"mewling and puking in the nurse's arms," till he goes to school, he is
generally a bright-eyed, active, playful boy, full of romping spirits
and a favourite of all around him. His diet is light, and his health
generally good. He usually runs about for three or four years _in puris
naturalibus_, and among the lower classes a string is tied round his
loins with a metal charm attached to frighten away the evil spirits.
When he attains the age of five, the period fixed by his parents for the
beginning of his education, he is sent to a _Patsala_ (vernacular infant
school) not, however, without making a Poojah to _Saraswattee_, the
goddess of learning. On the day appointed, and it must be a lucky day,
according to the Hindoo almanac, the child bathes and puts on a new
_Dhooty_ (garment) and is taken to the place of worship, where the
officiating priest has previously made all the necessary arrangements.
Rice, fruits, and sweetmeats, are then offered to the goddess, who is
religiously invoked to pour her benediction on the head of the child.
After this, the priest takes away all the things offered to the goddess,
with his usual gift of one or two rupees, and the child is taken by his
parents to the _Patsala_ and formally introduced to the
_Gooroomahashoy_, or master of the school. Curious as little children
naturally are, all present gaze on the new comer as if he were a being
of a strange species. But time soon wears off the gloss of novelty and
everything assumes its normal aspect. The old boys soon become familiar
with the new one, and a sort of intimacy almost unconsciously springs up
amongst them. In this country a boy learns the letters of the alphabet,
not by pronouncing them, but by writing them on the ground with a small
piece of _kharee_, or soft stone, and copying them over and over again
until he thoroughly masters them. Five letters are set him at a time.
After this he is taught to write on palm leaves with a wooden pen and
ink, then on slate and green plantain leaves, and, finally, on paper. At
every stage of his progress he is expected to make some present to his
master in the shape of food, clothes and money. A village school begins
early in the morning, and continues till eleven, after which the boys
are allowed to go home for their breakfast; they return at two, and
remain in the school till evening, when all the boys are made to stand
up in a systematic order, and one of the most advanced amongst them
enumerates aloud the multiplication and numeration tables, and all are
taught to repeat and commit to memory what they hear. By the daily
repetition of these tables, their power of memory is practically
improved. With a view to encourage the early attendance of the boys, a
_Gooroomahashoy_ resorts to the queer method of introducing the
_hathchory_ system into his _Patsala_, which requires that all the boys
are to have stripes of the cane in arithmetical progression, on the
hand, in the order of their attendance, that is, the first comer to have
one stripe, the second two, and so on, in consecutive order. The last
boy is sometimes made to stand on one leg for an hour or so to the
infinite amusement of the early comers. The system certainly has a good
effect in ensuring early attendance.
The course of instruction in such schools embraces reading in the
vernacular, a little of arithmetic and writing, and such as become
capable of keeping accounts pass for the clever boys. Stupid and wicked
pupils are generally beaten with a cane, but their names are never
struck off the register, as is the case in English schools. Sometimes a
truant is compelled to stand on one leg holding up a brick in his right
hand, or to have his arms stretched out till he is completely exhausted.
Another mode of punishment consists in applying the leaves of _Bichooty_
(a stinging plant) to the back of a naughty boy, who naturally smarts
under the torturing. The infliction of such cruel punishments sometimes
leads the boys to make a combination against the master for the purpose
of retaliation, which generally results in bringing him to his senses.
Hindoo boys are extremely sensitive, and are very apt to resent any
affront to which they are cruelly subjected by their master.[14] The
rate of fee in a village school is from one to three-pence a head per
month, but the master has his perquisites by way of victuals and pice.
There is a common saying among the Hindoos that in twelve months there
are thirteen _parbuns_, or school festivals, implying thereby, that they
are encountered by a continuous round of _parbuns_. On every such
occasion the boys are expected to bring presents for the master, and any
unfortunate boy who fails to bring such is denied the usual indulgence
of a holiday. Little boys are seldom fond of reading, they would gladly
sacrifice anything to purchase a holiday. It is not an uncommon thing to
find a boy steal pice from his mother's box in order to satisfy the
demands of his master at the festival. The principle on which a village
school is conducted is essentially defective in this respect. Instead of
teaching the rules of good conduct and enforcing the first principles of
morality, it often sadly defeats the primary object of a good education,
namely, the formation of a sound, moral and virtuous character. It is a
disgrace to hear a schoolmaster, whose conduct should be the grand focus
of moral excellence, use the most vulgar epithets towards his pupils for
little faults the effects of which are seldom obliterated from their
minds, even in the more advanced period of their life. However, such
days of obnoxious pedagogism are almost gone by, never to come back
again, now that the system of primary education has been extended to
almost every village in India, under the auspices of our liberal
Government. Whilst on this subject I may as well state here that some
forty years ago our Government had appointed the late Rev. William Adam
to be the Commissioner of Education in Bengal. That highly talented and
generous philanthrophist, after a minute and searching investigation,
submitted in his report to Government a scheme of education very similar
to what is now introduced throughout Bengal. The scheme was then ignored
on account of its vast expense, and the Commissioner was so disheartened
at the apathy of Government towards the education of the masses, that a
few days before his departure from Calcutta he took a farewell leave of
some of his most distinguished native friends, and his parting words
were to the following effect: "Your Government is not disposed to
encourage those who are its real friends." This reproach has, however,
been subsequently removed by the adoption of a primary system of
education. The spirit of the times and the onward progress of
enlightened sentiments have gradually inaugurated a comprehensive
scheme, which, although still limited in its range, embraces the moral
and intellectual improvement of the people in general.
In Calcutta, when a boy is six years old, his parents are anxious to
have him admitted into one of the public schools, where he has an
opportunity to learn both the Vernacular and the English languages. He
may be said from that day to enter on the first stage of his
intellectual disintegration. The books that are put into his hands
gradually open his eyes and expand his intellect; he learns to discern
what is right and what is wrong; he reasons within himself and finds
that what he had learnt at home was not true, and is led by degrees to
renounce his old ideas. Every day brings before his mind's eye the grand
truths of Western knowledge, and he feels an irresistible desire, not
only to test their accuracy but to advance farther in his scholastic
career. He is too young however, to weigh well everything that comes in
his way, but as he advances he finds the light of truth illumine his
mind. His parents, if orthodox Hindoos, necessarily feel alarmed at his
new-fledged ideas and try to counteract their influence by the
stereotyped arguments, of the wisdom of our forefathers, but however
inimically disposed, they dare not stop his progress, because they see,
in almost every instance, that English education is the surest passport
to honor and distinction. In this manner he continues to move through
the various classes of the middle schools till he is advanced to one of
the higher educational institutions connected with the University, and
attains his sixteenth or seventeenth year, which is popularly regarded
as his marriageable age.
FOOTNOTES:
[14] _Apropos_, I may mention here the following incident. A few years
back a well-known master of the Hindoo school being placed in a very
awkward position, had to call in the aid of the Police to get himself
out of the difficulty. Sailors and Kaffries--always a set of desperate
characters--were retained by the boys for the purpose of insulting him
on the high road, but the timely interference of the Police put a stop
to the contemplated brutal assault. This had the effect of inducing the
master to behave in future with greater forbearance, if not with more
sober judgment. I forbear giving the name of the indiscreet, but
well-intentioned master, whose connection with the school had
contributed very largely to its efficiency and usefulness.
IV.
VOWS OF HINDOO GIRLS.
When a girl is five years of age, she is initiated by an elderly woman
in the preparatory rites of _Bratas_, or vows, the primary object of
which is to secure her a good husband, and render her religious and
happy throughout life. When the boy is sent to the Patsala, the girl is
commonly forbidden to read or write, but has to begin her course of
Bratas. The germs of superstition being thus early implanted in her
mind, she is more or less influenced by it ever after. Formed by nature
to be docile, pliant and susceptible, she readily takes to the initial
course of religious exercises.
The first rite with which she has to commence is called the "Shiva
Poojah," after the example of the goddess Doorga, who performed this
ceremonial that she might obtain a good husband; and Shiva is regarded
as a model husband. On the 30th day of Choytro, being the last day of
the Bengallee year, she is required to make two little earthen images of
the above goddess, and placing them on the coat of a bale-fruit (wood
apple) with leaves, she begins to perform her worship; but before doing
so, she is enjoined to wash herself and change her clothes, a
requisition which enforces, thus early, cleanliness and purity in habits
and manners, if not exactly in thought and feeling. Her mind being
filled with germinal susceptibilities, she imbibes almost instinctively
an increasing predilection for the performance of religious ceremonies.
Sprinkling a few drops of holy water on the heads of the images, she
repeats the following words: "All homage to Shiva, all homage to Shiva,
all homage to _Hara_, (another name of Shiva); all homage to Bujjara,"
meaning two small earthen balls, like peas, which are stuck on the body
of the images. She is then to be absorbed in meditation about the form
and attributes of the goddess, and afterwards says her prayers three
times in connection with Doorga's various names, which I need not
recapitulate here. Offerings of flowers and bale leaves are then
presented to the goddess with an incantation. Being pleased, Mahadev
(Shiva) is supposed to ask from heaven what Brata or religious ceremony
is Gouri (Doorga) performing? Gouri replies, she is worshipping Shiva,
that she may get him for her husband, because, as said before, Shiva is
a model husband.
Then comes the Brata of Hari or Krishna. The two feet of the god being
painted in white sandal paste on a brass plate, the girl worships him
with flowers and sandal paste. The god seeing this, is supposed to ask
what girl worships his feet, and what boon she wants? She replies: May
the prince of the kingdom be her husband, may she be beautiful and
virtuous, and be the mother of seven wise and virtuous sons and two
handsome daughters. She asks that her daughters-in-law may be
industrious and obedient, that her sons-in-law may shine in the world by
their good qualities, that her granary and farm-yard may be always full,
the former with corn of all sorts, and the latter with milch cows, that
when she dies all those who are near and dear to her may enjoy long life
and prosperity, and that she may eventually, through the blessing of
Hari, die on the banks of the sacred Ganges, and thereby pave the way
for her entrance into heaven.
It is worthy of remark here that even young Hindoo girls, in the
exercise of their immature discretion, make distinction between the gods
in the choice of their husbands. In the first Brata, that of Shiva, a
tender girl of five years of age is taught, almost unconsciously as it
were, to prefer him to Krishna for her husband, because the latter,
according to the Hindoo Shasters, is reputed to have borne a
questionable character. I once asked a girl why she would not have
Krishna for her husband. She promptly answered that that god disported
with thousands of Gopeenees (milk-maids) and was therefore not a _good_
god, while Shiva was devotedly attached to his one wife, Doorga. The
explanation was full of significance from a moral and religious point of
view.
The third Brata refers to the worship of ten images. This requires that
the girl should paint on the floor ten images of deified men, as well as
of gods, with _alapana_ or rice paste. Offering them flowers and sandal
paste, she asks that she may have a father-in-law like Dasarath, the
father of Ram Chunder; a mother-in-law like Kousala, the mother of Ram
Chunder; a husband like Ram Chunder; a _dayur_ or husband's brother,
like Luchmon, Ram's younger brother; a mother like Shasthi, whose
children are all alive; like Koontee whose three sons were renowned for
their love of justice, piety, courage and heroism; like Ganges, whose
water allays the thirst of all; like the mother earth, whose patience is
beyond all comparison. And, to crown the whole, she prays that she may,
like Doorga, be blessed with an affectionate and devoted husband like
Dropadi (the wife of the five Pandooas), be justly remarkable for her
industry, devotedness and skill in the culinary art, and be like Sita
(the wife of Ram Chunder) whose chastity and attachment to her husband
are worthy of all praise. The above three Bratas take place in the
Bengalee month of Bysack, (April) which is popularly regarded as a good
month for the performance of meritorious works. The prayer contained in
the above expresses the culminating female wish in entire accord with
the injunctions of the holy shaster, but how often are the amiable
qualities enumerated above set at naught in the actual conflicts of
life, in which the predominance of evil desires swallows up every
generous impulse!
The next Brata is called the _Sajooty_ Brata. It is solely intended to
counteract the thousand evils of polygamy--an unhealthy, unnatural
institution, which ought to be expunged from the midst of every
civilized community. Though God "has stamped no original characters on
our minds wherein we may read his being," still we can clearly discern
in His superior arrangements for the happiness of His creatures, that
this abnormal practice is directly opposed to His dispensations, so much
so that any one countenancing it, is guilty of a crime, for which, if he
is not amenable to an earthly tribunal, he is assuredly accountable to a
superior and superintending Being, the infringement of whose law is sure
to be attended with misery. To get rid of the consequences of this
monstrous evil, a girl of five years of age is taught to offer her
invocation to God, and in the outburst of her juvenile feeling is almost
involuntarily led to indulge in all manner of curses and imprecations
against the possible rival of her bed. Nor can we find fault with her
conduct, because "an overmastering and brooding sense" of some great
future calamity thus early haunts her mind.
In performing the _Sajooty Brata_, the girl paints on the floor with
rice paste a variety of things, such as the bough of a flower tree, a
Palkee containing a man and a woman, with the sun and moon over it, the
Ganges and the Jumna with boats on them, the temple of Mahadeo with
Mahadeo in it, various ornaments of gold and precious stones, houses,
markets, garden, granary, farm-yard and a number of other things, all
intended to represent worldly prosperity. After painting the above, she
invokes Mahadeo and prays for his blessing. An elderly lady more
experienced in domestic matters then begins to dictate, and the girl
repeats a volley of abuses and curses against her _Sateen_ or rival wife
in the possible future.
"There, stripped, fair rhetoric languished on the ground,
And shameful Billingsgate her robes adorn."
The following are a few of the specimens; I wish I could have
transcribed them in metre.:--
"_Barrey, Barrey, Barrey_ (a cooking utensil)
May _Sateen_ become a slave!
_Khangra, Khangra, Khangra_, (broomstick)
May _Sateen_ be exposed to infamy!
_Hatha, Hatha, Hatha_, (a cooking utensil)
May she devour her _Sateen's_ head!
_Geelay, Geelay, Geelay_ (a fruit)
May _Sateen_ have spleen!
_Pakee, Pakee, Pakee_ (bird)
May _Sateen_ die and may she see her from the top of her house!
_Moyna, Moyna, Moyna_ (bird)
May she never be cursed with a _Sateen_!"
May she cut an _Usath_ tree, erect a house there, cause her _Sateen_ to
die and paint her feet with her _Sateen's_ blood!
I might swell the list of these curses, but I fear they would prove
grating to the ears of civilized readers.
The performance of the _Sajooty Brata_ springs out of a desire to see a
_Sateen_ or rival wife become the victim of all manner of evils,
extending even to the loss of life itself, simply because a plurality of
wives is the source of perpetual disquietude and misery. By nature, a
woman is so constituted that she can never bear the sight of a rival
wife. In civilized countries, the evil is partially remediable by a
legal separation, but in Hindoostan the legislature makes no provision
whatever for its suppression. A feeling of burning jealousy becomes
rampant wherever there is a case of polygamy to poison the perennial
source of domestic felicity. So acutely sensitive is a Hindoo lady in
this respect that she would rather suffer the miseries of widowhood than
be cursed with the presence of a _Sateen_, whose very name almost
spontaneously awakens in her mind the bitterest and the most envenomed
feelings. She can make up her mind to give away a share of her most
valuable worldly enjoyments, but she can never give a share of her
husband's _affection_ to any one on earth. To enjoy the exclusive
monopoly of a husband's love is the life-long prayer of a Hindoo female.
She expresses it in the incipient stage of her girlhood, and practically
carries it with her until the last spark of life becomes extinct. This
certainly indicates the prompting of a very strong _natural_ feeling.
V.
MARRIAGE CEREMONIES.
The Hindoos have a strong belief that to solemnise the marriage of their
children at an early age, is a meritorious act as discharging one of the
primary obligations of life. They are, therefore, very anxious to have
their sons and daughters formally married during their own life-time.
Sometimes children are pledged to each other even in infancy, by the
mutual agreement of the parents; and in most cases the girl is married
when a mere child of from eight to ten years, all unconscious as yet of
the real meaning and obligations of the relation, although her girlish
fancies have been continually directed to it. Matches in the case of
good families are commonly brought about in the following way.
When an unmarried boy attains his seventeenth or eighteenth year,
numbers of professional men called _Ghatucks_ or match-makers come to
the parents with overtures of marriage. These men are destitute of
principle, they know how to pander to the frailties of human nature;
most of them being gross flatterers, endeavour to impose on the parents
in the most barefaced manner. As they live on their wits, their
descriptive powers and insinuating manners are almost matchless. When
the qualities of a girl are to be commended, they, indulging in a strain
of exaggeration, unblushingly declare, "she is beautiful as a full moon,
the symmetry of her person is exact, her teeth are like the seeds of a
pomegranate, her voice is remarkably sweet like that of the cuckoo, her
gait is graceful, she speaks like the goddess _Luckee_, and will bring
fortune to any family she may be connected with." The Hindoos have a
notion that the good fortune of a husband depends on that of the wife,
hence a woman is considered as an emblem of _Luckee_, the goddess of
fortune. This is the highest commendation she can possess.[15]
If the qualities of a youth are to be appraised, they describe him thus:
he is as beautiful as _Kartick_ (the god of beauty), his deportment is
that of a nobleman, he is free from all vices, he studies day and night,
in short, he is a precious gem and an ornament of the neighbourhood. The
Hindoos know very well that the _Ghatucks_ as a body are great
impostors, and do not believe half that these people say. From the day a
matrimonial alliance is proposed, the parents on both sides begin to
make all sorts of preliminary enquiries as to the unblemished nature of
the caste, respectability and position in society of the parties
concerned. When fully satisfied on these points, they give their verbal
consent to the proposed union, but not before the father of the boy has
demanded of the father of the girl a certain number of gold and silver
ornaments, as well as of _Barabharun_, _i. e._, silver and brass
utensils, couch, &c. exclusive of (with but few exceptions) a certain
amount of money in lieu of _Foolshajay_.[16] Before proceeding further,
I should observe that of late years a great change has taken place in
the profession of the _Ghatucks_. The question of marriage, though not
absolutely, yet chiefly, is a question the solution of which rests with
the females. Their voice in such matters has a preponderating influence.
Availing themselves of this powerful agency a new class of female
_Ghatucks_ or rather _Ghatkees_ have sprung up among the people. Hence
the occupation of the male _Ghatucks_ is nearly gone, except in rare
cases where nice points of caste distinction are to be decided. The
great influences of _Shibi Ghatkee_ and _Badnee's_ mother--two very
popular female _Ghatkees_,--is well known to the respectable Hindoo
community of Calcutta. These two women have made a decent fortune by
plying this trade. Though certainly not gifted with the imaginative
powers of a poetic bard of Rajpootana,[17] their suasive influence is
very telling. They have the rare faculty of making and unmaking matches.
From the superior advantage which their sex affords them, they have a
free access to the inner apartments of a house (even if it were that of
a millionaire)--a privilege their male rivals can never expect to enjoy.
When balked by the subtlety of a competitor in trade, by their bathos
they contrive to break a match. Their representations regarding a
proposed union seldom fail to exercise a great influence on the minds of
the Zenana females. Relying on the accuracy of their description, which
sometimes turns out exaggerated, if not false, the mother and other
ladies are often led to give their consent to a proposed union. The
husband, swayed by the counsel and importunity of his wife, is forced to
acquiesce in her choice. He cannot do otherwise because, as our friend,
Baboo Keshub Chunder Sen, has very facetiously observed, "man is a noun
in the objective case governed by the active verb woman."[18]
When a _Ghatkee_ comes up with the proposal of a matrimonial alliance
with an educated youth, the first question generally asked her is, "Has
he passed his examinations?" If so, how many _passes_ has he got?
meaning thereby how many examinations of the University has he passed
through? "Has he yet any Jalpany or scholarship?" These are difficult
questions which must be satisfactorily answered before a negotiation can
be effected. That a University degree has raised the marriageable value
of a boy, there can be no doubt. If he have successfully passed some of
these examinations and got a scholarship, his parents, naturally priding
themselves on their valuable acquisition, demand a preposterously long
catalogue of gold ornaments, which, it is not often in the power of a
family in middling circumstances easily to bestow. The parents of the
girl, on the other hand, seeing the long list, demur at first to give
their consent, but their demurring is of no avail; marry their daughter,
they must. The present ruinous scale of nuptial expenses must be
submitted to at any sacrifice, and after deep cogitation they send a
revised schedule, (as if marriage were a mere matter of traffic) taking
off from it some costly items, which would press heavily on the purse.
In this manner the _Ghatkee_ continually goes backwards and forwards for
some time, proposing concessions on both sides and holding out delusive
hopes of future advantages in the event of the carrying out of the
marriage. There is a trite saying among the Hindoos, that "a matrimonial
alliance could not be completed without uttering a lakh of words."