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tors, and put some into the mouth of the corpse. Two priests next led her three times round it, while she threw rice among the bystanders, who gathered it up with great eagerness. The last time she went round, she placed a little earthen burning lamp to each of the four corners of the pile, then laid herself down on the right side, next to the body, which she embraced with both her arms, a piece of white cotton was spread over them both, they were bound together with two easy bandages, and a quantity of fire-wood, straw, and rosin, was laid upon them. In the last place, her nearest relations, to whom, on the banks of the river, she had given her nose-jewels, canfe with a burning torch, and set the straw on fire, and in a moment the whole was in a flame. The noise of the drums, and the shouts of the spectators, were such, that the shrieks. of the unfortunate woman, if she uttered any, could not have been heard.

Voluntary suicide.

Voluntary suicide is considered an act of great merit. The person who is about to offer himself, is directed first to offer an atonement for all his sins, by making a present of gold to bramhuns, and honouring them with a feast; afterwards, putting on new apparel, and adorning himself with garlands of flowers, he is accompanied to the river by a band of music. If he has any property, he gives it to whom he pleases: then, sitting down by the side of the river, he repeats the name of his idol, and proclaims, that he is now about to renounce his life in this place, in order to obtain such or such a benefit. After this, he and his friends proceed in a boat, and fastening pans of water to his body, he plunges into the stream. The spectators cry out, "Huree bul! Huree bul! Huzza! Huzza!" and then retire. Sometimes a person of property kindly interferes, and offers to relieve the wants of the victim if he will abstain from drowning himself; but the deluded man replies, that he wants nothing, as he is going to heaven!

Infanticide.

People in some parts of India, particularly the inhabitants of Orissa, and of the eastern parts of Bengal, frequently offer their children to the goddess Gunga. The following reason is assigned for this practice: when a woman has been long married, and has no children, it is common for the man, or his wife, or both of them, to make a vow to the goddess Gunga, that if she will bestow the blessing of children upon them, they will devote the first-born to her. If after this vow they have children, the eldest is nou rished till a proper age, which may be three, four, or more years, according to circumstances, when, on a particular day,

appointed for bathing in any holy part of the river, they take the child with them, and offer it to this goddess: the child is encouraged to go farther and farther into the water, till it is carried away by the stream, or is pushed off by its inhuman parents. Sometimes a stranger seizes the child, and brings it up, but it is abandoned by its parents from the moment it floats in the water, and if no one be found more humane than they it infallibly perishes. The principal places in Bengal where this species of murder is practised, are Gunga-Saguru, where the river Hoogley disembogues itself into the sea; Voidyuvafee, a town about fourteen miles to the north of Calcutta ; Trivenee, Nudeeya, Chakduh, and Pruyagu.

Ceremonies

at death.

may

A sick person, after his removal to the banks of the Ganges, if he possesses sufficient strength, directs quantities of food, garments, &c. to be presented to the bramhuns. That he not be compelled to cross Voiturunee, whose waters are hot, in his way to the seat of judgment, he presents to a bramhun a black cow. about to expire, the relations place the body up to the middle in the river, and direct the dying man to call aloud on the gods to assist him in doing so.

When

The burning of the body is one of the first ceremonies which the Hindoos perform for the help of the dead in a future state. If this ceremony have not been attended to, the shraddhu, or rites for the repose of the dead, cannot be performed. If a person be unable to provide wood, cloth, clarified butter, rice, water pans, and other things, beside the fee to the priest, he must beg among his neighbours. If the body be thrown into the river, or burnt, without the accustomed ceremonies, (as is sometimes the case,) the ceremonies may be performed over an image of the deceased, made of kooshu grass.

Immediately after death, the attendants lay out the body on a sheet, placing two pieces of wood under the head and feet; after which they anoint the corpse with clarified butter, bathe it with the water of the Ganges, put round the loins a new garment, and another over the left shoulder, and then draw the sheet on which the body lies, over the whole. The heir at law next bathes himself, puts on new garments, and boils some rice, a ball of which, and a lighted brand, he puts to the mouth of the deceased, repeating incantations. The pile having been prepared, he sets fire to it, and occasionally throws on it clarified butter and other combustibles. When the body is consumed, he washes the ashes into the river; the attendants bathe, and, presenting a drink-offering to the deceased, return home; before they enter the house, how

ever, each one touches fire, and chews some bitter leaves, to signify that parting with relations by death, is an unpleasant task. The Bramins undergo voluntary austerities of great severity. Of one, Mr. Rogers gives the following account. After having finished various services, he went into Religious the green on which the pagod stood, where two Austerities. bamboos were raised like poles, in the shape of

a gibbet, at the top of which two ropes were fixed with a slipknot. Underneath was a square pit, where he lighted a fire, and laid some sticks near it. After this he turned himself thrice round the fire, observing, by way of respect, to have the pit always at his right; then prostrating himself several times, he went up, twisted the ropes about his feet, then suspending himself with his head downwards, and his face turned towards the flame, he swung himself up and down like a bell, and increased the fire by throwing wood into it, which was in his reach. After this painful exercise, which lasted half an hour, he came down, went round the pit, and returning into the pagod, seated himself as before. In this manner did this Bramin exercise himself daily, not in the view of obtaining heaven, for that he looked upon as granted, but in order to attain a pure and exalted degree of felicity. However, he was censured by the rest of the Bramins, for violating, as they said, the law, in not having made choice of such a holy place as the Joguis are permitted to spend their whole lives in.

Another Bramin had his head thrust through an iron collar of twenty-four pound weight, made like a rail, four feet in diameter at top. He had enjoined himself to carry it till such time as he had collected a great sum of money, in order to complete the building of an hospital.

Two others had long heavy chains upon their legs, one end of which came over their shoulders, and the other dragged upon the ground after them.

Another chained himself by the foot to a tree, with a firm resolution of dying in that place.

Another walked in wooden shoes stuck full of nails in the inside whenever he put them on he used to lie alc... elle ground with his hands clasped.

SEC. V. RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES AND CUSTOMS OF THE

LAPLANDERS.

From the time that so large a portion of Lapland fell under the dominion of Sweden, repeated attempts were made to con

vert the natives to the Christian faith; and the same object was diligently prosecuted by the Danish government. The Laplanders, however, continued to retain a strong attachment to their ancient mythology; and, even so late as the middle of the 18th century, a great part of the nation secretly worshipped idols, while publicly professing the Christian religion.

To these idols were presented various offerings and sacrifices. Upon any change of habitation, libations were made of whey or milk, to conciliate the guardian diSacrifices. vinity of the place; and of brandy to the Lares or household gods, who were supposed to reside under the fire-place. To conciliate the favour of the deities to their children, sacrifices of sheep or deer were offered, before the child was born: a dog was buried alive at the moment of the birth; and some other animal killed when the infant was at the breast. Offerings and sacrifices were usually made for the removal of epidemic disorders, for success in hunting, &c. In these cases, sometimes the whole of the victim was presented, sometimes only a part, sometimes merely the bones, while the blood was sprinkled upon staves, which were left on the spot, or mingled with the waters of an adjacent river or lake. The liver of a bear, the horns and other parts of a deer, taken in the chase, were very frequently consecrated to the deity of the place.

The Laplanders, according to Picart, worship their gods under the form of a tree, or block of wood, the top of which they form into a rude resemblance of a man's Idols. head. In the head they were wont to drive a large nail, to which was fastened a flint stone, that he might make himself a fire whenever he found one needful. Sometimes their god was raised upon a kind of table, which served in capacity of an altar. Their domestic deity, or household god, they represented under the form of a large stone, carved in a rude manner, and bearing some resemblance to a human face. The sacrifices which were offered to these idols were presented by a privileged class of men, named Noaaids, who divided the victims with great expertness, and wore at the time of sacrificing a peculiar habit.

The Laplanders still retain much of their ancient superstitious spirit, even in the Christian rites, which they have adopted. They particularly regard the sacra Present state. ment as a powerful charm to preserve them from the attempts of evil spirits. It is not long since, they used to take a cloth with them to church, into which they were accustomed to spit out the sacramental bread, which they wrapped

up with great care, and afterwards divided into as great a number as possible of small crumbs. One of these crumbs was given to every one of their cattle, in the full' persuasion that the herd would thus be secure from all injury. Their very deficient acquaintance with Christianity may, in some measure, be ascribed to the very inefficient manner in which they are instructed. It has generally been the practice of the Missionaries and pastors to address the natives by means of an interpreter, and the attempts of the Danish government to remedy this defect have hitherto proved unsuccessful.

The Laplanders rarely intermarry with the Norwegian, or other neighbouring nations. Their matrimonial negotiations are conducted with extraordinary formality and decorum. When a young man has selected his Marriage. object, he communicates his wishes to his own family, who repair in a body to the dwelling of the young woman's parents, carrying a slight present, such as a ring or ornamented girdle, to the fair one, and a quantity of brandy to entertain the friends. When arrived at the hut, the suitor is left without, till he shall be invited to enter; and as soon as the rest of the party have entered, their spokesman fills out a bumper of brandy, which he offers to the girl's father, and the acceptance of which indicates his approbation of the match to be proposed. After the liquor has gone round the company, leave is obtained for the young man to present himself, while his advocate in a set speech opens the treaty. The lover, upon being introduced, takes his seat near the door, at some distance from the rest; and it is only when the parents of the girl have signified their full consent, that he offers her the present which he has brought, and promises wedding clothes to her father and mother. Sometimes a sum of money is given, both to the bride and to her parents; and not unfrequently considerable bargaining is employed to raise the amount. All that the bride receives on this occasion becomes her own private property; and, among the better class, a wife, counting all expenses, commonly costs the husband about a hundred copper dollars. Should the parents depart from their promised consent, it is an established law, that they must repay all the expenses and presents, even to the brandy which has been drunk at the first visit. After the parties have been in this manner betrothed, the young man is allowed to visit the bride, whose favour he generally endeavours to conciliate by presenting tobacco, brandy, or whatever he thinks will be most acceptable. On the marriage day the bride appears in her best dress, but her head, commonly closely

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