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attentively to a confused murmur which came through the
thick branches.
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The murmur soon became more distinct; it now
seemed like a distant concert of human voices
accompanied by brass instruments. Passepartout was all
eyes and ears. Mr. Fogg patiently waited without a word.
The Parsee jumped to the ground, fastened the elephant to
a tree, and plunged into the thicket. He soon returned,
saying:
A procession of Brahmins is coming this way. We
must prevent their seeing us, if possible.
The guide unloosed the elephant and led him into a
thicket, at the same time asking the travellers not to stir.
He held himself ready to bestride the animal at a
moment s notice, should flight become necessary; but he
evidently thought that the procession of the faithful would
pass without perceiving them amid the thick foliage, in
which they were wholly concealed.
The discordant tones of the voices and instruments
drew nearer, and now droning songs mingled with the
sound of the tambourines and cymbals. The head of the
procession soon appeared beneath the trees, a hundred
paces away; and the strange figures who performed the
religious ceremony were easily distinguished through the
branches. First came the priests, with mitres on their
heads, and clothed in long lace robes. They were
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Around the World in 80 Days
surrounded by men, women, and children, who sang a
kind of lugubrious psalm, interrupted at regular intervals
by the tambourines and cymbals; while behind them was
drawn a car with large wheels, the spokes of which
represented serpents entwined with each other. Upon the
car, which was drawn by four richly caparisoned zebus,
stood a hideous statue with four arms, the body coloured a
dull red, with haggard eyes, dishevelled hair, protruding
tongue, and lips tinted with betel. It stood upright upon
the figure of a prostrate and headless giant.
Sir Francis, recognising the statue, whispered, The
goddess Kali; the goddess of love and death.
Of death, perhaps, muttered back Passepartout, but of
love that ugly old hag? Never!
The Parsee made a motion to keep silence.
A group of old fakirs were capering and making a wild
ado round the statue; these were striped with ochre, and
covered with cuts whence their blood issued drop by
drop stupid fanatics, who, in the great Indian
ceremonies, still throw themselves under the wheels of
Juggernaut. Some Brahmins, clad in all the sumptuousness
of Oriental apparel, and leading a woman who faltered at
every step, followed. This woman was young, and as fair
as a European. Her head and neck, shoulders, ears, arms,
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Around the World in 80 Days
hands, and toes were loaded down with jewels and gems
with bracelets, earrings, and rings; while a tunic bordered
with gold, and covered with a light muslin robe, betrayed
the outline of her form.
The guards who followed the young woman presented
a violent contrast to her, armed as they were with naked
sabres hung at their waists, and long damascened pistols,
and bearing a corpse on a palanquin. It was the body of an
old man, gorgeously arrayed in the habiliments of a rajah,
wearing, as in life, a turban embroidered with pearls, a
robe of tissue of silk and gold, a scarf of cashmere sewed
with diamonds, and the magnificent weapons of a Hindoo
prince. Next came the musicians and a rearguard of
capering fakirs, whose cries sometimes drowned the noise
of the instruments; these closed the procession.
Sir Francis watched the procession with a sad
countenance, and, turning to the guide, said, A suttee.
The Parsee nodded, and put his finger to his lips. The
procession slowly wound under the trees, and soon its last
ranks disappeared in the depths of the wood. The songs
gradually died away; occasionally cries were heard in the
distance, until at last all was silence again.
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Around the World in 80 Days
Phileas Fogg had heard what Sir Francis said, and, as
soon as the procession had disappeared, asked: What is a
suttee?
A suttee, returned the general, is a human sacrifice,
but a voluntary one. The woman you have just seen will
be burned to-morrow at the dawn of day.
Oh, the scoundrels! cried Passepartout, who could not
repress his indignation.
And the corpse? asked Mr. Fogg.
Is that of the prince, her husband, said the guide; an
independent rajah of Bundelcund.
Is it possible, resumed Phileas Fogg, his voice
betraying not the least emotion, that these barbarous
customs still exist in India, and that the English have been
unable to put a stop to them?
These sacrifices do not occur in the larger portion of
India, replied Sir Francis; but we have no power over
these savage territories, and especially here in Bundelcund.
The whole district north of the Vindhias is the theatre of
incessant murders and pillage.
The poor wretch! exclaimed Passepartout, to be
burned alive!
Yes, returned Sir Francis, burned alive. And, if she
were not, you cannot conceive what treatment she would
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Around the World in 80 Days
be obliged to submit to from her relatives. They would
shave off her hair, feed her on a scanty allowance of rice,
treat her with contempt; she would be looked upon as an
unclean creature, and would die in some corner, like a
scurvy dog. The prospect of so frightful an existence drives
these poor creatures to the sacrifice much more than love
or religious fanaticism. Sometimes, however, the sacrifice
is really voluntary, and it requires the active interference of
the Government to prevent it. Several years ago, when I
was living at Bombay, a young widow asked permission of
the governor to be burned along with her husband s body;
but, as you may imagine, he refused. The woman left the
town, took refuge with an independent rajah, and there
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| Cytat |
Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
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