Imatges de pàgina
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might easily transform them into the departing spirits of the propitiated dead."

In the chapter on Orthodox Marriages mention was made of the exceedingly simple marriage rites of the Badagas; their funeral ceremonies appear to be much more elaborate. When a person is seen to be dying, an exceedingly small gold coin is dipped in ghee and placed between the lips. If this is swallowed, so much the better; if not it is tied to the arm. This is supposed to pay the expenses of the journey to the next world. This small coin is said to be a Mysore one called a Birian-hanna or Viria raya and valued at a quarter of a rupee. After death, messengers are sent forth to call together friends and relatives, and also to summon Kōta musicians. A funeral car is erected with wood and branches of trees, all hung with cloth, and the body is placed on a cot underneath this construction. All the next day a kind of death dance is kept up; the relatives do not join in the dance but walk round the bier carrying food in their hands and repeating, with much weeping, the good qualities of the deceased. As with the Todas, a calf is chosen to be a kind of " scapegoat," and at this ceremony there appears to be much chanting of prayers, concluding as follows. "Let all his sins be forgiven, and may it be well with him, yea all be well." The body with the car is then taken and burnt near some neighbouring stream; the ashes being collected and thrown into the water.

THE KŌTAS, who act as musicians to the other hill tribes, appear in their funeral rites to copy both Badagas and Tōdas. They have the car like erection of the former, which they burn with the implements of the deceased. They also have a kind of Dry funeral in imitation of the latter, when skulls are placed on cots and burnt, together with bows and arrows, and various other implements.

THE KURUMBAS, another tribe described by Mr. Grigg, appear, when they can afford it, to administer the small gold coin to their sick when dying, in imitation of the Badagas; and they also place the body under a kind of car, hung with cloths. After danc

ing round the car to the sounds of music the corpse is burnt with the car and the ceremony is complete.

THE IRULAS, whose simple marriages we have already described, appear also to have very little by way of ceremony in the manner of disposing of their dead whom they bury. The body is placed in the grave in a sitting posture, with a lamp by its side; the friends dance round the grave for sometime, after which they fill it up and place a small upright stone to mark the spot. There appears to be no other funeral ceremony than this amongst these people.

These instances are given as they seem to be representative of the various funeral rites of the nonHinduised tribes of South India; and, as such, they may, perhaps, be, to a certain extent, representative of other parts of this vast country.

The three chapters on funerals may possibly be thought by the ordinary reader to be somewhat gruesome reading; but, perhaps, nothing serves better to illustrate the religious ideas of a people than a study of the mode in which they dispose of their dead, and their funeral rites generally. If the object in view is to learn something of the inner life of the people of India, these chapters may serve to assist in so desirable and interesting a study; and this being the case, it is felt that no apology is needed for dwelling in such detail, upon what must always, necessarily, be a melancholy subject.

CHAPTER XIX.

HINDU OMENS.

शकुनम्. (Shakunum).

Neither by explaining omens and prodigies, nor by skill in astrology and palmistry, nor by casuistry and expositions of holy texts let him (a Sannyasi) at any time gain his support. (Manu vi. 50.)

On omen is defined to be an occurrence that is supposed to portend, or show the character of some future event, or any indication, or action regarded as a foreshadowing. The belief in omens has existed in all ages and countries, and traces of it still linger in the most civilized and enlightened communities. This being the case, it is not to be wondered at that such belief pervades all classes in India, though probably, outside nations have little idea of the extent to which it dominates the every day life of the people.

The traveller, even the most unobservant, cannot fail to be struck with the peculiar objects, some most grotesque, and some even most obscene, that are put up in gardens and fields to protect the crops from the evil eye. It is with the object of protecting her child from the same baleful influence that a mother will deck it with some charm or some peculiar ornament. The inexpressibly obscene figures also that are sometimes seen over the gateways of Hindu temples, are placed there from the same motive-to protect the temple and its contents from the evil eye. Such superstitions too, as a belief in the good or evil influence of certain stars, or the conjunction of certain planets have wonderful hold upon the Hindu mind of every rank and station. Such things, too, as the supposed influence of certain numbers is one very largely believed in by the people generally; odd

numbers are thought to be lucky, whilst even numbers are unlucky; so, for instance, it because a matter of very great anxiety to a candidate in any public examination whether his number in the list of candidates should turn out to be an odd or an even one. The good or evil influences of certain gems, also, is so strongly believed in that knowledge on the subject has come to be a science! There is a book which treats of the nature of precious stones, and, amongst other things describes these which are lucky, and those which are the reverse; telling also the probable results of wearing the same. There is a verse bearing upon this in Manava Dharma Sastram which is as follows:

Together with all his food let him swallow such medical substances as resist venom; and let him constantly wear with attention such gems as are known to repel it. (vii. 218).

Any one who has had occasion to sell a horse to a Hindu will have noticed with what care the animal was examined to see if it had certain marks. These marks are not, as one might suppose, signs of breed or soundness; but certain configurations of the hair, showing whether the animal is a lucky or an unlucky one. The position and number of certain natural twirls, or twists in the hair, are taken as indication of the real value of the animal; a horse with unlucky marks is thought to be certain to bring misfortune, and hence it is very difficult to sell one to a Hindu that may be deficient in these so called marks.

These and numerous similar things which might be. alluded to, serve to show how superstition ridden is the Hindu, even in these days of intellectual progress; but the subject of this chapter has not to do with such things generally. Omens, as meaning things regarded as foreshadowing events, is the particular subject here intended. The Sanskrit word used for an omen at the head of this chapter, is Shakunam which means primarily a bird, and comes to mean an omen from the fact that in ancient days omens were largely decided by the flight of birds. This also, as is well known, was a feature in the auguries of the

ancient Romans. Ancient Hindu writings contain passages referring to portents and omens, and the passage quoted from Manu at the head of this chapter, does not mean that the art, or science of explaining omens is a disreputable one, rather the contrary ; all that it means is that a Sannyasi being one who is supposed to have finished having anything to do with sublunary affairs generally, must not, for the sake of acquiring gain even engage in what are ordinarily considered sacred employments.

A knowledge of omens is considered an art or science amongst the Hindus generally, and there is a book in Telugu, translated from the Sanscrit, upon this subject. The three divisions of this book are Palmistry, (Samudrikam), or the interpretation of spots on the body and of creases in the hands; Enquiry (Prashnam), or divination tried by dipping the hand into the Rámáyanam; and Omens. There is a class of people who are learned in omens and kindred subjects; the chief of these are the Astronomers or Astrologers (Jyotishka) who, as their name implies, are learned in the stars and occult matters generally. I have a copy in Telugu of the Shakuna bhargam, or the part on omens of this book, and perhaps the simplest thing to do will be to go through the book and freely select specimens of the various things there in enumerated as being ominous. The first we will notice.

are:

OMENS ON SETTING OUT ON A JOURNEY.

There are no less than forty-three different things enumerated as prognosticating good and thirty-four evil if any of them should happen just on setting out for a journey; for instance, to overhear a pleasant conversation, or to hear musical instruments, or to see a good blaze of fire; to meet a company of dancing girls, or a few young women; to meet an elephant, a horse, or a bullock, or even a corpse; to meet two Brahmans, or four Komaties, or a Sudra with a stick in his hand; to see in front of one flesh

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