Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

J198 AUSTRALASIA.ns in India, Into the foui- castes of the Bralimans, Ksliatryas, Yaisyas, and Sudras.But these primordial groups arc again subdivided into numerous sub-castes, whilethe ancient Balinese nobility constitutes a special class between the Vaisyas andSudras. All these distinctions are maintained by inveterate custom with pitilessferocity. The daughter of a Brahman marrying a man of lower position is thrownto the flames, and her lover sewed up in a sack and drowned. Even in theprovinces under direct Dutch control, public opinion compels the magistrates tobanish any J'oung persons violating the laws of caste. Brahmans have often beenknown to slay their own daughters guilty of this offence. Nevertheless, intercrossingsare frequent, both Brahmans and nobles having the right to take fromthe lower ranks as many wives as they like, the offspring of such unions inheritingthe paternal caste.The Balinese are still worshij^pers of the Hindu trinity, and everywhere is tobe seen the tricolour flag, rod, white, and blue, symbolising the Creator, Preserver,and Destroyer. But the efBgies of Brahma and Vishnu have for the most partbeen replaced by those of Durga and Ganesa, Buddhist influences also- persistunder the outward forms of Brahmanism, and Siva, by far the most popular deity,is invoked as a beneficent god.In other respects the Balinese have little religiouszeal, and display no intolerance towards those of other religions. Some thousand.?of the lower caste have even become Mohammedans, in order thus to improvetheir social position. But since the murder of a missionary in 1881, all furtherattempts to propagate Christianity have been discoutiuucd. The thousands ofHindu temples scattered over the island are obviously too numerous for thefaithful, for many are in ruins and no one thinks of repairing them. Thereligious ceremonies observed with the greatest fervour are those connected withhusbandr}^ These agricultural islanders delight in processions round theirfields, in worshipping at the little bamboo shrines of the goddess of the crops, andcrowning themselves with chaplets of flowers after abundant harvests.The religious jurisprudence is excessively harsh, and severe public penancesare frequently imposed in order to avert any fancied forebodings Of evil. Tillrecently certain ill omens required the shedding of human blood, at timesaccompanied even with the most atrocious tortures. One of the hideous devicesof the priests was to stretch their victims on the sharp points of young bamboosand leave them to linger for days until released by death from their unspeakableagony. The wives of Brahmans and of princes were morally bound to perishin the flames kindled to consume the bodies of their husbands, and twentyyears after the last case of suttee in India, Bali still had its holocausts ofwidows.The Balinese live almost exclusively on rice, other cereals, and fruits, porkbeing the only flesh permitted by the priests, who, however, never touch it themselves.The extensive cocoanut groves yield large quantities of oil, and domesticindustries as well as agriculture are even more developed than in Java. Thejewellers, metal-chasers, and armourers are very skilful, while the women weaveand dye beautiful cotton and silk textiles.