Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 February 1896 — PAGANS AND PRAYERS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PAGANS AND PRAYERS

SOME ODD OBSERVANCES STILL PRACTICED. Fraying by Machinery—Prayer by Water Power—How the Chineae Cheat the Devil—Why the American Indians Placed Their Dead on Polea. Queer Religious Rites. With the possible exception of the Bushman, who is believed to be first cousin to the Missing Link, if, indeed, there is not a nearer relationship, all nations have some form of religion and ceremonial observances peculiar to its exercise. Among civilized nations, reMgious cere-monies are suggestive in char-

acter aud'symbolic in origin, but as we go dowu jn the scale of human nature there are found many peculiarities of religious observance which are strange, incomprehensible, and, not infrequently, in the highest degree absurd. To us, at least, they seem-so, the fact arising partly from our inability to comprehend auy significance they may have for those who practice them, and partly from the enormous difference between our intelligence and that of the people who use these uncouth rites. .But it is exceedingly interesting to notice that eten when a religious ceremony, once symbolic and full of meaning, has lost all the significance it formerly possessed, none the less does it continue to be .practiced. for the reason that in these things custom is powerful, and the fact that in a heathen nation a religions ceremony is now performed, no matter how meaningless, is sufficient evidence to the minds of the worshipers, not only that there is virtue in it. but that it

aught to be perpetuated simply because h came down to them from their ancestor*. It is probable that to many if not to , molt of the worshipers in pagan temples the ceremonies performed there have no significance other than that of custom. They are like the Chinese idea of the Fung Shway; that is, the eternal balance of things. When a Chinaman builds a , house in one corner of a square lot, a house must also be built in the opposite corner to restore the Fung Sihway; when one chimney or tower is erected on a building, there must be another on the opposite ' side, to preserve the Fung Shwayi. when a plate of rice is placed on one side of a table, another must be opposite that the Fung Shway be not disturbed. The Celestial does not know why this should be so, but he knows that every othqrChinaman has the same idea and that is enbugh for him and to talk to

him about’rnrchitectural proportions, or to tell him that his notion probably originated &,a nice sense of relation, would be to waste your words, for about these things he neither knows nor cares anything; the fact that everybody else believes that the Fung Shway ought not to be disturbed being quite enough for his purpose. He has another idea that, to our minds, seems ludicrously absurd. At the gates of the templed in which he worships there bang bells and when n native of the Celestial Empire wants to say his prayers, or to make offerings to his gods to insure good luck in any enterprise in which he may be engaged, he goes to the parish temple and before entering gives the bell at the gate a tap to let the deity of the place understand that a worshiper is at hand and desirous of attending to business. Nothing, to our minds, could be more exquisitely absurd than this method of signifying to deity a desire to pay reverence, yet to the Chinaman it is fit and proper, and he devoutly believes that unless this prelim- 1 Inary were performed, his prayers and sacrifices would be wasted for the lack bf a god to hear and receive them. The Idea had its origin in an ancient use, very similar to our own, of bells for notifying worshipers of the proper time for service, but of this fact the Chinaman of the>present day knows nothing; he rings the bell because everybody else does, and because as far back as any one can remember, the bell has been rung for thia purpose, and that is quite enough. Speaking of prayer and praying, however, perhaps the most peculiar method ever in vogue in the pagan world is that which is practiced by millions of people in India, Thibet, Chinese Tartary. and China at the present day. The Buddhists hare many prqyers. but of them all none is supposed to have the virtue of one simple sentence, Om mani padmi hum. “The jewel in the Lotus. Amen.” These words are constantly on the lips of the devotees of this faith. The laborer at his toil, the merchant in his store, the traveler on the way, all repeat this mystic supplication; not always aloud, but even when mentally engaged,.-their lips keep up a mechanical^motion as the praying goes on; for the belief ieaupiversal that the greater the numbertimes this sentence is repeated the greater the benefit. A few huijpred years ago. however, some impatient (genius, finding his tongue too •low, conceived the idea that the thing could be done in another way. so he invented a mechanical device to further his devotions. It consisted of a woolen cylinder about 1% inches in diameter and 2 j in height At the middle of one end a ' staple was .inserted, to which a eord 6 to 10 inches long was fastened, the other end being made fast to a rounded piece of wood of convenient size and shape to be held in the hand. The cylinder, was ; hollow and contained a roll of thin parchment. <>n which this prayer was written several hundreds of times. The handle was taken andthe<rftnder was revolved, •n the theory that kt each revolution all

' the prayers written .on tha, jmrehment within it were repeated.'priest* in* I stantly perceived the working value of the model and pfprqptly uaotjpjiolized the manufacture of fho prayer cylinders, deriving therefronf ho’ |mail ifetiefit in the way of revenue/ In'some parts of India the use of these, cylinders is almost universal, nine out <if ten of the men met by the way revolving their cylinders as they walk or ride. The idea was soon found capable of extension; for, the priests reasoned, if praying could be done with a small cylinder, why not with a large one. So great cylinders, havifig a diameter of 5 to 6 feet and a height* of 7 to 8, were prepared, loaded with 'prayers, a crank was fitted np, by which they could be turned, they were set up in the temple, and any one, by the payment of a small fee, was allowed to turn the machine a certain length of time. The result was a grand success, for the

people soon came to learn that by the payment of a fee they would be able to pray more in five minutes than they could hope to do all their lives in any other way, and the incomes of the temples waxed great and the priests grew fat, for wealthy men, well able to pay, "but unwilling to work at the wheel, sent their servants to do the turning, looking in occasionally to see that the job was being properly done. The wheels were kept going day and night, and the demand for them became so much greater than the supply that another improvement resulted. A monastery in Thibet was situated beside a mountain stream, luid it occurred one day to the priests thatlt would be a good idea to rig up the prayer wheels with a water-power attachment, let the water do the turning, and credit one who paid money into the treasury with so much time of the wheel. The idea was found to be both brilliant and practical; a water wheel was made, the prayer wheels placed in position over it, the apparatus was set in motion, to the immense satisfaction of everybody concerned. The people were satisfied because they could do their praying with far greater ease, having only to pay and not to work; the priests were content, for all the time of the wheels was fully taken up, and sometimes rich devotees paid in sujpg so large ns to engage the services of the wheels for years at a time. Thus it is that in North India, Thibet and China to-day water wheels are at work day and night, grinding out jirayers for the people. The question of revenue is thus seen to play a very important part in heathen temples, and the wits of the priests of Buddha are often racked to the utmost to provide wherewithal Co carry on the business. In some temples of South India the intelligence of the elephafit is utilized to raise funds, and on great festivals an elephant, trained to the work, goes to and fro among the worshipers, holding a basket with his trunk and soliciting contributions from the faithful. He gets something from everybody, too, for he has a truculent way of presenting the basket that intimates to the devout that the sooner they disburse the better it will be for them. Some years ago a number of English and American clergymen were visiting a temple in Benares, when the elephant deacon was making hi* rounds, and he stopped before them holding out the basket with a significant grunt. They were loath to give anything, but at the request of the guide, who warned them that the beast might be troublesome, every one* got out his pocket-book. It was the only time in their lives that any , of them ever contributed to the revenues

of a heathen temple, but then an elephant collector has not the urbanity of a church deacon, and his trunk has a persuasive flourish about it that will draw rupees from the most reluctant. Some of the most singuar customs of paganism relate to death and burial. In Africa, even at the present day, human sacrifices are commonly practiced by some tribes of the interior. Save on rare occa-

sions, they do not sacrifice their own people, bnFcaptives taken in war, and wars are frequently waged, not so much for conquest as to obtain victims for sacrifice Volumes have been written about the human sacrifices of Dahomey, and

though this nation is perhaps the worst in this respect, there are others where this form of worship is extensively carried on Very frequently, the bodies of the victims are oaten, but in many cases, the unfortunate wretches are butchered, simply that their blood may be offered to the hideous images that stand in the temple inclosures. In India, the pagan native deems himself peculiarly happy if he can die on or near the sacred river. Before the days of British control, the dying were carried by their friends to the banks of the river and laid in the water. Frequently they were taken out in boats to the middle of the river, and then thrown over to drown. These practices were in great measure stopped by British authority, but in secluded places they are said to be still carried on, though to a necessarily limited extent. Burning the dead in India has never been interfered with r by the Government, though the suttee, or burning widows, on the funeral pyres I of their husbands, was long ago abolished i by the interposition of law. Perhaps the most peculiar burial rites j are those of the Chinese, who, in their I funerals, nre as odd as in most of their i other customs. A Chinese funeral is mini- ' aged strictly with a view to cheating the devil, who is understood to lie in wait near the residence of the defunct CelesI tial for the purpose of carrying off his soul. Just before the departure of the funeral cortege from the house a considerable quantity of firecrackers is set off in front of the residence, together with a peculiar variety of smoky pyrotechnics, and under cover of the smoke thus made the bier is raised and the carriers leave the house in a smart trot. They go up the street a short distance, then suddenly turn into a cross street or alley and stop and yell, more fireworks are burned, and after a pause of a few moments the funeral march, or rather trot, is resumed. Kitnning, turning short, and halting, together with fireworks and yelling, finally bring the cortege to the place of burial, but the cemetery is never entered through the gate, but through a gap In the hedge or fence or hole in the wall, and, after more fireworks and yelling, the body is finally interred. The cause of this singular procedure is this. It is well understood that the devil, although in some respects shrewd, cannot see very well, nor can he turn without a great deal of difficulty, bis joints and muscles being so arranged that while he can travel like a race horse as long as he goes in a straight line, a good deal of time and effort is necessary when he wants to turn a corner. So the fireworks are let off at the hor.se in order to blind him, and when the smoke is sufficiently (letise to obfusiute his vision the procession starts, leaving him watching at the door. Of course, in a little while he discovers how he has been Tricked and starts after it on a rim, but when the first corner is turned he is unable to stop, and so shoots on ahead. The same bad luck attends him for several turns, and after repeated experiences of this kind he gives up the hunt in disgust. goes on to the cemetery and sits down nt the gate to await his prey. Right her- the Celestials are too smart for him, and. by avoiding the gate, always manage to have the burial over before he finds <sit what is going on. It may seem strange that the Old Boy does not learn better, and. considering the fact that several millions of the almond-eyed are annually spirited out of his reach by the same means, it really seems that he ought to be aware of the means adopted to deceive him. but. as Chinese proverbial lore expresses it. "the devil never learns by experience,” which is a full explanation of the whole situation. The same contempt of the devil’s stupidity is seen in a peculiar burial custom among some of our aboriginal tribes of Indians, who formerly elevated the bodies of their dead on poles from a belief that the eyes Of the evil one were so placed in his head that he looked always downward, and, of course, the bodies being above him, he might pass under and never see them. In all heathen mythological lore, though many peculiar superstitions are found, the origin of which is lost in antiquity, there is perhaps nothing more curious than these methods by which Chinese and the American Indians cheat the enemy of mankind.

AN INDIAN MODE OF BURIAL.

AT THE GATE OF THE CHINESE TEMPLE.

PRAYER WHEELS IN THIBET.

DEATH ON THE GANGES.