The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1891, Page 30

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30

The Lutheran Pioneer.

A Letter from India.

This letter is in answer to some questions,
asked me, about the home life and customs of
the natives. You might be interested to know
in what kind of houses our native Christians
live. They are sometimes built of brick plas-
tered over, oftener of mud. They have sloping
roofs high in the centre and rather low at the
sides. There are, at most, only two rooms in
the house, many contain but one; in these they
sleep, cook andeat. They usually have a front
and back door, but no windows. A very prim-
itive fire place, built of mud, is in one corner
of the room, here the cooking is done, the
smoke finds its way out of the doors, or through
the roof, which is thatched, or in better houses
made of tiles. If the
family is large, the
room is screened off
at night, forming
several smaller sec-

-tions, for the use of
different members of
the family. The fur-
niture consists of a
sufficient number of

cots, which are

wooden frames,
raised a foot from
the floor, with heavy
girthing laced across.
Mattresses or bed ©

- clothing are not
used. In the cool
season they often
feel the want of cov-
ering, and put a fire

under their beds, ac-
cidents have often
occurred from this
unsafe custom. The
cots are usually put

‘outside during the

day, and in the hot

season the people
sleep out on little porches, or even in the street,
their houses, without windows, being too warm.
Some families have a Jarge box in which their
clothing is kept, but in most houses you find the
clothes thrown over a rope, which is stretched
across the room. Most of them have several
chairs, which are offered to the Missionaries,
but not often used by themselyes. In several
houses I have seen pictures on the walls. Their
' food consists of rice and curry, eaten three times

a day, bread is never used by them, it would
be too expensive. The food for one person costs
3 Rupees a month, or 30 cents a week.

The women do not have much housework to
“do; of course some keep their houses in a more
cleanly condition than others, The carrying
of water, however, is entirely done by them,

‘they often go some distance for it, either to a

' tank or the river. It is carried in earthen or

' brass pots, balanced on the head. The prepa-
ration of the curry takes some time. I think

I hear you ask what is curry? I will try to
answer. Either mutton, native vegetable or
dried prawns, like shrimps used at home, are
the basis. Ghee (melted butter) is heated, in
which a few onions are fried, then the curry
powder, which is made of a number of kinds
of spices, the tamarind water, cocoanut milk,
meat, fish or vegetables are added, and slowly
cooked for a long time.

This is eaten with the rice. The curry eaten
by the natives is much hotter with red pepper
and spices than that prepared for Europeans.
Our curry as prepared by Jacob, the man
Mr. Schmidt has had, since he first came to
India twenty years ago, is very carefully made.
We have learned to enjoy eating it very much.
The rice as firat harvested is called ‘‘paddy,”

“‘And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew
the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house
shall be called the house:of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves,’ Matth. 21, 12. 13.

and must be pounded to remove the husk.
This work is always done by women, and even
here as bought by natives in the bazaar, although
thought ready for use, must be pounded to en-
tirely remove the husk and clean it properly.
And how do the men and women dress?~ The
women wear a cloth from 7 to 9 yards long,
which is fastened around the waist in such a
way as to form a full skirt; no sewing or pins
are necessary; it is crossed over the right
shoulder, then covering the back is drawn up
over the head. The cloth is often thin white
material, with a gilt border woven across the
end and drawn over the head, or it may be
bright red or yellow. A small jacket is always
worn, the arms are bare from above the elbow
and the neck very low. Necklaces, bangles,
earrings, nose jewels and silver anklets are worn.
All natives have a weakness for jewelry, some
of it is expensive, while some is poor imitation.
The men wear a lower cloth of thin material,

it hangs in loose folds, covering the limbs to
the ankles, and looks very well. Most of our
Christians wear a jacket, very much like the
loose coats: worn at home, then the upper cloth
is thrown loosely around them. If the jacket
is not used, the body is covered with the cloth,
with an end thrown over the left shoulder.
Their costume is completed with a turban of
either red or white material; it is often 8 yards
long, wound in a mysterious way around the
head. It is almost the universal custom for
both sexes to go barefooted, a few men wear
loose sandals, which are always removed before
entering the house.
Kate S. Saptier in Foreign Missionary.

—— - 0<mm 0+

Little Sins.

Little sins grow.
They are not like
spiders or wasps,
which we can put
our foot on and
crush, if need be;
but like little lions,
which seem as harm-
less as kittensat first,
but grow into fierce
roaring wild beasts.
There is a lad about
fifteen years old in
the State prison, put
in for five years for
stealing. He says he
remembers well the
first time he stole.
It was a ten-cent
piece, which was ly-
ing on the mantel in
a lady’s house where
he was doing some
work. When no one

was looking he
slipped it into his
pocket; and, oh,
how frightened he was afterward for fear he
would be found out! But he was not. And
so the next time he had a chance he stole
again, and kept on growing worse, until at
last, with some other boys, he broke into a
house. People do little wrong things—=so little
that they say, ‘‘O, that’s nothing. ‘There’s no
harm in that.”’ But the little things grow, and
grow into big things, and then people see harm
inthem. Dear children, there are no little sins
in God’s sight. All are truly large and very
black.—Zntheran Herald.
ge

‘“No sooner has Christ come out of the waters
of baptism, than He comes into the fire of temp-
tation. No sooner does the Spirit come in the
form of a dove, than He is led by the Spirit
into the wilderness. No sooner does God say;
‘This is My beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased, than Satan darts the suggestion of
doubt, ‘Jf Thou be the Son of God.’”