Part II, Chapter III — The General Council's Mission Field in India
Turn to a map of India and trace the coast-line from Cape Comorin to Calcutta. About half-way between these two points you will cross the mouths of the Godavery River, one of the twelve sacred streams of India. The counties, called "taluks," which are situated on the right side of the Vasista branch of the river, as it flows to the sea, belong to the Kistna, those on the left side, to the Godavery district of the Madras Presidency. The territory which is claimed and worked by our foreign missionaries embraces parts of both of these districts, the whole field having an approximate area of 3370 square miles, which is slightly larger than the State of Connecticut. The estimated population for whose christianization we feel ourselves responsible numbers about two and a half millions. Two other missions, both of them Baptist missions, are at work in the Godavery delta; and a third, conducted by the Church Missionary Society with its center at EUore, about half-way between Guntur and Rajahmundry, carries on its work up to the boundary line of our Mission. The Plymouth Brethren Mission, centered at Narsapur, was estabhshed a few years before our own, the Canadian (Ontario and Quebec) Baptist Mission, centered at Coconada, several years after our own (1874). A number of the inland taluks are claimed and worked exclusively by our Mission, others along the coast by the Canadian Baptist Mission, while several are worked in part by our Mission and in part by one or both of the Baptist missions.
The field of our Telugu Mission is divided into mission dis- tricts, designated by the names of the towns in which the mis- sionaries in charge of the district-work reside, or by the names of the taluks which comprise their respective districts, as follows: Rajahmundry, Korukonda, Jaggampet, Samulkot, Dowlaishwaram, east of the river; and Tallapudi, Tadepalli-
THE GENERAL COUNCIL S MISSION FIELD IN INDIA 1 57 gudem, Bhimawaram and Narsapur districts, west of the river. Each missionary confines his work to the district or districts over which he exercises supervision.
The climate of South India is tropical. The Godavery delta is on a parallel line with Southern Mexico and Porto Rico. During the cool season, which begins in October and ends in February, the average temperature is about 80° Fahrenheit. In March the winds from the south bring an ever-increasing heat, until in May, the hottest month, the temperature rises to 115° or even 120'' in the shade. During the hot season the American or European must carefully avoid over-exposure to the direct rays of the sun. The wisest course is to escape to the hills for a midsummer vacation, a thing which most of the missionaries do. In June the winds from the southwest bring rain-bearing clouds, and about the end of the month the rainy season begins. This does not mean that there is daily rain, but only that this is the season during which there is rain. This season continues to about the middle of September, when the sun crosses the equator. After a month of practically no rain, the northeast monsoon begins to blow, continuing for about a month in this part of the country, with a varying quantity of rainfall.
The soil of the Godavery delta is an alluvial deposit, the natural fertility of which is enhanced by an extensive system of canals below the anient or dam, built across the Godavery River at Dowlaishwaram, forty miles from the mouth of the river and five miles from Rajahmundry. In fertility and wealth the Godavery delta is surpassed by but one other district in the Madras Presidency.
The larger portion of the population is engaged in the culti- vation of the soil and kindred pursuits. Rice and grain are the chief products. Bananas, cocoanuts and other tropical fruits are extensively grown. The instruments and methods of cultivation are very primitive. The ordinary plow of the native farmer is nothing but a crooked piece of hard wood pointed at the end with a sharpened iron bar. It is pulled over the ground by a pair of oxen until the iron point has scratched and loosened the soil several inches deep. At the
158 THE TELUGU MISSION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL time of harvest the ripened grain is cut down with a sickle, trodden out by cattle in the fields, winnowed in the wind and carried in baskets on the heads or shoulders of the farm hands to the places of storage or market. The majority of the farmers are practically serfs in the employ of wealthy land- holders called zemindars, or they are in financial bondage to money-lenders.
The home of the average villager is a mud-walled, thatch- roofed, earthen-floored hut of one or two low rooms, in which frequently cattle, fowl and other domestic animals, as well as the members of the family, are housed. A few brass or earthen pots for cooking rice or storing water, and several mats, made of bamboo or palm leaves, spread on the floor to serve as beds, are the only furniture. As a rule children wear no clothing until they are three or four years of age. For boys scanty garments made from the cheapest cotton fabrics are provided. The usual garment of the women is a single piece of cheap, light material, which they learn to wind and drape around the body from the shoulders to the ankles. Wealth and position are indicated by the number and value of jewels and other ornaments worn, especially on festival occasions. The monthly expense of a family of the middle class is about 15 rupees or $5. Many of the poorer outcasts live on less than half as much. As elsewhere in India, the lot of the women in the Telugu country is deplorable. Many of them are uneducated drudges. Only the nautch girls are educated, in order that they may provide entertainment. A woman has no social standing or religious destiny apart from her husband. The worst mis- fortune that can befall her is to remain unmarried. Matrimonial engagements are made by parents when their daughter is still a helpless babe, and before she reaches the age of twelve years she is married. If the boy or man to whom the infant daughter is engaged to be married, dies before the wedding takes place, she becomes a widow to whom remarriage is forbidden. The practice of secluding women in zenanas is not so common in South India as farther north, but among the higher castes it is in vogue; and the Mohammedan portion of the population has preserved the harem.
THE GENERAL COUNCIL'S MISSION FIELD IN INDIA 1 59
According to caste the people may be conveniently divided into Brahmins who form the priestly caste; Vaisyas, the merchant caste ; and Sudras, the laboring caste, artisans and agriculturists. The Sudras are more numerous than all the other castes combined. Socially and in civil life Mohammedans are ranked as Sudras. The Kshatriyas, the warrior caste, ranked between the Brahmins and Vaisayas, are few in number, the Telugus having a less warlike nature than the fierce Mahrattas or the doughty Rajputs. The hated term "Pariah," formerly used to designate the outcasts, has been displaced by government decree by that of "Panchama," which means the fifth people. The Panchamas again are divided into Malas and Madigas, the latter being the lowest of the outcasts, so low that "they must reach up to touch the bottom of the social scale." But God has chosen the poor and the despised rather than the rich and mighty as the firstfruits of His saving grace, for most of the converts to Christianity in India are Malas and Madigas, who welcome the message of redemption and exaltation through Jesus Christ.
The Telugu language, enriched by Sanscrit and to a slight degree by Hindustani, Arabic, French and English, is musical in sound and elaborate in form. The vocabulary is enormous, abounding in synonyms and in terms of philosophical, pseudo- scientific and voluptuous character; but it is practically des- titute of words which can be used to express the spiritual conceptions of the Christian religion.^
^ Pure Telugu is formed from roots which in general have a close connection with the roots of the other languages of South India, such as Tamil and Cana- rese. These cognate languages form a separate family of languages, which is distinguished by the term "Dravidian." The greater part of Telugu literature consists of poetry, which is written in the higher dialect. So different is the higher dialect from the dialect used in common conversation that they form distinct branches of study. Telugu is remarkable for its melody of sound, which has gained for it the name of the Italian of India. It is regular in construction, and, though copious, is often, like Tamil, very laconic. In common conversation a single word or short phrase is often used to convey the meaning of a whole sentence. While the language used in poetry is uniform, local dialects vary. There is a certain amount of difference between the Telugu spoken in Rajahmundry and that spoken in the Cuddapa district. The language is spoken in its greatest purity in the northern circars.—Arden's "Telugu Grammar."
l6o THE TELUGU MISSION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL
The original religion of the Telugus, as far as can be ascer- tained, was nature worship which degenerated into animal worship, demon worship, hero worship and animism. Brahminism adopted the popular cults and Buddhism infused its philosophical conceptions into the system. The result is a form of modern Hinduism, of which pantheism is the under- lying principle and polytheism the universal practice. Maya or illusion, karma or fate, the transmigration and reincarnation of souls, and nirvana or final absorption into the All-soul, are popular doctrines. The most absurd superstitions, the grossest sensuahty, the subtlest dishonesty and the most inhumane religious practices have left their indelible impress on the minds and lives of the people. The burning of widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands, hook-swinging and the like, have been prohibited by the British Govern- ment; but practices scarcely less repulsive, performed in public by Brahmins and fakirs in the name of religion, are usual occurrences. Thus, one of these fakirs may be seen lying naked on a bed of sharp spikes, or walking in shoes through the soles of which sharp nails have been driven, or eating revolting food, or suffering some other form of self- torture, all in order to gain merit in the sight of the gods and their devotees.
The most popular gods of the Telugus are Krishna, an in- carnation of Vishnu, whose worship allows licentious prac- tices and obscene pictures; Siva, the destroyer, and his con- sort. Kali, goddess of disease and death, whose image is as revolting an object as can be found anywhere on earth. Other gods which are universally worshipped are Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of wisdom and good luck, and
1 Kali is represented as a naked woman with a hideous countenance. Her tongue is protruding from her mouth. Her hair is a mass of writhing snakes. She wears a necklace of human skulls and a belt of dead men's hands. She has four arms and hands. In the upper left hand she holds a drawn dagger; in the lower left hand she holds by its hair the head of a decapitated giant, a victim of her wrath; with the upper right hand Kali makes a gesture beckoning her wor- shippers to draw near and do her reverence; with the lower right hand she makes a gesture warning them away, lest coming unworthily they become the objects of her fierce anger and malice. Everything in connection with this image is intended to inspire horror and fear. There is also a more benevolent but less popular representation of this goddess of disaster.
THE HINDU r,ODI)P:.SS KALI
THE ELPZPHANT-HEADED COO CANESIIA
THE GENERAL COUNCIL'S MISSION FIELD IN INDIA l6r Hanuman, the monkey-god. So numerous are the images that their number is said to exceed that of the people; and their temples and shrines may be found on every side, on hills, under trees, near springs or rocks, on the banks of rivers, by the side of roads, in the streets of the cities and in the squares of the villages; and attached to each temple or shrine is the attendant priest or pujari, receiving the offerings of the people.
To the spiritually benighted and morally degraded Telugus living in the territory just described as our mission field, the General Council of the EvangeUcal Lutheran Church in North America has sent and is still sending missionaries, men and women, to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and is sup- porting their work in behalf of the christianization of these people. Slowly but surely the truth is prevailing, the kingdom and reign of the Living God are being extended and the number of converts to Christianity is increasing; but the task will not be finished until there has been estabHshed a self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating Telugu Lutheran Church in the Godavery and Kistna districts of the Madras Presidency in India.