In late 1950s, it was very distressing to see several funeral processions of smallpox victims passing our house. Those days we were living in a thickly populated area of Trichur town, India. The road in front of our house (Eastern Bazaar) was the route to the cemetery of our Christian churches and the road at the back (College Road) of the house was the route to the Muslim mosque. Death due to small pox was rampant in those days, and I have heard stories that the dead bodies of small pox victims would not be buried in the common area in the cemetery, but in a separate place along with those who commit suicide or those who do not believe in god, such as communists. Religious authorities were insensitive to those bereaved families and were reluctant to give the last rites to those who were on their death bed.
Those days a typical funeral procession comprised a marching band , a person tolling a bell in the front, relatives and close friends in the middle, and the immediate family carrying the coffin at the back. The bell will be rung three times and after a gap it will be repeated. My mother was not very keen on her children watching funeral processions as it can cause night mares. The sound of remorse melody played by brass instruments and thumping of the drums could be heard from a distance, indicating the approach of a funeral procession. During the smallpox epidemic, a lot of businesses providing band sets and coffins flourished. The etiquette of a Muslim funeral procession was different, dead bodies were enclosed in a makeshift coffin and carried by relatives. Those who follow the funeral procession chant a religious prayer loudly.
Small pox epidemic season usually started in autumn, onwards. This period corresponded with our church festival season when people throng in the church compound. This was a recipe for spreading the smallpox epidemic. The case fatality ratio for the smallpox epidemic could be as high as 30%. Once someone got smallpox, the person was moved to an isolated dreadful place called ‘smallpox cottage’. There were special carers for these smallpox victims , the carers were often alcoholics, who did not value their life. They were notorious for their mannerisms and idiosyncrasies. Like this Covid-19 period, people used to keep a safe distance from these smallpox cottages, as they were aware of the transmissibility of smallpox. When the anxious relatives of the smallpox victims asked about the condition of the patients these carers acted like god. The carers sarcastically used hand gestures, which could be interpreted either as ‘no hope’ or as ‘not serious’. Whatever happened to the patient in the end, the carer’s verdict was seen as right!
At that time one of our relative’s daughter caught smallpox and sadly she passed away . But no one was brave enough to take care of the body and organize the funeral. Brave people used to tell that those who are timid will fall victim to smallpox. But no one ventured to go near the dead body. My late father was tall and sturdy, as such he was considered to be the bravest person in our family circles. When he heard about the state of affairs, he immediately came from Cochin where he ran his business, and organised the funeral.
In view of the mortality and morbidities such as blindness and scarring of the face caused by smallpox, the Hindu community in South India prayed to a deity called Mariamman, who is the goddess of protection against epidemics. Mariamman is the sister of Lord Vishnu, the god for preservation and creation. Mariamman temples are also seen in Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. There were a lot of superstitions about smallpox epidemic among both Hindus and Christians. My uncle used to tell the horror story of devils with bags full of seeds of smallpox sowing them in the community in the midnight.
For Christians, the patron saint for small pox is Saint Sebastian, who is believed to safeguard the community from all diseases including smallpox. In late 1950s and early 1960s, the churches used to organise processions with flame torches, carrying the statue of St.Sebastian, tied to a pillar, once a week for seven weeks. My faith was deep during those days and I used to participate in the processions. Since I can remember, I used to take smallpox vaccination ritually every year from the vaccination centre nearby my house, until I left Thrichur. In India too there were people who were afraid of taking vaccination for all sorts of reasons. Most of those deniers were illiterate or did not trust modern medicine. But because of the perseverance of the government on small pox vaccination and the development of herd immunity in the community, smallpox was unheard of in 1980s.
For youngsters, smallpox is a disease of the past, but in my mind its dark memories still linger on. The wound inflicted by smallpox virus is deep and fresh, as one of my friends Paul Chavakkad had the disease as a child.His eye sight was badly affected and the scars on his face symbolize the rampage of the virus on humanity. Just like Coronavirus, we do not know the exact origin of smallpox, but the signs and symptoms of the disease were referred to in prehistoric times. Although at the end of the 18th century, English physician Edward Jenner invented a vaccine against smallpox virus, it took nearly two centuries for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare smallpox as eradicated. The disease smallpox might be extinct, but the Variola major and Variola minor viruses causing the disease still exist.
Dr.C.J.George
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