They Do Not Mould The
Heads Of New Born Infants Into A Round Form As We Do, As They Allege That
This Practice Injures The Brain, And Impairs The Senses.
They suffer their
hair to grow, which is carefully combed.
The nation is divided into tribes,
like those of the Arabs and some others, and no man ever marries in his own
tribe: just as the children of Thummim among the Arabs never take a wife
from that tribe. Or, for example, a man of the tribe of Robayat marries a
daughter of the tribe Modzar, and a Modzar marries a Robayat; and they are
of opinion, that such alliances add to the dignity and power of their
children.
In the kingdom of the Balhara, and all the other kingdoms of the Indies,
there are men who burn themselves in consequence of their belief in the
doctrine of transmigration. When a man has come to this resolution, he asks
leave of the king, which being obtained, he goes in procession round all
the public squares of the city, and proceeds to the place appointed, where
a pile of dry wood is ready for the purpose, having many persons all round
to feed the fire, which blazes prodigiously. At last the person comes
forward, preceded by a number of instruments, and moves round the pile in
the midst of his friends and relations. During this ceremony, some person
places on his head a garland of straw, or dry herbs, filled with burning
coals, on which they pour sandrach, which takes fire as strongly as
naphtha; notwithstanding of which, he continues his progress without
betraying any sense of pain, or change of countenance, though the crown of
his head be all on fire, and the stench of his burning flesh is felt all
round. At length, he comes up to the pile, and throws himself in, where he
is soon reduced to ashes. A credible person says, he once saw an Indian
burn himself; and when he came near the pile, he drew out a cangiar, or
sharp knife, with which he ripped himself open, and pulling out the lap of
his liver with his left hand, cut off a piece of it with his cangiar, and
gave it to one of his brothers, talking all the time with the most
invincible contempt of death and torture, and at length leaped into the
fire, in his passage to hell.
At the accession of some kings of the Indies, the following ceremony is
observed: A large quantity of rice is dressed and spread out upon leaves of
mousa, in presence of the king. Then three or four hundred persons come, of
their own accord, without any constraint whatever; and after the king has
eaten of the rice, he gives some of it to all that come forwards in
succession, which they eat in his presence; and by this ceremony, they
engage to burn themselves on the day when this king dies or is slain, and
they punctually fulfil their promise.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 75 of 425
Words from 38404 to 38910
of 222093
