Page:The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 4-1875.djvu/185

 172 THE DTOIAX ANTIQUARY. 187^ have 'put uri the skull -cop.' Sn tlmrnnghly in kw nationality, or cattle, 09 it is called in India, supposed to be changed by this process, that bo not only acquires the privilege of intermarriage with Aluhamnmdana, »o matter what hi* original caste may have been, but claims, and has con- ceded to him by Hindus, the same rights, Ofl re- gards the use of wells, Aa. r that the original MijlinniirmdanB po**os*. As it & the tendency of Hinduism to connect every act In life, ei ag% member of the bodj every portion of the dress with roHgiuu ui it i« nob to ho expected that the k n d u in I should escape so universal and *o inveterate a tendency. Let ii ' ulIv be granted that the wearing of a tuft of hair on the buck of this head lias coiul* into general uae T — whatever bt« its origin, it wilt ne- cessarily follow that it will not manly be cher- ished with the affection of personal vanity, as uinuugst tliu Chinese and Japanese, but that so superstitious a people as thu Hindus will occur sionally use it for superstitions, purposes. This does not prove, however, that it is either hea- thenish bi its origin or heathenish En its nature, Ir oVmb no) prom, dunSm, rhut if u i Dgn in heathen inm. It only proves that Chriist.ta.mi should IN) careful nut to put it to superstitious u-i -. It may he objected that not only is the. k u - dum i pal i o *ome sort of use in super* titiems ceremonies, but that the vi-rv firit tim assumed, or rather the first lime the hair of ft child's head is shaven off, 1 [siring tha k n d superstition* ceremonies oeonmpany the opera- tion. This ll undoubtedly true, but only to a winy limited exrent. When a Brahman boy*g hand is shaved for the first time, the operation is performftd on a certain month and day fixed by a rulo, and a Brahman lays hold of the tuft of hair that is to bo left, and commence* the operation before the ruacir Li applied by tho onlinary barber. A feast in made on the occa- sion, uud this is called in Jhnil the k u d a m t wedding but in Sanskrit simply kthatira, 'u Jn. —nothing being n.«.|uired but tonsure by lered test. This usage dam not pn amoUir-i other castes ; it is not ea$y to see, there- fore, how othar castas can bo made rcsponsjlilo far a peculiar usage kept up amongst that pecn- liar people thu Bralumins. Keen amongst tho Brahman*, it may be added, the sopors! consists not in the ku dum i itaolf, which was wnrn before ever Brihmana were heard of, bat in the ceremonies "by which the wearing of it is initiated. Every period of a Hindu's life, especially of a Briihman's, from his birth, and even from before his birth, to his death, is attended hy n host of oeccmonies. Ceremonies are performed the first time his ear is" bored, bnt no one will pay that tho boring of the far* is in itself a heathenish operation. When a boy is Bent for the first time to school, ceremonk'S are performed and a feast is given, but no one thinks it a heathenish thing to send a child to school because bed l.i n> ash ceremonies arc performed by heathen* tiiiir children are teat. If the tiling itself is not distinctively heathenish, and tha heatheru*m connected with it is on unnecessary ceremonial superadded by Iteutlatis, nil that ought to be required of Chriitiiuisis to avoid the super. i Ott te m o nial. It is not snffleiont lo prove a tiling to bo hea- thenish to prove that it is done by heathens. It is necessary to prove also that it i* hvaibeniili in its origin .' S ml history, and that the heathen- ish intent with which it is done by heat belongs to tho essence of its use. Hindus or© toznod to put flower* in their hair at mar- riages, and, the kn d u in 1 being the only por- tion of the hair of tho bead they retain, thn nownrs are st UOk in t heir fc n ij u m i s. I do not consider this practice heathenish either in itself is intent. I do not oi itsHor it, thoreforn, to he a praritino from which Ghristtaiw ohould think themselves debarred. On tho other liaud I admit that it is a huathenisl! pmcU'co to put flowers in thn hair when about to perform tain iiinlmroiis acts of worship, neonate it i* done with a heathumsh intent, wUh the intent of doing honour to an idol Apart from this intent, tbctt in nurvly nothing beathenisb or jmperstittnus in wearing flowers in the hair. . . . The great majority of the middle and lor dfiaaos in the Tamil enuntry, including those castes to which most of our converts belong, are worshippers of Sivu, and us sur>h they worship riiva's I0B, «inneia (thn Tsmi] PflkjyJtr), as well U or toon than Siva himself. ( hb m[' ilm oore- moniei performotl ui the worship of this divinity consist* m the worshipper** laying bold i oars (not Ganesa's, hut hi. -_.-.v u> — t !»>-• left, tnr with tlio right hand, the rio/lit ear with the left hand. Jlin.iu wu may discern a danger to