Marriages between little girls and very old men are common in India. The Hindoo girls usually marry between the ages of seven and nine years, and the boys between twelve and fourteen. The wife must not only be of the same caste with her husband, but also of the same family. The Hindoo has a right to marry the daughter of his father, or of his mother’s brother. Parents cannot give a denial when their daughter is demanded, because brothers and sisters only, of the same caste, are forbidden to marry; but under that name the law includes the children of the father’s brothers, and of the mother’s sisters.
The ceremonies vary among different castes, and in different districts. The wealthy give very expensive entertainments, the cost of which is defrayed by the husband’s father. The practice likewise varies in regard to dowry. In the superior castes, the wife generally brings her husband a portion; but among the sooders, the bridegroom gives a sum of moneyto the bride’s father. One kind of the ancient Hindoo marriages required no ceremony but the mutual consent of the parties. Without witnesses, they exchanged necklaces or wreaths of flowers, the girl saying, “I am thy wife;” and the bridegroom replying, “It is true.” In the inferior castes the marriage ceremony is still very simple, but it is not considered legal unless performed in the presence of the chief of the tribe.
A singular custom has been said to prevail in a town of the Carnatic. When a young couple are conducted to the temple, the bride offers her hand to the priest, who cuts off the third and little finger at the second joint. In ancient times both parties sacrificed a joint of the finger; but as this sometimes made it difficult for the husband to follow his profession, the Bramins decided that the woman should make a double sacrifice, and lose two fingers instead of one. A woman of that caste considers it a disgrace to have all her fingers.
Before any match is concluded, great pains is taken to ascertain whether the aspect of the stars predicts a fortunate or unfortunate union. Marriages are solemnized only in February, May, June, October, and the beginning of November.
When a Hindoo has fixed his mind upon what he considers a suitable match for his son, he sends a stranger to sound the girl’s father, in order to save himself the shame of an open rejection. If the suggestion be favorably received, he goes and makes a formal proposition. He must be accompanied bysome married woman, by several relations, and a Bramin skilled to explain omens. To meet a dealer in oil, a dog that shakes his ears, a crow flying over their heads, and a hundred other such things, are considered signs so unlucky, as to make it necessary to defer the visit. He generally carries thepariam, a sum of money from four to six guineas, as the price of the girl. Such marriages are said to be bypariam. The bride’s father returns the visit with great ceremony and pomp, carrying presents to the bridegroom. After these formalities, the girl is considered as sold; but the match may be broken off, and thepariamreturned, if it be determined by a general meeting of the relatives, and sometimes of the whole caste, that the bride’s father has any justifiable reason for so doing. To avoid the expense of an entertainment which it is customary to give, thepariamis frequently paid on the wedding day; but some pay it a year beforehand. The bridegroom presents the bride with a piece of silk, which she wears on the wedding day. This garment is always silk, if the parties be ever so poor. If thepariambe in money, it is tied up in one corner of this robe; if it be a jewel, it is laid upon it.
There is another kind of marriage where thepariamis dispensed with. This is calledcannigadanam, which signifiesthe gift of a maiden.
When the day is fixed for the wedding, the bride’s father builds a bower of lattice-work in the courtyard of his house. The erection of thispendal, or marriage bower, is considered a publication of thebans, and friends and relations immediately pay a ceremonious visit. The female friends, walking under a canopy, bring presents of betel to the young couple. In the midst of the court is set up a stone image of Polear, god of marriage. The Bramins make offerings of cocoas, bananas, and betel, praying that the god would be propitious to the marriage. As soon as thependalis finished, the image is removed. The bridegroom, richly dressed, and accompanied by his friends in festal attire, is conducted to the house of the bride. Here a particular ceremony is performed, calledtaking away the looks; for the Hindoos believe the most deplorable consequences would ensue, if any person looked on the young man with envious, or malicious eyes. To avert this disaster, they prepare a basin of water colored red, which they turn round three times before the face of the bridegroom, and then throw it into the street; sometimes they tear a strip of cloth before him, and throw the pieces different ways; and sometimes they fasten certain mystic rings on the heads of the couple. The bridegroom and bride, splendidly dressed, are carried about for several days in palanquins, accompanied by a long train of relations and friends, some riding on horses, and some on elephants, preceded by musicians and dancing girls. These processions are generally in the evening, attended by illuminations and fireworks. While these ceremonies continue, the dancing girls meet in thependalmorning and evening, and rub the young couple withnaleng, the small green seed of a plant sacred to marriage.While the assembled guests are dining, the bride and bridegroom eat together from the same plate. This is the only time during her whole life that a Hindoo wife is allowed to eat with her husband. On the wedding day, the bride and bridegroom sit beside each other, at one end of thependal, which is lighted with a great number of lamps. The Bramins, on a raised platform, surrounded with jars of water, offer prayers to their gods. They then kindle the sacrificial fire, with various kinds of sacred wood, and repeat prayers and invocations, while they throw into the flames incense, sandal-wood, oil, butter, rice, and other things. When the prayers are ended, the father of the bride puts her hand within that of the bridegroom, calls the god of fire to witness his words, and then repeats after the Bramin: “I, ——, the son of —— and grandson of ——, give my daughter to thee, son of —— and grandson of ——.”
The Bramin breaks a cocoa-nut in two, blesses thetali, which all present are required to touch, and gives it to the bridegroom, who hangs it round the neck of the bride. Thetaliis a golden ornament for the neck, made in various forms, and is worn by all married women, in the same manner as the wedding-ring with us. The young couple walk three times round the fire, and the bridegroom swears in presence of the Bramin that he will take care of his wife. He then casts into the fire boiled rice and butter, and she casts in parched rice. The priest repeats prayers while he mixes a little saffron with raw rice. This he first sprinkles over the shoulders of the husband,and then of the wife; all who are present rise and perform the same ceremony, by way of benediction. In the marriages of princes, pearls are sometimes used instead of rice. The rest of the day is spent in diversions, and the last public procession takes place in the evening.
Next day, they hasten to pull down thependal; because it would be considered a very bad omen if it should happen to take fire. The bride is often so very young that she remains at her father’s house for a considerable time after the wedding. When this is the case, she is afterward given to her husband with similar ceremonies and festivities, called “the second, or little, marriage.” The Hindoo brides wear a hymeneal crown, and the color of the nuptial robe is golden yellow.
Until a wife becomes a mother, she is obliged to obey the commands of her mother-in-law, and sees her husband by stealth. The birth of a child is attended with many religious ceremonies. The husband, assisted by Bramins, sprinkles the house with holy water, and all the inmates anoint themselves with oil, and wash themselves. The mother is bathed, and drinks a certain beverage prescribed for such occasions. On the tenth day, friends and relations assemble to give a name to the infant; but the Bramin first consults the planets, endeavors by prayer to avert any evil influence, and ties azinar, or amulet, about the neck of the child. Presents are then made to the priests, and the ceremony is concluded with a feast and rejoicings.
The Hindoo women make no use of a cradle. The babe, unshackled by any clothing or bandages, is laid on a large piece of cloth stretched on pieces of wood, something like a small quilting frame. This is suspended by strong cords from the ceiling, and two women swing it, by pushing it from one to the other.
When the child has attained the age of six months, it is fed for the first time with rice prepared with milk and sugar. On this occasion a feast is made and all the relations invited.
If a child dies, the mother sits at the door, or by the river’s side, and utters loud lamentations, like the following: “Ah, my Huree-das, where has he gone? Who has taken my golden image? I never saw a face like unto his! He played round me like a golden top! Take me with thee!”
If any female neighbor tries to console her, she answers: “Ah, mother, the heart takes no advice. Was this a child to be forgotten? He had a forehead like a king! Since it was born the master never staid in the house; he was always walking about with the child in his arms! I nourished and reared him—where is he gone?”
While mourning in this way, they sometimes beat their foreheads, tear their hair, and roll about, as if in agony. Hindoo wives never call their husbands by name, but always say, “the master.”
Very singular customs prevail among the people called Garos. If a man’s wife prove unfaithful, he cannot obtain divorce, unless he chooses to give her all the property and children. A woman, on thecontrary, may part from her husband when she pleases, and by marrying another person, convey to him the whole property of her former husband. The children go with her, but their rank is decided by that of the father. If the wife has a lover, the husband may indeed kill him, but he incurs the resentment of all the man’s relations, and the woman would be very likely to revenge herself by transferring the property to a new husband. Divorces are, however, said to be rare. When a chief dies, his heir is any one of his sister’s sons, whom his widow may choose as a successor. If the youth is married, he immediately separates from his wife, who takes all his private fortune and his children; he marries the widow, and receives the wealth and rank of his predecessor. When the old lady dies, he is at liberty to choose a young wife, who, if she survive him, will, in her turn, select one of his sister’s sons. The wife of a chief, when she divorces her husband, is obliged to choose one from the same noble family. The red turban and bell-metal bracelets, which are bestowed with great ceremony on the new chieftain, do not always make him contented with a partner so much older than himself. One, who was almost a boy, complained to an Englishman, with great simplicity, that he had married a toothless old woman, while his poor cousin had a pretty young wife, with whom he could play all the day long.
The Bramins, by a peculiar custom, often take wives against their own will. If a father has a marriageable daughter, on whom he wishes to see conferredthe privileges belonging to a Bramin’s wife, he invites the Bramin to his house, and introduces the girl to him; she respectfully offers her hand to the unsuspecting visiter, and the moment he takes it, her father begins to repeat the genealogy of his family. This constitutes a legal marriage, and there is no way of escape from it.
Some writers have mentioned a tribe in the Carnatic, whose women are not allowed to be seen by any man, not even their husbands, who visit them only in the dark. Shut up in secluded apartments with their female companions, they employ themselves in weaving mats and baskets, and similar occupations. Even their sons are taken from them at three or four years old, and never suffered to look on them again. Women of their own tribe nurse them when they are ill, and when dead, their husbands sew them up in a sack, before they are carried to the funeral pile. This singular tribe was never large, and is now said to be nearly extinct.
The clothing of the Hindoos is seldom washed; for neatness is not their characteristic. The fashion of their garments is modest; the arms and upper part of the neck only being uncovered. Women of all castes, throughout India, load themselves with jewels. Common bracelets are made of vitrified earth, green, yellow, and black. Another kind are made of glass, and esteemed beautiful in proportion to the closeness with which they fit to the arm. Blood is often drawn, and the skin rubbed off, in getting them over the hand; and as they are continuallybreaking, the poor girls suffer not a little for their vanity. Gems, gold, and rare shells, exquisitely manufactured, are worn in the utmost profusion by those who can afford them. The loss of the precious metals in India, by friction alone, is said to be immense. The fashion is of ancient date, for the oldest statues of their gods and goddesses are almost buried in jewels.
Females of the higher castes, married or unmarried, never go abroad alone, and without being completely veiled. If by any accident their faces happen to be uncovered, and they meet a European, they run, as fast as they can, into the first Hindoo house that has an appearance of respectability. In the interior of the country, a whole village of women are put in consternation by the sight of a European; this is probably in some measure owing to the insults of intoxicated soldiers.
The rajpoots, one of the military tribes of Hindostan, treat their women with an unusual degree of respect. A rajpoot never forgives an insult offered to his wife or daughter, and nothing but the death of the culprit can atone for his offence. None but the grandees avail themselves of the privilege to take several wives; and even they seldom do it, except from political considerations. Their married women never visit any but their nearest relatives; and any female would be very much ashamed of being seen in public. The rajpoots, though exceedingly kind husbands and sons, have one strangely unnatural custom; they put to death new-born female infantswhen they have no prospect of an advantageous settlement for them. The daughters which they bring up are kept most rigidly secluded from society. Merely to have been seen by any other man than their very nearest relation is considered pollution. The rajpoots carry this feeling so far, that when they cannot escape from a besieging enemy, they murder all their women, to prevent their being seen by strangers.
The Mahrattas of Hindostan form a kind of military republic, and live in a miserably uncleanly, half-barbarous manner. The women have very little beauty, and have generally a bold look, different from any other Hindoo females. The poor sling their children over their shoulders in a bag, and march thus a whole day, without any apparent fatigue. They accompany the army on horseback, with faces uncovered, and seated in the same manner as the men. A circumstance related by Broughton, in his Letters, gives us reason to think highly of the morals of this rude tribe. A young girl served in Sindia’s army two or three years, without being discovered. She gained the confidence of her superiors, and the regard of her associates, by conduct remarkably regular and exemplary. She always dressed her own dinner, and ate it by herself; and she was never seen to wash in the presence of any person. The secret which she took so much pains to conceal, was discovered by a young comrade, who followed her when she went to bathe. As soon as it was known that a woman had served so long and sofaithfully in the army, Sindia made her flattering offers of promotion in the corps to which she belonged, and his wife proposed to receive her into her own household; but Jooruor Singh, as the young soldier was named, refused all patronage, and continued to serve for some months. She was about twenty-two years of age, with a fair and interesting countenance, though not handsome. She frankly answered questions concerning her situation, alike without bashfulness or boldness. It was finally discovered that the affectionate creature had encountered the fatigues and perils of military life with the hope of raising money enough to liberate a beloved brother imprisoned at Bopal. As soon as this circumstance became known to Sindia, he discharged her from the army, made her a liberal donation, and gave her a letter to the nabob of Bopal, earnestly recommending her and her brother to his protection.
It is very much to the honor of all parties, that Jooruor Singh, from the moment she was known to be a woman, received increased deference and attention; not even the meanest soldier presumed to utter an offensive word in her presence.
This furnishes a good commentary on the severe but often-evaded laws of the harem. Perfect external freedom is always the greatest safeguard of virtue.
The Nairs, on the coast of Malabar, have very extraordinary customs, for the origin of which it is difficult to account. Their women are beautiful and remarkably neat. They are usually married before they are ten years of age; but it would be deemedexceedingly indecorous for the husband to live with his wife, or even to visit her, except as an acquaintance. She lives with her mother, and prides herself on the number of her lovers, especially if they be Bramins or rajahs; but if any of them were her inferiors, she would be immediately expelled from her caste, which is the greatest misfortune that can befall a Hindoo. Owing to these strange customs, a Nair has much more affection for his sister’s children than for those of his wife, and no one is offended at being asked who is his father. The husband is, of course, the lover of some other married dame. If he offers the lady cloth for a dress, and she accepts it, the matter is settled, until they see fit to change. Sons inherit the fortune of the maternal grandfather. The heir apparent to the throne of Travancore is not the son of the rajah’s wife, but of his oldest sister, who is treated as queen.
The Nairs treat their mothers with the utmost respect, and have a filial regard for maternal uncles and aunts; but they scarcely notice their fathers, and have little affection for brothers and sisters. Yet notwithstanding this allowed profligacy, these singular people are very jealous of the honor of their women. An intrigue with a European, or one of a different tribe, would be punished with death. The Bramins indeed are allowed to be the lovers of wives and daughters of the other superior castes; their proposals are deemed too great an honor to be refused. The disgusting class called fakirs likewise obtain great influence over the minds of women bytheir ostentatious sanctity. They often carry beautiful girls to their temples, under the pretence that the god has chosen them for wives; and this is considered an enviable distinction. The women among the Nairs go with the upper part of the person entirely uncovered; as is generally the case throughout Malabar, and even in the southern parts of the peninsula. They have their ears bored in childhood, and in order to enlarge the aperture, they put in a rolled leaf of the cocoa tree, or suspend a piece of lead; afterward they insert small round ivory cases. They wear the hair flowing loosely behind, or hanging in several tresses curiously braided. It is never cut off, except in seasons of mourning, or as a punishment.
The women in this part of Hindostan have a singular custom. When a young girl is betrothed, when she is married, and when a son is born, all the female relatives meet at her house, and make the event known to the neighbors by a long, loud, monotonous howl, which one would suppose was intended to express any thing but joy.
There is a caste in Hindostan, comprising all painters and gilders, in which brothers marry their sisters, and uncles their nieces.
At funerals, hired female mourners tear their hair, beat themselves, and utter dismal cries. The custom of widows burning themselves upon the funeral pile of their husbands is not commanded as a religious duty in any of their sacred writings; but enthusiastic devotees have been led to sanction the cruel ceremonyby the following text: “The woman who dies with her husband shall enjoy life eternal with him in heaven.”
A woman who resolves upon this sacrifice, abstains from food as soon as her husband is dead, and continually repeats the name of the god he had worshipped. When the hour arrives, she adorns herself with rich clothes and jewels, and goes to the funeral pile, attended by her relations and friends, with the sound of musical instruments. The Bramins give her drink in which opium is mixed, and sing songs in praise of heroism. It is said that before the ceremony they try to dissuade her from her project; but the resolution once taken is sacred. One of them being warned of the pain she would endure, held her finger in the fire for some time, and then burned incense on the palm of her hand, to prove her contempt of suffering. Mr. Forbes mentions a female whose husband had amply provided for her by will, and, contrary to the usual custom of the Hindoos, had made her perfectly independent of his family. “She persisted in her determination to accompany him to a better world, and suffered not the tears and supplications of an aged mother and three helpless infants to change her purpose. An immense concourse of people of all ranks assembled, and a band of music accompanied the Bramins, who superintended the ceremony. The bower of death, enwreathed with sacred flowers, was erected over a pile of sandal-wood and spices, on which lay the body of the deceased. After various ceremonies, the music ceased,and the crowd in solemn silence waited the arrival of the heroine. She was attended by her mother and three lovely children, arrayed in rich attire, and wearing the hymeneal crown. After a few religious ceremonies, the attendants took off her jewels, and anointed her dishevelled hair with consecrated ghee, as also the skirts of her yellow muslin robe. She then distributed her ornaments among weeping friends, while two lisping infants clung around her knees to dissuade her from the fatal purpose; the last pledge of conjugal love was taken from her bosom by an aged parent in speechless agony. Freed from these heart-piercing mourners, the lovely widow, with an air of solemn majesty, received a lighted torch from the Bramins, with which she walked seven times round the pyre. Stopping near the entrance of the bower, for the last time she addressed the fire, and worshipped the other deities prescribed; then setting fire to her hair and the skirts of her robe, to render herself the only brand worthy of illuminating the sacred pile, she threw away the torch, rushed into the bower, and embracing her husband, thus communicated the flames to the surrounding branches. The musicians immediately struck up the loudest strains, to drown the cries of the victim, should her courage have forsaken her; but several of the spectators declared that the serenity of her countenance and the dignity of her behavior surpassed all the sacrifices of a similar nature they had ever witnessed.”
Such an event is deemed very glorious to the familyof the victim, and that of her husband. They are proud of her in proportion to the calmness and heroism with which she meets her fate. If the resolution of the poor creatures fail them at the last moment, they bring irretrievable disgrace on their connections. If they try to go back, they are often put to death by relatives, or expelled from their caste, and forever cut off from all intercourse with relations or friends. But notwithstanding religious enthusiasm, and the prejudices of education, they are not always resigned to their cruel fate.
In 1796, the widow of a Bramin determined to be burned with the body of her husband. It was dark and rainy when the pile was lighted, and when she began to be scorched by the flames, she crept away unperceived, and hid herself in the brushwood. It was soon discovered, and they dragged her forth. Her own son insisted that she should be thrown on the pile again, or else hang herself. She pleaded hard for life, but pleaded in vain. The son said he should be expelled from his caste, unless the sacrifice were completed, and that either he or she must die. Finding her still unwilling to destroy herself, the son and his companions bound her limbs and threw her on the funeral pile, where she quickly perished. The bones are carefully collected in vases, and thrown into some sacred river. The next day the Bramins sprinkle milk and consecrated water over the place, and sometimes erect a chapel.
It not unfrequently happens that a number of wives are burned at once with the dead body of their husband;and a willingness to make this sacrifice is said to be still more a point of honor with mistresses than with wives. When the chief Rao Lacka died, fifteen mistresses perished with him, but not one of his wives offered to sacrifice herself. A Koolin Bramin of Bagnuparu had more than a hundred wives, twenty-two of whom were consumed with his corpse. The fire was kept kindled for three days, waiting the arrival of the numerous victims. Some of them were forty years old, and others no more than sixteen. Nineteen of them had seldom even seen the husband with whom they consented to perish.
It is said the widows of Bramins less frequently immolate themselves than women of the other superior castes, because the Bramins often take wives without any inclination for the union on either side.
In 1819, a girl of fifteen determined to become a suttee.[6]The person to whom she had been betrothed died when she was six years old, and, according to custom, she had ever after remained unmarried. No entreaties could prevail on her to consent to live. She asked for a fiddle which had belonged to her betrothed, and jumped into the flames.
Among the Mahrattas, and some other tribes, whose custom it is to bury their dead, the sacrifice is made in a different manner. The widow is escorted to the grave by a solemn procession; having listened to the exhortations of the Bramins, and parted her jewels among friends, she places upon her head a pot filled with rice, plantain, betel, and water; thenwith clasped hands she bids farewell to the spectators, and descends into the grave by means of a bamboo ladder; she seats herself by the body of her husband, the ladder is drawn up, and the music resounds, while the relatives throw in a quantity of earth to suffocate the poor creature.
The Shaster, or Hindoo Bible, forbids a woman to see dancing, hear music, wear jewels, blacken her eyebrows, eat dainty food, sit at a window, or view herself in a mirror, during the absence of her husband; and it allows him to divorce her if she has no sons, injures his property, scolds him, quarrels with another, or presumes to eat before he has finished his meal.
Truly, in no part of the world does the condition of women appear more dreary than in Hindostan. The arbitrary power of a father disposes of them in childhood; if the boy to whom they are betrothed dies before the completion of the marriage, they are condemned forever after to perpetual celibacy; under these restraints, if their affections become interested and lead them into any imprudence, they are punished with irretrievable disgrace, and in many districts with death; if married, their husbands have despotic control over them; if unable to support them, they can lend or sell them to a neighbor; and in the Hindoo rage for gambling, wives and children are frequently staked and lost; if they survive their husbands, they must pay implicit obedience to the oldest son; if they have no sons, the nearest male relative holds them in subjection; and if there happen to be no kinsmen, they must be dependent on thechief of the tribe. Having spent life with scanty opportunities to partake of its enjoyments, they become objects of contempt if they refuse to depart from it, in compliance with a most cruel custom.
The self-immolation of widows is of great antiquity. The natives have a tradition that women many centuries ago frequently murdered their husbands; and the Bramins, finding the severest punishments of no avail, put an effectual check to it, by saying it was the will of the gods, that widows should be burned on the funeral pile of their husbands.
The English government have made great exertions to abolish this abominable practice, and it is now prohibited by law in every part of British India.
The Hindoo character is proverbial for patient mildness; yet their religious superstitions continually lead them to the most ferocious deeds. Fond as the women are of their children, they make a great merit of throwing them to the sacred crocodiles, and not unfrequently cast them from steep rocks, in fulfilment of some superstitious vow.
They themselves undergo the most frightful penances, and willingly lie down to be devoured by crocodiles, or crushed beneath the car of Juggernaut. Among the lighter penances, is that of conveying a great quantity of water from the sacred Ganges to a temple at some distance. Women of the higher castes, being unwilling to appear in the streets, hire others to perform this expiatory duty for them.
The Rev. Dr. Buchanan, in his description of the sacrifices at the temple of Juggernaut, says: “Atthe place of skulls, I beheld a poor woman lying dead, or nearly dead, with her two children by her, looking at the dogs and vultures which were near. The people passed by without noticing the children. I asked them where was their home. They said they had no home but where their mother was.”
This bigoted attachment to customs so horrid and unnatural, is remarkable in a people who are so tolerant of the opinions of others. It is a singular fact that the Hindoos reverence the objects held sacred by other nations; hence their women and children are frequently seen bringing offerings of fruit and flowers to the mosque of the Mohammedan, and the chapel of the Catholic. They say, “Heaven is like a palace with many doors, and every one may enter in his own way.”
The custom of murdering female infants, which formerly prevailed throughout several districts in India, is so unnatural that it could not be believed, if it were not proved beyond all possibility of doubt. The horrid act was generally done by the mothers themselves, either by administering opium as soon as a child was born, smothering it, or neglecting the precautions necessary to preserve life. Now and then a wealthy man saved one daughter, especially if he had no sons; but the practice of infanticide was so general, that when the young men wanted wives, they were obliged to seek them in such neighboring tribes as their laws permitted them to marry. The marquis of Wellesley, during his government in India, made great exertions to havethis abominable custom abolished; but the natives were very stubborn in their prejudices. They urged the natural inferiority of females, the great responsibility which attended their bringing up, and the expense incident upon their marriages. The arguments of the English, aided by the influence of certain solemn sentences from some of their sacred books, did, however, at last persuade them to abolish the barbarous practice. Colonel Walker was the British officer who, after much difficulty, prevailed on the Jarejah tribe to relinquish the custom. A year or two after, many of the Jarejah fathers and mothers brought their infant daughters to his tent, and exhibited them with the utmost pride and fondness. Grateful for the change produced in their habits, the mothers placed their children in colonel Walker’s hands, called themhischildren, and begged him to protect those whom he had preserved.
The gentle and inoffensive character of the Hindoos is not without exceptions. Bands of robbers infest the more northern parts; and some of them make use of a singular stratagem to decoy travellers. They send out a beautiful woman, who with many tears complains of some misfortune that has befallen her, and implores their protection. No sooner has the unwary traveller taken her behind him on horseback, than she strangles him with a noose, or stuns him with a blow on the head, until the robbers come from their hiding-place, and complete his destruction. It is generally supposed that these murderers came into India with the Mohammedan conquerors.
The Hindoos are very fond of shows and amusements; but in these the women, especially of the higher classes, have little share. The female pastimes consist principally of bathing, dressing, chewing betel, listening to story-tellers, and playing a species of draughts.
In March the Hindoos keep a great festival calledhohlee; and it is a singular coincidence that during one of these holydays it is common to send people on absurd errands, in order to create a laugh at their expense, just as we do on the first of April. They likewise divert themselves with throwing about great quantities of earth used in painting, and known by the name of India red. The sport is to cast it into the eyes, mouth, and nose. Sometimes it is powdered with talc to make it glitter, and then if it gets into the eyes it is very painful. They likewise splash each other all over, with squirts filled with orange-colored water, made of the flowers of thedaktree. These frolics usually take place under the front awning of wealthy houses, or the terraces of the gardens, but sometimes within the buildings. A rajah, surrounded by his numerous wives, has a fair chance to get his full share of powdering and drenching.
The hohlee is observed by all classes throughout Hindostan, with the most boisterous merriment. The utmost freedom is allowed to all ranks. Young men and old parade about the streets, singing indecent songs. Sometimes an individual dresses himself up in the most fantastic style, to personify thehohlee, and is followed by crowds throwing red dust and orange-colored water. This custom, which is said to be connected with some religious tradition, is very similar to the observance of the carnival in Catholic countries. The Hindoo ladies have their share of the festivities; but no one is allowed to join their parties except their husbands, or very young brothers.
The wives of jugglers follow the same profession as their husbands. It is a common sight to see young women walking on their heads, with their feet in the air, turning round like a wheel, or walking on their hands and feet, with the body bent backward.
A recent traveller thus describes one of the tricks which he saw performed: “A young and beautifully formed woman fixed on her head a stiff strong fillet, to which were fastened, at equal distances, twenty pieces of string, with a noose at the end of each. Under her arm she carried a basket containing twenty eggs. She advanced near us, and began to move rapidly round upon a spot not more than eighteen inches in diameter, from which she never deviated for an instant, though her rotation became so exceedingly rapid as to render it painful to look at her. She absolutely spun round like a top. When her body had reached its extreme point of acceleration, she quickly drew down one of the strings, which had formed a horizontal circle round her, and put an egg into the noose. She then jerked it back to its original position, and continuing her gyrations withundiminished velocity, she secured all the eggs in the nooses prepared for them, until they were all flying around her head in one unbroken circular line. After this she continued her motions with undiminished velocity for at least five minutes, then seized the eggs one by one, and replaced them in the basket. This being done, she stopped in an instant, without the movement of a limb, or the vibration of a muscle, as if she had been suddenly transformed to marble. She received our applauses with a calm countenance, and an apparent modesty of demeanor, which was doubtless the result of constitutional apathy, rather than refinement of feeling; for these jugglers are generally among the most depraved of their caste.”
The reputed wealth and fertile soil of Hindostan have attracted foreigners from all parts of the world. Some entered as conquerors, some sought refuge from persecution, and others went there for commercial purposes. The peculiar manners of these different nations have become too variously modified to be particularly described. The Mohammedans, who obtained certain districts by conquest, are extravagantly fond of pomp and splendor. The nabob Asuf gave a proof of this in the wedding of his adopted son Vizier Aly. The bridegroom was about thirteen years of age, the bride ten. The prince could hardly move under the weight of his jewels. The procession consisted of about twelve hundred elephants richly caparisoned, of which one hundred in the centre hadhoudas, or castles, on their backs,covered with silver. In the midst was the nabob himself, within ahoudacovered with gold and set with precious stones. On both sides of the road was raised artificial scenery of bamboo-work, representing arches, minarets, and towers, covered with lighted glass lamps. On each side were carried platforms, covered with gold and silver cloth, on which were musicians and dancing girls superbly dressed. The ground was inlaid with fireworks, and at every step of the elephants, rockets and fiery serpents shot forth, kindling the night into day. Three thousand flambeaux were likewise carried by men hired for the occasion.
The palanquins in which the wealthy are carried are sometimes very magnificent. They are painted and gilded, ornamented with gold, silver, and jewels, with cushions and coverings of crimson velvet.
The religion of Brama, as well as that of Mohammed, forbids women to appear in public; but the lower classes of Hindoos do not attempt to comply with the inconvenient requisition. The Mohammedan women, on the contrary, are extremely punctilious on this point; even the poorest never venture out of doors without being enveloped in a cotton veil made like a bag, with a slight net-work over the eyes and mouth. Those who cannot afford to travel in palanquins, ride astride on a bullock, which has a bell suspended to the neck, and a bridle passed through the nostrils. A more uncouth or unpleasant sight cannot well be imagined, unless it might be a shrouded corpse thus mounted.
Mrs. Graham, in her very entertaining account of India, gives the following description of a visit to the harem of a Mohammedan chief: “My sister and I were allowed to enter, but we could by no means persuade the cazy to admit any of the gentlemen of our family. We ascended to the women’s apartment by a ladder, which is removed when not in immediate use, to prevent the ladies from escaping. We were received by the cazy’s wife’s mother, a fine old woman dressed in white, and without ornaments, as becomes a widow. The cazy’s mother, and the rest of his father’s widows, were first presented; then Fatima, his wife, to whom our visit was paid; and afterward his sisters, some of them fine, lively young women. They all crowded round us to examine our dress, and the materials of which it was composed. They were surprised at our wearing so few ornaments; but we told them it was the custom of our country, and they replied that it was good. I was not sorry they so openly expressed their curiosity, as it gave us a better opportunity of gratifying our own. The apartment in which we were received was about twenty feet square, and rather low. Round it were smaller rooms, most of them crowded with small beds, with white muslin curtains; these were not particularly clean, and the whole suit seemed close and disagreeable. Most of the women were becomingly dressed. Fatima’s arms, feet, and neck were covered with rings and chains; her fingers and toes were loaded with rings; her head was surrounded with a fillet of pearls, some strings ofwhich crossed it several ways, and confined her hair, which was knotted up behind. On her forehead hung a cluster of colored stones, from which depended a large pearl, and round her face small strings of pearl hung at equal distances. Her ear-rings were very beautiful; but I do not like the custom of boring the hem of the ear, and studding it all round withjoys, or jewels; and not even Fatima’s beautiful face could reconcile me to the nose jewel. Her large black eyes (thechesme ahoo, or stag eyes, of the eastern poets) were rendered more striking by the black streaks with which they were adorned, and lengthened out at the corners. The palms of her hands, the soles of her feet, and her nails, were stained with henna, a plant, the juice of whose seeds is of a deep-red color.”
“Fatima’s manner is modest, gentle, and indolent. Before her husband, she neither lifts her eyes nor speaks, and hardly moves without permission from the elder ladies of the harem. She presented us with perfumed sherbet, (a drink little different from lemonade,) fruit, and sweetmeats, chiefly made ofghee, poppy seeds, and sugar. Some of them were tolerably good, but it required all my politeness to swallow others. Prepared as I was to expect very little from Mussulman ladies, I could not help being shocked to find them so totally devoid of cultivation as I found them. They mutter their prayers, and some of them read the Koran, but not one in a thousand understands it. Still fewer can read their own language, or write at all; and the only workthey do is a little embroidery. They string beads, plait colored threads, sleep, quarrel, make pastry, and chew betel, in the same daily round. It is only at a death, a birth, or a marriage, that the monotony of their lives is interrupted. When we took leave, we were sprinkled with rose-water, and presented with flowers, and betel nut wrapped in the leaves of an aromatic plant.”
Yet where talent exists it has sometimes found means to manifest itself, even within the circumscribed limits of the harem.
Many beautiful designs for Cashmere shawls, embroidery, and printed cottons, have been designed by these secluded women. Mherul-Nisa, afterward favorite sultana of Jehangire, emperor of Hindostan, being shut up with other slaves in a mean apartment of the seraglio, exerted her ingenuity to increase her scanty support. She embroidered splendid tapestry, painted silks with exquisite skill, and invented a variety of fanciful ornaments. These being extensively bought, and much admired in the city of Delhi, excited the emperor’s curiosity. He paid her a visit; and from that moment she never lost the extraordinary influence which she suddenly acquired over him. She became his favorite wife, under the title of Noor Jehan, signifyingthe light of the world; her relations were placed in the principal employments of the empire, ranked with princes of the blood, and admitted to the private apartments of the seraglio; her name was stamped on the coin with that of the emperor; and the most expensive pageants, consistingof music, fireworks, and illuminations, were continually kept up to please her.
The discovery of that exquisite perfume called attar of roses is attributed to Noor Jehan. She had not only baths, but whole canals, filled with rose-water, that she might enjoy its fragrance. One fine morning, walking with the emperor along one of these canals, in his magnificent gardens at Cashmere, she observed a fine scum floating on the surface. She took up some of it, and perceived that it yielded a powerful odour. She caused the chemists to examine it, and from it they produced the essence which has ever since commanded so high a price. Noor Jehan gave it the name of Atyr Jehangire, in honor of her husband, and introduced the use of it throughout Hindostan.
Among the foreign nations settled in India are the Parsees, descendants from the ancient Persians, who, like them, worship fire and sun, not as God, but as his most perfect symbol. There are among them holy women, who keep a perpetual fire burning before their habitations, and are very strict in the observance of religious rites; these women are held in the highest veneration.
The Parsees, like most other oriental women, are in the habit of bringing water on their heads from the rivers and wells. They are well shaped, and almost as fair as Europeans. They have large black eyes, and aquiline noses. They are married very young, but generally remain with their parents some time after the wedding. The Parsees are allowed tomarry but one wife, and she must be of their own nation.
The Hindoos in general believe in witchcraft. If the crops are blighted, sickness prevails, or any unusual misfortunes occur, they write the names of all the women in the village on branches of the saul-tree, and let them remain in water four hours and a half; if any branch withers, the person whose name is on it is decided to be a witch. Other superstitious ordeals are likewise resorted to, and certain forms of investigation are gone through with, which not unfrequently end in the death of the accused.
They believe in the existence of demons, and use various exorcisms to expel them from those who are possessed. Women are almost always the persons in whom these evil spirits are supposed to have fixed their residence.
The Hindoos people the stars, the air, the woods, and the ocean with deities; among which the goddesses are about as numerous as the gods. The two most conspicuous are Saraswadi, goddess of literature and the arts, and Parvati, goddess of time and of enchantments; the latter, like Venus, was born of the foam of the sea, and is the mother of Love. The Hindoo Cupid is called Camdeo, or Manmadin. His bow is of sugar-cane, his arrows made of flowers, and pointed with honey-comb. He is usually represented riding on a parrot, and is particularly worshipped by women desirous to obtain faithful lovers and good husbands.
English residents are numerous in Hindostan,where they preserve their national customs, slightly varied by climate and surrounding circumstances. India has been a great marriage-market, on account of the emigration of young enterprising Englishmen, without a corresponding number of women. Faded belles, and destitute female orphans, were sure of finding husbands in India. Some persons actually undertook to import women to the British settlements, in order to sell them to rich Europeans, or nabobs, who would give a good price for them. How the importers acquired a right thus to dispose of them is not mentioned; it is probable that the women themselves, from extreme poverty, or some other cause, consented to become articles of speculation upon consideration of receiving a certain remuneration. In September, 1818, the following advertisement appeared in the Calcutta Advertiser: “Females raffled for. Be it known that six fair pretty young ladies, with two sweet engaging children, lately imported from Europe, having the roses of health blooming on their cheeks, and joy sparkling in their eyes, possessing amiable tempers, and highly accomplished, whom the most indifferent cannot behold without rapture, are to be raffled for next door to the British Gallery. Twelve tickets at twelve rupees each; the highest of the three doubtless takes the most fascinating.”
The wives of respectable Hindoos are very rarely seen in the street with their husbands, unless they are going a journey. When they see an English-woman walk arm-in-arm with her husband, they areexceedingly shocked, and exclaim, “Oh! ah! do you see this? They take their wives by the hand and lead them about, showing them to other English. These people have no shame.”
The inhabitants of Thibet are marked by a Chinese cast of countenance; small black eyes, with long pointed corners, with eyelashes and eyebrows extremely thin. Ladies of rank extend the corner of the eyelids towards the temples as far as possible, by artificial means. They are fond of ornaments, and wear a profusion of coral and amber necklaces, to which are suspended images of their gods, forms of prayer, or sentences from their sacred writings. The most wealthy wear chaplets of large gems, such as rubies, lapis-lazuli, &c.; and their black hair is, on state occasions, almost entirely concealed by heaps of pearl, emeralds, and coral.
Matrimony is rather dishonorable in Thibet. A marriage contract forms an almost insuperable obstacle to the attainment of political rank or influence. Hence ambitious parents are desirous of placing their sons in the monasteries, where no woman is allowed to enter, and where a vow of perpetual celibacy is taken. Every family consisting of more than four boys is obliged to devote one of them to this recluse life.
There are likewise in Thibet female devotees, who, like nuns, devote themselves entirely to celibacy and the duties of religion. They do not use a rosary to facilitate their prayers; but, instead of this, theyhave a painted barrel, with gilt letters on it, placed upright in a case, which has an opening to admit the hand. It revolves upon an axis, and as they twirl it round, they repeat certain appointed words.
The Thibetian customs with regard to marriage are very extraordinary. One woman is the wife of a whole family of brothers, be they ever so numerous. This custom is not confined to the lower ranks, but prevails in the most opulent families. The oldest brother has the right of choice. The courtship is very brief, and the marriage quite unceremonious. If the parents of the damsel approve his request, they carry their daughter to his house, where the relations meet and carouse for three days, with music and dancing. The priests, who are bound to shun the sight of women, have no share in the scene. Mutual consent is the only bond of union. The engagement thus formed cannot be dissolved, unless both the parties consent to a separation; and even where this is the case, they are never after at liberty to form a new connection. These women, who are said to be very jealous of their husbands, enjoy a degree of freedom and consideration unknown to the Hindoos. They are the acknowledged mistresses of their family, have liberty to go where they please, and are generally well supported by the joint earnings of their numerous partners. When captain Turner was at Teshoo Loomboo, he was acquainted with five brothers, who all lived together in the utmost harmony and affection, with one wife among them all. The first-born child belongs to the oldest brother, the second to the next of age, and so on.
Instances of infidelity are said to be rare. In such cases, a man is condemned to pay a pecuniary fine; a woman receives corporeal punishment. Public opinion is said not to be very fastidious concerning the character of unmarried females.
In Thibet, the exchange of scarfs accompanies almost all the courtesies of life. When a visit is paid, scarfs are exchanged; and every letter is accompanied with a scarf, however distant may be its place of destination. White and red are in use; but the former is considered more genteel, and is respectful in proportion to its fineness. These scarfs are soft, thin, glossy, and of dazzling whiteness. They are woven with damask figures, and usually have some sacred motto near the fringe at the ends.
Women of the laboring classes are inured to a great deal of toil. They plant, weed, reap, and thresh grain, and are exposed to the roughest weather, while their indolent husbands are perhaps living at their ease.
The Birmans in their features resemble the Chinese. The women, especially those belonging to the northern districts, are fairer than the Hindoos, but less delicately formed, being generally inclined to corpulence. Their hair is black, coarse, and long. Both sexes color the teeth, the eyelashes, and the edges of their eyelids, with black. When women are in full dress, they stain their nails and the palms of their hands red, and strew their faces and bosoms with powder of sandal-wood, or of a bark calledsunneka.
The hair is usually tied at the top of the head, and the fillet worn by people of rank is embroidered, and adorned with jewels. A long piece of silk or cloth is fastened round the waist, and falls to the feet, sometimes trailing on the ground. The upper part of the person is covered by a loose jacket, with long tight sleeves; but the lower garment being open, it is impossible to walk without exposing the limbs, in a manner that would be regarded as very indelicate by Europeans. Wealthy women wear shoes, that turn up with a pointed toe; the peasantry go barefoot. Girls are taught at an early age to invert their arms, so that the protruding joint of the elbow comes inside, and gives the arm the appearance of being broken.
The Birmans have less personal cleanliness than the Hindoos, who, though they seldom wash their garments, consider frequent bathing a religious duty. Though separated from the Hindoos only by a narrow range of mountains, they are strikingly unlike them in character. The Birmans are lively, active, and impatient. Their wives and daughters are allowed the same degree of freedom in social intercourse with men, as prevails in European society. Marriage is a purely civil contract, over which the priesthood have no jurisdiction. The law allows but one wife; but the wealthy usually keep a number of mistresses, who reside under the same roof with the wife, and are subject to her control. When she goes abroad, they attend her, bearing her betel-box, fan, &c.; and when the husband dies, they becomethe widow’s property, unless he has specifically emancipated them.
The formalities of courtship and marriage are similar to those of India. If the first private proposal be well received by the damsel and her parents, the relatives meet to agree concerning her dowry; the bridegroom sends a present of dresses and jewels, according to his wealth; the parents of the bride give a feast, and written contracts are signed; the new-married couple eat out of the same dish; the bridegroom presents the bride with some pickled tea, she returns the compliment, and thus ends the ceremony.
Divorces may be obtained under peculiar circumstances, but they are attended with a good deal of expense. The women are generally virtuous; for their constant occupation leaves little leisure for the mind to become corrupted. Ladies of the highest rank are busy at the labors of the loom. When the British envoy made a formal visit to the queen’s mother, he found her maidens in the gallery of the palace, weaving with the utmost activity. Nearly all the cotton and silk used in the Birman empire is woven at home by the women. Indeed, they take an active share in the general superintendence both of out-door and in-door transactions. When the governor of Maindu had a large ship on the stocks, his wife was seen to cross the river every morning in her husband’s barge, attended by female servants; she took her seat on the timbers, and superintended the workmen for hours; and she seldom failed tocome again in the evening, to see that the day’s task had been completed. The Englishmen, who observed her, said her husband never accompanied her, and she appeared to have no need of his assistance.
But notwithstanding the Birmese ladies enjoy so much more of freedom and confidence than their neighbors, they share something of the degradation imposed upon all Asiatic women. Their evidence is not deemed equal to that of a man, and they are not allowed to ascend the steps of a court of justice, but are obliged to give their testimony outside of the building. A man who cannot pay his debts is liable to be sold, with his wife and children; hence innocent, industrious women not unfrequently suffer most cruelly for the vices or indolence of their husbands. Sometimes when criminals are condemned to death, the helpless wife and children share his punishment. When driven by poverty, the lower class of Birmans do not hesitate to sell their wives and daughters to foreign residents. Women are not considered as dishonored by these circumstances, and seem easily to resign themselves to their lot. They are generally very faithful to their new owners, and render themselves useful by keeping accounts, and aiding in the transaction of business. But foreigners are never allowed to carry these women or their children out of the country. If a vessel were discovered with a Birmese female on board, it would never again be allowed to enter any of their ports.
Orders of monks are established in the Birmanempire, and formerly there were establishments of nuns; but, for political reasons, a law was passed forbidding any woman to seclude herself from society by a religious vow.
Female mourners are hired to chant dirges at funerals. Dancing and singing girls are introduced at entertainments, and some of them are said to be extremely graceful. In the month of April they celebrate a merry festival, by throwing as much water as they please upon whomsoever they meet; but in this, as in all their amusements, the Birmans are scrupulously decorous toward women. They may throw water upon any girl who is the first aggressor, but they must not lay hands upon her; neither are they allowed to molest any female, who does not choose to join in the merriment of the season.
The women of the Arracan mountains tattoo their faces all over in segments of circles, which give them a hideous appearance. These half savage tribes consider a flat forehead the perfection of beauty, and in order to produce it, they lay a heavy plate of lead upon the brow of infants. The inhabitants of Pegu are passionately addicted to tattooing.
The inhabitants of Tonquin and Cochin China, though similar to the Chinese in features, written language, and religious ceremonies, are very unlike them in character, and in some of their customs. The Cochin Chinese are lively, talkative, and familiar; and they suffer their women to be quite as gay and unrestrained as themselves. The middling andlower classes of women are indeed condemned to laborious occupations. They stand in the water from morning till night, transplanting rice; they till the ground; assist in repairing the mud cottages; manufacture coarse earthen-ware; manage boats; carry produce to market; gather the cotton, spin, weave, and color it; and then make it into garments for themselves and families. Their endurance of hardship is so remarkable, that the Cochin Chinese proverb says: “A woman has nine lives, and bears a great deal of killing.”
The law makes no restriction as to the number of wives; but the first espoused takes precedence of the others. If married parties choose to separate, they break one of their copper coins, or a pair of chop-sticks, in the presence of witnesses, and the union is dissolved; but the husband must restore all the property his wife possessed before marriage.
Men consider their wives as an inferior race, and sell them when they please. They are shamefully indifferent about their moral character, if they can obtain money by their vices. Women living thus without the encouragement or restraint of public opinion, and without the sweet reward of domestic esteem and confidence, are generally vicious, wherever there is the least temptation to be so. There are, however, severe laws, which are enforced when husbands think proper to appeal to them. Sometimes an unfaithful wife is trampled to death by elephants, and sometimes both of the offending parties are tied together and thrown into the river. Thewomen are dark and coarse featured, with blackened teeth, and small pretensions to beauty; but there is something pleasing in their perpetual cheerfulness and lively good-nature. They take great pride in long hair, considering the reverse as a token of degeneracy, and a mark of vulgarity.
The Cochin Chinese have dramatic performances, in which female actors are introduced. Their voices, when singing, are said to be shrill and warbling, and their dancing full of graceful gestures and attitudes.
Men and women of the common class dress nearly alike. Both wear a brown or blue frock, with black nankeen trowsers, made very wide. They have neither stockings nor shoes. The women wear their long hair sometimes twisted on the top of the head, and sometimes hanging in loose flowing tresses. To shield them from the sun they have broad hats, like an inverted saucer, woven with the fibres of bamboo, and made impervious to water by means of a fine varnish. These hats are fastened under the chin by a slender wooden bow, like the handle of a pail; the rich have it made of ivory, ebony, silver, or gold. The higher classes dress very much like the wealthy Chinese. Both ladies and gentlemen, when they go abroad, have attendants to carry their fans, and a box made of fragrant wood, often inlaid with gold and silver, to contain their areca, betel, &c. Garments are seldom changed till they begin to fall in pieces, and their habits are in general so uncleanly that a near approach to them is not pleasant.
The Siamese are a tawny people, with short black hair, which both sexes cut quite short. They have faces broad in the middle, and narrowing toward the forehead and the chin. Their ears are naturally large; and, like many other nations in the torrid zone, they weigh them down with heavy ornaments, so that one might thrust several fingers through the distended apertures.
Long nails, particularly on the right hand, are considered a mark of gentility. They often attain a growth of several inches; and when women wish to be particularly elegant, they wear artificial ones four inches long.
The Siamese bathe very frequently, and anoint themselves with perfumes. The interior of their houses is likewise very neat. They seldom wear any ornament about the head, except ear-rings; and none but the young wear bracelets. Their common clothing is very slight; consisting merely of a large piece of calico, tied above the hips, and falling to the feet.
Women enjoy a considerable degree of freedom. When a young man sends his female friends to ask a damsel in marriage, her parents consult their daughter’s inclination; and if they approve the match, magicians are immediately called to cast nativities and consult the stars for omens. The lover pays two or three visits to his betrothed, bringing presents of fruit and betel. At the third visit, the relations sign contracts, and pay the dowry. A few days after, the priests sprinkle the youngcouple with consecrated water, and repeat prayers. The bride’s parents keep up feasting, dancing, and music for several days; and sometimes months elapse before the young people commence house-keeping for themselves.
The Siamese laws allow of several wives, but the wealthy only avail themselves of this indulgence. Superior privileges are conferred on the first wife, and upon her children. The children of the others are not allowed to use the familiar appellation of “father,” but are required to say, “Mr. father.” The first wife may be divorced, but cannot be sold, like the others. In case of divorce, she may claim the first, third, fifth child, and so on, through the odd numbers. The husband has a right to all the even numbers; of course, the mother sometimes has a larger share than the father.
All the property left by a husband belongs to the first wife. She likewise inherits his authority; but she cannot sell the even-number children, who in case of division would have belonged to their father.
The poorer classes work on the land, and transact business for their husbands, during the half of each year, which they are obliged to spend in the service of a despotic prince. They take great care of their children, especially of their daughters, and are generally very virtuous and modest. The Siamese, unlike their neighbors of Cochin China, are very scrupulous concerning the character of their women, with which they conceive their own honor to be intimately connected. Their laws are very severe.An unfaithful wife is exposed alive to tigers, or sold as a slave.
These people have a singular religious ceremony, which reminds one of the Jewish scape-goat. An infamous woman is carried about on a barrow, accompanied with trumpets and hautboys. Every one curses her, and pelts her with dirt. She is then carried out of the town, left among bushes and thorns, and forbidden ever to return to the city. They have a superstition that this ceremony will avert all threatened evils from them to her.
The Siamese priests are not allowed to marry, on pain of being burnt to death.
There are female convents in Siam, but no woman is allowed to take the vow before she is fifty years old. When a man is condemned for any crime, his innocent family suffer with him; and wives and children are not unfrequently gambled away at games of chance. The women marry very young. It is a common thing to see wives and mothers of twelve years old.
Like other nations in the vicinity, they smoke a good deal, and universally color their teeth black.
The Malays are a proud and revengeful people, excessively jealous of their women. The lower classes of females are, however, allowed to go about in public, and transact various kinds of business, with a hardihood that braves all manner of fatigue and exposure. The women, of course, imbibe something of the fierce character of the men. No lovecan hope to find favor in their eyes, until he can produce a number of human skulls, which he has severed from the bodies. When attacked by enemies, they fight by the side of their husbands and brothers, with a fiery courage amounting to desperation.
Their manner of living is almost as simple and rude as that of savages. The women are generally well shaped, with tawny complexions, oval faces, expressive eyes, large mouths with thin lips, and teeth blackened by chewing betel. They are fond of gallantry, dress, and jewels. The higher class wear a muslin garment, descending to the feet, and fastened with a girdle at the waist; and to this they add a short jacket. They frequently have ear-rings, bracelets, and gold chains, and fasten their long shining black hair at the top of the head with a gold pin. The common people of both sexes dress almost exactly alike; their clothing consisting merely of a cloth wrapped about the waist, fastened by a belt, in which they carry their daggers.
The children in Malacca, and the neighboring nations, universally go without clothing.
The Chinese women have broad unmeaning faces; small, lively eyes, obliquely placed, with eyelids rounding into each other at the corners, not forming an angle, as in Europeans; their hair is black; lips rather thick and rosy; and their complexion is a yellowish brown; excepting some inhabitants of the northern provinces, who are fairer. They generally paint their faces so as to give a strong carnation tintto the whole surface. A foot unnaturally small is considered a great beauty. In order to attain this, the higher classes bind tight bandages round the feet of female infants, so that none but the great toe is suffered to retain its natural position. This compression is continued until the foot ceases to grow. It is then a misshapen little stump, four or five inches long, with all the smaller toes adhering firmly to the sole. The growth thus cruelly checked in its proper place, increases the ankle to such a clumsy size, that it almost entirely conceals the foot. When the ladies attempt to walk, they seem to be moving on stumps, and hobble along in the most awkward manner imaginable. Their little shoes are as fine as tinsel and embroidery can make them. According to Chinese history, this custom originated several centuries go, when a numerous body of women combined together to overthrow the government; and to prevent the recurrence of a similar event it was ordained that female infants should wear wooden shoes, so small as to cramp their feet and render them useless. Some writers have supposed that this singular practice originated in the jealousy of Chinese husbands, who contrived this method to keep their wives at home; but this seems very improbable. The Persians, who seclude their women with much greater rigor than the Chinese, do not think it necessary to disable their feet; nor would such a precaution be a safeguard against intrigues. The reason of this, as well as other customs equally strange, may probably be found in the caprice of fashion; andwhile unnaturally small feet are considered by Chinese men as a charming indication of elegant helplessness, the Chinese women will no doubt endure any degree of suffering to attain the enviable distinction.
Chinese hands are exceedingly small. The ladies keep them concealed by long wide cuffs, and consider it immodest to let them appear, even in presence of male relations. Both sexes, among the wealthy, suffer the finger nails to grow to an immense length, to show that they perform no labor. Sometimes they are said to be from eight to twelve inches long. In order to preserve them from being broken, they are obliged to keep them in light bamboo cases. The ladies generally comb their hair back from the face, and pluck out their eyebrows, so as to leave only a very thin arch. They wear their robes so long as to conceal the person from the throat to the toes. The garments of the higher classes are made of the richest materials, but are clumsy and inelegant. The usual colors are red, blue, and green. Though the Chinese ladies have no opportunity to rival each other in the conquest of hearts, they are nevertheless very fond of ornaments, especially about the head. Bunches of silver or gilt flowers are always interspersed among their ringlets, in greater or less profusion; and sometimes they wear thefong-hoangor Chinesephœnix, made of silver gilt, and so arranged as to move with the slightest motion of the wearer. The spreading tail forms a glitteringaigrette on the middle of the head, and the wings wave over the front.
The Chinese trace the institution of marriage as far back as their first sovereign, Fo-Hi, supposed to be coeval with Noah. The law permits but one wife; but though the emperor only can legally keep several mistresses, custom sanctions the practice, and it generally prevails among all who can afford it. These women are generally purchased as slaves, and the wife has control over them and their children; but the latter have a right to a share of the paternal inheritance. These female slaves call the lawful wife “mother,” and at her death are obliged to observe the same ceremonies of mourning prescribed for a real parent.
The emperor never marries a foreign princess. When he ascends the throne, people of the highest rank present their youngest and handsomest daughters to him, that he may choose a wife among them. The empress, who is calledHoang-heou, has peculiar prerogatives; and her family acquire great credit and influence. Next to the empress in rank are two queens with their numerous attendants; and the third rank consists of six queens and their attendants. The children of all these women are considered a part of the imperial family. The emperor has arbitrary power to name his successor, either in his family or out of it; but he generally chooses one of the sons of the empress.
The emperor’s daughters never succeed to the throne. They are usually married to Tartar princes,and mandarins of high rank, who always consider such an alliance a mark of distinction. The great men of the Celestial Empire keep their women most carefully concealed from all eyes but their own. If there is occasion to remove them from one place of residence to another, they are conveyed in close carriages, with gauze drawn over the small windows, and a eunuch to guard them on each side. On state occasions, they are sometimes admitted to the theatre, where they are concealed behind a screen of close lattice-work. The scenes represented on the Chinese stage are said to be so indecent and disgusting, that European spectators are absolutely driven away. They have no actresses. Female characters are performed by beardless young men, in the costume of women. The ladies amuse themselves with embroidery, music, dancing, puppet-shows, and painting birds, flowers, and insects, on rice-paper, or thin gauze. Some of the emperors, willing to gratify the curiosity of their wives, built within the parks of their palaces miniature towns, to represent, on a small scale, the most remarkable objects in Pekin. The gardens belonging to the imperial palaces are exceedingly picturesque and beautiful. Here the princes spend many tranquil hours, while their wives play on musical instruments, and their children frolic around them.