THE CAR OF JUGGERNAUT.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 66, 31 October 1864, Page 3

THE CAR OF JUGGERNAUT.

The Correspondent of the Times, -writing from Calcutta ot the Bfch July, gives a long description of the Juggernaut Festival on the 19th June He says : — ' ' ■•■ ■ •; ■ >■■ "' " The centres of attraction were the two Juggernaut cars. These are immense lumbering masses of wood, about 60 ft. in height, carved into all sorts of angles, and decorated on every square inch with figures of the deities. They are con- : structed in four storeys, so to speak, and upon each of these a crowd of Brahmins and their, friends wore collected. idols were placed at each corner, and two ropes of great length were attached to the front of the car. They moved upon six; heavy wheels, and the entire weight of the ponderous fabric must have been enormous. Hour after hour the multitude streamed past the cars, which were at some distance from each other, or they turned aside to a shed beneath which were placed a number of indecently paintedidols, after-; wards decorated with a little drapery and hoisted on to the car. It was not till near four in the afternoon that a big gong was beaten on the topmost division of the first car, and with a great shout Juggernaut himself, swathed in red' cloth, was brought to the spot. A rope vas fastened to him, and with, much exertion ho was hoisted Groin. Stage to stage by the Brahmins— for by himself the god "seemed" rather helpless. They dragged him up and uncovered him, and the crowd salaamed to him in their usual fashion. A huge ugly thing he was, with enormous eyes, painted black with a broad white rim around them. Then another god was bwmght, and hoisted up; in the same way, but to a lower division, and so on till all were full. The crowd meanwhile kept throwing garlands anddonations to the Brahmins— dirty, ; common-looking, with nothing whatever to dis : tinguish them from the common mass except the white Brahminical thread over their shoulders. When the gods were all in their places,- two large wooden horses were brought out, one blue and the other white, ench with a thick tail sticking up at an angle of 80 degrees. These gay steeds were fastened to the car; and * Brahmin stood upon the back of each, holding by a rope. , "At this time the scene was extraordinary. Close by the side of the car was a large native house broken and crumbling, like most native houses. Through iron bars in front of this house, some women were peerias, and on the roof feere were more -women of the zenana, with, aa oWoror © tapping **teh stu3 §u«d ov«&«m, Oa »*

other Bide of the road was a. Juggernaut tomple, oromled"Trith'\romon^' ! -Tli^'roaa { ifcself-'waß quite "inipassablo for tho crowds of people, whose oily ■ • bodies arid dirty, ways did not improvo; the flavor OX of tho heatod atmosphere. Far as tho eyo could reach this throng extended, and when a thousand gongs were.sot;beating,:and .'.the .Bmlinims^caUod „ .. upon the people, a thrill of wild' oxcitdniont 3 rail | " through this enormous living mass. tho car Ji- '"■' self there could ■.scarcely,, have been les9 , than ,, 200, „ .-,* men. Perhaps there wore 1000 pulling at '• " ropes, but tliey pulled%r "a "'long tiihe in 'Tain. 1 •***:« The car had been in one i place foria vwhole^yearj f<v r , and had made a deep hole for itself, by >( iU^ great weight! Again and again the Brahmins ' shouted ' - and gesticulated, laughing among thoniselves. - ' r Ai i ■,'■ t last the mob' happened .to^pulloll togothor, instead „,,-: of 6no after tho other, and the huge mass moved forward a fow yards, groaning as if it had heen!V*' J a living? creaturo. ,; It, stpppod,, and ; for , f a, Yow,.^ minutes the crowd stood in, almost" perfbctsilbnco'.* Then tho Brahmins agairi l gave the^Bigrial^ond^ ■'( tlus time it crushed out a life with f jqy^ry,,,rorplur. >«*, tion of Jits hideous wheels, cpvered.as ttioy^. wore " ■vriih liuman ilcflh and goro. • ' * ' ' --^' "Tho vast multitude sComeasucldenly'pdssessea^ iv witha fit of delirium/ They fought andstruggled^;-;-with each other to, got near. : tho.. car,, which had „r : stopped as if by magic. They stooped down, and, , * peered/beneath its and rose 'with* scared.. . !r " faces .to tell their friends of the sight, v- I-inada my ? <..-♦ way to; tho back of the > .car,; and thoro_ saw^on ; the, ground a yory old woman, allwrinklod. and '; ; puckerdd'up, with 1 scarcely^'a lineament^f of hoßmii! face recognisable for ;. blood and dust., Her right „ * foot was.. hanging by a throad, the i wheels-, had ■''■ passed over the centre of J hcr nearly na^edJ body .VV ; <- 3 and d faint quiver.' of anguish ;ra3tt : tiirqughj:her, ir ,^ framo as she seemed to, .struggle , tp';ride^ j.'ifot-ono .^^ in the crowd offered" to move her,' -or /raise" her v' miserable grey head from -the ground,; but, they ? stobd looking on with vacant staros, while 4 tne '■ ~ f Brahmins^ from' the 'car^azcd^dowh'wit^as mucby^ s^ unconcern as could wellb'e written in ;theflium'anv,j«."i counfconance. The mob cried that..ther6 ( w;ore mpro , ,, .^ under the car, and when' i.lopke'd beneath tho ca'rV it eoeifaedas : if 'the wheels wore choked' With^dufky*' w bodies. Two or three chokeydars hero made thouv ., ,,? appearance, and compollod the crowd to move" back.' Upon getting closo'r 'to < the. wheels d, /saw r thatipne of them was half over the body .of a man, and that it had crushed out his bowels, -and' fastened itself like some ; ihsatitiblo iridnator in - his * blood. Oloao by liim thorOi layr^nothorimftn „ crusked to death— ho was bufa hpap pjt maxiglod flesh. The'Brahmiiis still"looked down frohi" tho \ ';''"■ car upon thdse poor wretches vwitk; perfect unconcern, and wore even; signalling for, the crowd . f to pull again; but tho^ low policemen present ■' ' madothem drag the car back,, so ;thaktho bodies; could be got out ,from betwoen the wheels. The . mob cried out, ' Apse,' aph,'— thai ■ they did it' of thoir own accord '; and, indeed, there was; no appearance of an accident. , Their bpdies rv^cre . far under tho car, where they could scarcely have got unless' they had laid themselves down in front. ; : I saw two other men lying thdro when the: car first,-; stopped, but they got up and walked away. The three bodies were placed together, and the car was dragged on by the pepplo once more., I :.did . s noi' stay to see whether its track was made in froah blood." :; ; ' ; '•■"