BOOK most affected by pity or admiration. The more than human serenity of the victim, and the respect which she receives from those around her, are heightened by her gentle demeanour, and her care to omit nothing in distributing her last presents, and paying the usual marks of courtesy to the bystanders; while the cruel death that awaits her is doubly felt from her own apparent insensibility to its terrors. The reflections which succeed are of a different character, and one is humiliated to think that so feeble a being can be elevated by superstition to a self-devotion not surpassed by the noblest examples of patriots or martyrs. Women I have heard that, in Guzerát, women about to burn are often stupified with opium. In most other parts this is certainly not the case. go through all the ceremonies with astonishing composure and presence of mind, and have been seen seated, unconfined, among the flames, apparently praying, and raising their joined hands to their heads with as little agitation as at their ordinary devotions. On the other hand, frightful instances have occurred of women bursting from amidst the flames, and being thrust back by the assistants. One of these diabolical attempts was made in Bengal, when an English gentleman happened to be among the spectators, and succeeded in preventing the accomplishment of the tragedy; but, next day, he was surprised to encounter the bitterest reproaches from the woman, for having been the occasion of her disgrace, and the obstacle to her being then in heaven enjoying the company of her husband, and the blessings of those she had left behind. The practice is by no means universal in India. It never occurs to the south of the river Kishna; and under the Bombay presidency, including the former sovereignty of the Bramin Péshwas, it amounts to thirty-two in a year. In the rest of the Deckan it is probably more rare. In Hindostan and Bengal it is so common, that some hundreds are officially reported as burning annually within the British dominions alone. Self-immolation by men also is not uncommon, but it is generally performed by persons lingering under incurable disorders. It is done by leaping into fire, by burying alive, by plunging into a river, or by other modes, such as throwing one's self before the sacred car at Jagannát. During the four years of Mr. Stirling's attendance at Jagannát, three persons perished under the car; one case he ascribed to accident, and the other two persons had long suffered under excruciating disorders.* CHAP. XI. thieves. The Hindús have some peculiarities that do not Hereditary admit of classification. As they have casts for all the trades, they have also casts for thieves, and men are brought up to consider robbing as their hereditary occupation. Most of the hill tribes, bordering on cultivated countries, are of this de * Asiatic Researches, vol. xv. p. 324. III. BOOK Scription; and even throughout the plains there are casts more notorious for theft and robbery than gipsies used to be for pilfering in Europe. In their case hereditary professions seem favourable to skill, for there are no where such dexterous thieves as in India. Travellers are full of stories of the patience, perseverance, and address with which they will steal, unperceived, through the midst of guards, and carry off their prize in the most dangerous situations. Some dig holes in the earth, and come up within the wall of a well-closed house: others, by whatever way they enter, always open a door or two to secure a retreat; and proceed to plunder, naked, smeared with oil, and armed with a dagger; so that it is as dangerous to seize them as it is difficult to hold. One great class, called Thags, continually travel about the country assuming different disguises; an art in which they are perfect masters. Their practice is to insinuate themselves into the society of travellers whom they hear to be possessed of property, and to accompany them till they have an opportunity of administering a stupifying drug, or of throwing a noose over the neck of their unsuspecting companion. He is then murdered without blood being shed, and buried so skilfully that a long time elapses before his fate is suspected. The Thags invoke Bhawáni, and vow a portion of their spoil to her. This mixture of religion and crime might of itself be mentioned as a peculiarity; but it is paralleled by the vows of pirates and banditti to the Madonna; and in the case of Mussulmans, who form the largest portion of the Thags, it is like the compacts with the devil, which were known in days of superstition. It need scarcely be said that the long descent of the thievish casts gives them no claim on the sympathy of the rest of the community, who look on them as equally obnoxious to punishment, both in this world and the next, as if their ancestors had belonged to the most virtuous classes. The hired watchmen are generally of these casts, and are faithful and efficacious. Their presence alone is a protection against their own class; and their skill and vigilance, against strangers. Guzerát is famous for one class of people of this sort, whose business it is to trace thieves by their footsteps. In a dry country a bare foot leaves little print to common eyes; but one of these people will perceive all its peculiarities so as to recognise it in all circumstances, and will pursue a robber by these vestiges for a distance that seems incredible.* CHAP. XI. Chárans. In another instance, a cast seems to employ its Bhats and privilege exclusively for the protection of property. These are the Bháts and Chárans, of the One was employed to pursue a man who had carried off the plate belonging to a regimental mess at Kaira; he tracked him to Ahmedabad, twelve or fourteen miles, lost him among the well-trodden streets of that city, but recovered his traces on reaching the opposite gate; and, though long foiled by the fugitive's running up the water of a rivulet, he at last came up with him, and recovered the property, after a chase of from twenty to thirty miles. BOOK west of India, who are revered as bards, and in some measure as heralds, among the Rájpút tribes. In Rájpútána they conduct caravans, which are not only protected from plunder, but from legal duties. In Guzerát they carry large sums in bullion, through tracts where a strong escort would be insufficient to protect it. They are also guarantees of all agreements of chiefs among themselves, and even with the government. Their power is derived from the sanctity of their character and their desperate resolution. If a man carrying treasure is approached, he announces that he will commit trága, as it is called; or if an engagement is not complied with, he issues the same threat unless it is fulfilled. If he is not attended to, he proceeds to gash his limbs with a dagger, which in the last resort he will plunge into his heart; or he will first strike off the head of his child; or different guarantees to the agreement will cast lots who is to be first beheaded by his companions. The disgrace of these proceedings, and the fear of having a bard's blood on their head, generally reduce the most obstinate to reason. Their fidelity is exemplary, and they never hesitate to sacrifice their lives to keep up an ascendancy on which the importance of their cast depends.* Of the same nature with this is the custom by which Bramins seat themselves with a dagger or with poison at a man's door, and threaten to make away with themselves if the owner eats before he has * See Tod's Rajasthan, and Malcolm's Central India, vol. ii. p. 130. |