Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 52

AUTHOR'S PREFACE
12
and migrate thither.
is engraved
these Telugus, and they always carefully
various reasons to quit their native
The remembrance
on the hearts
of
soil
of their original birthplace
avoid following the peculiar usages of their adoptive
country.
Yet they are invariably treated with the most
Indeed, every native of India is quite
perfect tolerance.
free to take up his abode wherever it may seem good to
him. Nobody will quarrel with him for living his own life,
speaking what language he pleases, or following whatever
customs he is used to. All that is asked of him is that
lie
should conform generally to the accustomed rules of
decorum recognized in the neighbourhood.
The Brahmin caste has seemed to me to merit particular
It is the caste whose rules and practices are
most scrupulously observed. All persons who have visited
India or who have any notion of the character of the
Brahmins, of the high esteem in which they hold them-
selves, and of the distant hauteur with which they treat
attention.
common
the
people, will be able to appreciate the
diffi-
which anybody must encounter who would become
intimate, or even acquainted, with these proud personages.
The hate and contempt which they cherish against all
strangers, and especially against Europeans
the jealous
inquietude with which they hide from the profane the
culties
;
the records of their learn-
mysteries of their religious cult
all these form barriers
ing
the privacy of their homes
between themselves and their observers which it is almost
impossible to pass \
Nevertheless, by much diplomacy and perseverance
I have succeeded in surmounting most of the obstacles
which have turned back so many others before me. I there-
fore trust that the minute particulars which I have given
in this work will be accepted as a record of all that it is
useful to know about the religious ceremonies and ritual
of the Hindus.
The first
I have divided this work into three parts.
presents a general purview of society in India, and con-
In
tains details concerning all classes of its inhabitants.
;
:
;
1
Since the
Abbe
wrote, vast stores of Brahminical lore have been
in Europe, especially by Professor
brought to light by enterprising savants
Max Miiller. Ed.