304 
VOYAGE OF THE POTOMAC. 
[March, 
found on the table of a wealthy Chinese voluptuary ; and they 
are acknowledged to be hospitable. 
Their festivals are very grand and. imposing, especially the one 
in celebration of the new year, which continues from the first to 
the twentieth of February. On this occasion, the streets in the 
Chinese compong are thronged with carriages and crowds of 
men, women,' and children, of all classes, countries, colours, and 
denominations, who parade the illuminated streets until late at 
night. For eight or ten days during this festival, business is at 
a stand, and every house is a scene of festivity. The wealthy 
spread richly-furnished tables, at which the Europeans frequently 
partake ; while the hosts, by every means in their power, try to 
show how much- they are pleased with the attendance of their 
guests. Various mountebank exhibitions are performed on large 
stages erected for the purpose. Their marriage ceremonies are 
conducted with great splendour ; and though the most of them 
have been colonized in the island for centuries, they retain, in all 
respects, their national customs. 
Next to the new year, the burials are the greatest festivals' 
among the Chinese in Java ; and these are solemnized according 
to the rank of the individual deceased. A'n immense multitude 
attend the interment, carrying images of men and women resem- 
bling the deceased members of the same family, while a numerous 
procession of priests, accompanied by musical instruments, pre- 
cede the corpse. The cemetery of the Chinese extends over an 
immense surface of soil on the southeast side of the city. 
They allot a separate piece of ground for each subject, and raise 
over it a mound of earth in shape of a crescent, carved and orna- 
mented according to the wealth and importance of the deceased. 
To these sacred repositories, the Chinese, as an indispensable 
duty, pay an annual visit ; which mournful ceremony takes place 
in April. Stages are erected, from which the priests deliver their 
funeral orations in honour of the dead ; and the neighbourhood 
of Jacatra, over which their cemetery extends, exhibits the affect- 
ing spectacle of multitudes of people prostrate before the nu- 
merous tombs, which are decorated with flowers ; spreading 
viands and fruits as offerings, and bowing their faces to the earth. 
Although they have a temple, in which are placed images and 
burning tapers, they do not appear to attend to any particular 
