FEMALE INFANTICIDE AMONG THE RAJPUTS. 33 his body, and flung it out of the hut. He then lay down in his hammock in tranquillity and peace. This was most probably a boa-constrictor, whose bite, though painful, is not venomous, and which destroys his prey by crushing it to death and gorging it whole.* May the old serpent Satan become as universally an object of antipathy to men; and may they be taught to dread that deadly poison of sin with which he destroys the soul! May the great Deliverer who bruised his head make us strong to wrestle with our great adversary, and "bruise Satan under our feet shortly!" FEMALE INFANTICIDE AMONG THE RAJPUTS. AJMERE, or Rajputana, is a large province of India, lying between Agra and Delhi on the east, and bounded by sandy deserts on the west, which separate it from the countries on the Indus. Remarkably destitute of rivers and means of irrigation, except in the southern parts, where some mountain streams descend, it is greatly inferior in fertility and productiveness to other provinces of Hindustan, which are watered by the course and tributary streams of the Ganges, the Jumna, the Nerbudda, and many others which might be mentioned. It is the country of the Rajputs, a stout and handsome race, with hooked noses and Jewish features. They are excessively proudproud of their caste; and the higher the subdivision of the caste the more their pride increases. The Seesodeas, Rahtores, and Chowhans, are the principal Rajput families. Pride is a parent vice: it is productive of many others. It leads to mean and unworthy actions, and to harsh and cruel ones. The family pride of the Rajputs has brought forth amongst them many bitter fruits, and one in particular, that of female infanticide. Scripture tells us that the heathen are "without natural affection." The fearful extent to which the unnatural crime of child-murder is practised through the heathen world affords melancholy proof of the truth of this. In China, where it still pollutes the land; in New Zealand, until the Gospel came and "turned the heart of the fathers to the children;" in the South-Sea Islands, from whence, by the same blessed influence, it has been partially expelled, but in the dark places of which it still lingers; "in all continents, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; in almost every island, from the rocks of Iceland to the reefs of the Pacific; the hand of the parent has been lifted against his child." In the perpetration of this unnatural crime India has held a foremost place. Until the strong hand of British power humanely interfered, thousands of hapless infants were thrown as offerings to the river-gods; and often has the Hindu mother, deaf to the pleadings of natural affection, with her own hand consigned her infant to a watery grave. But perhaps in no part of India has this crime so fearfully prevailed as in Rajputana. Until within these last few years, the * Bernau's "Missionary Labours in British Guiana," pp. 69, 70. 34 FEMALE INFANTICIDE AMONG THE RAJPUTS. girls of the highest Rajput clans have been unsparingly sacrificed, hundreds of families sparing not one female! It is remarkable how this was brought to the notice of the British authorities. In 1838, the north-west provinces of India were wasted by a tremendous famine. So fearful were the sufferings of the people, that mothers would gladly sell even their sons for a piece of bread; and Brahmins, forgetful of the distinction of caste, ate without scruple whatever would satisfy the cravings of nature. Entire villages were left without an inhabitant; and the circumstances of the population became so altered, that it was found necessary to lower the revenue demand in many villages; and in the year 1842 Mr. Unwin, the Collector of Mynpurie, pitched his camp for this purpose among the villages of the Chowhan Rajputs. In the course of his inquiries, it became desirable to ascertain how far the population had been diminished by the famine. This he proceeded to ascertain by personal inspection, taking ten villages in each pergunnah,* and visiting one house in each village. In not one of them was there a single Chowhanee-female Chowhan-young or old, forthcoming. Females there were whom the Chowhans had taken as wives from other Rajput clans, but a Chowhan-born female was not found. They had been all destroyed in infancy! Since then the Chowhan villages have been placed under close inspection. As soon as a female infant is born, the watchmen are to give notice at the police-station. The house is visited, the child seen, and its health ordered to be reported at the end of a month before the magistrate. If the child is taken ill, the watchmen give information, and a superior police-officer sees the child and reports on its case. In case of suspicious circumstances attendant on the death of a child, the civil surgeon is sent for. In consequence of these humane measures, there were last year 1400 Chowhan girls, between the ages of one and six, living in the district; whereas, in the year 1843, not one was to be found. Mynpurie, which has been mentioned, is an old Rajput fortress, which looks far over the valley of the River Eesun, the stronghold for centuries of Chowhan Rajahs. Often, from its old walls, has been heard the sound of wall-pieces and matchlocks, to notify the birth of a grandson, son, or nephew of the reigning Chief; but no infant daughter had lived to smile within its walls. For the first time, in 1845, a little granddaughter was spared. The reigning family having been induced, by the humane interference of the British functionaries, to set this example, they have been imitated by the people in the district. In 1845, fifty-seven infants were spared; in 1846, 180; and the number has gone on steadily increasing. We would request our readers to remark the great difference which exists between the influence which heathenism exercises on man, and that which Christianity exercises. Here we have a • A pergunnah is a district consisting of a certain number of villages. FEMALE INFANTICIDE AMONG THE RAJPUTS. 35 Christian Government interfering to rescue the poor babe from the murderous grasp of its own parents, and Christian gentlemen diligently and perseveringly exerting themselves to carry out its humane intentions. We see how much the heathen are benefited by becoming the subjects of a Christian Government: how much more shall not this be the case, when, by the grace of God, they become themselves Christian; when they shall have within their own hearts that blessed principle which shall make them, of their own accord, tender-hearted and loving in every relation of life? We shall not shock our readers by sad details of the various processes of murder by which Rajput parents destroyed their daughters; but we shall proceed to inquire why they did so. The real cause of it is the sinfulness of man, his estrangement from God, and then the influence of heathenism acting upon this estranged heart, so as to make it more hard, and estrange man from his fellow, the mother from her daughter, and the parent from the child. There are parts of the desert, to the west of Rajputana, where you travel over a hard flat clay. The clay has a natural tendency to harden, and the hot sun, and the absence of water, combine to make it so hard that it sounds like a board beneath the horses' feet, and there is to be found no trace of vegetation. So, where the Gospel is unknown, the natural sinful heart grows more hard under the power of heathen ignorance and superstition, and no lovely tempers find room to spring up. The more immediate motive with the Rajputs is their family pride. According to Rajput customs, a girl of that race must not marry one of her own clan. This would be looked upon as a most criminal act, and not for a moment to be tolerated. Yet family pride will not suffer that she should marry one of a clan lower than her own. A husband must be sought for her in a subdivision higher than, or at least equal to, her own. But where the clan is amongst the highest, as is the case with the Chowhans, to find a suitable match for a daughter is always difficult, often impossible. Nor can it ever be accomplished without expensive presents on the part of the girl's father. The husband must be paid for in hard coin. That a daughter should not be married, is, in India, esteemed a deep family disgrace; and thus, among the high Rajputs, the unhappy daughter is viewed as one who is sure to entail either heavy expense or heavy disgrace upon the family; and the moody father, when her birth has been announced, has at once condemned her to death. Surely "the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty." It is now believed that one out of every two of these children is preserved, and Rajput fathers are beginning to take pleasure in their little daughters. But much more remains to be done, and totally to extirpate this "root of bitterness" must be the work of the Gospel. And yet we do not know of one Christian Missionary in Rajputana! A GOOD EXAMPLE. WE have been furnished by a correspondent with an extract from a letter of so gratifying, and, at the same time, instructive a character, that we have no hesitation in laying it before our readers. MY DEAR F.-I enclose you a cheque for the balance of our Church Missionary Society Contributions for 1851. I was much afraid that, owing to the great falling off in the collections after the sermons and meetings, we should come far behind the amount of the preceding year; but this, I am very thankful to say, has not proved to be the case: by dint of very great exertions, we have succeeded, not only in reaching the former year's amount, but also in advancing somewhat beyond it. This, too, has been accomplished in a most satisfactory way, viz. by raising ten pounds additional in permanent annual subscriptions among my own parishioners, which I value far more on account of the good effects resulting from it to themselves, than double the amount raised by casual donations from visitors. We have also succeeded in obtaining many additional subscribers to the " Gleaner" and "Green Book ;" and altogether, I am rejoiced to say, a greatly increased interest is taken in the Missionary cause throughout the parish. My remittances have beenJuly 14, 1851, 347. 14s. 10d.; Jan. 6, 1852, 391. 5s. 2d.: Total, 741. When we further add that this noble contribution is from a small village in Durham, and consists of two sermons, a public meeting, a basket of work, eleven subscribers of one pound and upwards, thirty-eight subscribers under one pound, and twenty-one Missionary boxes, it will be seen that the field must have been thoroughly worked and efficiently managed. There is one part of the above letter to which we would particularly call the attention of our friends. In consequence of the Great Exhibition the number of summer visitors had been much fewer than usual, and it was this which caused the diminution in the collections at the sermons and meetings, and led to the fears lest the proceeds of the year should be behind. Now there are probably many other parishes similarly circumstanced from time to time: from some cause or other subscriptions fall off, and receipts are diminished; but how seldom is it that the anticipation of such unpleasant results stimulates to greater exertions, as in the case before us. At great personal effort and trouble our friends in this little model Association have thoroughly canvassed the parish, and gathered up additional subscriptions, in sums of from one to six shillings, amounting to ten pounds a year. This is "a good example,” worthy of imitation far and near. How greatly would the income of our Society be increased, were instances of this quiet, unobtrusive zeal more common! Here are some of the clearest proofs of a tender love for souls, springing from affection to our blessed Lord; and they contrast strongly with those whose profession frequently so far exceeds their practice. |