Читать книгу The Historical Child - Oscar Chrisman - Страница 52

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In the early times in India, women were not excluded as they were later, but they were honored and respected. They were considered as the intellectual companion of the husband, as helper in the daily life, and as partaker in the religious duties. They attended the courts and assemblies and public entertainments, being permitted to appear freely and openly on public occasions. The change took place when they were conquered by the Moslems, from whom the custom of the exclusion of women was learned by the Hindus or was thrust upon them.

The Code of Manu some three centuries before Christ set the status of woman thus, "During her childhood a woman depends on her father; during her youth, on her husband; her husband being dead, on her sons; if she has no sons, on the near relatives of her husband; or if in default of them, on those of her father; if she has no paternal relatives, on the sovereign. A woman ought never to have her own way." So it is no wonder that the wife was treated by the husband in the harshest manner and she to respond with the greatest humility. The following from a witness of a hundred or more years ago, portrays some of the relations which women bore to the opposite sex:

"The women, on the other hand, are so thoroughly accustomed to harsh and domineering treatment from their husbands that they would be quite annoyed if the husbands adopted a more familiar tone. I once knew a native lady who complained bitterly that her husband sometimes affected to be devoted to her in public and allowed himself such little familiarities as are looked upon by us as marks of affection. 'Such behavior,' said she, 'covers me with shame and confusion. I dare not show myself anywhere. Did anyone ever see such bad manners amongst people of our caste? Has he become a Feringhi (European), and does he take me for one of their vile women?'

"As a rule a husband addresses his wife in terms which show how little he thinks of her. Servant, slave, etc., and other equal flattering appellations, fall quite naturally from his lips.

"A woman, on the other hand, never addresses her husband except in terms of the greatest humility. She speaks to him as my master, my lord, and even sometimes my god. In her awe of him she does not venture to call him by his name; and should she forget herself in this way in a moment of anger, she would be thought a very low class of person, and would lay herself open to personal chastisement from her offended spouse. She must be just as particular in speaking of him to anyone else; indeed, the Hindus are very careful never to put a woman under the necessity of mentioning her husband by name. If by chance a European, who is unacquainted with this point of etiquette, obliges her to do so, he will see her blush and hide her face behind her sari and turn away without answering, smiling at the same time with contemptuous pity at such ignorance.

"But if women enjoy very little consideration in private life, they are in some degree compensated by the respect which is paid to them in public. They do not, it is true, receive those insipid compliments which we have agreed to consider polite; but then, on the other hand, they are safe from the risk of insult. A Hindu woman can go anywhere alone, even in the most crowded places, and she need never fear the impertinent looks and jokes of idle loungers. This appears to me to be really remarkable in a country where the moral depravity of the inhabitants is carried to such lengths. A house inhabited solely by women is a sanctuary which the most shameless libertine would not dream of violating. To touch a respectable woman even with the end of your finger would be considered highly indecorous, and a man who meets a female acquaintance in the street does not venture to stop and speak to her."51

Courtesans in India, as in Greece, if of great beauty and accomplishments, were accorded many more privileges than the other women. As these were used in the temples, they were permitted to learn to read and to sing and to dance, accomplishments which a respectable woman would have been ashamed to have acknowledged even if she should have learned them.

In the early times, during the Vedic period, it would seem that the girls had some choice in the selection of the husband, and yet the father must have exercised some control over the affair. But later the selection of both bride and groom was fast fixed in the hands of the parents, who arranged everything. With the young man's family the purity of the caste of the future wife was the greatest concern, beauty and personal attraction counting nothing, while the girl's parents thought more of the fortune of the bridegroom to be and of the character of his mother, because she was to become the absolute mistress of the young wife. Intermarriage between castes was not strictly forbidden, but a woman could not marry a man of lower caste without losing caste.

"To a Hindu marriage is the most important and most engrossing event of his life; it is a subject of endless conversation and of the most prolonged preparations. An unmarried man is looked upon as having no social status and as being an almost useless member of society. He is not consulted on any important subject, and no work of any consequence may be given to him. A Hindu who becomes a widower finds himself in almost the same position as a bachelor, and speedily remarries.

"Though marriage is considered the natural state for the generality of men, those who from pious motives remain unmarried are looked up to and treated with the utmost respect. But it is only those persons who have renounced the world, and have chosen to lead a life of contemplation, who can take vows of celibacy. In any other case marriage is the rule, and every one is under obligation of discharging the great debt to his ancestors, namely, that of begetting a son.

...

"But this privilege men possess of remaining single, and giving themselves up to a life of contemplation, is not shared by women. They at all events cannot, under any circumstances, take vows of celibacy. Subjected on all sides to the moral ascendancy of man, the very idea that they could possibly place themselves in a state of independence and out of men's power is not allowed to cross their minds. The opinion is firmly established throughout the whole of India, that women were only created for the propagation of the species, and to satisfy men's desires. All women therefore are obliged to marry, and marriages are carefully arranged before they arrive at a marriageable age."52

There were eight kinds of marriages described in the law, the Institutes of Manu: "Of which one half are honorable, and differ from one another only in some minute circumstances; in the fifth, the bridegroom bestows gifts upon the bride, her father, and paternal kinsman; the last three are rather species of unlawful connection, than forms of nuptial contract; one being voluntary and by mutual consent; the other forcible when a woman is seized, 'while she weeps and calls for assistance, after her kinsmen and friends have been slain in battle'; the last, 'when the damsel is sleeping, or flushed with strong liquor, or disordered in her intellect."53

The following verses from the Rig Veda, a very ancient Aryan collection of hymns, belonging to the Hindus, give the ceremony of marriage in those olden times:

"21. O Visvâvasu! (god of marriage), arise from this place, for the marriage of this girl is over. We extol Visvâvasu with hymns and prostrations. Go to some other maiden who is still in her father's house and has attained the signs of the age of marriage. She will be your share, know of her.

"22. O Visvâvasu! arise from this place. We worship thee, bending in adoration. Go to an unmarried maiden whose person is well developed; make her a wife and unite her to a husband.

"23. Let the paths by which our friends go in quest of a maiden for marriage be easy and free of thorns. May Aryaman and Bhaga lead us well. O gods! may the husband and wife be well united.

"24. O maiden! the graceful sun had fastened thee with ties (of maidenhood), we release thee now of those ties. We place thee with thy husband in a place which is the home of truth and the abode of righteous actions.

"25. We release this maiden from this place (her father's house), but not from the other place (her husband's house). We unite her well with the other place. O Indra! may she be fortunate and the mother of worthy sons.

"26. May Pûshan lead thee by the hand from this place. May the two Asvins lead thee in a chariot. Go to thy (husband's) house and be the mistress of the house. Be the mistress of all, and exercise thine authority over all in that house.

"27. Let children be born unto thee, and blessings attend thee here. Perform the duties of thy household with care. Unite thy person with the person of this thy husband; exercise thy authority in this thy house until old age.

"40. First Soma accepts thee; then Gandharva accepts thee; Agni is thy third lord; the son of man is the fourth to accept thee.

"41. Soma bestowed this maiden to Gandharva, Gandharva gave her to Agni, Agni has given her to me with wealth and progeny.

"42. O bridegroom and bride! do ye remain here together; do not be separated. Enjoy food of various kinds, remain in your own home, and enjoy happiness in company of your children and grandchildren.

"43. (The bride and bridegroom say), May Prajapati bestow on us children; may Aryaman keep us united till old age. (Address to the bride), O bride! Enter with auspicious signs the home of thy husband. Do good to our male servants and our female servants, and to our cattle.

"44. Be thine eyes free from anger; minister to the happiness of thy husband; do good to our cattle. May thy mind be cheerful; and may thy beauty be bright. Be the mother of heroic sons, and be devoted to the gods. Do good to our male servants and our female servants, and to our cattle.

"45. O Indra! make this woman fortunate and the mother of worthy sons. Let ten sons be born of her, so that there may be eleven men in the family with the husband.

"46. (Address to the bride), May thou have influence over thy father-in-law, and over thy mother-in-law, and be as a queen over thy sister-in-law and brother-in-law.

"47. (The bridegroom and bride say), May all the gods unite our hearts; may Mâtarisvan and Dhâtri and the goddess of speech unite us together."54

Dubois goes quite fully into the ceremonies and functions of a Brahmin marriage of his time, from which is taken the following extract.55

There were four different ways of arranging the preliminaries of a marriage. In the first the father of the bride refused the sum of money to which he was entitled from the young man's parents and he bore all the expenses of the wedding. In the second way the parents of both parties agreed to share all the expenses. In the third way the youth's parents bore all the expenses of the wedding and also paid a sum of money to the father for his daughter. In the fourth method the girl's parents handed her over to the young man's parents to do with her what they would. It is needless to say that the first way was the most honored and respected and the last was most mortifying to the girl's parents and it was used by none but the very poorest.

As soon as the parents of a young man had discovered a suitable girl, when the auguries were favorable, they provided themselves with presents and went and formally asked for her. Then the parents of the girl, at a favorable moment, gave their consent and accepted the presents. Then the priest who presided at public and private ceremonies fixed on a lucky day and great preparations were made. The wedding garments were prepared, the stores for feasts and for presents were got together, and all the many other things needed. A canopy was erected and all the relatives and friends invited.

The marriage ceremony lasted for five days. The first day was the great day, as it was the day on which the most important and solemn ceremonies took place. The gods and the ancestors and other divinities were invited to be present. Then a number of rites and ceremonies were performed, in which the bride and bridegroom, the parents, and guests partook. Near the close of these ceremonies the husband fastened round the neck of the young wife the tali, the little gold ornament which all married women wore round their necks, and which performed by the husband showed that henceforth the woman was to be his property. The day was ended with a specially magnificent feast.

Amongst the ceremonies of the second day was the placing of an ornament, covered with gold-leaf or gold paper and entwined with flowers, on the forehead of both husband and wife to avert the effects of the evil eye, the spell which is cast by the looks of jealous or ill-disposed people. On the third day the wife joined in the sacrifice offered by the husband, the only occasion on which a woman could take an active part in any of the sacrifices. The only remarkable ceremony on the fourth day was that the newly married couple rubbed each other's legs three times with powdered saffron, of which Dubois did not understand the meaning and fancied its only object was to kill time, just as Europeans under similar circumstances would spend their time in drinking. The fifth day was chiefly occupied in dismissing the gods and the ancestors and the other divinities that had been invited to the feast. Then followed the distribution of presents. The festivity ended with a solemn procession through the streets, which generally took place at night by torchlight in the midst of squibs and fireworks of all kinds.

A girl's lot after marriage must have been dreadful in many cases, as she became a servant to the mother of her husband, who too often tried in every way to make the young girl miserable. In her husband's home the young wife occupied the back of the house with the other women and she must take the humblest place in this apartment for women. The little girl was scolded quite a great deal and received no, or but little, praise. "I have several times seen young wives shamefully beaten by beastly young husbands who cherished no natural love for them.... A child of thirteen was cruelly beaten by her husband in my presence for telling the simple truth, that she did not like so well to be in his house as at her home."56 Yet, there are here and there bright spots in this dark home life.

Polygamy was practiced in ancient India, and even down to later times, as was true among many other ancient nations, but as a rule it was confined to kings and wealthy lords. It was not looked upon with great favor. A person of inferior rank was not allowed to have more than one wife, except in case his wife was barren or had only borne female children, but before he could contract a second marriage he had to obtain the consent of the first wife.

"Women in India have ever been remarkable for their faithfulness and their duteous affection towards their husbands, and female unfaithfulness is comparatively rare."57 Adultery was looked upon with the greatest detestation in India. Yet the heinousness of the crime was regulated by the caste of the offender, for a man of high caste committing adultery with a woman of low caste was by no means so severely punished as was a man of low caste with a woman of high caste. In case the man was a Sudra and the woman of one of the three higher castes he suffered capital punishment, but as on no account was a Brahmin to be punished with death, this offence could not bring it to him.

"Although no law has ever said so, the popular belief is that a woman can have no salvation unless she be formally married."58 Perhaps for this belief parents became extremely anxious when their daughters were over eight or nine years of age and were unsought in marriage. This was so strong it frequently happened that poor parents feeling that their daughters must be married would marry girls of eight or nine to men of sixty or seventy. In the early times child marriages were unknown, but later boys among the Brahmins married at about sixteen years of age and girls generally at five or seven or, at the utmost, nine years of age. One author states that among the Brahmins, if any girl remained unmarried until she was eleven years old the family was suspended from caste.59

In early times in India, widows married and men belonging to one caste married widows of other castes. "A droll story is told of the daughter of a householder of Mâlava who married eleven husbands successively; and on the death of the eleventh husband the plucky widow would probably have welcomed a twelfth, but 'even the stones could not help laughing at her,' so she took to the life of an ascetic."60 But Manu laid down that a widow should never even mention the name of another man after her husband had died, and that a second husband was nowhere prescribed for virtuous women. A widower, whatever his age might be, and to whatever caste he might belong, could marry again; but a woman of the Brahminical caste, whether she ever lived with her husband or not, was not allowed again to enter the married state. Sad was the state of these widows, for they were cast out of society, but however despised they might have been, if one remarried her lot became even worse, for she was shunned absolutely by every honest and respectable person. "I once witnessed amongst the Gollavarus, or shepherds, an instance of even greater severity. A marriage had been arranged, and, in the presence of the family concerned, certain ceremonies which were equivalent to betrothal amongst ourselves had taken place. Before the actual celebration of the marriage, which was fixed for a considerable time afterwards, the bridegroom died. The parents of the girl, who was very young and pretty, thereupon married her to another man. This was in direct violation of the custom of the caste, which condemns to perpetual widowhood girls thus betrothed, even when, as in this case, the future bridegroom dies before marriage has been consummated. The consequence was that all the persons who had taken part in the second ceremony were expelled from caste, and nobody would contract marriage or have any intercourse whatever with them. A long time afterwards I met several of them, well advanced in age, who had been for this reason alone unable to obtain husbands or wives, as the case might be."61

Suttee is the name given to the act of a woman immolating herself upon the funeral pile with the body of her deceased husband. This was not practiced in the early times of India, yet it was quite old as it was known from the time of Alexander, and even earlier. It continued down till the nineteenth century, when a noted Hindu, Raja Ram Mohun Roy, got up such an agitation against it that Lord William Bentinck, Governor-General of India, enacted a law in 1829, which prohibited suttee within British dominion and made all assistance, aid, or participation in any act of it to be murder and punishable with death. But it did not fully cease till near the middle of the century.

"Dr. Carey appears to have been the first who made efforts to ascertain the extent of this practice in Bengal, and he found that the number of widows who perished in this way, within 30 miles of Calcutta, in 1803, was 438. In 1817 the number of cases officially reported to the magistrate in Bengal was 706. In 1818 the number was 839, thus making 1,545 in two years. The number which took place in Bengal from 1815-1826, or for 12 years, as officially reported to the English magistrates, was 7,154. This number includes only those which took place in Bengal. There was no means of ascertaining the whole number of cases in the country. Mr. W. Ward estimated them at 3,000 annually."62 The practice was chiefly among kings, princes, Brahmins, and the wealthy and this made it all the more horrid, because these were the men who practiced polygamy, and several of the wives were burned with the husband's dead body. Instances are recorded of 5, 10, 15, 25, and even more, who thus sacrificed themselves. Everything was done to get a woman to sacrifice herself and if after mature deliberation she decided to do so there was no turning back for her. For if she did not go on the funeral pyre of her own free will she would be dragged to it by force. This is well portrayed in the following:

"In 1794, in a village of the Tanjore district called Pudupettah, there died a man of some importance belonging to the Komatty (Vaisya) caste. His wife, aged about thirty years, announced her intention of accompanying her deceased husband to the funeral pyre. The news having rapidly spread abroad, a large concourse of people flocked together from all quarters to witness the spectacle. When everything was ready for the ceremony, and the widow had been richly clothed and adorned, the bearers stepped forward to remove the body of the deceased, which was placed in a sort of shrine, ornamented with costly stuffs, garlands of flowers, green foliage, etc., the corpse being seated in it with crossed legs, covered with jewels and clothed in the richest attire, and the mouth filled with betel. Immediately after the funeral car followed the widow, borne in a richly decorated palanquin. On the way to the burning-ground she was escorted by an immense crowd of eager sight-seers, lifting their hands towards her in token of admiration, and rending the air with cries of joy. She was looked upon as already translated to the paradise of Indra, and they seemed to envy her happy lot.

"While the funeral procession moved slowly along, the spectators, especially the women, tried to draw near to her to congratulate her on her good fortune, at the same time expecting that, in virtue of the gift of prescience which such a meritorious attachment must confer upon her, she would be pleased to predict the happy things that might befall them here below. With gracious and amiable mien she declared to one that she would long enjoy the favors of fortune; to another, that she would be the mother of numerous children who would prosper in the world; to a third, that she would live long and happily with a husband who would love and cherish her; to a fourth, that her family was destined to attain much honor and dignity; and so forth. She then distributed among them leaves of betel; and the extraordinary eagerness with which they were received clearly proved that great value was attached to them as relics. Beaming with joy, these women then withdrew, each in the full hope that the promised blessings of wealth and happiness would be showered on her and hers.

"During the whole procession, which was a very long one, the widow preserved a calm demeanor. Her looks were serene, even smiling; but when she reached the fatal place where she was to yield up her life in so ghastly a manner, it was observed that her firmness suddenly gave way. Plunged, as it were, in gloomy thought, she seemed to pay no attention whatever to what was passing around her. Her looks became wildly fixed upon the pile. Her face grew deadly pale. Her very limbs were in a convulsive tremor. Her drawn features and haggard face betrayed the fright that had seized her, while a sudden weakening of her senses betokened that she was ready to faint away.

"The Brahmins who conducted the ceremony, and also her near relatives, ran quickly to her, endeavoring to keep up her courage and to revive her drooping spirits. All was of no effect. The unfortunate woman, bewildered and distracted, turned a deaf ear to all their exhortations and preserved a deep silence.

"She was then made to leave the palanquin, and as she was scarcely able to walk, her people helped her to drag herself to a pond near the pyre. She plunged into the water with all her clothes and ornaments on, and was immediately afterwards led to the pyre, on which the body of her husband was already laid. The pyre was surrounded by Brahmins, each with a lighted torch in one hand and a bowl of ghee in the other. Her relatives and friends, several of whom were armed with muskets, swords, and other weapons, stood closely round in a double line, and seemed to await impatiently the end of this shocking tragedy. This armed force, they told me, was intended not only to intimidate the unhappy victim in case the terror of her approaching death might induce her to run away, but also to overawe any persons who might be moved by a natural feeling of compassion and sympathy, and so tempted to prevent the accomplishment of the homicidal sacrifice.

"At length, the purohita Brahmin gave the fatal signal. The poor widow was instantly divested of all her jewels, and dragged, more dead than alive, to the pyre. There she was obliged, according to custom, to walk three times round the pile, two of her nearest relatives supporting her by the arms. She accomplished the first round with tottering steps; during the second her strength wholly forsook her, and she fainted away in the arms of her conductors, who were obliged to complete the ceremony by dragging her through the third round. Then, at last, senseless and unconscious, she was cast upon the corpse of her husband. At that moment the air resounded with noisy acclamations. The Brahmins, emptying the contents of their vessels on the dry wood, applied their torches, and in the twinkling of an eye the whole pile was ablaze. Three times was the unfortunate woman called by her name. But, alas! she made no answer."63