isabelleboyd

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In a continuance of last year's Project Awesome, a few friends crocheted (Magpie Art and Mimi & Moe's Mom) and I knitted lap blankets for VA medical centers through the nonprofit group Soldiers' Angels. For our project deadline, we chose Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. Everyone brought their blankets to ship and we enjoyed an evening of soup, pitch-in food, and games.

Friends and family who don't crochet or knit provided the shipping funds. Earlier this week our blankets arrived at a VA facility where they will be given to veterans along with our thanks and best wishes.

Knitting this blanket did a lot for me. Building a blanket from yarn is a meditative exercise in perseverance. Each individual stitch contributes to a useful whole. Small labors (even the imperfect stitches) build into something tangible. The construction is a hopeful metaphor that renews my belief in the value of individual actions. I don't think my blanket will change the world, but it is soft and warm.

If you want to beat the mid-Winter blues with some uplifting activism:

• Soldiers' Angels offers a diverse array of projects that support troops in the field as well as wounded veterans.

• There's still time to crochet or knit a scarf for Craft Hope's Project 6 which is sending handmade scarves to the Orphan Foundation's Red Scarf program. The project deadline is February 14.

***Baby Toolkit is the independent opinion of a couple geek parents with more yarn than time. We benefit richly (but not monetarily) from our Project Awesome friends and goodhearted programs like Craft Hope and Soldiers' Angels.

Here is an interesting historical book that I found which I haven't read yet but may interest many of the Sikh scholars, Indian historians, Hindu missionaries, Buddhist Missionaries, Islamic Missionaries, Sikh Missionaries, Christian Missionaries, future explorers, future invaders, or may be just for your plain old spiritual enlightenment and all others who just want to know what India was like in 1880's from a Western Christian Missionary perspective. Some of the text is hard to read because of scanning I think:

THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES

HAND-BOOK INDIA
BRITISH BURMAH By W. EX ROBBINS,
MISSIONARY.
OFH^
JSSS?
CINCINNATI:
WALDEN & STO\VE
NEW YORK: PHILLIPS i HUNT.
I883.
Copyright by WALDEN & STOWE,1883.
CPS
4)3
- PROPERTY OF – NORTHMINSTER
PRES. CH., WASH., D. C.

PREFACE.
IF one-half of the world know not how the
other half live, it is hoped this little manual
will serve in some slight degree to enlighten
them. However ignorant the people of India
may be concerning their Western cousins, not
less so are the people of England and America
generally concerning their Eastern cousins; for
where one of the latter is seen as a transient
visitor in the West, a hundred at least of the
former are more or less permanently located in
the East.
This is not a guide-book for travelers, but an
attempt to answer, in as few Miords as possible,
the many questions concerning India, which have
been asked the author, during his ten years of
labor in the country, and to put the result in
such a small and cheap form as to be accessible
to the multitudes whose interest in this great em-
pire is constantly increasing. If by this unpretentious
volume he shall succeed in exciting and
deepening a concern in the welfare of India's
millions, and eliciting prayer on their behalf, his
labor will not have been in vain.
As it is designed more particularly for those
who may never see the country, Indian names,
as far as possible, are omitted, and where unavoidable,
the orthography more easily pronounced
is followed, and, in some cases, meanings given
in parenthesis.
To have acknowledged and credited all the
authorities and sources of information derived,
for which thanks are due, would have almost
doubled the size of the book, and hence none
at all have been specified; much, however, has
been acquired by personal observation, and it is
believed the errors are few and immaterial.
W. E. R.
POONA, INDIA, Mayl, 1883.

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PHYSICAL OUTLINES OF INDIA.

I. Geography.
PAGE.
Position Divisions Mountains Rivers Valleys and
Plains, 11
2. Vegetable Productions.
Timber Trees Shade and Ornamental Hedges and
Fibers Drugs and Dyes Of Rare and Various
Uses Flowering and Evergreen Shrubs Fruits
Garden Vegetables Grains, Grasses, etc., … 15
3. Animals.
Domestic Wild Birds Reptiles Fish Insects
Animal Products, 21
4. Mineral Productions.
Building Stone Metals Earths, Coal, etc. Precious
Stones, 28
5. Climate and Healthfulness.
Variety Seasons Monsoons and Cyclones Sanitaria
Diseases, 31
6 CONTEXTS.
6. Natural Scenery.
PAGE.
Landscapes “Waterfalls Wonderful Trees, 37
CHAPTER II.
PEOPLE OF IXD1A.i. Races, Numbers, Etc.
Aborigines Scythians Aryans Mongols Numbers
and Density Character, 40
2. Manner of Life.
Dress Dwellings Food Markets and Fairs Festivals
and Music Travel Children, 46
3. Social Customs.
Marriage Ceremonies Treatment of Women, Suttee
Polygamy and Infanticide Maintenance of Relatives
Disposition of the Dead Superstitions and
Salutations, 03
4. Vocations.
Caste Agriculturists Workers in Wood Masons and
Sculptors Potters Smiths Workers in Leather
Weavers and Tailors Shopkeepers Professions
Miscellaneous, 74
5.- Enlightenment and Civilization.
Languages Literature Learning Calculation of
Time, 89
6. Antiquities and Architecture.
Ruins and Remains Palaces Temples Cave TemplesTombs
and Monuments, 95
CONTENTS. 7
CHAPTER III.
RELIGIONS OF INDIA.
i. Demonolatry.
PAGE.
Performances Human Sacrifices, . . . . 103
2. Hinduism.
Origin of the Gods Sacred Books Incarnations
Cosmogony Sacraments, Rites, etc. Future
State Sects, etc., 105
3. Buddhism.
Author Patron Doctrines, 116
4. Jains, 119
5. Mohammedanism.
Introduction into India The Koran Creed Duties
Present Condition, 121
6. Sikhs.
Origin Practice, 127
7. Zoroastrianism.
History Zendavesta Teaching Worship, 129
8. Jews 132
9. Brahmoism.
Founder Development Principles Other Societies, 133
CHAPTER IV.
BRITISH INDIA.I. Historical Sketch.
Ancient Kingdoms Early Invasions First Mohammedan
Dynasties The Mogul Empire European
8 CONTENTS.
PAGE.
Settlements British Rule Established Further
Conquests Mutinies, etc., 137
2. Government.
Under the Company Under the Crown Army and
Police Revenue Native States, 160
3. Commerce.
Routes to India Steamship Lines Inland Communication
Exports Imports Currency, 168
4. Manufactures.
Cotton and Silk Goods Iron Manufactures Carriages
Miscellaneous, 175
5. Other Improvements.
Irrigation Drainage and Lights Labor-saving Machines,
etc. Mails -and Telegraphs, 179
6. Intellectual Advancement.
Schools and Colleges Libraries and Museums Books
and Newspapers Science and the Fine Arts, . . 183
CHAPTER V.
ANGLO-INDIAN LIFE.i. Employments.
Private Occupations Government Service Railway
and Other Employes Women and Children
Provision for Families and Old Age, 188
2. Mode of Living.
Provisions Wearing Apparel Buildings, 193
CONTENTS. 9
3. Means of Conveyance.
PAG15.
Private Public Railways and Tramways Boats, . . 201
4. Amusements.
Indoor Games Outdoor Recreations Hunting and
Racing, 206
5. Morals.
Personal Character Bearing Towards Others
Churches and Chaplains Responsibilities, . . . 210
CHAPTER VI.
EVANGELIZATION OF INDIA.
i. Syrian Christians 220
2. Roman Catholics.
Francis Xavier Jesuit Artifices Recent Operations
Idolatrous Rites Moral Character, etc., 221
3. Early Protestant Missions.
Danish English American Scotch German
Irish Welsh Swedish, 227
4. Churches Engaged and their Success.
Baptist Church of England Congregational Lutheran
Methodist Presbyterian Moravians and
Friends Undenominational, 236
5. Methods of Work.
Translations and Publications Schools and Sundayschools
Orphanages Dispensaries, Song Services,
etc. Preaching Itinerating Circuit System,
245
10 CONTESTS.
PAGE.
6. Woman's Work in the Indian Mission Field, lT>7
7. Means of Support.
Home Boards Indian Churches “Faith Missions”
Pauline Self-support, 2G1
8. Conclusion.
India as a Field of Labor Qualifications for the Work
Progress and Prospect, 279
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE.
Map of India, Frontispiece.
Group of Hindoos, 47
The Taj Mahal, 101
Shrine and Monumen over the Death Well, …. 158
Hunting the Tiger in the Jungles, 209
Medical Dispensary, Bareilly, 241
INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
I.
PHYSICAL OUTLINES OF INDIA.
1. GEOGRAPHY.
THAT we may commence at the beginning in our
account of this far-off land, it is necessary, in the first
place, to define its
POSITION.
India is the central of the three great peninsulas
stretching southward from the continent of Asia. It
is six thousand miles south-east from England, and
nine thousand from America. Including British Burmah,
with which it forms the Empire of British India,
it extends over about thirty-two degrees of longitude
and twenty-seven degrees of north latitude, reaching to
within eight degrees of the equator, making its greatest
length from north to south nearly one thousand
nine hundred miles, and its greatest breadth from east
to west about one thousand eight hundred miles, and
giving it an area, including native states, of a million
and a half of square miles ; not far from half the size
12 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAII.
of the United States, exclusive of Alaska, or about
one-sixth of the British Empire.
It is bounded on the north by the Himalaya Mountains,
which separate it from Tibet, on the east by
Burmah and Siam, on the south by the Indian Ocean,
and on the west by Beluchistan and Afghanistan.
DIVISION'S.
India, from very ancient times, has been divided
by geographers into two not very unequal parts, Hindustan
(place of the Hindus), north of the Vindhya
Mountains, and the Deccan (southern), formerly including
all south of the same, but now confined usually
to the vast plateau resting on the shoulders of the Eastern
and Western Ghats, the remainder being known as
Southern India.
MOUNTAINS.
The Himalayas (abode of snow) are the highest
mountains in the world, Mt. Everest being the highest
peak known, 29,002 feet. Their tops are covered
with perpetual snow, and their sides with almost every
variety of vegetable and animal life, according to the
elevation. They are separated their whole length from
the valley of the Ganges by the great Indian Swamp,
called the Terai, attaining, in some places, the width
of twenty-five miles, and covered with dense jungle
(forest), the lair of the wild beast, and so full of
malaria as to be uninhabitable by man, at least from
April to October.
The Sulaiman Mountains, having but three practicable
passes, are the natural barrier against the Kabulis.
RIVERS. 13
The highest peak is Takht-i-Sulaiman (throne of Solomon),
11,300 feet. The Aravali Hills, attaining at
Mt. Abu the height of 5,000 feet, are the water-shed
between the Indus and the Ganges valleys. The
Vindhya Mountains, though extending nearly across
the Peninsula, never exceed 6,000 feet above the level
of the sea, or 4,000 above the plain. The Eastern
and Western Ghats are joined together in the south by
the Nilgherries (Blue Mountains), the height of which
is 7,500 feet, and the highest peak about 8,700 feet.
RIVERS.
The longest river is the Indus (Indian), one thousand
eight hundred miles, which rises on the north
side of the Himalayas, passes between them aud the
Hindu Rush, flows southward, receiving the five
streams of the Punjab (five waters) through one channel,
and empties into the Arabian Sea. The Brahmaputra
(Son of the Supreme), is about the same
length and rises very near the same place. After a
long course through Tibet it makes a detour round
the mountains and debouches into the Bay of Bengal.
The Ganges (The River), rising on the opposite side
of the mountains, not far from the sources of the other
two, flows one thousand five hundred miles, receiving
the Jumna and many other large tributaries, and empties
partly through the same mouths as the Brahmaputra.
British Burmah is well watered by the Irawiidy,
flowing southward into the Bay of Bengal. The Deccan
is watered on the east principally by the Mahanadi
14 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
(Great River), the Godavery, and the Krishna, and
on the west by the Nerbudda and Taptee.
VALLEYS AND PLAINS.
The largest and most level of these is the Ganges
Valley, with scarcely a hill except along the banks of
the river, and being a vast alluvial deposit, is very
fertile, feeding two-fifths of the people of India. The
valleys of the Brahmaputra and Irawady are much
smaller, but near the mouths of the rivers not very
different from that of the Ganges. The valley of the
Indus is long, narrow, and fertile. The Plains of
Cutch and Guzerat, sometimes considered as belonging
to the Indus, are generally fine level uplands, with a
black soil, resembling some of the North American
prairies. Between the Indus and the Aravali Hills is
the Great Indian Desert, four hundred miles long by
one hundred wide. It is covered with sand hills without
vegetation or animal life, excepting in a few small
valleys after the rains, and can be traversed only by
the horse and camel.
The Plain of Hindustan has an elevation of two
thousand feet, and includes the table-lands of Mahva
and Rajpiitana. The Deccan has a similar or greater
elevation, but is much more uneven and rocky, and
Avith the exception of the portions along the rivercourses,
is very much inferior in fertility. Around it
on three sides is a narrow strip of low coast-land, the
ghats which separate being in many places so precipitous
as to defy the eiforts of man to pass over.
TIMBER TREES. 15
2. VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS.
As might be supposed in a country extending over
so many degrees of latitude, and containing so great
variety of elevation, India has an epitome of the plants
of the globe, or at least of the Torrid and Temperate
Zones, of which only a few of the most common need
be named. Forests, however, are confined mostly to
the hills, marshes, and water-courses, the rest being barren
plains, except here and there a tree or small grove
of trees, but during and after the rains covered with a
carpet of green. The slopes of the Himalayas, especially,
produce many of the same varieties, but differing
more or less from their European and American congeners.
This is particularly true of many of the
TIMBER TREES,
as ash, oak, walnut, bird's eye maple, pine, cedar,
sycamore, yew, mahogany, bird cherry, alder, spruce
fir, horse chestnut, elm, mulberry, holly, birch (just
like English birch), willow, and poplar.
Of other kinds the more useful are the sal, bijai sal,
sissoo, kail, mowah, toon, arjoon, peepul, gall-nut,
white and black ebony, zebra wood (so heavy that it
nearly sinks in water), satin wood, sappan wood,
sandal wood, sauce wood, red wood, black wood (used
very largely for furniture) ; but most useful is the
teak, not only as being adapted to nearly every purpose,
but as being impervious to white ants, owing, as
is supposed, to the presence of tannin in it.
16 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
Means are now taken to preserve the forests from
destruction, it having been found that they largely
affect the supply of rain.
SHADE AND ORNAMENTAL.
The matter of shade in this tropical country is one
of very great importance, the location of villages and
hamlets being often determined by the small clumps of
trees found here and there. For this purpose, in addition
to those named above, nature has provided a great
variety, many being evergreen. Those used for shading
the public highways are chiefly the peepul (sacred figtree),
babul, tamarind, neem, and gold mohur (which
in addition to its long pinnate leaves, exhibits a beautiful
canopy of pink flowers). In the lawns may be seen
the cypress, silver fir, toolsee, casuarina, magnolia,
rhododendron, and a species of cork-tree, which, however,
does not yield cork.
HEDGES AND FIBERS.
Of the great variety of these may be mentioned the
thorn, box, jait, India coral-flower, sham lota, mandy,
milk-hedge, aloe (American agave), prickly pear and
other varieties of cactus, hemp, jute, flax, madar,
bodala, kurdala, cheela, guthoree, goor, chunnar, amaree,
doodea, and rope-grass, some of which are used
for both purposes.
DRUGS AND DYES.
The cinchona has been introduced from Peru by the
Indian Government, and is successfully cultivated in
OF RARE AND VARIOUS USES. 17
the NilgherrieSj yielding a vast quantity of quinine,
for use in the country. Besides the leaves, bark, or
roots of many of the trees already named, there are
acacias of different species, India-rubber, Indian worm-
Avood, Indian capsicum, various species of mint, spikenard
(supposed to be that of the Bible), sorrel, Bengal
colocynth, aconitum, balsam, drastic croton, castor-oil
plant, rhubarb, turmeric, ginger, nux vomica, calamus,
coriander, malabar, nightshade, gentian, myrrh, myrobalan,
ajwain, safflower, chiretta, dhak, gutta-percha,
Indian squills, Indian sarsaparilla, indigo, opium, logwood,
mustard, spices, etc.
OF RARE AND VARIOUS USES.
The soap-nut affords a wonderful substitute for
soap, especially in washing certain fabrics. The marking-
nut yields an indelible ink, much used by washermen
in marking clothes. By the addition of a little
lime and water the mark is dark and distinct. The
bark of the bhojaputra is used in some places for
paper.
The root of the horse-radish-tree is not a bad substitute
for horse-radish. The tallow and varnish trees,
which are both natives of China, yield the articles which
give them their names, but of an inferior quality.
Of the many varieties of palm, all of which grow
tall, slender, and straight, the most common are the
date, the fruit of which is vastly inferior to that of
Arabia and Persia; the targola, the pulp of whose
fruit is pleasant and cooling ; the sago, yielding a val-
2
18 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
liable article of food ; the areca, on which grows the
betel-nut ; but most valuable of all, the cocoa-nut, for
nearly all the wants of a native can be supplied from
it the walls, doors, and roof of his house of the leaves
plaited, and the posts, beams, and rafters of the trunk,
all which are securely fastened by the coir rope made
from the outside husk, which also furnishes mats for
the floor, beds, etc. From the hard shell he makes
spoons, ladles, cups, lamps, drinking vessels, pipebowls,
etc. The milk of the nut affords a pleasant,
nutritious drink, while the kernel is good for food,
and, after the oil is pressed out, is fed to pigs and
cows. The fresh toddy (sap) is used as a beverage
and as a yeast for baking purposes, but when fermented
it makes a very intoxicating liquor, which is
called arrack.
FLOWERING AND EVERGREEN SHRUBS.
With those that are indigenous, nearly all varieties
of exotics are to be found in the gardens ; as, roses,
geraniums, calladiums, crotons, ferns, laurels, bigonias,
and dahlias of every description, oleander (supposed to
be the rose of Sharon), wax-flower, balsam, mimosa,
fuchsia, heart's-ease, amaranth, marigold, violets, pinks,
cock's-comb, lotus, heliotrope, chrysanthemum, mogara
(a species of jasmine), marantas, sunflower, crown
imperial, myrtle, ivy, convolvulus, antigonon, snailcreeper,
sweet-brier, honeysuckle, passion-flower, and
many other creepers ; mosses, mistletoe, orchids, and
other parasites.
FRUITS. 19
FRUITS.
Although many English fruits as apples, pears,
peaches, plums, strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries
are cultivated on the highlands, they are much
wanting in flavor, but serve to remind the wayfarer of
home. The grapes, though better than other fruits,
are yet inferior to those of California. The papai has
been introduced from the West Indies. Figs, pomegranates,
custard-apples, oxheart, guava (red and
white), sweet and sour limes, tac, loquat, and pineapple
are superior, as also the oranges, especially those
grown at Nagpore. The citron, supposed to be the
apple of the Bible, is a large, bitter fruit, used only
for preserves. The pumalo is a very large, luscious
fruit, resembling the shaddock of the West Indies, or
the “forbidden fruit” of Key West. The jack, corresponding
to the bread-fruit, is said to be tasty when
once beyond the nose. The sour-sop and wood-apple
are very acid, but wholesome. The bhore (jujube),
the jambiil, and the karunda are small jungle-fruits in
much demand. But the fruit of India is the mango,
which has a yellow skin and pulp, and a flavor like
the most luscious peach. The best variety is the Alphonso
of Goa and Mazagon, to which Moore makes
allusion in his “Lalla Rookh.” Corresponding to this,
but smaller, is the mangosteen of Burmah. Of edible
nuts there are the pistachio, the cashew, and the
hazel.
20 INDIA A XD BRITISH BURMAH.
GARDEN VEGETABLES.
The same may be said of the vegetables as of the
fruits introduced from Europe. Sweet potatoes, cabbages,
cauliflowers, noil-colls, artichokes, celery, pumpkins,
squashes, watermelons, rnuskmelons, tomatoes,
radishes, beans, pease, turnips, carrots, beets, cucumbers,
and spinach, all remind the Englishman of home,
but disappoint him in the eating. A good quality of
potatoes is grown on the uplands. Onions, garlic,
water-cresses, black and cayenne pepper, ground-nuts,
arrow-root, tapioca, sage, lady-fingers, and egg-plant
are of a good quality, while gowra, ghosali, karella,
turay, doodya, cuminv and cardamoms are indigenous.
GRAINS, GRASSES, ETC.
Wheat, oats, barley, millet, all grow short in India,
and the yield is much less than in most countries where
they are grown. Maize is eaten almost exclusively
green in the ear, but bread can be made from it of an
inferior quality. Jowari, bajri, ragi, matki, bartani,
powta, kolti, nachni, gram (chick-pea), and dal (splitpulse)
are used for bread for a large portion of the
people; but the grain of India, as of all the East, is
rice, which grows on land covered with water, or on
the ghats, where the rain is almost incessant during
the season.
The til (Indian sesamum) is noted for its oil. The
sugar-cane grows in many parts, and affords a coarse
kind of sugar as manufactured in the country. Tobacco
thrives well, and is grown extensively for home
ANIMALS. 21
consumption. Tea and coffee, in large quantities and
of excellent quality, are now produced in the Himalayas,
Nilgherries, and Travancore. The great agricultural
product of the country is cotton, which finds
a congenial soil in Guzerat, Central India, and Dhorwar,
though it does not command as high a price in
Manchester as the American cotton.
This list includes the principal of the eighteen superior
and eighteen inferior grains, as the people here
classify them. Different kinds of grass grow in great
profusion in every vacant spot, high or law, during the
rains, affording ample pasturage for flocks and herds,
and abundance of hay, which may be cut at leisure
after the monsoon ; so that there is no occasion for the
growing of tame grass. In many of the jungles and
swamps reeds and rushes grow high and rank, affording
lurking-places for wild beasts and reptiles. The
finest and most useful of the family of grasses is the
bamboo, which grows in clumps from twenty to one
hundred feet high, presenting, with their spines, in
some cases, a formidable barrier to foot soldiers, and
even to cavalry. The trunk is hollow, light, strong,
and elastic, and is used for building purposes, pipes,
and all kinds of baskets. The shoots, when young
and tender, are sometimes eaten like asparagus, or
pickled in vinegar.
3. ANIMALS.
What has been said of the variety of the flora of
India may with equal propriety be said of the fauna,
22 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAII.
with this exception, that, unlike the former, the latter
recede from the advance of man. It is truly wonderful,
however, that a country so long and so densely
populated as India is should still contain so many and
so fierce wild animals, and can be accounted for only
by the fact of the unwillingness of the people to take
animal life.
DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
Of horses, which the climate requires to be used
only moderately, the first is the fleet-footed Arabian.
The Australian is used for draft purposes and artillery,
and the Ktibfil for light work and cavalry. The government,
however, employs mules largely for transportation,
and sometimes elephants ; but for long distances
camels, which kneel to receive their burdens. The natives,
for the most part, employ the tatoo (pony).
Of horned cattle, there are the common ox, zebu
(sacred ox, with hump on its shoulder), arnee, gour,
yak, and buffalo (not to be confounded with the American
bison) ; all which are employed for draft purposes,
as well as for dairy produce. The donkey is used as
a pack animal for short distances, but not for riding.
Sheep, goats, swine, dogs, and cats are of the most
ordinary kind, except some imported and the Cashmere
goat.
WILD ANIMALS.
The hanuman, rhesus, baboon, and other varieties
of monkeys scamper over the trees and temples, where
they are unmolested. The maneless lion is found in
Gii/erat, the royal tiger in Bengal and many other
BIRDS. 23
parts, where he is destructive to cattle ; but only occasionally
is a ” man-eater” found. Still that one sometimes
makes sad havoc in a village before he is finally
conquered.
The cheetah, or hunting-cat, is kept for sport, being
carried out in his cage until antelope or other game is
sighted, when he is turned loose, and catches them in
a trice, receiving a part as his reward. The leopard,
wild-cat, booted lynx, wolf, and hyena are rather formidable
enemies when urged on by anger or hunger ;
but more so the wild boar, bison, rhinoceros, and elephant.
The nilgai (blue cow), various kinds of deer,
sambur (elk), sand-bear, sloth-bear, rouse, hare, and
rabbit afford sport for the huntsman, as also the civetcat,
wild dog, jackal, and fox. The wild ass of Sindh
is a beautiful creature. Squirrels, unfit for food, are
so small and so tame as to visit the house, while rats,
muskrats, mice, and bandicots arc altogether too
familiar. The porcupine, ant-eater (with scales like
the armadillo), and hedgehog make their home in the
ground. The flying fox is nocturnal in its habits,
feeding on fruits, insects, and the eggs of small birds.
The mongoose (Indian ichneumon), like its Egyptian
congener, is a protection from snakes, which it seldom
fails to kill, and scorpions, first dexterously biting
off their sting.
BIRDS.
Domestic fowls, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigeons, and
guinea-fowls are often seen in the yard, especially in
country places, while numbers make a business of rais24
INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAIT.
ing them for market. Sparrows are as familiar, if not
as pious, as in the Psalmist's time. The common crow
is much smaller than in America, and so tame as to
pick up the garbage around the house. The kites are
larger, and also scavengers, often imitating the birds
in the chief baker's dream, by snatching meat from the
basket on the coolie's head. Parrots and paroquets of
various species are often seen wild, but oftener in cages.
Of forest birds, there are the ash-colored falcon,
scops-eared owl, white-tailed swallow, Oriental roller,
Malabar trogon, spotted kingfisher, azure-throated beeeater,
red-faced night-feeder, goalpora and fiery-tailed
sun-birds (corresponding to American humming-birds),
fire-breasted myzanthe (only two and a half inches in
length), hunting-crow, dove, great pericrocotus, kingcrow
(terror to crows), wandering-pie, fantail, hoopoe
(called here carpenter-bird), shrike, minah, horned
tragopan or pheasant, Baya bird (with hanging nest
like inverted bottle).
Of warblers (which, however, do not excel in song
as much as in dress), there are the dayal or magpie
robin, yellow-cheeked titmouse, rufous-bellied titmouse,
black-faced thrush, laughing crow, mango-bird, blackheaded
oriole, bulbul (Indian nightingale), lark, Paradise
fly-catcher (with crest, and two very long feathers
in its tail), and tailor-bird (so called from its nest,
which it literally sews with its beak as a needle, and
stray pieces of twine or fiber for a thread).
Of large birds, there are the bittern, swan, bustard,
vulture, eagle, sarus, and adjutant crane. The sportsREPTILES.
25
man finds duck, teal, snipe, partridges, quails, peacocks,
pigeons, jungle-fowl, and wild-geese.
Of these the most formidable is the crocodile, found
in the large streams, and manifesting quite a partiality
for devotees who come thither to bathe. The tortoise
and hawk's-bill turtle abound in some parts. Lizards
climb the walls for flies arid other insects, which they
catch with great adroitness, while larger ones, commonly
called blood-suckers, live on the ground and
trees ; but the largest of all is the iguana, which, like
the rest, is harmless.
Of serpents, the largest is the python, attaining the
length of twenty or thirty feet ; but of this species the
most common is the variety called rock-snake, only
eight or ten feet long, but strong enough to kill a goat
or calf by squeezing it to death in its folds, like the
boa-constrictor, with which it is allied. Species of
coluber and cerberus are sometimes found. But of the
many kinds of snakes, only a few are venomous, notably
the cobra di capello (hooded snake), cobra manilla,
sand-snake, and viper. And yet it is report*} that
nearly twenty thousand persons die annually from
snakes and other beasts ; but this is due to the exposed
situation of their habitations and their employments.
Sea-serpents have been seen in the Indian seas more
than one hundred feet long. Frogs and toads are not
so plentiful as in some other countries ; but centipedes
2G INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
and scorpions are abundant, their sting, however, not
being fatal, except to small children.
Indian waters produce sharks, saw-fish, whales,
three-banded mullet, red fire-fish, Indian flying gurnard,
toad-fish, seer, and sole. The most tasty saltwater
fish are the pomfret and bumalo (almost devoid
of bone). The rivers produce many kinds of fish ; as,
the Indian salmon, bekhtee, whiting, and mango-fish ;
but there is not much encouragement to the angler.
Shrimps, prawns, crabs, oysters, and a great variety
of shell-fish are found.
INSECTS.
Atlas, stag, and golden beetles, as well as many
others, large and small, are to be met with everywhere.
One small variety has a coat just like red velvet.
The rarest kinds of butterflies, as the peacock, thoas,
mango, etc., enliven the flower-gardens at the close of
the rains ; and the same may be said of the moths,
one of the largest and finest of which is the silk-worm.
Locusts sometimes go in great swarms. Grasshoppers,
dragon-flies, crickets, cockroaches, bees, humblebees,
wasps, spiders, leeches, and snails are plentiful ;
while India has its full share of flies, mosquitoes,
gnats, ants, bugs, and fleas. Fire-flies sometimes are
so abundant as to make the forest sparkle on a dark
night.
ANIMAL PRODUCTS. 27
ANIMAL PRODUCTS.
The buffalo is used largely for its milk and butter,
the latter being very white; neither has cow's
butter that rich yellow color produced by feeding on
blue-grass. For cooking purposes butter is melted, or
more usually manufactured for that object especially,
by boiling the milk a couple of hours, curdling, and
churning. Curds are used largely by the natives, and
cream-cheese of a good quality is manufactured in
some localities.
Elephants' tusks, horns, and tallow are important
articles of produce. Skins of sheep, white and black,
as also of deer, antelope, and tiger, are used for doormats
and ornaments. The wool is generally coarse
and short ; but the hair of the Cashmere goat, from
which the finest shawls are made, is about eighteen
inches long, yet one fleece weighs only three ounces,
and eight fleeces are required for a shawl a yard and
a half square.
A good quality of honey is found in the hills,
usually deposited in the crevices of the rocks. Beeswax
is made, sufficient for home use. Lac is a dye
distilled by a small insect, usually on the banyan-tree.
The cochineal insect has been imported from America ;
but no great success has attended its introduction. As
in China, so in India, the eggs of the silk-worm hatch
by the natural heat ; but the raising of them here has
not assumed the same proportions as there, though silk
is an important product.
The quills of the porcupine, which are hard and
28 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
strong, are used for various purposes. Beautiful specimens
of coral and various kinds of sea-shells are found.
In some places along the coast sardines are caught in
such abundance that they are used for manure. The
pearl-fishery is largely engaged in, in some of the adjacent
islands, as also on the coast at Kurachee.
4. MINERAL PRODUCTIONS.
If India does not hold its own in the mineral as in
the animal and vegetable kingdoms, it is not because of
want of variety in the geological conformation of the
country. Geologists tell us that the Himalayas consist
of granite rocks, which have penetrated the stratified,
metamorphosing them in many places into crystalline
limestone, mica schist, clay slate, and gneiss. The last
of these is a very common stone over India. Sandstone
and conglomerate are found in layers at the base of the
mountains. Nearly the whole of the Deccau consists
of metamorphic rocks, and in some places large bowlders
are heaped one upon another in such form that,
apparently, the strength of one man would cause them
to tumble down. Between the ghats and the sea are
small, rocky ranges, and sometimes isolated peaks rising
into lofty columns, like works of art. The large
river basins are post-tertiary alluvial deposits, while
the uplands consist largely of a red soil, but in some
places black ; and on the east coast it is sandy. The
soil generally has been formed from the decay of
rocks.
METALS. 29
BUILDING STONE.
*Of this there are many kinds, and they are pretty
generally distributed over the country, though in some
places the stone must be brought from a great distance.
The most common are the various kinds of trap, which
are easily worked and answer for common buildings
and fences. For more substantial and ornamental
work sandstone, freestone, quartz rock, granite, basalt,
and various kinds of marble are used. Limestone
yielding an excellent quality of lime is found in some
places a few feet below the surface.
In some parts of the Deccan vast layers of stone
are found near the surface, of uniform thickness, about
five inches. The Porebunder flags are about three
inches thick, and are much used for floors and pavements.
METALS.
Iron is found in abundance in various districts, in
some of which the mines are successfully worked ; but
a great drawback is scarcity of fuel for smelting.
Lead and copper ore are found in Kumaon and different
parts, but as yet have not received great attention.
Gold and silver have long been mined in
various parts, but more recently new discoveries have
been made in the Wynad district in the Nilgherries,
and English companies have been formed for developing
various mines.
30 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
EARTHS, COAL, ETC.
In almost any part of India may be found clay
suited for the manufacture of bricks, tiles, and pottery;
while in some places a finer article suitable for clay
figures, brackets, and even porcelain, is met with.
'The Indian coal fields include a large part of Jsorth
and Central India, and are being gradually developed ;
but neither is the quantity nor the quality such that
it will soon supersede English coal. The mines at
Rannigunge, near Calcutta, employ five thousand men
and women, who raise six hundred thousand tons of
coal annually. Petroleum is found in Assam, but not
enough as yet to affect the supply from America.
Salt is collected from Sambur Lake and others of the
salt range, as well as from sea water. Rock salt is
formed in the Punjab. Saltpeter is produced in considerable
quantities, as also asphalt.
PRECIOUS STONES.
India has long been noted for its diamonds, especially
the mines of Golconda; and it is particularly
worthy of note that all the very large and fine ones
in the world have been found here. The most famous
of all, perhaps, though not the largest, the Koh-i-noor
(mountain of light), which once belonged to the Great
Mogul, but is now in the possession of the queen of
of England, was picked up on the banks of the Godavery.
There are fine carnelian mines along the
Gulf of Cambay, as also blood-stones, lapis-lazuli, and
crystals. The agate, emerald, and spinal ruby are
CLIMATE AND HEALTHFULNESS. 31
found in small quantities in different parts of the
country. Beautiful specimens of quartz and trilobites
are picked out of the trap in Western India.
5. CLIMATE AND HEALTHFULNESS.
The three great causes of difference of climate,
namely, latitude, sea, and elevation, all combine to render
the climate of India most diversified. Indeed, this
might be said of very short distances ; for instance, at
the foot of the Nilgherries the mean annual temperature
is as high as 80 Fahrenheit, while on the top of the
mountains it comes down to 65, or lower. The
warmest places are the Great Desert and the southeast
coast, 80, and the coolest station occupied is
Darjeeliug, in the Himalayas, 54. This, however, is
true only of the average temperature, for it is observable
that there is a remarkable equalization of this in
the different latitudes. Arcot, in latitude 13, has the
same mean annual temperature, 82, as Nagpore and
Surat, in latitude 21 ; Allahabad, in latitude 25, has
the same, 81, as Calicut, in latitude 11, which is the
same as Singapore, almost immediately under the equator;
Bangalore, in latitude 13, is one degree cooler,
74, than Poona, in latitude 18, and Lahore, in latitude
31, being higher; and lastly Ootacumund, in
latitude 11 is one degree cooler, 56, than Srinugger,
in latitude 34, being two thousand feet higher. So
when it is remembered that the Winter in North and
Central India is much colder than in Southern India,
32 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
it will be seen that the Summer in the former must be
excessively hot. And so it is, the thermometer reaching,
and even exceeding 123 in the shade, and 167
in the sun, Avhich is occasioned by the hot winds blowing
from the heated plains as from a burning furnace.
On the other hand places along the sea-coast enjoy
a very equable climate. In Calcutta the mean temperature
in January, the coldest month, is 66, and
in April, the hottest month, 85, though hi some days
in each case it quite exceeds these limits. In Bombay
the thermometer rarely falls below 75, or exceeds
100, which, with a daily sea breeze is more tolerable
than some places in America. At Poona and Bangalore,
as over most of the Deccan, the months of July,
August, and September, are delightful, and would
afford -a fine change from the dust and heat of many
other places in the world.
In North and Central India the seasons are almost
as well marked as in England and North America,
though certainly very different. They are three of
almost equal length, the cool beginning with November,
the warm commencing the latter part of February,
and the wet beginning in June. On the highlands
there is some frost, and far up the mountains snow.
In Southern India, as has been noticed already,
there is scarcely any cold weather, except on the hills,
and not so much of the exceeding hot weather ; so
there are but two distinctly marked seasons regulated
MONSO ONS AND CYCL ONES. 33
by the monsoons, the wet and the dry. Along the
sea-coast, however, the temperature is always moist,
and no other sudorific is required, while on the plateau
of the Deccau it is much drier.
MONSOONS AND CYCLONES.
From October to April, when the sun is shining
directly on the southern hemisphere, it heats up the
continent of Africa more than the temperature of the
ocean, causing the wind to blow in that direction. That
is the north-east monsoon, and carries rain to Africa,
and, to some extent, from the Bay of Bengal to Southern
India. When the sun returns north, it heats the
plains of India and Central Asia, especially the great
desert of Gobi, so that the wind changes and brings in
the south-west monsoon, with rain from June to
October.
Though the rainy season is the same time over
India, yet the amount of rain-fall differs very much in
different places. The west coast, the slope of the Himalayas,
the valley of the Brahmaputra, and British
Burmah receive the most rain. Cherapoonji, in Assam,
has the heaviest known rain-fall 524 inches, or nearly
44 feet. Mahobleshwur, on the Western Ghats, has
about 300 inches ; Bombay, 71 ; Calcutta, 66 ; Madras,
50 ; Delhi, 24 ; and Sindh, about two inches. Hence,
when there is a light monsoon, people in some parts
must suffer, and, unless provision is made for irrigation,
famine is the inevitable consequence.
The south-west monsoon is always ushered in with
3
34 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
thunder and lightning. Occasionally a hurricane
sweeps over the country, doing some damage, and in
the same way a tidal wave may sweep over the lowlands
along the coast. Once in ten or twelve years a
cyclone of unusual severity is expected to strike the
coast, most generally from the Bay of Bengal, doing
immense damage to life and property. The one in
October, 1864, killed and Avounded sixty persons, and
destroyed and damaged nearly one hundred thousand
buildings and one hundred and ninety ships in Calcutta
alone.
SANITARIA.
To recuperate health and regain vigor lost by living
in the enervating climate of the lowlands and plains,
it has been found necessary to open up resting-places
on the hills, where generally there is shade from the
scorching sun, and a somewhat invigorating atmosphere,
even in the hot weather. The governor-general
moves his whole establishment to Simla, in the Himalayas
; the Bombay government goes to Mahobleshwur,
and the Madras to Ootacumurid. Bengal has Darjeeling,
the north-west provinces, Nynee Tal, the Punjab,
Mussoorie, the central provinces, Puchmurree, the
Berars, Chiculda, and Eajputana, Mt. Aboo. Besides
these, there are Matheran (from matha, summit, and
ran, forest), near Bombay, the Pulney Hills, of Southern
India, and many others of less note. Many private
persons, and those who can get leave, visit these
places also. The government lias provided barracks in
some places for those soldiers who may require such a
DISEASES. 35
change ; and many of the missionary societies have
followed the example in providing bungalows for their
missionaries, and also in allowing funds to meet the
increased expenses in going. Some who can not go to
the expense of a change to the hills hire tents for a few
weeks, and camp out in a grove, such as Lanowlee, on
the railway, eighty miles from Bombay, and forty from
Poona.
DISEASES.
No doubt several causes combine to render the
country unhealthy ; but the most noticeable are the
crowded population in the cities, with lack of fresh
air, pure water, and cleanliness ; the flocking together
in such numbers at melas (festivals), and intemperance
in eating, drinking, and sleeping. Though the
European who has come to stay any length of time
has to go through a little season of acclimatization,
yet there is no reason why, with proper precautions
of sanitation, diet, and exercise, he should not enjoy
as good health here as elsewhere, save only the physical
depression inevitable from a warm climate. To
prove the possibility, some have lived and worked
to a good old age, without once leaving the country ;
and some are living and working still, who long ago
were ordered by the physicians out of the country,
never to return. There is no doubt, however, that a
change to a colder climate is beneficial, and as disease,
when it does take hold, often runs its course in a few
hours, it is not safe to trust to one's self; and one great
blessing to the country is good medical attendance, to
36 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
be had in every important station, and hospitals in all
the large cities.
It has been ascertained that the percentage of mortality
among natives and Europeans is somewhat as
follows : Dysentery, 30 per cent ; fevers, 20 ; cholera,
18 ; hepatic diseases, 8 ; and all others, 24 per cent.
The prevailing varieties of fever are intermittent, remittent,
and jungle fever, with occasional cases of typhoid,
which, though they usually yield readily to treatment,
yet often not until the patient is removed from
the region of the malaria. Some cases of cholera are
always to be found in large cities; but it rarely becomes
epidemic, except when thousands of people flock
together at fairs, eat unripe fruit and other indigestible
food, with impure water, and, after contracting the
disease, scatter it everywhere on their return. Liver
diseases, though not so fatal as others, are yet quite
prevalent, induced generally either by a sedentary or
intemperate life. Small-pox is often very fatal among
the native population ; but compulsory vaccination has
greatly lessened its evil effects. Leprosy still makes
its ravages as of old on the Asiatic continent, stealing
insidiously upon the individual, until he wrakes up to
the fact that he is a leper. It is still beyond the physician's
power to cure, and nothing can be done but to
check its progress somewhat, and smooth the way to
the grave, which may thus be kept off for years.
Though not deemed contagious, yet all agree that it is
best to keep out of its way.
Exposure to the sun sometimes causes sunstroke,
NATURAL SCENERY LANDSCAPES. 37
which, however, may be avoided by proper care. Bilious
headache is often obviated by avoiding the use of
tea and coffee and all other stimulants, which are certainly
not required, as one can wear himself out fast
enough without them. Very few consumptives are
met with, and this is, perhaps, one of the best countries
for those suffering with pulmonary complaints.
Children usually lack the bloom here that they have in
colder climates, and teething is generally a very trying
time.
6. NATURAL SCENERY.
LANDSCAPES.
The vale of Cashmere has long been noted for its
picturesque scenery, almost paradisiacal. What with
its placid lakes and running streams, its beautiful
flowers and grand avenues of poplar and other trees,
the traveler is amply repaid for the toil, expense, and
danger of a visit. Officers often spend their leave
there.
The Happy Valley of Nepal is rendered the more
beautiful by the villages and hamlets clustered here
and there in quiet seclusion.
Many Alpine scenes in the Himalayas are almost
unsurpassed on the globe, one of the most noted of
Avhich is the view from Mt. Cheena, where the traveler
may look up to the snowy range twenty thousand
feet higher than himself, which seems to prop the
firmament above and around, like the supports of an
immense dome ; and then, changing his stand-point
38 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
a few paces, he may look down two thousand feet to
the lovely Nynee Tal (lake) nestled in the mountain?,
and six thousand feet lower to the vast plain spread
out hundreds of miles before his enraptured vision.
From Panorama Point, on Matheran, is a splendid
view of the city and harbor of Bombay, with shipping,
coast-line, cocoa-nut groves, hills, and buildings, making
a panorama such as is rarely equaled. Near by
is also a fine grove of magnificent trees, festooned with
large creepers, called amrai (mango tope). From Elphinstone
Point, at Mahobleshwur, is a sheer descent
of two thousand feet, and a similar one from Arthur's
Seat near by, while two thousand feet lower is the
Coukan, stretching to the sea, and disclosing most
beautiful landscapes of fields and groves, hills and
dales.
AVATERFALLS.
Not far distant from the last mentioned are the
valley and falls of the Yena, where the swollen waters
rush over a precipice, with a clear fall of five hundred
feet. During the rains a passage on the railway over
the Bhore Ghat affords a view most entrancing. The
mountains are dressed in living green, their tops
shrouded in mist, and their sides threaded by silver
streams, while in the chasm the cataract plunges and
boils and foams and roars till it joins the flood two
thousand feet below.
The Gokah Falls are formed by the Gutpurba contracting
from about two hundred and fifty to eighty
yards in width, and plunging over a sandstone ledge,
WONDERFUL TREES. 39
and dashing down a chasm one hundred and seventyeight
feet. But the most noted cataract O in India is
the Gairsoppa Falls, in Southern India, consisting of
four distinct falls “The Rajah,” “The Roarer,”
” The Rocket,” and ” Dame Blanche ;” the first falling
eight hundred and thirty feet direct, and the others
being grand cascades all visible at one view. Not
far from Jubbulpore are the “Marble Rocks,” where
the Nerbudda, already a considerable stream, forces its
way through a long, narrow gorge, as if cut through
the solid marble.
WONDERFUL TREES.
Gigantic banyan-trees are found in different parts.
One there is at the foot of Mahobleshwur Hills which
shades three-fourths of an acre perfectly at noonday,
the many stems forming aisles as of a church. Near
Broach, in Guzerat, is supposed to be the largest
banyan in the world, capable once of sheltering five
thousand horsemen ; and, though a large part was
blown away in a terrible storm, yet it still has a circumference
of eighteen hundred feet.
A tree of the Miciidui Champaca, on the southwestern
ghats, measures fifty-nine feet in girth three
feet from the ground.
In the Lanowlee woods is a creeper two feet in
diameter, twining over the tops of many lofty trees.
40 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
II.
PEOPLE OF INDIA.
1. RACES, NUMBERS, ETC.
WHEN we come to consider the inhabitants of this
very ancient country, we meet with difficulties much
greater than those experienced in examining its physical
features. There are absolutely no reliable records
till we reach the period of modern history.
ABORIGINES.
Whether entirely of a different race or not, it is on
all hands conceded that the various hill tribes are the
descendants of the aborigines of the country ; but how
or when they came is veiled in utter obscurity. It
must, however, have been very soon after the confusion
of tongues at Babel, and they must either have
entered from the north-east or have taken the path
over the passes of the Hindu Kiish in the north-west,
which was followed by their successors? who, being
more powerful, drove them into their present mountain
retreats.
One of the most important of these tribes is the
Bheels, a nomadic race, who roam the jungles of Central
India, and are of dark color and short stature,
with thick, matted hair and beards. They get their
ABORIGINES. 41
living mainly by hunting Avith bows and arrows, which
they hold Avith their feet. They Avere the most dangerous
people in the country till the government conceiAred
the idea of enlisting a corps of them for military
purposes, Avhich has Avorked admirably.
The Gouds, Avho live in the rocky /astnesses and
dense forests along the head-Avaters of the Nerbudda,
are more degraded than the Bheels, living in a
wretched state, and some going entirely naked. The
Kols and Santals of Chota Nagpore, and Khouds of
Orissa, are larger tribes and mare adA^anced toAvard
civilization, engaging to some extent in agriculture.
Along the Western Ghats are scA'eral small tribes ;
as, the WCtralls, Avho live largely on the fowls Avhich
they raise, and the proceeds of the Avood, which they cut
and sell ; the Katodis, including the Thakores, Avho move
their villages from place to place on the hills, Avhile
they manufacture the kat (a gum from the acacia
catechu), from Avhich they get their name, and chiefly
their support, though amongst other things, they cat
lizards, squirrels, serpents, swine, and the black-faced
monkey ; the Ramosis, Avho are employed as watchmen
in villages, shops, and bungalows ; and similar to them
the Kolis, Avho are porters, hunters, fishermen, and
boatmen, but many of them make a living largely by
robbing and plundering. The huts of all these tribes
as far as they have any, are rude and miserable in the
extreme.
Corresponding to the hill tribes of India are the
Karens, of Burmah, supposed to be the aborigines.
42 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
SCYTHIANS.
Less than two centuries after the dispersion of mankind,
when one great branch of the Scythian family
migrated toward the north of Europe, another wending
their way southward descended into India, soon
occupying the great valleys of the Indus and Ganges,
and the whole of Northern India. However, other
invaders more powerful than themselves descending
upon them, they advanced beyond the Nerbudda, and
found a permanent home in Southern India and Ceylon,
where their descendants are still found.
ARYANS.
Those who followed so closely upon the Scythians
belonged to the great Indo-European family, of which
the Teutons are an important branch. Being a race
of shepherds, and requiring pasturage for their flocks,
they soon became widely scattered, some going to the
far west, and in modern times peopling a good part
of North America, while others following their flocks
to the south-east, occupied the whole of Hindfistdn,
driving their predecessors, as we have seen, into the
mountains, and the very pocket of the peninsula.
They called themselves Aryans (Nobles), but became
known to Europeans as Hindus, a word signifying in
their language “black,” they having by this time become
somewhat tanned by the tropical sun, though not
so much so as the Scythians, and they in turn not so
much so as the hill tribes.
MONGOLS NUMBERS AND DENSITY. 43
Besides these great familes, and differing largely
from them, another is represented in India by the
people on the slopes of the lower Himalayas, Assam,
and British Burmah. That is, the great Mongolian
race to which the people of Tibet and China belong,
and who gradually worked themselves down from Central
Asia, over the whole of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula;
but at what time they entered India is as little
known as in the case of the other races. They still
preserve their Mongolian features, are short of stature
and enterprising.
Besides all these, there are large numbers of the
Afghan, Arabian, and Persian invaders, whose descendants
have more or less, but not altogether mixed \vith
these ; and in addition to these almost every race
under the sun is represented by a small number in
India, or even in any one of its great commercial
cities.
NUMBERS AND DENSITY.
In the whole of India and British Burmah, according
to the last census there are two hundred and fifty
millions of people, or eight times as many as in the
British Isles, and five times as many as in the United
States, about four-fifths as many as the whole of Europe,
more than Africa and Oceanic combined, or one
out of every six on the globe. About one-sixth of
these are Mussulmans, or nearly one-third of all the
Mohammedans on the earth. The greater number of
these are in Bengal, where they constitute almost one
44 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
out of three of the population. Nearly all the rest,
or about two hundred millions, are Hindus in the
broadest sense of that term, that is, they profess the
Hindu religion.
India is next to China in numbers, and also in
density of population. The average for the whole
country, however, is only one hundred and sixty-six
to the square mile, but in some places it is very much
more, reaching in one district as high as one thousand
to the square mile. From this it will be seen
there is great inequality in the distribution of the
inhabitants ; and as in most other countries the population
continues increasing, and famines are recurring
more or less frequently in these over-crowded
districts, it is apparent that some equalization is necessary.
Hence, numbers are being attracted to the more
thinly settled parts, as from Bengal to the hills about
Darjeeling, and in Assam, where are large tea plantations.
Also increase of wages has attracted many
Madrassees to British Burmah.
The greatest encouragement given by the government
has been to induce Coolies to go and work in
the sugar plantations of Mauritius and the We.-t Indies.
These, however, go only for a period of years, and
expect to return, so no permanent colonies are formed.
CHARACTER.
The Hindu is excessively conservative, deeming it
the greatest of sins to adopt any thing different from
what his ancestors employed ; and hence, he has been
CHARACTER. 45
at a stand-still these thousands of years, though now
forces are at work that he can not resist. One of the
reasons of their conservatism, no doubt, is another of
their characteristics, that is, a proverbial sluggishness,
and unwillingness to do any thing that can be avoided.
His way of killing time is to sleep, which he can do
almost anywhere, and at any time of the day. Of the
value of time, either his own or that of others, he has
no idea, so he is not characterized by promptness and
punctuality. The struggle for life, however, does not
admit of a great deal of idleness. Their love of jewelry
and display make up somewhat for their improvidence,
for in times of famine thousands of rupees' worth
of ornaments are melted and coined. Their politeness
is neutralized by their insincerity, their general honesty
by their untruthfulness, their gentleness of manners
by their proneness to quarrel, and go to law with one
another. Though reticent about their own families,
they are obtrusive enough in prying into the private
affairs of others, thinking nothing of asking a gentleman
the amount of his salary and estimating him
accordingly. Their readiness to care for their own
relations is perhaps due to their caste rules, which shut
them out from the rest of the world.
As might be supposed, however, among such numbers
and so many races, there is great difference in
the people of different parts. The Bengali, whose
food is almost exclusively rice, is weak and effeminate,
but ingenious; the Rajputs and Rohillas, brave and independent;
the Sikhs and Goorkas make excellent
46 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAII.
soldiers7 the Marathas are cunning and reserved, the
Madrassees faithful and more enterprising than many
of their countrymen. And although for the most part
these profess the same religion, yet they have nothing
much in common, but rather mutually despise or hate
each other.
The Mohammedans as elsewhere, are bigoted and
fanatical, but much more active than their Hindu
neighbors generally. The Parsees are enterprising and
exceedingly worldly. Morality is at a low ebb among
all classes, some estimating that for every four who are
pure and chaste, one is not, while others would reverse
these figures. Intemperance hi many places is
on the increase, country liquors giving way often to
foreign, though there is considerable improvement
under .the present liberal administration, especially in
the villages.
Notwithstanding all this, however, the> Indians are
an interesting people from whatever stand-point they
may be viewed.
2. MANNER OP LIFE.
In considering all these social matters it must be
borne in mind that there is great difference in the various
districts, and what is true in one, may not be true
in another ; but it would be very tedious to note them
all, even if one were sufficiently acquainted with them
all. That which is calculated to strike the stranger
first on his arrival in Oriental lands is the

DKESS. 47
DRESS,
of which there is great variety, each class and caste
having some article by which it may be distinguished
from others; and though at first the clothing may seem
so odd, and even fantastical, yet on a closer study and
acquaintance it will be seen generally adapted to the
people and the climate. In nothing is there more
variety than in the head-dress. Hindus, besides shaving
the face all but the mustaches, shave also the head
except a small top-knot, considered sacred, which they
allow to grow long and tie up in a knot. Numbers,
however, shave only the pate and keep the rest
cropped. Mohammedans revere the beard, sometimes
dyeing it red, but shave the head, wearing a skullcap
; as do also the Parsees, with the hair cropped.
The hat of the Parsee is not unlike a “stove-pipe,”
without brim and mashed flat at the top, which they
have adopted and modified from a merchant caste in
Guzerat. These hats are all of a dark color, except
those of the priests, which are white. The hat of the
Sindhee is the “
stove-pipe,” with the brim at the top.
The puggery, worn by most of the men, consists of a
narrow piece of cloth (cotton or silk) many yards in
length folded around and over the crown of the head,
the Brahmins with a broad brim (in Western India
like a cartwheel), the Purbhoos with narrow brim, the
Bunyas with a sharp point on top, etc., of various
colors; but that of the Mussulmans usually light and
plain with narrow brim. The Bengalis go bareheaded
on all occasions.
48 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
The Mussulmans (men and women) wear muslin
trousers, especially in western India. Those of the
Parsees are often made of silk of various bright colors.
As a rule, Hindus do not wear trousers, but a piece
of muslin folded around the loins and between the
legs, where the ends are left to dangle. On the upper
parts they wear a jacket, and over that usually a long
coat with sleeves (made of shirting or colored woolen
goods, according to the weather), the fastenings usually
being strings instead of buttons; but the country
people are content with a coarse woolen blanket.
Above all, a scarf is often worn Avrapped around the
shoulders, and permitted to hang down in graceful
folds. In full dress, the Parsees and Mohammedans
wear a long dress reaching to the ground, and kept in
its place by a 'girdle, like the Jews and Persians. A
peculiarity of all is the length and tightness of the
sleeves and legs, requiring much time in drawing on.
The proper dress of ladies is a tight>fitting jacket, and
a skirt made of a long piece of muslin folded around,
and hanging down, one end being thrown over the hejad
for a covering ; in addition to which Parsee ladies wear
a band or fillet over the head.
Many men and women go barefoot, but some wear
sandals of leather or wood, held on by the toes, and
others shoes usually without stockings, sometimes with
long sharp toes turned up after the manner of the
English, centuries ago. These are made so as to be
easily thrown off, and many persons turn down the
heels wearing them slipshod.
DWELLINGS. 49
Men sometimes wear rings on their fingers, and in
their ears, which like those of the North American
Indians are sometimes sadly hacked for this purpose.
But women want jewelry on nearly every part of the
body, ears, nose, neck, bosom, arms, wrists, fingers,
ankles, and toes, some so large and heavy as not only
to render them hideous, but to interfere with their
eating, working, and locomotion. They are made of
gold, silver, brass, ivory, or glass, some being very expensive,
and in the case of children, of whom they
sometimes constitute the whole apparel, they are occasionally
a temptation to the thief even to the peril of the
child's life.
With the exception of ornaments, however, the
dress is not usually very expensive, and many of the
poor clothe so simply and scantily, as to cost almost
nothing.
DWELLINGS.
The people of India know nothing of isolated private
residences, except what they have learned from
foreigners, but whether in town or country, their
houses are crowded together in unhealthy proximity.
With few exceptions, the streets are very crooked and
narrow, and the villages are often built merely on the
two sides of the public road. In large cities the houses
may be six or seven stories high, containing half a
hundred small low rooms, and sometimes nearly as
many families, for generally they do not require more
than one or two rooms for each, for sitting, eating,
cooking, sleeping and bathing. They are built of
4
50 INDIA AND BRITISH 1', fllMA If.
brick or stone with untempered mortar, the floor of
earth and the roof of tiles, very little wood being used.
The walls are stuccoed within and without, and the
floor smeared with cow-dung, which makes a strong
crust when dry. Fires are neither so common nor
destructive as elsewhere. In the villages the houses
are huts, with walls of mud, or rough stones and mud,
or small upright sticks, daubed with mud, with a coating
of cow-dung. The roof is of tiles, straw, grass,
or palm-leaves laid over small rafters. Though the
hut is small, yet likely one-half will be set apart for
cattle and goats, while the other will be occupied by
the family father, mother, children, and relations
happy as their brute companions.
The only articles of furniture required are the indispensable
upper and nether mill-stone and a few
earthen or copper vessels for holding water and eatables,
and for cooking the food, in partaking of which
they all squat around the vessel in which it has been
cooked, and make use of those primitive instruments,
the fingers, for knives, forks, and spoons, with occasionally
a plantain-leaf for a plate. The women usually
eat after the others are done.
In the cities many have rude chairs, tables, and
cots, with perhaps a small pallet to lie on, which they
can take up and walk, as the paralytic healed was ordered
by the Savior to do. But generally the only
article of bedding is the unfolded puggery or shouldercloth,
which they wear during the day, as in Moses'
time ; and in the warm weather thousands of them
DWELLINGS. 51
may be seen at night sleeping in the less frequented
streets, covered head and ears, with no chance for pure
air, which seems with them not to be a desideratum.
In the cold weather many may be seen in clumps,
squatted around a little fire, with their scanty clothes
drawn around them. But their greatest suffering is
when the heavy and continuous rains come, and, in
addition to their leaky huts, they can not change the
garments worn during the day.
Their religion requires bathing, and so hundreds at
a time may be seen at a stream or well, pouring water
over their bodies, and, when done, dexterously changing
their clothes. The first thing in the morning is to
wash their mouths and throats thoroughly with thenfingers
and a stick, till retching is produced, for the
purpose of expelling the devils that may have taken
up their abode in them during the night.
The only approach to an inn is dhurmsalas, provided
free in all the cities and towns and villages,
where travelers may cook their food, and sleep. They
are built by private charity usually, though regarded
as a public necessity, just as is the case with public
wells and tanks. The government chawady, where the
village authorities hold forth, is also used to accommodate
travelers, and is kept in better order generally
than the dhurmsala.
Rent, of course, is very low, but house-owners are
often hard on tenants.
52 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
The great article of food is rice, which grows more
or less abundantly in nearly all parts of India. On
the uplands native grains are largely consumed, and in
nearly all parts the indigenous fruits and vegetables
form an important article of diet. Beef, mutton, and
goat-flesh are consumed by Mohammedans, Parsees,
and not a few Hindus who can afford it ; also domestic
fowls, very few caring for wild-game, either for the
food or the sport.
The manner of cooking is to boil the rice till done,
and then pour off the water, leaving it quite dry and
unpalatable but for the highly seasoned vegetables and
curry which inevitably accompany it. Curry is a dish
made of dal, or some kind of vegetable or meat cut
up in small pieces, and cooked with cayenne pepper,
garlic, turmeric, coriander-seed, black pepper, fenugreek,
ginger, cumin-seed, mustard, mace, cinnamon,
cardamoms, and other spices, part or all, in varying
proportions, ground and mixed together. Many of
the people have little else than rice and pepper-water.
Grain is ground by two women, one on each side
of two stones, turning the upper one, just as they did
in Palestine two thousand years ago. The meal is
kneaded in an earthen or copper vessel, and drawn out
by the hand into thin cakes, which are baked on sheetiron
platters, and when eaten \\arra are not unpalatable.
Sometimes a layer of dal is placed between
two layers of dough, making a sweet and wholesome
cake. Sweetmeats made of milk, sugar, wheat, planFOOD.
53
tains, pop-corn, popped rice, parched grain, pea-nuts,
barley, and other grains, and also sugar-coated nuts,
oftentimes constitute the whole meal when one is away
from home, which may also be said of the native fruits
when in season.
Water is procured from wells, tanks, or streams,
the former of which are quite abundant, but the water
is not always pure. As wood is scarce, often selling
as high as two rupees per cwt., a common article
of fuel is dried cakes made from the ordure of cows
and horses mixed with a little straw, which burn readily
with great heat.
The morning meal is light, often consisting of a
cup of coffee or tea only, with a little bread, taken
early. In that case the principal meal will be about
noon, and a light one at night. But often there are
only two meals a day, one about nine o'clock in the
morning, and the other and principal one about dark,
or later.
Parsees will not prostitute fire to the base use of
smoking tobacco ; but most others, high and low, indulge
in a cigarette (generally made of a little tobacco
tied up in a dried leaf). No one will chew tobacco ;
but the betel-nut, with leaf and a little lime, takes its
place, promoting saliva in the same way, and dyeing
the teeth a filthy red.
When it is remembered that the two hundred and
fifty millions of India produce and consume less than
the fifty millions of the United States, it will be seen
that many of them must go hungry, especially in the
54 IXDIA AND BRITISH BUEMAH.
over-populated districts or where the soil is wanting in
fertility; and yet, in addition to the betel-nut, many
of them find money to spend on opium, arrack, or
bhang (the intoxicating liquor made from the juice of
the hemp). Mothers sometimes give opium to their
infants to keep them quiet, and ayahs require guarding
on this point.
MARKETS AND FAIRS.
In all the cities and large towns there are places set
apart with stalls for markets ; one for beef, another for
mutton, and another for fresh vegetables and fruits;
while grain is kept constantly for sale in shops.
But, besides the daily bazaar, there is one day in the
week in which a large fair is held, when produce is
brought in for miles around to be sold. In some
places many acres of ground are covered with loaded
carts from the country, and shops from the city, where
all sorts of ware are. exposed. It is usually the bunyas
who are first accommodated, they buying by
wholesale and selling by retail. In smaller towns and
villages this weekly fair is all the bazaar they have,
though small shops with grain and sweetmeats appear
in every hamlet of a dozen houses.
Their manner of marketing is to wrap up each
article purchased in a fold of the garment, in one
corner of which the money is also tied, and thus carry
it home, after the manner in which Ruth took the
grain given by Boaz. When larger quantites are
bought, hampers are used.
FESTIVALS AND MUSIC. 55
FESTIVALS AND MUSIC.
As festivals, though ostensibly for religious purposes,
have become with most df the people nothing
more than occasions of amusement and display, it is
proper to notice them here. On such occasions the
whole community take holiday, and come out in their
holiday attire ; while fruits, sweetmeats, and toys are
everywhere exposed for sale, to the no small profit
of the sellers. Also whirligigs, both upright and horizontal,
dazzle the eyes and brains of the young, much
the same as is done at English and American fairs by
the same kinds of swing, of which these are the archetypes.
Though these festivals occur very often, several of
them in each month of the year, yet it will be sufficient
to notice a few of the principal.
The Dewalee (row of lights) corresponds to the
Chinese feast of lanterns. For two nights every house,
large and small, is brilliantly lighted inside and out,
from top to bottom, while the people promenade the
streets, or drive out in every variety of vehicle, to
enjoy the grand illumination. Merchants and bankers
cast up their accounts, and over their account-books
worship Lukshmi, the wife of Vishnu and goddess of
wealth, it being the financial new year, or about the
end of October.
On Cocoa-nut Day, at the close of the festivities, a
grand procession is formed to the sea or some watercourse,
where offerings of cocoa-nuts are thrown into
the water to appease the angry sea-god, after which
56 INDIA . AND BRITISH B URMAH.
they suppose vessels may proceed in safety to sea.
This supposition is not at all correct ; for often there
is plenty of rain and -stormy weather thereafter, it occurring
about the end of August. This, perhaps, may
be attributed to the fact that the god does not get the
cocoa-nuts, but coolies, who run in and gather them up.
The Dussera is the feast of harvests, occurring
about the end of September, Avhen the people worship
their agricultural implements and their horses and
cattle, which they decorate with flowers, smearing the
horns with streaks of paint. In Bengal it is called the
Durga Pfija, being in honor of Diirga, the wife of
Shiv, and is the most splendid and expensive of all
the Hindu festivals, all business being suspended for
several days, while universal festivity prevails.
The great festival of Gunputty is very popular in
Western India. His disgusting image, made of clay,
is sold in large numbers. Some of them are very expensive,
and are kept in the house several days, offerings
of sweetmeats and flowers being made to them;
and finally, on the great day, they are brought out
and carried in great state in palanquins, accompanied
with a grand procession, dancing, and singing impure
songs.
But the most disgusting of all the Hindu festivals
is the Holee, corresponding to the saturnalia of the
ancient Romans. Men throw a kind of red powder
on each other, besmearing their faces and clothes, dress
in women's apparel, while they dance nearly all night
around a fire, get beastly drunk, and vie with each
FESTIVALS AND MUSIC. 57
other in the use of obscene language, too disgusting
even for Hindu women to listen to.
In the Nagpunchmi they worship the nag (snake),
and women and girls form a circle, going round and
round, and singing for hours ; at which time thousands
flock together and make merry. But for the convenience
of those who can not get out, snake-charmers
carry the reptile around to the houses.
Some Hindu festivals are for men only, and some
for women only, while most are for both.
The great occasion of the Mussulmans is the Mohurrum,
when they commemorate the deaths of Hoosein
and Hussein, the grandsons of Mohammed by his
favorite daughter Fatima. The division of the Mohammedans
into two great sects was occasioned by the
assertion of these two princes of the right of succession
to their grandfather, the prophet, in fighting for which
they were both slain at the famous battle of Kurbela.
This gave the caliphs undisputed sway. The Turks
and Arabs claim that the caliphs were the rightful successors,
and are called Soonees because they also receive
the traditions (soonas) ; while the Persians believe
that Ali and his two sons should have succeeded, and
.that their death was a great calamity. In either case
the month Mohurrum, in which the battle took place,
is a memorable one, and the festival is kept up for a
fortnight.
Among the Soonees it is a time of great rejoicing.
Some paint themselves as tigers with long tails, while
the yells of those leading and accompanying are not
58 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
much less frightful than they would be if they were
real tigers. On the last day they form into one grand
procession, and carry their mimic tombs, some of which
are very large and imposing, but only tinsel on a large
bamboo frame, with other funeral paraphernalia, to be
thrown into the sea or other water, the whole accompanied
with dancing and leaping of certain parties all
the way.
The Shiahs, on the other hand, keep it as an occasion
of mourning, and on the last evening a drama
depicting the scene of the return of the riderless horse
to the bereaved wife and children is enacted in the
great imambarra, during which some work themselves
up to such a frenzy that they beat their breasts till the
blood gushes out, and perfectly exhaust themselves,
as the dervishes of Turkey do on other occasions.
During the whole of the festival the air is made to
resound with the repetition, alternately, of the names
“
Hoosein, Hussein,” by both parties, but with different
expression, and many a conflict, bloody and fatal,
is prevented by the two parties being kept separate,
which is accomplished only by the vigilance of the
police.
The Parsees have no great festival of their own,
though they observe their new-year's day ; but they
manifest great facility in appropriating those of others,
especially the dewalee.
In all these festivals there is more or less of native
music, the only department in which they will not yield
the palm to Europeans ; and if deafening noise and
TEA VEL. 59
discordant sounds make music, then they ought to
bear the palm. Their tom-toms and tambourines certainly
excel in clatter, their cymbals in jingle, their
flutes and pipes 'and horns in shrillness, and their
stringed instruments in monotony. There is, however,
no accounting for tastes. But music amongst
them is mostly impromptu, and not studied as a science
; and hence, of course, is not appreciated by cultivated
ears. Nevertheless, many native airs, both
plaintive and gay, are pleasant to the ear, and some
of the people have good voices, which, when trained,
are quite entertaining, while some of the ladies, especially
among the Parsees, have learned to perform on
the piano.
Private nautch (dance) parties are sometimes given,
in which nautch-girls, in their gay dress of many folds,
dance and sing at the top of their voice far into the
night, no one else taking part, and native ladies declining
to attend.
Another divertisement is the theater, which is
patronized by Parsees and a few others, the main attraction
being the scenery and the cracking of low
jokes a veritable farce.
TRAVEL.
Formerly most people in India traveled on foot,
going thousands of miles with their pilgrim's staff and
wallet ; but the many means of locomotion which have
been introduced have largely done away with this ancient
mode. A few ride on elephants or camels or
60 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
horses, but more on ponies, with ropes on each side
of the blanket for stirrups. Bullock-carts covered
with bamboo-mats are a common vehicle in the country,
and the only ones suited to the country roads. In
cities bullock hackeries are common, being light and
often gayly painted and decorated, but so small that
it is unpleasantly crowded when two sit on a low seat
behind and two in front, with their legs hanging out.
The driver sits on the pole just behind the bullocks,
holding the reins (each end of which is fastened to the
nose of a bullock by a hole in the nostrils), and t\vi.sting
their tails to make them go.
In Central India is still used a very light vehicle,
made mostly of bamboo-poles and drawn by one horse
or pony, the driver sitting in front and one person on
each side, with legs hanging over the wheel. It is not
an uncommon sight to see a very small cart drawn by
one little bullock, with shafts fixed into the ends of a
piece of wood going over the neck, to which the neckband
is fastened. Though a very diminutive turn-out,
it may be laden with a family of half a dozen, or with
salt or other produce carried around for sale.
Once in a while you may see a man riding on a
bullock, or a man and his wife, after the manner of
Shiv and Durga, only he does not hold her in one
hand.
CHILDREN.
To improve the looks of their children when they
are very young, parents blacken their eyelids. Instead
of cradles with rockers, it is customary to have a little
CHILDREN. 61
cot so suspended as to swing, and those who can not
afford that make a hammock of a piece of cloth, and
hang up the child to the sport of the wind, while
they prosecute their daily duties. Sometimes, too,
the child is carried by fastening the end of the hammock
around the neck ; but the orthodox way of carrying
is astride the hip, which it seems to enjoy exquisitely
; and it is very convenient, for the child can
nurse as it goes, along. For a change, some carry it
astride the shoulder, but not in the arms, except when
very young. They learn to walk by the help of a
go-cart, and a few have adopted the perambulator.
The proper time for naming a child is on its tenth,
eleventh, or one hundred and first day, and that, like
other things, must be accompanied by certain rites
requiring the Brahmin priest, who must have his fees.
The names almost universally given to Hindoo boys
are those of the gods ; but girls, in addition to those
of the goddesses, may have those of the virtues ; as,
Grace, Mercy, Peace, etc. In addition to other names,
Mussulmans have the Arabic form of many Old Testament
names ; while the Parsees employ ancient Persian
names with some such cognomen as Toddywala,
Grasswala, Cooper, etc., borrowed from their occupation.
The father's given name becomes the surname
of the son, which is not used unless you ask for the
father's name.
Their toys consist of rattle-traps of wood or tin, whistles,
Avooden dolls painted up, wooden oxen, cloth monkeys
and elephants, toy wagons, etc. Boys play marbles ;
62 INDIA AND BRITISH BURNA II.
but instead of shooting with the thumb, they have a
novel way of pressing the taw with the finger of one
hand against the second finger of the other and drawing
it back, the rebound making it go with force and directness.
They are also very expert at, flying kites, and
some unfortunately learn to play cards. Girls play
“jackstones,” and acquire great skill in snatching up
a handful of stones (seeds of the jack-fruit or other
stones) in time to catch another stone thrown up by
the same hand. ' '
Hop-scotch
“
is common ; but one
of their most popular games is atyapdtya, or what
their Saxon cousins out here call
“
salts,” in which the
ground is divided into several squares, and one party
are to pass through all these while the other endeavor
to catch them, keeping on the lines of division.
The father who has education takes his boy to his
place of business, and teaches him to read, holding the
book hi the angle of two boards joined for a desk,
while he writes with his finger on a smooth board covered
with pipe-clay or other substance.
Though until recently very little was done in the
way of education, yet religious instruction has not
been neglected. All the ten sacraments are performed
before the boy's marriage, that being the tenth. Their
toys remind them of their gods, and very early they
are taken to the temple to make their offerings and
receive the “mark of the beast.” A whole group of
children may sometimes be seen standing before a
priest, singing most lustily, in concert or responsively,
a song to Gunputty or some other monster, accoinSOCIAL
CUSTOMS. 63
panied with gestures and genuflections. Some are early
put to work, but many lead lives of idleness till they
are nearly grown.
3. SOCIAL CUSTOMS.
MARRIAGE CEREMONIES.
As among all the great classes in India it is a disgrace
for children to grow up unmarried, it is incumbent
on the parents to look out early a suitable match
for their boys and girls, always, as in Abraham's case,
among their relations. Thus marriages often take place
in actual infancy, but oftener after the children are ten
or twelve years of age, still not old enough to have
any voice at all in the matter. When the offer is accepted
by the bride's parents mutual promises are
given, and the wedding-day appointed. The time is
in the evening, sometimes even as late as midnight, as
in the parable of the Ten Virgins. The higher classes
have carriages ; but if the parents have means at all,
or can borrow them, they at least have horses richly
caparisoned, on which the children sit, and if unable
to sit alone, are held on. Sometimes they are almost
concealed from head to foot with garlands of jasmine
flowers, and occasionally an umbrella is held over the
bridegroom, even though it is night. The bride's party
follow that of the bridegroom, and in the rear are persons
carrying the wedding presents, fruits, sweetmeats,
and paper ornaments, usually. The whole
procession is accompanied by all the lads of every
description and dress in the neighborhood, bearing
64 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
torches, and ever and anon there is quite a display
of fire-works. The musicians go in front, and continue
their trade at intervals, as long as the feast may last.
The ceremony may be performed in the house of
the bride's parents or elsewhere, sometimes on the side
of the road or in some unfrequented street, there being
no sidewalks in native towns. The priest beforehand
has been consulted as to the proper day, and now the
time-measuring cup is filled with water, indicating the
propitious moment. An unintelligible form of words
is muttered by the officiating priest or priests, accompanied
by signs and significant actions. Sometimes
the two parties are joined together by a girdle thrown
around them both and tied, and sometimes a kind of
grain is used, of which the bride takes up handfuls,
and, as fast as possible, throws them into the bridegroom's
face. An ancient custom was for the two
parties to go into the water along with a. priest, a cow,
and a calf. They joined hands, and all held the cow
by the tail with the disengaged hand, while water was
poured over it, and then the clothes of the contracting
parties were tied together. Then, giving the cow and
calf to the priest, they made their offerings to the
idols, and threw themselves flat upon the ground and
kissed it. The ceremony over, a feast is given, sometimes
by one party and sometimes by both, lasting
probably several days and nights.
The Parsees have large halls for these and other
ceremonies, where sometimes, as also with rich Hindoos
and Mohammedans, hundreds of people assemble.
TREATMENT OF WOMEN SUTTEE. 65
While the ceremony is being performed by the priests,
the parties face each other standing, but are kept apart
by a sheet till it is all over, when it is removed, to indicate,
of course, that they are no more twain, but one.
The festivities all over, the parties return to their respective
homes to await a fit age for living together,
Avhich is usually when they are still quite young.
The expenses of these weddings for dress, food,
jewelry, and priests is often enormous, amounting to
several years' income of the fathers.
TREATMENT OF WOMEN SUTTEE.
In most cases the wife is no companion of the husband,
but his slave; and hence, as with the African
slaves formerly, it is not considered necessary, or even
proper, that she have education. There is scarcely
any thing, however, for her to do but simple cooking
and waiting on her husband and sons, and yet, where
they are kept close in the zenana, as in the north and
east, this life of idleness is the most tedious and weary
of all. The mother-in-law has all authority over the
daughters-in-law in the house, and seldem fails to use
it ; so there is this encouragement to the young bride,
that some time in the future she may succeed to authority,
and take vengeance on her own daughters-in-law.
This monotonous and often hard life is one great
cause of the many suicides in India, those of females
largely preponderating ; another cause being the desire
to avenge some injury by laying the blame of the act
on the conscience of the enemy.
5
66 INDIA AND BRITISH BURMAH.
But, sad as may be the life of the married woman,
much sadder is that of the widow, who, in addition to
being forbidden to re-marry, is kept separate from the
rest of the family and allowed only one meal a day ;
in fine, treated as if guilty of her husband's death,
though, perhaps, having never lived with him at all.
As might be expected, this is a fruitful source of immorality,
and accounts largely, too, for the willingness
of some to perform suttee by either burning or burying
themselves alive with their dead husbands. Though
this was put down by Lord Bentinck about half a century
ago, yet isolated cases sometimes occur in defiance
of the law, and, a few years ago, on the death of a
native prince, all his wives performed suttee, the chief
one holding his head in her hands.
POLYGAMY AND INFANTICIDE.
The Mohammedans, though by the Koran allowed
to marry four wives, mostly content themselves with
one or two, the second being added to take the place
of the first when she is superannuated or otherwise
ineffective. But, what is still worse, many Parsees
and Hindus, who are not allowed two wives by their
religion, and hence not by British Indian law, have
one or more concubines, denominated “kept women,”
who, though usually supported by them, are not
brought to their house.
That form of polygamy which permits a woman to
have several husbands at the same time is not at present
prevalent in India to any great extent, but is
POLYGAMY AND INFANTICIDE. 67
found, to some extent, among a tribe of people in
Cashmere, and among the Koech and Telingese. It is
of the same character as that prevalent in Thibet,
whence it was introduced ; that is, brothers of the same
family have one wife between them, the eldest being
the principal husband. This seems to be a prostitution
of the levirate law of the Old Testament. Polyandria,
also, in its worst form, is found among several hilltribes
in the south-western ghats, the Tudas of the Nilgherries,
the Coorgs of Mysore, and the Nayars of
Malabar ; and has passed over to Ceylon, where it is,
perhaps, little else than licensed immorality.
It is highly probable that this immoral custom was
brought about originally by that other most unnatural
practice of infanticide, females only being put to death
to avoid the great expense of getting them married,
leaving, of course, a large preponderance of males.
This crime prevailed largely in Rajputana and other

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