The Sunday Oregonian., November 10, 1907, Magazine Section, Page 2, Image 46

THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, NOVEMBER 10, 1907.
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Funeral Festivities of .
the Late Sadaw, or Vicar -General, of. the
Buddhists in Burmah
One of the Strangest and Most Remarka
ble Festivals in the World
GIRLS WHO, TAKE PART W THE : CEREMONIES
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cmZSG- IS JL PART OF Tim CEREMONIES. HERE 7EEY KICK WUH
THEIR BARE FEET. AND G-IVZ VIOLENT UPWARD KNOCKS WITH
THEIR. KNEES
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2SO fUNERAI, QT THE SADAfVJS COUPDETE
GJAWT JSZiEPKANT J00 FEET HI&H, REPRESENTING- THE SACRED WHITE.
ELEPHANT FROM THE SERINE GE ITS BACK. IS SUSPENDED THE G-IEDEQ
COFFIN.
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ZT-LA&NLFI CENT JTCNERJIL, PILB WHICH 13 SBT AFIRE ST JKTROCKfrr
BY CAPTAIN FRANCIS THATCHER,
1.ATE INDIAN STAFF CORPS,
IHAVB been In places that the foot of
white men has seldom trod and I have
looked upon things the like of which
few mull of my color have witnessed but
of all sights the glittering, unique and
fantastic pageants of the purple and gor
geous Bast attending the funeral festivi
ties of Sadaw or Vicar-General of the
Buddhists In Burma is unparallod
throughout the world.
The word "festlvitlea" is used advisedly
for the Buddhist monk does not "die" as
an ordinary Individual, he "returns" to
the highest heaven of the spirits, there
fore a Buddhist monk's funeral la called
a "pohn-nyee-byan" the return of the
great glory.
Even a Junior member of the order of
the great yellow robe is cremated with
great ceremony and state, but when a
distinguished head of the order dies, such
as the illustrious Sadaw who recentls
passed away and whose obsequies I de
scribe here It is a great event.
As tens of thousands of the faithful
florked in masses from every part of the
empire to attend the great pageant a
white man here and there, drawn by the
Ftrange and fantastic, followed In their
wake. L,lko them, a craving for the un
usual sights of life, drew me to the scene.
l.onn before the arrival of the first pil
grim the corpse of the Sadaw had been
carefully washed by his chief supporters
.id monastic scholars (a group of whom
are shown in the accompanying illustra
tion surrounding the Sadaw) and the in
testines taken out. The cavity of the
stomach lind been filled with ashes, saw
dust, spires and other suhstances likely to
dry up the humors and the skin sewn to
gether asain. The body hnd been spread
over with a thin layer of wax and tightly
swathed in white cloth from head to toot.
The linen had been then varnished over
with wood oil and then every particle of
thf corpse covered with gold leaf. The
body was now placed in a coffin made of
a single log roughly hollowed out and
with a very substantial lid. The lid was
not fastened down for a considerable-time
and a pipe led from the coffin Into the
ground to assist In drying tne Sadaw's
body, hut this last was hardly necessary
for the Vicar-General was already a
withered up old man of great age at the
time of his demise. The inner coffin was
then,varnished and gilded all over.
- Then, an outer casket was prepared
called a "payoung bohng" which was i
sumptuously gilded and painted in the
panels which were fringed with mosaic
bits of looking glass, colored glass and
zinc. The paintings represented relig
ious subjects, scenes from the life of
Shin Gautama; his famous meetings with
the old man, the sick, the dead, and the
monk: his departure at night from the
magnificent court of King Thoodawdana;
his ascent to Tawadebuthara and the like.
Rearing himself over the top of the sarco
phagus stood the figure of an Immense
dragon recalling the pious dragon chief
that sheltered the Lord Buddha from a
flood of rain by coiling seven times round
his body and expanding It's hood as a
covering.
This all being completed, a substantial
building of teak, open all round, was
erected, with the tapering ecclesiastical
"paya-that" rising over it; above this
was fixed an immense white umbrella
with deep white lace fringe and round
about hung a number of paintings rep
resenting the different races of men the
swarthy Hindu, the oblique-eyed China
man, the Kareum. with his pig tattooed
on his back, and the ghastly white
faced European, with his dog and gun.
All the paintings were grotesque and
some simply horrible In their delinea
tions of the torments of hell. Here and
there In this odd kind of mortuary
chapel were "Kehnnaya." gay tinselled
pasteboard figures of men with birds'
lower extremities.
Boxing as One Feature of a funeral
Here the body lay in state and a con
stant stream of pilgrims from all parts
of the country flocked to visit it and to
say their religious sentences and' make
offerings of fruit and flowers as they
would at a pagoda. The lying In state
lasted several months, during which
time a continuous succession of festivi
ties were celebrated with dances, plays,
all kinds of games, such as the popular
national one of Gohn-nylre ton pure.
Gohn or khon means to Jump and nylre
is to deny or bluster. A more noisy and
contentious game it would be difficult to
find and boxing, which is a very com
mon institution, but hardly carried out
according to the Queensbury rules, for
they kick with their bare feet andglve
violent upward knocks with the knee
and have many other unorthodox de
vices for knocking one's opponent out,
and all the while wild bursts of music
fill the air. At the end or this periocLl
the final act of this strange ceremony
or scries of ceremonies takes place, and
the accompanying photographs will give
some idea of the weird and fantastic
magnificence of the scene, which, is most
ly splashed out in vivid blotches of
crimson and gold.
An enormous funeral pyre was con
structed of bamboo matting, pasteboard,
brightly painted and covered with glitter
ing tlnsel This was in the form of a
seven-roofed spire, representing the num
ber of heavens of the nat-dewahs. It
was square up to the height of 30 or 40
feet, where there was a platform on
which was placed a sort of. cenotaph
resembling the gorgeous payoung- bohng
or outer casket in construction and de
coration. Above this towered, some
hundred feet higher, the great bamboo
canopy. Numerous other spires were ar
ranged aroung the great central one, all
glittering with gold and flashing with
thousands of tiny mirrors and colored
glasses, to be burnt along with It. No
function of such importance as this
would be complete without the two na
tional emblems being represented the
peacock and the white elephant.
On one side of the funeral pyre, with
Its gaily decorated seven-roofed spire
towering towards the heavens, stood an
enormous white elephant on a mosaic
teak platform, made of pasteboard paint
ed white, with a richly painted howdah
perched on its - back, a hundred feet
In the air. It was certainly a
curious spectacle, with Its companion,
the peacock, on the other side,
with its glittering upstanding tall, spark
ling in its thousands of facets of multi
colored mirrors, reflecting the flashing
lights and myriads of falling sparks and
bursting fire-balls, innumerable rockets
from every side. Now comes a part of the
ceremonial which seemed to outsiders
strangely absurd, but had a rellfious
significance to the Burman and c.ulte
In keeping with his national characteris
tics. Borne half a dozen stout rattan or
coir ropes were fastened to tne car and
all the able-bodied men or as many as
could hang on to the ropes seized them
and commenced a frantic and uproar
ious tug-of-war. There was no .selection
of sides or numbers, and reinforcements
were always ready- to back up the side
which was on the point of losing. This
contest went on for hours. The explana
tion of this curious rite IS this: . It is
considered of the greatest possible merit
to drag a jjohu-gyee's body to the funetaU.
pyre, and this Koothoh falls to the share
of those who win In the tug-of-war.
Grotesque Spectacular Incineration.
At last the coffin was brought to the
pyre and hoisted up to its lofty plat
form, beneath which is stored a ereat
quantity of combustible material: wood
soaked in oil, pitch and abundance of
scented chips. Around the cars surged
thousands in their bright-colored silk
garments and variegated head-cloths.
Many wore horribly grotesque masks,
representing the weirdest kinds of dev
ils the whole scene being lighted by
thousands of torches and colored fires;
shrieks of demoniacal laughter and
shouts of derision rent the air;
snatches of chants and songs mingled
with the angry cries of men fighting
and quarreling, for now the culminat
ing point is reached when the pyre Is
about to be lighted. On ordinary occa
sions a liielfer match would be suffi
cient or even the fire obtained by the
friction of a plug In the hollow bam
boo, but these methods are too worldly
and would fall to satisfy the sanctity
and dignity of the illustrious Sadaw.
Tht pyre had to be lighted by rockets
fired from a distance. Scores of these
had been prepared weeks beforehand
and carried round, triumphantly In pro
cession by the people who had made
them, preceded by bands of music with
young .men and dancing girls, singing
and dancing of the potency of the
powder and the accuracy of the aim
which will attain for them the glory of
setting fire to the pyre.
Huge Sized Rockets.
Each rocket had a figure of some
kind, a nat-dewah, a tiger, a bear, at
tached to it. Some of them were of
huge size, constructed of the trunks
of trees hollowed out and crammed full
of combustibles. In which sulphur was
the chief ingredient. Many were eight
to ten feet long and five or six feet lit
circumference and secured by Iron
hoops and rattan lashings. Then, amid
the shouts of the multitude, the rock
ets were exploded and the sky. literally
liquid gold and fire, lighted up the
strangest scene Imaginable. The larg
est of the rockets were mounted on go
carts and many others guided by a
rope fastened to the paya-that. Many
of the rockets failed to have any other
effect than making a jgreat splutter
others toppled off their go-carts amid
screams of derision from the crowd,
but it was viot unattended by loss of,
life, as might have been expected, for
some of the bigger rockets flew off at
a tangent Into the crowd, where its
fiery belchlngs found mnny victims,
but this was only Incidental and was
to be expected.
In 'the midst of the flashing lights
and thundering rejrts one lucky
rocket plunged right into theinflam
mable materials piled below the bier
and in a few moments the flames were
leaping like great yellow tongues, lick
ing the topmost pinnacle of the spire.
It was the beginning of the end. Roof
after roof fell, setting fire to all the
surrounding spires and offerings placed
round the basement. The joints of
the bamboos exploded with the noise
of pistol shots, whilst the swaying
crowd cheered each separate occurrence,
ami when finally the central spire fell
with a hiss, a shout of triumph roso
from the assembled multitude, suggest
ing anything but death and pious ob
servances.
But there on earth they will tell yoil
all is changeful, sad and unreal, and
one more death brings but nearer toi
the fir.nl rest of Nehban. "When the
last smoldering embers have cooled,
the monastic brethren search for any
pieces of bones that may remain, and
these are carefully gathered up and
pounded down, mixed Into a paste and',
molded into an Mfage of Buddha, whlclj
Is stored up in the monastery.
ON BEAUTIFUL RIVERSIDE DRIVE
New York City's Beauty Spot Has Cost $10,000,000.
With the completion of Riverside drive
to Washington Heights New York may
safely boast of the finest and perhaps the
costliest driveway In the world. The ex
tension of the drive with Its elaborate
parking of the Hudson shore will prob
ably be thrown open to the public during
the Fall. Many of the architectural feat
ures meanwhile have. been completed, the
carefully graded slopes have been covered
with grass, and for upward of a mile
the new drive is practically completed.
The extension commences at One Hun
dred and Thirty-fifth street, in line with
the great steel viaduct which crosses
Manhattan valley and. following the line
of the Hudson shore in great sweeping
curves, finally joins Boulevard Lafayette
near One Hundred and Fifty-eighth
street. The cost of this mile of parking
will be in excess of $3,000,000.
The new section of Riverside Drive con
forms to the general plan and decorations
of the present park. It is carried along
at about the same height above the river
and at every point commands an uninter
rupted view to the west and north. The
extension will be richer, however, in ar
chitectural features. Considerable vari
ety has-been left to 'the western face of
the slope by breaking It at frequent In
tervals with elaborate stone arches or
massive walls and winding staircases.
There will be four of these arches at the
ends of the cross streets, flanked by rows
of steps connecting the various terraces
of the drive. The stone work through
out is very massive, the exposed surfaces
being of light granite.
The entire western face of the new park
will bo broken by. a aeries of walks coiJstlll other patns run along the varlo
neetlng the several terraces. These in
turn will be shaded with a wealth of
foliage. One of the features of the upper
level of the drive will be an elaborate
public shelter at the foot of One Hundred
and Fifty-second street. The lower ter
races will be supplied with public emfort
stations. Those at One Hundred and
Thirty-eighth street and One Hundred
and Fifty-first street have already been
built. The treatment of the cross streets
also marks an Improvement over the
older section. The street arches, which
are of granite, are arranged with interior
staircases, so that the drive may be
reached conveniently from the street level
on either side. The river view from the
new extension of the drive is, even finer
than from the lower park. There are
fewer unsightly objects between the drive
and the river, such as docks and coal
yards. The drive front at this section
describes a beautiful curve outward, end
ing In Washington Point, while the un
broken line of the Palisades bounds the
opposite shore of the Hudson.
A broad driveway, a bridlepath and
one or more footpaths will extend from
end to end of the new extension. The
main drive will be 60 feet In width,
bordered with grass, and eventually It
will be overhung with shade trees. The
bridlepath winds from side to side. In
some1 places descending to' the uppor
terraces of the park. At several points
where the drive crosses one of the
grranite bridges the bridlepath merges
Into the main drive. The footpaths ex
tend on both sides of the drive fo
practically the entire distance, while
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terraces of the eastern slopes. One of
the novel features of the extension is a
great interior pipe gallery which runs
Its entire length. The gallery, which
is four feet beneath the upper level of
the drive, is six feet square, thus mak
ing it convenient from end to end. It is
connected with the surface by a series
of manholes at intervals of 150 feet.
The gallery will be used for wires and
pipes of all kinds.
The river front along the line of the
new extension has presented some in
teresting engineering problems for the
builders of the drive. First of all. it
was necessary to ' bridge. Manhattan
Valley with a great steel causeway, a
span nearly seven blocks long. The
drive had to be carried high over the
houses and factories of this section,
while at the same time maintaining the
general level. At other points great
retaining walls have been built upward
of 100 feet in height of solid granite.
The most curious feature of the drive
from an engineering standpoint is the
great extonsion or apron outside the
retaining wall In front of Trinity
Cemetery. It was originally Intended
to cut away the western part of the
cemetery from the drtve, but it was
found to be impossible to gain admit
tance. The only thing to do was to go
around the cemetery, and since the New
York Central tracks bounded It on the
west the problem was a difficult one.
A massive retaining wall was built to
the height of the drive and the road
way has been actually extended over
the tracks for a distance of 60 feet
without any visible means of support. ,
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