Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 15

METHODS ADOPTED BY DUBOIS
for
him no
special merit, for the annals of Christian Missions
in India are full of the
and were spent
names
of those
who spent them-
His
found elsewhere, namely,
in the wonderful record which he compiled of the manners,
customs, institutions, and ceremonies of the people among
selves
in the service of their Master.
special claim to recognition will be
whom
he lived and moved and had his being for so great
life.
He seems to have recognized from
a portion of his
the very
first
day
of his arrival in India that Christian
Mission work meant something more than the mere preach-
ing
and expounding
of the
its chief essentials to
the innermost
Gospel
and character
life
that
;
success a long
it
included
among
and thorough study
of
of
the people amidst
whom it was to be carried on. In his day, it must be
remarked, there were no royal roads to such knowledge.
There were no text-books to prepare the way by their
analyses of the sacred Hindu writings. Such
knowledge had to be gained at first hand, and by the more
laborious (though, it must be confessed, more sure) method
I had no sooner arrived
of personal inquiry in situ.
amongst the natives of India,' the Abbe himself tells us,
than I recognized the absolute necessity of gaining their
critical
'
'
confidence.
Accordingly I
made
it
my
constant rule to
adopted their style of clothing, and
I studied their customs and methods of life in order to be
exactly like them. I even went so far as to avoid any
display of repugnance to the majority of their peculiar
prejudices.
By such circumspect conduct I was able to
ensure a free and hearty welcome from people of all castes
and conditions, and was often favoured of their own accord
with the most curious and interesting particulars about
live as
they did.
I
themselves.'
Unfortunately such details concerning the Abbe's per-
we possess are extremely meagre. His
a 3
sonal history as