waters.

jug of water, which was to serve on the journey to the other world, and also different pieces of paper, which were to be used as charms or paffports, to enable them to pafs through all difficulties on the road. But one of the chief and most ridiculous ceremonies at funerals was the killing a Tethichi, a domestic quadruped, resembling a little dog, to accompany the deceased in their journey to the other world. They fixed a ftring about its neck, believing that necessary to enable it to pass the deep Such were the funeral rites of the common people. Those of their kings and great lords were attended with an abundance of ceremonies, ("see them described at large ad locum") of which the following are a few. Great prefents of rich dreffes, beautiful feathers and flaves were amaffed together; the corpfe was dressed in the richest manner, and adorned with gold, jewels, &c. with a variety of habits heaped one over the other. The flave was then facrificed, who had had the fuperintendance of the deceased's family or private worship, that he might be ready to serve him in the fame capacity in the other world. The funeral proceffion then commenced in great state, and the body was placed on a large odoriferous pile of wood. While the royal corpse and all its habits, arms and enfigns were burning, a number of flaves, both of thofe belonging to his household and those presented on this occafion by others, were facrificed in an area below. Along with the flaves were facrificed some of the irregularly-formed men, whom the king had collected for his entertainment, that they might afford him the same amusement in the other world; and for the fame reason, they used alfo to facrifice fome of his wives. The number of victims was proportioned to the grandeur of the funeral, and amounted fometimes, as feveral hiftorians affirm, to two hundred. Among the other facrifices the Techichi was not omitted; they were firmly perfuaded, that without such a guide it would be impoffible to get through fome dangerous ways, which led to the other world."From the firft Vol. of the Abbé Clavigero's Italian Hift. of Mexico, tranflated by Charles Cullen, Efq. 1787.

Though Homer goes not fo far as wives (they indeed were all left at home) yet he makes Achilles. facrifice captive-flaves and animals at Patroclus's funeral, befide fheep and oxen as common victims.

Four fprightly courfers with a deadly groan

Pour forth their lives, and on the pyre are thrown.

Of nine large dogs, domeftic at his board,

Fall two, felected to attend their lord.

Then laft of all (* and horrible to tell,

Sad facrifice!) twelve Trojan captives fell.

On these the rage of fire victorious preys,

Involves and joins them in one common blaze.-POPE's Homer, B. XXIIL

And Virgil follows in the fame track.

-Sulmone creatos

Quatuor hic juvenes, totidem quos educat Ufens

Viventes rapit: inferias quos immolat umbris

Captivoque rogi perfundat fanguine flammas.En. X.

However in both these cases the immolations were of captives taken in war. fights of gladiators at funerals.

The Romans had their

The following extracts concern the funeral rites of the African favages at this day, as related in "Religious Ceremonies of all Nations." Folio.

"Provisions, &c. are put into the graves of the deceased, to support them in their supposed journey. When the king dies, his wives poifon themselves the moment he expires, in order to die with and wait on him in his progress to the other world. A numerous retinue of grandees are also selected for the fame purpose."-Religion, &c. of Inhabitants of Agag in Africa,

"When the negroes of Senegal inter their dead, they bury with them all the implements and utenfils they made ufe of when living, and afterwards close their graves.The natives of Gambia bury their dead with all their gold and valuable treasures, and he, who has the richest grave, is in their opinion the happiest man.--When the King of Guinella dies, his funeral is pompous; all his wives, moft faithful friends and domeftics, and even his favourite horse, are facrificed at the grave, in order to attend him to the other world.The natives of Benin and Soufos bring prefents for the deceased, which are buried with his body. Their kings and grandees are buried in private places or in the deepest rivers, that no one may be able to purloin the treasures buried with them."-Religion of Nigritia or Nigeria in Africa.

"They furnish the deceased with a bow and arrow, and adorn him with all the gayest things he was poffeffed of in his life-time, and then make him suitable presents all which they bury with him. If a prince or great man dies, they bury a fufficient quantity of flaves with him to attend him in the other world.In the more remote parts of Guinea, they impale a youth alive in an hollow tree, in order to attend upon a deceased hero or commander in another world. Such as die at Benin are always accompanied by a number of flaves. The courtiers of the king are ambitious of attending him on this occafion; but that honour is reserved for his peculiar favourites, who are buried along with him.”——Religion of Inhabitants of Benin, Ardra, &c. in Africa.

"The natives of Lovango inter with their dead a confiderable part of their effects, valuable presents and goods. At the decease of a grandee in Lovango and Congo, befide coftly prefents and foreign commodities, he is furnished with domeftics and young women to attend him on his journey; and there are rivals, who ftrenuously contest for the honour of being buried alive on this occafion.-The common people are furnished with a bow and arrows, a drinking cup, a wooden platter, and pipes and tobacco for smoking."Religion of Congo, Angola, &c.

CHAP.

Reasons of the frict adherence of the Gentoos to their native cuftoms.-Their customs have been fimilar to what they are at prefent for two thousand years at least; probably much longer.-Burning of wives not gone into defuetude, but only rendered more difficult, as being oppofed by both Chriftian and Turk.-An enthufiaftic zeal for old cuftoms is a grand characteristic of the Gentoo-Tribes.-Their contempt of life gives rife to frequent fuicide, particularly of a religious kind.—Account of Gentoo-School of Bramins now flourishing at Banaris on the banks of the Ganges. Self-facrifice of the Gentoos under the chariot wheels of their idol Jaggernaut.— Suicide in honour of a chief Bramin.-The aged and infirm among Gentoos brought down at their own defire to perish on the banks of the Ganges; a facred river.A Gentoo facrifices himself in order to flop a contagious diforder in his family.— Suicide among the Siamefe. The Japanese remarkably prone to fuicide, both on religious and fecular accounts: are full of its praises to their children.-Favourable notions of fuicide prevailed among all the Scythian Tribes; who thought it honourable and advantageous to kill themselves under infirmities or in old age. Reasons why fuicide in old age or under bodily infirmities should be particularly countenanced among warlike nations.Whence the idea sprang of fuch longevity among Northern nations, as to make them tired of living, and for that reason alone, deftroy themselves.-Suicide among the worshippers of Odin in Scandinavia, a branch of Scythian adventurers.—War and carnage the delight of the Scandinavians.-Odin's chief title, "Father of Slaughter."-The first wish of the worShippers of Odin, to die in battle; the next, by fome violent death.-A peaceful death excluded from Odin's feaft of heroes in Afgardia.-Valhalla or the Hall of Odin, for the reception of those, who died a violent death of any fort.-The public felf-murder of Odin.-Hence much religious fuicide among his followers, as being promifed great rewards.-Account of Valhalla and who were admitted into it; thofe, who fell in battle, and those who killed themselves, either to avoid dying on a bed, or to accompany their deceafed lord; as wives, friends, flaves, &c.-Sole purpose of Afiatic fuicide (of which the Scandinavian was a branch) to promote

I

a fuppofed happiness in future; not (like European) to be a relief from prefent mifery. Not to be harsh in our judgment of Afiatic fuicide, because of its confiftency in principle and practice.

T may be asked, "is it not wonderful, that, in fuch a course of ages, and especially fince there has been a mixture of so many different nations among the Gentoos, fo unnatural and horrid a custom as the burning of "wives fhould not have grown into total difufe?" Some peculiar caufes however may be affigned for the ftrict adherence of the Gentoos to their native cuftoms. The inhabitants of hot climates are known to be endued with an extreme degree [z] of fenfibility; from whence every object and every custom makes a deep impreffion upon them. This fenfibility alfo, through the heat and regularity of the climate is accompanied with a correfponding indolence [A] and

[z] "Nature having framed the Indians of a texture fo weak, as to render them timid, has formed them at the fame time of an imagination fo lively, that every object makes the ftrongest impreffions. upon them. The delicacy of organs, which renders them apprehenfive of death, contributes likewise to make them dread a thousand things worfe than death. The very fame sensibility makes them fly and dare all dangers.". MONTESQUIEU, Spirit of Laws, B. XIV. c. iii.

[A] "An abhorrence of the shedding of blood derived from his religion, and seconded by the great temperance of a life, which is passed by most of them in a very sparing use of animal food and a total abstinence from intoxicating liquors, the influence of the most regular of climates, in which the great heat of the fun and the great fertility of the foil, leffen most of the wants to which the human fpecies is subject in aufterer regions, and fupply the reft without the exertion of much labour; these causes, with various derivations and confequences from them, have all together contributed to render the Indian the most enervated inhabitant of the globe. He thudders at the fight of blood, and is of a pufillanimity only to be excused and accounted for by the great delicacy of his configuration. This is fo flight as to give him no chance of oppofing with fuccefs the onset of an inhabitant of more northern regions. But in a country of fuch extent, divided into fo many diftinct fovereignties, it cannot be expected, that there should be no exceptions to one general affertion of the character of the inhabitants. There is every where in the mountains a wild inhabitant, whofe bow an European can fcarcely draw. There are in the woods people who fubfift by their incurfions into the neighbouring plains, and who, without the ferocity of the American, poffefs all his treachery; and according to Mr. Thevenot, India has had its cannibals in the center of one of the moft cultivated provinces of the empire. The Rajpouts by their courage have preferved themfelves almoft independent of the Great Mogul. The inhabitants of the countries ftill nearer to the mountains of the frontier, diftinguished by the activity of their character from the indolence of the reft of the nation, have eafily turned Mahommedans, and thefe "Afghans" Afghans" are the best troops in the emperor's fervice, and the moft dangerous enemies of the throne, when in arms against it."--See Differtation prefixt to Military Tranfactions in Indoftan. Printed in 1763. «The

and inactivity of temper, which prevents the defire, as well as the exertion, neceflary to effect any great change of manners or customs. The customs of the Indians (and especially that before us) make a part of their religion, with which they are fo mixt and interwoven, that the one cannot undergo any alteration, without infringing on the other; and there is fcarce any the most common action left indifferent and not regulated by fome religious obfervance. To which it may be added (not indeed much to the credit of European adventurers) that the native tribes of Indians cannot have had much relish for altering their own customs and laws, from what they have "feen" of the behaviour and "felt" from the rapacity of too many of their "Chriftian" vifitors. Even the different "Cafts" among themfelves bear no good will towards each other or are willing to adopt each others' [B] cuftoms: it can therefore scarce be imagined, that ftrangers, of whofe principles and cuftoms they have no small abhorrence, and who differ fo widely from them in every effential, can

"The country of the Morattoes lies between Bombay and Gol-Kondah; its limits are not known with any degree of precifion to Europeans, and we are equally ignorant of the origin and hiftory of the people. They have now figured for near a century, as the most enterprifing foldiers of Indostan, and as the only nation of Indians, which seems to make war an occupation by choice: for the Rajpouts are foldiers by birth. They often let out bodies of men and sometimes whole armies. But notwithstanding their warlike character, they are in other respects the most scrupulous obfervers of the religion of Brama; never eating any thing that has life, nor even killing the infects which moleft them: however a buffalo facrificed with many ftrange ceremonies atones for the blood of their own species, which they shed in war."--Hiftory of Military Tranfactions, &c. B. I. p. 40.

[B]" The Cafts or Tribes into which the Indians are divided, are reckoned by travellers to be eighty-four. Perhaps when India fhall be better known, we shall find them to be many more. For there is a fingular difpofition in the Indians, from very trifling circumftances, to form a fect apart from the rest of their neighbours. But the order of pre-eminence of all the cafts in a particular city or province is generally indifputably decided. The Indian of an inferior caft would think himself honoured by adopting the customs of a fuperior caft; but this would give battle fooner than not vindicate its prerogatives: the inferior receives the victuals prepared by a fuperior caft with refpect; but the superior will not partake of a meal, which has been prepared by the hands of an inferior caft. Their marriages are circumfcribed by the fame barriers, as the reft of their intercoures; and hence, befides the national phyfiognomy, the members of each caft preferve an air of ftill greater refemblance to one another. There are fome cafts remarkable for their beauty, others as remarkable for their uglinefs."Differtation prefixed to Military Tranfactions, &c.

Any deviations from the established rules of their caft renders them polluted, fubjects them to be rejected by their tribe, to be degraded, and to be obliged to herd with the Hallachores, who are the refufe and outcast of all the other tribes and equally detefted and difowned by them all.