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HEREVER ' the sun shines man--'
kind is ' engaged in the , worship
wooden- idolsuch asthe-Maori-vfyNew,
Zealand caries for himself and sets up, oratt--embodiment
of natural force ssuch asthe .
Rwehijangesvpon whose receding jide'ihei
Hindoo - woman xonpdes 1 for infant; but
whatever 4kapeUtakesrtheoncrete4deade
jn ands jeyerence. .
Jamaican coolies, whose ancestors came :
from India", erect' altars, in the dark under-
growth of forests, where the mystic rites are
celebrated '-Orientals" enthronetheirrdeities
in temples : while I the' Alaskan ' sets up Z his
totem poles in the village streets. , ; ! (
.. .. J. Both the Chinese and the Japanese wor- -ship
their ancestors. . During and- since the '
war of the latter country with Russia the at
tention. of the world has been called to the ,
'Shintoism of the little brown men, which, '
tvjth them, goes hand-in-hand with patriotism,-
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JYorsjiffiag. JA fetes of. iheirccsioisitt CAiii
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There ; rrf jkw worshipers in Chicago,
'Buddhists in New York and voodooists in the
. Gulf States, so. that even in this country peo
ple ; appear to be
gods." Yet the most peculiar " and, at times,
picturesque forms of ' worshipt are found in
Oiner ianus.
tnont sacred, and I. eonquentlr, th most frequented
pUc of Bblutlcni, snnually vUHed by thousmnda of ploua '
plla;rlms. . .'. , rJ ..." ; ".
, The lower aectlona of the river are Infested with
crocodiles, while tlajera and other wild animals roam
on the banks. Tet the Hindoo mother, with blind de
votion to the teachings of her religion, calmlr launches
her little one upon the Ganges' tide. '
Of late years the British Government has taken a-
flrm stand against this practice, although emotionally
inspired womon still stealthily commit their children to
the waters when they are able to slip past the sentinels
on the hanks. ,
A relic Derhans. of the same nertAd of worahln an.
perstttlon, although manliest on another side of the
VffVr i,tt, ttrnnm ?LZTJST?, -Tl;?,r' sacerdotal practices of the
"""'"A S .mwvrmm use ox Jamaica.
Fearful Voodoo Rites
It Is well known that the rites of vnndnnl.m
arved In-Jamaica, and t her West Indian islands, and,
,. - wini'ninv Binung mt negroes or tne oouthern
, Htates. Pure voodoo worship has the snsks as Its era-
' ". . . . bodlment of deity or supernatural power. Many nor-'
NEARLY awr man and ' woman of today read. , rlhle practices, Including canrilballsin, have been as--yaars
ago, tn the school book, of the Hindoo ertbed t-the follower, of this fstttt -
: mother whb Comm.tted b.r t1Id to . th, bosom .Sd1 ltfSS:l "reiL'.nV.'i1
of Ujs Uangta river, hoping. Should it surrlva -queer-imager In front of which, book' In hand, he
at journey on u noiy waiera, uimmk vuuiu l punoea
for the career 'to coma. That was a true story. The
aathera to the muale of in ?r. -,,. n
In most religious ceremonies muslo plays an Im
portant part The people of Cochln-Chlna rely upon
Its soothing strains almost entirely to placate their
gods whom they suspect of being angry. - -,u"r
upon
a DrODltiatOrV OCCUlnn tHm lnhai.l.. -
Villaae assemble st.tha trmni nt i, .
ciliated, and offer him their choicest tributes of muslo.
Horns, flutes and various other Instruments have Darts
In this ceremony, until the god Is presumed to be satis
fled and removes from the community the threat of hi
.displeasure. . .
Hindoo mother Is doing the same today.
With these superstitious people such a prsctlcs means
sacrifice, for the river is Infested -with crocodiles and
tlvs chances of an Infant cicaplngthetr - hideous Jaws
ara slim. -
- for centuries the Gsnges hss played an Important
part in Hindoo mythology and religion.
In the religion of all classes of Hindoos tha classes
tn that land are almost as tha sands of tha sesKhore for-' the mod
rmannor ins uangea la ncia in parucuiar veuenttmn as Thle 1iiv nnrVu.j . z, . . -the
cl-snr of sins and. llnallyVtha gateway to Para- 2?..K?-i i! "?I'!-n?ed-.bjr. r.ood,!n . . fat
in. When death reaches one upon Its banks burlale', . t.mpiea. . P m on 01 the principal
"'jTlmoerfn tha urr. of tha Oange. to Its mouth'" .JSlim,iVbU SSarwSTOrtaySSl.'J
' - ....w ma , w ma d mi n or niar nr iha efa.a - ..
wnsidered tif. , bel, "Th.V". 5.?T" VJ K?.P? .T?f ' ml '
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- Ancestral worship Is tha basts f the Rhlnto worship "'
' ef Japan, which was brought mora forcibly to tha at'
. tentlon of tha world at tha close of that aountr'a war
with Russia. ' i ,
, ... Hhlntolsnvjs simply an 'appeal or prayer to .n
' ceatora. - The Japanese believe that the spirits of tha
dead are ever -about them, Interested in tfieir welfare,
and should. In common courtesy and respect, be told
of all that transpires. .. . . .'
, ., ! Japanese Hhlnto altars are simple affairs. One IS -maintained
for every household ; there urn others lot .
- communities, and atlll othera for tha nation at largo.
-At the conclusion of ths recent war the Japanese Em-
peror and his court proceeded In stata to the Imperial:
ancestral ahrlnea at Ise and made devotion to tha
" spirits of tha anceatora of tha "Emperor. ' '. :
: " -r- Shrines Not for Show :;-
. A rule, tha, shrines are almple. They Include ,
rude wooden structure., or booth, before which atrlna
of white paper, symbolizing purity, are hung. There la
little else of external show, but tha spirit of devotion
is always deep anrislncere.. -
. Away tip fo .Afghanistan Is Sabsawar, ona of tha
most pscullari religious Meecaa of the world. There,
on tha anniversary of Mohammed'a burial, Moslem be
Uevers gather to confess and expiate their alna,
-It Is a veritable olty of tortura. Penitents permit
their eyes to be put out, their tongues cut off, their
ears removed, and even auffer death.
Recently an -American traveler aawtdt) Moslems - -expiate
their sins there. One young woman, of her " -own
choice, was-rianged, head downward, upon white
hot atones; an old robber, with handa upstretched. -without
resistance, was alowly tortured to death by
baga.bf hot aand placed upon his head; another sat for
a week upon sharp nails, and later died of blood pel
sonlng. . th i
in such ways tha human mind the world" evr re
; spends to religious sentiment. Many of the practlcaa
. are a fixed part ef the plan- of salvation all accepted
motherland,
that deity. An inimnsa.flgiire of bufldha In the-temple
o - at lllogo, Japan, la almost continually confronted by
kneeling worshipers....: . - v , ' -r- .
, Both the-Chines and the Japanese worship their
ancestors, too. The former toeoDle make It a more elab-
atructlon. v , ; orate ceremony than do the Islanders.
Those who would conciliate a nelghborhood.god ap- - When a Chinese family prepares to honor Its an
proBcn n revereniiauy ana run ineir noses against its cesters, or to appeal to them for aid ana encourago
are the .Maoris of New Zealand and the surrounding
Islands. . - : . i
In. many respects a Maori- god resembles the -totem
dignitary of the Alaskan. .It la carved from a log), and
A very important (tart of f h tvnti,.n.i n..
-kiii lies in oumor nr tha vir wnA u . , - . .... .
t.vT s various tifMuenta are -rec(slly wnctined spots.
nat of Uta Jumna, at Allahabad,
7
cold and Unresponsive frontispiece. Maori girls often
do this. It la one way they bpv of making an appeal
ivr suita.Die nuaoaua. r - '
In the great Buddha temples ef the Orient, 'Pf
elalljr In China and Japan, one may observe worship of
menL a eoeclal altar, mora or leas elaborate, la erected. "
Upon It candlea burn, costly -vessels are dlsplayeWiid.
sacred Inscriptions surround It. Before such a shrine
the entire family gather to plead with the spirits that
have cone befra. . " . - , x
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