Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XIX. Allahabad—Sacred Places—Kumbh Mela—Pilgrimages—Bathing in the Ganges—Fakirs and Penitents—Sacred Rites—Superstitions
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198.2 Story of an Emigrant.
least the front part of it; the hair which is cut off ought to
he offered to the Ganges, but the barber smuggles most of it
out of the way, to be sold in more civilized countries. From
the barber the pilgrim is turned over to the care of the
Brahmin. who leads him down into the river, under the following
ceremonies: The Brahmin repeats a Sanscrit formula
which is called "Sankalpa," and which states that "the
pilgrim X. X. on the day X. of the month V., and in the year Z.,
takes his bath in the sacred water for the purpose and
intention of cleansing himself from all sins and frailties," after
which the pilgrim immerses himself several times under the
water and rinses his mouth with a handful of it, after a few
minutes returning to the shore where he is at once
surrounded by peddlers who offer him flowers, milk and lean
cows or goats for sale at an exorbitant price. He always
buvs the flowers and the milk and offers them to the river,
and, if he has sufficient money, he buys a cow or a goat and
offers it to the Brahmin; but if his means are too limited the
latter must be content with the few coins the pilgrim can
spare. Most of them, however, have brought a handsome
offering to the Brahmin, because they regard the dutv
toward him just as important as the duty toward the river
god.
Then follows the "Shiadda" ceremony, consisting of an
offering of cake, sugar, plums and dainties to the ghosts of
their deceased relatives; next a banquet is spread before the
Brahmins, the sacred places of the vicinity are visited,
offer-ngs are made at most of these, and a present eallcd "
vi-dagi is made to the Brahmin who has attended to the
spiritual wants of the giver.
And now the object of the long and arduous journey is
accomplished, the pilgrimage, 44 tisthayatra," is successfully
jjerforincd, and the cleansed sinner stands ready to begin a
new record of sin. He has been plundered of his last penny,
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