The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1928, Page 86

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

‘86 _ THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.
eee — eee eee

teacup and saucer, and the pews consisted of a few
chairs, a trunk, and the rim of a bed.

But now this condition is changed, and our
hearts are glad. We want to thank you for giving
us a neat little church-building, the basement of
which we use for class-work. Sunday, April 22,
we dedicated this building to the name of the Triune
‘God. It was a rainy day, but the people came
through the rain, some of them a long distance,
and filled the little church to capacity. And now,
since our first service in the new church, we have

- -come to realize fully what your gift means to us.

May God, who put it into your hearts to give your
offerings for this building, shower upon you His
rich blessings, both temporal and spiritual!

We owe you a large debt of thanks. And now,
since we have a building in which we can do better
work for our dear Savior and His kingdom, we want
to do all that is in our power to bring those who sit
in darkness and in the shadow of death to the knowl-
-edge of their Savior. This is a duty which we owe
to you, to God, and to our fellow-men. This we
intend to do with the help of God.

Again we say, “Thank you!”

MEMBERS AND SunDAy-Scnoor or St. Mark’s
Lutrneran Cyurcn, WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.

Letter from the Wife of a Missionary
in India.

“ (Concluded.)

“Now I will tell you a little about the weddings
here in India. I have read about weddings in
‘China, but the Indian weddings, in my opinion, are
much different. For instance, we would not think
-of inviting the bride and groom or any native to our
home for a meal. Their way of eating is so much
different from ours, much simpler. They use no
tables, but eat on the floor. Neither do they use
knives, forks, or spoons. They simply eat with their
hands. Then, too, they do not eat the same kind
of food as we. Their main food is rice and curry,
and that is peppered good and plenty. They would
feel terribly embarrassed to sit at a table with us
and eat. They would not know how to handle the
knives or forks or what to eat first or last. A story
is told about a native who ate at a missionary’s table.
When the jelly was passed to him, he took all there
was in the dish. I suppose he thought it was all
meant for him. Of course, some of our more
educated and Europeanized natives will eat at a

European table. For instance, our Pastor Jesudason
eats with us and partakes of our food at conferences.

‘When a young man wants to get married, or
his parents think it is time for him to find a wife
and he agrees, they suggest a girl to him, and then
they discuss it a while. Finally the boy’s father
tries to bargain with the girl’s father. As a rule,
the girl must have many jewels and a certain
amount of money. Then, if they all agree, that is
the engagement. The girl, as a rule, has nothing
to say, and if she objects, they usually argue it out
of her. The engagement is celebrated with a betel
ceremony. Betel leaf is the native chewing-tobacco.
After the ceremony the groom presents the bride
with a cloth (dress). They usually wait a few
months before they get married. Here in India the
groom gives the wedding. On the wedding-day the
bride is taken to the groom’s home in a procession.
The procession is usually led by a ‘band’ From
there they go to the place where the marriage is to
be performed, also in a procession. The groom is
accompanied by relatives and friends, and the bride
follows in the same way. The bride and groom,
each with an attendant, sit on a bench in front of
the church. After a hymn has been sung by the
congregation, the ceremony takes place. The bride
hardly looks up during the whole time. She looks
sad and bashful. But that is custom. Even though
the girl is very happy and a lively girl, on her
wedding-day she is just the opposite. At times you
even see the bride crying, and you feel sorry for
her, thinking perhaps she doesn’t care for her future
husband; for often the wedding-day is the first
time the couple have ever seen each other. They
have no courtship whatever. I know it would amuse
you to see how close the missionary sometimes has
to put his ear to the bride’s mouth in order to be
able to hear her say, ‘I will.” Then usually the
missionary has to take her hand and place it in the
groom’s hand when it is time for them to join
hands. Often if the missionary lets loose, their
hands drop too; so in order to keep their hands
together, he has to hold them there until he has
blessed them. Here in VWadakangulam I have
noticed that when they go home, the groom takes
the bride’s hand, and hand in hand they walk home
together. At the home they again have a betel
ceremony. I-have seen one. A friend or a relative
takes the betel leaf and waves it at the bride and
groom and sings something with it. That is about
all that is connected with that ceremony. Then
coffee is served, and soon the guests leave. But
they return again in time for the noon and evening