PAGAN AND MOHAMMEDAN RELIGIONS. RELIGION is a general habit of reverence towards Deity, whereby we are inclined to worship and serve Him, so as to procure His favour and blessing. In this sense, the term applies to all forms of belief-to an ignorant trust in imaginary deities, as well as to a knowledge of the true Creator and Preserver. The word religion is from the Latin, and means literally to bind again; that is, to present a new and sufficient reason for virtue, and the hope of a state of blessedness after death. PAGANIS M. Paganism is a term of wide import, and includes a belief in heathen deities, as well as the practice of the wildest superstitions. The whole of the ancient world, excepting the Jews, were pagans, and under various symbols worshipped imaginary deities. (See HISTORY OF ANCIENT NATIONS, and also the succeeding sheet on SUPERSTITIONS in general.) We shall notice here some of the principal forms of paganism: FETISHISM. Fetish is a word which is believed to be derived from the Portuguese language, and signifies any object in nature or art to which a superstitious reverence is attached. Fetishism is the lowest existing form of paganism. It is universal, one kind or other, throughout various countries in Asia, Africa, and also islands in the Pacific and Southern Oceans. It is the religion of ignorant man, groping for deity, seeking for something which he can venerate and fear. In Southern Africa every tribe has its own variety of fetishes. In Whiddah, a small insect called the creeping leaf is highly honoured. Some species of serpents also are worshipped in temples by priests set apart for the purpose. In Benin, fetishes are more numerous, and, in part, of an entirely different description. The whole material universe is believed to be animated and furnished with spiritual powers: water, land, animals, stones, trees, and vegetables of every description, are all full of divine spirits and secret influences. He who makes any eatable article his fetish, touches nothing of that sort whatever, whilst he consumes, without the slightest hesitation, what others consider holy. There is a depth and mystery in this superstition which cannot be very clearly understood. As far as can be reasonably conjectured, this species of fetishism implies a connection between the visible and invisible, and that everything may by certain means be made to have a relation to man and his destiny. The quality of the thing arbitrarily set apart and invested with an attribute of divinity is of no consequence: it may be a piece of bone, rag, egg-shell, or clay, indeed no matter what; there must merely be a belief of a relation subsisting between it and man, which relation often commences only for the first time when the thing is consecrated; in a word, everything properly consecrated and revered as the residence or tangible investiture of deity, is supposed to have a divine power, which, when evoked, is able to incline the Deity to comply with the wishes of men. Under different names, this superstitious reverence for visible objects has prevailed in nearly all ages and countries. The Lacedæmonians had a sacred stone, which, at the sound of a trumpet, is said to have raised itself to the surface of the water from the bottom of the Eurotas. The ancient Germans and Gauls had also their holy rocks, caves, seas, springs, and trees, which afforded miraculous aid, and delivered oracles. In Iceland there was a stone in which a divine spirit was supposed to reside, and was therefore an object of religious worship. The Laplanders had a sacred mountain and a consulting drum. All these No. 76. superstitions are as absurd and irrational as the fetishism of the Negroes; they are, indeed, prompted by the same hopes, fears, and feelings. According to the visionary ideas of some ancient sages, a divinity was supposed to reside in matter, and to be liable to be roused from its latent state into activity by means of consecration and the performance of solemn mysteries. In some of the islands of the Pacific, if any person wishes to protect his property, such as a house, field, or place of sepulture, from robbery or intrusion, he declares that it is tabooed, or placed under the guardianship of his gods; and the belief that such is the case being universal, the property is safe from aggression. Mr Ellis, in his Missionary Tour through Hawai,' mentions some interesting particulars regarding the superstitious delusions of the natives, which incline us to think that these remotelysituated people must have had some early connection with the ancient natives of Asia and Africa, from whom the Greeks and Romans imported their learning and mythological observances. These Hawains, as we are told, previous to their embracing Christianity, believed in a number of ideal gods, who were ministered to by priests, and were propitiated by sacrifices of animals: in making these sacrifices, the diviners observed the manner in which the victims expired, the appearance of the entrails, and other signs. Sometimes, when the animal was slain, they embowelled it, took out the spleen, and holding it in their hands, offered their prayers. If they did not receive any answer, war was deferred. They also slept in the temple where the gods were kept; and after the war-god had revealed his will by a vision or dream, or some other supernatural means, they communicated it to the king and warriors, and war was either determined or relinquished accordingly.' The images of the gods who constituted the guardians of the tabooed places of sepulture are described as figures oddly carved in pieces of wood; these were stuck on the fences and trees of the enclosure, and with their horrid aspect and ragged garments, seemed no improper emblems of the system they were designed to support. Adjoining the sacred enclosure the author was shown a Pahu Tabu, or City of Refuge, which was open for the reception and security of all classes of delinquents, and resembling in its regulations the sanctuaries of antiquity. These, and some other circumstances mentioned by Mr Ellis, open an interesting field for speculation on the probable connection of ancient and modern superstitions, or at least on the similarity of the delusions by which the untutored human being has in all ages been affected. It is gratifying to think that these absurd superstitions have in many of the Pacific islands, by the philanthropic exertions of Christian missionaries, been entirely rooted out; and that from other quarters of the globe the most cheering intelligence continues to be received that the reign of idolatry is on the decline, and that there are good hopes of its speedily being overthrown by the diffusion of the mild and elevating doctrines of a purer faith. From various parts of Africa we learn that Christianity is making encouraging progress, and has already been instrumental in emancipating many of the natives from the influence of fetishism and other degrading superstitions. In the interior of that continent, as we learn from recent travellers, fetishism exists to a lamentable extent; and so long as Africa continues to furnish the Christian world with slaves, we may rest assured that this system remains in vigorous exercise. Fetishism has long been practised among the Negroes of the West Indies under the name of Obeah or Obia term most likely originating in Egypt and the adjacent 401 4,320,000 years. The yugs have been considered as an allegorical description of the year, divided by the solstices and equinoxes, and of the precession of the equinoxes. Nine avatars have already taken place, and the tenth is yet to come. It is unnecessary to dwell at any length on the wonderful and ridiculous avatars of Vishnu. He first appeared in the character of a fish, for the purpose of recovering the sacred writings given by Brahma, which had been swallowed by a giant (typical of the rebellious human soul), and buried along with himself in the depths of the ocean. He successively appeared as a tortoise, a boar, a man-lion, what is called the Brahmen or lingam dwarf, and so on. The transformations are of the most ridiculous nature; and were we to recite them, they should only excite pity for the ignorance of the wretched believers in such absurdities. parts of Africa, where anciently there was a deity of a demoniacal character, with the name Ob or Oub, and from which Moses commanded the Israelites to abstain from making inquiries. Obi is therefore one of the exploded oracles of the ancient world, which has been carried by captured Negroes to the West Indies, and there set up as an oracle and the patron of incantations, charms, and all other superstitious delusions. The adepts who practise this kind of fetishism are called Obeah-men, or Obeah-women, for both sexes engage in the mysteries of this species of jugglery and imposture. We believe that since the abolition of slavery in the West Indies, and the spread of education and Christianity, the practice of Obi has gone out of repute and notice. At one period the religion of the Parsees or Fireworshippers existed throughout Persia and other parts of Asia, but is now confined chiefly to the deserts of Caramania, towards the Persian Gulf, where it is fol- In his subsequent avatars, under different forms, lowed by the Guebres or Giaours (infidels), as they are Vishnu delivered the world from successive monsters called by the Mohammedans. The great prophet or and giants which threatened its tranquillity. In the improver of the Parsee religion was Zoroaster, who ninth avatar, which is supposed to have taken place flourished about two thousand years ago, and taught in the year 1014 before the Christian era, Vishnu asthe doctrines of there being an eternal spirit of Good or sumed the form of Boodh, the author of a rival creed Light (Ormuzd), and an eternal spirit of Evil or Dark- distinct from that of Brahma. It appears pretty evident ness (Ahriman), with a vast number of inferior good that Boodhism at one time very extensively prevailed and bad genii. In this there was a glimmering of a throughout India; and several great dynasties, partipure theism; but besides a variety of absurd imagina-cularly that of Magadha, were Boodhist. But a war tions respecting the organization of nature, the belief having taken place between the devotees of Brahma in one God was obscured by a typical worship of the and those of Boodh, the latter were worsted, and dissun, and of fire, both being supposed emanations, or at persed throughout the countries to the east and north least emblems, of the spirit of Good and Light. Fire- of Hindoostan, and Boodhism is no longer professed in worship, as practised by the Persian magi, disappeared India. The rival systems will be noticed after we have before the spread of Christianity and Mohammedanism, described the other deities, male and female. In the and, as we have said, exists chiefly among the Guebres, tenth avatar, Vishnu will descend to the earth mounted a detached remnant of the old Persian nation. on a white horse, and armed with a scimitar blazing like a comet, to root out evil from the earth, and eternally to punish the wicked. Vishnu is represented of a black or blue colour, with four arms, and a club to exercise chastisement on the wicked. The emblems under which he is represented refer to his vindictive character. He has three eyes, to denote the three great divisions of time-past, present, and future. A crescent in his forehead refers to the measuring of time by the lunar revolutions, as a serpent denotes it by years; and the necklace of skulls which he wears, the extinction of mankind in successive generations. HINDOOISM. Hindooism or Brahminism is the religion professed by a majority of the inhabitants of Hindoostan; and while possessing the force of great antiquity, it is supported by a skilful priesthood and the division into castes, rendering it the most ineradicable of any system of false belief which exists (See EAST INDIES, No. 67). The third member of the Hindoo triad is Siva the Destroyer. It may be here remarked that the distin The Hindoos recognize the existence of a supreme and invisible Ruler of the universe, entitled Brahma, but at the same time believe in the existence of other two deities, one of whom is Vishnu the Preserver, and the other Siva the Destroyer. Previous to the creation, Brahma is said to have reposed in silence and self-ab-guishing appellations applied to these deities are not sorption a mode of existence considered by the Hindoos as the most perfect and godlike. Having a desire to draw out of his own divine essence a glorious creation, to supplant the deep primeval gloom, he by a thought created the water, and deposited therein a golden egg, blazing like ten thousand suns, which remained inactive for millions of years, till Brahma, who lay enclosed in this shining receptacle, by the energy of his own thought, split it asunder, and sprang forth the Divine Self-Existing, famed in all worlds as the creator of rational beings and the forefather of all spirits. Brahma is represented as a golden-coloured figure, with four heads and four arms; but although he gives name to the great caste of the Brahmins or priests, no sects derive their distinctive appellation from him. He attracts little attention or worship, and he has neither temples erected, nor sacrifices offered to him, nor festivals celebrated in his honour. Vishnu makes a very conspicuous figure in the sacred annals of India, and the fundamental idea of the Hindoo religion, that of metamorphoses or transformations, is exemplified in the avatars, or appearances upon earth of this deity. In his character of preserver, or rather deliverer, he has, say the Vedas, interposed whenever any great calamity threatened the world: and thus the great ends of his providence are brought about by the various incarnations of the Hindoo deity. Of these transformations there are ten, and they fill up the Indian yugs, which compose a certain series of periods intended to effect a junction with God, and comprising altogether characteristic of their functions - Vishnu the Preserver frequently employing himself in acts of destruction, and Siva, on the other hand, in acts of beneficence. But much vagueness, inaccuracy, and confusion prevail throughout the whole of the Hindoo creed; and this no doubt arises from the love of the marvellous and indescribable, by which they are led to grasp at phantoms of thought as undefinable as they are impalpable. Siva, it appears, has had an equal share of personal adventure with Vishnu, although the characters which he assumed were not so various, nor his exploits so important or striking. His female partner is called Doorga, and to her the appellation of destroyer is more applicable than to him. She is the chief amongst the female deities; in short, the most formidable and warlike personage of the Hindoo pantheon. She has rivalled Vishnu in the number of forms which she has assumed, and the conflicts in which she has borne the most conspicuous part; and the giants and others who have fallen victims to the prowess of her arm, occupy a prominent place in the wild records of Hindoo mythology. As an object of adoration, the appearance which she is made to assume shows a remarkable obliquity of moral vision in those who framed at first, and those who worship still, this horrible personage. Under the name of Kalee, she is black, with four arms, wearing two dead bodies as earrings, a necklace of skulls, and the hands of several slaughtered giants circling her waist like a zone. eyebrows stream with blood; and not content, as the Her male divinities generally are, with the simple produc- | rising in dignity according to the degree of merit. The tions of nature, her altars are made to flow with the wicked, on the other hand, not only are degraded as blood of animal oblations. Old records even give direc-human beings, but are compelled to lodge in the bodies tions how human sacrifices are to be offered to this of animals. The Hindoo oracles endeavour to establish cruel goddess. India has no deity more popular, not only amongst banditti, who hold her in especial veneration, but with the more reputable classes of the community, who offer lavish gifts on her shrine. The disgrace of her religion consists in the worship of impure imagery, which it is impossible to mention." It is unnecessary to enumerate even the more important of the minor deities; as for the whole, they are altogether innumerable. Some have taken the trouble to reckon up three hundred and thirty millions of them. There are gods of the elements, of war, of the sun, of the winds, of fire, of water, and so on. Every river, fountain, and stream, is either a deity itself, or has one presiding over it. The worship or deification of the Ganges forms a distinguishing element in the belief of the Hindoos. Into this large river all who dwell within a certain distance of its banks crowd morning and evening to bathe; and the water of this sacred stream is carried to all parts of India, and is sworn by in courts of justice. At Allahabad, where the streams of the Ganges and Jumna unite, the country for many miles round is considered sacred ground; and so great is the number of pilgrims who resort thither for bathing, that the vizier has received in one year half a lack of rupees for permission to enjoy the benefit of immersion in the sacred flood. Oftentimes may be witnessed children hurrying their parents to the river side, fearful lest they should die before being able to reach its banks. Nothing can be more distressing to the feelings than to behold these poor expiring creatures, some calling upon Rham, some upon one of their false gods, others upon another, with their bodies half in the water and half out, the rising tide soon to overwhelm them. Many are stretched out where the tide cannot reach them, and their case is more pitiable still. Beneath a burning sun, they are left without food, and great numbers, who would no doubt recover from their diseases if proper attention were paid to them, are literally starved to death, or devoured by jackals at night. a degree of conformity between the punishment awarded and offences committed. The pilferer of grain is metamorphosed into a rat, and he who stole fruits or roots becomes an ape. Others are degraded into worms, insects, and so on. The person thus lowered in the scale of creation must pass through a long succession of degraded births before he can reassume the human form. This system of rewards and punishments, although confined to the earth, does not exclude the belief of a heaven and a hell hereafter. The celestial mansions, like those of the Mohammedan, are replete with objects of voluptuous enjoyment; but only Brahmins and persons of high attainments or great sanctity are permitted to enter these blissful abodes. Some ardent devotees aspire to a higher destiny, and hope to be absorbed into the essence of the Supreme Being, where they shall repose for ever on an unruffled sea of bliss. The place of final punishment, in like manner, consists of different compartments, the penalties inflicted in which correspond to the iniquities of those who are doomed to enter within their dismal precincts. The devotion of the Hindoos consists in a system of ceremonious observances, not only troublesome in themselves, but encroaching on the moral duties, nay, the whole business of life. Such a stock of atoning merit is by this means conferred, that the weightier matters of the law seem to be superseded; at all events this external devotion is not inconsistent with the most scandalous crimes. The observances commence in the morning with ablutions and prayers, the worship of the rising sun, in the inaudible recitation of their holy writings, in meditation, and the like. The five sacraments are then performed, which are, teaching and studying the sacred books, offering cakes and water, an oblation of fire, in giving rice and other food to living creatures, and in receiving guests with honour. The whole of these ceremonies are necessarily abridged, for the entire day would scarce suffice for their perfect performance. The early Hindoos seem to have borrowed, and to have greatly extended, the typical impurities of the Mosaic law; and the rules on this subject, pointing out the causes of defilement and the modes of purification, are numerous and absurd. The death or birth of a child, touching a dead body, a newborn child, a Pariah or outcast, and so on, render people unclean; and the modes of purification are either bathing, stroking a cow, looking at the sun, or having the mouth sprinkled with water. Amongst the degrading doctrines of the Hindoo faith, a veneration for, and even a worship of, members of the brute creation is not the least remarkable. The cow, in particular, commands the most exalted reverence; and this venerable quadruped may be seen in cities sauntering up and down in the most public places, perfectly at her ease, and calling forth expressions of profound respect. The monkey likewise ranks amongst the higher grade of animals, and is allowed to roam at large wherever he lists-a chartered thief, now laying the confectioner's sweetmeats under tribute, and anon taxing the fruiterer for a portion of his juicy store. But this superstition reaches its climax in the hospitals which are erected for affording shelter and succour to sick and infirm brutes, including lice, fleas, and other insects. It must be an exceedingly nice investigation for those who preside as medical attendants over such institutions, to determine the state of health of such patients. Other animals besides these are held sacred, but some quadrupeds are treated with great cruelty. The draught horses, in particular, Bishop Heber in-themselves in the depths of forests, either in a state of forms us, are barbarously abused; nor is there much sympathy shown to human beings, who are often allowed to perish from disease or hunger under the canopy of heaven, without awakening a sigh in the bosoms of the onlookers. Lepers are regarded as objects of divine wrath, and are treated accordingly, sometimes being burned or buried alive. The peculiar character of the Hindoo creed is derived from their tenet respecting the transmigration of souls. The spirits of the dead are said to enter a receptacle corresponding to the previous character of the individual. The immortal part of the just and good, however insignificant the person may have been, migrates into a hermit, a Brahmin, a demigod, and so forth, Penance and self-torture are regarded as essential to the attainment of a character for holiness; but in their attempts to suit the amount of penance to the magnitude of the offence, there is almost a total subversion of all moral distinctions. Acts naturally indifferent are classed with heinous immoralities; for instance, eating things forbidden is put on the same footing with killing a friend, and drinking forbidden liquor with killing a Brahmin. A particular class of devotees, called yogues or fakirs, signalise their piety by enduring the severest tortures with a firmness and perseverance worthy of the holiest cause. These consist in burying perfect nakedness, or having their bodies coated with ashes and cow-dung; in allowing the nails of their hands and feet to grow till they assume the dimensions and appearance of bird's claws; roasting themselves before huge fires; immuring themselves in the ground, and leaving only a small breathing-hole; going about with small spears or rings pierced through the most tender parts of the body, and hot irons applied to the side; holding their hands above their head till they have lost the power of bringing them down again, and become withered like that of the individual mentioned in the Evangelists; clenching the fists till the nails penetrate the palms; turning their faces to the sun till they cannot regain their natural position, or gazing on his in a well-known and common rite of the Hindoo religion, till prohibited by order of the British government; and the festival of Juggernaut, another sanguinary ritual also happily on the decline, is celebrated by the sacrifice of numerous victims. This idol-car is a lofty ornamented structure, in which are representations of the god, and of Bala Rama and Soobhadra, said to be his brother and sister. This infernal machine, for it deserves no better name, is dragged along amid shouts of triumph by the infatuated multitude, its path being marked by the bodies of mangled victims, who voluntarily throw themselves before the wheels, and are crushed to death. The most indecent figures are portrayed on the chariots used at the temples. With such an impure religion, it is not a matter of surprise that the state of morals is very low in India. tense blaze till their eyesight is extinguished; lying on | burning herself on the funeral pile of her husband, was iron spikes; tearing the flesh with whips; chaining themselves for life to the foot of a tree; and performing other such-like acts of slow suicide. Some of their attitudes are exceedingly fantastical; for instance, Bishop Heber saw a devotee hopping about on one foot, having made a vow never to put the other to the ground, which was now shrivelled up, contracted, and useless. Begging holds a conspicuous place among the religious duties of the Hindoos. Mr Ward affirms that an eighth part of the inhabitants of Bengal and Bahar subsist in this manner; thus constituting a mendicant population of upwards of two millions. Religious pilgrimages are held in high esteem, and the holy places have generally been established near the sea, the sources and junctions of rivers, the tops of remarkable hills, hot springs, caves, waterfalls, and places of difficult or dangerous access. All the principal roads are crowded with people hastening to these holy places. Some are held in higher veneration than others; and it is no uncommon occurrence, in the crush and tumult of the multitude to reach these fabulous Bethesdas, for numbers to be trodden to death under foot, or precipitated into the water and drowned. The sacred writings of the Hindoos are of two kinds -the Vedas and Shastres. The former may be termed their Scriptures, the latter expositions of them. The Vedas are divided into four books, all written in the Sanscrit language. The first book is called Rug Veda, which signifies the Science of Divination, concerning which it principally treats. The second is distinguished by the title of Sheeham, which signifies Piety or Devotion; and this book treats of religious and moral duties. The third is the Judga Veda, which, as the word implies, includes the whole science of religious rites and ceremonies. The fourth is denominated Obater Bah, or the knowledge of the Good Being, and accordingly this book comprehends the whole essence of theology and metaphysical or moral philosophy. These various books are acknowledged to be of great antiquity, but abound in such absurdities, as to be of little or no value as historical documents. The temples for the celebration of Hindoo worship appear to have been in ancient times of the most magnificent description, as is proved by the remains of those of Elephanta and Salsette. The temples of the present day do not exhibit such elaborate grandeur, many containing only one apartment, and few having more than three or four. The crowds which besiege them on solemn occasions celebrate their observances in an open area fronting the gates, so that nothing is required within but accommodation for the images, and one or two attendants. The idols are composed of every possible kind of material, from gold down to wood or clay, smeared over with a little red paint. Any figure, either of brute or man, or centaur-like combinations of both, serves for a god, and is reverenced as such by the ignorant Hindoos, after a Brahmin has consecrated them by a process of solemn buffoonery. When placed in the temple, every image has a daily round of homage performed before it, and is furnished with a regular allowance of food, which, after remaining for a limited time, is served out amongst the attendants. These offerings are profusely lavished on great annual festivals, whilst the multitudes without sing indecent songs, and throw themselves into the most fantastical attitudes and motions. The various articles of maintenance bestowed upon the goddess Kalee, for example, in her temple at Kaleeghata, are considered by Mr Ward as worth about £9000 annually. There is no doubt that, at no very distant period, the bloody deities of the Hindoos were propitiated with human sacrifices; and in confirmation of this, some of the rites still remain. Children were sacrificed by being thrown into the river Ganges, until the practice was put a stop to by the British government. Old women are still occasionally burned, in order that their spirits may haunt the spot where they are offered up, and entail a curse upon it. The suttee, or custom of a widow From time to time during the lapse of ages, various sectaries have arisen amongst the Hindoos, each with peculiar objects of adoration and modes of worship. Brahma, as already observed, is at the head of no sect; and Vishnu and Siva, the two powers next to him, divide in a great measure the worship of Indian devotees. Among forty-three leading denominations, Mr Ward reckons twenty to attach themselves to Vishnu, nine to Siva, four to his wife Doorga, under the name of Saktas, while ten select inferior objects of adoration. The zealous adherents of the rival sects of Vishnu and Siva are avowed enemies, and hold each other up to odium and ridicule. But the most important schism is that between the disciples of Brahma and the adherents of Boodh, to which allusion has already been made. The latter have objects of worship, a creed, ceremonies, and institutions entirely peculiar. Their temples are much more splendid than those of the followers of Brahma, and their priests live in spacious convents. Boodhism is no longer professed in India Proper, but there is a sect called the Joinas, very numerous in Western Hindoostan. They combine in some measure the practice and doctrine of the two rival systems. The Sikhs, who recently offered such formidable opposition to the British dominion in India, are the only sect in Hindoostan who have abjured the errors of Hindooism, and adopted a purer and more rational creed. Their founder, Nânuk Shah, who was born A. D. 1469, was an able and good man, and was anxious to effect a union between the Mohammedans and Hindoos, and for this purpose endeavoured to prevail upon the members of both sects to forego those parts of their respective systems which were not essential to the maintenance of a pure and holy life. He succeeded in obtaining numerous disciples; and his elevated religion, united to the immaculate purity of his life, gave him great influence, both of a temporal and spiritual nature, over those who embraced his doctrines. Even to this day his followers continue to venerate his memory; and notwithstanding the persecutions to which they have been subjected by their Mohammedan neighbours, they have continued to receive such accessions to their numbers, and have approved themselves such distinguished warriors, that it lately required no small effort on the part of the greatest military power in India to repel their aggressions. It is a remarkable circumstance that the Sikhs should have been able to receive and to maintain so pure a creed in the midst of the grossest idolatry; and the formidable opposition which they have succeeded in presenting to such powerful enemies as they have had occasion to contend with, shows the tendency which freedom from degrading superstition evidently has in elevating the human character. Had they continued to adhere to the ancient usages of their country, it would have been impossible for them to maintain their position as they have done; for the distinctions of caste, and the interminable ceremonies enjoined by the Hindoo faith, tend not only to deteriorate the mental and bodily powers, but to make serious encroachments upon the time which ought to be dedicated to the active and necessary duties of life. Decidedly the most vicious part of the Hindoo religion entered the bodies of all beasts, birds, reptiles, and insects, yet they do not enter into another element, so that they may eat fish with impunity. Rice, with spices, milk, and ghee, or clarified butter, is their principal diet, although they may partake of the flesh of such animals as are offered in sacrifice to the gods, the laws of the religion permitting this. is the division of the people into castes, or distinct | that although the spirits of their ancestors may have classes, for such an arrangement strikes at the very root of social progress, and prevents all rational improvement. The whole Hindoo population is divided into four branches or tribes, denominated Brahmins, Kyetra, Bhysya, and Soodra. The rank, occupation, and duties of these several castes are fully explained in their Vedas, or holy books. The Brahmins are the priests; they are required to be virtuous, learned, just, peaceable, and self-denying. If these were ever the distinguishing traits of their order, the very reverse are the features of their character now. The Kyetra is the military caste: the Vedas require of them a thirst for glory; to die rather than retreat; generosity and princely conduct to captives. Bhysya form the agricultural part of the community; their duties are briefly defined as cultivators and traffickers. The fourth or Soodra caste consists of labourers, who are enjoined to serve with patience and fidelity; the former, perhaps, they generally do, but as for the latter, it is only when constrained by fear of punishment or loss of pay. The two middle castes have almost become extinct, or rather amalgamated with the former and latter. Thus it may almost be said that the whole Hindoo nation is now composed of Brahmins or Soodras, both of which are divided into a great many degrees or sub-castes, so that there are many orders of Brahmins as well as of Soodras. Of the latter, the Koit is the highest, and the Hurry the lowest, which caste embraces shoemakers, mat-makers, bird-catchers, tanners, skinners, snake-catchers, and many others similarly employed. By this division of caste or grade, no possible means exist for any person to rise in the scale of society; all motives to exertion or mental improvement are cut off; no actions, however noble, no discoveries, however important to society, would insure honour to a person of low caste; and those of high caste lose no honour or reputation by their ignorance and vice. Whatever be the mental abilities of a Hindoo, if born a Soodra, a Soodra he must remain; if the father be a snake-catcher, all his sons must be snake-catchers too; and the influence of caste follows him through all the ramifications of life. Persons of different castes or occupations cannot eat, drink, or smoke together; neither can they intermarry, nor meddle with each other's employment. If a Hindoo loses caste, which is the case if he breaks through any of the foregoing rules, the most distressing consequences ensue: no one will eat with him, or suffer him to come near his dwelling, or marry his children; his own wife and family disown him; looked upon as an outcast of society, he is deprived of all privileges, or means of comfort as long as he lives; and however respectable he may have been before, the meanest caste consider him a vagabond, and will not associate with him. It is caste that renders so many servants necessary to do the work which one or two might easily accomplish. They are born to one particular department of service, and no other can they perform without losing caste. Thus the man who fetches water cannot wait at table, nor the man who cooks the dinner serve it up; neither will the person who attends the table sweep the room afterwards-and so on through all the different pursuits of life. A native embracing Christianity loses caste by partaking of the Lord's Supper; it requires, therefore, great fortitude of mind to make a profession of faith in the gospel. There are many who have no caste, having been excommunicated because of some breach of the ceremonial laws of their religion, either by themselves or their forefathers; these are all termed Pariahs, and dare not touch the person, garments, food, utensils, or dwelling of a Hindoo of caste, as contamination follows. The Brahmins are very lordly, domineering race, and exact the most severe homage of the Soodras. They themselves are under great restrictions, as well as the Soodras, particularly in the article of food, being prohibited from eating anything that has had life, except fish. This probably arises from their belief in the doctrine of transmigration; and as they believe The Brahmins though all eligible to the priesthood, yet do not all follow it. Some enter the military service of the East India Company, and others become clerks and copyists; but none are permitted to engage in menial employments; and in whatever state they are found, the same honour is paid by their associates, though perhaps not to that degree as if in priestly office. So great is the pride of the Brahmins, that they claim precedence of kings, and the noblest rajah will partake of food cooked or presented by a Brahmin, whilst the meanest Brahmin will not taste that which has been prepared by a Soodra, although that Soodra should occupy a much higher station, civilly, than himself. The religion which inculcates these arrangements is found to be almost unconquerable by Christian missionaries, for the adoption of Christianity involves a total change of opinion on the constitution of society; and it is a melancholy fact that few except the worst of the Hindoo populace will become proselytes. It is now generally acknowledged, that in order to make any impression on the religion of the Hindoos, it will be absolutely necessary to commence with the instruction of the young in various branches of useful knowledge, to which happily the Brahmins offer no objection, while such instruction is universally desired by the people. BOODHISM. Boodhism, or the religion of Boodh or Bhud, is considerably elevated above either pure paganism or Hindooism, and is deeply interesting from being the most prevalent form of religion upon earth. The number of the whole human race being estimated at 965,000,000, nearly the one-half, or 400,000,000, are Boodhists. According to the account of Mr Howard Malcom, in his Travels in the Burman Empire,' to whom we are indebted for the following particulars, Boodhism is professed by half of the population of China, Lao, Cochin-China, and Ceylon; all of Camboja, Siam, Burmah, Thibet, Tartary, and Loo-Choo; and a great part of Japan, and most of the other islands of the southern seas, are of this faith. In some parts of Hindoostan it is the great rival of Hindooism; but its principal stronghold is in the adjoining empire of Burmah. 'Boodh is a general term for divinity, and not the name of any particular god. There have been innumerable Boodhs, in different ages, among different worlds, but in no world more than five, and in some not any. In this world there have been four Boodhs-Kankathan, Gaunagong, Kathapa, and Gaudama. There is another yet to follow-namely, Areemadayeh. Gaudama. It has often been supposed that Boodhism resembles Brahminism or Hindooism, which is a great mistake. No two systems can be more opposite, or bear less evidence of being derived from each other. Brahminism has incarnations, but Boodhism admits of none, for it |