not reaped. But the harvest
is to come. In such a work delay, disappointment, and the deferring of
hope are to be taken as but a call for more faith and more prayer. If
the lights struggling in the heathen mind of Chickka were but an example
of what is taking place in the minds of many, so also the change by
which Chickka became Daniel, the steadfast Christian, was but an example
of thousands of thousands that are yet to come. `Behold, I make all
things new,' says He who caused the light to shine out of darkness; and
in the Mysore He will yet bring forth a new and glorious creation. In
that country, at this present time, a terrible famine is making ravages.
Even that calamity may be overruled for good. At all events it gives
fresh emphasis to the call for all followers of Christ to enter in and
work for God, where the harvest indeed is plenteous and the labourers
are few. It may be that even in times of trial the Spirit will be
poured out from on high, and that God will yet gladden with tidings of
great joy the hearts of some to whom those fields are unutterably dear,
and who have long waited for the full corn in the ear.
W. ARTHUR.
CHAPTER ONE.
DANIEL'S PARENTAGE.
Before Daniel was baptised his name was _Chikkha_, but we will call him
Daniel from the beginning to the end of this little memoir. He lived
sometimes at Goobbe, and sometimes at Singonahully. Goobbe is a large
market town in the kingdom of Mysore, and Singonahully is a small
village about two miles from Goobbe. The Wesleyan Mission premises are
situated between these two places. If my young readers, for whom this
little book is written, will take a large map of India, they will see
`Goobbe,' in Latitude 13 degrees 19 minutes North, and Longitude 77
degrees East. It is fifty-five miles north-west of Bangalore, and about
seventy north-east of Seringapatam.
Many years ago,--it is not known exactly how many--a man of the
Washerman caste left his native village and came to Singonahully. He
brought his family with him, but left behind a box containing an idol
and some other sacred things, in charge of the village priest. This man
was Daniel's grandfather. In Singonahully he entered into friendly
relations with the old village washerman, who was nearly blind, and
helped him in his work. In due time one of the blind man's daughters
was given in marriage to Daniel's father, whose name was Veera Chickka.
Daniel was born May 4th, 1799, or according to his own phraseology, "I
was born on the day Seringapatam was taken by the English." It may here
be observed that many of the middle and lower classes of the Hindoos do
not keep any correct record of the time when their children are born, so
that if no event of importance happens about that time, there is
generally no means of ascertaining the age of anyone in such families.
Daniel's father was always a poor man, so that his son was never sent to
school; and he was never able either to read or to write; but, when
quite a child, he manifested a very clear judgment in many things, and
especially in the view he took as to the worship of idols.
CHAPTER TWO.
DANIEL'S FIRST PROTEST AGAINST IDOLATRY.
One day when Daniel was about ten years old, and living with his father
in Goobbe, a relation of the family came from Toomcoor, on what, to him,
was a very important matter; and he said to Daniel's father, "Well,
Veera Chickka, your father shut up our goddess in a box and left it, in
his village, in care of the temple priest, and there she now remains.
The goddess has had no worship paid her from that time to this; she is
angry, and a great calamity has, in consequence, come upon me and my
family. Come now, let us fetch the goddess from our ancestral home, and
worship her here in this place." The goddess referred to was Lakshmi,
the wife of Vishnu, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. When little
Daniel heard this proposal, it seemed foolishness to him, and at a
favourable opening in the conversation he said to his relation, "The
goddess Lakshmi has blessed you with wealth, but she has left us in
poverty; when she gives us prosperity we will worship her, but not till
then." Both Daniel's father and his visitor looked at the boy angrily,
but said nothing; however, in the end his father decided not to fetch
the idol.
The following is another proof of Daniel's decision; and it shows what a
clear view he had of idolatry before he ever heard a word of Gospel
truth. The account is given in his own words.
CHAPTER THREE.
SNAKE-WORSHIP.
When I was about eleven years old, my brothers and sisters were
suffering from boils, and my parents asked a fortune-teller what they
should do to get rid of them. He told my parents that the boils had
come in consequence of their neglect of serpent-worship, and that the
children would be cured if my parents would again worship snakes. These
reptiles often take up their abode in white-ant-hills, after the ants
have vacated them. My parents had been in the habit of worshipping
serpents two or three times a year. Their custom was to pour milk,
clarified butter, curds, etcetera, etcetera, into the holes of a
white-ant-hill, when they knew there was a venomous serpent inside. The
libations were accompanied by fastings, prayers, prostrations, and many
ceremonial purifications. And now to remove the boils from their
children they resolved to comply with the fortune-teller's directions,
and go through a grand performance of serpent-worship. They accordingly
consecrated two old stone idols, made in the shape of serpents, and
commenced the worship of them. I thought this was all foolishness, and
before the whole of the ceremonies could be completed, watching my
opportunity, I broke each snake-stone into two or three pieces, and
threw them away as common stones. When my parents saw the broken
images, and knew that it was I who had broken them, they were
exceedingly angry, and my father said, with fury, "Son! is it proper to
do so? Other gods may be false, but the Serpent-god is not. The
children are suffering from the anger of the Serpent-god, and now you
have broken his images, so that his wrath is increased; and what
calamity will happen to us it is impossible to say."
After my father was a little calm, I said to him, "Father, I believe
that this worshipping snakes and their stone images is all nonsense.
What connection can there be between boils on a human body and the image
of a serpent? Have patience; no calamity will happen. Should any
trouble come, we will then conclude that the serpent is a true god; and
I will, in that case, get two other images made, and putting them in the
place of the two broken ones, they shall be consecrated and receive
regular worship." My father thought I was a strange child. However, in
a few days, my brothers and sisters were quite well, and the belief of
my parents in snake-worship died away.
CHAPTER FOUR.
BIBLE IN THE CANARESE LANGUAGE.
Daniel, at that time, had no teacher but the Holy Spirit. There were no
Bibles in the Canarese language, which was the language spoken by
Daniel; there were no Protestant Missionaries where he lived; no schools
in which Hindoo children could be taught to read the Word of God; and no
means whatever for acquiring a correct knowledge of the way to heaven.
Had these means of salvation been in existence when Daniel was a boy, he
would have been taught to worship the true God, and might have been
instrumental in the conversion of many people. But his youth was spent
in ignorance and in the service of Satan. Thank God, there is now a
change for the better. There are Missionaries who preach the Gospel in
many parts of the Mysore country; there are schools for children, and
also for those converted young men who wish to be taught how to preach
the Gospel to their own countrymen. The Scriptures are translated into
the Canarese language, and may be had everywhere at a very cheap rate
indeed. A copy of the Canarese Bible, printed at the Wesleyan Mission
Press, in Bangalore, and beautifully bound, was presented, with Bibles
in other oriental languages, to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,
on his late visit to Madras. This is a very different state of things
from that which existed when Daniel was a boy. But there is very much
yet to be done. The Missionaries have made a good beginning, but the
work has to be completed; every man, woman, and child has to be
converted; and therefore the young Missionary collectors all over
England, have need to renew their efforts, that many more Missionaries
may be sent to India every year.
CHAPTER FIVE.
DIALOGUE BETWEEN A GENTLEMAN AND A SHEPHERD.
We will now return to our history of the boy Daniel. In the same year
that he broke the stone serpents, he played a trick on some impostors
who were taking part in a religious procession, which the shepherds of
Singonahully and the neighbourhood had got up. The shepherds in the
Mysore country are very ignorant and very superstitious. This may
partly be accounted for from the fact that they live with their flocks
in the open fields daily, from morning to night, associate little with
their fellow-men, and seem shut out from all means of instruction. A
very learned Brahmin, who was at one time the Reverend William Arthur's
Canarese teacher, wrote a number of `Village Dialogues,' and in one of
them the shepherd is most admirably described. The following extract is
made in order to show the shepherd's ignorance, his creed, and his mode
of worship. It is a fit introduction to the Shepherds' procession which
little Daniel interrupted. The extract is part of a supposed dialogue
between an English gentleman passing through the country and a shepherd,
whom he happens to see near the public road:
The shepherd had a handkerchief round his head, a grey woollen blanket
tied like a hood, and a six-cubit piece of cloth round his loins.
Behind him came a flock of sheep, and behind the flock, in front, and on
both sides there were barking dogs. The shepherd had a stick in his
left hand, which he laid upon his left shoulder; in his right hand he
had a long switch, and under the armpit a bag, in a small net of
hemp-cord network; the net hung from the shoulder on the left side.
Calling "Hus-si, hus-si, kiy-yo," to the sheep which were straggling on
all four sides, he brought them together and drove them along; going
sometimes before, and sometimes behind. Whilst he was going behind, he
saw an English gentleman coming along in a travelling carriage, and said
to himself, "Who in the world is this? A gentleman coming, as I'm
alive! Why should I stay in his way? I'd better hide myself a bit."
So he got behind a hedge, and fearing lest the sheep should stray, as he
kept peeping and looking out every now and then, and huffing them with
his cry, "Hus-si, hus-si," this gentleman saw him, and called out, "Ho
Sir, _Gowda_, come here." _Gowda_ is the head man of a village, and the
word was used on this occasion respectfully. Hearing which, the
shepherd said to himself, "What trouble has come now? He's calling me
to come to him. If I go to him, I cannot tell what he may do to me.
And if I don't go, I cannot tell what will happen. But they say that
English gentlemen never do harm to anybody. Though I hear him, I'll
just keep quiet as though I didn't hear, and if he calls again, I'll
go." The gentleman, seeing the shepherd's great perplexity, and knowing
that it was through fear that he did not come, again called out, "Ho
Sir, Gowda, Gowda, come here; don't be afraid; I won't do anything to
you; you need not give me anything; come here, come and have a talk."
On which the shepherd thinking within himself, "If I don't go to him
after this, he may get angry, and I can't tell what he will do," delayed
a little, as though driving his sheep; when the gentleman again called,
"Come." "There is no getting out of it, I must go," said the shepherd
to himself; and came near, and stood with the stick across his
shoulders, holding the ends of the stick on both sides with his hands,
swinging the switch that he held in his right hand, stooping, moving his
head from side to side, and shuffling his feet. Seeing the shepherd,
who thus came and stood, the gentleman entered into conversation with
him, as follows:
G. "Well, Sir, _Gowda_, who are you?"
S. "I am a shepherd, my lord."
G. "What is your name?"
S. "My name is Bit-tare Shikkanu, Sir." (The words mean, "If you let
him go, you won't catch him again.")
G. "Bravo! If one let go your name, he won't catch it again, eh?
Well, what is your god's name?"
S. "_Bir-ap-pa_ is our god, Sir."
G. "_Bir-ap-pa_, eh? what is he like?"
S. "That's good, Sir. What should god be like? It is in this temple."
G. "How do you worship your god? and how often?"
S. "We worship our god once a year, or once in two years, or if we miss
that, once in three years. When the worship is made, there is a great
gathering, numbers of people come--wind instruments, cymbals,
tambourines, drums, flags, beggars, devotees, stoics, bearskin-capped
shepherd-priests,--and as for brahmins, they are without number; they
abound wherever you look. Besides these, shops, cocoa-nuts, plantain
bunches, and bundles of betel leaves, innumerable mountebanks,
ballad-singers, tumblers, companies of stage-players; all these, a great
gathering, Sir. Then worshipping god, presenting flowers, lighted wave
offerings, offerings of money, of ornaments, votive offerings, and
consecrated cattle; persons who give their hair, cocoa-nut scramblers,
lamp bearers, offerers of fruit and flowers,--many people come together,
and we worship our god _Bir-ap-pa_."
G. "Is the temple, where your god is, very clean?"
S. "Yes, Sir. If god's place is not clean, what is? God is set up in
a stone temple. Once a year, or once in six months, if we open the door
we open it; if we don't, we don't. Nobody goes there at all except at
the feast. If a temple like this is not clean, what is, Sir?"
G. "But don't you sweep the floor and sprinkle it with water every
day?"
S. "Who is to sweep it every day, eh? Once in six months, once in
three months, or once a year, the priest opens the door, and if there be
a feast or full moon, he sprinkles and sweeps a little, colours and
whitewashes the walls with red earth and with white earth, streaks them,
brings mango leaves and makes them into festoons over the door; and if
we worship and bring flowers, we do; and if we don't, we don't. Such a
god is our god, Sir."
G. "Bravo! a very fine god indeed! But what do you do to this god at
the feast? Tell us a bit, and let us hear."
S. "What can I tell you, Sir? We are silly shepherds; all our language
seems queer to you."
G. "Never mind, tell me, _Gowda_."
S. "Well, Sir, eight days before the feast, the priest must get his
head shaved, bathe himself in water, and take but one meal a-day.
Having thus taken but one meal a-day for eight days, he, on the
feast-day worships the god in the temple, praises it, prostrates
himself, and begs it to do us all good. He then comes out and kneels in
the court of the temple, near a stone pillar in front of the god. He
shuts his eyes, and rests on his hands and knees. When he has taken
this position, all who have come to the festival to worship our god
_Bir-ap-pa_, bring cocoa-nuts, and going up to the pillar where the
priest is kneeling, they take the cocoa-nuts in their hands, and press
upon one another, each crying, `I am first, I am first.' Then ten of
the most respectable people come out, stand apart from the rest, make
the people who are pressing forward stand back, and take the cocoa-nuts,
which the people have brought, into their own hands. Four others,
strong men, stand near the priest; the elders hand the cocoa-nuts to
them; and they keep on breaking them on the priest's head; the priest,
all the time, having his eyes shut, is down on his hands and knees
before _Bir-ap-pa_, holding out his shaven head, until great heaps of
cocoa-nut fragments are piled up as high as an elephant on both sides of
him. And though so many nuts are dashed against his bare skin, the
priest feels no pain, and never utters a sound which indicates
suffering. Such a glorious god is our god, Sir. No matter what trouble
threatens he wards it off. He always takes care of us."
G. "How is it, master shepherd, that you do such a silly thing as this?
There is a trick in breaking the cocoa-nuts on the head of the priest.
The people who break the cocoa-nuts are clever jugglers. They have a
store of cocoa-nuts which have been previously broken and stuck together
again. They substitute one for the other, and so deceive the people."
S. "How it is, Sir, I don't know. You are a gentleman and you
understand it. I only say what everybody says, Sir."
The above dialogue shows a shepherd's creed, his ignorance, and his mode
of worship. And it was a festival, a procession, and worship such as
this that the shepherds of Singonahully were celebrating when Daniel
interfered. The following is his own account.
CHAPTER SIX.
THE CRY OF "SNAKES! SNAKES!"
After some of the ceremonies had been performed in honour of the
shepherds' god, _Bir-ap-pa_, certain consecrated things were carried by
the priest, and others by his wife, to a particular tank, or artificial
lake, where special washings and other purifying ceremonies had to be
performed. The shepherds and their relations were accompanied by
musicians, dancing-girls, religious beggars, and many others. They also
had a Brahman to perform the appointed purifying ceremonies at the tank.
These being completed the procession came back with great pomp. The
priest, his wife, the hired Brahman, and some others, walked on garments
which had been spread in the way on purpose for them to walk on. As the
wife of the priest came along carrying a _Kalasha_, a particular kind of
water vessel, which for the time, with its contents, was held to be pure
and sacred, she pretended to be under the influence of some god. She
began to swing and roll herself about in a most strange manner, trying
to make the multitude believe that _Bir-ap-pa_, or some other god or
goddess, had entered into her. She struck and kicked those persons who
tried to hold her, and abused many in very foul language. I saw and
heard all this, and thought the woman was a great hypocrite. I could
not believe it possible that any god or goddess would compel a woman to
act in such a foolish way. I said to myself, "What a shameful impostor
this woman is!" After thinking a little as to what I could do in order
to expose her, and shew the people that she was deceiving them, I
watched for a favourable opportunity, and then cried out, "Snakes!
snakes!" as loud as I could. This produced immediate confusion. The
priest and his wife, through fear of being stung by the snakes, tried to
get away; no one knew which way to run; some were knocked down, and the
sacred things which the priest and his wife were carrying fell to the
ground and were broken. "The worshippers of _Bir-ap-pa_, and the mob of
followers all dispersed in vexation and grief; but I went home greatly
amused."
CHAPTER SEVEN.
SWORDS BEATEN INTO PLOUGHSHARES.
In the second chapter of Isaiah, and the fourth verse, we read, "They
shall beat their swords into ploughshares;" and by the context we know
that these words are part of a description of that universal peace which
will follow the preaching of the Gospel in every part of the world.
This beautiful poetic image made use of by the prophet Isaiah, has been
adopted by many writers ancient and modern, and the words are often
quoted by eloquent public speakers, when referring to millennial times;
but it is probable that none of them ever expected to hear of the words
being literally fulfilled. This, however, was accomplished in
Singonahully by our little friend Daniel. We have seen that Daniel's
heathen name was `Chickka,' and his father's name was `Veera Chickka,'
that is _hero Chickka_; but whether any deeds of heroism were ever
displayed, either by Daniel's father or by any of his ancestors, is not
upon record. However, we do know that when his old grandfather left his
native town and came to live at Goobbe, though he did not bring the
image of the family goddess with him, he did bring some old swords which
had been in the family very many years. These swords had often been
worshipped by Daniel's forefathers. We may here observe, in passing,
that all Hindoo mechanics and other workpeople regularly worship their
tools and other instruments by which they gain their living. They put
up any of their implements as representations of _Vishwa Karma_, the
architect and artificer of the gods, (_Vishwa_ means the World or the
Universe, and _Karma_ means Work), and pray to these tools for success
in business, war, agriculture, etcetera. Thus a carpenter places a
hammer or a saw before him, and putting both his hands to his forehead
bows to the instrument, and asks for its help in the work to be done.
The barber worships his razor; the blacksmith worships his bellows; and
the farmer his plough, oxen, etcetera, etcetera. Daniel's forefathers
having worshipped these old swords, Veera Chickka continued the
time-honoured custom. On a special occasion he invited his relatives
and friends to come and join in the worship, and in the feast which
always followed it. This happened when Daniel was about thirteen or
fourteen years of age. Preparatory to the worship, his parents cleaned
the rusty swords, decorated them with flowers, and placed them upright
against a wall. When the proper time came, they and their visitors made
offerings to the swords, of plantains, cocoa-nuts, rice, etcetera.
After this, they burned incense to their ancestors who were the original
owners of the swords, and then falling prostrate before them they all
cried out, "O, our gods, prosper us: O, our gods, defend us." After the
worship was over, all the visitors partook of the feast prepared, passed
the evening pleasantly in conversation, and the next morning returned to
their own homes. Daniel says, "I was much impressed with the
foolishness of all these proceedings, and I said to myself, `What
benefit can be derived from the worshipping of these old swords? I am
determined to put a stop to this in some way.'" He thought the matter
over several days, and by that time his plan was formed. So one day,
when no one saw him, he took the swords, with the box in which they had
been carefully placed, and started for the blacksmith's shop. But on
the way he met his brother, who stopped him, and the following
altercation ensued, as given in Daniel's own words: "What is that you
have got in the box? and where are you going with it?" said my brother.
I replied, "O, nothing in particular." But he would not allow me to
proceed without his looking into the box and having a plain answer to
his question. I therefore said, "Brother, as our people have been
accustomed to worship these old swords, I think they had better be made
into some proper shape. I am therefore taking them to the blacksmith,
that he may put them into his fire and make an idol of them." My
brother, on hearing this, was quite shocked, and said, "Do you mean to
say that you are going to break up these sacred relics, which have been
handed down to us from our heroic forefathers? I think you are mad. I
will go immediately to our father and tell him what you are doing." So
saying he went home in great anger, and I went on to the blacksmith.
When I arrived at his shop, I found several men outside waiting to get
something done to their agricultural implements, and they all looked at
me very enquiringly. I said nothing, but put down my box of swords, and
sat upon it. At length the blacksmith said: "Well, Chickka, what have
you come for? What have you got in that box?" I opened the box and
shewed him the swords. On seeing them he said, "What have you brought
these things here for?" I replied, "These old swords have been
occasionally worshipped as gods in our family; but I don't see that any
benefit can be obtained by worshipping such things; in their present
shape they are useless; I think they may be made into something useful.
I have therefore brought them here for you to make ploughshares of
them." As soon as I had uttered these words, all the farmers present
seemed terrified, and one man exclaimed, "If you do this, your family
will never prosper; these are gods." I said, "Very well, we will see
whether they are gods or not, we will give them a fair trial. We will
put them into the fire, and if they are gods they will jump out: and if
they are not gods they will melt like common iron: let us see." The
blacksmith did what I wished. He made one ploughshare immediately, and
the others afterwards. The lookers-on said nothing, but they doubtless
expected some dreadful calamity would happen to me. When my father
heard what I had done, he was very angry, and said, "This boy is born to
destroy our gods and customs." For several days he would not allow me
to enter his house: but in two or three weeks my father's displeasure
passed away, and the matter of the swords was not mentioned again. But
all the members of our family complained that I never bowed to the idol
when I passed the temple as they and all the other people in the village
did. To this, when questioned, I had only one answer, namely, "I don't
believe that any image made by human hands can be God." This boy was
evidently taught of God, without the aid of any human means. He could
not read; the example of his parents and friends was bad, very bad; and
he had never heard one word of Gospel Truth.
Everyone who has seen an English plough will know that a few old swords
would not supply material for one English ploughshare, but an Indian
plough is a very different thing, and is well represented by the
accompanying sketch. All the iron required is a little bit at the point
which enters the ground. The plough is very light, and may easily be
carried by a _boy_ from the farmer's house to his field in the morning,
and back again in the evening. A _man_ may be often seen carrying _two_
ploughs, one on each shoulder.
CHAPTER EIGHT.
INDIAN AGRICULTURE.
We may imagine that the first plough ever used in India was a crooked
branch of a tree; and we may also imagine that when a suitable branch
could not be found, the skill of the best mechanic in the locality was
called into exercise to make something that would do as well as a
crooked branch. Then, in the course of years, some original genius
improved upon nature by adding, when needed, a harder substance than
wood; and hence the bit of iron now added to form the Indian
ploughshare. Beyond this the farmer who lived a thousand years since in
the Mysore country did not venture to go; and the present race of
cultivators, relying with implicit confidence on the wisdom of the
ancients, look with suspicion on all proposed improvements. This
primitive instrument, represented in the engraving, having been tied to
a bar of wood laid across the neck of two bullocks, and placed under the
management of a ploughboy, the ground is scratched a few inches deep
after every shower. This process prepares the ground for the seed, and
nature being generous, a very fair crop is produced. In the Mysore
country the farmers were never so prosperous as they are at the present
day. Thanks to English authority, the people are not oppressed as they
were under the despotic rule of their own native princes. The
Government is the great landlord; the rent of round has not been very
much increased; the taxes have been reduced, and the produce of the soil
fetches three times the price it did forty years ago.
CHAPTER NINE.
HOW A SCHOOLMASTER BECAME A GOD.
We have seen how some old swords were worshipped by Daniel's parents and
friends, and we will now show how, many years ago, a god was made out of
an old schoolmaster, and is worshipped at the present day. The legend
is that, about two hundred years ago, there lived in Goobbe a very
efficient schoolmaster, who was celebrated all over that part, of the
country for his learning, wisdom, and sanctity. He lived to a good old
age, and then died. The respect in which he had been held during his
life was manifested at his funeral, when there was a very large
gathering of mourners. His death was looked upon as a public calamity.
But he would doubtless soon have been forgotten had it not been for the
gratitude and activity of one of his pupils, named Burree Gowda. This
man had, during the course of twenty or thirty years, become very rich,
and a person of considerable influence. He attributed all his success
in life to the teaching and good example of his old schoolmaster, and he
felt disposed to do something to perpetuate his memory. He therefore
one day called together all the influential men of Goobbe, amongst whom
there were probably a few of Burree Gowda's fellow-students, and to this
assembly he opened his mind fully. He enumerated the excellencies of
his old teacher, and stated his conviction that the good schoolmaster
was something more than an ordinary mortal; indeed, that he was an
incarnation of some deity; adding that, being divine, he ought to be
worshipped. To this opinion the assembly assented. He next proposed
that a temple should be erected, and all arrangements secured for the
schoolmaster being worshipped as the god `Goobbe-appa'--that is,
Goobbe-father. All agreed to this also, as being calculated to benefit
the people of Goobbe, as well as to do honour to the schoolmaster. But
when Burree Gowda proposed to meet all the expenses himself, we may
fairly conclude hat the proposal was carried by acclamation. In due
time the temple was built, an idol (the bust of a man with a face of
gold) was made, and, with the usual ceremonies, "_Prana pratishta_" was
performed. This is a special ceremony, by which the Hindoos think life
is imparted to an image, or that a god is made to enter into an idol.
Thus they supposed that the deified old schoolmaster entered into the
image of `Goobbe-Appa,' which had been made for him to dwell in. And
there, in that temple, he is the most popular god of all within twenty
or thirty miles of Goobbe. He is not only worshipped daily by many who
live in the town, but also once a year by eight or ten thousands of
people who, at the anniversary, come in from all the adjacent towns and
villages.
When Daniel was about fourteen or fifteen years of age, he had to take
part in one of these annual festivals. It appears that some rich man,
probably a descendant of Burree Gowda, had determined that year to have
a specially grand procession. He, therefore, months before the time,
began to make preparations. He had a car, or carriage, made, purchased
fireworks, lamps, torches, etcetera. The washermen far and near were
told to bring cloths of different colours with which to cover and
decorate the car, and payment for them was promised. Some people
brought garlands of flowers, evergreens and other foliage as presents;
so that when the procession started at midnight, with thousands of lamps
and hundreds of torches burning, the vast crowds of people gazed with
wonder and delight. Daniel had to attend and help to decorate the car
with such cloths as his father had been called upon to supply. This
being done, he had to carry a torch. The procession had not proceeded
very far before some of the cloths on the car took fire, either from the
lamps or from the fireworks, and a terrible confusion was immediately
produced. The priest of the temple, who was riding upon the car, was
very severely burned, while shrieks and cries were heard on every hand
from many who had been knocked down and injured. When the priest was
helped out of the burning car he ran into some deep water to cool
himself. The idol also was taken out of the flames, and finished its
journey in a palanquin. Daniel says, "I saw all this: and at the time
when the priest came out of the water, he ordered me to walk by his
side, and light the way for him with the torch which I had been directed
to carry; but as I proceeded, a sharp thorn ran into my foot, and gave
me great pain, so that I could not walk, but was obliged to sit down.
The priest commanded me to get up, and come along with him. I said, `Be
patient, my lord; I am suffering from a thorn in my foot.' However, in
a very loud and angry tone he said, `Get up, I command you, and come
with me after the god.' Then I felt angry too, and replied, `Why do you
bawl out in that way? The god does not want me; but if he does, I
cannot come; I am lame; he may help himself.' On hearing these words of
contempt for the god, the priest abused me very much, took the torch
from me, and ordering another person to carry it, he left me on the
ground trying to get the thorn out of my foot. Whilst I was lying there
in great pain, I heard a cry of `Thieves! thieves!--robbers! thieves!'
and saw many men running back from the burning car to the town. I
learned afterwards that a great many robbers had laid their plans to
enter the town quietly as soon as the inhabitants had left their houses
and shops to join the _Goobbe-Appa_ procession. The thieves did not
accomplish all they planned to do, but they stole very much valuable
property." All that happened at this festival served to convince Daniel
that `Goobbe-Appa' was as helpless as any other idol, and that the
so-called worship was senseless.
This whole account of `Goobbe-Appa' shows how Hindoo ideas as to. God
and His worship differ from the ideas of Christians who have been
favoured with the Holy Scriptures. And the account will, it is hoped,
excite pity for the Hindoo men, women and children; and induce the
juvenile collectors, as well as others, to renewed efforts for sending
more Missionaries to India.
At the annual festival, which lasts ten days, the Missionaries are fully
engaged distributing tracts, preaching, and conversing with serious
inquirers who have come from distant towns and villages. The
accompanying sketch, in which a Missionary is preaching, was taken near
the entrance to the town of Goobbe, close to the `Mantapa' in front of
`Goobbe-Appa's' temple. A mantapa is an open temple, or halting-place
for an idol on procession days.
CHAPTER TEN.
THE IDOL WHICH SHED TEARS.
When Daniel was about sixteen years of age, the cholera broke out for
the first time in Goobbe. It prevailed for about eighteen months, and
many persons died of it every day. The inhabitants of Singonahully, and
of all the other villages round about, were in consequence very much
afraid to enter the town. One day, during the prevalence of this
disease, an ass belonging to Daniel's father was missing. It had
strayed, and Daniel went from Singonahully towards Goobbe in search of
it, but without any intention of entering the town. On his way he met a
great crowd of people. There was in the crowd something different from
anything of the kind he had ever seen. He noticed that many of the
people had their bodies painted yellow, and there was to him something
very strange in their appearance, dress, and conduct. As he was gazing
at the people and walking slowly along, he stumbled, and fell over a
dead body, probably a victim of the cholera. He was very much alarmed;
and as he got up from the ground in agitation and terror, he saw his
uncle coming towards him, who, thinking Daniel was going into the town
of Goobbe, threatened to beat him, and said, in a very angry tone, "Why
are you going to that cursed place?" To escape his uncle, Daniel run
into the thickest part of the crowd, and he then determined to go along
with them, and see what was to be done. As they proceeded slowly
towards the large tank, (lake), he saw that a few men near the front
were carrying an image of clay in the shape of a woman. She had been
worshipped to avert cholera, and now the worshippers were taking the
idol to throw it into the tank, as the last act of their devotional
ceremony. Daniel was a close observer of all that was done, and he saw
at one time, when those who carried the idol held it up higher than the
heads of the people, tears run out of its eyes. Many persons in the
crowd saw the tears, and they all fell prostrate before the image of
clay, and cried aloud, "O mother, why are you shedding tears? Tell us
what grieves you, and we will do whatever you require." The priest,
immediately pretending that the goddess had entered into him, commanded,
as if the idol spake, that more sacrifices should be offered. On
hearing this, all the people stood still. They did not go on towards
the tank, but remained just where they were, until the animals could be
brought for the chucklers to offer them in sacrifice. The _chucklers_
are the lowest class of persons in India, and to Europeans it is
unaccountable that, under any circumstances, they should be called upon
to act as priests. But so it is, in some localities. They sacrifice to
Mari, as the goddess who sends and takes away cholera and all epidemic
diseases. There is good ground for the opinion that these outcasts are
the descendants of the original inhabitants of the country, and that
they have been subjected to degradation by a succession of conquerors.
Their invaders found them with a creed, and certain customs to avert
diseases, with which they have never interfered. Hence the present
practice. After the Goobbe procession had waited a long time, fifteen
buffaloes and a few sheep were brought and sacrificed near the idol.
This having been done, the weeping goddess was satisfied, as shown by
her shedding no more tears. The people took this as a very favourable
indication that the cholera would cease from that moment. They
proceeded to the tank, threw the idol into it, and returned to their
homes rejoicing. Daniel, who had witnessed all these proceedings, had
his curiosity excited, and thought there must be some deception in the
matter of the idol shedding tears. And in this sceptical mood he went
home to Singonahully perplexed, but resolving to get at the truth if
possible. The idol had not been thrown into deep water, and he
determined to rise early next morning, go to the tank, and examine the
head and eyes of the idol. He did so, and the following is his own
account: "Before daybreak I ran from my father's house to the place
where I had seen the idol thrown into the water, and I found it, just as
it had been left the previous evening. I saw many plantains,
cocoa-nuts, and other things, which had been offered to the idol,
scattered about on the ground. Such as were not spoiled, I collected in
order to take them home with me. Having done this, I commenced my
examination of the image. I broke its head, and the whole mystery was
revealed at once. I found in the head an earthen vessel, round as a
ball, with two small holes in it; these corresponded with the eyes of
the image; and I perceived that when the vessel had a good quantity of
water in it, if those who carried the image made it lean forward a
little, a small quantity of water would ooze out of these holes, and
trickle down the face of the image like tears. I rejoiced greatly that
I had found out the trick by which the people had been deceived; and,
chuckling, I took up the fruit which I had collected, and went back to
Singonahully without anyone knowing what I had done. I was afraid to
take my load of cocoa-nuts and plantains to my father's house, lest I
should be questioned as to where I had been and what I had done; so I
hid all my booty in a hollow banyan tree outside the village, and
resorted to this store-house whenever I wanted a treat. However, when
my young friends and others saw that every day I had an abundance of
good things to eat, they were desirous of knowing where I got them.
After a little delay, I told one of my young friends, not only where I
obtained the fruit, but also an that I had done with the idol. He was
terrified; and running into the village, he published the whole affair.
The villagers were alarmed; they feared some dreadful result, and
wondered at my wickedness. From Singonahully the news was soon carried
to Goobbe, and I was summoned to appear before the chief magistrate of
the town. He heard all that my accusers had to say, which I admitted to
be true. He was very angry, and said to me, `On account of your
wickedness, the cholera has not been removed yet, and as a punishment
you must be imprisoned for a long time.' I was immediately sent to the
jail; but after I had been confined there two or three days, I had an
opportunity of speaking to the magistrate; and I then told him how the
people had been deceived, and cheated out of their sheep and buffaloes,
and how I had discovered the trick when I broke the head of the idol.
He was evidently annoyed, either at the deception practised on the
people or at the fact being discovered; and after a few minutes'
hesitation, he released me from prison."
CHAPTER ELEVEN.
DANIEL IN TROUBLE.