BOMBAY, _Nov. 7, 1851_.
It was my good fortune to arrive here the first evening of the new
year, and the commencement of the Hindu festival Tumashee, in which
the Parsees unite in a general illumination of the bazaars and private
residences, with shade lamps of variegated glasses, and a large
display of Chinese and other paintings, the shops being open and
occupied by the people of all races, Mahrattas, Parsees, and Hindoos
of every caste, but no Moormans, or Mussulmans, the latter having had
a religious contest with the Parsees, in which several houses were
destroyed and pillaged. The Mussulmans being followers of Mahomet,
have a strong aversion to the Parsees, or fire worshippers, as well
as the Hindoos, or worshippers of idols. About five thousand of the
former had collected at the mosques, and threatened to exterminate
the Parsees, causing great anxiety. The Governor ordered out a large
special constabulary police, and the troops were in readiness at given
signals; the corners of streets and public places were placarded with
orders in different languages to close all spirit and opium shops, and
restrictions against carrying or selling arms. The great variety of
picturesque costumes during this festival exceeded those of any city
I had yet found. The display of bandys, drawn by oxen with ribbons of
silver and gold-gilt, and filled with women and children, literally
loaded with bracelets, nose and ear-rings, amulets, &c., in which the
wealth of many consists, surpassed what I had seen at Calcutta. Among
my introductory letters I had one to a Parsee house, from which I
received much civility, and which gave me an opportunity of informing
myself about this peculiar people, who are called fire-worshippers,
and of whom so little is known. It is a small sect in comparison with
others, and its members are a commercial and trading people; many live
in good style, and drive fine equipages, and one of their number was
knighted by the Queen for his many noble acts. The bequests of Sir
Jamtsejee Jejeebhoy to many charitable institutions rank him as one
of the most benevolent individuals of the age. The Parsees are the
followers of Zoroaster, who lived about 389 B.C., and who was their
lawgiver; his doctrine teaches them to believe in one God. They worship
no other Being or symbol like him, and believe in a future state of
existence.
They say they take the sun, moon, and fire as emblems of purity, and as
the most powerful and obvious evidence of the supreme government, and
in performing their five prayers daily they face any of these mighty
elements. They are the descendants of the ancient rulers of Persia,
from which country they were driven away in the seventh century, being
unwilling to embrace Islamism, when eleven thousand were compelled
to become Mahometans within twenty-four hours, under the penalty of
death. The refugees were received by a lenient Hindoo prince, who
gave them shelter and protection provided they would agree to certain
stipulations. First, To throw away fire-arms. Second, To lay aside
the original costume and adopt the peculiar one which they now wear.
Third, not to kill or eat a cow, that animal being one of the favorite
idols of the Hindoos. Pressed by necessity, they adopted these and
other restrictions, and offered a solemn pledge, to which they still
adhere. They wear a white garment and girdle around the waist, composed
of seventy threads, about as large as a lady’s stay-lace. These are
worn as insignia of religion. Children after seven years old wear it,
and parents are morally responsible for them till they are ten years
of age. If they die before ten, they are considered innocent, and are
supposed to go to heaven. They feed and clothe their poor in a liberal
manner. They drink wine and eat animal food, with the exception of
beef, veal, and pork; have one wife, and are betrothed in infancy; the
males marry at fourteen, and the females at twelve, and the marriage
festival and procession costs some thousands where it can be afforded.
My Parsee friend will marry his son of fifteen to his bride of twelve
in a few months. They cannot eat with us or drink out of the same
vessel that we do. I accept civilities among the Parsees, but we
eat at separate tables, and I have noticed among the most devoted a
prayer murmured over me, and a glance of kindness. The Hindoos cannot
assign any reason why the body should be burned, the Mahometan why
it should be interred, nor the Parsee why it should be placed in a
circular, high-walled, amphitheatrical cemetery, where the bodies of
men, women, and children are placed in separate exposures for decay,
and destruction by birds of prey; and they deny the assertion made by
their enemies that the condition of future existence is denoted by the
part of the body first attacked by the birds. I saw one public and
one private cemetery of the kind on high hills; no one was permitted
to enter. The position of Bombay, in Lat. 18° north, at nearly the
head of the Indian Ocean, with a good harbor and sea-breezes, with its
suburbs and fine dwellings, and forests of cocoa and date trees along
good drives, makes it more agreeable and less hot than Calcutta. Within
the inclosure of the old fortified town stands the arsenal, mint,
cathedral, and other public edifices. I attended the cathedral last
Sunday, but found few worshippers, although every appliance for comfort
and ease. I counted fourteen long punkahs suspended from the ceiling,
and as many men employed outside pulling the cords. Open rail pews,
bamboo seats with arms, marble pavement, and a free circulation of
air, but poor preaching and bad delivery, had driven the congregation
away. The dock-yard here is the finest in the East, and is resorted to
by all vessels for repairs; I noticed in it a frigate of the Imaum of
Muscat, built of teak thirty years old. The mint for coining--the chief
coins are rupees, nearly the size of half-dollars--is admirably well
arranged, and would do credit to any country. They had nine presses at
work, and were turning off one hundred and fifty thousand daily, out of
the sycee silver, which comes from China, in payment for opium.
Having visited the hospital and benevolent institutions, to see what
was doing for humanity in this part of the world, I was induced to
visit the most extraordinary institution I had ever heard of: a
hospital for diseased animals, established by the Parsees. I found
there not only hundreds of horses, oxen, buffaloes, goats, and other
cattle, but dogs and cats, which are never killed, but are allowed to
enter the hospital gratis, and are kept until they recover or die.
The great curiosity is the caves of elephants, on an island opposite
Bombay. Taking supplies, we started early, in a covered boat; the tide
being down, we were carried a long distance on men’s shoulders, to the
shore, and around the mountain side through the trees to the bungalow
of the Sepoy guard, and then entered the cave to see the Hindoo idols.
The entrance is fifty-three feet wide, the height of the ceiling
eighteen feet, and the depth one hundred and forty-three feet; it is
nearly as wide as deep, and is supported by massive pillars, carved out
of solid dark trap rock.
In the recess in the rear is seen a gigantic tri-formed god. Brahma is
in the middle as creator, with placid face and jewelled cap. Vishnu,
the presiding deity, is represented with a beautiful face, and with
the sacred lotus flower in his hand. Siva, who fills up the other
side of the tri-formed gods, holds a cobra serpent; he frowns, being
the destroyer. From the chin to the crown of the head is six feet,
the caps are three feet more. There are steps behind the bust where a
Brahmin might have hidden for priestly imposition. The courts of death
are at the right and left, as are also pilasters and figures fourteen
feet high. There are various chambers and large colossal figures of
divinities within the cave, which to me were interesting, being of a
different style of sculpture from either the Egyptian or Chinese idols,
and were once very beautiful, though they have been much defaced by the
Portuguese in the early possession of the country. A few miles from
town, on Malabar Point, is the place of pilgrimage for the Hindoos. It
is a village with a community of some five hundred persons or more,
subsisting upon charity. It is situated upon the side hill, inclosed by
walls, and descending towards the ocean, with a water-tank, or large
reservoir, some hundred feet long and square, and about twenty ghauts
or stone platforms, to descend, and is surrounded with houses and
temples. The front verandas are filled with bells of all sizes, and the
idols of various deities. The half-naked priests, with painted faces
and long hair and beards, were sitting in groups, quarrelling for the
division of the spoils.
I had a good opportunity of seeing the mode of worship here,
notwithstanding that the jealousy of the people allowed me to go no
further than the threshold. One family came covered with jewelry, and
had their own priest. Vessels filled with water were suspended over
the stone of fertility, which constantly drips upon the flowers placed
upon it; and the devotees touched each other’s hands, and went through
various acts of devotion before the idols of the five different gods,
while offerings were made.