Scan 92
The American history and encyclopedia of music, 1908
19 lines. Read by computer on 11 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1bodies in a most energetic manner, and the other players go through motions which seem to us like ludicrous antics, though they perhaps are not so intended.
3An example of one of the marriage-songs which have existed from the earliest times may be translated as follows:
5The bridegroom is coming, he is coming in glory.
6The would-be bride is a lady of inexpressible grandeur.
7The bridegroom is coming in joy to marry her.
8He is bringing with him good jewels, and a golden necklace.
9He is bringing the wedding-dress and many kinds of shining silk.
10Our bridegroom is as handsome as Munmuthan, god of love and beauty.
11Those who see him say that he is a noble gentleman.
12May he thrive like the banyan-tree, may he grow like Arugam grass.
14The funeral music of the Hindus could never be mistaken for anything else. Instinctively, one listening would know that such dismal sounds belong to the place of mourning. The instruments used for funeral music consist of three kinds of double-headed drums, two kinds of half-drums shaped something like kettle-drums, cymbals and a drone. As soon as a death occurs, these tom-tom beaters are called to proclaim the fact to the neighborhood. Sometimes, when death is apparently near, these men are called beforehand to be ready to announce it as soon as life ceases. In former times, the tom-tom beating was limited to three occasions: first, the announcement of death; second, just before bathing the corpse preliminary to the religious rites; and third, when the remains are conducted to the burning-ground.
16Now, however, it is the custom to beat the tom-toms almost continuously all day and night, as this is considered a mark of great honor to the deceased.
18Nor are Hindu funerals destitute of vocal music. The wailing for the dead is one of the most interesting rites in the Orient. There are sometimes hired mourners, but sometimes it is just the women of the neighborhood who gather together to wail. With hair disheveled and faces distorted
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