Chain letters in pre-modern India (fwd)

[Dominik Wujastyk]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2000 20:43:26 -0800
From: VanArsdale <barnowl at silcom.com>
To: hansen at indiana.edu, folklore at lists.colorado.edu, wce2 at psu.edu,
     AEM at psulias.psu.edu, Dominik Wujastyk <ucgadkw at ucl.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Chain letters in pre-modern India

Dear Mr. Wujastyk & list,

Thank you for giving the link to "Chain Letter Evolution" in your
post to the Indology list. There is a section in this titled:

  4.1  PREDECESSORS
  Ancient documents that advocate their own perpetuation. The
  Letters from Heaven. Transitions to chain letters.

which may accessed directly via:

http://www.silcom.com/~barnowl/clevo/start.htm#s4-1

Three early examples from Buddhist literature are
mentioned briefly, including a Japanese text
from 764-770 CE. An interesting feature of your
example is the use of a "copy quota,"
in this case eight copies. In the link I give an
example from India (Shahabad) which dates
from 1893 and asks for five copies.  A US charity chain
letter from 1889 asks for ten copies. These are the
earliest known examples of a copy quota, unless yours
is earlier.  I would like to know if this is the case,
and if so be provided a reference to use for an addition to
Chain Letter Evolution.  We are all so familiar with
modern chain letters that it is difficult to realize that
asking that a fixed number of copies be
sent was a bold innovation. Keeping the number open might
seem more productive, as did the prior "Letters from Heaven."

The next innovation was the setting of a deadline to complete
this task.  The first known appearance of this is from a 1902
"prayer chain" protesting sabbath violations.  It asked for
seven copies in seven days, which suggests a commemoration of
the revered seven day interval, rather than a conscious intent
to increase replication. As for the addition of an appeal for
replication to the end of an existing document, examples range
from the NT book of Mark to jokes on the Internet. Chain letters
themselves may have developed from such entreaties added to
prayers (Letters from Heaven). Probably during 1880 - 1905 the
prayers shrank down to a single leading sentence in chain letters,
and were eventually deleted or secularized (e.g. "With love all
things are possible.")

I have been informed that chain letters are common in India,
and have an example in English from 1996 (with Sai Baba devotional
images). One USENET informer told me that there is a money
chain letter in India that asks that a hundred copies be made,
and contains threats for non-compliance.  No threats have
ever appeared on US money chain letters (they started in the US
in 1935).

I will soon place a "paper chain letter archive" on the WWW, starting
with over 200 dated examples (mostly English).
I would greatly appreciate if any reader can assist in locating
examples of dated paper chain letters, past or present, from any
country.
Thank you,

   Daniel VanArsdale
   PO Box 2335
   Lompoc, CA 93438