Narrative of the Life and Travels of Serjeant B——

by Robert Butler

Deuteronomy xi. 10. "For the land whither thou goest to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: but the land whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven; a land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even to the end of the year."

Although I have said that the country is comparatively sandy and barren, yet I say, that many parts of it also, which are situated on the banks of rivers, are very fertile. The finest parts of India that I have seen are near the Kistna and Tamboothera; these rivers supplying their neighbourhood abundantly, give it a very fresh and delightful appearance; and, O! how it cheers the spirits, and invigorates the eye of the "wayfaring man," to come into the view of a considerable tract of country, covered with woods and various kinds of herbage, after having travelled days, or even weeks, and scarcely ever seen any object to relieve the fatigued eye; but, on the contrary, every thing to offend and hurt it; nothing presenting itself on any side but glistening sand, scraggy bushes, the shining arms of the soldiery, and the dazzling exhalations of the morning dews. Surely, "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is: for he shall be as a tree, planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh; but her leaf shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." The analogy of this figure is simple and beautiful, and the application natural and easy, from what I have been stating, to the pious and reflective mind.

Manners, Customs, &c.—The complexion of the Hindoos is black; their hair is long; their persons in general are straight and well-formed, and their countenances open and pleasant. The dress of the men amongst the higher ranks is a white vest of silk, muslin, or cotton, girt with a sash; the sleeves are very long; and the upper part of the garment contrived to fit, so that the wearer's shape may be seen; their trowsers descend so low as to cover their legs; they wear slippers down in the heel, and peaked at the toes, into which they put their naked feet. The dress of the women amongst the higher or middle ranks, is a piece of white calico tied about the waist, which reaches to their knees; and the vest is thrown across their shoulders, covering the breasts and part of the back; their hair, like that of the men, is tied up in a roll, and adorned with jewels, or toys; they wear pendants in their ears, and several strings of beads round their necks; they also wear rings upon their fingers and toes, and bracelets upon their wrists and ankles.

The Hindoos are, in general, very sober, and abstain from all animal food. The Brahmins, in particular, never eat any thing that has had the breath of life: curees of vegetables are their common diet; the chief ingredients of which are turmeric, spices, and the pulp of the cocoa-nut. They esteem milk the purest food; and venerate the cow almost as a divinity.

In manners, they are effeminate, luxurious, and taught to affect a grave deportment. This initiates them early in the arts of dissimulation; so that they can caress those whom they hate, and even behave with kindness to those whom they intend to murder[20]. The common salutation is, by lifting one or both hands to the head, according to the quality of the person saluted; but no person salutes with the left hand singly.

On visiting amongst friends, the master of the house never rises to receive his visitor, but requests him to come and sit down beside him on the carpet or floor; and the betle-nut-box is presented to him, as we do our snuff-boxes. This betle-nut is used in the same manner as we do tobacco; and both the men and the women take it indiscriminately.

Dancing girls are generally engaged at public entertainments to amuse the company. They adorn their necks with carcanets, their arms with bracelets, and their ankles with small gold or silver chains. The dance of these women is a cadenced movement, performed to the sound of a drum, (called a tum-tum,) which a person beats upon with his fingers, and accompanies with a song, that, to a person possessed of any taste, is truly barbarous. The mode of beating time is with a small bell, or cymbal, which the dancing-master holds in his hand. This bell, or cymbal, he beats against the edge of another of the same kind, which produces a brisk vibrating sound, which animates the dancers, and gives precision to their movements. They, however, display no elegant attitudes, but are full of gesture; and the motion of their arms seems to occupy their whole attention.

The manner of drinking among the Hindoos is remarkable. They religiously avoid touching the vessel with their lips, but pour it into their mouths, holding the vessel at a distance. Their notion is, that they would be polluted by drinking any stagnant liquid. Thus, they will drink from a pump, or any clear running stream, but not out of a standing pool. On a march, when any of the natives made their appearance with their jimbos, (a small vessel, generally of brass or earth,) we were driven by thirst sometimes to leave the ranks, and entreated them to permit us to drink; but it was always in vain; and if any of us took the vessel by force into our hands, either to swallow its contents, or to draw water for ourselves, they broke it to pieces, and raised the hue and cry that they were polluted and ruined; and any soldier so acting would expose himself to a severe flogging. But I have known some instances, wherein some of those people, possessed of more generous minds and liberal sentiments, have given us to drink, when we held our hands at each side of our mouth, while they poured the water into them, holding the jimbo about half a yard above our head; but, in this case, we were more satisfied externally than internally.

The houses in Hindostan are for the most part very mean; in front of these houses are sheds on pillars, under which the natives expose their goods for sale, and entertain their friends. No windows open towards the streets, and even the palaces of their princes have not any external elegance. The marriages of the wealthy Hindoos are conducted with the utmost splendour and extravagance. The little bride and bridegroom, who are frequently only three or four years of age, are for several nights carried through the streets, richly dressed, and adorned with the finest jewels their parents can procure, preceded by flags, music, and a multitude of lights. The astrologer having fixed on a fortunate hour, they are taken to the house of the bride's father, and being seated opposite to each other, with a table between them, they join their hands across it, and the priest covers both their heads with a kind of hood, which remains spread over them about a quarter of an hour, while he prays for their happiness, and gives them the nuptial benediction; after which, their heads are uncovered, and all the company are sprinkled with perfumes, and the evening concludes with a magnificent entertainment for the friends who attend.

The Hindoo women, in general, treat their husbands with great respect; and very few are ever known to violate the marriage bed. They begin to bear children at twelve years of age, and sometimes younger; but they seldom have any after they are thirty; and frequently before that time they lose their bloom, and begin to fade. With respect to the funerals of the Hindoos, some of them bury the body, and others burn it. The ceremony of burning is performed in the following manner:—Having washed and dressed the corpse, the relations and friends carry it on a bier to a small distance from the town. This is usually done the next day; but if a person die in the morning, his body is always burnt the same evening; for, in this country, a corpse will not keep long. The funeral pile is usually made near some river or tank; and if he be a person of rank, great quantities of fragrant wood are mixed with the fuel. As soon as the corpse is placed upon the pile, and some prayers muttered by the attending Brahmin, the fire is applied at one of the corners, when it soon blazes up, and consumes the body to ashes.