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diff --git a/43682-0.txt b/43682-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1f96977 --- /dev/null +++ b/43682-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13579 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43682 *** + + THE POPULAR RELIGION + AND FOLK-LORE OF + NORTHERN INDIA + + BY + + W. CROOKE, B.A. + BENGAL CIVIL SERVICE + + + + IN TWO VOLUMES + + VOL. II. + + A NEW EDITION, REVISED AND ILLUSTRATED + + WESTMINSTER + ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE & CO. + 2, Whitehall Gardens, S.W. + + 1896 + + + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + + CHAPTER I. PAGE + + The Evil Eye and the Scaring of Ghosts 1 + + CHAPTER II. + + Tree and Serpent Worship 83 + + CHAPTER III. + + Totemism and Fetishism 146 + + CHAPTER IV. + + Animal-Worship 201 + + CHAPTER V. + + The Black Art 259 + + CHAPTER VI. + + Some Rural Festivals and Ceremonies 287 + + Bibliography 327 + + + + + + + +FOLK-LORE OF NORTHERN INDIA. + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE EVIL EYE AND THE SCARING OF GHOSTS. + + + Nescio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinat agnos. + + Virgil, Eclogues, iii. 103. + + +Asma 'bint 'Umais relates that she said, "O Prophet! the family of +Ja' afar are affected by the baneful influence of the Evil Eye. May +I use spells for them or not?" The Prophet said, "Yes; for if there +were anything in the world which would overcome fate, it would be +the Evil Eye."--Miskât, xxi.-i. Part II. + +The belief in the baneful influence of the Evil Eye prevails +widely. [1] According to Pliny, [2] it was one of the special +superstitions of the people of India, and at the present day it forms +an important part of the popular belief. But the investigation of +its principles is far from easy. It is very closely connected with +a number of kindred ideas on the subject of diabolical influence, +and few natives care to speak about it except in a furtive way. In +fact, it is far too serious a matter to be discussed lightly. Walking +about villages, you will constantly see special marks on houses, and +symbols and devices of various kinds, which are certainly intended +to counteract it; but hardly any one cares directly to explain the +real motive, and if you ask the meaning of them, you will almost +invariably be told that they are purely decorative, or that they have +been made with some object which obviously conceals the real basis +of the practice. + +One, and perhaps the most common theory of the Evil Eye is that "when +a child is born, an invisible spirit is born with it; and unless +the mother keeps one breast tied up for forty days, while she feeds +the child with the other (in which case the spirit dies of hunger), +the child grows up with the endowment of the Evil Eye, and whenever +any person so endowed looks at anything constantly, something will +happen to it." [3] So, in Ireland we are told that "the gift comes by +Nature and is born with one, though it may not be called into exercise +unless circumstances arise to excite the power; then it comes to act +like a spirit of bitter and malicious envy that radiates a poisonous +atmosphere, which chills and blights everything within its reach." [4] + +In Bombay the "blast of the Evil Eye is supposed to be a form of +spirit possession. In Western India all witches and wizards are said +to be, as a rule, evil-eyed. Of the rest, those persons only who are +born under certain circumstances are believed to be evil-eyed. The +circumstances are as follows:--Among the Hindus it is believed that +when a woman is pregnant, she begins to conceive peculiar longings +from the day of conception, or from the fifth month. They consist in +eating various fruits and sweetmeats, in walking under deep shades, +or in gardens where brooks gurgle, or in putting on rich clothes or +ornaments, and in many other like things. If in the case of any woman +these desires are not gratified, the child whom she gives birth to +becomes weak and voracious, and is said to have an Evil Eye. If such a +person sees a man or woman eat anything which he feels a longing for, +the eater either vomits what he or she has eaten, or falls sick. By +some it is believed that if a person come from without at the time +of dinner, and enters the house without washing his feet, the man +who is eating becomes sick or vomits the food he has eaten, or does +not feel longing for food for some time, until the blast of the Evil +Eye is warded off." Mr. Campbell explains this on the principle that +"as he comes from places where three or four roads meet, and which +are spirit haunts, an evil spirit accompanies him without entering +his body, from the place of its residence by which he has passed. If +he washes his feet, the spirit goes back; but if he enters the house +with spirit-laden feet, the spirit enters the house with him, and +affects any one of the persons eating." [5] + +The real fact seems to be that in most cases the Evil Eye is the +result of covetousness. [6] Thus, a man blind of an eye, no matter +how well-disposed he may be, is almost certain to envy a person +blessed with a peculiarly good pair of eyes. But if the blind man's +attention be distracted by something conspicuous in the appearance of +the other, such as lampblack on his eyelids, a mole, or a scar, the +feeling of dissatisfaction, which is fatal to the complete effect of +the envious glance, is certain to arise. This theory that the glance +may be neutralized or avoided by some blot or imperfection is the +basis of many of the popular remedies or prophylactics invented with +the object of averting its influence. + +Hence comes the device of making an intentional blot in anything one +values, so that the glance of the Evil Eye may be deprived of its +complete satisfaction. Thus, most people put lampblack on the eyes of +their children as a protection against fascination, because black is +a colour hateful to evil spirits; it has the additional advantage of +protecting the eye from the fierce heat of the Indian summer. Women +when delivery approaches often mark themselves with black to avert +the demon who causes protracted labour. It is also believed that a +person whose eyelids are encircled with lampblack is incapable of +casting the Evil Eye himself; and it is considered nice in a woman +to ornament herself in this way, since because she herself, except +at some crisis of her life, such as marriage or parturition, is not +liable to fascination, it shows her indisposition to covet the beauty +of others, with the inference that she has no cause to do so. + +On the same principle, when a parent has lost a child by any disease +which, as is usually the case, can be attributed to fascination or +other demoniacal influence, it is a common practice to call the next +baby by some opprobrious name, with the intention of so depreciating it +that it may be regarded as worthless, and so protected from the Evil +Eye of the envious. Thus a male child is called Kuriya or "Dunghill;" +Kadheran or Ghasîta, "He that has been dragged along the ground;" Dukhi +or Dukhita, "The afflicted one;" Phatingua, "Grasshopper;" Jhingura, +"Cricket;" Bhîkhra or Bhîkhu, "Beggar;" Gharîb, "Poor," and so on. So, +a girl is called Andhrî, "Blind;" Tînkauriyâ or Chhahkauriyâ, "She that +was sold for three or six cowry shells;" Dhuriyâ, "Dusty;" Machhiyâ, +"Fly," and so on. [7] + +All this is connected with what the Scotch call "fore-speaking," when +praise beyond measure, praise accompanied with a sort of amazement or +envy, is considered likely to be followed by disease or accident. [8] +Thus Professor Rhys writes of the Isle of Man: [9] "You will never get +a Manxman to say that he is very well. He usually admits that he is +'middling;' and if by any chance he risks a stronger adjective, he +hastens to qualify it by saying 'now' or 'just now,' with an emphasis +indicative of his anxiety not to say too much. His habits of speech +point back to the time when the Manx mind was dominated by the fear +of awaking malignant influences in the spirit world around him." So, +in Ireland, to avoid being suspected of having the Evil Eye, it is +necessary when looking at a child to say, "God bless it!" and when +passing a farmyard where the cows are collected for milking to say, +"The blessing of God be on you and all your labour!" [10] + +The same customs prevail in India. Thus, if a native gentleman brings +his child to visit a European, he dislikes to hear it praised, unless +the praise be accompanied with some pious ejaculation. And it is +safer to speak in a complimentary way of some conspicuous ornament +or piece of dress, which is always put on as a protective. + +In connection with the question of naming, a reference may be made to +some taboos which are probably based on similar principles. A name is +part of a person in the belief of savages, and a man can be injured +through his name as well as through the parings of his nails or hair, +which are carefully looked after. Thus with all Hindus two names are +given to children, one secret and used only for ceremonial purposes, +and the other for ordinary use. The witch if she learns the real name +can work her evil charms through it. [11] Hence arises the use of many +contractions and perversions of the real name and many of the nicknames +which are generally given to children, as well as the ordinary terms +of endearment which are constantly employed. We have this name taboo +coming out in a cycle of folk-tales, such as "Rumpelstilzchen," "Tom +Titty Tot," and "Whuppity Stoorie." Here the imp or gnome has a secret +name of his own, which he thinks it impossible for any one to find out, +and he himself uses it only when he thinks he is sure to be alone. + +This seems to be the most rational explanation of the curious +taboo according to which a Hindu woman will not name her husband, +or if she wants to refer to him, does so in some indirect way as +the father of her child and so on. To this, however, there is one +notable exception. Thus, writing of Bombay, Mr. Campbell says: [12] +"At marriages, coming of age, first pregnancy and festive days, such as +the Nâgpanchamî and Mangalâ Gaurî in August, it is usual for the woman +to recite some couplet or verse in which the husband's name occurs. At +marriages this naming is, in practice, little more than a game. An +old man or an old lady gets close to the door and refuses to allow +the young women to go until they have told their husbands' name. At +the pregnancy ceremony the same custom is observed." Mr. Campbell +takes this to be "part of a ceremony whose object is to drive to a +distance any spirits whose influence might blight the tender life +of the unborn child. This seems natural when it is remembered that +the names of men are either the names of gods, of precious stones, +or of spices, all of which have a power to scare spirits; and as +repeating the thousand names of Mahâdeva is a service in which he +greatly delights, apparently because it keeps spirits at a distance, +so this repeating of the husband's and wife's name seems to have the +same object." The name, in other words, is kept secret on account of +its sanctity, and the custom would be based on the same rules of taboo +which have been designed among most savages for the protection of +kings and other persons of dignity from the influence of evil spirits. + +Another mode of protecting boys from demoniacal influence is based on +the same idea of the blot of imperfection. Boys of rich parents are +often dressed in mean or filthy clothes so that they may be considered +unworthy of the malicious glance of some envious neighbour or enemy. + +Still another device, that of dressing up the boy during infancy as a +girl, in other words a pretended change of sex, may perhaps lead us on +the track of a possible explanation of some very curious and obscure +practices in Europe. We know that legends of actual change of sex are +not unknown in Indian folk-lore. Thus, we have the very primitive +legend of Idâ or Ilâ, who was the daughter of the Manu Vaivaswata, +who prayed to Mitra and Varuna for a boy and was given a girl. But the +prayers of her father to the deities resulted in her being changed into +a man, Sudyumna. Siva changed him back again into a woman, and she, +as Ilâ, became the wife of Budha. In more modern times we have the +very similar story of the daughter of the Bhadauriya Râja. He had a +daughter, who was seized by force for the seraglio of the Emperor at +Delhi, but she fled to the temple of Devî at Batesar and by the aid of +the goddess was changed into a boy. By another version of the tale he +arranged with another Râja that their children should be contracted, +if one chanced to be a boy and the other a girl. Both had daughters, +but the Râja concealed the circumstance and allowed the marriage +to go on as if his child was a son. When the fraud was detected the +girl tried to commit suicide in the Jumnâ, but came out a boy, and +everyone was satisfied. [13] + +One explanation of the custom of pretended change of sex as shown in +the case of the Amazons, has been thus explained by Mr. Abercromby: +[14] "The great desire of women, more especially during a period of +warlike barbarism, is to bear male children. Turning our attention to +the result of flattening a girl's breasts and letting her wear male +attire, it is obvious that a sex distinction has been obliterated, +and she has become externally assimilated to a male youth. Moreover, +the object has evidently been intentional. It would be no outrage to +the reasoning powers of the Sarmatians to suppose that they believed +a woman's chances of bearing male children were vastly enhanced by +her wearing a man's dress, and by being in some degree conformed +to the male type by forcible compression of the breasts during +maidenhood. They would argue thus: a woman wants to bear male children, +therefore she ought to be made as much like a man as possible. A +conviction of this kind is gained by a process identical with the +immature reasoning that underlies what is called sympathetic magic." + +This may possibly be one explanation of the practice among Chamârs and +other low castes in Northern India, when at marriages boys dress up as +women and perform a rude and occasionally obscene dance. Among the Modh +Brâhmans of Gujarât, at marriages, the bridegroom's maternal uncle, +whose special position is almost certainly a survival from times when +descent through the mother was the only recognized form, dresses as a +Jhanda or Pathân Faqîr, whose ghost is dangerous, in woman's clothes +from head to waist, and in men's clothes below, rubs his face with +oil, daubs it with red powder, goes with the bride and bridegroom to +a place where two roads meet (which, as we have seen, is a haunt of +spirits), and stays there till the pair offer the goddess food. [15] + +Now, there are numerous customs which have been grouped in Europe under +the name of the False Bride. Thus, among the Esthonians the false +bride is enacted by the bride's brother dressed in woman's clothes; +in Polonia by a bearded man called the Wilde Brant; in Poland, by an +old woman veiled in white, and lame; again, among the Esthonians, +by an old woman with a birch-bark crown; in Brittany, where the +substitutes are first a little girl, then the mistress of the house, +and lastly, the grandmother. [16] + +The supposition may then be hazarded, that in the light of the Indian +examples the object may be that some one assumes the part of the bride +in order to divert on himself from her the envious glance of the Evil +Eye. With the same object it is very common in India to bore the noses +of little boys and thus to make them resemble girls. The usual names +of Nathu or Bulâqi, the former where the ring was placed in the side +of the nose and the latter in the septum, are evidence of this. + +The theory of the blot of imperfection again appears in the custom of +not washing the face of a little boy till he is six years old. [17] +Similarly, young men, if vigorous and stout, consider themselves +very liable to the fascination of lean people, and tie a rag round +the left arm, or a blue thread round their necks, often twisting the +blue feathers of the roller bird into the thread as an additional +precaution. Nor do they care to expose their bodies to the public +gaze, but wear a light shawl of a gaudy colour, even in the warmest +season of the year. Should such a youth, if sufficiently conceited +about his personal appearance, detect a suspicious person looking at +him, he will immediately pretend to limp, or contort his face and +spasmodically grasp his ankle or his elbow as if he were in pain, +to distract and divert the attention he fears. + +So, all natives dread being stared at, particularly by Europeans; +and you will often see a witness cast his eyes on the ground when +the magistrate looks him full in the face, sometimes because he +knows he is lying and fears the consequences, but it is often done +through fear of fascination. A European, in fact, is to the rustic a +strange inscrutable personage, gifted with many occult powers both for +good and evil, and there are numerous extraordinary legends current +about him. We shall return to this in dealing with the wonderful +Momiâî story. Here it may be noted that he has control over the +Jinn. There was a place near Dera Ghâzi Khân so possessed by them +that passersby were attacked. A European officer poured a bottle of +brandy on the spot and no Jinn has been seen there ever since. A +very dangerous ghost which some time ago used to infest a road in +the Rûrki Cantonment was routed in the same way by an artilleryman, +who spat on him when he came across him one dark night. The nails +of a European, like those of the Râkshasa, distil a deadly poison, +and hence he is afraid to eat with his fingers, as all reasonable +people do, and prefers to use a knife and fork. + +A few other examples illustrating the same principle may be given +here. When a man is copying a manuscript, he will sometimes make an +intentional blot. A favourite trick is to fold the paper back before +the ink of the last line has time to dry, so as to blot and at the +same time make it appear the result of chance. We have noticed the +same idea in the case of carpet patterns. A similar irregularity is +introduced in printing chintzes and like handicrafts, and this goes a +long way to explain the occasional and almost unaccountable defects +to be found in some native work. The letter from a Râja is spotted +with gold leaf, partly to divert fascination and partly to act as a +scarer of demons. In fact the two conceptions meet and overlap all +through the theory of these protectives. + +Another plan is to paint up some hideous figure on the posts or arch +of the door. The figure of a Churel or the caricature of a European +with his gun is often delineated in this way. Others paint a figure of +Yamarâja or some of the gods or saints for the same purpose, and the +regular guardian deities, like Hanumân, Bhairon, or Bhîm Sen, often +figure on these protective frescoes. So in Italy Mania was a most +frightful spirit. "Her frightful image used to be hung over the doors +to frighten away evil. This is quite identical with the old Assyrian +observance recorded by Lenormant of placing the images of evil or +dreaded deities in places to scare away the demons themselves." [18] + +Confectioners, when one of their vessels of milk is exposed to view, +put a little charcoal in it, as careful Scotch mothers do in the water +in which they wash their babies. [19] The idea is probably connected +with the use of fire as a charm. In Scotland it used to be the practice +to throw a live coal into the beer vat to avert the influence of the +fairies, and a cow's milk was secured against them by a burning coal +being passed across her back and under her belly immediately after +calving. [20] In India, if a cow gives a large quantity of milk, the +owner tries to hide it, and if it chances to get sour, he attributes +the loss to fascination, or the machinations of some enemy, witch, +or demon. A mother while dressing her baby makes a black mark on +its cheek, and before a man eats betel he pinches off the corner of +the leaf as a safeguard. When food is taken to the labourer in the +field, a piece of charcoal or copper coin is placed in the basket as +a preservative; and when horses while feeding throw a little grain +on the ground, it is not replaced, because the horse is believed to +do this to avoid fascination. Grooms, with the same object, throw +a dirty duster over the withers of a horse while it is feeding, +and they are the more particular to do this when it is new moon +or moonlight, when spirits are abroad. In the same way, when a man +purchases food in the open market, he throws a little into the fire, +and when a man is having a specially good dinner, he should select +an auspicious moment and do the same. The same idea accounts for +various customs of grace-giving at meals. Thus, when the Brâhmans at +Pûna begin dinner they repeat the name of Govinda; the Shenavis say, +Har! Har! Mahâdeva, and when half finished sing verses; the Mhârs +never eat without saying Krishnarpana! or "It is dedicated to Krishna"; +[21] the Muhammadan, when he begins to eat, says, Bismillah!--"In the +name of God!" and when he finishes he says, Al-hamdulillah!--"Praise +be to God!" Orthodox Hindus pretend that this offering of food at +a meal is a sacrifice to Annadeva, the god of food; but here many +varied beliefs, such as fear of fascination, earth and fire worship, +appear to combine to establish these and similar practices. + +We now come to consider the various articles which are believed +to have the power of scaring spirits, and counteracting demoniacal +influence of various kinds. + +First among these is iron. Why iron has been regarded as a scarer +of demons has been much debated. Natives of India will tell you +that it is the material out of which weapons are made, and that an +armed man should fear nothing. Others say that its virtues depend +on its black colour, which, as we shall see, is obnoxious to evil +spirits. Mr. Campbell [22] thinks the explanation may be that in all +cases of swooning and seizures iron is of great value, either applied +in the form of the cautery or used as a lancet to let blood. The real +reason is probably a very interesting survival of folk-thought. We know +that in many places the stone axe and arrow head of the Age of Stone +are invested with magic qualities, and Mr. Macritchie has gone so far +as to assume that the various so-called fairy houses and fairy hills +which abound in Europe are really the abodes of a primitive pigmy +race, which survive to our days as the fairies. The belief in the +fairies would thus go back to a time anterior to the use of metals, +and these supernatural beings would naturally feel an abhorrence for +iron, a new discovery and one of the greatest ever made by man. There +is good evidence in custom that the Age of Stone existed in many places +up to comparatively modern times. The Hebrews used a stone knife for +circumcision, their altars were forbidden to be hewn, and even Solomon +ordered that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron should be +heard while his Temple was building. The same idea appears in many +cases in India. The Magahiya Doms, who are certainly one of the most +primitive races in the country, place iron under a stringent taboo, +and any Magahiya who breaks into a house with an iron implement is not +only put out of caste, but it is believed that some day or other he +will lose his eyesight. The Agariyas, the primitive iron smelters of +the Central Indian Hills, have deified iron under the form of Lohâsura, +as the Kaseras or brass-founders worship brass as Kansâsura. + +This idea appears in many various forms. We have already noticed +the use of iron as a charm against hail. In the same way a sword or +knife is placed in the bed of the young mother. She is, at this crisis +of her life, particularly exposed to the influence of evil spirits, +as the Scotch fairies are very fond of milk, and try to gratify their +desires on "unsained" or unchurched women. [23] There is a case in the +Indian Law Reports, where the knife thus placed near the woman was +used to murder her. [24] Pliny advises that a piece of iron should +be placed in the nest of a sitting hen to save her eggs from the +influence of thunder. This is now done in Sicily, with the object of +absorbing every noise which might be injurious to the chickens. [25] +So, the Indians of Canada put out swords in a storm to frighten off +the demon of thunder. [26] The common belief is that the evil spirit +is such a fool that he runs against the sharp edge of the weapon and +allows himself to be wounded. + +The magic sword constantly appears in folk-lore. We have Excalibur +and Balmung; in the tales of Somadeva it confers the power of making +the wearer fly through the air and renders him invincible; the snake +demon obtains from the wars of the Gods and the Asuras the magic +sword Vaiduryakanti. "Whatever man obtains that sword will become a +chief of the Siddhas and roam about unconquered; and that sword can +only be obtained by the aid of heroes." [27] + +While a house is being built, an iron pot, or a pot painted black, +which is good enough to scare the demon, is always kept on the works, +and when it is finished the young daughter of the owner ties to the +lintel a charm, which is also used on other occasions, the principal +virtue of which consists in a small iron ring. Here is combined +the virtue of the iron and the ring, which is a sacred circle. In +India iron rings are constantly worn as an amulet against disease, +as in Ireland an iron ring on the fourth finger cures rheumatism. The +mourner, during the period of ceremonial impurity, carries a knife +or a piece of iron to drive off the ghost of the dead man, and the +bridegroom in the marriage procession wears a sword as a protection; +if he cannot procure a licence from a magistrate to carry a real +sword, he gets one made of lath, which is good enough to frighten the +evil spirit. In this case he fastens an iron spike to the point. On +the same principle the blacksmith's anvil is used as a hail charm, +and any one who dares to sit on it is likely to be punished for +the contempt by an attack of boils. The Romans used to drive large +nails into the side posts of the door with the same object. We have +already noticed the value of iron nails for the purpose of laying the +ghost of the Churel, and such nails are in India very commonly driven +into the door-post or into the legs of the bed, with the object of +resisting evil spirits. The horse-shoe is one special form of the +charm. The wild Irish, we are told, used to hang round the necks of +children the beginning of St. John's Gospel, a crooked nail out of a +horse-shoe, or a piece of wolf-skin. [28] Why the horse-shoe should +be used in this way has been much debated. Mr. Farrer thinks it may +be connected with the respect paid to the horse in folk-lore. [29] +The Irish say that the reason is that the horse and ass were in the +stall when Christ was born, and hence are blessed for evermore. [30] +The idea that its shape connects it with the Yonî and phallicism +hardly deserves mention. One thing is clear, that the element of +luck largely enters into the matter; the shoe must have been found by +chance on the road. Mr. Leland says, "To find and pick up anything, +at once converts it into a fetish, or insures that all will go well +with it, if we say when taking it up, 'I do not pick it up,'--naming +the object--'I pick up good luck, which may never abandon me!'" [31] +This, combined with the general protective power of iron, is probably +a sufficient explanation of the practice. The custom is common in +India. The great gate of the mosque at Fatehpur Sîkri is covered with +them, and the practice is general at many shrines. + +There is also a cycle of legends which connect iron with the +philosopher's stone and transmutation into gold. The great Chandra +Varma, who was born of the embraces of Chandrama, the Moon god, +possessed the power of converting iron into gold. Laliya, a blacksmith +of Ahmadâbâd, made an axe for a Bhîl, who returned and complained that +it would not cut. Laliya, on looking at it, found that the blade had +been turned into gold. On questioning the Bhîl, he ascertained that +he had tried to sharpen it on what turned out to be the philosopher's +stone. Laliya, by possession of the stone, acquired great wealth, and +was finally attacked by the king's troops. At last he was obliged to +throw the stone into the Bhadar river, where it still lies, but once +some iron chains were let down into the water, and when they touched +it the links were converted into gold. [32] + + + +Gold and Silver Protectives. + +Gold, and in a less degree silver, have a similar protective +influence. The idea is apparently based on their scarcity and +value, and on their colour--yellow and white being obnoxious to +evil spirits. Hence a little bit of gold is put into the mouth of +the dying Hindu, and both gold and silver, combined with tigers' +claws and similar protectives, are largely used as amulets. These +metals are particularly effective in the form of ornaments, many of +which are images of the gods, or have some mystic significance, or +are made in imitation of some sacred leaf, flower, or animal. This +is one main cause of the recklessness with which rich natives load +their children with masses of costly jewellery, though they are well +aware that the practice often leads to robbery and murder. + + + +Copper and Brass Protectives. + +Next come copper and brass. The use of copper in the form of rings +and amulet cases is very common. Many of the vessels used in the +daily service of the gods, such as the Argha, with which the daily +oblations are made, are made of this metal. So with brass and various +kinds of alloy used for bells, drinking and cooking utensils. + +The common brass Lota is always carried about by a man during the +period of mourning as a preservative against the evil spirits which +surround him until the ghost of the dead man is finally laid. Copper +rings are specially worn as an antidote to pimples and boils, while +those of iron are supposed to weaken the influence of the planet Sani +or Saturn, which is proverbially unlucky and malignant. His Evil Eye, +in particular, brings misfortune at intervals of twenty-four years; +all offerings to him are black, and consequently ill-omened, such as +sesamum, charcoal, buffaloes, and black salt; and only the Dakaut, +the lowest class of Brâhman priest, will accept such offerings. [33] + + + +Coral and Marine Products Protectives. + +Next in value to these metals come coral and other marine products, +which in the case of the Hindus probably derive their virtue from +being strange to an inland-dwelling people, and as connected with +the great ocean, the final home of the sainted dead. Coral is +particularly valued in the form of a necklace by those who cannot +afford the costlier metals, and its ashes are constantly used in +various rustic remedies and stimulants. In Gujarât a coral ring is +used to keep off the evil influence of the sun, [34] and in Bengal +mourners touch it as a form of purification. According to the old +belief in England, coral guarded off lightning, whirlwind, tempests +and storms from ships and houses, and was hung round the necks of +children to assist teething and keep off the falling sickness. [35] +So with shells, particularly the Sankha or conch shell, which is +used for oblations and is regarded as sacred to Vishnu. It is blown +at his temples when the deity receives his daily meal, in order to +wake him and scare off vagrant spirits, who would otherwise consume +or defile the offering. This shell, in popular belief, is the bone of +the demon Panchajana, who, according to the Vishnu Purâna, [36] "lived +in the form of a conch shell under the ocean. Krishna plunged into +the water, killed him, took the shell, which constituted his bones, +and afterwards used it for a horn. When sounded it fills the demon +hosts with dismay, animates the gods, and annihilates unrighteousness." + +All these shells appear to derive part of their virtue from the fact +that they are perforated. The cowry shell, which is worn round the neck +by children as an antidote to the Evil Eye and diabolical influence, +is supposed to have such sympathy with the wearer that it cracks when +the evil glance falls upon it, as in England coral was thought to +change colour and grow pale when its owner was sick. The cowry shell +is, with the same object, tied round the neck or pasterns of a valued +horse, or on a cow or buffalo. The shell armlet worn by Bengal women +has the same protective influence. [37] + + + +Precious Stones Protectives. + +Precious stones possess similar value. Sir Thomas Brown would not +deny that bezoar was antidotal, but he could not bring himself to +believe that "sapphire is preservative against enchantments." In +one special combination of nine varieties, known as the Nauratana, +they are specially efficacious--the ruby sacred to the sun, the +pearl to the moon, coral to Mars, emerald to Mercury, topaz to +Jupiter, diamond to Venus, sapphire to Saturn, amethyst to Râhu, +and the cat's-eye to Ketu. In the mythology the gods interrupted +Pârvatî when she was with Mahâdeva, and nine jewels dropped from her +anklet. When he looked at them he saw his image reflected in each of +them, and they appeared in the form of the nine Kanyâs or heavenly +maidens. The Naulakha or nine lâkh necklace constantly appears in +Indian folk-lore. In the story of the Princess Aubergine we read that +"inside the fish there is a bumble-bee, inside the bee a tiny box, +and inside the box is the wonderful nine lâkh necklace. Put it on +and I shall die." And in one of Somadeva's stories, at the marriage, +Jaya gives the bride a necklace of such a kind that, as long as it is +upon a person's neck, hunger, thirst, and death cannot harm him. [38] +It is of jewels that the lamps which light fairy-land are made. + +Many of the precious stones have tales and qualities of their own. Once +upon a time a holy man came and settled at Panna who had a diamond +as large as a cart-wheel. The Râja, hearing of this, tried to take +it by force, but the saint hid it in the ground out of his way. He +told the Râja that the diamond wheel could not leave his dominions, +and that no one could ever find it. The Muhammadans say that all +the diamonds found since, in these famous mines, were fragments of +the wheel. [39] The wearing of a ring of sapphire, sacred to Sani +or Saturn, is supposed to turn out lucky or unlucky, according to +circumstances. For this reason, the wearer tries it for three days, +that is, he wears it on Saturday, which is sacred to Saturn, and +keeps it on till Tuesday. During this time, if no mishap befalls him, +he continues to wear it during the period when the planet's influence +is unfavourable; but should any mishap befall him during the three +days, he gives the ring to a Brâhman. [40] The amethyst obtains its +name because any one who wears it cannot be affected by wine. The +turquoise or Fîroza is a mystic stone in India. If you bathe wearing a +turquoise, the water touched by it protects the wearer from boils, and +snakes will not approach him. [41] Shylock got a turquoise from Leah +which he would not have given for a wilderness of monkeys, because it +changed colour with the health of the owner, and the Turkeys, says an +old writer, "doth move when there is any peril prepared to him that +weareth it." [42] So the onyx, known as the Sulaimâni, or stone of +Solomon, has mystic virtues, as, according to Burton, carbuncles and +coral, beryl, pearls and rubies were believed to drive away devils, +to overcome sorrow, and to stop dreams. [43] + + + +Beads Protectives. + +With poorer people beads take the place of gems, and in particular +the curious enamelled bead, which probably came from China and is +still found in old deserted sites, mostly of Buddhistic origin, +enjoys special repute. We have already met with the parturition +bead, and in Kolhapur there is a much-valued Arabic stone which, +when any woman is in labour, is washed and the water given to her to +drink. In Scotland the amber bead cures inflamed eyes and sprains, +as in Italy looking through amber beads strengthens the sight. [44] +Here the perforation confers a mystical quality. As an antidote to +the Evil Eye blue beads are specially valued, and are hung round the +necks and pasterns of horses and other valuable animals. The belief in +the efficacy of beads is at the basis of the use of rosaries, which, +as used in Europe, are almost certainly of Eastern origin, imported +in the Middle Ages in imitation of those worn by Buddhistic or Hindu +ascetics, who ascribe to them manifold virtue. Such are those of the +Tulasî or sacred basil, worn by Vaishnavas, and those of the Rudrâksha, +worn by Saivas. + + + +Blood a Protective. + +Blood is naturally closely connected with life. "The flesh with the +life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat." Hence +blood comes to be a scarer of demons. In Scott's Lay the wizard's book +would not open till he smeared the cover with the Borderer's curdled +gore. In Cornwall, the burning of blood from the body of a dead +animal is a very common method of appeasing the spirits of disease, +[45] and the blood sacrifices so prevalent all over the world are +performed with the same object. A curious Evil Eye charm is recorded +from Allahâbâd. A woman of the Chamâr or carrier caste gave birth to a +dead child. Thinking that this was due to fascination, she put a piece +of the cloth used at her confinement down a well, having previously +enclosed in it two leaves of betel, some cloves, and a piece of the +castor-oil plant. [46] Here we have, first, a case of well-worship; +secondly, the use of betel, cloves, and the castor-oil plant, all +scarers of evil spirits; and thirdly, an instance of the use of blood +for the same purpose. We have elsewhere noticed the special character +attached to menstrual or parturition blood. But blood itself is most +effectual against demoniacal influence. There are many cases where +blood is rubbed on the body as an antidote to disease. In Bombay some +Marhâtas give warmed goat's blood in cases of piles, and in typhus, +or red discoloration of the skin with blotches, the patient is cured +by killing a cock and rubbing the sick man with the blood. Others use +the blood of the great lizard in cases of snake-bite. [47] A bath of +the blood of children was once ordered for the Emperor Constantine, +and because he, moved by the tears of the parents, refused to take it, +his extraordinary humanity was rewarded by a miraculous cure. + +Similarly, among the Drâvidians, the Kos drink the blood of the +sacrificial bull; the Malers cure demoniacs by giving the blood of +a sacrificed buffalo; the Pahariyas, in time of epidemics, set up a +pair of posts and a cross beam, and hang on it a vessel of blood. [48] +So, the Jews sprinkled the door-posts and the horns of the altar with +blood, and the same customs prevail among many other peoples. + +We shall meet with instances of the same rite when dealing with the +blood covenant and human sacrifice. On the same analogy many Indian +tribes mark the forehead of the bride with blood or vermilion, and +red paint is smeared on the image of the village godling in lieu of +a regular sacrifice. + + + +Incense. + +Similarly, incense is largely used in religious rites, partly to please +with the sweet savour the deity which is being worshipped, and partly +to drive away demons who would steal or defile the offerings. Bad +smells repel evil spirits, and this is probably why assafoetida is +given to a woman after her delivery. In Ireland, if a child be sick, +they take a piece of the cloth worn by the person supposed to have +overlooked the infant and burn it near him. If he sneezes, he expels +the spirit and the spell is broken, or the cloth is burned to ashes and +given to the patient, while his forehead is rubbed with spittle. In +Northern India, if a child be sick, a little bran, pounded chillies, +mustard, and sometimes the eyelashes of the child are passed round its +head and burned. If the burning mixture does not smell very badly, +which it is needless to say is hardly ever the case, it is a sign +that the child is still under the evil influence; if the odour be +abominable, that the attack has been obviated. [49] Similarly, in +Bengal, red mustard seeds and salt are mixed together, waved round the +head of the patient, and then thrown into the fire. [50] This reminds +us of the flight of the Evil One into the remote parts of Egypt from +the smell of the fish liver burnt by Tobit, and an old writer says: +"Wyse clerkes knoweth well that dragons hate nothyng more than the +stenche of breenynge bones, and therefore they gaderyd as many as they +might fynde, and brent them; and so with the stenche thereof they drove +away the dragons, and so they were brought out of greete dysease." [51] + + + +Spittle. + +We have just met with an instance of the use of spittle for the +scaring of the disease demon or the Evil Eye. This is a very common +form of charm for this purpose. In one of the Italian charms the +performer is directed to spit behind himself thrice and not to look +back. In another, "if your eyes pain you, you must take the saliva of +a woman who has given birth only to boys, not girls. And she must have +abstained from sexual union and stimulating food for three days. Then, +if her saliva be bright and clear, anoint your eyes with it and they +will be cured." [52] At Innisboffin, in Ireland, when the old women +meet a baby out with its nurse they spit on the ground all round it to +keep fairies from it. In Wicklow they spit on a child for good luck +the first day it is brought out after birth. [53] In several of the +European folk-tales we find that spittle has the power of speech. The +habit of spitting on the handsell or first money taken in the morning +is common. It is done "either to render it tenacious that it may remain +with them and not vanish away like a fairy gift, or else to render +it propitious and lucky, that it may draw more money to it." [54] +Muhammad advised that when the demon Khanzab interrupted any one at +his prayers, he was to spit over his left shoulder three times. + +In India, spittle is regarded as impure. Hence a native cleans +his teeth daily with a fresh twig of the Nîm tree, and regards the +European's use of the same tooth-brush day after day as one of the +numerous extraordinary impurities which we permit. Hence, too, the +practice of spitting when any one who is feared or detested passes +by. When women see a falling star they spit three times to scare +the demon. In Bombay, spittle, especially fasting spittle, is used +to rub on wounds as a remedy. It cures inflammation of the eyes, an +idea which was familiar to the Jews. It guards children against the +Evil Eye. In the Konkan, when a person is affected by the Evil Eye, +salt and mustard are waved round his head, thrown into the fire, +and he is told to spit. In Gujarât, when an orthodox Shiah Musalmân +travels with a Sunni, he spits, and among the Roman Catholics of +Kanara, at baptism the priest wets his thumb with spittle and with +it touches the child's ears and nostrils. [55] + + + +Salt. + +We have seen above that salt is also used in the same way. Salt, +apparently from its power of checking decay, is regarded as possessing +mystical powers. All over Europe the spilling of salt in the direction +of a person was considered ominous. "It was held to indicate that +something had already happened to one of the family, or was about +to befall the person spilling it, and also to denote the rupture of +friendship." [56] The custom of putting a plate of salt on a corpse +with the object of driving off evil spirits is common in Great +Britain. We have already seen that salt is given to children after +they have eaten sweets. Many classes of Hindu ascetics bury their +dead in salt. It is waved round the head of the bride and bridegroom, +and buried near the house door as a charm. In classical antiquity it +was mixed with water and sprinkled on the worshippers. + + + +Salutation. + +Another way of dispelling evil spirits is by the various forms +of salutation, which generally consist in the invocation of some +deity. The Hindu says, "Râm! Râm!" when he meets a friend, or Jay +Gopâl! "Glory to Krishna!" or whoever his personal god may be, and the +same idea accounts for many of the customs connected with the reception +of guests, who, coming from abroad, may bring evil spirits with them. + + + +The Separable Soul: Waving. + +Another series of prophylactics depends on the idea of the separable +soul or that spirits are always fluttering in the air round a person's +head. Hence a long series of customs known as Parachhan, performed +at Hindu marriages in Upper India, when lights, a brass tray, grain, +and household implements like the rice pounder or grindstone are waved +round the head of the married pair as a protective. In Somadeva's tale +of Bhunandana we find that he "performs the ceremony of averting evil +spirits from all quarters by waving the hand over the head." [57] This +is perhaps one explanation of the use of flags at temples and village +shrines, though in some cases they appear to be used as a perch, +on which the deity sits when he makes his periodical visits. Hence, +too, feathers have a mystic significance, though in some cases, as in +those of the peacock and jay, the colour is the important part. Hence +the waving of the fan and Chaurî over the head of the great man and +the use of the umbrella as a symbol of royalty. A woman carrying her +child on her return from a strange village, lest she should bring the +influence of some foreign evil spirit back with her, will, before +entering her own homestead, pass seven little stones seven times +round the head of the baby, and throw them in different directions, +so as to pass away any evil that may have been contracted. When +a sorcerer is called in to attend a case attributed to demoniacal +possession, he whisks the patient with a branch of the Nîm, Madâr, +or Camel thorn, all of which are more or less sacred trees and have +acquired a reputation as preservatives. When this is completed, the +aspersion of the afflicted one, be he man or beast, with some water +from the blacksmith's shop, in which iron has been repeatedly plunged +and has bestowed additional efficacy upon it, usually follows. + + + +Blacksmith, Respect for. + +The respect paid to the trade of the blacksmith is a curious survival +from the time of the early handicrafts and the substitution of weapons +of iron for those of stone. [58] In Scotland the same belief in the +virtues of the water of the forge prevails, and in Ireland no one +will take anything by stealth from such a place. [59] In St. Patrick's +Hymn we have a prayer against "the spells of women, of smiths, and of +druids." Culann, the mystic smith, appears in Celtic folk-lore. In +all the mythologies the idea is widespread that the art of smithing +was first discovered and practised by supernatural personages. We +see this through the whole range of folk-lore, from the Cyclopes to +Wayland Smith, who finally came to be connected with the Devil of +Christianity. [60] + + + +Water. + +We have already referred to water as a protective against the influence +of evil spirits. We see this principle in the rite of ceremonial +bathing as a propitiation for sin. It also appears in the use of +water which has been blown upon by a holy man as a remedy for spirit +possession. Among many menial tribes in the North-Western Provinces +with the same object the bride is washed in the water in which the +bridegroom has already taken his wedding bath. Again, on a lucky +day fixed by the Pandit the rite of Nahâwan or ceremonial bathing +is performed for the protection of the young mother and her child +two or three days after her confinement. Both of them are bathed in a +decoction of the leaves of the Nîm tree. Then a handful of the seeds of +mustard and dill are waved round the mother's head and thrown into a +vessel containing fire. When the seeds are consumed the cup is upset, +and the mother breaks it with her own foot. Next she sits with grain +in her hand, while the household brass tray is beaten to scare demons +and the midwife throws the child into the air. All this takes place +in the open air in the courtyard of the house. Here we have a series +of antidotes to demoniacal possession, the purport of which will be +easily understood on principles which have been already explained. + + + +Grain. + +With this use of grain we meet with another valuable antidote. We +have it in Great Britain in the rule that "the English, when the +bride comes from church, are wont to cast wheat upon her head." [61] +It survives in our custom of throwing rice over the wedded pair when +they start on the honeymoon. On the analogy of other races one object +of the rite would seem to be to keep in the soul which is likely +to depart at such a crisis in life as marriage. Thus, "in Celebes +they think that a bridegroom's soul is apt to fly away at marriage, +so coloured rice is scattered over him to induce it to stay. And, +in general, at festivals in South Celebes rice is strewed on the head +of the person in whose honour the festival is held, with the object +of retaining his soul, which at such times is in especial danger of +being lured away by envious demons." [62] + +This rite appears widely in Indian marriage customs. Among the +Mhârs of Khândesh, on the bridegroom approaching the bride's house, +a piece of bread is waved round his head and thrown away. [63] In +a Kunbi's wedding a ball of rice is waved round the boy's head and +thrown away, and at the lucky moment grains of rice are thrown over the +couple. Among the Telang Nhâvis of Bijaypur the chief marriage rite is +that the priest throws rice over the boy and girl. The grain acquires +special efficacy if it be either parched, and thus purified by fire, +or if it be stained in some lucky or demon-scaring colour. [64] Thus, +in Upper India grain parched with a special rite is thrown over the +pair as they revolve round the marriage shed, and this function is, +if possible, performed by the brother of the bride. Rice stained +yellow with turmeric is very often used for this purpose. Another +device is to make a pile of rice, with a knot of turmeric and a copper +coin concealed in it. This at a particular stage of the service the +bride knocks down with her foot. The Lodhis of the Dakkhin, in the +same way, put a pile of rice at the door of the boy's house, which +he upsets with his foot. All through Northern India the exorciser +shakes grain in a fan, which is, as we shall see, a potent fetish, +and by the number of grains which remain in the interstices calculates +which particular ghost is worrying the patient. On the same principle +the Orâons put rice in the mouth of the corpse, and the Koiris, when +they marry, walk round a pile of water-pots and scatter rice on the +ground. [65] The custom of sprinkling grain at marriage appears in +many of the folk-tales. + + + +Urad. + +We are familiar in Roman literature with the use of beans at funerals, +and at the Lemuria thrice every other night to pacify the ghosts +of the dead beans were flung on the fire of the altar to drive the +spirits out of the house. The same idea appears in the Carlings or +fried peas given away and eaten on the Sunday before Palm Sunday. [66] +No special sanctity appears to apply to the pea or bean in India, +but they are replaced by the Urad pulse, which is much used in rites +of all kind, and especially in magic, when it is thrown over the head +of the person whom the magician wishes to bring under his control. [67] + + + +Barley. + +Barley, another sacred grain, is rubbed over the corpse of a Hindu +and sprinkled on the head before the cremation rite is performed. So, +the Orâons throw rice on the urn as they take it to the tomb, and +sprinkle grain on the ground behind the bones to keep the spirit from +coming back. [68] + + + +Sesamum. + +Til or black sesamum, again, has certain qualities of the same +kind. Hence it is used in the funeral rites, and in form of Tilanjalî +or a handful mixed with water is one of the offerings to the sainted +dead, and made up in the form of a cow, called Tiladhenu, it is +presented to Brâhmans. + + + +Sheaves. + +Most grains in the ear have also mystic uses. It is hung up over +the house door to repel evil spirits, and in Hoshangâbâd they tie +a sheaf of corn on a pole and fasten it to the cattle shed as a +preservative. [69] The combination of seven kinds of grain, known +as Satnaja, is an ingredient in numerous charms and is used in many +forms of worship. + + + +Milk. + +So with the products of the sacred cow, which are, as might have been +expected, most valuable for this purpose. Hence the use of Ghilor +or clarified butter in the public and domestic ritual. Milk for the +same reason is used in offerings and sprinkled on the ground as an +oblation. Cowdung, in particular, is regarded as efficacious. After +the death or birth impurity the house is carefully plastered with a +mixture of cowdung and clay. No cooking place is pure without it, and +the corpse is cremated with cakes of cowdung fuel. Even the urine of +the cow is valued as a medicine and a purificant. The cow guards the +house from evil, and every rich man keeps a cow so that his glance +may fall on her when he wakes from sleep, and he regards her as the +guardian of the household. + + + +Colours. + +Colours, again, are scarers of evil spirits. They particularly dread +yellow, black, red, and white. The belief in the efficacy of yellow +accounts for the use of turmeric in the domestic ritual. [70] A few +days before the marriage rites commence the bride and bridegroom are +anointed with a mixture of oil and turmeric known as Abtan. The bride +assumes a robe dyed in turmeric, which she wears until the wedding. The +marriage letter of invitation is coloured with turmeric, and splashes +of it are made on the wall and worshipped by the married pair. In the +old times the woman who performed Satî, and nowadays married women who +die, are taken to the pyre wrapped in a shroud dyed with turmeric. The +corpse is very often smeared with turmeric before cremation, a custom +which is not peculiar to the so-called Aryan Hindus, because it +prevails among the Thârus, one of the most primitive tribes of the +sub-Himâlayan forests. The same principle probably explains the use +of yellow clothes by certain classes of ascetics, and of Chandan or +sandal-wood in making caste marks and for various ceremonial purposes. + +Yellow and red are the usual colours of marriage garments, and the +parting of the bride's hair is stained with vermilion, though here +the practice is probably based on the symbolical belief in the Blood +Covenant. The same idea is probably the explanation of the flinging +of red powder and water coloured with turmeric at the Holî or spring +festival. + +Black, again, is feared by evil spirits, and the husbandman hangs a +black pot in his field to scare spirits and evade the Evil Eye, and +young women and children have their eyelids marked with lampblack. In +the Mirzapur Baiga's sacrifice the black fowl or the black goat is +the favourite victim, and charcoal is valued, some put into the milk +as a preservative and some buried under the threshold to guard the +household from harm. + + + +Grasses. + +For the same reason various kinds of grass are considered sacred, +such as the Kusa, the Dûrva, the Darbha. Among the Prabhus of Bombay +juice of the Dûrva grass is poured into the left nostril of a woman +when the pregnancy and coming of age rites are performed, and the +Kanaujiya Brâhman husband drops some of the juice down her nose when +she reaches maturity. [71] The Sholapur Mângs when they come back +from the grave strew some Hariyâli grass and Nîm leaves on the place +where the deceased died. The Mûnj grass is also sacred, and a thread +made of it is worn at one stage of the Brâhman's life. Some of these +sacred grasses form an important ingredient in the Srâddha offerings to +the sacred dead, some are used in the marriage and cremation ritual, +on some the dying man is laid at the moment of dissolution. They +are potent to avert the Evil Eye, and hence the mother of Râma and +Lakshmana, when she looks at them, breaks a blade of grass. [72] + + + +Tattooing. + +Next come special marks made on the body. Such are the marks branded +on various parts of their bodies by many classes of ascetics, and the +caste marks made in clay or ashes by most high-class Hindus. It has +been suggested that many of these marks are of totemistic origin. That +this is so among races beyond the Indian border is almost certainly +the case. [73] But though tattooing, a widespread practice of the +Indian people, very possibly originated in totemism, still, as far as +has hitherto been ascertained, no distinct trace remains of a tribal +tattoo, and it is safer at present to class marks of this kind in +the general category of devices to repel evil spirits. Among purely +sectarial marks we have the forehead mark of the Saivas, composed of +three curved lines like a half-moon, to which is added a round mark on +the nose; it is made with the clay of the Ganges, or with sandal-wood, +or the ashes of cowdung, the ashes being supposed to represent the +disintegrating force of the deity. The mark of the Vaishnavas is in +the form of the foot of Vishnu, and consists of two lines rather oval +drawn the whole length of the nose and carried forward in straight +lines across the forehead. It is generally made with the clay of the +Ganges, sometimes with the powder of sandal-wood. The Sâkta forehead +mark is a small semi-circular line between the eyebrows, with a dot +in the middle. + +The practice of tattooing is common both among the Aryan and +Drâvidian races, but is more general among the lower than the higher +castes. Thus, the Juâng women tattoo themselves with three strokes on +the forehead just over the nose, and three on each of the temples. They +attach no meaning to the marks, have no ceremony in adopting them, +and are ignorant of the origin of the practice. The Khariya women make +three parallel marks on the forehead, the outer lines terminating +at the ends in a crook, and two on each temple. The Ho women tattoo +themselves in the form of an arrow, which they regard as their national +emblem. The Birhor women tattoo their chests, arms, and ankles, but +not their faces. The Orâon women have three marks on the brow and two +on each temple. The young men burn marks on their fore-arms as part of +the ordeal ceremony; girls, when adult, or nearly so, have themselves +tattooed on the arms and back. The Kisân women have no such marks; +if a female of the tribe indulges herself in the vanity of having +herself tattooed, she is at once turned adrift as having degraded +herself. Here we may have some faint indications of a tribal tattoo, +but among most of the tribes which practise the custom it has become +purely protective or ornamental. [74] + +Among the Drâvidian tribes of the North-Western Provinces tattooing +generally prevails. The Korwas and many other of these tribes get +their women tattooed by a woman of the Bâdi sub-division of Nats. They +are tattooed only on the breast and arms, not on the thighs. There +are no ceremonies connected with it, nor any special pattern. Any +girl gets herself tattooed in any figure she approves for a small +sum. Well-to-do women always get it done; but if a woman is not +tatooed, it is not considered unlucky. The men of the tribe are not +tattooed. The Ghasiya women tattoo themselves on the breasts, arms, +thighs, and feet. They say that when a woman dies who is not tattooed, +the Great Lord Parameswar is displeased and turns her out of heaven, +or has her branded with the thorn of the acacia. In the same way among +the Chamârs, when a woman who has not been tattooed dies, Parameswar +asks her where are the marks and signs which she ought to possess +to show that she had lived in the world. If she cannot show them, +she will in her next birth be re-born as a Bhûtnî, Pretnî, or Râkshasî. + +At present among low-caste women the process of tattooing is regarded +as a species of initiation, and usually marks the attainment of +puberty. It thus corresponds with the rite of ear-piercing among +males. To the east of the North-West Provinces a girl is not allowed +to cook until she is tattooed with a mark representing the Sîtâ kî +Rasoî or cook-house of Sîtâ, and in Bengal high-caste people will +not drink from the hands of a girl who does not wear the Ullikhî or +star-shaped tattoo mark between her eyebrows. A Chamâr woman who is +not tattooed at marriage will not, it is believed, see her father and +mother in the next world. This reminds us of the idea prevalent in +Fiji, that women who are not tattooed are liable to special punishment +in the land of the dead. [75] In Bombay the custom has been provided +with a Brâhmanical legend. One day Lakshmî, the wife of Vishnu, +told her husband that whenever he went out on business or to visit +his devotees she became frightened. Hearing this, Vishnu took his +weapons and stamped them on her body, saying that the marks of his +weapons would save her from evil. + +Hence women in Bombay tattoo themselves with the figures of the lotus, +conch shell, and discus, and from this the present custom is said to +have originated. [76] + +In Upper India the forms of the tattoo marks fall into various +classes. Some are rude or conventionalized representations of animals, +plants, and flowers. The operators carry round with them sketches of +the different kinds of ornament, and the girl selects these according +to taste. The peacock, the horse, the serpent, the scorpion, tortoise, +centipede, appear constantly in various forms. Others, again, are +representations of jewellery actually worn--necklaces, bracelets, +armlets, or rings. Others, again, are purely religious, such as +the trident or matted hair of Siva, the weapons of Vishnu, and the +cooking house of Sîtâ, the type of wifely virtue. Some of these marks +were probably of totemistic origin, but they have now become merely +ornamentative, as was the case in Central Asia in the time of Marco +Polo, where they were regarded only as "a piece of elegance or a sign +of gentility," and among the Thracians, as described by Herodotus. [77] +It may be noticed that in the time of Marco Polo people used to go +from Upper India to Zayton in China to be tattooed. [78] These animal +forms of tattooing are found also among the Drâvidian tribes of the +Central Provinces, where the forms used are a peacock, an antelope, +or a dagger, and the marks are made on the back of the thighs and +legs. In Bengal tattooing is used as a cure for goitre. [79] + +We may close this long catalogue of devices intended to scare spirits, +with a number of miscellaneous examples. + +It seems to be a well-established principle that evil spirits +fear leather. On this is perhaps based the idea of the shoe being +a mode of repelling the Evil Eye and the influence of demons. We +find this constantly appearing in the folk-lore of the West. Thus, +the Highlanders paid particular attention to the leaving of the +bridegroom's left shoe without buckle or latchet, to prevent the +secret influences of witches on the wedding night. [80] And Hudibras +tells how-- + + + Augustus having by oversight + Put on his left shoe 'fore his right, + Had like to have been slain that day + By soldiers mutinying for pay." + + +Maidens in Europe ascertain whether they will be married and who will +be their future husbands by throwing the slipper at the new year. The +throwing of old shoes at an English wedding seems on the same principle +to be based on the idea of scaring the demon of barrenness. According +to Mr. Hartland, [81] the gipsies of Transylvania throw old shoes and +boots on a newly married pair when they enter their tent, expressly +to enhance the fertility of the union. + +In the same way in India, people who are too poor to afford another +protective place on the top of their houses a shoe heel upwards. This +seems to give some additional efficacy to the charm, because we find +the same rule in force elsewhere. Thus, in Cornwall, a slipper with +the point turned up placed near the bed cures cramp. [82] In Pûna, +if a man feels that he has been struck by an incantation, he at once +takes hold of an upturned shoe. [83] + +The fear which spirits feel for leather is also illustrated by the +procedure of the Drâvidian Baiga, who flagellates people suffering +from demoniacal possession with a tawse or leathern strap. In the +Dakkhin a person troubled with nightmare sleeps with a shoe under +his pillow, and an exorcist frightens evil spirits by threatening to +make them drink water from a tanner's well. We shall see that this +is one way of punishing and repelling the power of witches. The Pûna +Kunbis believe that a drink of water from a tanner's hand destroys the +power of a witch. In the Panjâb, if a man sits on a currier's stone, +he gets boils. [84] The same principle probably accounts for much of +the fear or contempt generally felt in India regarding shoe-beating +as a form of punishment. At the same time it is said in Persia and +Arabia that the dread of a flagellation with the slipper is based +on the idea that while a flogging with the regular scourge involves +little discredit, a beating with anything not originally intended +for the purpose, such as a shoe or knotted cloth, is disgraceful. + +The same feeling for the power of leather possibly explains the use +as a seat of various kinds of skins, such as those of the tiger and +antelope, by many kinds of ascetics, and in the old ritual the wife +with her husband sat on the hide of a bull to promote the fertility +of their union. + + + +Garlic. + +Garlic, again, from its pungency, is valued in the same way. Garlic +was one of the substances used by Danish mothers to keep evil +from children. [85] The Swedish bridegroom sews in his clothes +garlic, cloves, and rosemary. Garlic was an early English cure +for a fiend-struck patient. [86] Juvenal said that the Egyptians +had gods growing in their gardens, in allusion to their reverence +for onions or garlic. In Sanskrit garlic is called Mlechha-kanda, +"the foreigner's root," and its virtues for the removal of demons are +so well known that it will be often seen hung from the lintel of the +house door. The same idea may account for the very common prejudice +among some castes against eating onions. + + + +Glass. + +Glass in the form of beads, which seem to derive some of their +efficacy from being perforated, is also very useful in this +way. Mirrors from time immemorial have been held to possess the same +quality. "Fascinators, like basilisks, had their own terrible glance +turned against them if they saw themselves reflected," "Si on luy +presente un miror, par endardement reciproque, ces rayons retournent +sur l'autheur d'iceux." Philostratus declares that if a mirror be held +before a sleeping man during a hail or thunder-storm, the storm will +cease. [87] Hence women in India wear mirrors in their thumb rings, +and the Jâtnî covers her sheet with little pieces of shining glass. + +Pieces of horn, especially that which is said to come from the +jackal, and that of the antelope, are also efficacious. The bâzâr +Banya treasures up the gaudy labels from his cloth bales for the +same purpose. Garlands of flowers possess the same quality, and so do +various fruits, such as dates, cocoanuts, betel-nuts, and plantains, +which are placed in the lap of the bride or pregnant woman to scare +the evil spirits which cause barrenness, and sugar is distributed +at marriages. The bones of the camel are very useful for driving off +insects from a sugar-cane field, and buried under the threshold keep +ghosts out of the house. Pliny says that a bracelet of camel's hair +keeps off fever. [88] + +Lastly, the demon may be trapped by physical means. "To be delivered +from witches they hang in their entries whitethorn gathered on May +Day." [89] So, many of the menial castes in the North-West Provinces +keep a net and some thorns in the delivery room to scare evil spirits. + +There are certain persons who are naturally protected from the Evil +Eye and demoniacal agency, or who have control over evil spirits. Such +is a man born by the foot presentation, who can cure rheumatism and +various other diseases by merely rubbing the part affected. Men with +double thumbs are considered safe against the Evil Eye, and so is +a bald man, apparently because no one thinks it worth his while to +envy such people. According to English belief, children born after +midnight have power all through their lives of seeing the spirits of +the departed. In India, people who are born within the period of the +Salono festival in August are not only protected from, but possess +the power of casting, the Evil Eye. The same is the case of those +who have accidentally eaten ordure in childhood. We have already +noticed the mystic power of cowdung. Dung generally is offensive to +spirits. It was believed in Europe that horsedung placed before the +house or behind the door brought good luck. [90] Women who eat dung +possess, as we shall see, the power of witchcraft. + +A man with only one eye is dreaded because he is naturally envious of +those with good sight, and he is proverbially a scoundrel. The giant +with one eye is familiar in folk-lore, and he is generally vicious +and malignant. We have the black man of Celtic folk-lore who has +only one eye and one leg. [91] In the Irish tales Crinnaur, like the +Cyclopes, has only one eye. Sindbad in his third voyage encounters +a monster of the same kind. Laplanders have a one-eyed giant Stalo, +and in one of the modern versions of the Perseus myth there are two +hags who have only a single eye between them. The same idea appears in +Indian folk-lore. The planet Sukra is said to have only one eye. Such +was also the case with the monster Kabandha, who was killed by Râma, +and Arâyî, the female fiend of the Veda. The one-eyed devil appears +in one of the Kashmîr tales. [92] + + + +Gonds: Procedure in Cases of Fascination. + +The Gonds have a special procedure in cases of deaths which they +believe to have occurred through fascination. The burning of the +body is postponed till it is made to point out the delinquent. The +relations solemnly call upon the corpse to do this, and the theory +is that if there has been foul play of any kind, the body on being +taken up, will force the bearers to convey it to the house of the +person by whom the spell was cast. If this be three times repeated, +the owner of the house is condemned, his property is destroyed, +and he is expelled from the neighbourhood. [93] + + + +Amulets. + +In ordinary cases most people find it advisable to carry an amulet +of some kind as a preservative. An amulet is primarily a portion of +a dead man or animal, by which hostile spirits are coerced or their +good offices secured. [94] The amulet, then, in its original sense, +is supposed to concentrate in itself the virtues and powers of the +man or animal of which it formed a part. Hence the claws of the tiger, +which represent in themselves the innate strength and bravery of the +animal, are greatly esteemed for this purpose, and the sportsman, +when he shoots a tiger, has to count over the claws carefully to +the coolies in charge of the dead animal, or they will certainly +misappropriate them. In the same way a portion of the umbilical cord +is placed among the clothes of the mother and infant to avert the +Evil Eye and scare the demons which are then particularly active. + +Mr. Ferguson may be correct in his opinion that in India, prior to the +distribution of the remains of the Buddha at Kusinagara, we have no +historical record of the worship of relics; [95] still the idea must +have prevailed widely among the Hindu races, out of whom the votaries +of the new faith were recruited. With some of these relics of the +Buddha, such as his begging bowl, which was long kept in a Dagoba or +Vihâra erected by King Kanishka, then removed for a time to Benares, +and finally to Kandahâr, where it is now held in the highest respect +by Musalmâns, and has accumulated round it a cycle of legends like +those connected with the Sangrail, we reach the zone of pure fetishism. + +Another form of amulet is a piece of metal, stone, bone, or similar +substance worn on the person, with an invocation inscribed on it to +some special god. These are very commonly used among Muhammadans. By +Hindus the "Yantras or mystic diagrams are thought to be quite as +effective in their operation as the Mantras or spells, and, of course, +a combination of the two is held to be absolutely irresistible. An +enemy may be killed or removed to some other place, or a whole army +destroyed, or salvation and supreme felicity obtained by drawing a +six-sided or eight-sided diagram and writing a particular Mantra +underneath. If this be done with the blood of an animal killed +sacrificially in a Smasâna or place where corpses are burned, no power +in earth or heaven can resist the terrific potency of the charm." [96] +On the same principle Hindus head their letters with the words Srî +Râmjî! "the great god, Râma," or the figures 74, of which one not +very probable explanation is that they represent the weight in maunds +of the gold ornaments taken from the Râjput dead at the famous siege +of Chithor. + +The equilateral triangle is another favourite mystic sign. According +to the Christian ideas, the figure of three triangles intersected and +containing five lines, is called the pentangle of Solomon, and when +it is delineated on the body of a man, it marks the five places in +which our Saviour was wounded; it was, therefore, regarded as a fuga +demonum, or a means of frightening demons. [97] Similarly in Northern +India, the equilateral triangle is regarded as a mystic sign, and the +little broadcloth bags hung round the necks of children to avert the +Evil Eye are made in this shape. The diamond shape is also approved +because it contains two equilateral triangles base to base. + +Another form of mystic sign is the mark of the spread hand with +the fingers extended. This is made by the women of the family on +the outer wall and round the door-post, and is considered to be +particularly efficacious. Mr. Campbell suggests that the custom is +based on the belief in the hand being a spirit entry. [98] Natives will +tell you that it is because the number five, that of the fingers, is +lucky. However this may be, the custom is very generally prevalent. The +Bloody Hand of Ulster, worn as a crest by the Baronets of one creation, +is well known. [99] The Uchlas of Pûna strew sand on the spot where +the dead man breathed his last. They cover the spot with a basket, +which they raise next morning in the hope of finding the mark of a +palm, which shows that the dead is pleased and brings vigour on the +family; and the Thâkurs on the fifth day after the birth of a child +dip a hand in red powder and water and make a mark on the wall of the +lying-in room, which they worship. [100] At the rock-cut temple of +Tilok Sendur in Hoshangâbâd, an annual festival is held, and those +who come to demand any special benefit, such as health or children, +mark their vow by staining their hand dipped in red paint against the +rock wall, fingers upward. If the prayer be heard, they revisit the +place and make the same mark, this time with the fingers downward; +but whether Mahâdeva is not gracious to his votaries, or whether +it is that the sense of favours to come is not keen enough after +the prayer of the moment has been granted, the hand-stamps pointing +downwards are not a tenth in number of those pointing upwards. [101] +The stamping of the hand and five fingers immersed in a solution of +sandal-wood has always been regarded as a peculiarly solemn mode of +attesting an important document, and it is said that Muhammad himself +adopted this practice. [102] + +There are numerous varieties of these protective amulets. One purpose +which they serve is the procuring of offspring. Children naturally +require special protection. Thus, the Mirzapur Korwas tie on the +necks of their children roots of various jungle plants, such as the +Siyâr Singhî, which owes its name and repute to its resemblance to +the so-called horn of the jackal. In cases of disease the Kharwârs +wear leaves of the Bel, a sacred tree, cloves and flowers selected +by a Brâhman. In the Konkan, in order that a child may not suffer +from the Evil Eye, a necklace of marking nuts is put round its +neck. [103] The Gûjars of Hazâra hang the berries of the Batkar tree +(Celtis caucasia) round the necks of men and animals to protect them +from the Evil Eye. [104] The pious Musalmân inscribes on his amulet +the five verses known as Ayâtu-l-Hifz or "verses of protection," or +he makes a magic square with the letters making up the word Hâfiz, +"the protector." Many village Musalmâns use little stone or glass +tablets for the same purpose. Some have a hocus-pocus inscription +purporting to be a verse of the Qurân in Arabic; others have the +name of Fâtima coupled with that of the famous martyrs Hasan and +Husain. Another amulet of a very elaborate character is described as +containing a piece of the umbilical cord encased in metal, a tiger's +claw, two claws of the large horned owl turned in opposite directions, +and encased in metal, a stone known as the Athrâhâ kâ mankâ, because +it has the property of turning eight colours according to the light +in which it is placed (probably a tourmaline or quartzose pebble), +and a special Evil Eye destroyer in the shape of a jasper or marble +bead. These five articles are necessaries, but as an extra precaution +the amulet contained some crude gold, a whorled shell, an ancient +copper coin, some ashes from the fire of a Jogi ascetic, and the +five ingredients of the sacred incense. The owner admitted that it +would have been improved had it also contained a magic square. [105] +This reminds us of the necklace of amber beads hung round the neck +of Scotch children to keep off ill-luck, and the Irish scapular, a +piece of cloth on which the name of the Virgin Mary is written on one +side, and I.H.S. on the other, which are preservatives against evil +spirits. In old times in England such charms were called Characts, +and one found with a criminal contained an invocation to the three +holy kings, Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar. [106] + +One of the most valuable of these protectives is the magic +circle, which appears in various forms through the whole range +of folk-lore. The idea is that no evil spirit can cross the sacred +line. Thus, in Mirzapur they make a circle of grain round the circular +pile of corn on the threshing-floor to guard it from evil. Among some +castes the circle round which the bride and bridegroom revolve at +marriage is guarded by a circular line of string hung on the necks +of a number of water-pots surrounding it. We have seen how the Baiga +perambulates his village and drops a line of spirits round the boundary +to repel foreign ghosts. This accounts for the stone circles which +are found both in Europe and in India, and in Ireland are considered +to be the resort of the fairies. [107] + +We have constant references to the same custom in the +folk-tales. Lakshmana, in the Râmâyana, draws such a circle round +Sîtâ when he is obliged to leave her alone. We have many references +to the circle within which the ascetic or magician sits when he is +performing his sorceries. Thus, in the story of Nischayadatta, the +ascetics "quickly made a great circle with ashes, and entering into +it, they lighted a fire with fuel, and all remained there muttering +a charm to protect themselves." In the tales of the Vetâla, we find +the mendicant under a banyan tree engaged in making a circle, and +Ksantisila makes a circle of the yellow powder of bones, the ground +within which was smeared with blood, and which had pitchers of blood +placed in the direction of the cardinal points. [108] + +The same idea appears in the magic circle used as an ordeal, or to +compel payment of a debt. Thus, we read in Marco Polo: [109] "If a +debtor have been several times asked by his creditor for payment +and shall have put him off day by day with promises, then if the +creditor once meet the debtor and succeed in drawing a circle round +him, the latter must not pass out of this circle until he shall have +satisfied the claim, or given security for its discharge. If he in +any other case presume to pass the circle, he is punished with death, +as a transgressor against right and justice." In Northern India this +circle is known as a Gururu or Gaurua, and a person who takes an oath +stands within it, or takes from inside an article which he claims. In +one form of this ceremony the circle is made on the ground with calf's +dung by an unmarried girl, and in the centre is placed a vessel of +water. If money is in dispute, the amount claimed is placed in the +water vessel by the defendant. The narrator tells a story to prove +the efficacy of the rite:-- + +"My father owed a Kalwâr one rupee and the Kalwâr claimed five. The +matter was brought before the tribal council, and the Kalwâr swore to +the five rupees upon the Gaurua. Within an hour his boy, while playing +behind the house, was carried off by a wolf. He was rescued, but he was +under the curse of the Gaurua, and shortly after he put his finger into +a rat hole, was bitten by a snake, and died within the hour." [110] + + + +The Ring, Bracelet, and Knotted Cord. + +From the same principle arises the belief in the magic virtue of the +ring, the bracelet, and the knotted cord. + +To begin with rings--we have in Plato the story of Gyges, who by +means of the ring of invisibility introduced himself to the wife of +Candaules, King of Lycia, murdered the latter and got possession of +his kingdom. This is like the cloak or cap which appears so constantly +in folk-lore. In the Indian tales invisibility is generally obtained +by means of a magic ointment, to which there are many parallels +in Western stories. We find also the magic ring, which, like that +of Ala-ud-dîn, when touched procures the presence and aid of the +demons. A woman's nose-ring in India has special respect paid to it, +and for a stranger even to mention it is a breach of delicacy. [111] +It is the symbol of married happiness, and is removed when the wearer +becomes a widow. Among Muhammadans, Shiah women remove their nose-rings +during the Muharram as a sign of mourning. There was an old habit in +England of marrying by the rush ring, "but it was chiefly practised +by designing men, for the purpose of debauching their mistresses, who +sometimes were so infatuated as to believe that this mock ceremony +was a real marriage." [112] In the same way in India a ring of +Kusa grass is put on the finger during the most sacred rites and at +marriage. The custom appears in the folk-tales. The ring represents +an imperishable bond between the giver and the receiver, and is a +symbol of the original blood covenant, which is an important element +in the belief of all primitive people. [113] + +The idea of the magic ring constantly appears in folk-lore. Thus, +we have the ring placed in a sacred square and sprinkled with +butter-milk, which immediately gives whatever the owner demands. In +one of the Kashmîr tales the merchant's son speaks to the magic ring, +and immediately a beautiful house and a lovely woman with golden hair +appeared. [114] So, in the tales of Somadeva, Sridatta places a ring +on the finger of the unconscious princess and she immediately revives; +the disloyal wife here, as in the "Arabian Nights," takes a ring from +each of her lovers as a token. [115] + +The same idea attaches to the bracelet, which is in close connection +with the soul of the wearer. Such is the Chandanhâr or sandal-wood +necklace of Chandan Râja, and Sodewa Bâî is born with a golden +necklace round her neck, concerning which her parents consulted the +astrologers. They announced, "This is no common child; the necklace of +gold about your daughter's neck contains your daughter's soul. Let it, +therefore, be guarded with the utmost care; for if it were taken off +and worn by another person, she would die." [116] The same idea appears +in the Kashmîr tales, where Panj Phûl refuses to give up her necklace, +as "it contains the secret of her life, and was a charm to her against +all dangers, sickness and trials; deprived of it she might become sick +and miserable, or be taken away from them and die." [117] All this is +based on the conception of the external soul, to which reference has +been already made. The Mâls of Bîrbhûm exchange necklaces at marriages, +and the Princess Kalingasenâ wears a bracelet and necklace of lotus +fibre to secure relief from the pains of love. [118] + +The same idea shows itself in the use of strings and knots. In Northern +India a piece of bat's bone is tied round the ankle as a remedy for +rheumatism, and answers to the eel-skin, which is used for the same +purpose in Europe. [119] In the Shetland Islands, to cure a sprain, +a thread of black wool with nine knots is tied on the injured place +with a metrical spell. [120] An Italian charm says: "Take from a live +hare the ankle bone, remove the hair from his belly, from the hair +make a thread, and with it tie the bone to the body of the sufferer, +and you will see a wonderful cure." [121] In Ireland a strand of +black wool is tied round the ankle, and a charm is recited to cure +a sprain; a red string is tied round a child's neck in chincough +and epilepsy. [122] In Hoshangâbâd a thread is tied round the ankle +as a remedy in fever. If possible, a bit of Ashtara root should be +fastened in the knot, and before tying it an oblation of butter is +burnt before it. [123] Similarly, a peacock's feather tied on the +ankle cures a wound. In the Panjâb, it is a charm against snake-bite to +smoke one of the tail feathers of the peacock in a tobacco pipe. [124] +The Râjput father binds round the arm of his new-born infant a root +of that species of grass known as the Amardûb or "imperishable" Dûb, +well known for its nutritive qualities and luxuriant vegetation, +in the same way as Scotch women wear round their necks blue woollen +threads or small cords till they wean their children. [125] We have +already noticed the efficacy of various grasses as spirit scarers. + +Lastly, the cord itself has powers in folk-lore, and we meet with +the magic cord, which, tied round the neck of the hero by a witch, +makes him turn into a ram or an ape. [126] + +The belief in the efficacy of the magic circle accounts for a variety +of other customs. Thus, in a family sacrifice among the Chakmas of +Bengal, round the whole sacrificial platform had been run, from the +house mother's distaff, a long white thread which encircled the altar, +and then carried into the house, was held at the two ends by the good +man's wife. Among the Hâris, at marriages, the right hand little +finger of the bridegroom's sister's husband is pierced, and a few +drops of blood allowed to fall on threads of jute, which are rolled +up in a tiny pellet. This the bridegroom holds in his hand, while the +bride attempts to snatch it from him. Her success in the attempt is +considered to be a good omen of the happiness of the marriage. [127] +Here we have a survival of descent in the female line, the blood +covenant, and the magic influence of the cord all combined. + +Connected with this is the belief in the forming a connection by +knotting the magic string. We have the European true love-knot, an +emblem of fidelity between the pair betrothed. So in Italy interlaced +serpents and all kinds of interweaving, braiding, and interlacing +cords are valuable as protectives because they attract the eyes of +witches. [128] Thus, among the Kârans of Bengal, the essential part of +the marriage ceremony is believed to be the laying of the bride's right +hand in that of the bridegroom, and binding their two hands together +with a piece of string spun in a special way. [129] This belief in the +mystic power of knots is common in all folk-lore. [130] The clothes of +the bride and bridegroom in Upper India are knotted together as they +revolve round the sacred fire. A similar belief explains the wearing +of the Janeû or sacred thread by high-caste Hindus. The knots on it, +known as Brahma-granthi, or "the knots of the Creator," repel evil +influences, and Muhammadans on their birthdays tie knots in a cord, +which is known as the Sâlgirah or "year knot." + + + +Face-covering. + +Another device to avoid fascination or other dangerous influence is to +cover the face so as to prevent the evil glance reaching the victim for +whom it is intended. Thus, at widow marriages in Northern India, the +bride and bridegroom are covered with a sheet during the rite, probably +in order to avert the envious or malignant influence of the spirit +of the woman's first husband. It is in secret that the bridegroom +marks the parting of the bride's hair with vermilion. So in Bombay, +[131] the Chitpâwan bride in one part of the wedding service has her +head covered with a piece of broadcloth. The Ramoshis tie the ends +of the bride's and bridegroom's robes to a cloth which four men of +the family hold over them. The Dhors of Pûna put a face-cloth on the +dead, which is a general practice all over the world. The same belief +is almost certainly at the root of much of the customs of Pardah and +the seclusion of women. It is as much through fear of fascination as +modesty that women draw their sheet across the face when they meet a +stranger in the streets. We come across the same feeling in the rule by +which all doors were closed when the princess in the "Arabian Nights" +went to the bath, and when not long ago the Mikado of Japan and other +Eastern potentates took their walks abroad. We thus reach by another +route the cycle of Godiva legends. [132] + + + +Omens. + +Closely connected with the class of ideas which we have been discussing +is the belief in omens. This constitutes a very important branch +of folk-lore both in the West and in the East. The success of a +journey or enterprise is believed in a great measure to depend on the +object which was first seen in the morning, or observed on the road +at an early period of the march. Thus, according to Theophrastus, +"The superstitious man, if a weasel run across his path, will not +pursue his walk until some one else has traversed the road, or until +he has thrown three stones across it." And Sir Thomas Brown writes: +"If an hare cross the highway, there are few above threescore years +that are not perplexed thereat, which, notwithstanding, is but an +augurial terror according to that received expression, Inauspicatum +dat iter oblatus lepus. And the ground of the conceit was probably +no greater than this, that a fearful animal passing by us portended +unto us something to be feared; as upon the like consideration, +the meeting of a fox presaged some future imposture." + +Tulasi Dâs, in his Râmâyana, sums up the favourable omens:-- + +"On the left-hand side a blue-necked jay was picking up food, as if +to announce the very highest good fortune; on a fair field on the +right were a crow and a mungoose in the sight of all; a woman was +seen with a pitcher and a child; a fox showed himself winding about; +and in front a cow was suckling its calf; a herd of deer came out on +the right; a Brâhmanî kite promised all success; also a Syâma bird +perched on a tree to the left; a man was met bearing curds, and two +learned Brâhmans with books in their hands." [133] + +The face of a Teli or oilman, perhaps from the dirt which accompanies +his business, is about the worst which can be seen in the early +morning; but, with the curious inconsistency which crops up everywhere +in phases of similar belief, that of a sweeper is lucky. His face +should be always looked at first, but on meeting a Brâhman, the glance +should start from his feet. + +The Thags, like all criminal tribes of the present day, were great +believers in what Dr. Tylor calls Angang or meeting omens. [134] With +them, if a wolf crossed the path from right to left it was considered +a bad omen; if from right to left the import was uncertain. The +call of the wolf was considered ominous; if heard during the day, +the gang had immediately to leave the neighbourhood. The same idea +attached to a crow sitting silent on a tree, which is curiously in +contradistinction to the Roman belief--Saepe sinistra cavâ praedixit +ab ilice cornix. It was also considered very unlucky if a member of +the gang had his turban knocked off by accidentally touching a branch. + +The jungle tribes have a strong belief in such omens. The Korwas of +Mirzapur abandon a journey if a jackal cross the road from the left, +or if a little bird, known as the Suiya or small parrot, calls in the +same direction. The Patâris and Majhwârs return if the Nîlgâê cross +the road from the right. + +All natives have more or less the same feeling, and scientific +treatises have been written on the subject. Mentioning a monkey in +the morning brings starvation for the rest of the day; though looking +on its face is considered lucky. Hence monkeys are commonly tied in +stables to protect horses, and an old adage says that "the evil of the +stable is on the monkey's head." So, in Morocco the wealthy Moors keep +a wild boar in their stables, in order that the Jinn and evil spirits +may be diverted from the horses and enter into the boar. [135] For the +same reason an English groom is fond of keeping a cat near his horses. + +If a dog flaps its ears and shakes its head while any business is +going on, disaster is sure to follow, and people careful in such +matters will stop the work if they can. The baying of a dog indicates +death and misfortune, an idea common in British folk-lore. [136] + + + The time when screech-owls cry and lean dogs howl, + And spirits walk and ghosts break up their graves. + + +Even the little house lizard is, like his kinsfolk, the "murdering +basilisks, their softest touch as smart as lizard's stings," considered +by the Bengâlis very unlucky, and when they hear its twittering they +postpone a journey. [137] + +The hare is always a bad omen. He is a god among the Kalmucs, who +call him Sakya Muni, or the Buddha, and say that on earth he allowed +himself to be eaten by a starving man, for which gracious act he was +raised to domineer over the moon, where they profess to see him. There +are traces of the same idea in Upper India. [138] The sites of many +cities are said to have been founded where a hare crossed the path +of the first settler. The hare is detested by the agricultural and +fishing population of the Hebrides, and it is one of the ordinary +disguises of the witch in European folk-lore. [139] + +Black is, of course, unlucky, and if a man, when digging the +foundations of a new house, turns up a piece of charcoal, it is +advisable to change the site. + +Owls are naturally of evil omen. Even the stout-hearted Zâlim Sinh, +the famous regent of Kota, abandoned his house because an owl hooted +on the roof. [140] The hooting of the owl is a sign that the bird +means to leave the place, and wise people would do well to follow his +example. One kind of owl, the Raghui Chiraiya, learns people's names, +and if any one by chance answer his call he is sure to die. + +To see a Dhobi, or washerman, who is associated with foul raiment, +is exceedingly dangerous. I once had a bearer who was sadly afflicted +because on tour he had to sleep in the same tent with a Dhobi. The +old man was constantly bruising his shins over the ropes and pegs, +because he was in the habit of stumbling out before dawn with his +hands pressed over his eyes to protect himself from the sight of his +ill-omened companion. + +A one-eyed man is, as we have already said, very unlucky. When Jaswant +Râo Holkar lost one of his eyes, he said, "I was before bad enough; +but now I shall be the Guru, or preceptor, of rogues." [141] I once +had an office clerk afflicted in this way, and his colleagues refused +to sit in the same room with him, because their accounts always went +wrong when he looked in their direction. When it was impossible to +provide any other accommodation for him, they insisted that he should +cover the obnoxious organ with a handkerchief when he had to work in +their neighbourhood. + +One of the last of the Anglo-Indians, who had become thoroughly +orientalized, used to insist on his valet, when he came to wake him, +holding in his hand a tray containing some milk and a gold coin, +so that his first glance on waking might fall on these lucky articles. + + + +Numbers. + +There are mystic qualities attached to numbers. Thus, when Hindus +have removed the ashes from a burning ground they write the figures +49 on the spot where the corpse was cremated. The Pandits explain +this by saying that when written in Hindi the figures resemble the +conch-shell and wheel of Vishnu, or that it is an invocation to the +forty-nine winds of heaven to come and purify the ground. It is more +probably based on the idea that the number seven, as is the case all +over the world, has some mystic application. So in the folk-tales +the number three has a special application to the tests of the hero +who endures the assaults of demons or witches for three successive +nights. The idea of luck in odd numbers is universal, and the seventh +son of a seventh son is gifted with powers of healing. + + + +Bodily Functions. + +The functions of the body supply many omens. Thus, in Somadeva we read: +"My right eye throbbed frequently, as if with joy, and told me that +it was none other than she." [142] + +"When our cheek burns, or ear tingles, we usually say some one is +talking of us," writes Sir Thomas Brown, "a conceit of great antiquity, +and ranked among superstitious opinions by Pliny. He supposes it to +have proceeded from the notion of a signifying Genius, or Universal +Mercury, that conducted sounds to their distant subjects, and taught +to hear by touch." The number of beliefs of this class is infinite +and recorded in numerous popular handbooks. + + + +Lucky and Unlucky Days. + +So, there are days which are lucky and unlucky. A Persian couplet +lays down that one should not go east on Saturday and Monday; +west on Friday and Sunday; north on Tuesday and Wednesday; south +on Thursday. Even Lord Burghley advised his son to be cautious as +regards the first Monday in April, when Cain was born and Abel slain; +the second Monday in August, when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed; +the last Monday in December, which was the birthday of Judas. Akbar +laid down that the clothes which came into his wardrobe on the first +day of the month Farwardîn were unlucky. [143] The way some people get +over omens of this kind is to send some article ahead of the traveller +on the unlucky day, which absorbs the ill omen, which would otherwise +have fallen upon him. + +The catalogue of superstitions of this class might be almost +indefinitely extended. The principles on which most of them depend are +clear enough. They rest on a sort of sympathetic magic. Things which +are good-looking, people who are healthy or prosperous, give favourable +omens, while those that are ugly, or of low caste, or associated with +menial or unpleasant duties, and so on, are ominous. Europeans in +India usually quite fail to realize the influence which such ideas +exercise over the minds of the people. Most of us have been struck +by the almost unaccountable failure of natives to attend a summons +from the Courts, to keep an appointment to meet a European officer +for the inspection of a school or market. If inquiries are made it +will often be found that some idea of this kind explains the matter. + +Thus, Colonel Tod describes how he had a visit from Mânik Chand. "He +looked very disconsolate and explained that he had seven times left +his tent and as often turned back, the bird of omen having each time +passed him on the adverse side; but that at length he had determined +to disregard it, as having forfeited confidence he was indifferent +to the future." [144] + +The same idea of good or evil omen attaches to many places and +persons. "Nolai was built by Râja Nol. Its modern appellation of +Barnagar has its origin in a strange, vulgar superstition of names of +ill omen, which must not be pronounced before the morning meal. The +city is called either Nolai or Barnagar, according to the hour at +which the mention becomes necessary." [145] So with the town of Jammu +in Kashmîr, which is unlucky from its association with Yama, the god of +death; with Talwâra in the Hoshyârpur District, which is connected with +the sword (talwâr); with Rohtak, which should be called Rustajgarh, +and with numerous other places in Northern India. Thus, if people want +to speak of Bulandshahr in the morning they call it by the old Hindi +name of Unchgânw; Bhongânw in Mainpuri they call Pachkosa; Nânauta in +Sahâranpur, Phûtashahr; Mandwa in Fatehpur, Rotiwâla, and so on. [146] + +So, there is hardly a village in which it is not considered ominous +to name before breakfast some one who, from his misery, rascality, +or some other reason, is considered unlucky. In Mathura there is a +tank built by Râja Patni Mall. + +"Should a stranger visit it in the morning and inquire of any Hindu +by whom it was constructed, he will have considerable difficulty in +eliciting a straightforward answer. The Râja, it is said, was of such +a delicate constitution that he could never at any time take more than +a few morsels of the simplest food; hence arises the belief that any +one who mentions him the first thing in the morning will, like him, +have to pass the day fasting." [147] When we wonder at people suffering +bondage of this kind, we must not forget that similar beliefs prevail +in our own country. "In Buckie there are certain family names which +no fisherman will pronounce. The ban lies particularly heavy on +Ross. Coull also bears it, but not to such a degree. The folks of +that village talk of spitting out the bad name." [148] + +A similar euphemistic form of expression is often used in regard to +animals. If you are civil and do not abuse the house rats, they will +not damage your goods. [149] + +The Mirzapur Patâris when they have to mention a monkey in the morning, +call him Hanumân, and the bear Jatari, or "he with the long hair," +or Dîmkhauiya, "he that eats white ants." The Pankas call the camel +Lambghîncha or "long-necked." "I asked the Râja," says Gen. Sleeman, +"whether we were likely to fall in with any hares, making use of +the term Khargosh, or 'ass-eared.'" "Certainly not," said the Râja, +"if you begin by abusing them by such a name. Call them Lambkanna or +'long-eared,' and you will get plenty." + +It is, of course, easy to avoid the effect of evil omens by the use +of a little tact and wit, as was the case with William the Conqueror, +and there are many natives who are noted for their cleverness in this +way. Of an Eastern Sultân it is told that, leaving his palace on a +warlike expedition, his standard touched a cluster of lamps, called +Surayya, because they resembled the Pleiades. He would have turned +back, but one of his officers said, "My Lord! our standard has reached +the Pleiades;" so he was relieved, advanced, and was victorious. + + + +Facilitating Departure of and Barring the Ghost. + +We now come to consider the various means adopted to facilitate the +journey of the departing soul, and to prevent it from returning as +a malignant ghost to bring trouble, disease, or death on the survivors. + +First comes the custom of placing the dying man on the ground at the +moment of dissolution. This is done partly, as we have seen, through +some feeling of the sanctity of Mother earth and that anyone resting +on her bosom is safe from demoniacal agency, and partly that the spirit +may meet with no obstruction in its passage through the air. This last +idea prevails very generally. Thus, in Great Britain, death is believed +to be retarded and the dying person kept in a state of suffering by +having any lock closed or any bolt shut in the dwelling. [150] + +The tortures which the soul undergoes in its journey to the land of +the dead are vividly pictured in some of the sacred writings. [151] +He is scorched by heat and pierced by wind and cold, attacked by +beasts of prey, stumbling through thorns and filth, until he at +last reaches the dread river Vaitaranî, which rolls its flood of +abominations between him and the other shore. So, when a Hindu dies, +a lamp made of flour is placed in his hands to light his ghost to +the realm of Yama. Devout people believe that the spirit takes three +hundred and sixty days to accomplish the journey, so an offering of +that number of lamps is made. In order, also, to help him on his way, +they feed a Brâhman every day for a year; if the deceased was a woman, +a Brâhmanî is fed. The lamps are lighted facing the south, and this +is the only occasion on which this is done, because the south is +the realm of death, and no one will sleep or have their house door +opening towards that ill-omened quarter of the sky. + +With the same intention of aiding the spirit on his way, the relations +howl during the funeral rites, like the keeners at an Irish wake, +in order to scare the evil spirits who would obstruct the passage of +the soul to its final rest. [152] + +Another plan is to carry out the corpse by a special way, which is then +barred up, so that it may not be able to find its way back. The same +end is attained by carrying out the corpse feet foremost. Thus Marco +Polo writes: "Sometimes their sorcerers shall tell them that it is not +good luck to carry the corpse out by the door, so they have to break a +hole in the wall, and to draw it out that way when it is taken to the +burning." It is needless to say that the same custom prevails in Great +Britain. [153] The Banjâras of Khândesh reverse the process. They move +their huts after a death, and make a special entrance instead of the +ordinary door, which is supposed to be polluted by the passage of the +spirit of the dead. [154] A somewhat similar custom prevails among the +Maghs of Bengal. When the friends return from the cremation ground, +if it is the master of the house who has died, the ladder leading +up to the house is thrown down, and they must effect an entrance +by cutting a hole in the back wall and so creeping up. [155] The +theory appears to be that the evil spirits who were on the watch +for the ghost may be lurking near the route by which the corpse was +removed. We have the same idea in the European custom of saluting a +corpse which is being carried past. Grose distinctly states that the +homage was really offered to the attendant evil spirits. [156] So, +the Birhors of Bengal, on the sixth day after birth, take the child +out of the house by an opening made in the wall, so as to evade the +evil spirit on the watch at the door. [157] + +The most elaborate precautions are, however, devoted to barring out the +ghost and preventing its return to its former home. The first of these +consist of rules to prevent the breach of the curiosity taboo. All +through folk-lore we have instances of the danger of looking back, +as in the case of Lot's wife. One of the maxims of Pythagoras was: +"On setting out on a journey, do not return back; for if you do +the fairies will catch you." [158] In one of the Kashmîr tales the +youth is warned not to look back, otherwise he would be changed into +a pillar of stone. [159] In one of the Italian spells the officiant +is told: "Spit behind you thrice and look not behind you." [160] In +an Indian tale the god promises to help the Brâhman and to follow +him. The Brâhman looks back and the deity becomes a stone. [161] +The danger of looking back is that the person's soul may be detained +among the ghosts of the dead. This is the reason why Hindu mourners +do not look back when they are returning from the cremation ground, +and so we find that in Naxos it is a rule that none of the women who +follow the bier must look back, for if she do she will die on the spot, +or else one of her relations will die. [162] + +Another means is to bar the return of the ghost in a physical +way. Thus, when the Aheriyas of the North-Western Provinces burn the +corpse, they fling pebbles in the direction of the pyre to prevent the +spirit accompanying them. In the Himâlayas, when a man has attended the +funeral ceremonies of a relative, he takes a piece of the shroud worn +by the deceased and hangs it on some tree in the cremation ground, +as an offering to the spirits which frequent such places. On his +return, he places a thorny bush on the road wherever it is crossed +by another path, and the nearest male relative of the deceased, on +seeing this, puts a stone on it, and pressing it down with his feet, +prays the spirit of the dead man not to trouble him. [163] Among +the Bengal Limbus, the Phedangma attends the funeral, and delivers a +brief address to the departed spirit on the general doom of mankind +and the succession of life and death, concluding with the command to +go where his fathers have gone, and not to come back to trouble the +living with dreams. [164] + +Practically the same custom still prevails in Ireland. When a corpse +is carried to the grave, it is the rule for the bearers to stop +half-way while the nearest relatives build up a small monument of +loose stones, and no hand would dare to disturb this monument while +the world lasts. [165] + +In the case of the Dhângars and Basors, both menial tribes in the +North-Western Provinces, we come across an usage which appears to +be of a very primitive type and to be intended to secure the same +object of barring the return of the ghost. After they have buried +the corpse they return to the house of the dead man, kill a hog, and +after separating the limbs, which are cooked for the funeral feast, +they bury the trunk in the courtyard of the house, making an invocation +to it as the representative of the dead man, and ordering him to rest +there in peace and not worry his descendants. In the grave in which +they bury this they pile stones and thorns to keep the ghost down. + +Many other mourning customs appear to be based on the same +principle. Thus, the old ritual directs that all who return from a +funeral must touch the Lingam, fire, cowdung, a grain of barley, a +grain of sesame and water--"all," as Professor De Gubernatis says, +"symbols of that fecundity which the contact with a corpse might +have destroyed." [166] The real motive is doubtless to get rid of +the ghost, which may have accompanied the mourners from the cremation +ground. In Borneo rice is sprinkled over them with the same object, +and the Basutos who have carried a corpse to the grave have their +hands scratched with a knife and magic stuff is rubbed into the wound +to remove the ghost which may be adhering to them. [167] + +In Upper India, among the lower Hindu castes, when the mourners return +after the ceremony, they bathe, water being a scarer of ghosts, +and at the house door they touch a stone, cowdung, iron, fire, and +water, which have been placed outside the house in readiness when +the corpse was removed. They then touch each their left ears with +the little finger of the left hand, chew leaves of the bitter Nîm +tree as a sign of mourning, and, after sitting some time in silence, +disperse. Others, as the Ghasiyas, pass their feet through the smoke +of burning oil, and others merely rub their feet with oil to drive +away the ghost. The same idea of barring the return of the ghost by +means of fire is found among the Nats of Kâthiâwâr, who burn hay on +the face of the corpse before cremating it, and among the Thoris, +who brand the great toe of the right foot of the deceased. [168] + +This sitting in silence after the funeral is commonly explained merely +as a mark of sympathy for the bereaved relatives, but an analogous +custom in Ireland leads to the inference that the real reason may be +to give the ghost time to depart, and not to interrupt in any way its +progress to the spirit land. On the west coast of Ireland, after the +death no wail is allowed to be raised until three hours have elapsed, +because the sound of the crying would hinder the soul from speaking +to God when it stands before Him, and would waken up the great dogs +that are watching for the souls of the dead to devour them. [169] + +We have in these rites and in the ordinary ritual some further +illustrations of the protective influence of various articles which +scare evil spirits. Thus, after the cremation the officiating Brâhman +touches fire and bathes in order to purify himself and bar the return +of the ghost; and the relative who lights the funeral pyre keeps a +piece of iron with him, and goes about with a brass drinking vessel +in his hand as a preservative against evil spirits while the period +of mourning lasts. The system of protection is exactly the same +as in the case of the young mother and her child during the period +of impurity consequent on parturition. As the Hedley Kow, the North +British goblin, is peculiarly obnoxious at childbirth, so the Râkshasî +of Indian folk-lore carries off the baby if the suitable precautions +to repel her are neglected. [170] + +Another method of barring the ghost is to bury the dead face +downwards. This is common among sweepers of Upper India, whose ghosts, +as seen in the probable connection of the Chûhra and the Churel, +are always malignant. The same custom prevails among the Châran +Banjâras of Khândesh. With this may be contrasted the Irish custom +of loosening the nails of the coffin before interment, in order to +facilitate the passage of the soul to heaven. [171] + +A more elaborate ritual is that performed by the Mangars of +Bengal. "One of the maternal relatives of the deceased, usually the +maternal uncle, is chosen to act as priest for the occasion, and to +conduct the ritual for the propitiation of the dead. First of all he +puts in the mouth of the corpse some silver coins and some coral, +which is much prized by the Himâlayan races. Then he lights a wick +soaked in clarified butter, touches the lips with fire, scatters +some parched rice about the mouth, and, lastly, covers the face with +a cloth. Two bits of wood about three feet long are set up on either +side of the grave. In the one are cut nine steps or notches, forming +a ladder for the spirit of the dead to ascend to heaven; on the other +every one present at the funeral cuts a notch to show that he has +been there. As the maternal uncle steps out of the grave, he bids a +solemn farewell to the dead and calls upon him to ascend to heaven +by the ladder prepared for him. When the earth has been filled in, +the stick notched by the funeral party is taken away to a distance +and broken in two pieces, lest by its means the dead man should do +the survivors a mischief. The pole used to carry the corpse is also +broken up, and the spades and ropes are left in the grave." [172] + +Among other devices to bar the return of the spirit may be noted the +custom after a death in the family of preparing a resting-place for +the ghost, until on the completion of the prescribed funeral rites it +is admitted to the company of the sainted dead. Thus, among high-caste +Hindus a jar of water is hung on a Pîpal tree for the refreshment of +the spirit. The lower castes practise a more elaborate ritual. When +the obsequies are completed they plant by the bank of a tank a bunch +of grass, which the chief mourners daily water until the funeral rites +are over. In Bombay Mr. Campbell writes: [173] "With a few exceptions +generally among almost all classes of Hindus, when the dead is carried +to the burning ground, on nearing the cemetery, a small stone is picked +up and applied to the eyes, chest, and feet of the deceased. This +stone is called Jivkhâda or the spirit stone, is considered as the +representative or type of the deceased, and offerings of milk and +water are given to it for ten days." Further he says: "On nearing +the burning ground a small stone is picked up, and with it the feet, +nose, and chest of the deceased are touched thrice. This stone is +called Ashma, and is considered as a type of the deceased, and to +it funeral oblations are offered for ten days. The bier is then put +down, and a ceremony called Visrânti Srâddha is performed by the chief +mourner, who comes forward and offers two balls of rice, called Bhût +or 'spirit,' and Khechar, or 'roamer in the sky,' to the deceased. A +hole is dug and the balls are buried there, and the litter is raised +again on shoulders by four persons and carried to the cemetery." + +The same idea of barring the return of the ghost accounts for the +tombstone and cairn. British evil spirits have been secured in this +way. Mr. Henderson tells of a vicious spirit which was entombed under +a large stone for the space of ninety years and a day. Should any +luckless person sit on that stone, he would be unable to leave it +for ever. [174] In India, when a Ho or Munda dies, a very substantial +coffin is constructed and placed on faggots of brushwood. The body, +carefully washed and anointed with oil, is reverently laid in this +coffin, and all the clothes, ornaments, and agricultural implements +that the deceased was in the habit of using are placed with it, and +also any money that he had with him when he died. Then the lid of the +coffin is put on and the whole is burned. The bones are collected, +taken in procession to the houses of friends, and every place where +the deceased was in the habit of visiting. They are finally buried +under a large slab, and a megalithic monument is erected to the memory +of the dead. A quantity of rice is thrown into the grave with other +food. [175] + +This custom of parading the corpse also prevails in Ireland. + +"I believe it is the custom in most, if not all, small towns in the +south for a body to be carried, on its way to the graveyard, round +the town by the longest way to bid its last farewell to the place. If +the body be that of a murdered man, it is, if possible, carried past +the house of the murderer. In county Wicklow, if an old church lies +on the way to the grave, the body is borne round it three times." [176] + +The Korkus of Hoshangâbâd have a remarkable method of laying the +ghost. "Each clan has a place in which the funeral rite of every +member of that clan must be performed; and however far the Korku may +have wandered from the original centre of his tribe, he must return +there to set his father's spirit to rest, and enable it to join +its own family and ancestral ghosts. In this spot a separate stake +(munda) is set up for every one whose rites are separately performed, +and if a poor Korku performs them for several ancestors at once, he +still puts up only one stake. It stands two or two and a half feet +above the ground, planed smooth and squared at the top; on one side +is carved at the top the likeness of the sun and moon, a spider, +and a wheat ear, and below it a figure representing the principal +person in whose honour it is put up, on horseback, with weapons in +his hands. If more than one person's death is being celebrated, the +rest are carved below as subordinate figures. I could not learn that +the spirits are supposed to specially haunt this grove of stakes, +or that Korkus have any dread of going near it at night; but they +are far bolder than Hindus in this respect. When the funeral rite +is to be performed, the first thing is to cut a bamboo and take out +the pith, which is to represent the bones of the deceased, unless he +has been burnt, in which case the bones themselves will have been +preserved. A chicken is then sacrificed at the grave, and all that +night the mourners watch and dance, and sing and make merry. + +"Next day they go out very early, and cut down some perfectly +unblemished tree, either teak or Salâi, not hollow or decayed or +marked with an axe, which they cut to make the Munda stake. It is +brought home at once and fashioned by a skilful man. In the afternoon +it is carried to the place where cattle rest outside the village at +noontide, and is washed and covered with turmeric like a bridegroom, +and five chickens are sacrificed to it. It is then brought home again, +and the pith representing the bones is taken outside the village and +hung to some tree for safety during the night." (The idea, as we have +elsewhere seen, is more probably to allow the ghost an opportunity +of revisiting them.) + +"All the friends and relations have by this time assembled, and +this evening the chief funeral dinner is given. Next day, the whole +party set out for the place where the stakes of their clan are set +up, and after digging a hole and putting two copper coins in it, +and the bones of the deceased or the pith which represents them, +they put the stake in and fix it upright. Then they offer a goat +or chickens to it, which are presently eaten close by, and in the +evening the whole party returns home." [177] + +All this ritual, carried out by one of the most primitive Indian +tribes, admirably illustrates the principles which we have been +discussing. The obvious intention of the custom is to provide +a resting-place for the spirit of the dead man, so that it may no +longer be a source of danger to the survivors. + +Similar customs prevail among other aboriginal races of the Central +Provinces. In some places they burn their dead and then erect +platforms, at the corners of which they place tall, red stones. In +other places a sort of low square mound is raised over the remains +of the deceased, at the corners of which are erected wooden posts, +round which thread is wound to complete the sacred circle, and a +stone is set up in the centre. Here offerings are presented, as in +the jungle worship of their deities, of rice and other grains, fowls +or sheep. On one occasion after the establishment of the Bhonsla +or Marhâta Government in Gondwâna a cow was offered to the manes +of a Gond; but this having come to the notice of the authorities, +the relations were publicly whipped, and all were interdicted from +doing such an act again. + +To persons of more than usual reputation for sanctity offerings +continue to be presented for many years after their decease. In the +District of Bhandâra rude collections of coarse earthenware in the +form of horses may be seen, which have accumulated from year to year +on the tombs of such men. [178] The Pauariyas of Chota Nâgpur bury +their dead, except the bodies of their priests, which are carried +on a cot into the forests covered with leaves and branches and kept +there, the reason assigned being that if laid in the village cemetery +their ghosts become very troublesome. The bodies of people who die +of contagious disease are similarly disposed of, the fact of death +in this way being supposed to be the direct act of one of the deities +who govern plagues. [179] + +In a country where immediate burial or cremation is necessary and +habitual, we need not expect to meet many examples of the customs, +of which Mr. H. Spencer gives examples, [180] of placing the body +on a platform or the like in order to secure its personal comfort +and conciliate the spirit. With the object of keeping a place ready +for the spirit, some tribes are careful to preserve the body. The +Singpoo of the north-eastern frontier keep the bodies of their dead +chiefs for several years, and the Kûkis dry the dead at a slow fire, +[181] practices which among more civilized races rise to embalming, as +among the Chinese and Egyptians. The Thârus of the sub-Himâlayan Tarâî +have a custom of placing the corpse on the village fetish mound during +the night after death, and then the mourning goes on. The practice is +perhaps intended as much to prevent, by the sanctity of the spot on +which it is placed, the spirit from harming the survivors, as from +any special desire to conciliate it. Among all Hindus, of course, +as far as exigencies of the rapid disposal of the remains allow, +it is habitual to treat the dead with respect; corpses are carefully +covered with red cloth, and removed reverently for burial or cremation. + +There is also among some tribes the custom of disinterring corpses +after temporary burial. Thus, the Bhotiyas of the Himâlayas burn +their dead only in the month of Kârttik; those who die in the meantime +are temporarily buried and disinterred when the season for cremation +arrives. The Kathkâris, a jungle tribe in Bombay, dig up the corpse +some time after burial and hold a wake over the ghastly relics. They +appear to do this only in the case of persons dying of cholera or +small-pox, with some idea of appeasing the deity of disease. In parts +of Oudh the custom is said still to prevail among the lower castes +during epidemics, and it has recently attracted the attention of the +sanitary officers. [182] + + + +The Funeral Feast. + +The funeral feast is evidently a survival of the feast when the dead +kinsman was consumed by his relatives, who wished thus to partake +of the properties of the dead. By another theory the feasting of the +mourners is intended to resist the attempt of the ghost of the dead +man to enter their bodies, food being offensive to spirits. + + + +Mutilation a Sign of Mourning. + +Perhaps the only distinct survival of the ceremonial mutilation so +common among savages as a sign of mourning, is the shaving which is +compulsory on all the clansmen who shared in the death pollution. In +the Odyssey, at the death of Antilochus, Peisistratus says, "This is +now the only due we pay to miserable men, to cut the hair and let the +tear fall from the cheek," and at the burial rites of Patroklus "they +heaped all the corpse with their hair which they cut off and threw +thereon." The cutting of the hair is always a serious matter. "Amongst +the Maoris many spells were uttered at hair-cutting; one, for example, +was spoken to consecrate the obsidian knife with which the hair was +cut; another was pronounced to avert the thunder and lightning which +hair-cutting was believed to cause." [183] This ceremonial shaving is +also perhaps the only survival in Northern India of puberty initiation +ceremonies. In some cases the hair cut appears to be regarded as a +sacrifice. Thus between the ages of two and five the Bhîls shave the +heads of their children. The child's aunt takes the hair in her lap, +and wrapping it in her clothes, receives a cow, buffalo, or other +present from the child's parent. [184] + + + +Respect Paid to Hair. + +All over the world the hair is invested with particular sanctity +as embodying the strength of the owner, as in the Samson-Delilah +story. Vishnu, according to the old story, took two hairs, a white +and a black one, and these became Balarâma and Krishna. Many charms +are worked through hair, and if a witch gets possession of it she +can work evil to the owner. An Italian charm directs, "When you +enter any city, collect before the gate as many hairs as you will +which may lie on the road, saying to yourself that you do this to +remove your headache, and bind one of the hairs to your head." [185] +The strength of Nisus lay in his golden hair, and when it was pulled +out he was killed by Minos. It is this power of hair which possibly +accounts for its preservation as a relic of the dead in lockets and +bracelets, or, as Mr. Hartland shows, the idea at the root of these +practices is that of sacramental communion with the dead. [186] + +We have already come across instances of growing hair as a +curse. Mr. Frazer gives numerous examples of this custom among savage +races, and in the Teutonic mythology the avenger of Baldur will not +cut his hair until he has killed his enemy. + +In the folk-tales hair is a powerful deus ex machinâ, human hair for +choice, but any kind will answer the purpose. It is one of the most +common incidents that the hero recognizes the heroine by a lock of +her hair which floats down the stream. [187] + +A curious instance of mutilation regarded as a charm may be quoted +from Bengal. Should a woman give birth to several stillborn children, +in succession, the popular belief is that the same child reappears on +each occasion. So, to frustrate the designs of the evil spirit that +has taken possession of the child, the nose or a portion of the ear +is cut off and the body is cast on a dunghill. + + + +Food for the Dead. + +Another means for conciliating the spirit of the dead man is to +lay up food for its use. [188] This is intended partly as provision +for the ghost in its journey to the other world. But in some cases +it would seem that there is a different basis for the custom. As we +have seen, it is dangerous to eat the food of fairy-land, and unless +food is supplied to the wandering ghost, it may be obliged to eat the +food of the lower world and hence be unable to return to the world of +men. According to the ancient Indian ritual it was recommended to put +into the hands of the dead man the reins of the animal killed in the +funeral sacrifice, or in default of an animal victim at least two cakes +of rice or flour, so that he may throw them to the dogs of Yama, which +would otherwise bar his passage, [189] and the same idea constantly +appears in the folk-tales where the hero takes some food with him which +he flings to the fierce beasts which prevent him from gaining the water +of life or whatever may have been the test imposed upon him. The use +of pulse in the funeral rites depends upon the same principle, and +in the Greek belief the dead carried vegetables with them to hell, +either to win the right of passage or as provisions for the road. + + + +Articles left with the Corpse. + +Hence too comes the practice of burning with the corpse the articles +which the dead man was in the habit of using. They rise with the +fumes of the pyre and solace him in the world of spirits. The Kos told +Colonel Dalton that the reason of this was that they were unwilling +to derive any immediate benefit by the death of a member of the +family. Hence they burn his wearing apparel and personal effects, +but they do not destroy clothes and other things which have not been +worn. For this reason, old men of the tribe, in a spirit of careful +economy, avoid wearing new clothes, so that they may not be wasted +at the funeral. [190] + +The custom of laying out food for the ghost still prevails in Ireland, +where it is a very prevalent practice during some nights after +death to leave food outside the house, a griddle cake or a dish of +potatoes. If it is gone in the morning, the spirits must have taken +it, for no human being would touch the food left for the dead, as it +might compel him to join their company. On November Eve food is laid +out in the same way. [191] + +There are numerous examples of similar practices in India. The Mhârs of +Khândesh, when they remove a corpse, put in its mouth a Pân leaf with +a gold bead from his wife's necklace. At the grave the brother or son +of the dead man wets the end of his turban and drops a little water +on the lips of the corpse. [192] So the Greeks used to put a coin in +the dead man's mouth to enable him to pay his fare to Charon. In the +Panjâb it is a common practice to put in the mouth of the corpse the +Pancharatana or five kinds of jewels, gold, silver, copper, coral, +and pewter. The leaves of the Tulasi or sweet basil and Ganges water +are put into the mouth of a dying man, and the former into the ears and +nostrils also. They are said to be offerings to Yama, the god of death, +who on receiving them shows mercy to the soul of the deceased. The +same customs generally prevail among the Hindus of Northern India. + +Among the Buddhists of the Himâlaya, Moorcroft was present at the +consecration of the food of the dead. [193] The Lâma consecrated +barley and water and poured them from a silver saucer into a brass +vessel, occasionally striking two brass cymbals together, reciting or +chanting prayers, to which from time to time an inferior Lâma uttered +responses aloud, accompanied by the rest in an undertone. This was +intended for the use of the souls in hell, who would starve were it +not provided. The music and singing, if we may apply the analogy of +Indian practices, are intended to scare the vagrant ghosts, who would +otherwise consume or defile the food. + +The same is the case among the Drâvidian races. Thus, the Bhuiyârs +of Mirzapur after the funeral feast throw a cupful of oil and some +food into the water hole in which the ashes of the dead man are +deposited. They say that he will never be hungry or want oil to anoint +himself after bathing. The Korwas, when burning a corpse, place with +it the ornaments and clothes of the deceased, and an axe, which they +do not break, as is the habit of many other savages. They say that +the spirit of the dead man will want it to hack his way through the +jungles of the lower world. When the Bhuiyârs cremate a corpse they +throw near the spot an axe, if the deceased was a man, and a Khurpi +or weeding spud, if a woman. No one would dare to appropriate such +things, as he would be forced to join the ghastly company of their +owners. Where the corpse is burned they leave a platter made of leaves +containing a little boiled rice, and they sprinkle on the ground all +the ordinary kinds of grain and some turmeric and salt as food for +the dead in the next world. + +All these tribes and many low-caste Hindus in Northern India lay +out platters of food under the eaves of the house during the period +of mourning, and they ascertain by peculiar marks which they examine +next day whether the spirit has partaken of the food or not. Among the +jungle tribes there is a rule that the food for the dead is prepared, +not by the house-mother, but by the senior daughter-in-law, and even +if incapacitated by illness from performing this duty, she is bound +at least to commence the work by cooking one or two cakes, the rest +being prepared by one of the junior women of the family. + +Among the more Hinduized Majhwârs and Patâris we reach the stage where +the clothes, implements of the deceased, and some food are given to +the Patâri priest, who, by vicariously consuming them, lays up a store +for the use of the dead man in the other world. This is the principle +on which food and other articles are given to the Mahâbrâhman or +ordinary Hindu funeral priest at the close of the period of mourning. + +Among the Bengal tribes, the Mâl Pahariyas pour the blood of goats +and fowls on their ancestral memorial pillars that the souls may not +hunger in the world of the dead. Among the Bhûmij, at the funeral +ceremony, an outsider, who is often a Laiya or priest, comes forward +to personate the deceased, by whose name he is addressed, and asked +what he wants to eat. Acting thus as the dead man's proxy, he mentions +various articles of food, which are placed before him. After making a +regular meal, he goes away, and the spirit of the deceased is believed +to go with him. So among the Kolis of the Konkan, the dead man's soul +is brought back into one of the mourners. Among the Vârlis of Thâna, +on the twelfth day after death, a dinner is given to the nearest +relations, and during the night the spirit of the dead enters into +one of the relations, who entertains the rest with the story of some +event in the dead man's life. Among the Santâls, one of the mourners +drums by the ashes of the dead, and the spirit enters the body, when +the mourner shaves, bathes, eats a cock, and drinks some liquor. [194] + +Among the Bengal Chakmas, a bamboo post or other portion of a dead +man's house is burned with him, probably in order to provide him with +shelter in the next world. Among the Kâmis, before they can partake +of the funeral feast, a small portion of every dish must be placed +in a leaf plate and taken out into the jungle for the spirit of the +dead man, and carefully watched until a fly or other insect settles +upon it. The watcher then covers up the plate with a slab of stone, +eats his own food, and returns to tell the relatives that the spirit +has received the offering prepared for him. + + + +The Fly as a Life Index. + +The fly here represents the spirit, an idea very common in folk-lore, +where an insect often appears as the Life Index. An English lady has +been known in India to stop playing lawn-tennis because a butterfly +settled in the court. In Cornwall wandering spirits take the form +of moths, ants, and weasels. [195] We have the same idea in Titus +Andronicus, when Marcus, having been rebuked for killing a fly, +gives as his reason,-- + + + "It was a black, ill-favoured fly, + Like to the empress Moor; therefore I kill'd him." + + +A fly is the guardian spirit of St. Michael's well in Banff. [196] + + + +Recalling the Ghost. + +But while it is expedient by some or other of these devices to bar or +lay the ghost, or prevent its return by providing for its journey to, +and accommodation in the next world, some tribes have a custom of +making arrangements to bring back the soul of the deceased to the +family abode, where he is worshipped as a household spirit. Some of +the Central Indian tribes catch the spirit re-embodied in a fowl or +fish, some bring it home in a pot of water or flour. [197] Among the +Tipperas of Bengal, when a man dies in a strange village separated from +his home by the river, they stretch a white string from bank to bank +along which the spirit is believed to return. [198] This illustrates +an idea common to all folk-lore that the ghost cannot cross running +water without material assistance. Among the Hos on the evening +of the cremation day certain preparations are made in anticipation +of a visit from the ghost. Some boiled rice is laid apart for it, +and ashes are sprinkled on the floor, in order that, should it come, +its footsteps may be detected. On returning they carefully scrutinize +the ashes and the rice, and if there is the faintest indication of +these having been disturbed, it is attributed to the action of the +spirit, and they sit down shivering with horror and crying bitterly, +as if they were by no means pleased with the visit, though it be made +at their earnest solicitation. [199] + + + +Ashes. + +This use of ashes as a means of identifying the ghost, constitutes +in itself quite an important chapter in folk-lore. It reminds us +of the Apocryphal legend of Bel and the Dragon. The idea probably +originally arose from the respect paid to the ashes of the house +fire by primitive races, among whom the hearth and the kitchen are +the home of the household godlings. + +There are numerous instances of this practice from Europe. In the +Western Islands of Scotland on Candlemas Day the mistress takes a +sheaf of oats, dresses it in woman's apparel, and after putting it in a +large basket beside which a wooden club is placed, cries three times, +"Briid is come! Briid is welcome!" Next morning they look for the +impression of Briid's club in the ashes, which is an omen of a good +harvest. [200] Ash-riddling is a custom in the northern counties. The +ashes being riddled or sifted on the hearth, if any one of the family +be to die within the year, the mark of a shoe will be impressed +upon the ashes. [201] In Wales they make a bonfire, and when it is +extinguished each one throws a white stone into the ashes. In the +morning they search out the stones, and if any one is found wanting, +he that threw it will die within the year. [202] In Manxland the +ashes are carefully swept to the open hearth and nicely flattened +down by the women before they go to bed. In the morning they look for +footmarks on the hearth, and if they find such footmarks directed to +the door, it means in the course of the year a death in the family, +and if the reverse, they expect an addition to it by marriage. [203] +According to one of the Italian charms, "And they were accustomed to +divine sometimes with the ashes from the sacrifices. And to this day +there is a trace of it, when that which is to be divined is written +on the ashes with the finger or with the stick. Then the ashes are +stirred by the fresh breeze, and one looks for the letters which they +form by being moved." [204] + +Amongst some Hindus, on the tenth night after the death of a person, +he who fired the funeral pyre is required to sift some ashes, near +which a lamp is placed, and the whole covered with a basket. Next +morning the ashes are examined, and the ghost is supposed to have +migrated into the animal whose mark appears on the ashes. [205] So, +at the annual feast of the dead, the jungle tribes of Mirzapur spread +ashes on the floor, and a mark generally like that of a chicken's foot +shows that the family ghosts have visited the house. "On New Year's +Eve," says Aubrey, "sift or smooth the ashes and leave it so when you +go to bed; next morning look, and if you find there the likeness of a +coffin, one will die; if a ring, one will be married." [206] In North +Scotland, on the night after the funeral, bread and water are placed +in the apartment where the body lay. The dead man was believed to +return that night and partake of the food; unless this were done the +spirits could not rest in the unseen world. This probably accounts +for the so-called "food vases" and "drinking cups" found in the long +barrows. [207] All Hindus believe that the ghosts of the dead return +on the night of the Diwâlî or feast of lamps. + + + +Replacing Household Vessels. + +After a death all the household earthen pots are broken and +replaced. It has been suggested that this is due either to the +belief that the ghost of the dead man is in some of them, or that the +custom may have some connection with the idea of providing the ghost +with utensils in the next world. [208] In popular belief, however, +the custom is explained by the death pollution attaching to all the +family cooking vessels, which, if of metal, are purified with fire. The +vessel is the home of the spirit: "At most Hindu funerals a water jar +is carried round the pyre, and then dashed to the ground, apparently to +show that the spirit has left its earthly home. So, the Surat Chondras +set up as spirit homes large whitewashed earthen jars laid on their +sides. So, to please any spirit likely to injure a crop, an earthen +jar is set on a pole as the spirit's house, and so at a wedding or +other ceremonies, jars, sometimes empty, sometimes filled with water, +are piled as homes for planets and other marriage gods and goddesses, +that they may feel pleased and their influence be friendly." [209] + +We have already met with the Kalasa or sacred jar. The same idea +of the pollution of earthen vessels prevailed among the Hebrews, +when an earthen vessel remaining in a tent in which a person died +was considered impure for seven days. [210] + + + +Funeral Rites in Effigy. + +When a person dies at a distance from home, and it is impossible +to perform the funeral rites over the body, it is cremated in +effigy. The special term for this is Kusa-putra, or "son of the Kusa +grass." Colonel Tod gives a case of this when Râja Ummeda of Bûndi +abdicated: "An image of the prince was made, and a pyre was erected on +which it was consumed. The hair and whiskers of Ajît, his successor, +were taken off and offered to the Manes; lamentations and wailing were +heard in the Queen's apartments, and the twelve days of mourning were +held as if Ummeda had really deceased; on the expiration of which +the installation of his successor took place." [211] + + + +Ghosts Lengthening Themselves. + +Ghosts, as we have already seen in the case of the Naugaza, have +the power of changing their length. In the well-known tale in the +Arabian Nights the demon is shut up in a jar under the seal of the +Lord Solomon, as in one of the German tales the Devil is shut up in +a crevice in a pine tree, and the ghost of Major Weir of Edinburgh +resided in his walking-stick. [212] Some of the Indian ghosts, like the +Ifrît of the Arabian Nights, can grow to the length of ten yojanas or +eighty miles. In one of the Bengal tales a ghost is identified because +she can stretch out her hands several yards for a vessel. [213] Some +ghosts possess the very dangerous power of entering human corpses, +like the Vetâla, and swelling to an enormous size. The Kharwârs of +Mirzapur have a wild legend, which tells how long ago an unmarried +girl of the tribe died, and was being cremated. While the relations +were collecting wood for the pyre, a ghost entered the corpse, but +the friends managed to expel him. Since then great care is taken not +to leave the bodies of women unwatched. So, in the Panjâb, when a +great person is cremated the bones and ashes are carefully watched +till the fourth day, to prevent a magician interfering with them. If +he has a chance, he can restore the deceased to life, and ever after +retain him under his influence. This is the origin of the custom in +Great Britain of waking the dead, a practice which "most probably +originated from a silly superstition as to the danger of a corpse +being carried off by some of the agents of the invisible world, or +exposed to the ominous liberties of brute animals." [214] But in India +it is considered the best course, if the corpse cannot be immediately +disposed of, to measure it carefully, and then no malignant Bhût can +occupy it. We have already met with instances of a similar idea of +the mystic effect supposed to follow on measuring or weighing grain. + + + +Kindly Ghosts. + +Most of the ghosts whom we have been as yet considering are +malignant. There are, however, others which are friendly. Such +are the German Elves, the Robin Goodfellow, Puck, Brownie and the +Cauld Lad of Hilton of England, the Glashan of the Isle of Man, +the Phouka or Leprehaun of Ireland. Such, in one of his many forms, +is the Brahmadaitya, or ghost of a Brâhman who has died unmarried. In +Bengal he is believed to be more neat and less mischievous than other +ghosts; the Bhûts carry him in a palanquin, he wears wooden sandals, +lives in a Banyan or Bel tree, and Sankhachûrnî is his mistress. He +appears to be about the only respectable bachelor ghost. In one of the +folk-tales a ghostly reaper of this class assists his human friend, +and can cut as much of the crop in a minute as an ordinary person +can in a day. [215] So, the Manx Brownie is called the Fenodyree, +and he is described as a hairy, clumsy fellow who would thresh a whole +barnful of corn in a single night for the people to whom he felt well +disposed. [216] This Brahmadaitya is the leader of the other ghosts +in virtue of his respectable origin; he lives in a tree, and, unlike +other varieties of Bhûts, does not eat all kinds of food, but only +such as are considered ceremonially pure. He never, like common Bhûts, +frightens men, but is harmless and quiet, never plaguing benighted +travellers, nor entering into the bodies of living men or women, +but if his dignity be insulted, or any one trespass on his domains, +he wrings their necks. + + + +Tree Ghosts. + +Hence in regard to trees great caution is required. A Hindu will +never climb one of the varieties of fig, the Ficus Cordifolia, except +through dire necessity, and if a Brâhman is forced to ascend the +Bel tree or Aegle Marmelos for the purpose of obtaining the sacred +trefoil so largely used in Saiva worship, he only does so after +offering prayers to the gods in general, and to the Brahmadaitya in +particular who may have taken up his abode in this special tree. + +These tree ghosts are, it is needless to say, very numerous. Hence +most local shrines are constructed under trees, and in one particular +tree, the Bîra, the jungle tribes of Mirzapur locate Bâgheswar, the +tiger godling, one of their most dreaded deities. In the Konkan, +according to Mr. Campbell, [217] the medium or Bhagat who becomes +possessed is called Jhâd, or "tree," apparently because he is a +favourite dwelling-place for spirits. In the Dakkhin it is believed +that the spirit of the pregnant woman or Churel lives in a tree, and +the Abors and Padams of East Bengal believe that spirits in trees +kidnap children. [218] Many of these tree spirits appear in the +folk-tales. Thus, Devadatta worships a tree which one day suddenly +clave in two and a nymph appeared who introduced him inside the tree, +where was a heavenly palace of jewels, in which, reclining on a couch, +appeared Vidyatprabhâ, the maiden daughter of the king of the Yakshas; +in another story the mendicant hears inside a tree the Yaksha joking +with his wife. [219] So Daphne is turned into a tree to avoid the +pursuit of her lover. + + + +The Brahmaparusha. + +But there is another variety of Brâhman ghost who is much dreaded. This +is the Brahmaparusha or Brahma Râkshasa. In one of the folk-tales he +appears black as soot, with hair yellow as the lightning, looking +like a thunder-cloud. He had made himself a wreath of entrails; +he wore a sacrificial cord of hair; he was gnawing the flesh of a +man's head and drinking blood out of a skull. In another story these +Brahma Râkshasas have formidable tusks, flaming hair, and insatiable +hunger. They wander about the forests catching animals and eating +them. [220] Mr. Campbell tells a Marhâta legend of a master who became +a Brahmaparusha in order to teach grammar to a pupil. He haunted a +house at Benares, and the pupil went to take lessons from him. He +promised to teach him the whole science in a year on condition that +he never left the house. One day the boy went out and learned that +the house was haunted, and that he was being taught by a ghost. The +boy returned and was ordered by the preceptor to take his bones to +Gaya, and perform the necessary ceremonies for the emancipation of +his soul. This he did, and the uneasy spirit of the learned man was +laid. [221] We have already encountered similar angry Brâhman ghosts, +such as Harshu Pânrê and Mahenî. + + + +The Jâk and Jâknî. + +The really friendly agricultural sprites are the pair known in some +places as the Jâk and Jâknî, and in others as Chordeva and Chordevî, +the "thief godlings." With the Jâk we come on another of these curious +survivals from the early mythology in a sadly degraded form. As +Varuna, the god of the firmament, has been reduced in these later +days to Barun, a petty weather godling, so the Jâk is the modern +representative of the Yaksha, who in better times was the attendant +of Kuvera, the god of wealth, in which duty he was assisted by the +Guhyaka. The character of the Yaksha is not very certain. He was +called Punya-janas, "the good people," but he sometimes appears as +an imp of evil. In the folk-tales, it must be admitted, the Yakshas +have an equivocal reputation. In one story the female, or Yakshinî, +bewilders travellers at night, makes horns grow on their foreheads, +and finally devours them; in another the Yakshas have, like the Churel, +feet turned the wrong way and squinting eyes; in a third they separate +the hero from the heroine because he failed to make due offerings +to them on his wedding day. On the other hand, in a fourth tale the +Yakshinî is described as possessed of heavenly beauty; she appears +again when a sacrifice is made in a cemetery to get her into the hero's +power, as a heavenly maiden beautifully adorned, seated in a chariot +of gold surrounded by lovely girls; and lastly, a Brâhman meets some +Buddhist ascetics, performs the Uposhana vow, and would have become +a god, had it not been that a wicked man compelled him by force to +take food in the evening, and so he was re-born as a Guhyaka. [222] + +In the modern folk-lore of Kashmîr, the Yaksha has turned into the +Yech or Yach, a humorous, though powerful, sprite in the shape of +a civet cat of a dark colour, with a white cap on his head. This +small high cap is one of the marks of the Irish fairies, and the +Incubones of Italy wear caps, "the symbols of their hidden, secret +natures." The feet of the Yech are so small as to be almost invisible, +and it squeaks in a feline way. It can assume any shape, and if its +white cap can be secured, it becomes the servant of the possessor, +and the white cap makes him invisible. [223] + +In the Vishnu Purâna we read that Vishnu created the Yakshas as beings +emaciate with hunger, of hideous aspect, and with big beards, and +that from their habit of crying for food they were so named. [224] +By the Buddhists they were regarded as benignant spirits. One of +them acts as sort of chorus in the Meghadûta or "Cloud Messenger" +of Kâlidâsa. Yet we read of the Yaka Alawaka, who, according to the +Buddhist legend, used to live in a Banyan tree, and slay any one who +approached it; while in Ceylon they are represented as demons whom +Buddha destroyed. [225] In later Hinduism they are generally of fair +repute, and one of them was appointed by Indra to be the attendant +of the Jaina Saint Mahâvîra. It is curious that in Gujarât the term +Yaksha is applied to Musalmâns, and in Cutch to a much older race of +northern conquerors. [226] + +At any rate the modern Jâk and Jâknî, Chordeva and Chordevî, +are eminently respectable and kindly sprites. They are, in fact, +an obvious survival of the pair of corn spirits which inhabit the +standing crop. [227] The Jâk is compelled to live apart from the Jâknî +in neighbouring villages, but he is an uxorious husband, and robs +his own village to supply the wants of his consort. So, if you see a +comparatively barren village, which is next to one more productive, +you may be sure that the Jâk lives in the former and the Jâknî in +the latter. The same is the character of the Chor or Chordeva and +the Chornî or Chordevî of the jungle tribes of Mirzapur. + + + +Ghosts which Protect Cattle. + +In the Hills there are various benevolent ghosts or godlings who +protect cattle. Sâin, the spirit of an old ascetic, helps the Bhotiyas +to recover lost cattle, and Siddhua and Buddhua, the ghosts of two +harmless goatherds, are invoked when a goat falls ill. [228] In the +same class is Nagardeo of Garhwâl, who is represented in nearly every +village by a three-pronged pike or Trisûla on a platform. When cows +and buffaloes are first milked, the milk is offered to him. It is +perhaps possible that from some blameless godling of the cow-pen, +such as Nagardeo, the cultus of Pasupatinâtha, "the lord of animals," +an epithet of Siva or Rudra, who has a stately shrine at Hardwâr, +where his lingam is wreathed with cobras, was derived. Another Hill +godling of the same class is Chaumu or Baudhân, who has a shrine +in every village, which the people at the risk of offending him are +supposed to keep clean and holy. Lamps are lighted, sweetmeats and +the fruits of the earth are offered to him. When a calf dies the +milk of the mother is considered unholy till the twelfth day, when +some is offered to the deity. He also recovers lost animals, if duly +propitiated, but if neglected, he brings disease on the herd. [229] + +Another cattle godling in the Hills is Kaluva or Kalbisht, who +lived on earth some two hundred years ago. His enemies persuaded his +brother-in-law to kill him. After his death he became a benevolent +spirit, and the only people he injured were the enemies who compassed +his death. His name is now a charm against wild beasts, and people +who are oppressed resort to his shrine for justice. Except in name he +seems to have nothing to say to Kâlu Kahâr, who was born of a Kahâr +girl, who by magical charms compelled King Solomon to marry her. His +fetish is a stick covered with peacock's feathers to which offerings +of food are made. He has more than a quarter of a million worshippers, +according to the last census, in the Meerut Division. + + + +Bugaboos. + +We close this long list of ghostly personages with those who are +merely bugaboos to frighten children. Such are Hawwa, probably a +corruption through the Prâkrit of the Sanskrit Bhûta, and Humma or +Humu, who is said to be the ghost of the Emperor Humayûn, who died +by an untimely death. Akin perhaps to him are the Humanas of Kumaun, +who take the form of men, but cannot act as ordinary persons. [230] + +These sprites are to the Bengâli matron what Old Scratch and Red Nose +and Bloody Bones are to English mothers, [231] and when a Bengâli +baby is particularly naughty its mother threatens to send for Warren +Hastings. Akin to these is Ghoghar, who represents Ghuggu or the +hooting of the owl. [232] Nekî Bîbî, "the good lady;" Mâno or the +cat; Bhâkur; Bhokaswa; and Dokarkaswa, "the old man with the bag," +who carries off naughty children, who is the Mr. Miacca of the English +nursery. [233] + + + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +TREE AND SERPENT WORSHIP. + + + Sylvarum numina, Fauni + Et satyri fratres. + + Ovid, Metamorp. iii. 163. + + Autar ep' autô + Kyaneos elelikto drakôn, kephalai de hoi êsan + Treis hamphistrephees, henos auchenos ekpephyuiai. + + Iliad, xi. 38-40. + + +The worship of trees and serpents may be conveniently considered +together; not that there is much connection between these two classes +of belief, but because this course has been followed in Mr. Ferguson's +elaborate monograph on the subject. + +The worship of trees appears to be based on many converging lines +of thought, which it is not easy to disentangle. Mr. H. Spencer +[234] classes it as an aberrant species of ancestor worship: +"A species somewhat more disguised externally, but having the same +internal nature; and though it develops in three different directions, +still these have all one common origin. First, the toxic excitements +produced by certain plants are attributed to the agency of spirits or +demons; secondly, tribes that have come out of places characterized by +particular trees or plants, unawares change the legend of emergence +from them into the legend of descent from them; thirdly, the naming +of individuals after plants becomes a source of confusion." + +According to Dr. Tylor, [235] again, the worship depends upon man's +animistic theory of nature: "Whether such a tree is looked on as +inhabited by its own proper life and soul, or as possessed like a +fetish by some other spirit which has entered it or used it for a +body, is often hard to determine. The tree may be the spirits' perch +or shelter (as we have seen in the case of the Churel or Râkshasa), +or the sacred grove is assumed to be the spirits' resort." + +Mr. Frazer has given a very careful analysis of this branch of popular +religion. [236] He shows that to the savage in general the world is +animate and trees are no exception to the rule; he thinks they have +souls like his own and treats them accordingly; they are supposed to +feel injuries done to them; the souls of the dead sometimes animate +them; the tree is regarded sometimes as the body, sometimes as +the home of the tree spirit; trees and tree spirits give rain and +sunshine; they cause the crops to grow; the tree spirit makes the +herds to multiply and blesses women with offspring; the tree spirit +is often conceived and represented as detached from the tree and even +as embodied in living men and women. + +The basis of the cultus may then perhaps be stated as follows: There +is first the tree which is regarded as embodying or representing the +spirit which influences the fertility of crops and human beings. Hence +the respect paid to memorial trees, where the people assemble, as at +the village Pîpal, which is valued for its shade and beauty and its +long connection with the social life of the community. This would +naturally be regarded as the abode of some god and forms the village +shrine, a convenient centre for the religious worship of the local +deities, where they reside and accept the worship and offerings of +their votaries. + +It may, again, be the last survival of the primitive forest, where +the dispossessed spirits of the jungle find their final and only +resting-place. Such secluded groves form the only and perhaps the +earliest shrine of many primitive races. + +Again, an allegorical meaning would naturally be attached to various +trees. It is invested with a mystic power owing to the mysterious +waving of its leaves and branches, the result of supernatural agency; +and this would account for the weird sounds of the forest at night. + +Many trees are evergreen, and thus enjoy eternal life. Every tree is +a sort of emblem of life, reproducing itself in some uncanny fashion +with each recurring spring. + +It has some mystic connection with the three worlds-- + + + Quantum vertice ad auras + Aetherias tantum radice in Tartara tendit. + + +Like Yggdrassil, it connects the world of man with the world of +gods, and men may, like Jack of the Beanstalk, climb by its aid to +heaven. In this connection it may be noted that many Indian tribes +bury their dead in trees. The Khasiyas of East Bengal lay the body in +the hollow trunk of a tree. The Nâgas dispose of their dead in the +same way, or hang them in coffins to the branches. The Mâriya Gonds +tie the corpse to a tree and burn it. The Malers lay the corpse of +a priest, whose ghost often gives trouble, under a tree and cover it +with leaves. [237] Similar customs prevail among primitive races in +many parts of the world. + +The tree embodies in itself many utilities necessary to human life, +and many qualities which menace its existence. Its wood is the source +of fire, itself a fetish. Its fruits, juices, flowers or bark are +sources of food or possess intoxicating or poisonous attributes, +which are naturally connected with demoniacal influences. Trees +often develop into curious or uncanny forms, which compel fear or +adoration. Thus according to the old ritual [238] trees which have +been struck by lightning, or knocked down by inundation, or which +have fallen in the direction of the south, or which grew on a burning +ground or consecrated site, or at the confluence of large rivers, or +by the roadside; those which have withered tops, or an entanglement of +heavy creepers upon them, or are the receptacles of many honey-combs +or birds' nests, are reckoned unfit for the fabrication of bedsteads, +as they are inauspicious and sure to bring disease and death. The +step from such beliefs to the worship of any curious and remarkable +tree is easy. + +Hence the belief that the planting of a grove is a work of religious +merit, which is so strongly felt by Hindus, and the idea that the +grove has special religious associations, shown by the marriage +of its trees to the well, and other rites of the same kind. In the +Konkan it is very generally believed that barrenness is caused by +uneasy spirits which wander about, and that if a home be made for the +spirit by planting trees, it will go and reside there and the curse +of barrenness will be removed. [239] + +Though this branch of the subject has been pushed to quite an +unreasonable length in some recent books, [240] there may be some +association of tree worship with the phallic cultus, such as is found +in the Asherah or "groves" of the Hebrews, the European Maypole, +and so on. This has been suggested as an explanation of the honour +paid by the Gypsy race in Germany to the fir tree, the birch and the +hawthorn, and of the veneration of the Welsh Gypsies to the fasciated +vegetable growth known to them as the Broado Koro. [241] In the same +way an attempt has been made to connect the Bel tree with the Saiva +worship of the Lingam and the lotus with the Yonî. But this part of +the subject has been involved in so much crude speculation that any +analogies of this kind, however tempting, must be accepted with the +utmost caution. + +Further than this, it may be reasonably suspected that this cultus +rests to some extent on a basis of totemism. Some of the evidence in +support of this view will be discussed elsewhere, but it is, on the +analogy of the various modes in which the Brâhmanical pantheon has +been recruited, not improbable that trees and plants, like the Tulasî +and the Pîpal, may have been originally tribal totems imported into +Brâhmanism from some aboriginal or other foreign source. + +On the whole it is tolerably certain that there is more in tree +worship than can be accounted for either by Mr. Ferguson's theory +that the worship sprang from a perception of the utility or beauty +of trees, or by Mr. Spencer's theory of nicknames. It is sufficient +to say that both fail to account for the worship of insignificant +and comparatively useless shrubs, weeds, or grasses. + +Tree worship holds an important part in the popular ritual and +folk-lore. This is shown by the prejudice against cutting trees. The +jungle tribes are very averse to cutting certain trees, particularly +those which are regarded as sacred. If a Kharwâr, except at the +time of the annual feast, cuts his tribal tree, the Karama, he loses +wealth and life, and none of these tribes will cut the large Sâl trees +which are fixed by the Baiga as the abode of the forest godling. This +feeling prevails very strongly among the Maghs of Bengal. Nothing but +positive orders and the presence of Europeans would induce them to +trespass on many hill-tops, which they regarded as occupied by the tree +demons. With the Europeans, however, they would advance fearlessly, +and did not hesitate to fell trees, the blame of such sacrilege being +always laid on the strangers. On felling any large tree, one of the +party was always prepared with a green sprig, which he ran and placed +in the centre of the stump when the tree fell, as a propitiation to +the spirit which had been displaced so roughly, pleading at the same +time the orders of the strangers for the work. In clearing one spot +an orderly had to take the dâh or cleaver and fell the first tree +himself before a Magh would make a stroke, and was considered to bear +all the odium of the work with the disturbed spirits till the arrival +of the Europeans relieved him of the burden. [242] + +In folk-lore we have many magic trees. We have the Kalpataru or +Kalpadruma, also known as Kalpavriksha, or Manoratha dayaka, the +tree which grows in Swarga or the paradise of Indra and grants +all desires. There is, again, the Pârijâta, which was produced at +the churning of the ocean, and appropriated by Indra, from whom it +was recovered by Krishna. The tree in the Meghadûta bears clothes, +trinkets, and wine, which is like the Juniper tree of the German tale, +which grants a woman a son. Many such trees appear in the Indian +folk-tales. The King Jimutaketu had a tree in his house which came +down from his ancestors, and was known as "the giver of desires"; the +generous Induprabha craved a boon from Indra, and became a wishing +tree in his own city; and the faithful minister of Yasaketu sees a +wave rise out of the sea and then a wishing tree appears, "adorned +with boughs glittering with gold, embellished with sprays of coral, +bearing lovely fruits and flowers of jewels. And he beheld on its trunk +a maiden, alluring on account of her wonderful beauty, reclining on a +gem-bestudded couch." [243] So, in the story of Devadatta, the tree is +cloven and a heavenly nymph appears. We have trees which, like those +in the Odyssey, bear fruit and flowers at the same time, and in the +garden of the Asura maiden "the trees were ever producing flowers +and fruits, for all seasons were present there at the same time." [244] + +We have many trees, again, which are produced in miraculous ways. In +one of the modern tales the tiger collects the bones of his friend, the +cow, and from her ashes spring two bamboos, which when cut give blood, +and are found to be two boys of exquisite grace and beauty. [245] +So in Grimm's tale of "One Eye, Two Eyes, and Three Eyes," the tree +grows from the buried entrails of the goat. In another of Somadeva's +stories the heroine drops a tear on the Jambu flower and a fruit grew, +within which a maiden was produced. [246] The incident of the tree +which grows on the mother's grave and protects her helpless children +is the common property of folk-lore. Again, we have the heavenly fruit +which was given by the grateful monkey, and freed him who ate it from +old age and disease, like the tree in Aelian which makes an old man +become younger and younger until he reaches the antenatal stage of +non-existence. [247] + +We have many instances of trees which talk. The mango tree shows the +hero how the magic bird is to be cut out of it; the heroine is blessed +and aided by the plantain tree, cotton tree, and sweet basil; she is +rewarded by a plum and fig tree for services rendered to them. [248] +In one of the Kashmîr tales the tree informs the hero of the safety +of his wife. So, in Grimm's tale of the "Lucky Spinner," the tree +speaks when the man is about to cut it down. [249] + +In one of the stories, as a link between tree and serpent worship, +the great palace of the snake king is situated under a solitary +Asoka tree in the Vindhyan forest. In the same collection we meet +continually instances of tree worship. The Brâhman Somadatta worships +a great Asvattha, or fig tree, by walking round it so as to keep it +on his right, bowing and making an oblation; Mrigankadatta takes +refuge in a tree sacred to Ganesa; and Naravâhanadatta comes to +a sandal tree surrounded with a platform made of precious jewels, +up which he climbs by means of ladders and adores it. [250] + +We have a long series of legends by which certain famous trees are +supposed to have been produced from the tooth twig of some saint. The +famous hawthorn of Glastonbury was supposed to be sprung from the +staff of Joseph of Arimathea, who having fixed it in the ground on +Christmas Day, it took root immediately, put forth leaves, and the +next day was covered with milk-white blossoms. [251] Traditions of +the Dantadhâvana or tooth-brush tree of Buddha still exist at Gonda; +another at Ludhiâna is attributed to Abdul Qâdir Jilâni; there is +a Buddha tree at Saketa, and the great Banyan tree at Broach was +similarly produced by Kabîr. So, the Santâls believe that good men +turn into fruit-trees. [252] + +Next come the numerous sacred groves scattered all over the +country. These, as we have seen, are very often regarded as a +survival from the primeval jungle, where the forest spirits have +taken refuge. The idea is common both to the Aryan as well as to the +Drâvidian races, from the latter of whom it was possibly derived. + +Thus, among the jungle races we find that there are many groves, +known as Sarna, in which the Cheros and Kharwârs offer triennial +sacrifices of a buffalo or other animal. The Kisâns have sacred groves, +called Sâ. The Mundâri Kols keep "a fragment of the original forest, +the trees in which have been for ages carefully protected, left when +the clearance was first made, lest the sylvan gods of the place, +disgusted at the wholesale felling of the trees which protected them, +should abandon the locality. Even now if a tree is destroyed in +the sacred grove, the gods evince their displeasure by withholding +seasonable rain." This idea of the influence of cutting trees on +weather has been illustrated by Mr. Frazer from the usages of other +races. [253] So, among the Khândhs, "that timber may never be wanting, +in case of accidents from fire or from enemies, a considerable grove, +generally of Sâl, is uniformly dedicated by every village to the +forest god, whose favour is ever and anon sought by the sacrifice of +birds, hogs, and sheep, with the usual accompaniments of rice and +an addled egg. The consecrated grove is religiously preserved, the +trees being occasionally pruned, but not a twig cut for use without +the formal consent of the village and the formal propitiation of the +god." [254] Among the Kols, in these groves the tutelary deities of +the village are supposed to sojourn when attending to the wants of +their votaries. [255] In the Central Provinces the Badiyas worship +the manes of their ancestors in a grove of Sâj trees. [256] In Berâr +the wood of the Pathrot forests is believed to be dedicated to a +neighbouring temple, and no one will cut or buy it; and in other places +in the same province the sacred groves are so carefully preserved, +that during the annual festivals held in them it is the custom to +collect and burn solemnly all dead and fallen branches and trees. [257] + +Among the higher races the same feelings attach to the holy groves +of Mathura, each of which has appropriated one of the legends of the +Krishna myth. Thus, there is a particularly sacred grove at Bhadanwâra, +and it is believed that any one violating the sanctity of the place by +telling a lie within its precincts will be stricken with leprosy. In +another at Hasanpur Bara the trees are under the protection of the +curse of a Faqîr, and in many places people object to having toddy +collected from the palm trees, because it necessitates cutting their +necks. [258] In the Northern Hills the Sâl and bamboos at Barmdeo are +never cut, as they are sacred to the local Devî. [259] In Kulu, "near +the village were a number of cypresses, much decayed, and many quite +dead. Some of my people had begun to strip off their dry branches for +fuel, when one of the conductors of our caravan came to me in great +agitation, and implored me to command them to desist. The trees, he +said, were sacred to the deities of the elements, who would be sure +to revenge any injury done to them by visiting the neighbourhood with +heavy and untimely snow." [260] + +In a village in Lucknow, noticeable among the trees is a "single +mango tree, of fine growth and comely shape. It is the survivor of +some old grove, which the owner, through straitened circumstances, +has reluctantly cut down. He called it Jâk, or Sakhiya, the witness +of the place where the old grove stood." [261] Jâk is, as we have +seen, the Corn spirit. The preservation of these little patches of +the primeval jungle, with a view to conciliate the sylvan spirits of +the place, is exactly analogous to what is known in Scotland as the +"Gudeman's Croft," "Cloutie's Croft," or "Gudeman's Field." Often in +Northern India little patches are left uncultivated in the corners +of fields as a refuge for the spirits, as in North Scotland many +farmers leave a corner of the field untilled, and say it is for the +"Aul Man," or the Devil. [262] + +Some trees are, again, considered to be mystically connected with +the fortunes of people and places. Thus, the Chilbil tree at Gonda, +which, like others which have already been mentioned, sprouted from +the tooth-twig of a saint, was supposed to be mysteriously connected +with the fate of the last of the Gonda Râjas. His kingdom was to +last until the day a monkey sat on the tree, and this, it is said, +happened on the morning when the Mutiny broke out which ended in +the ruin of the dynasty. [263] In the same way the moving wood of +Dunsinane was fateful to the fortunes of Macbeth. + +We have already referred to some of the regular tree sprites, +like the Churel, Râkshasa, and Bansaptî Mâ. They are, like Kliddo, +the North British sprite, small and delicate at first, but rapidly +shooting into the clouds, while everything it overshadows is thrown +into confusion. [264] + +How sprites come to inhabit trees is well shown in an instance given +from Bombay by Mr. Campbell. "In the Dakkhin, when a man is worried +by a spirit, he gives it a tree to live in. The patient, or one of +his relations, goes to a seer and brings the seer to his house, +frankincense is burnt, and the sick man's spirit comes into the +seer's body. The people ask the spirit in the seer why the man is +sick. He says, 'The ghost of the man you killed has come back, and +is troubling you.' Then they say, 'What is to be done?' The spirit +says, 'Put him in a place in his or in your land.' The people say, +'How can we put him?' The spirit says, 'Take a cock, five cocoanuts, +rice, and red lead, and fill a bamboo basket with them next Sunday +evening, and by waving the basket round the head of the patient, +take the ghost out of the patient.' When Sunday afternoon comes they +call the exorcist. If the ghost has not haunted the sick man for a +week, it is held that the man was worried by that ghost, who is now +content with the proposed arrangement. If the patient is still sick, +it is held that it cannot be that ghost, but it must be another ghost, +perhaps a god who troubles him. + +"The seer is again called, and his familiar spirit comes into +him. They set the sick man opposite him, and the seer throws rice on +the sick man, and the ghost comes into the patient's body and begins to +speak. The seer asks him, 'Are you going or not?' The ghost replies, +'I will go if you give me a cock, a fowl, a cocoanut, red lead, and +rice.' They then bring the articles and show them to the spirit. The +spirit sees the articles, and says, 'Where is the cocoanut?' or, 'Where +is the rice?' They add what he says, and ask, 'Is it right?' 'Yes, it +is right,' replies the spirit. 'If we drive you out of Bâpu, will you +come out?' ask the people. 'I will come out,' replies the ghost. The +people then say, 'Will you never come back?' 'I will never return,' +replies the ghost. 'If you ever return,' says the seer's spirit, 'I +will put you in a tanner's well, sink you, and ruin you.' 'I will,' +says the spirit, 'never come back, if you take these things to the +Pîpal tree in my field. You must never hurt the Pîpal. If you hurt +the Pîpal, I will come and worry you.' + +"Then the friends of the patient make the cooked rice in a ball, +and work a little hollow in the top of the ball. They sprinkle the +ball with red powder, and in the hollow put a piece of a plantain +leaf, and on the leaf put oil, and a wick, which they light. Then +the Gâdi, or flesh-eating priest, brings the goat in front of the +sick man, sprinkles the goat's head with red powder and flowers, +and says to the spirit, 'This is for you; take it.' He then passes +three fowls three times from the head to the foot of the sick man, +and then from the head lowers all the other articles. The Gâdi, +or Mhâr, and some friends of the patient start for the place named +by the spirit. When the party leave, the sick man is taken into the +house and set close to the threshold. They put water on his eyes, +and filling a pot with water, throw it outside where the articles +were, and inside and outside scatter cowdung ashes, saying, 'If you +come in you will have the curse of Râma and Lakshmana.' When the Gâdi +and the party reach their destination, the Gâdi tells the party to +bring a stone the size of a cocoanut. When the stone is brought, the +Gâdi washes it and puts it to the root of the tree and sets about it +small stones. On the tree and on the middle stone he puts red lead, +red powder, and frankincense. The people then tell the spirit to stay +there, and promise to give him a cocoanut every year if he does them +no harm. They then kill the goat and the fowls, and, letting the blood +fall in front of the stone, offer the heart and liver to the spirit, +and then return home." [265] + +From ceremonies like these, in which a malignant spirit is entombed +in a tree and its surrounding stones, the transition to the general +belief in tree sprites is easy. The use of the various articles to +scare spirits will be understood from what has been already said on +that subject. + + + +The Karam Tree. + +Passing on to trees which are considered specially sacred, we find a +good example in the Karam (Neuclea parvifolia), which is revered by +the Kharwârs, Mânjhis, and some of the other allied Drâvidian races +of the Vindhyan and Kaimûr ranges. + +In Shâhâbâd, their great festival is the worship of the sacred +tree. "Commenced early in the bright portion of the month Bhâdon +(August--September), it continues for fifteen days. It marks the +gladness with which people wind up their agricultural operations +all over the world. The festivities begin with a fast during the +day. In the evening the young men of the village only proceed in a +gay circle to the forest. A leafy branch of the Karam is selected, +cut, and daubed with red lead and butter. Brought in due state, +it is planted in the yard in front of the house, and is decorated +with wreaths of wild flowers, such as autumn yields to the Hill men +with a bountiful hand. The homely ritual of the Kharwâr then follows, +and is finished with the offering of corn and molasses. The worship +over, the head of the village community serves the men with a suitable +feast. But the great rejoicing of the season is reserved for a later +hour. After dinner the men and women appear in their gala dress, +and range themselves in two opposite rows. The Mândar, or national +drum of the aborigines, is then struck, and the dance commences with +a movement forward, until the men and women draw close. Once face to +face, a gradual movement towards the right is commenced, and the men +and women advance in a slow but merry circle, which takes about an +hour to describe. + +"Under the influence of the example of the Hindus, the practice of +a national dance in which women take a prominent part is already on +the decline. When indulged in, it is done with an amount of privacy, +closed to the public, but open to the members of the race only. It +is difficult, however, to explain why the Karam tree should be so +greatly adored by the Kharwârs. It is an insignificant tree, with +small leaves, which hardly affords shelter or shade, and possesses no +title to be considered superior to others in its native forest. Nor +in the religious belief of the Kharwârs have we been able to trace any +classic tale connected with the growth of the Karam grove, similar to +that of the peaceful olive of old, or aromatic laurel. One important, +though the last incident of the Karam worship is the appearance of +the demon to the Kharwâr village men. Generally at the conclusion of +the dance the demon takes possession of a Kharwâr, who commences to +talk, tremble, and jump, and ultimately climbs up the branch of the +Karam and begins to eat the leaves. Consultation about the fortunes +of the year then takes place, and when the demon has foretold them +the festivities are concluded." [266] + +This account omits two important points which enable us to explain +the meaning of the rite. The first is that when the festivities are +over the branch of the Karam tree is taken and thrown into a stream +or tank. This can hardly, on the analogy of similar practices to +which reference has been already made, be anything but a charm to +produce seasonable rain. Another is that sprigs of barley grown in +a special way, as at the Upper India festival of the Jayî, which +will be discussed later on, are offered to the tree. This must be +an invocation to the deity of the tree to prosper the growth of the +autumn rice, which is just at this time being planted out. + +I have seen the Karama danced by the Mânjhis, a Drâvidian tribe in +Mirzapur, closely allied to the Kharwârs. The people there seem to +affect no secrecy about it, and are quite ready to come and dance +before Europeans for a small gratuity. The men expect to receive a +little native liquor between the acts, but the ladies of the ballet +will accept only a light supper of coarse sugar. The troupe consists +of about a dozen men and the same number of women. The sexes stand +in rows opposite to each other, the women clinging together, each +with her arms clasped round her neighbour's waist. One man carrying +the sacred Mândar drum, beats it and leads the ballet, hopping about +in a curious way on one leg alternately. The two lines advance and +retreat, the women bowing low all the time, with their heads bending +towards the ground, and joining occasionally in the refrain. Most of +the songs are apparently modern, bearing on the adventures of Râma, +Lakshmana, and Sîtâ; some are love songs, many of which are, as might +have been expected, rude and indecent. The whole scene is a curious +picture of genuine aboriginal life. At the regular autumn festival +the ceremony degenerates into regular saturnalia, and is, if common +rumour be trusted, accompanied by an absolute abandonment of decency +and self-respect which culminates in the most unrestrained debauchery. + +The modern explanation of the dance is embodied in a folk-tale which +turns on the verbal confusion between Karam, the name of the tree, +and the Sanskrit Karma, meaning "good works." It is, of course, +comparatively modern, and quite useless as a means for ascertaining +the real basis of the custom, which is probably a means of propitiating +the tree god to grant favourable weather. + + + +The Fig Tree. + +Among the sacred trees the various varieties of the fig hold a +conspicuous place. Many ideas have probably united in securing +reverence for them. Thus the Banyan with its numerous stems may +fitly be regarded as the home of gods or spirits. Others are valued +as a source of food, or because they possess juices valued as drink +or medicine. + +Such is the Umbar, the Udambara of the Sanskrit writers, which is known +as Kshîra Vriksha or "milk tree," and Hemadugha or "golden juiced," +the Ficus glomerata of botanists, from the succulent roots of which +water can be found in times of drought. The juice has, in popular +belief, many valuable properties. A decoction of it is useful for +bile, melancholy, and fainting; it prevents abortion and increases the +mother's milk. [267] According to the old ritual, of its wood is made +the seat of the father god Vivasvat, which is specially worshipped at +the close of the Soma sacrifice; the throne on which Soma is placed +is made of it, and so is the staff given by the Adhvaryu to the +sacrificer at the initiation rite, and the staff of the Vaisya student. + +So with the Pîpal (Ficus religiosa), which is connected with +old temples, as it forces its roots into the crumbling masonry, +grows to a great age, and, like the poplar, moves its leaves at +the slightest breath of wind. The English tradition about the aspen +is that since its wood was used to make the Cross it ever trembles +with shame. The Pippala or Asvattha is said by some to be the abode +of Brahma, and is sometimes invested with the sacred thread by the +regular Upanâyana rite. Others say that in it abide Brahma, Vishnu, +and Siva, but specially Vishnu in his incarnation as Krishna. Others, +again, connect it with Bâsdeo or Vasudeva, the father of Krishna. + +The Vata or Nyagrodha (Ficus Indica) was, according to the ancient +ritual, possessed of many virtues, and the king was directed to drink +its juice instead of that of the Soma. [268] The famous Allahâbâd +fig tree is mentioned in the Râmâyana and in the Uttara Râma +Charitra. Râma, Sîtâ and Lakshmana are said to have rested beneath +its branches. Another legend tells how the Rishi Mârkandeya had the +presumption to ask Nârâyana to show him a specimen of his delusive +power. The god in answer to his prayer drowned the whole world in +a sudden flood, and only the Akshaya Vata or imperishable Banyan +tree raised its head above the waters, with a little child seated +on its topmost bough, that put out its head and saved the terrified +saint just as he was on the point of drowning. The Buddhist pilgrim, +Hwen Thsang, says that in his time before the principal room of the +temple there was a tree with wide-spreading branches, which was said +to be the dwelling of a man-eating demon. The tree was surrounded with +human bones, the remains of pilgrims who had offered themselves at the +temple, a custom which had been observed from time immemorial. General +Cunningham identifies this tree with the Akshaya Vata, which is still +an object of worship. The well-known Banyan tree of Ceylon is said +to be descended from it. [269] + +It was under the Bodhi tree at Gaya that the Buddha obtained +enlightenment. The great sacred Banyan tree of the Himâlaya is said +to have reached from Badarinâth to Nand Prayâg, a distance of eighty +miles. [270] In Bombay women worship the Banyan tree on the fifteenth +of the month of Jeth in honour of Savitrî, the pious wife of Satyavan, +who when her husband was cutting a Banyan tree was struck by the axe +and killed. Yama appeared and claimed her husband, but at last he +was overcome by the devotion of Savitrî and restored her husband to +her. [271] + +Of the Gûlar (Ficus glomerata) it is believed that on the night of +the Divâlî the gods assemble to pluck its flowers; hence no one has +ever seen the tree in blossom. It is unlucky to grow a Gûlar tree +near the house, as it causes the death of sons in the family. + +High-caste Hindu women worship the Pîpal tree in the form of Vasudeva +on the Amâvasya or fifteenth day of the month, when it falls on +Monday. They pour water at its roots, smear the trunk with red lead and +ground sandalwood, and walk round it one hundred and eight times in the +course of the sun, putting at each circuit a copper coin, a sweetmeat, +or a Brâhmanical cord at the root, all of which are the perquisite of +beggars. An old woman then recites the tale of the Râja Nikunjali and +his queen Satyavratî, who won her husband by her devotion to the sacred +tree. Hence devotion to it is supposed to promote wedded happiness. + +In Râjputâna the Pîpal and Banyan are worshipped by women on the 29th +day of Baisâkh (April-May) to preserve them from widowhood. [272] +The Pîpal is invoked at the rite of investiture with the sacred +thread at marriages and at the foundation-laying of houses. Vows are +made under its shade for the boon of male offspring, and pious women +veil their faces when they pass it. Many, as they revolve round it, +twist a string of soft cotton round the trunk. The vessel of water +for the comfort of the departing soul on its way to the land of the +dead is hung from its branches, and beneath it are placed the rough +stones which form the shrine of the village godling. Its wood is +used in parts of the Aranî, or sacred fire-drill, and for the spoons +with which butter is poured on the holy fire. When its branches are +attacked by the lac insect, a branch on which they have settled is +taken to the Ganges at Allahâbâd and consigned to the Ganges. This, +it is believed, saves the tree from further injury. + +The tree should be touched only on Sunday, when Lakshmî, the goddess +of wealth, abides in it; on every other day of the week, poverty and +misfortune take up their quarters in it. The son of a deceased parent +should pour three hundred and sixty brass vessels of water round its +root to ensure the repose of the dead man. Hindus on Sunday after +bathing pour a vessel of water at its root and walk round it four +times. Milk and sugar are sometimes mixed with the water to intensify +the charm. When the new moon falls on Monday, pious Hindus walk one +hundred and eight times round it and wind cotton threads about the +trunk. In rich Hindu families small silver models of the tree answer +the same purpose. When a statement is made on oath, the witness takes +one of the leaves in his hand and invokes the gods above him to crush +him, as he crushes the leaf, if he is guilty of falsehood. + +Though Sir Monier-Williams gives currency to it, it may be suspected +that the story of the Banyas who objected to Pîpal trees being planted +in their bâzâr, as they could not carry on their roguery under the +shade of the holy tree, has been invented for the delectation of +the confiding European tourist. As a matter of fact you will often +see merchants plant the tree in the immediate neighbourhood of their +shops. It is needless to say that this regard for the Pîpal extends +through Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Sumatra, and Java. [273] + + + +The Sâl. + +The Sâl or Sâkhu is also a holy tree. It is held in much respect by +the jungle races, who consider it the abode of spirits and erect their +shrines under its shade. The Bâgdis and Bauris of Bengal are married in +an arbour made of the branches of the Sâl (Shorea robusta) after they +have been first married to a Mahua tree (Bassia latifolia). Patches +of this tree are often reserved as fragments of the primitive jungle, +of which it must have constituted an important part. + + + +The Shîsham. + +The Shîsham or Sîson, the Sinsapa of the Sanskrit writers, is in the +tales of Somadeva the haunt of the Vetâla. [274] + + + +The Jand. + +In the Panjâb the Jand tree (Prosopis spicigera) is very generally +reverenced, more especially in those parts where it forms a chief +feature in the larger flora of the great arid grazing tracts. It +is commonly selected to mark the abode or shelter the shrine of +some deity. It is to it that, as a rule, rags are dedicated as +offerings, and it is employed in the marriage ceremonies of many +tribes. Most Khatris and Brâhmans perform rites to it, especially at +festivals connected with domestic occurrences. A custom prevails in +some families of never putting home-made clothes upon the children, +but of begging them from friends. This is, as we have already seen, +done with the view of avoiding the Evil Eye. The ceremony of putting +on these clothes is usually performed when the child is three years +of age. It is taken to the Jand tree, from which a bough is cut with +a sickle and planted at the root of the tree as a propitiation of the +indwelling spirit. The Swâstika symbol is made before it with the rice, +flour, and sugar brought as an offering to the tree. Nine threads from +the Mauli, or string used by women to tie up their back hair, are then +taken out and cut into lengths, one of which is tied round the tree +with the knot characteristic of Siva or Krishna, and another round a +piece of dried molasses, which is placed on the Swâstika. Mantras or +spells are repeated and the sugar and rice are distributed among the +women and children; for no male adult, except the officiating Brâhman, +attends the ceremony. The Brâhman then dresses the child in the new +clothes, on which he impresses the mark of his hand in saffron, and +girds the child's loins with a hair string, on which is tied the bag +or purse containing the Brâhman's fee. The hair string has in front a +triangular piece of red silk, which, as we have already noticed, is one +of the most familiar forms of amulet intended to repel the influence +of evil spirits. Similarly at marriages, they perform the ceremony of +cutting off and burning a small branch of the tree, and offerings are +made to it by the relations of persons suffering from small-pox. [275] + + + +The Aonla. + +The Aonla (Emblica officinalis) is another sacred tree. It is +considered propitious and chaste, and is worshipped in the month +of Kârttik (December) by Brâhmans being fed under it, hair strings +(mauli) being tied round it, and seven circumambulations made in +the course of the sun. The eleventh of the month Phâlgun (February) +is sacred to it, and on this occasion libations are poured at the +foot of the tree, a string of red or yellow colour is bound round +the trunk, prayers are offered to it for the fruitfulness of women, +animals, and crops, and the ceremony concludes with a reverential +inclination to the sacred tree. [276] + + + +The Mahua. + +The Mahua (Bassia latifolia), which so admirably combines beauty +with utility, and is one of the main sources whence the jungle tribes +derive their food and intoxicants, is held in the highest respect by +the people of the Central Indian Highlands. It is the marriage tree of +the Kurmis, Lohârs, Mahilis, Mundas, and Santâls of Bengal. Many of +the Drâvidian races, such as the Bhuiyas, adore it, and a branch is +placed in the hands of the bride and bridegroom during the marriage +ceremony. They also revolve round a bough of the tree planted in the +ground by the Baiga or aboriginal priest. Some of the semi-Hinduized +Bengal Gonds have the remarkable custom of tying the corpses of adult +males by a cord to the Mahua tree, in an upright position, previous +to burial. It is also the rule with them that all adult males go to +the forest and clear a space round an Âsan tree (Terminalia alata +tormentosa), where they make an altar and present offerings to the +tribal godling, Bara Deo, after which they have a general picnic. [277] + + + +The Cotton Tree. + +The Salmali or Semal (Bombax heptaphyllum) is likewise sacred, an +idea perhaps derived from its weird appearance and the value of its +fibre, which was largely used by the primitive races of the jungle. It +gave its name to one of the seven Dvîpas or great divisions of the +known continent, and to a special hell, in which the wicked are +tortured with the Kûta Salmali, or thorny rod of this tree. In the +folk-tales a hollow cotton tree is the refuge of the heroine. [278] +The posts of the marriage pavilion and stake round which the bride and +bridegroom revolve are very commonly made of its wood among the Kols +and allied Drâvidian tribes, as are also the parrot totem emblems used +at marriages by the Kharwârs and many menial castes. The Bânsphors, +a branch of the great Dom race in the North-Western Provinces, fix +up a branch of the Gûlar and Semal in the marriage shed. "Among the +wild tribes it is considered the favourite seat of gods still more +terrible than those of the Pîpal, because their superintendence +is confined to the neighbourhood, and having their attention less +occupied, they can venture to make a more minute scrutiny into the +conduct of the people immediately around them. The Pîpal is occupied +by one or two of the Hindus triad, the gods of creation, preservation, +and destruction, who have the affairs of the universe to look after, +but the cotton and other trees are occupied by some minor deities, +who are vested with a local superintendence over the affairs of a +district, or perhaps of a single village." [279] + + + +The Nîm. + +The Nimba or Nîm (Azidirachta Indica) is sacred in connection with +the worship of the godlings of disease, who are supposed to reside in +it. In particular it is occupied by Sîtalâ and her six sisters. Hence +during the season when epidemics prevail, from the seventh day of +the waning moon of Chait to the same date in Asârh, that is during +the hot weather, women bathe, dress themselves in fresh clothes, +and offer rice, sandal-wood, flowers, and sometimes a burnt offering +with incense at the root of the tree. + +The Nîm tree is also connected with snake worship, as its leaves +repel snakes. In this it resembles the Yggdrassil of Europe, the +roots of which were half destroyed by the serpents which nestled among +them. The leaves and wood of the ash tree, the modern successor of the +mystic tree of Teutonic mythology, are still regarded throughout all +Northern Europe as a powerful protective from all manner of snakes +and evil worms. [280] In Cornwall no kind of snake is ever found near +the ashen tree, and a branch of it will prevent a snake from coming +near a person. [281] Nîm leaves are, it may be noted, useless as a +snake scarer unless they are fresh. [282] + +The leaves are also used throughout Northern India as a means of +avoiding the death pollution, or rather as a mode of driving off the +spirit which accompanies the mourners from the cremation ground. Hence +after the funeral they chew the leaves and some water is sprinkled +over them with a branch of the tree. "So great is the power of the +Nîm over spirits and spirit disease, that in Bombay, when a woman +is delivered of a child, Nîm leaves and cow's urine are, as a rule, +kept at the entrance of the lying-in room, in order that the child +and its mother may not be affected by an evil spirit, and on their +New Year's Day it is considered essential for every Hindu to worship +the Nîm tree and to eat its leaves mixed with pepper and sugar, that +he may not suffer from any sickness or disease during the year. In +practice very few worship the tree, but its leaves are generally +eaten by most of them. Among the Chitpâwan Brâhmans, a pot filled +with cow's urine is set at the door of the lying-in room with a Nîm +branch in it, and anyone coming in must dip the branch in the urine +and with it sprinkle his feet. Among Govardhan Brâhmans of Pûna, when +a child is born, Nîm leaves are hung at the front and back doors of +the house. In Ahmadnagar, when a person is bitten by a snake, he is +taken to Bhairoba's temple, crushed Nîm leaves mixed with chillies +are given him to eat, and Nîm leaves waved round his head. Among +the Nâmdeo Shimpis of Ahmadnagar each of the mourners carries from +the pyre a twig of the Nîm tree, and the Kanphatas of Cutch get the +cartilage of their ears slit, and in the slit a Nîm stick is stuck, +the wound being cured by a dressing of Nîm oil." [283] + +We have already found this tree connected with Sun worship, as in the +case of the Nimbârak Vaishnavas, as well as with that of Sîtalâ, the +goddess of small-pox. Among the wilder tribes it is also revered. The +Jogis, a criminal tribe in Madras, reverence it and brand their dogs +with a representation of the tree. [284] The Banjâras, or wandering +carriers, use a branch of the tree as a test of continence. The jealous +husband throws it on the ground and says, "If thou be a true woman, +lift that Nîm branch." The Doms, or vagrant sweepers of the Eastern +District of the North-Western Provinces, hold the Nîm tree sacred to +Kâlî or Sîtalâ, and the Kurmis dedicate it to Kâlî Bhavânî, and worship +this tree and the Pîpal under which the image of Devî is placed. [285] + + + +The Cocoanut. + +The cocoanut is considered one of the most sacred fruits, and is called +Srîphala, or the fruit of Srî, the goddess of prosperity. It is the +symbol of fertility, and all through Upper India is kept on shrines +and presented by the priests to women who desire children. One of the +main causes of the respect paid to it seems to be its resemblance to +a human head, and hence it is often used as a type of an actual human +sacrifice. It is also revered for its uses as food and a source of +intoxicating liquor. But it is not a native of Northern India, and +is naturally more revered in its home along the western coast. In +Gujarât and Kanara it represents the house spirit, and is worshipped +as a family god. The Konkan Kunbis put up and worship a cocoanut for +each of their relations who dies, and before beginning to cut the rice, +break a cocoanut and distribute it among the reapers. The Prabhus, at +every place where three roads meet, wave a cocoanut round the face of +the bridegroom, and break it into pieces to repel evil influences. The +Musalmâns of the Dakkhin cut a cocoanut and lime into pieces and throw +them over the head of the bridegroom to scare evil spirits. Among some +classes of ascetics the skull is broken at the time of cremation with +a cocoanut in order to allow the ghost to escape. In Western India, at +the close of the rains, cocoanuts are thrown in to pacify the sea. Its +place as a substitute for a human sacrifice in Northern India seems +to have been taken by the pumpkin, which is used in much the same way. + + + +The Mimosa. + +The Khair, or Mimosa (Acacia catechu) seems to owe most of the +estimation in which it is held to its use in producing the sacred +fire. It forms, on account of its hardness, the base of the Aranî or +sacred fire-drill, and in it the wedge of the softer Pîpal wood works +and fire is produced by friction. The Yûpa or sacrificial post to +which the victim was tied for the sacrifice was often made of this +wood. In the great horse sacrifice of the Râmâyana, twenty-one of +these posts were erected, six made of Vilva (Agle marmelos), six of +Khadira or Acacia, six of Palâsa (Butea frondosa), one of Udumbara +(Ficus glomerata), Sleshmataka (Cordia myxa), and one of Devadru, +the Deodâr pine tree. + +Of the Khair tree Bishop Heber thus writes in his Journal: [286] +"As I returned home I passed a fine tree of the Mimosa, with leaves at +a little distance so much resembling those of the mountain ash, that +I was for a moment deceived, and asked if it did not bear fruit. He +answered, 'No; but it was a very noble tree, being called the "Imperial +tree," for its excellent qualities.' That it slept all night, and was +alive all day, withdrawing its leaves if any one attempted to touch +them. Above all, however, it was useful as a preservative against +magic; a sprig worn in the turban, or suspended over the bed, was a +perfect security against all spells, Evil Eye, etc., insomuch that +the most formidable wizard would not, if he could help it, approach +its shade. One indeed, they said, who was very renowned for his power +(like Lorrinite of Kehama) of killing plants and drying up their sap +with a look, had come to this very tree and gazed upon it intently; +'but,' said the old man, who told me this with an air of triumph, +'look as he might, he could do the tree no harm,' a fact of which I +made no question. I was amused and surprised to find the superstition, +which in England and Scotland attaches to the rowan tree, here applied +to a tree of nearly similar form." + +This superstition regarding the rowan tree and the elder is familiar in +European folk-lore. In Ireland the roots of the elder and those of an +apple tree which bears red apples, boiled together and drunk fasting, +expel evil spirits. In connection with this idea that the mimosa sleeps +at night, pious Hindus prefer not to eat betel leaves after sunset, +as catechu forms part of the ingredients with which they are prepared. + + + +The Plantain. + +The plantain is also sacred, probably on account of the value of +its fruit. The leaves are hung on the marriage booth, and a branch +is placed near the pole or sacred fire round which the bride and +bridegroom revolve. In Madras, when premature delivery takes place, +the child is laid on a plantain leaf smeared with oil, the leaf is +changed daily, and the baby is thus treated for the period which is +less than the normal time of delivery. In Bengal, in consecrating +an image of Durgâ, a plantain tree is brought in and bathed. It is +clothed as a woman with Bel apples representing the breasts; nine +sorts of leaves smeared with red paint are hung round the breast and it +is worshipped. [287] The leaves are also used as a remedy for wounds +and ulcers, a practice which prevailed in the time of Shakespeare. In +"Romeo and Juliet" Benvolio says:-- + + + "Take thou some new infection to thine eye, + And the rank poison of the old will die." + + +To which Romeo answers:-- + + + "Your plantain leaf is excellent for that." + "For what, I pray thee?" + "For your broken skin." + + +In the folk-tales the deserted wife sweeps the ground round a plantain +tree and it gives her a blessing. [288] + + + +The Pomegranate. + +So with the pomegranate, which among the Pârsis of Bombay is held +in high respect. Its twigs were used to make the sacred broom, its +seeds, in order to scare evil spirits, were thrown over the child +when it was girt with the sacred thread, and its juice was squeezed +into the mouth of the dying. [289] In its fruit Anâr Shâhzâdî, the +Princess Pomegranate, commonly lies hidden. But it is in Upper India +considered unlucky to have such a tree in the house, as it is envious +and cannot bear that any one should be lovelier than itself. [290] + + + +The Tamarind. + +The Orâons of Bengal revere the tamarind and bury their dead under +its shade. [291] One special rite among the Drâvidian races is the +Imlî ghontnâ or "the grinding of the tamarind," when the mother of +the bridegroom grinds on the family curry stone some pods of the +tamarind. The tree was a special favourite with the early Musalmân +conquerors, and the finest specimens of it will be found in their +cemeteries and near their original settlements. + + + +The Siras. + +In the Panjâb the leaves of the Siras (Acacia sirisa) are a powerful +charm. In many villages in Upper India they will be seen hung up on the +rope crossing the village cattle path, when epidemics prevail among men +or animals. [292] In this case the effect of the charm is enhanced by +adding to them a tile covered with some hocus-pocus formula, written +by a Faqîr, and rude models of a pair of wooden sandals, a mud rake, +a plough-share and other agricultural implements which are considered +effectual to scare the demon which brings the plague. + + + +The Mango. + +The Mango is used in much the same way. It is, as we shall see, used +in making the aspersion at rural ceremonies. The leaves are hung up at +marriages in garlands on the house door, and on the shed in which the +rite is performed, and after the wedding is over these are carefully +consigned to running water by the bride and bridegroom. It is also used +as a charm. Before you see a flower on a mango tree shut your eyes +and make some one lead you to a tree in flower. Rub the flowers into +your hands, and you thus acquire the power of curing scorpion stings +by moving your hand over the place. But this power lasts only for +one year, and must be renewed when the season of flowers again returns. + + + +The Tulasî. + +The Tulasî or holy basil (Ocymum sanctum) is closely connected with +the worship of Vishnu. At the last census over eleven hundred persons +in the North-Western Provinces recorded themselves as worshippers of +the plant. It is known in Sanskrit as Haripriya, or "the beloved of +Vishnu," and Bhûtaghni, or "destroyer of demons." It seems to owe +the favour with which it is regarded to its aromatic and healing +properties. Vishnu, so runs the legend, was fascinated with the +beauty of Vrindâ, the wife of Jâlandhara, to redeem him from whose +enthralment, the gods applied to Lakshmî, Gaurî, and Swadhâ. Each +gave them seed to sow where Vishnu was enchanted. The seeds given by +the deities sprang up as the Dhâtrî or Emblica Myrobalan, the Mâlatî +or jasmine, and the Tulasî, or basil, and appearing in female form +they attracted the admiration of the deity and saved him from the +wiles of Vrindâ. [293] + +Another legend comes from Bombay. [294] Tulasî was daughter of the +Râja Dharmadhwaja, and by her devotions gained the favour of Vishnu, +but she married the demon Sankhachûda, who by the virtue of his +wife overcame the gods. They appealed to Vishnu, but he could not +help them, as the demon was his votary. At last it was resolved that +he should personate her husband and gain her love. When Tulasî was +aware of the deception she was about to curse him, but he pacified +her by promising to marry her and make her name immortal. He added +that those women who married an image of him to the Tulasî on the +eleventh day of the month Kârttik would prosper. + +The Tulasî is also connected with Sîtâ and Rukminî, and the prayer to +her is: "I adore that Tulasî, in whose roots are all the places of +pilgrimage, in whose centre are all the deities, and in whose upper +branches are all the Vedas." The plant is specially worshipped by +women after bathing, and more particularly at the full moon of Kârttik, +if the bathing be in the Ganges. The chief ceremony is, however, the +marriage of the infant Krishna to the plant, which is carried out by +pious people, often at a considerable cost, in accordance with the +standard ritual. + + + +The Palâsa. + +The Palâsa or Dhâk is sacred, partly on account of its use in +producing the sacred fire, and partly because its orange blossoms +are used to dye the coloured dust and water thrown about at the +Holî festival. It is supposed to be in some way connected with the +Soma, and by one account was produced from the feather of the falcon +imbued with the Soma. Its trifoliate leaves represent the trident, +or the three great gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, or birth, life, +and death. The leaves are used to form the platters employed at various +feasts and religious rites; the wood in the Yûpa, or sacrificial pole, +and in the funeral pyre. + +In one respect it resembles the rowan, which is also a sacred tree, +but why this is so has been much debated. "Possibly the inaccessible +rocks on which the tree is not unfrequently found to grow and the +conspicuous colour of its berries may have counted for something, +but this falls decidedly short of a solution of the question. One +kind of answer that would meet the case, provided it be countenanced +by facts, may be briefly indicated, namely, that the berries of the +rowan were used in some early period in the brewing of an intoxicating +drink, or better still, of the first intoxicating drink known to the +Teuto-Aryan Celts." [295] The connection between the Palâsa and the +Soma perhaps indicates that this may have been the case. It was again +a Vedic custom to drive the cows from their calves by striking them +with a rod of a Palâsa tree. In Yorkshire it used to be the custom for +"farmers to have whip-stocks of rowan tree wood, and it was held that +thus supplied, they were safe against having their draught fixed, +or their horses made restive by a witch. If ever a draught came +to a standstill, then the nearest witchwood tree was resorted to, +and a stick cut to flog the horses on with, to the discomfiture of +the malevolent witch who had caused the stoppage." In some parts of +Scotland the milkmaid carries a switch of the magical rowan to expel +the demon which sometimes enters the cow; and in Germany, striking +the cow with this magical wand is believed to render her fertile. [296] + + + +The Bel. + +The Bel (Aegle marmelos) is specially dedicated to Siva, because +it has three leaflets in the leaf, and because of its medicinal +value. Siva is called Bilvadanda, "he with a staff of the Bel wood," +and its leaves are used in his service. Its leaves laid on the Lingam +cool and refresh the heated deity. The wood is one of those used for +the sacrificial post. Its fruit is called Srîphala, because it is +supposed to have been produced from the milk of the goddess Srî. + + + +The Bamboo. + +The bamboo is sacred on account of its manifold uses and because among +the jungle races fire is produced by the friction of two strips of +bamboo. Besides this it contains a sort of manna, known as Bânslochan +or Tabashîr, which is in high repute as a medicine. The flowering of +the bamboo is generally regarded as a sure sign of famine. The bamboo +often appears in the folk-tales. Thus in one of the tales of Somadeva, +[297] "they asked Sumeru about the origin of the bow, and he said: +'Here is a great and glorious wood of bamboo canes; whatever bamboos +are cut from it and thrown into this lake, become great and wonderful +bows; and those bows have been acquired by several of the gods, and by +Asuras and Gandharvas and distinguished Vidyadhâras.'" In one of the +Santâl tales, [298] the bamboo grows from the grave of the murdered +girl, and remonstrates when the Jogi goes to cut it, but out of a +piece he finally makes a flute of wondrous sweetness. Among the jungle +races the bamboo often is used to make the poles of the marriage shed, +while the central post is made of the wood of the holy Siddh tree, +the Hardwickia binata. + +In Gujarât, [299] the Turis, to keep off evil spirits, lay two slips of +bamboo in the lying-in room. The Prabhus of Pûna at their marriages put +bamboo baskets on the heads of the bride, bridegroom, and guests. The +Mhârs and Mângs make the married pair stand in bamboo baskets. The +Muâsis of Bengal make the wedded pair revolve round a bamboo post. The +Birhors worship Darha in the form of a split bamboo; the Kachâris and +Gâros worship a bamboo planted in the ground; the Râjmahâl hill-man +worships three bamboos with streamers, as Chaunda Gusâîn. [300] The +use of the bamboo decorated with a streamer as a perch for the deity +is common at all low-caste shrines in Northern India. + + + +The Sandal. + +The Sandal, again, in the form of powder or paste is very largely used +in all Hindu rites, and in making the marks characteristic of sect +or caste. "In Bombay, every evening, the Pârsis burn sandal chips in +their houses, as the smell of sandal is supposed to drive away evil +spirits, and the Pûna Ghadsis or musicians say that they are sprung +from sandal wood, because it is one of their tribal guardians. [301]" + + + +The Birch. + +The Bhûrja, a species of birch, is also sacred. It, too, is supposed +to drive away evil spirits. Its bark, now called Bhojpatra, is used +for writing charms, and for other mystic purposes. When a corpse +is burnt by low-caste people, when a person dies at the hands of an +executioner, when he dies on a bed, or when he is drowned and his body +cannot be found, a rite known as Palâsvidhi is performed. An effigy of +the deceased is made, in which twigs of the Palâsa tree represent the +bones, a cocoanut or Bel fruit the head, pearls or cowry shells the +eyes, and a piece of birch bark or the skin of a deer the cuticle. It +is then filled up with Urad pulse instead of flesh and blood, and a +presiding priest recites a spell to bring life into the image, which +is symbolized by putting a lighted lamp close to the head. When the +light goes out, life is believed to be extinct and the funeral rites +are performed in the regular way, the only exception being that the +period of impurity lasts for three, instead of ten days. + + + +Other Sacred Trees. + +The number of these trees and plants which scare evil spirits or are +invested with other mystic qualities is infinite. We may close the +catalogue with the Babûl or Kîkar (Acacia Arabica), which when cut +pours out a reddish juice. One of these trees, when the Musalmâns +tried to cut it near a shrine at Lahore, is said to have poured out +drops of blood as a warning. But on the whole it is an unlucky tree, +and the resort of evil spirits. If you throw water for thirteen days +successively on a Babûl tree, you will get the evil spirits which +inhabit it into your power. They tell of a man who did this near +Sahâranpur, who when taken to his cremation, no sooner was the light +set to his pyre than he got up and walked home, and is alive to this +day. His neighbours naturally look on his proceedings with a certain +degree of suspicion. The ghost of a man burnt with this wood will not +rest quietly, and any one who rests on a bed made of it is afflicted +with evil dreams. An old servant of mine once solemnly remonstrated +against the use of such a bed by his master. Such a bed, he remarked, +should be only used for a clergyman guest, who by virtue of his +profession is naturally protected against such uncanny visitations. + + + +Tree Marriages. + +We now come to discuss the curious custom of marriages to trees. This +prevails widely throughout Northern India. Thus, in some parts of +Kângra, if a betrothed but as yet unmarried girl can succeed in +performing the marriage ceremony with the object of her choice round +a fire made in the jungle with certain wild plants, her betrothal +is annulled, and this informal marriage is recognized. [302] In the +Panjâb a Hindu cannot be legally married a third time. So, if he +wishes to take a third wife, he is married to a Babûl tree (Acacia +Arabica), or to the Akh plant (Asclepia gigantea), first, so that +the wife he subsequently marries is counted as his fourth, and the +evil consequences of marrying a third time are thus avoided. [303] In +Bengal, writes Dr. Buchanan, [304] "Premature marriage is considered +so necessary to Hindu ideas of prosperity, that even the unfortunate +children who are brought up for prostitution are married with all +due ceremony to a plantain tree, before the age when they would be +defiled by remaining single." In the North-Western Provinces, among +some of the higher classes of Brâhmans, if a man happens to lose one +or two wives and is anxious to marry a third, the ceremony of his +third marriage is first gone through with an Akh plant. The family +priest takes the intending bridegroom to the fields where there are Akh +plants and repeats the marriage formula. This is known as Arka Vivâh, +or Akh marriage, and it is believed that the plant itself dies soon +after being married. In Oudh, it is very unlucky to marry a couple if +the ruling stars of the youth form a more powerful combination than +those of the female. The way to get out of the difficulty is to marry +the girl first to a Pîpal tree. In the Panjâb, rich people who have no +children marry a Brâhman to a Tulasî plant. The pseudo-father of the +bride treats the Brâhman ever afterwards as his son-in-law, which, +it is needless to say, is a very good thing for the Brâhman. [305] +If the birth of a child does not follow this ceremony, they have good +reason for apprehending that a messenger from Yama, the god of death, +will harass them on their way to the spirit world. + +In Bombay, among the Kudva Kunbis of Gujarât, when there are certain +difficulties in the marriage of a girl, she is married to a mango or +some other fruit tree. Mr. Campbell [306] accounts for this on the +principle that a spirit fears trees, especially fruit trees. Among +another branch of the same tribe, when a girl is marriageable and a +bridegroom cannot be found, the practice is to substitute a bunch of +flowers, and the marriage ceremony proceeds. Next day, by which time +the flowers have begun to fade, they are thrown into a well, and the +bride of yesterday is considered a widow. As a widow can marry at any +time without social discredit, the parents find a husband for her at +their leisure. [307] + +So in Bengal, the Rautiyas before the wedding go through the form of +marriage to a mango tree. [308] Among the Mundâri Kols, "the bride +and bridegroom are well anointed with turmeric, and wedded, not to +each other, but the bride to a Mahua tree, and the groom to a mango, +or both to mango trees. They are made to touch the tree with red +lead, and then to clasp it, and they are tied to it." [309] Among +the Kurmîs, the bridegroom on the wedding morning is first married +to a mango tree. He embraces the tree, is for a time tied to it in a +peculiar manner with a thread, and he daubs it with red lead. Then +the thread is removed from the tree, and is used to attach some of +the leaves to the bridegroom's wrist. The bride is similarly wedded +to a Mahua tree. [310] + +Similarly in the Himâlayas, if anyone desires to marry a third time, +whether his other wives are alive or not, he is married to the Akh +plant. He builds an altar near the plant, or brings a branch home +and plants it near the altar. The regular marriage ceremony is then +performed, and a thread is wound ten times round the plant with +the recitation of appropriate verses. Four days the plant remains +where it was fixed, and on the fifth day the celebrant is entitled +to commence the marriage ceremony with his third wife. Similarly, +a person is married to an earthen jar, when from some conjunction of +the planets the omens are unfavourable, or when, from some bodily or +mental defect, no one will marry the boy or girl. The usual ceremonies +are gone through, and the neck of the boy or girl is connected by a +string with the neck of the vessel, and water is sprinkled over them +with a brush made of five leaves. [311] + +In Nepâl every Newâr girl is, while a child, married to a Bel fruit, +which, after the ceremony, is thrown into some sacred river. When +she arrives at puberty a husband is selected for her, but should +the marriage prove unpleasant, she can divorce herself by the simple +process of placing a betel-nut under her husband's pillow, and walking +off. Widows are allowed to re-marry; in fact, a Newâr woman is never +a widow, as the Bel fruit to which she first married is supposed to +be always in existence. [312] + +Before considering a possible explanation of this group of customs, +we may note other instances of pseudo-marriages. We have, in the first +place, instances of the marriage of girls to a god. "In the Gurgâon +District, in the Rewâri Tahsîl, at the village of Bâs Doda, a fair +is held on the 26th of Chait and the two following days. I was told +that formerly girls of the Dhînwar class used to be married to the +god at these festivals, and that they always died soon afterwards, +but that of late years the practice has been discontinued." [313] + +Again, we have some traces of the allied custom of compulsory +religious prostitution. It is said that Santâl girls are required +to submit to compulsory prostitution once in their lives at Telkûpi +Ghât. "It is said that the custom originally arose from the killing +of a girl by her parents for incontinence; since when, girls have +been permitted to do as they please, and what was once permissive has +become compulsory." [314] There is no reference to this in Colonel +Dalton's account of the Santâls, and Mr. Beglar's authority is not +quite satisfactory. But on the analogy of similar rites in Babylon, +as described by Herodotus, it is very likely that such a custom once +prevailed. There is some evidence that similar customs once prevailed +at the temple of Jaggannâth and other Indian shrines. + +We have, again, folk-tale references to the same custom in a tradition +of the Vallabhachârya sect of the daughter of a banker, who, by her +devotion to him, won the love of the god Krishna in the form of an +image. Finally the deity revealed himself, and she went with him to +Brindaban and remained with her divine husband till he carried her +off to the heaven of Vishnu. This, however, is hardly perhaps more +than an example of the mystic union of the god with his worshippers, +which forms such a large part of the Vaishnava hagiology, and is +familiar in the tales of Krishna and the Gopîs. + +There is, again, among children in the neighbourhood of Sahâranpur, +a game which may be a survival of some more primitive rite. At the Tîj +festival, which occurs in the rainy season, girls dressed in their +best go to a tank near the city. After dropping offerings into the +water in honour of Khwâja Khizr, they divide into two parties, each of +which selects a leader, one of whom is known as the bride and the other +a bridegroom. The latter is decorated with a paper crown decked with +tinsel. The clothes of the pair are knotted together, and they are made +to walk round a Tulasî plant or a Pîpal tree on the banks of the tank, +in a mock form of the marriage ritual. Meanwhile each party chaffs +the other, saying, "Your bride (or bridegroom) is one-eyed." They +return home with merriment of this kind, and when they come to the +house the knot tied in the garments of the pair is unloosed. + +We have, again, instances of the marriages of, or to animals. In parts +of the Panjâb, if a man have lost two or three wives in succession, +he gets a woman to catch a bird and adopt it as her daughter. He then +marries the bird, and immediately pays over the bride-gift to the +woman that adopted his bird-bride, which he divorces. After this he can +get himself married to another woman, and she will probably live. [315] + +So, there have been many instances of Râjas marrying animals with +the customary rites. Some years ago, one of the Gâekwârs of Baroda +spent a large sum in marrying some favourite pigeons, and a Râja of +Nadiya spent a lâkh of rupees in marrying two monkeys. + +Lastly, there are numerous survivals of what can hardly be anything +else but tree marriage. Among the Bâwariyas, a vagrant tribe in Sirsa, +the bride and bridegroom go outside the village to a Jand tree, which, +as we have seen already, is regarded as sacred, move round it seven +times, and then cut off a branch with an axe. [316] In a Bhîl marriage, +the pair walk round the Salyâra tree, which is placed in the marriage +booth, twelve times. [317] We have a similar custom among most of the +menial tribes. The Kols make the marriage booth of nine bamboo poles, +with a bamboo or a branch of the Siddh tree as the central post. As +the bridegroom smears the parting of the bride's hair with red lead, +he makes a daub of the same substance on the tree. Much the same +custom prevails among all the inferior castes. The worship of trees +at marriage prevails in Madras, where some Râjas worship at their +marriages the fire and the Vahni tree, a twig of which is used as an +arrow at the hunting feast at the Navarâtri or Dasahra. [318] + +On the whole, it seems probable that this custom of pseudo-marriages +may be based on various principles. The popular explanation of the +custom is, as we have seen, that it is intended to avoid the curse +of widowhood, the tree-husband being always alive; the woman, even if +her husband die, can never be a widow, nor can the parents be liable +to the contempt which, according to popular Hindu belief, awaits +those who keep a girl who has reached maturity unmarried. But when +we find the same custom prevailing among races who habitually permit +pre-nuptial infidelity, and among whom every marriageable widow is +either subjected to the levirate or made over to a stranger, it seems +obvious that this cannot be the original explanation of the practice. + +Again, according to Mr. Frazer, who has collected numerous examples +of the custom, "it is difficult to separate from totemism the custom +observed by totem clans in Bengal of marrying the bride and bridegroom +to trees before they are married to each other." [319] + +But the idea that, as we have seen in one of the cases of tree +marriages, the tree itself is supposed to die soon after the ceremony, +seems to point to the fact that the marriage may be intended to divert +to the tree some evil influence, which would otherwise attach to the +wedded pair. We have an instance of a somewhat analogous practice from +Bombay. "Among the Konkan Kunbis, when a woman is in labour and cannot +get a speedy delivery, some gold ornament from her hair is taken to +a Rûî plant (the Dhâk--Callotropis gigantea of Northern India), and +after digging at its roots, one of the roots is taken out, and the +ornament is buried in its stead. The root is then brought home and +put in the hair of the woman in labour. It is supposed that by this +means the woman gets speedy delivery. As soon as she is delivered +of a child, the root is taken from her hair and brought back to the +Rûî plant, and after digging at its root the ornament is taken out +and the root placed in its former place." [320] The idea seems to be +that the evil influence hindering parturition is thus transferred to +the plant. And this may be one explanation of the practice where, as +we have seen, a man is married to a bird, or so on, when his former +wives have died. The bird acts as the scape-animal, and carries the +disease spirit away with it. + +Lastly, we have seen instances in which the wedded pair are made +to clasp the tree or are tied to it in some special way. There +are numerous cases in which women, in order to procure offspring, +clasp an idol, like that of Hanumân and one of the other guardian +deities. The clasping of the tree at marriage may possibly be a sort +of sympathetic magic to bring on the pair the fertility and power of +reproduction, of which vegetable life is the well-known symbol. We +have the same principle of the wedding of the grove to its well, +and every Hindu who goes to the expense of making a tank, does not +drink of its waters until he has married the tank to a plantain or +some other tree growing on its banks. + + + +Tree and Serpent Worship. + +In the story of the king and his son, told in the Baitâl Pachîsi, +the king supplicates the sacred tree to give him a son. The request is +granted, and the king then implores the tree to make his people happy; +the result was that poor wretches, hitherto living in the woods, +came forth and concerted measures to seize his kingdom. Rather than +shed blood, the old king, his queen, and his son retired to a lofty +mountain. There the son finds something white lying under a mimosa +tree. On inquiry he learnt that it is a heap of serpents' bones left +there by Garuda, who comes daily to feed on serpents. On hearing this, +the king goes towards a temple, but is arrested by the cry of a woman, +who says: "My son to-day will be eaten by Garuda." She and her people +were, in fact, serpents in human shape. The king was moved to pity, +and as in the famous legend of Buddha and the tigress, he offered to +expose himself to Garuda in the room of her son. This is discovered; +Garuda releases the king, and at his request re-animates the serpents +to whom the bones belong. [321] + +Here we have an example of the combination of tree and serpent worship, +and it would be easy to adduce more instances, as has been done by +Mr. Ferguson and other writers of his school. But in dealing with +this phase of belief much caution is required. As Dr. Tylor observes: +"Serpent-worship unfortunately fell years ago into the hands of +speculative writers, who mixed it up with occult philosophies, +Druidical mysteries, and that portentous nonsense called the Arkite +symbolism, till now sober students hear the very name of ophiolatry +with a shiver." [322] + +It is almost needless to say that snake-worship prevails largely +in Northern India. The last census showed in the North-Western +Provinces over twenty-five thousand Nâga worshippers; one hundred and +twenty-three persons recorded themselves as votaries of Gûga, the +snake god. There are also a certain number who worship Sânp Deotâ, +or the snake godling, and Ahîran, another deity of the same class, +who is worshipped in Sultânpur by daily offerings of red lead, water, +and rice. Sokha, said to be the ghost of a Brâhman killed by a snake, +has nearly fourteen thousand worshippers. In the Panjâb, again, there +are over thirty-five thousand special votaries of the snake godlings, +of which the great majority worship Gûga. + +That the cultus of the snake has been derived from aboriginal beliefs +appears tolerably certain. The Hindus of Vedic times looked on the +serpent with fear and dislike. It was impersonated as Ahi or Vritra, +the snake demon which brings darkness and drives away the kindly +rain. The regular snake-worship, as we now find it, was obviously of +a later date. + +It does not appear difficult to disentangle the ideas on which +snake-worship is based. To begin with, the snake is dreaded and revered +on account of the mysterious fear which is associated with it, its +stealthy habits, its sinuous motion, the cold fixity of its gaze, +the protrusion of its forked tongue, the suddenness and deadliness +of its attacks. It would be particularly dreaded by women, whose +habits of walking barefoot in fields in the early dawn, and groping +in dark corners of their huts, render them specially exposed to its +malice. The chief basis of the cultus would then be fear, as in the +case of the tiger and other beasts of prey. + +It would soon be discovered that there were various harmless snakes +which would, as house-hunters, come to be identified with the ancestral +ghosts as the protectors of houses and goods. The power of controlling +and taming the more venomous snakes would then be discovered, and the +snake-charmer would come to be regarded as the wisest of mankind, +as a wizard, and finally as a priest. We have thus three aspects +under which the snake is worshipped by many savage races--as a dreaded +enemy, as the protector of home and treasure, as the accompaniment and +attribute of wisdom. The village temple would be often in early times +a storehouse of treasure, and the snake, respected as its guardian, +would finally, as in Kashmîr, be installed there as a god. + +Next, we have the early connection between the serpent and the powers +of nature, the cloud and the rain, as appears in the familiar Vedic +legend of Indra and the Dragon Ahi, and Seshanâga, the great world +serpent, which appears in so many of the primitive mythologies. + +The serpent would again receive respect as the emblem of life; his +shape would, as in many forms of primitive ornament, be associated +with the ring, as a symbol of eternity; he is excessively long-lived, +and periodically renews his life. + +He has, further, as in the Saiva cultus, become associated with +phallicism, and with the sexual powers, as in the Adam legend. "The +serpent round the neck of Siva denotes the endless cycle of recurring +years, and a second necklace of skulls about his person, with numerous +other serpents, symbolizes the eternal revolution of ages and the +successive dissolution and regeneration of the races of mankind." [323] + +Lastly, the cultus may have a totemistic basis. As Strabo describes the +Ophiogeneis or serpent races of Phrygia actually retaining physical +affinity with the snakes to whom they were to be believed to be +allied, the Cheros of the eastern districts of the North-Western +Provinces and the Bais Râjputs of Oudh profess to be descended from +the Great Serpent. Gautama Buddha himself is said to have been of +serpent lineage. + +But the great serpent race was that of the Nâgas, to whom +much ill-considered argument and crude speculation have been +devoted. According to one theory they were Skythic emigrants from +Central Asia, but whether antecedent or subsequent to the so-called +Aryan inroad is disputed. They seem to have been accustomed to use +the serpent as a national symbol, and hence became identified with the +snake. Some of the myths seem to imply that they suffered persecution +at the hands of the Brâhmans, such as the tale of the burning of +the Khândava forest, the opening scenes of the Mahâbhârata, and the +exploits of the youthful Krishna. They are, again, associated with +Buddhism on monuments like those of Ajanta, and another theory would +make them out to be the Dasyus, or aboriginal races of Upper India, +who were the first to adopt Buddhism and were exterminated in the +Brâhmanical revival. Little, in fact, is known of them, save that +they may have been early worshippers of the snake, may have embraced +Buddhism, and may have introduced the worship into India from some +northern home. [324] But Mr. Ferguson's theory that snake-worship +was of purely Turanian origin is, to say the least, very doubtful, +and his belief that Saivism is antagonistic to snake-worship, and +that Vaishnavism, which he regards as a modification of Buddhism, +encourages it, is opposed by the numerous examples of the connection +of the serpent with the Lingam. + + + +Seshanâga. + +Below the seven Pâtâlas, according to the Vishnu Purâna, is Vishnu +incarnated as Seshanâga, and known by the name Ananta, or "Endless." He +has a thousand heads adorned with the mystical Swâstika, and in each +head a jewel to give light. He is accompanied by Varunî, the goddess +of wine (who has nowadays been replaced by Madain, who is venerated by +Chamârs in Oudh), supports the world on his head, holds in one hand +a pestle and in the other a plough, which, as we shall see later on, +connects him with agriculture. + + + +Snake Shrines. + +In various places snakes are provided with special shrines. Thus, in +Garhwâl, Seshanâga is honoured at Pandukeswar; Bhekal Nâg at Ratgâon; +Sangal Nâg at Talor; Bânpa Nâg at Margâon, and many others of the same +kind. [325] In fact, all along the Himâlaya the worship extensively +prevails. Kailang Nâg is the chief Himâlayan godling, and as the +Vedic Ahi controls the clouds, so he gives fine weather. A victim +is killed, and one of his disciples, after drinking the blood, gets +into a state of afflatus. Finally, he gasps out that the sacrifice is +accepted, and falls down in a state of exhaustion. The old shrine to +the serpent deity at Kângra, known as Baghsu Nâg, has been converted +into a Saiva temple under the name of Baghsunâtha, another instance +of the adoption of strange deities into orthodox Hinduism. + +"The Nâg is specially the guardian of cattle and +water-springs. According to the legend, the valleys of Kashmîr and +Nepâl were in some remote period the abode of Nâgas. The milk of a +cow is usually presented to a Nâg, and goats and sheep are usually +sacrificed to him, as to other godlings. So far as I am aware, the only +place in the Himâlaya where the living snake is worshipped is at the +foot of the Rotung pass." [326] The Nepâl serpent king is Karkotaka, +who dwelt in the lake Nâgavâsa, and Siva in the form of Karkotaka +Nâga has a temple at Barha Kotra in the Bânda District. + +In one of the Nepâl temples is a representation of a Nâg Kanyâ, a +serpent maiden or mermaid, sitting on a tortoise. [327] This serpent +maiden constantly appears in Indian folk-lore. Such is Vijayâvatî, +daughter of Gandamâlin, one of the snake kings, who is of surpassing +loveliness, rescues and marries the hero. She is represented by the +Melusina of European folk-lore, and one of her kindred survived to +our own day, to appear as Elsie Venner in one of the finest novels +of this generation. [328] + +Curious as it may appear, all the Kashmîr temples were originally +surrounded by artificial tanks, constructed in order to propitiate the +Nâgas. Ancient stones covered with figures of snakes are occasionally +to be seen worked up into the walls of modern buildings. Abul Fazl +says that in his time there were nearly seven hundred figures of +snake gods existing in Kashmîr. The snake, it is needless to say, +is a common emblem in temples all over the country. An ancient temple +at Bilâspur in the Central Provinces has, as its only image, that of +the cobra. [329] + +Snake-worship appears constantly in history and legend. There is a +passage in Plutarch from which it appears to have been the custom +to sacrifice an old woman (previously condemned to death for some +crime) to the serpent gods by burying her alive on the banks of +the Indus. Ktesias also mentions the worship of snakes, and in the +Buddhist legends snakes are often referred to as the guardian deities +of towns. [330] + +In the folk-tales, Naravâhanadatta worships snakes in a grove sacred to +them, and Bhîmabhatta goes to the temple of the chief of the snakes, +which he finds full of long wreaths of flowers in form like serpents, +and a great lake sacred to Vâsuki, studded with red lotuses, which +seemed like clouds of smoke from the fume of snake poison. [331] + +A curious legend tells how Kadrû and Vinatâ were the two wives of the +patriarch Kasyapa, the former being the mother of the serpent race, +and the other of the birds. A discussion arose between them regarding +the colour of the tails of the horses of the sun, Vinatâ insisting +that they were white and Kadrû that they were black. It was agreed +that whichever of the two was proved to be wrong should serve the +other. So Kadrû contrived to fasten one of her black snakes on to the +back of one of the horses, and Vinatâ, thinking this was the real tail, +accepted defeat; so the snakes rule the birds for ever. + +Nahusha, according to one version of his legend, aspired to the love +of the queen of India when her husband concealed himself because +he had killed a Brâhman. A thousand Rishis bore the litter of the +presumptuous sinner through the air, and when in his pride he touched +Agastya Muni with his foot, the offended sage cursed him, and he became +a serpent. Finally he was pardoned by the intercession of Yudhisthira, +threw off his serpent form, and was raised to the heaven of the gods. + +Near Jait, in the Mathura District, is a tank with the broken statue +of a hooded serpent in it. Once upon a time a Râja married a princess +from a distant land, and wished to bring her home with him. She refused +to come until he announced his lineage. Her husband told her that she +would regret her curiosity, but she persisted. At last he took her to +the river and warned her again, but in vain. Then he told her not to +be alarmed at anything she saw, adding that if she did so, she would +lose him. Saying this, he began to descend slowly into the water, all +the time trying to dissuade her, till the water rose to his neck. Then, +after a last attempt to induce her to abandon her curiosity, he dived +and reappeared in the form of a Nâga, and raising his head over the +water, he said, "This is my lineage. I am a Nâgavansi." His wife could +not suppress an exclamation of grief, on which the Nâga was turned +into stone, where he lies to this day. Here we have another instance +of the consequences of the violation of the curiosity taboo. [332] + +The town of Nigohan in the Lucknow District is said to have been +founded by Raja Nâhuk of the Chandravansi line of kings. Near it is a +large tank, in which the legend says that the Râja, transformed into +a snake for the sin of killing a Brâhman, was compelled to live. Here +at length the Pândava brothers, in their wanderings after their battle +with the Kauravas, came, and as they went to draw water, the serpent +put to each of them five questions touching the vanity of human wishes +and the advantages of absorption from the world. Four out of the five +brethren failed to answer and were dragged under the water, but the +riddle was solved by the fifth. The spell was thus loosed, and the +Râja's deliverer had come. The Pându put his ring round the body of +the serpent, and he was restored to human form. In his gratitude he +performed a great sacrifice, and to this day the cultivators digging +small wells in the centre of the tank in the dry season, come across +the burnt barley, rice, and betel-nuts used in the sacrifices. [333] + +The old Buddhist traveller thus describes the serpent deity in the +temple at Sankisa in the Farrukhâbâd District--"A white-eared dragon is +the patron of this body of the priests. It is he who causes fertilizing +and seasonable showers of rain to fall within their country, and +preserves it from plagues and calamity, and so causes the priesthood +to dwell in security. The priests, in gratitude for these favours, +have erected a dragon chapel, and within it placed a seat for his +accommodation; and, moreover, they make special contributions in the +shape of religious offerings to provide the dragon with food. Towards +the end of each season of rest, the dragon incontinently assumes the +form of a little serpent, both of whose ears are white. The body of +priests, recognizing him, place in the midst for his use a copper +vessel full of cream. The serpent then proceeds to come down from +the highest part of the alcove, all the while moving, as though he +would pay his respects to all those around him. He then suddenly +disappears. He makes his appearance once every year." [334] + +According to Gen. Cunningham, the only spot which can be identified +with any certainty at Sankisa is the tank of the Nâga, which still +exists to the south-east of the ruins. The name of the Nâga is Kârewar, +which appears to mean "the black one," and that of the tank Kandaiya +Tâl. Milk is still offered to him on every day of May, the Nâgpanchamî +festival in August, and at any other time when rain is wanted. [335] + +There are many instances of this control of the Nâga over the +weather. Thus, in Nepâl, when Râja Gunkamdeva committed incest, the +gods in their wrath withheld the rain. Finally the Râja managed to +catch the great Nâga Karkotaka, and the other Nâgas came and worshipped +him and gave him each a likeness of himself drawn with his own blood, +and declared that whenever there was a drought hereafter, plentiful +rain would fall as soon as these pictures were worshipped. + +So, Gorakhnâtha confined the nine Nâgas, and there was a drought until +Matsyendranâtha appeared and released them, on which the clouds gave +rain. [336] + +The plan of propitiating the Nâga with an offering of milk is found +also in the case of the Durham legend of the Lambton worm and the +dragon of Deerhurst in Gloucestershire. [337] + +The sacred dragons of this kind are innumerable. The Buddhist cave +at Pabhosa in the Allahâbâd District was the home of a monster of +this class, who was subdued by Buddha. [338] That in the dragon tank +at Râmagrâma used to assume the form of a Brâhman. [339] Dr. Buchanan +tells of another at Bhâgalpur. "They showed me a hole in a rock opening +into a hollow space close by the path leading up to their village. They +said that this hole was the abode of a very large serpent, which +they considered a kind of god. In cold weather they never saw it, +but in the hot season it was constantly observed lying in the hollow +before its den. The people pass by it without apprehension, thinking +it understands their language, and would on no account injure one of +them, should even a child or a drunken person fall on it." [340] + +But all such snakes are not friendly. In the Hitopadesa, the faithful +mungoose takes the place in the legend of Bethgelert of the hound and +kills the deadly snake. Some reference to this famous folk-tale will be +made in another connection. Aghâsura, "the evil demon," the king of the +serpents, tried to devour the divine infant Krishna. When he and his +foster-father Nanda were asleep together, a huge boa-constrictor laid +hold of Nanda by the toe, and would speedily have devoured him, but +Krishna, hearing his cries, ran to his side and lightly set his foot +on the monster's head. At the very touch the serpent was transformed, +and assumed the figure of a lovely youth; "for years ago a Ganymede +of Heaven's Court, by name Sudarsana, in pride of beauty and exalted +birth, had vexed the holy sage Angiras when in deep contemplation, +by dancing backwards and forwards before him, and by his curses had +been metamorphosed into a snake, in that vile shape to expiate his +offence, until the advent of Krishna." [341] We have already spoken +of another famous Mathura snake, the Nâga of Jait, whose tail is +supposed to reach underground to Brindaban, seven miles away. [342] +The curious dragon cave at Kausambhi at Allahâbâd was one of the last +notable discoveries of the Archæological Survey. [343] + + + +The Snake Gods. + +Besides the sacred Nâgas there are the regular snake gods. The serpent +deity of Benares is Nâgîswar, who is represented by a serpent twining +round the chief idol, and like his kindred rules the weather. The +Nâg Kuân, or dragon well, is one of the oldest shrines in the +city. [344] Târâ is the snake goddess of the Kols, and the Khândhs +call her Târâ Penu, the heavenly "star snake." Vâsuki, the "abider," +now known as Bâsuk Nâg, has many shrines, and in all of them, as at +Dâraganj, near Allahâbâd, described by Sir Monier-Williams, [345] +the priest in charge is always a man of low caste, a fact pointing to +the non-Aryan character of the worship. He forms one of the triad of +the snake gods which rule the snakes of earth and hell, his fellows +being Sesha and Takshaka, "he who cuts off." Vâsuki often appears in +the folk-tales. We find him resisting Garuda, the destroyer of his +subjects. His brother's son Kirtisena is, according to one legend, +a Brâhman, and weds a mortal maiden by the Gandharva form; his eldest +brother Vasunemi presents a benevolent Savara with a magic lute; +Vâsuki himself marries the princess Yasodharâ, and their son is +Priyadarsana. Vâsuki has a thousand ears. Once he served the gods by +becoming the rope which the mount Mandara was whirled round, and the +sea was churned and produced Srî or Lakshmî, goddess of wealth. [346] +The foot of the celebrated iron pillar at Delhi was driven so deep in +order that it might rest on the head of Vâsuki. A Brâhman told the +king that this would secure the stability of his kingdom. The Râja +doubted this, and had the pillar dug up, when its base was found wet +with the blood of the serpent king. Owing to the incredulity of the +Râja it could never again be firmly fixed, and his want of faith led +to the ultimate downfall of his dynasty. The same tale has reached +the Himâlaya, and is told of the foundation of Almora. [347] + + + +The Sinhas. + +Next come the Sinhas, or snake godlings of the Panjâb and the western +parts of the North-Western Provinces. "They are males, and though +they cause fever they are not very malevolent, often taking away +pain. They have got great power over milch cattle, and the milk of the +eleventh day after calving is sacred to them, and libations of milk +(as in the case of the Sankisa dragon) are always acceptable. They are +generally distinguished by some colour, the most commonly worshipped +being Kâlî, 'the black one,' Hari, 'green,' Bhûra, 'grey,' Sinh. But +the diviner will often declare a fever to be caused by some Sinh no +one has ever heard of before, but to whom a shrine must be built. And +so they multiply in a most perplexing manner. Dead men also have a +way of becoming snakes--a fact which is revealed in a dream, when +again a shrine must be built. If a peasant sees a snake he will +salute it, and if it bite him, he or his heirs, as the case may be, +will build a shrine on the spot to prevent the recurrence of such an +occurrence. They are the servants of Vâsuki Nâga, King of Pâtâla, +or Tartarus, and their worship is certainly connected with that of +the Pitris or ancestors, though it is difficult to see exactly in +what the connection lies." [348] + + + +Connection of Snakes with Ancestor-worship. + +The connection is thus explained by Mr. Spencer: "The other self of +the dead relative is supposed to come back occasionally to the old +house; how else is it possible of the survivors sleeping there to +see him in their dreams? Here are creatures which commonly, unlike +wild animals, come into houses; come in, too, secretly at night. The +implication is clear. That snakes which specially do this are the +returned dead, is inferred by people in Asia, Africa, and America; +the haunting of houses being the common trait of the kind of snakes +reverenced and worshipped." [349] The benevolent household snake, +which in the folk-tales assists the hero and protects the family of +which he is the guardian, thus represents the soul of some deceased +ancestor which has taken up its residence there. That the dead do +appear as snakes is familiar in European folk-lore. Thus, for instance, +the pious Æneas saw his father Anchises in the snake which crept from +his tomb. We have already come across the same idea in the case of +the Satî. It was an old European idea that this household snake, if +not conciliated, and when dead buried under the threshold, a sacred +place, prevented conception. [350] + + + +Deified Snake Heroes. + +We have already mentioned the regular snake godling Gûga. With him are +often worshipped his father Jaur or Jewar Sinh, and Arjan and Sarjan, +his twin half-brothers. [351] + +Pîpa, the Brâhman, is another deity of the same class in Râjputâna. He +was in the habit of giving milk to a serpent whose retreat was on +the banks of the Sampu, or Snake Lake. The serpent used in return to +present him daily with two pieces of gold. Being obliged to go away on +business, he gave instructions to his son to continue the offering; +but the youth, deeming it a good opportunity of becoming master of +the treasure, took a stick with him, and when the serpent came forth +for his expected food, he struck him violently. But the snake managed +to retreat into his hole. On his return, the young Brâhman related +his adventures to his mother. She was horrified at the account, and +forthwith made arrangements for sending her son away out of danger. But +in the morning when she went to call him she found to her horror that +her son was dead, and a huge snake lay coiled up beside his body. Pîpa +on his return was inconsolable, but, stifling his thoughts of revenge, +he propitiated the monster with copious libations of milk. The serpent +was appeased, and revealed to Pîpa the treasures which he guarded, +commanding him to erect a monument which should transmit the knowledge +of the event to future ages. Hence Pîpa has become a sort of snake +godling, and the town of Pîpar and the Sampu Lake still by their +names commemorate the legend. [352] + +This famous tale, which was originally founded on a story in the +Panchatantra, has come into European folk-lore through the Gesta +Romanorum, and forms an excellent example of a genuine Indian folk-tale +which has been naturalized in Western lands. [353] The incident of +the animals which produce gold is common both in European and Indian +folk-lore. Even Marabhuti in the tale of Somadeva is able to spit +gold, and every one knows Grimm's pretty tale of the "Three little +men in the wood," in which a piece of gold drops from the mouth of +the good girl every time she speaks. + + + +Snake Treasure Guardians. + +Snakes throughout folk-lore are the guardians of treasure. [354] The +griffins of Scythia guarded the treasures coveted by the Arimaspians; +the dragon watched the golden apples of the Hesperides; in the +Nibelungenlied the dragon Fafnir keeps guard over a vast treasure +of gold, which Sigurd seizes after he has killed the monster. It +is a common Indian belief that when a very rich man dies without +an heir, he cannot take away his thoughts from his treasure, and +returns to guard it in the form of a monstrous serpent. But after a +time he becomes tired of this serpent life, and either in a dream, +or assuming the human voice, he asks the persons living near the +treasure to take it and offer him one of their dearest relatives +in return. When some avaricious person complies with the serpent's +wishes, he gets possession of the wealth, and the serpent then enters +into some other state of existence. Instances of treasure speaking are +not uncommon. Some time ago two old ladies, whose houses were divided +by a wall, formally applied to me to have the wall excavated in the +presence of respectable witnesses, because a treasure-guarding snake +was often heard speaking from inside the wall, and begging some one +to take over the wealth which was in his charge. + +Snake charmers are supposed to have the power of recognizing these +serpent treasure guardians, follow them stealthily to their holes, and +ask them to point out the deposit. This they will do in consideration +of the offering of a drop of blood from the little finger of a +first-born son, [355] an obvious survival of human sacrifice, which +is constantly found connected with the serpent cultus. + +Various suggestions have been made to account for the idea of snakes +guarding treasure. By one theory there is some connection between the +snake and primitive metallurgy; by another, that the snake may have +been the totem of the early jewellers; by a third, that the jewelled +head of the snake is at the bottom of the matter. [356] But it seems +more probable that the idea is based on the conception of the snake +as a haunter of houses and temples, and the divine protector of the +inmates and their wealth. + +Indian folk-lore is full of such stories. In the Dakkhin tale, +Seventee Bâî gets possession of the enormous diamond which the cobra +used to take about in his mouth; and in the Bengal story Faqîr Chand +obtains the serpent's crest-jewel. [357] The same idea appears in +the Arabian Nights. Mr. Forbes tells rather a ghastly tale on this +subject. He personally investigated a mysterious chamber supposed to +contain treasure. Viewed from above it was a gloomy dungeon of great +depth. He desired his men to enter it, but they positively refused, +alleging that "wherever money was concealed, there existed one of +the Genii in the mortal form of a snake to guard it." He at last +prevailed on them to descend by means of ropes. They had not been at +the bottom many seconds, when they called out vehemently that they +were encircled by a large snake. Finally he observed something like +billets of wood, or rather more resembling a ship's cable coiled +up in a dark hole. Then he saw the monster raise his head over an +immense length of body, coiled in volumes on the ground. A large +snake was subsequently destroyed by fire, but no treasure was found, +"the owner having doubtless already removed it." [358] + + + +Powers of Snakes in Folk-lore. + +Manifold are the powers of snakes in folk-lore. He can strike people +dead with his look from a distance, like the "death-darting eye of +cockatrice" in "Romeo and Juliet." He has the power of spitting fire +from his mouth, which destroys his enemies and consumes forests. His +saliva is venomous, and there are many stories of snakes spitting +venom into food. In one of the versions of Bethgelert, the prince, +but for his guardian bird, would have drunk as water the venom of the +black snakes which drips from a tree. In the legends of Râja Rasâlu, +Gûga, and Newal Dâî, the snake has power to kill and restore to life; +it has the faculty of metamorphosis and flying through the air. In one +of the Kashmîr tales, the Brâhman, wishing to get rid of his wife, +gives her a snake in a bag; but when she opens it, it turns into a +beautiful little boy. [359] We have, again, the world-wide story +of the snake rescued by the traveller, which rewards the service +rendered to him by biting his benefactor. When Indra carried off +the nectar, the snakes licked the bed of Kusa grass on which the +vessel lay. The sharp edges of the grass cut them as they licked, +so they have had double tongues ever since. [360] Every Indian rustic +believes in the Domunha or snake with a mouth at both ends, which is, +as might have been expected, most virulent. There are snake women, +like Lamia or Vasudeva, the mystic serpent, who go about at night, +and by day resume their hateful form. The humanity of the serpent +race comes out clearly in the legend of Safîdon, which attributes the +leprosy still found in the Panjâb to the sacrilegious acts of Vâsuki, +the king of the serpents. [361] + + + +Modern Snake-worship. + +Some instances may be given of the form assumed by the worship of +the snake in modern times. + +The great snake festival is the Nâgpanchamî, or "Dragon's fifth," held +on the fifth day of the month of Bhâdon. In the Hills it is called the +Rikhî or Birurî Panchamî. Rikheswara has now become a title of Siva +as lord of the Nâgas, a form in which he is represented as surrounded +by serpents and crowned with the chaplet of hooded snakes. On the day +of the feast the people paint figures of serpents and birds on the +walls of their houses, and seven days before the festival they steep +a mixture of wheat, gram, and pulse in water. On the morning of the +feast they take a wisp of grass, tie it up in the form of a snake, +dip it in the water in which the gram has been steeped, and offer it +with money and sweetmeats to the serpents. [362] + +In Udaypur on this day they strew particular plants about the +thresholds of houses to prevent the entrance of venomous reptiles, and +in Nepâl the day is observed as the anniversary of a great struggle +between a famous Nâga and Garuda, the foe of the serpent race. [363] +In the eastern districts of the North-West Provinces on this day milk +and dried rice are poured into a snake's hole; while doing this they +call out "Snake! snake!" The feeding of snakes on this holiday is done +in much the same way in Bombay. [364] After the Diwâlî in Kângra, +a festival is held to bid good-bye to the snakes, at which an image +of the Nâga made of cowdung is worshipped. If a snake be seen after +this it is called "ungrateful," and immediately killed. [365] + +In the North-Western Provinces the usual custom is for the head of the +family to bathe on the morning of the feast, to paint on the wall of +his sleeping-room two rude representations of serpents, and to make +offerings to Brâhmans. On this day people pray to what Dr. Buchanan +calls "the chief eight dragons of the pit," [366] girls throw some +playthings into the water, and labourers take a holiday and worship +the tools of their craft. + +In Behâr during the month of Sâwan (August) crowds of women calling +themselves Nâgin, or "wives of the snake," go about begging for two +and a half days, during which period they neither sleep under a roof +nor eat salt. Half the proceeds of the begging are given to Brâhmans, +and the other half invested in salt and sweetmeats, which are eaten +by all the people of the village. [367] + +In Garhwâl, the ground is freely smeared with cowdung and mud, +and figures of five, seven, or nine serpents are rudely drawn with +sandal-wood powder or tumeric; rice, beans, or peas are parched; lamps +are lighted and waved before them; incense is burnt and food and fruit +offered. These observances take place both morning and evening, and the +night is spent in listening to stories in praises of the Nâga. [368] + +In parts of the North-Western Provinces, with the usual Nâgpanchamî, +is performed what is known as the Guruî festival. On that day +offerings are made by women to the Dragon godling Nâg Deotâ. Girls +let dolls float in the water of some convenient river or tank, and +the village lads beat the dolls with long switches specially cut +for the purpose. The legend of this rite is thus told. When Râja +Janamejâya held the Sarpa Sattra or snake rite in order to destroy +Takshaka, the king of the serpents, all the snakes were captured by +spells and killed. But Takshaka escaped and was found to have taken +refuge with Indra, on whose throne he seated himself in the shape of +a mosquito. Indra was ordered to produce the fugitive, and begged the +life of Takshaka, which was granted on condition that he was banished +from the land. So the snake king took the shape of a Brâhman lad +and retired to the Caucasus. There he settled and married, but he +foolishly told the story to his wife, and she being unable to keep +the secret, it finally reached the ears of Janamejâya, who sentenced +him to death. Takshaka then retorted by ordering Janamejâya to cause +everyone in his dominions to kill his wife as a revenge for his own +wife's treachery. Janamejâya was unwilling to issue such a cruel +order, so he consulted the Brâhmans. Finally, it was proclaimed +that on the Nâgpanchamî, every woman, to prove her devotion to her +husband, should make a doll and offer it up as a vicarious sacrifice +for herself. It would seem that the rite is the survival of some rite +of human sacrifice in connection with snake-worship. + +The Agarwâla Banyas, who say that they are descended from Râja Vâsuki, +have a special rite in honour of Astika Muni, who is said to have been +the instructor of Vâsuki. They bathe and make marks representing the +snake on the walls of the house, which they worship, feed Brâhmans, and +do the Ârtî or lamp rite. Each woman takes home with her some of the +sesamum offered to the snake, which they sprinkle with the recitation +of a spell in their houses as a means of driving away venomous snakes. + + + +Cure of Snake-bite. + +In Hoshangâbâd there were once two brothers, Râjawa and Soral; the +ghost of the former cures snake-bite, and that of the latter cattle +murrain. The moment a man is bitten, he must tie a string or a strip +of his dress and fasten it round his neck, crying, "Mercy! O God +Râjawa!" To call on Ghori Bâdshâh, the Delhi Emperor, who conquered +the country, or Râmjî Dâs Bâba will do as well. At the same time +he makes a vow to give so much to the god if he recovers. When he +gets home they use various tests to ascertain if the poison is in +him still. They take him in and out over the threshold, and light +a lamp before him, acts which are supposed to have the effect of +developing latent poison. They then give him salt and leaves of +the bitter Nîm tree. If he can take them he is safe. These are all, +as we have already seen, scarers of evil spirits, in this case the +snake demon. If he cannot take them, the whole village goes out and +cries to Râjawa Deo until he recovers. No one (Sir C. A. Elliott's +informant told him) had been ever known to die of a snake-bite after +this treatment. But the god has no power over the dreaded Biscobra, +which takes its name from the Hindi Bishkhâpra, Sanskrit Vishakharpara, +or "poison-headed," which is said to be so deadly that its very breath +is venomous, one of the numerous popular delusions out of which it +is hopeless to argue the rustic. The bitten man must not untie the +string round his neck till the day when he goes to offer what he vows, +which should be, at latest, on the next Dasahra; but if he attempts +to cheat the god by offering ever so little less than he promised, +he will die on the spot in agonies. [369] + +All through Upper India the stock remedy for snake-bite is the exorcism +of the Ojha or sorcerer, a performance known as Jhâr Phûnk, consisting +of a series of passes, massage, and incantations, which are supposed +to disperse the venom. Many, too, have faith in the so-called "Snake +stone," which seems to be usually a piece of bone soaked in blood +and repeatedly baked. This is supposed to have absorbent properties +and to draw the venom out of the wound. It probably works by faith, +and is as effective as the Achates or Agate of which Pliny writes: +"People are persuaded that it availeth much against the venomous +spiders and scorpions, which property I could very well believe to +be in the Sicilian Agate, for that so soon as serpents come within +the air and breath of the said province of Sicily, as venomous as +they be otherwise, they die thereupon." [370] + + + +The Snake in Folk-lore. + +The references to the snake in folk-lore and popular belief are +so numerous that only a few examples can be given. The Dhâman +(Ptyas mucosus), a quite harmless snake, is said in Bombay to give +a fatal bite on Sundays, and to kill cattle by crawling under them, +or putting its tail up their nostrils. Its shadow is also considered +malignant. It is believed to suck the milk of cattle, and that if a +buffalo is looked on by it, it immediately dies. Of the Ghonas snake +it is believed that it bites only at night, and at whatever hour of +the night the victim is bitten, he dies just before daybreak. [371] + +About these snake stones some curious tales are told. By one account, +when a goat kills a snake, it eats it and then ruminates, after which +it spits out a bead, which, when applied to a snake-bite, absorbs the +poison and swells. If it be put into milk, and squeezed, the poison +drips out of it like blood, and the bitten person is cured. If it be +not put in milk it will burst in pieces. By another account, in the +pouch-like appendages of the older Adjutant birds (Leptoptilos Argala) +the fang of a snake is sometimes found. This, if rubbed over the place +where a poisonous snake has bitten a man, is supposed to prevent the +venom spreading to the vital parts of the body. Others say that it is +found within the head of the Adjutant, and that it is only necessary +to rub it to the bitten place and put it into milk, when it becomes +black through the venom. What was known as the Ovum Anguinum of the +Britons is said to have been a bead which assists children to cut +their teeth and cures the chincough and the ague. Mr. Campbell [372] +says he once possessed one of these "snake's eggs," which was a blue +and white glass bead and supposed to be a charm used by the women of +the prehistoric races. + +A very common incident in the folk-tales is that the heroine is beset +by snakes which come out of her nose or mouth at night and kill her +newly-wedded husband, as the evil spirit kills the husband of Sara +in the marriage chamber, until the hero lies awake and succeeds in +destroying them. + +Another power snakes possess is that of identifying the rightful heirs +of kingdoms, and, as in the case of Drona, who found the Ahîr Adirâja +sleeping in the shade of the hood of a cobra, announce that he is born +to rule. [373] So in the mythology the Nâga king Machalinda spreads +his hood over the Buddha to protect him from the rain and flies. [374] +Many of these Nâgas indeed are friendly, as in the case of the Banjâra, +who, in order to avoid octroi duty, declared his valuable goods to be +Glauber salts, and Glauber salts they became until they were restored +to their original condition by the intercession of the kindly Nâga of +the Gundwa tank. [375] In one of Somadeva's tales the friendly snake +clings round the Râja till he promises to release the Bodhisattwa +out of prison. + + + +Snakes and Euphemism. + +Snakes should, of course, be addressed euphemistically as "Maternal +uncle," or "Rope," and if a snake bites you, you should never mention +its name, but say, "A rope has touched me." The Mirzapur Kharwârs +tell of a man who once came on a Nâgin laying her eggs. When she +saw him she fell at his feet and asked him to throw the eggs in a +water-hole. So he took up the eggs on a bamboo sieve and went with her +to the brink. The Nâgin plunged in and said, "Do not be afraid! Come +on!" He followed her, the waters dried up, and he came to the palace +of the Nâg, who entertained him royally, and offered to give him +anything he wished. The boor asked only for a pan, pot, and spoon, +which the Nâga gave him, and he came home to find his relations doing +the death ceremonies in his honour, believing he had been carried +off by a tiger. He said nothing of his adventures till the day of +his death, when he told the story. So the Nâga in other tales of the +same class blesses and rewards the lucky man who has delivered the +young snake from his persecutors who caught him while in the upper +air. So in the Arabian Nights, the relations of Jullanar of the sea +show their gratitude to the king who is kind to her on earth. + +On the basis of the same idea which has been already referred to +in the case of the Churel, it is believed that if the shadow of a +pregnant woman fall on a snake it becomes blind. [376] + + + +The Snake Jewel. + +The snake, like the "toad ugly and venomous," wears on his head +the Mani or precious jewel, which is a stock subject in Indian +folk-tales. Thus, in one of Somadeva's stories, "when Nala heard this, +he looked round, and beheld a snake coiled up near the fire, having +his head encircled with the rays of the jewels of his crest." [377] +It is sometimes metamorphosed into a beautiful youth; it equals the +treasure of seven kings; it can be hidden or secured only by cowdung +or horsedung being thrown over it; and if it is acquired the serpent +dies. It lights the hero on his way to the palace under the sea where +is the silver jewelled tree; or it is possessed by the sleeping beauty, +who cannot return to her home beneath the waters, and loses the hero +until it is recovered. Its presence acts as an amulet against evil, +and secures the attainment of every wish. It protects the owner from +drowning, the waters parting on each side of him, and allowing him +to pass over rivers dry-shod. [378] + + + +The Rainbow and the Snake. + +So the rainbow is connected with the snake, being the fume of a +gigantic serpent blown up from underground. In Persia it was called +the "celestial serpent." We have already seen that the Milky Way is +regarded as the path of the Nâgas in the sky. It is possibly under +the influence of the association of the snake, a treasure guardian, +that the English children run to find where the rainbow meets the +earth, and expect to find a crock of gold buried at its base. [379] + + + +The Household Snake. + +The belief in the influence of the guardian domestic or national snake +is universal. When the Persians invaded Athens the people would not +leave the city till they learned that the guardian snake had refused +its food and abandoned the citadel. A snake at Lanuvium and at Epirus +resided in a grove and was waited on by a virgin priestess, who entered +naked and fed it once a year, when by its acceptance or refusal of +the offering, the prospects of the harvest were ascertained. The +Teutons and Celts had also their sacred guardian snake. + +In the Panjâb Hills, every householder keeps an image of the +Nâga or harmless snake, as contrasted with the Sânp, which is +venomous. This snake is put in charge of the householder's homestead, +and is held responsible that no cobra or dangerous serpent enters +it. It is supposed to have the power of driving all cobras out of +the place. Should rain drive the house snake out of his hole, he is +worshipped. No image of a cobra or other venomous snake is ever made +for purposes of worship. Ant-hills are believed to be the homes of +snakes, and there the people offer sugar, rice, and millet for forty +days. [380] These correspond to the benevolent domestic snakes, of +whom Aubrey says that "the Bramens have them in great veneration; +they keep their corne. I think it is Tavernier mentions it." [381] + +They are, in fact, as we have already seen, the representatives of +the benevolent ancestral ghosts. Hence the deep-rooted prejudice +against killing the snake, which is both guardian and god. "If," +says Mr. Lang, [382] "the serpent were the deity of an earlier race, +we could understand the prejudice against killing it, as shown in the +Apollo legend." The evidence accumulated in this chapter will perhaps +go some way to settle this question, as far as India is concerned. + + + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +TOTEMISM AND FETISHISM. + + + Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum, + Cum faber incertus scamnum faceretne Priapum, + Maluit esse deum. + + Horace, Sat. I. viii. 1-3. + + +"A totem is a class of material objects, which a savage regards with +superstitious respect, believing that there exists between them +and every member of the class an intimate and altogether special +relation." [383] As distinguished from a fetish, a totem is never +an isolated individual, but always a class of objects, generally +a class of animals or plants, rarely a class of inanimate objects, +very rarely a class of artificial objects. + + + +Origin of Totemism. + +As regards the origin of totemism great diversity of opinion +exists. Mr. Herbert Spencer considers that "it arose from a +misinterpretation of nicknames; savages first took their names from +natural objects, and then confusing these objects with their ancestors +of the same name, paid the same respect to the material totem as +they were in the habit of doing to their own ancestors." [384] The +objection to this is, as Mr. Frazer shows, that it attributes to +verbal misunderstandings far more influence than, in spite of the +comparative mythologists, they ever seem to have exercised. + +Sir J. Lubbock derives the idea from the practice of naming persons +and families after animals, but "in dropping the intermediate links +of ancestor-worship and verbal misunderstanding, he has stripped the +theory of all that lent it even an air of plausibility." [385] + +Recent inquiries in the course of the Ethnographical Survey of Bengal +and the North-Western Provinces enable us perhaps to approach to a +solution of the problem. + +To begin with, at a certain stage of culture the idea of the connection +between men and animals is exceedingly vivid, and reacts powerfully +on current beliefs. The animal or plant is supposed to have a soul +or spirit, like that of a human being, and this soul or spirit is +capable of transfer to the man or animal and vice versâ. This feeling +comes out strongly in popular folk-lore, much of which is made up of +instances of metamorphosis such as these. The witch or sorcerer is +always changing into a tiger, a monkey, or a fish; the princess is +always appearing out of the aubergine or pomegranate. + +We have, again, the familiar theory to which reference has already +been made, that the demon or magician has an external soul, which he +keeps occasionally in the Life Index, which is often a bird, a tree, +and an animal. If this life index can be seized and destroyed, the +life of the monster is lost with it. + +These principles, which are thoroughly congenial to the beliefs of all +primitive races, naturally suggest a much closer union between man and +other forms of animal or vegetable life than people of a higher stage +of development either accept or admit. With people, then, at this +stage of culture, the theory that the ancestor of the clan may have +been a bear or a tortoise would present no features of improbability. + +This theory accounts, as Mr. Frazer shows, for many of the obscure +rites of initiation which prevail among most savage tribes and in a +modified form among the Brâhmanized Hindus. The basis of such rites +is probably to extract the soul of the youth and temporarily transfer +it to the totem, from which in turn fresh life is infused into him. + +Lastly, the result of the Indian evidence is that it is only in +connection with the rules of exogamy that totemism at the present +day displays any considerable degree of vitality. The real basis of +exogamy in Northern India seems to be the totem sept, which, however, +flourishes at the present day only among the Drâvidian tribes and those +allied to them. But it would, it is almost certain, be incorrect to say +that while totemism is at present most active among the Drâvidians, +in connection with marriage, it was peculiar to them. It is more +reasonable to infer that it continues to flourish among these races, +because of their isolation from Brâhmanical influence. As among the +inferior races of the Gangetic valley, the primitive family customs +connected with marriage, birth, and death have undergone a process +of denudation from their connection with the more advanced Hindu +races which surround them, so to a large degree in Northern India, +the totemistic sept names have been gradually shed off, and replaced +by an eponymous, local, or territorial nomenclature. In short, under +the pressure of higher culture, the kindred of the swan, turtle, or +parrot have preferred to call themselves Kanaujiya or "men of Kanauj," +Sarwariya or "residents of the land beyond the Sarju river," and +Raghuvansa or Bhriguvansa, "descendants of the sages Raghu or Bhrigu." + +We find, then, among such races, as might have been expected, that +at the present day the totemistic sept system exists only in obscure +and not easily recognizable forms. Folk etymology has also exercised +considerable influence, and a sept ashamed of its totemistic title +readily adopts some title of the eponymous type, or a local cognomen +sounding something like the name of the primitive totem. It is perhaps +too much to expect that a careful exploration of the sept titles or +tribal customs of Northern India will lead to extensive discoveries of +the primitive totemistic organization. The process of trituration which +has affected the caste nomenclature for such a lengthened period, and +the obscuration of primitive belief by association with more cultured +tribes, have been so continuous as to leave only a few fragments and +isolated survivals; but it is by a course of such inquiry that the +totemistic basis of the existing caste system can alone be reached. + +I have considered this question in the light of the most recent +evidence in another place, [386] and it is needless to repeat the +results which were there arrived at. + +For the purpose of such an investigation it is convenient to have +some sort of working classification of the tests of, and the forms +in which, totemism usually appears. These have been laid down by the +late Professor Robertson-Smith as follows:-- + +(a) The existence of stocks named after plants, animals, or similar +totems. + +(b) The prevalence of a conception that the members of the stock +are of the blood of the eponym, or are sprung from a plant, etc., +of the species chosen as the totem. + +(c) The ascription of a sacred character to the totem. + + + +Stocks Named from Animals, Plants, etc. + +First as to the stocks named from animals, plants, etc. There are +two divisions of the Pûra Brâhmans of the Dakkhin, known as Bakriyâr +and Chheriyâr, founded on the names of the male and female goat. In +Upper India, the Kâchhis or market gardeners, and the Kachhwâha sept +of Râjputs allege that they take their names from the Kachchhapa or +tortoise, as the Kurmis refer their name to the Kûrma or turtle. The +Ahban Râjputs and the Ahiwâsis of Mathura connect their names with +Ahi, the dragon. The Kalhans Râjputs derive their name from the +Kâlahans or black goose. Among Brâhmans and other high castes, +Bhâradvaja, "the lark, the bringer of food," has given its name +to many sections. Mr. Risley thinks that the fact of there being a +Kasyapa division of Kumhârs or potters, who venerate the tortoise, +points to the name being a corruption of Kachchhapa, the tortoise, +in which case their name would have the same origin as that of the +Kâchhis already mentioned. + +Many people, again, claim kindred with the sun and moon. Such are the +Natchez of North America and the Incas of Peru. [387] There are many +children of the sun and moon in Arabia, [388] and gypsies of the east +of Europe have a legend that they are descended from the sun and moon; +the sun having debauched his moon sister, was condemned to wander for +ever, in consequence of which their descendants can never rest. [389] +So in India, the Sûrajbansi and Chandrabansi Râjputs are said to take +their names from Sûraj, the sun, and Chandra, the moon, respectively. + +According to Captain J. Montgomerie, [390] round Kashmîr, and among +the aboriginal tribes of the Himâlayan slopes, men are usually named +after animals, as the Bakhtiyâris, one of the nomad tribes of Persia, +name their children usually not after the Prophet, but after wild +animals, such as the wolf, tiger, and the like, adding some descriptive +epithet. In the same way a tribe of Lodi Pathâns in the Panjâb are +known as Nâhar or "wolf." This is said to be due to their rapacity, +and may be as likely a nickname as a survival of totemism. [391] + + + +Totem Names among the Drâvidians. + +The evidence of this point is, as has been already said, much +more distinct among the Drâvidians than among the more Hinduized +races. Details of such names among the Agariyas, Nats, Baiswârs, and +Ghasiyas have been given in detail elsewhere. [392] Thus, to take +the Dhângars, a caste in Mirzapur, allied to the Orâons of Bengal, +we find that they have eight exogamous septs, all or most of which +are of totemistic origin. Thus, Ilha is said to mean a kind of fish, +which members of this sept do not eat; Kujur is a kind of jungle herb +which this sept does not use; Tirik is probably the Tirki or bull sept +of the Orâons. In Chota Nâgpur, members of this sept do not touch any +cattle after their eyes are open. It illustrates the uncertainty of +these usages that in other places they say that the word Tirki means +"young mice," which they are prohibited from using. [393] Again, +the Mirzapur sept of the Dhângars, known as Lakara, is apparently +identical with that called Lakrar among the Bengal Orâons, who must not +eat tiger's flesh as they are named after the tiger; in Mirzapur they +derive their name from the Lakar Bagha, or hyæna, which they will not +hunt or kill. The Bara sept is apparently the same as the Barar of the +Orâons, who will not eat the leaves of the Bar tree or Ficus Indica. In +Mirzapur they will not cut this tree. The Ekka sept in Mirzapur say +that this name means "leopard," an animal which they will not kill, +but in Chota Nâgpur the same word is said to mean "tortoise" and to +be a totemistic sept of the Orâons. So, the Mirzapur Dhângars have +a Tiga sept, which they say takes its name from a jungle root which +is prohibited to them; but the Orâons of Bhâgalpur have a Tig sept, +which, according to them, means "monkey." The last of the Mirzapur +septs is the Khâha, which, like the Khakkar sept of the Orâons, means +"crow," and neither will eat the bird. Similar instances might be +almost indefinitely repeated from usages of the allied tribes in +Mirzapur and the adjoining Bengal Districts. + + + +The Panjâb Snake Tribe. + +In the Panjâb there is a special snake tribe. They observe every +Monday and Thursday in the snake's honour, cooking rice and milk, +setting a portion aside for the snake, and never eating or making +butter on those days. If they find a dead snake, they put clothes +upon it, and give it a regular funeral. They will not kill a snake, +and say that its bite is harmless to them. The snake, they say, changes +its form every hundred years, and then becomes a man or a bull. [394] +So, in Senegambia, "a python is expected to visit every child of the +Python clan within eight days after birth; and the Psylli, a snake +clan of ancient Africa, used to expose their infants to snakes in +the belief that the snakes would not harm true-born children of the +clan." [395] So, in Northern India the Bais Râjputs are children of +the snake, and supposed to be safe from its bite, and Nâga Râja is +the tribal godling of the Bâjgis. There is a well-known legend of a +queen of India, who is said to have sent to Alexander, among other +costly presents, a girl, who, having been fed with serpents from her +infancy, partook of their venomous nature. The well-known tale of +Elsie Venner has been already referred to in the same connection. + + + +Totemism in Proper Names. + +The subject of Indian proper names has not yet received the attention +it deserves. The only attempt to investigate the subject, so far, +is that of Major Temple. [396] In his copious lists there is ample +evidence that names are freely adopted from those of animals, plants, +etc. Thus we have Bagha, "Tiger"; Bheriya, "Wolf"; Billa, "Cat"; +Chûha, "Rat," and so on from animals; Bagla, "Heron"; Tota, "Parrot," +and so on from birds; Ajgar, "Python"; Mendak, "Frog"; Kachhua, +"Tortoise;"; Bhaunra, "Bumble Bee"; Ghun, "Weevil"; Dîmak, "White +Ant," etc. From plants come Bûta, "Tree"; Harabansa, "Green Bamboo" +(or more probably Hari-vansa, "the genealogy of Hari" or Vishnu); Nîma, +"Nîm tree"; Pîpal, "Pîpal tree"; Gulâba, "Rose"; Imliya, "Tamarind"; +Sewa, "Apple"; Ilâcha, "Cardamum"; Mirchi, "Pepper"; Bhutta, "Maize." + +The evidence of nomenclature must, of course, be received with +caution. The essence of totemism is a confessed belief in animal +descent, a name declaring that descent and some sacredness attached +to the animal or other fancied ancestor. Many of these names may be +nicknames, or titles of opprobrium selected, as we have already shown, +to baffle the Evil Eye or the influence of demons. Besides, as has been +pointed out, it does not necessarily follow because an Englishman lives +in "Acacia Villa" or "Laburnum Cottage," and calls his daughter "Rose" +or "Violet," that he is in the totemistic stage. At the same time, +it is quite possible that further inquiry will discover undoubted +instances of totemism in the nomenclature of Northern India, as is +the case with other races in a similar stage of culture. + + + +Descent from the Totem. + +We next come to Professor Robertson-Smith's second test, the belief +in descent from the totem. This branch of the subject has been very +fully illustrated by Mr. Frazer. [397] As in old times in Georgiana, +according to Marco Polo, all the king's sons were born with an +eagle on the right shoulder marking their royal origin, [398] so +Chandragupta, king of Ujjain, was the son of a scorpion. "His mother +accidentally imbibed the scorpion's emission, by means of which she +conceived." [399] The Jaitwas of Râjputâna trace their descent from +the monkey god Hanumân, and confirm it by alleging that the spine +of their princes is elongated like a tail. In the Râmâyana, one of +the wives of King Sâgara gives birth to a son who continues the race; +the other wife produces an Ikshvâku, a gourd or cane containing sixty +thousand sons. The famous Chandragupta was miraculously preserved by +the founder of his race, the bull Chando. [400] The wolf is in the +same way traditionally connected with the settlement of the Janwâr +Râjputs in Oudh, and they believe that the animal never preys on their +children. Every native believes that children are reared in the dens +of wolves, and there is a certain amount of respectable evidence in +support of the belief. [401] + +Similar examples are numerous among the Drâvidian tribes. The Cheros +of the Vindhyan plateau claim descent from the Nâga or dragon. The +Râja and chief members of the Chota Nâgpur family wear turbans so +arranged as to make the head-dress resemble a serpent coiled round +the skull, with its head projecting over the wearer's brow. The seal +of the Mahârâja and the arms of his family show as a crest a cobra +with a human face under its expanded hood, surrounded with all the +insignia of royalty. The Santâl legend ascribes the origin of the +tribe to the wild goose, and similar stories are told by the family +of the Râja of Sinhbhûm, the Hos, the Malers, and the Kûrs. [402] + + + +Special Respect Paid to the Totem. + +Next come instances of special respect paid to the totem. Some idea +of the kind may be partly the origin of the worship of the cow and +the serpent. Dr. Ball describes how some Khândhs refused to carry the +skin of a leopard because it was their totem. [403] The Kadanballis of +Kanara will not eat the Sâmbhar stag, the Bargaballis the Barga deer, +and the Kuntiballis the woodcock. The Vaydas of Cutch worship the +monkey god whom they consider to be their ancestor, and to please him +in their marriage ceremony, the bridegroom goes to the bride's house +dressed up as a monkey and there leaps about in monkey fashion. [404] +It is possibly from regard to the totem that the Parihâr Râjputs of +Râjputâna will not eat the wild boar, but they have now invented a +legend that one of their princes went into a river while pursuing a +boar and was cured of a loathsome disease. [405] There is a Celtic +legend in which a child is turned into a pig, and Gessa is laid +on Diarmid not to kill a pig, as it has the same span of life as +himself. [406] + +The Bengal Bâwariyas take the heron as their emblem, and must not eat +it. [407] The Orissa Kumhârs abstain from eating, and even worship +the Sâl fish, because the rings on its scales resemble the wheel +which is the symbol of their craft. [408] The peacock is a totem +of the Jâts and of the Khândhs, as the Yizidis worship the Tâous, +a half mythical peacock, which has been connected with the Phoenix +which Herodotus saw in Egypt. [409] The Parhaiyas have a tradition +that their tribe used to hold sheep and deer sacred, and used the +dung of these animals instead of cowdung to plaster their floors. So +the Kariyas do not eat the flesh of sheep, and may not even use a +woollen rug. The same prohibition of meats appears to be a survival +of totemism in Arabia. [410] + + + +The Devak. + +One of the best illustrations of this form of totemism is that of the +Devak or family guardian gods of Berâr and Bombay. Before concluding +an alliance, the Kunbi and other Berâr tribes look to the Devak, +which literally means the deity worshipped at marriage ceremonies; +the fact being that certain families hold in honour particular trees +and plants, and at the marriage ceremony branches of these trees are +set up in the house. It is said that a betrothal, in every other +respect irreproachable, will be broken off if the two houses are +discovered to pay honour to the same tree, in other words if they +worship the same family totem and hence must belong to one and the +same endogamous group. [411] + +The same custom prevails in Bombay. "The usual Devaks are some +animals, like the elephant, stag, deer, or cock, or some tree, as +the Jambul, Ber, Mango, or Banyan. The Devak is the ancestor or the +head of the house, and so families which have the same guardian do not +intermarry. If the Devak be an animal, its flesh is not eaten; but if +it be a fruit tree, the use of the fruit generally is not forbidden, +though some families abstain from eating the fruit of the tree which +forms their Devak or badge." [412] Mr. Campbell gives numerous examples +of these family totems, such as wheat bread, a shell, an earthen pot, +an axe, a Banyan tree, an elephant. Oil-makers have as their totem an +iron bar, or an oil-mill; scent-makers use five piles, each of five +earthen pots, with a lighted lamp in the middle. The Bangars' Devak is +a conch-shell, that of the Pardesi Râjputs an earthen pot filled with +wheat, and so on. Many of these are probably tribal or occupational +fetishes, of which instances will be given in another place. + + + +The Vâhanas and Avatâras. + +Some have professed to find indications of totemism in the Vâhanas +and Avatâras, the "Vehicles" and the "Incarnations" of the mythology; +but this is far from certain. It has been suggested that these may +represent tribal deities imported into Hinduism. Brahma rides on the +Hansa or goose; Vishnu on Garuda, half eagle and half man, which is +the crest of the Chandravansi Râjputs; Siva on his bull Nandi; Yama +on a buffalo; Kârttikeya on a peacock; Kâmadeva on the marine monster +Makara, or on a parrot; Agni on a ram; Varuna on a fish. Ganesa is +accompanied by his rat, whence his name Akhuratha, "rat-borne." This +an ingenious comparative mythologist makes out to represent "the pagan +Sun god crushing under his feet the mouse of night." [413] Vâyu rides +on an antelope, Sani or Saturn on a vulture, and Durgâ on a tiger. + +The same is the case with the Avatâras or incarnations of the +deities. Vishnu appears in the form of Vârâha, the boar; Kurma, the +tortoise; Matsya, the fish; Nara Sinha, the man-lion; Kalki, the white +horse. Rudra and Indra are also represented in the form of the boar. + + + +The Boar as a Totem. + +How the boar came to be associated with Vishnu has been much +disputed. One and not a very plausible explanation which has +been suggested is that it is because the boar is a destroyer of +snakes. [414] We know that in Râjputâna there was a regular spring +festival at which the boar was killed because he was regarded as the +special enemy of Gaurî, the Râjput tribal goddess. [415] + +The comparative mythologists account for the spring boar festival +by connecting it with the ceremonial eating of the boar's head at +Christmas in Europe, as a symbol of the gloomy monster of winter, +killed at the winter solstice, after which the days get longer and +brighter. [416] Mr. Frazer explains it by the killing of the Corn +Spirit in the form of the boar. [417] + +But it is, perhaps, simpler to believe with Sir A. Lyall [418] that +"when the Brâhmans convert a tribe of pig-worshipping aborigines, +they tell their proselytes that the pig was an Avatâr of Vishnu. The +Mînas in one part of Râjputâna used to worship the pig. When they +took a turn towards Islâm they changed their pig into a saint called +Father Adam, and worshipped him as such." Mr. Frazer has pointed +out that the "customs of the Egyptians touching the pig are to be +explained as based upon an opinion of the extreme sanctity rather +than of the extreme uncleanness of the animal; or rather to put it +more correctly, they imply that the animal was looked on not simply +as a filthy and a disgusting creature, but as a being endowed with +high supernatural powers, and that as such it was regarded with that +primitive sentiment of religious awe and fear in which the feelings +of reverence are almost equally blended." + +There are indications of the same belief in India. Thus, in Baghera +"the boar is a sacred animal, and the natives there say that if any +man were to kill a wild boar in the neighbourhood, he would be sure to +die immediately afterwards, while no such fatal result would follow if +the same man killed a boar anywhere else." [419] In the same way the +Prabhus of Bombay eat wild pork once a year as a religious duty. The +Vaddars of the Dakkhin say that they are not troubled with ghosts, +because the pork they eat and hang in their houses scares ghosts. We +know that among the Drâvidian races and many of the menial tribes +of Hindustân the pig is the favourite offering to the local godlings +and to the deities of disease. Swine's teeth are often worn by Hindu +ascetics, and among the Kolarian races the women are forbidden to +eat the flesh. In Northern India the chief place where the worship of +Vishnu in his Vârâha or boar incarnation is localized is at Soron on +the banks of the Bûrhî Gangâ, or old Ganges, in the Etah District. The +name of the place has been derived from Sukarakshetra, "the place of +the good deed," because here Vishnu slew the demon Hiranyakesu. It +is certainly Sukarakshetra, "the plain of the hog." [420] + +Garuda, another of these vehicles, is the wonder-working bird common +to many mythologies--the Rukh of the Arabian Nights, the Eorosh of +the Zend, the Simurgh of the Persians, the Anka of the Arabs, the +Kargas of the Turks, the Kirni of the Japanese, the Dragon of China, +the Norka of Russia, the Phoenix of classical fable, the Griffin of +chivalry and of Temple Bar. + +From totemism we get a clue to many curious usages, especially in the +matter of food. From this idea probably arose the unclean beasts of +the Hebrew ritual. Many Hindu tribes will not eat the onion or the +turnip. Brâhmans and Bachgoti Râjputs object to potatoes. The Râjputs +place a special value on the wood of the Nîm tree; one clan alone, +the Raikwârs, are forbidden to use it as a tooth-stick. Some Kolarian +tribes, as we have already seen, refuse to use the flesh or wool of +the sheep. The Murmu, or Santâls of the blue bull sept, will not eat +the flesh of that animal. The system of the Orâons is more elaborate +still, for no sub-tribe can eat the plant or animal after which it +is named. So, the Bansetti Binjhiyas, who take their name from the +bamboo, do not touch the tree at a wedding; the Harbans Chamârs, who +are said to be in some way connected with a bone (hadda), cannot wear +bones in any shape; the Rikhiâsan Chiks do not eat beef or pork; the +Sanuâni Dhenuârs cannot wear gold; the Dhanuâr Khariyas cannot eat rice +gruel. Numerous instances of this kind are given by Mr. Risley. [421] +The transition from such observances and restrictions to the elaborate +food regulations of the modern castes is not difficult. + + + +Fetishism Defined. + +Fetishism is "the straightforward, objective admiration of +visible substances fancied to possess some mysterious influence +or faculty.... The original downright adoration of queer-looking +objects is modified by passing into the higher order of imaginative +superstition. First, the stone is the abode of some spirit, its +curious shape or position betraying possession. Next, the strange +form or aspect argues some design or handiwork of supernatural beings, +or is the vestige of their presence upon earth, and one step further +leads us to the regions of mythology and heroic legend." [422] +The unusual appearance of the object is thus supposed to imply an +indwelling ghost, without which deviation from the ordinary type +would be inexplicable. Hence fetishism depends on animism and the +ghost theory, to which in order of time it must have succeeded. + + + +Fetishism Illustrated in Afghânistân. + +The process by which the worship of such a fetish grows is well +illustrated by a case from Afghânistân. "It is sufficient for an Afghân +devotee to see a small heap of stones, a few rags, or some ruined tomb, +something, in short, upon which a tale can be invented, to imagine at +once that some saint is buried there. The idea conceived, he throws +some more stones upon the heap and sticks up a pole or flag; those +who come after follow the leader; more stones and more rags are added; +at last its dimensions are so considerable that it becomes the vogue; +a Mullah is always at hand with a legend which he makes or had revealed +to him in a dream; all the village believe it: a few pilgrims come; +crowds follow; miracles are wrought, and the game goes on, much to +the satisfaction of the holy speculator, who drives a good trade by +it, till some other Mullah more cunning than himself starts a saint +of more recent date and greater miraculous powers, when the traffic +changes hands." [423] + +The same process is daily going on before our eyes in Northern India, +and it would be difficult to suggest anything curious or abnormal +which the Hindu villager will not adopt as fetish. + + + +The Lorik Legend. + +The legend of Lorik is very popular among the Ahîr tribe, and has been +localized in the Mirzapur District in a curious way which admirably +illustrates the principles which we have been discussing. The +story is related at wearisome length, but the main features of it, +according to the Shâhâbâd version, are as follows: Siudhar, an Ahîr, +marries Chandanî, and is cursed by Pârvatî with the loss of all +passion. Chandanî forms an attachment for her neighbour Lorik and +elopes with him. The husband pursues, fails to induce her to return, +fights Lorik and is beaten. The pair go and meet Mahapatiya, a Dusâdh, +the chief of the gamblers. He and Lorik play until the latter loses +everything, including the girl. She urges that her jewels did not +form part of the stake, and induces them to gamble again. She stands +opposite Mahapatiya and distracts his attention by giving him a +glance of her pretty ankles. Finally Lorik wins everything back. The +girl then tells Lorik how she has been insulted, and Lorik with his +mighty sword cuts off the gambler's head, when it and the body are +turned into stone. + +Lorik had been betrothed to a girl named Satmanâin, who was not of +age and had not joined her husband. Lorik had an adopted brother +named Semru. Lorik and Chandanî, after killing the gambler, went on +to Hardoi, near Mongir, where Lorik defeated a Râja and conquered his +country. Lorik was finally seized and put into a dungeon, whence he +was released by the aid of the goddess Durgâ. + +He again conquered the Râja, recovered Chandanî, had a son born to +him, and gained considerable wealth. So they determined to return to +their native land. + +Meanwhile Semru, Lorik's brother by adoption, had been killed by the +Kols and all his cattle and property were plundered. Lorik's real +wife, Satmanâin, had grown into a handsome woman, but still remained +in her father's house. Lorik was anxious to test her fidelity; so +when she came to sell milk in his camp, not knowing her husband, +he stretched a loin cloth across the entrance. All the other women +stepped over it, but the delicacy of Satmanâin was so excessive that +she would not put her foot across it. Lorik was pleased, and filling +her basket with jewels, covered them with rice. When she returned, +her sister saw the jewellery and charged her with obtaining them as +the price of her dishonour. She indignantly denied the accusation, +and her nephew, Semru's son, prepared to fight Lorik to avenge the +dishonour of his aunt. Next day the matter was cleared up to the +satisfaction of all parties. + +Lorik then reigned with justice, and incurred the displeasure of Indra, +who sought to destroy him. So the goddess Durgâ took the form of his +mistress Chandanî and tempted him. He succumbed to her wiles, and +she struck him so that his face turned completely round. Overcome by +grief and shame, he went to Benares, and there he and his friends were +turned into stone and sleep the sleep of magic at Manikarnika Ghât. + + + +The Mirzapur Version. + +The Mirzapur version is interesting from its association with +fetishism. As you descend the Mârkundi Pass into the valley of the +Son, you observe a large isolated boulder split into two parts, +with a narrow fissure between them. Further on in the bed of the Son +is a curious water-worn rock, which, to the eye of faith, suggests +a rude resemblance to a headless elephant. On this foundation has +been localized the legend of Lorik, which takes us back to the time +when the Aryan and the aboriginal Dasyu contended for mastery in +the wild borderland. There was once, so the tale runs, a barbarian +king who reigned at the fort of Agori, the frontier fortress on the +Son. Among his dependents was a cowherd maiden, named Manjanî, who +was loved by her clansman Lorik. He, with his brother Sânwar, came +to claim her as his bride. The Râja insisted on enforcing the Jus +primae noctis. The heroic brethren, in order to escape this infamy, +carried off the maiden. The Râja pursued on his famous wild elephant, +which Lorik decapitated with a single blow. + +When they reached in their flight the Mârkundi Pass, the wise Manjanî +advised Lorik to use her father's sword, which, with admirable +forethought, she had brought with her. He preferred his own weapon, +but she warned him to test both. His own sword broke to pieces +against the huge boulder of the Pass, but Manjanî's weapon clave it +in twain. So Lorik and his brother, with the aid of the magic brand, +defeated the infidel hosts with enormous slaughter, and carried off +the maiden in triumph. + +If you doubt the story, there are the cloven boulder and the petrified +elephant to witness to its truth, and both are worshipped to this day +in the name of Lorik and his bride with offerings of milk and grain. + +This tale embodies a number of incidents which constantly appear in +the folk-tales. We have the gambling match in the Mahâbhârata and in +the tale of Nala and Damayantî, as well as in the Celtic legend of +the young king of Easaidh Ruadh. [424] The magic sword and the various +fidelity tests appear both in the folk-tales of the East and West. + +Of living creatures turned into stone we have many instances in +connection with the Pândava legend, as in Cornwall, the granite rocks +known as the "Merry Maidens" and the "Pipers" are a party who broke +the Sabbath, were struck by lightning, and turned into stone. [425] + + + +Jirâyâ Bhavânî. + +Of a similar type is Jirâyâ Bhavânî, who is worshipped at Jungail, +south of the Son. In her place of worship, a cave on the hillside, +the only representative of the goddess is an ancient rust-eaten coat +of mail. This gives her name, which is a corruption of the Persian +Zirah, meaning a coat of armour. Close by is a little stream, known +as the Suaraiya, the meaning of which is, of course, assumed to be +"Hog river," from the Hindi Sûar, a pig. Here we have all the elements +of a myth. In one of the early fights between Hindu and Musalmân, +a wounded hero of Islâm came staggering to the bank of the stream, +and was about to drink, when he heard that its name was connected +with what is an abomination to the true believer. So he preferred +to die of thirst, and no one sees any incongruity in the fact that +the armour of a martyr of the faith has become a form of the Hindu +goddess. The shrine is now on its promotion, and Jirâyâ Bhavânî will +be provided with a Sanskrit etymology and develop before long into +a genuine manifestation of Kâlî. + + + +Village Fetish Stones. + +It is hardly necessary to say that, as Sir J. Lubbock has shown, the +worship of fetish stones prevails in all parts of the world. [426] +There is hardly a village in Northern India without a fetish of this +kind, which is very often not appropriated to any special deity, but +represents the Grâmadevatâ or Gânw-devî, or Deohâr, the collective +local divine cabinet which has the affairs of the community under +its charge. + +Why spirits should live in stones has been debated. Mr. Campbell +perhaps presses the matter too far when he suggests that stones were +by early man found to contain fire, and that heated stones being found +useful in disease, cooking, and the like may have strengthened the +idea. "The earliest theory was perhaps that as the life of the millet +was in the millet seed and the life of the Mango tree was in the Mango +stone, a human spirit could live in a rock or a pebble. The belief +that the soul, or part of the soul of a man, lives in his bones, +seems closely connected with the belief in the stone as a spirit +house. Probably it was an early belief that the bones should be kept, +so that if the spirit comes back and worries the survivors he may +have a place to go to." [427] + +It is quite possible that the worship of stocks and stones may not in +all places be based on exactly the same train of ideas. To the ruder +races, the more curious or eccentric the form of the stone is, the more +likely it is to be the work and possibly the abode of a spirit, and +in a stoneless land, like the Gangetic plain, any stone is a wonder, +and likely to be revered. The conception of the worshipper will always +vary in regard to it. To the savage it will be the actual home or +the occasional resting-place of the spirit; to the idolater of more +advanced ideas it will be little more than a symbol, which reminds +him of the deity without shape or form whom he is bound to worship. + +Other fetish stones, again, by their form prove that they are the +work of another or a higher race. Thus, on the village fetish mounds +we often find the carved relics of some Buddhistic shrine, or the +prehistoric stone implements, which were the work of a forgotten +people. + +Lastly, many stones lend themselves directly to the needs of the +phallic cultus. + +One form of stone is regarded with special reverence, those that have +holes or perforations. Among these may be mentioned the Sâlagrâma, a +sort of ammonite found in the Gandak river, which has perforations, +said to be the work of the Vajrakîta insect and hence sacred to +Vishnu. The story goes that the divine Nârâyana once wandered through +the world in the form of the Vajrakîta or golden bee. The gods, +attracted by his beauty, also took the form of bees, and whirled +about him in such numbers that Vishnu, afraid of the consequences, +assumed the form of a rock and stopped the moving of Garuda and the +gods. On this Garuda, followed by all the gods, made each a separate +dwelling in the rock for the conversion of the infidels. So the Cornish +Milpreve, or adder stone which is a preservative against vipers, is a +ball of coralline limestone, the sections in the coral being thought +to be entangled young snakes. [428] In Italy, pieces of stalagmite +full of cavities are valued as amulets. + +The respect for these perforated stones rests, again, on the well-known +principle that looking through a stone which has a hole bored through +it improves the sight. + +All over the world it is a recognized theory that creeping through the +orifice in a perforated stone or under an arching stone or tree is +a valuable remedy in cases of disease. Mr. Lane describes how women +in Cairo walk under the stone on which the decapitated bodies of +criminals are washed, in the hope of curing ophthalmia or procuring +offspring. The woman must do this in silence, and with the left foot +foremost. [429] In Cornwall, Mr. Hunt writes: "In various parts of +the country there are, amongst the granitic masses, rocks which have +fallen across each other, leaving small openings, or there are holes, +low and narrow, extending under a pile of rocks. In nearly every case +of this kind, we find it is popularly stated that any one suffering +from rheumatism or lumbago would be cured if he crawled through the +opening. In some cases nine times are insisted on to make the charm +complete." [430] So, walking under a bramble which has formed a second +root in the earth is a cure for rheumatism, and strumous children +were passed nine times through a cleft ash tree, against the sun. The +tree was then bound up, and if the bark grew the child was cured, +if the tree died the death of the child was sure to follow. [431] + +In the same way at many shrines it is part of the worship to creep +through a narrow orifice from one side to the other. At Kankhal, +worshippers at the temple of Daksha creep through a sort of tunnel +from one side to the other. The same is the rule at the temple at +Kabraiya in the Hamîrpur District, and at many other places of the +same kind. [432] + +The same principle probably accounts for the respect paid to the +grindstone. Part of the earliest form of the marriage ritual consisted +in the bride standing on the family grindstone. At the present day she +puts her foot upon it and knocks down little piles of heaped grain. It +is waved over the heads of the pair to scare evil spirits. In Bombay +it is said that sitting on a grindstone shortens life, and the Kunbis +of Kolâba place a grindstone in the lying-in room, and on it set a +rice flour image of a woman, which is worshipped as the goddess, +and the baby is laid before it. Such a stone readily passes into +a fetish, as at Ahmadnagar, where there is a stone with two holes, +which any two fingers of any person's hand can fill, and the mosque +where it stands is, in consequence, much respected. [433] + +Much, however, of the worship of stones appears to be the result of +the respect paid to the tombstone or cairn, which, as we have already +said, keeps down the ghost of the dead man, and is often a place in +which his spirit chooses to reside. + +These rude stones are very often smeared with ruddle or red ochre. We +have here a survival of the blood sacrifice of a human being or animal +which was once universal. [434] Such sacrifices rest on the principle +that it is necessary to supply attendants to the dead or to the tribal +gods in the other world; and the commutation of human sacrifices, +first into those of animals, and then into a mere scarlet stain on +the fetish stone, is a constantly recurring fact in the history of +custom. [435] It may be worth while to discuss this transition from +the Indian evidence. + + + +Human Sacrifice among the Indo-Aryans. + +That human sacrifice prevailed among the early Aryans in India is +generally admitted. The whole question has been treated in detail by +that eminent Hindu scholar, Rajendra Lâla Mitra. He arrives at the +conclusion that, looking to the history of the ancient civilization +and the ritual of the Hindus, there is nothing to justify the belief +that the Hindus were incapable of sacrificing human victims to their +gods; that the Sunasepha hymns of the Rig Veda Sanhita most probably +refer to a human sacrifice; that the Aitareya Brâhmana refers to an +actual and not to a typical human sacrifice; that the Parushamedha +originally required the actual sacrifice of men; that the Taitareya +Brâhmana enjoys the killing of a man at the horse sacrifice; that +the Satapatha Brâhmana sanctions human sacrifice in some cases, but +makes the Parushamedha emblematic; that the Purânas recognize human +sacrifices to Chandikâ, but prohibit the Parushamedha rite; that the +Tantras enjoin human sacrifices to Chandikâ, and require that when +human victims are not available, an effigy of a human being should +be sacrificed to her. [436] + + + +Human Sacrifice in the Folk-tales. + +There is ample evidence from the folk-tales of the existence of +human sacrifice in early times. We have in the tales of Somadeva +constant reference to human sacrifices made in honour of Chandikâ +or Châmundâ. We find one Muravara, a Turushka or Indo-Scythian, who +proposes to make a human sacrifice in memory of his dead father; we +have expiatory sacrifices to Chandikâ to save the life of a king. In +one of the Panjâb tales a ship will not leave port till a human victim +is offered. In one of the modern tales we have an account of a man +and his family who sacrifice themselves before the god Jyoti Bara, +"the great diviner," who is worshipped by the Sânsya gypsies. [437] + +The folk-tales also disclose ample evidence of cannibalism. The +Magian cannibals of the Book of Sindibad used to eat human flesh +raw, and the same tale is told by Herodotus of the Massagetae, the +Padaei of India, whom Col. Dalton identifies with the Birhors of +Chota Nâgpur, and of the Essedones near Lake Moeotis. [438] It is +needless to say that Indian folk-tales abound with references to the +same practices. We have cannibal Râkshasas in abundance, and in one of +Somadeva's stories Devaswâmin, the Brâhman, looks out and finds his +"wife's mouth stained with blood, for she had devoured his servant +and left nothing of him but the bones." And in the tale of Asokadatta +we have a woman who climbs on a stake and cuts slices of the flesh +of an impaled criminal, which she eats. [439] In the Mahâbhârata we +find the legend of Kalmashapada, who, while hunting, meets Saktri, +son of Vasishtha, and strikes him with his whip. The incensed sage +cursed him to become a cannibal. This curse was heard by Viswamitra, +the rival of Vasishtha, and he so contrived that the body of the +king became possessed by a man-eating Râkshasa. Kalmashapada devoured +Saktri and the hundred sons of Vasishtha, who finally restored him to +his original state. In a tale recently collected among the Drâvidian +Mânjhis, a girl accidentally cuts her finger and some of the blood +falls upon the greens, whereupon her brothers, finding that it +flavoured the mess, killed and devoured her. [440] + + + +Human Sacrifice in Modern Times. + +Up to quite modern times the same was the case, and there is some +evidence to show that the custom has not quite ceased. + +Until the beginning of the present century, the custom of offering a +first-born child to the Ganges was common. Akin to this is the Gangâ +Jâtra, or murder of sick relatives on the banks of the sacred river, +of which a case occurred quite recently at Calcutta. At Katwa, near +Calcutta, a leper was burnt alive in 1812; he threw himself into a +pit ten cubits deep which was filled with burning coals. He tried +to escape, but his mother and sister thrust him in again and he was +burnt. They believed that by so doing he would gain a pure body in +the next birth. [441] Of this religious suicide in Central India, +Sir J. Malcolm wrote: "Self-sacrifice of men is less common than it +used to be, and the men who do it are generally of low tribes. One +of their chief motives is that they will be born Râjas at their next +incarnation. Women who have been long barren, vow their first child, if +one be given to them, to Omkâr Mandhâta. The first knowledge imparted +to the infant is this vow, and the impression is so implanted in his +mind, that years before his death he seems like a man haunted by his +destiny. There is a tradition that anyone saved after the leap over +the cliff near the shrine must be made Râja of the place; but to make +this impossible, poison is mixed with the last victuals given to the +devoted man, who is compelled to carry out his purpose." [442] + +The modern instances of human sacrifice among the Khândhs of Bengal and +the Mers of Râjputâna are sufficiently notorious. It also prevailed +among some of the Drâvidian tribes up to quite recent times. The +Kharwârs, since adopting Hinduism, performed human sacrifices to Kâlî +in the form of Chandî. Some of our people who fell into their hands +during the Mutiny were so dealt with. The same was the case with the +Bhuiyas, Khândhs, and Mundas. Some of the Gonds of Sarguja used to +offer human sacrifice to Burha Deo, and still go through a form of +doing so. [443] There is a recent instance quoted among the Tiyars, +a class of boatmen in Benares; one Tonurâm sacrificed four men in +the hope of recovering the treasures of seven Râjas; another man was +killed to propitiate a Râkshasa who guarded a treasure supposed to be +concealed in a house where the deed was committed. [444] About 1881 +a village headman sacrificed a human being to Kâlî in the Sambalpur +District, and a similar charge was made against the chief of Bastar +not many years ago. + +Of the Karhâda Brâhmans of Bombay, Sir J. Malcolm writes: [445] +"The tribe of Brâhmans called Karhâda had formerly a horrid custom +of annually sacrificing to their deities a young Brâhman. The Saktî +is supposed to delight in human blood, and is represented with fiery +eyes and covered with red flowers. This goddess holds in one hand a +sword and in the other a battle-axe. The prayers of her votaries are +directed to her during the first nine days of the Dasahra feast, and +on the evening of the tenth a grand repast is prepared, to which the +whole family is invited. An intoxicating drug is contrived to be mixed +with the food of the intended victim, who is often a stranger whom the +master of the house has for several months treated with the greatest +kindness and attention, and sometimes, to lull suspicion, given him +his daughter in marriage. As soon as the poisonous and intoxicating +drug operates, the master of the house unattended takes the devoted +person into the temple, leads him three times round the idol, and on +his prostrating himself before it, takes this opportunity of cutting +his throat. He collects with the greatest care the blood in a small +bowl, which he first applies to the lips of the ferocious goddess, +and then sprinkles it over her body; and a hole having been dug at +the feet of the idol for the corpse, he deposits it with great care +to prevent discovery. After this the Karhâda Brâhman returns to his +family, and spends the night in mirth and revelry, convinced that +by the bloodthirsty act he has propitiated the goddess for twelve +years. On the morning of the following day the corpse is taken from +the hole in which it had been thrown, and the idol deposited till +next Dasahra, when a similar sacrifice is made." + +There seems reason to suspect that even in the present day such +sacrifices are occasionally performed at remote shrines of Kâlî or +Durgâ Devî. Within the last few years a significant case of the kind +occurred at Benares. There are numerous instances from Nepâl. [446] +At Jaypur, near Vizagapatam, the Râja is said, at his installation +in 1861, to have sacrificed a girl to Durgâ. [447] A recent case of +such sacrifice with the object of recovering hidden treasure occurred +in Berâr; a second connected with witchcraft at Muzaffarnagar. [448] +At Chanda and Lanji in the Province of Nâgpur there are shrines to +Kâlî at which human sacrifices to the goddess have been offered almost +within the memory of this generation. + +Besides the religious form of human sacrifice in honour of one of +these bloodthirsty deities, there are forms of the rite which depend +on the mystic power attributed to human flesh and blood in various +charms and black magic. + +In connection with human flesh a curious story is told of a man who +went to bathe in the Ganges, and met one of the abominable Faqîrs known +as Augars or Aghorpanthis, who carry about with them fragments of a +human corpse. He saw the Faqîr cut off and eat a piece of the flesh +of a corpse, and he then offered him a piece, saying that if he ate +it he would become enormously rich. He refused the ghastly food, and +the Faqîr then threw a piece at him which stuck to his head, forming a +permanent lump. [449] In one of the tales of Somadeva the witches are +seen flying about in the air, and say, "These are the magic powers of +witches' spells, and are due to the eating of human flesh." In another +the hero exchanges an anklet with a woman for some human flesh. [450] + +The same mysterious power is attributed to human blood. The blood of +the Jinn has, it is hardly necessary to say, special powers of its +own. Thus, in one of the Kashmîr stories the angel says: "This is +a most powerful Jinn. Should a drop of his blood fall to the ground +while life is in him, another Jinn will be quickly formed therefrom, +and spring up and slay you." [451] Bathing in human blood has been +regarded as a powerful remedy for disease. The Emperor Constantine +was ordered a bath of children's blood, but moved by the prayers +of the parents, he forbore to apply the remedy and was rewarded by +a miraculous recovery. In one of the European folk-tales a woman +desirous of offspring is directed to take a horn and cup herself, +draw out a clot of blood, place it in a pot, lute it down and only +uncover it in the ninth month, when a child would be found in the +pot. In the German folk-tales, bathing in the blood of innocent +maidens is a cure for leprosy. [452] + +The same beliefs largely prevail in India. In 1870, a Musalmân butcher +losing his child was told by a Hindu conjuror that if he washed his +wife in the blood of a boy, his next infant would be healthy. To +ensure this result a child was murdered. A similar case occurred +in Muzaffarnagar, where a child was killed and the blood drunk by +a barren woman. [453] In one of the tales of Somadeva the pregnant +queen asks her husband to gratify her longing by filling a tank with +blood for her to bathe in. He was a righteous man, and in order to +gratify her craving he had a tank filled with the juice of lac and +other extracts, so that it seemed to be full of blood. In another +tale the ascetic tells the woman that if she killed her young son and +offered him to the divinity, another son would certainly be born to +her. Quite recently at Muzaffarnagar a childless Jât woman was told +that she would attain her desire if she bathed in water mixed with +the blood of a Brâhman child. A Hindu coolie at Mauritius bathed +in and drank the blood of a girl, thinking that thereby he would be +gifted with supernatural powers. It would be easy to add largely to +the number of instances of similar beliefs. [454] + + + +Survivals of Human Sacrifice. + +There are, in addition, numerous customs which appear to be survivals +of human sacrifice, or of the blood covenant, which also prevailed +in Arabia. [455] Among the lower castes in Northern India the +parting of the bride's hair is marked with red, a survival of the +original blood covenant, by which she was introduced into the sept +of her husband. We see that this is the case from the rites of the +more savage tribes. Among the Kewats of Bengal, a tiny scratch is +made on the little finger of the bridegroom's right hand and of the +bride's left, and the drops of blood drawn from these are mixed with +the food. Each then eats the food with which the other's blood has +been mixed. Among the Santâls blood is drawn in the same way from the +little finger of the bride and bridegroom, and with it marks are made +on both above the clavicle. [456] + + + +Human Sacrifice and Buildings. + +One standing difficulty at each decennial census has been the +rumour which spreads in remote tracts that Government is making the +enumeration with a view of collecting victims to be sacrificed at +some bridge or other building, or that a toll of pretty girls is to +be taken to reward the soldiery after some war. Thus, about a fort +in Madras it had long been a tradition that when it was first built a +girl had been built into the wall to render it impregnable. [457] It +is said that a Râja was once building a bridge over the river Jargo at +Chunâr, and when it fell down several times he was advised to sacrifice +a Brâhman girl to the local deity. She has now become the Marî or ghost +of the place, and is regularly worshipped in time of trouble. [458] In +Kumaun the same belief prevails, and kidnappers, known as Dokhutiya, +or two-legged beasts of prey, are said to go about capturing boys +for this purpose. In Kâthiâwâr, if a castle was being built and the +tower would not stand, or if a pond had been dug and would not hold +water, a human victim was offered. [459] The rumour that a victim was +required spread quite recently in connection with the Hughli Bridge at +Calcutta and the Benares water-works. The Narmadâ, it was believed, +would never allow herself to be bridged until she carried away part +of the superstructure, and caused the loss of lives as a sacrifice. At +Ahmadâbâd, by the advice of a Brâhman, a childless Vânya was induced to +dig a tank to appease the goddess Sîtalâ. The water refused to enter +it without the sacrifice of a man. As soon as the victim's blood fell +on the ground, the tank filled and the goddess came down from heaven +and rescued the victim. [460] In building the fort of Sikandarpur +in Baliya, a Brâhman and a Dusâdh girl were both immolated. [461] +The Vadala lake in Bombay refused to hold water till the local +spirit was appeased by the sacrifice of the daughter of the village +headman. When the Shorkot fort was being built one side repeatedly +fell down. A Faqîr advised the Râja to put a first-born son under the +rampart. This was done and the wall stood. The child's mother went to +Mecca, and returned with an army of Muhammadans; but they could not +take the fort. Then a Faqîr transformed himself into a cock and flew +on the roof of the palace, where he set up a loud crow. The Râja was +frightened and abandoned the place. As he was leaving it, he shouted, +"Shame on thee, O Fort! to remain standing!" and the walls at once +fell down. [462] + + + +Modifications of Human Sacrifice. + +There are also many instances of the transition from human sacrifices +to those of a milder form. Thus, when Ahmadâbâd was building, Mânik +Bâwa, a saint, every day made a cushion, and every night picked it to +pieces. As he did so the day's work fell down. The Sultân refrained +from sacrificing him, but got him into a small jar and kept him there +till the work was over. [463] The Villâlis of Pûna on the fifteenth +day after a death shape two bricks like human beings, dress them, +and lay them on a wooden stool. They weep by them all night, and +next day, taking them to the burning ground, cremate them. Among +the Telugu Brâhmans of Pûna, if a man dies at an unlucky time, +wheaten figures of men are made and burnt with the corpse. The Konkani +Marâthas of Kanara on the feast of Raulnâth get a man to cut his hand +with a knife and let three drops of blood fall on the ground. [464] +Formerly in Hoshangâbâd, men used to swing themselves from a pole, +as in the famous Bengal Charakh Pûjâ. In our territories this is now +uncommon, as the village headmen being afraid of responsibility for +an accident, generally, instead of a man, fasten up a white pumpkin, +which they swing about. [465] + +At the installation of a Bhuiya Râja, a man comes forward whom the +Râja touches on the neck, as if about to cut off his head. The victim +disappears for three days; then he presents himself before the Râja, +as if miraculously restored to life. Similarly, the Gonds, instead of +a human sacrifice, now make an image of straw, which they find answers +the purpose. The Bhuiyas of Keunjhar used to offer the head of their +prime minister to Thakurânî Mâî. She is now transformed into the Hindu +Durgâ and accepts a sacrifice of goats and sheep. [466] In Nepâl, +after the Sithi Jâtra feast, the people divide into two parties and +have a match at stone-throwing; formerly this used to be a serious +matter, and any one who was knocked down and fell into the hands of +the other side was sacrificed to the goddess Kankeswarî. The actual +killing of the victim, as in the case of sacrifices to the goddess +Bachhlâ Devî, has now been discontinued under the influence of British +officers. [467] We shall meet later on in another connection other +instances of mock fights of the same kind. + + + +Momiâî. + +In connection with human sacrifice may be mentioned the curious +superstition about Momiâî or mummy. + +The virtues of human fat as a magical ointment appear all through +folk-lore. Othello, referring to the handkerchief which he had given +to Desdemona, says,-- + + + "It was dyed in the mummy which the skilful + Conserved of maidens' hearts." + + +Writing of witches Reginald Scot says: "The devil teacheth them to +make ointment of the bowels and members of children, whereby they +ride in the air and accomplish all their desires. After burial they +steal them out of their graves and seethe them in a cauldron till +the flesh be made potable, of which they make an ointment by which +they ride in the air." In Macbeth the first witch speaks of-- + + + "Grease that sweaten + From the murderer's gibbet." + + +Indian witches are believed to use the same mystic preparation to +enable them to fly through the air, as their European sisters are +supposed to use the fat of a toad. [468] Human fat is believed to be +specially efficacious for this purpose. In one of Somadeva's stories +the Brâhman searches for treasure with a candle made of human fat in +his hand. [469] One of the Mongol Generals, Marco Polo tells us, was +accused of boiling down human beings and using their fat to grease +his mangonels; and Carpini says that when the Tartars cast Greek +fire into a town they used to shoot human fat with it, in order to +cause the fire to burn more quickly. [470] So, in Europe a candle +of human fat is said to have been used by robbers with the Hand of +Glory to prevent the inmates waking, and on the Scotch border the +torch used in the mystic ceremony of "saining" was made from the fat +of a slaughtered enemy. [471] + +In India, the popular idea about Momiâî is that a boy, the fatter and +blacker the better, is caught, a small hole is bored in the top of +his head, and he is hung up by the heels over a slow fire. The juice +or essence of his body is in this way distilled into seven drops of +the potent medicine known as Momiâî. + +This substance possesses healing properties of a supernatural +kind. Sword cuts, spear thrusts, wounds from arrows and other weapons +of warfare are instantly cured by its use, and he who possesses it +is practically invulnerable. In Kumaun, this substance is known as +Nârâyan Tel or Râm Tel, the "oil of Vishnu or Râma." + +It is further believed that a European gentleman, known as the +Momiâî-wâla Sâhib, has a contract from Government of the right of +enticing away suitable boys for this purpose. He makes them smell a +stick or wand, which obliges them to follow him, and he then packs +them off to some hill station where he carries on this nefarious +manufacture. + +As an instance of this belief, "A very black servant of a friend of +mine states that he had a very narrow escape from this Sâhib at the +Nauchandi fair at Meerut, where Government allows him to walk about +for one day and make as many suitable victims as he can by means of +his stick. The Sâhib had just put his hand in his pocket and taken out +the stick, which was dry and shrivelled and about a span long, when +the servant with great presence of mind held out his hands and said, +'Bas! Bas!' 'Enough! enough!' Thus intimidated, the Sâhib went away +into the crowd. In connection with Momiâî, a lady here narrowly escaped +a very uncanny reputation. Some of her servants gave out that she +possessed a Momiâî stick, for which she had paid a hundred rupees. On +hearing this an inquiry was made which brought out that the lady had +missed a pod of vanilla about seven inches long, of a very special +quality, that she kept rolled up in a piece of paper among some of her +trinkets. The ayah who mislaid it was scolded for her carelessness, +and told that it was worth more than she thought. She promptly put +two and two together. The shrivelled appearance which is supposed to +be peculiar to mysterious sticks, such as snake charmers produce, +the fuss made about it, and the value attached to it convinced her +that her mistress owned a Momiâî stick." [472] + +These mystic sticks appear constantly in folk-lore. We have the +caduceus of Hermes, the rod of Moses, the staff of Elisha, the +wand of Circe, or of Gwydion or Skirni. In one of Somadeva's tales +the Kapâlika ascetic has a magic stick which dances. In one of the +Kashmîr tales the magic wand placed under the feet of the prince makes +him insensible, when laid under his head he revives. Many people in +England still believe in the divining rod which points out concealed +springs underground. [473] + +Every native boy, particularly those who are black and fat, believes +himself a possible victim to the wiles of the dreaded Momiâî Sâhib, +who frequents hill stations because he is thus enabled to carry on +his villainous practices with comparative impunity and less danger +of detection. Even to whisper the word Momiâî is enough to make the +crowd of urchins who dog the steps of a district officer when he is on +his rounds through a town, disperse in dismay. Surgeons are naturally +exposed to the suspicion of being engaged in this awful business, and +some years ago most of the coolies deserted one of the hill stations, +because an enthusiastic anatomist set up a private dissecting-room of +his own. Freemasons, who are looked on by the general native public +as a kind of sorcerers or magicians, are also not free from this +suspicion. That such ideas should prevail among the rural population +of India is not to be wondered at, when in our own modern England it +is very commonly believed that luminous paint is made out of human +fat. [474] + + + +The Dânapurwâla Sâhib. + +Another of these dreaded Sâhibs is the Dânapurwâla Sâhib, or gentleman +from Dinapur. Why this personage should be connected with Dinapur, +a respectable British cantonment, no one can make out. At any rate, +it is generally believed that he has a contract from Government for +procuring heads for some of the museums, and he too has a magic stick +with which he entices unfortunate travellers on dark nights and chops +off their heads with a pair of shears. The influence of these magic +wands by smelling may perhaps be associated with the fact that the +nose is a spirit entry, as we have seen in the case of sneezing. + + + +Fetish Stones. + +To return after this digression to fetish stones. Of this phase +of belief we have well-known instances in the coronation stone in +Westminster Abbey, which is associated with the dream of Jacob, and +the Hajuru'l Aswad of Mecca, which Sir R. Burton believed to be an +aërolite. No one will bring a stone from the Sacred Hill at Govardhan +near Mathura, because it is supposed to be endowed with life. The +Yâdavas, who are connected with the same part of the country, had +a stone fetish, described in the Vishnu Purâna, which brought rain +and plenty. There are numerous legends connected with many of these +fetish stones, such as that in the temple of Daksha at Kankhal and +Gorakhnâtha in Kheri, [475] which are said to owe the fissures in +them to the blow of the battle-axe or sword of one of the iconoclast +Muhammadan Emperors. Of Gorakhnâtha it is said that Aurangzeb attempted +to drag up the great Lingam, and failed to do so even with the aid +of elephants. When he came to investigate the cause of his failure, +tongues of flame burst from the bottom of the pillar. + +The stalactites in the Behâr Hills are regarded as the images of the +gods. [476] The pestle and mortar in which a noted Darvesh of Oudh +used to grind his drugs are now worshipped, and a leading family in +the Lucknow District keep before their family residence a large square +stone which they reverence. They say that their ancestors brought it +from Delhi, and that it is the symbol of their title to the estates, +which were granted to them by one of the Emperors. He enjoined them +to take it as the foundation of their settlement, and since that +time each new Râja on his accession presents flowers, sweetmeats, +and money to it. [477] + +A great rock in the river above Badarinâth, the famous shrine in +the Hills, is worshipped as Brahm Kapâl or the skull of Brahma, and +Nandâ Devî, the mountain goddess of the Himâlaya, is worshipped in +the form of two great stones glittering with mica, and reflecting the +rays of the sun. [478] At Amosi in the Lucknow District they worship +at marriages and birth of boys the door-post of the house of an old +Râjput leader, named Binâik, who is honoured with the title of Bâba or +"father." [479] At Deodhûra in the Hills the grey granite boulders +near the crest of the ridge are said to have been thrown there in +sport by the Pândavas. Close to the temple of Devî at the same place +are two large boulders, the uppermost of which is called Ransila, or +"the stone of battle," and is cleft through the centre by a deep, +fresh-looking fissure, at right angles to which is a similar rift +in the lower rock. A small boulder on the top is said to have been +the weapon with which Bhîmsen produced these fissures, and the print +of his five fingers is still to be seen upon it. Ransila itself is +marked with the lines for playing the gambling game of Pachîsi, which, +though it led to their misfortunes, the Pândavas even in their exile +could not abandon. There are many places where the marks of the hoofs +of the horse of Bhîmsen are shown. [480] "One spot on the margin +of Lake Regillus was regarded during many ages with superstitious +awe. A mark, resembling in shape a horse's hoof, was discernible in +the volcanic rock; and this mark was believed to have been made by +one of the celestial chargers." [481] + + + +Fetishes among the Santâls. + +The Santâls, like all uncivilized races, have a whole army of +fetishes. A round piece of wood, nearly a foot in length, the top +of which is painted red, is called Banhî, or "the protector of +the jungle." Another stands for Laghû, the goddess of the earth, +who is sometimes represented by a mountain. An oblong piece of wood, +painted red, stands for Mahâmâî, "the great Mother," Devî's daughter; +a small piece of white stone daubed with red is Burhiyâ Mâî, or "the +old Mother," her granddaughter; an arrow-head stands for Dûdhâ Mâî, +"the milk Mother," the daughter of Burhiyâ; a trident painted red +represents the monkey god Hanumân, who executes all the orders of +Devî. "Sets of these symbols are placed, one on the east and one on +the west of their huts to protect them from evil spirits, snakes, +tigers, and all sorts of misfortune." [482] + +Very similar to this is the worship of Bîrnâth, the fetish of the +Mirzapur Ahîrs. His platform, which is made of clay, usually contains +one, three, or five rude wooden images, each about three feet high, +with a rough representation of a human face sculptured on the top. He +was, it is said, an Ahîr who was killed by a tiger, and he is now +worshipped by them in times of trouble. His special function is +to protect the cattle from beasts of prey. The worshipper bathes, +plasters his platform with fresh clay, and laying his offering on it, +says: "Bîrnâth! Keep our cattle safe and you will get more." The same +form of worship prevails all along the Central Indian Hills. "In the +south of the Bhandâra District the traveller frequently meets with +squared pieces of wood, each with a rude figure carved in front, +set up close to each other. These represent Bangarâm, Bangarâ Bâî, +or Devî, who is said to have one sister and five brothers, the sister +being styled Kâlî, and four out of the five brothers being known as +Gantarâm, Champarâm, Nâikarâm, and Potlinga. They are all deemed to +possess the power of sending disease and death upon men, and under +these or other names seem to be generally feared in the region east +of Nâgpur. Bhîmsen, again, is generally adored under the form of one +or two pieces of wood standing three or four feet in length above the +ground, like those set up in connection with Bangarâm's worship." [483] + + + +Fetish Stones which Cure Disease. + +Many of these stones have the power of curing disease, and the water +with which they have been bathed is considered a useful medicine. This +is the case with a number of sacred Mahâdeva Lingams all over the +country. A common proverb speaks of the old woman who is ready enough +to eat the Prasâd or offering to the god, but hesitates to drink the +water in which his feet have been washed. In Western India no orthodox +Brâhman will eat his food till he has thrice sipped the water in which +his Sâlagrâma stone has been washed. [484] We have already noticed +the fetish bowl, the washings of which are administered by midwives +to secure easy parturition. So, in Western lands the stones fetched +by Merlin had the power of healing if washed in water and the patient +bathed in it. [485] Stone celts are, in Cornwall, supposed to impart +a healing effect to water in which they have been soaked. [486] In +Java a decoction of the lichen which grows on fetish stones is used +as a remedy for disease. [487] In the Isle of Lewis cattle disease +is attributed to the bites of serpents, and the suffering animals are +made to drink water into which charm stones are put; in the Highlands +large crystals of a somewhat oval shape were kept by the priests to +work charms with, and water poured thereon was given to cattle as a +preventative of disease. [488] + + + +Fetish Stones the Abode of Spirits. + +The virtue of all these fetish stones rests in their embodying the +spirits of gods or deified men. As we have shown, this is a common +principle of popular belief. In one of Miss Stokes's Indian tales, +"The man who went to seek his fate," the fate is found in stones, +some standing up and some lying down. The man beats the stone which +embodies his fate because he is miserably poor. Mr. H. Spencer thinks +that the idea of persons being turned into stones may have arisen from +instances of actual petrifaction of trees and the like; but this is +not very probable, and it is much simpler to believe with Dr. Tylor +that it depends on the principles of animism. [489] + + + +Family Fetishes. + +Some fetishes, like the Bombay Devaks, are special to particular +families. Such is the case with the Thârus, a non-Aryan tribe in the +sub-Himâlayan Tarâî. Each member of the tribe constructs a hollow +mound in front of his door, and thereon erects a stake of Palâsa +wood (Butea frondosa), which is regarded as the family fetish and +periodically worshipped. + + + +Tool Fetishes. + +Next comes the worship of the tool fetish, which, according to Sir +A. Lyall, is "the earliest phase or type of the tendency which later +on leads those of one guild or walk in life to support and cultivate +one god, who is elected in lieu of the individual trade fetishes +melted down to preside over their craft or trade interests." [490] + +A good example of this is the pickaxe fetish of the Thags. + +When Kâlî refused to help them in the burial of their victims +she gave them one of her teeth for a pickaxe, and the hem of her +lower garment for a noose. Hence the pickaxe was venerated by the +Thags. Its fabrication was superintended with the utmost care, and it +was consecrated with many ceremonies. A lucky day was selected, and +a smith was appointed to forge it with the most profound secrecy. The +door was closed against all intruders; the leader never left the forge +while the manufacture was going on; and the smith was allowed to do no +other work until this was completed. Next came the consecration. This +was done on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday, and care was taken +that the shadow of no living thing fell upon the axe. The consecrator +sat with his face to the west, and received the implement in a brass +dish. It was then washed in water which was allowed to fall into +a pit made for the purpose. Then further ablutions followed, the +first in sugar and water, the second in sour milk, and the third in +spirits. The axe was then marked from the head to the point with seven +spots of red lead, and replaced on the brass dish with a cocoanut, +some cloves, white sandalwood, and other articles. + +A fire was next made of cowdung and the wood of the Mango and +Ber tree. All the articles deposited on the brass plate, with the +exception of the cocoanut, were thrown into the fire, and when the +flame rose the Thag priest passed the pickaxe with both hands seven +times through the fire. The cocoanut was then stripped of its husk and +placed on the ground. The officiant, holding the axe by the point, +asked: "Shall I strike?" The bystanders assented, and he then broke +the cocoanut with the blunt end of the weapon, exclaiming, "All hail, +Devî! Great Mother of us all!" The spectators responded, "All hail, +Devî, and prosper the Thags." If the cocoanut was not broken at one +blow, all the labour was lost; the goddess was considered unpropitious, +and the entire ceremony had to be repeated. The broken shell and +kernel of the cocoanut were then thrown into the fire, the pickaxe +wrapt in white cloth was placed on the ground towards the west, +and all present prostrated themselves before it. [491] + +Here we have another example of magic in its sympathetic form, the +use of sundry spirit scarers, which have been already discussed, +and the cocoanut representing an actual human victim. + + + +Weapons and Implement Fetishes. + +In the same way soldiers and warlike tribes worship their +weapons. Thus, the sword was worshipped by the Râjputs, and when a man +of lower caste married a Râjput girl, she was married, as in the case +of Holkar, to his sword with his kerchief bound round it. [492] This +sword-worship is specially performed, as by the Baiswârs of Mirzapur +and the Gautam sept of Râjputs. The Nepâlese worship their weapons +and regimental colours at the Dasahra festival. At the Diwâlî, or +feast of lamps, on the first day they worship dogs; on the second day +cows and bulls; on the third day capitalists worship their treasure +under the name of Lakshmî, the goddess of wealth; on the fourth day +every householder worships as deities the members of his family, +and on the fifth day sisters worship their brothers. [493] + +The same customs prevail among the artisan castes in Northern +India. The hair-scraper of the tanner is worshipped by curriers, +and the potter's wheel, regarded as a type of productiveness, is +reverenced at marriages by many of the lower castes. Even the clay +which has been mixed by the potter has mystic powers. When a person +has been bitten by a mad dog, a lump of this clay is brought, and the +wound is touched with it while a spell is recited. [494] Carpenters +worship their yard measure; Chamârs swear by the shoemaker's last, and +the children of the Darzi or tailor are made to worship the scissors. + +In Bengal, the Alakhiya sect of Saiva ascetics profess profound respect +for their alms-bag; the carpenters worship their adze, chisel, and saw; +the barbers their razors, scissors, and mirror. At the Srîpanchamî, +or fifth day of the month of Mâgh, the writer class worship their +books, pens, and inkstand. The writing implements are cleaned, and +the books, wrapped in white cloth, are strewn over with flowers and +the leaves of young barley. [495] + +The same customs prevail in Bombay. A mill is the Devak or guardian +of oil-makers; dancing girls worship a musical instrument; jewellers +worship their pincers and blowpipe; curriers worship an axe, and +market gardeners a pair of scales. [496] + +In the Panjâb, farmers worship their oxen in August, their plough at +the Dasahra festival, and they have a ceremony at the end of October to +drive away ticks from their cattle; shepherds worship their sheep at +the full moon of July; bankers and clerks worship their books at the +Diwâlî festival; grain-sellers worship their weights at the Dasahra, +Diwâlî, and Holî, and, in a way, every morning as well. Oilmen worship +their presses at odd times; artisans salute their tools daily when they +bathe; and generally the means of livelihood, whatever they may be, +are worshipped with honour at the Diwâlî, Dasahra, and Holî. [497] +So the Pokharna Brâhmans, who are said to have been the navvies who +originally excavated the lake at Pushkar, worship in memory of this +the Kudâla, or mattock. [498] + +All these customs are as old as the time of the Chaldeans, "who +sacrifice unto their net and burn incense unto their drag, because +by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous." [499] + +Among these implement fetishes the corn-sieve and the plough, the +basket, the broom, and the rice-pounder are of special importance. + + + +The Corn-sieve. + +The corn-sieve or winnowing basket, the Mystica vannus Iacchi of +Virgil, has always enjoyed a reputation as an emblem of increase and +prosperity, and as possessing magical powers. The witch in Macbeth +says:-- + + + "Her husband's to Aleppo gone, Master of the Tiger; + But in a sieve I'll thither sail." + + +It was used in Scotland to foretell the future at Allhallow +Eve. Divination was performed with a pair of shears and a sieve. Aubrey +describes how "the shears are stuck in a sieve, and the maidens hold up +the sieve with the top of their fingers by the handle of the shears, +then say, 'By St. Peter and St. Paul, he hath not stolen it.' After +many adjurations the sieve will turn at the name of the thief." [500] + +In India the sieve is the first cradle of the baby, and in Bombay +the winnowing fan in which a newly-born child is laid is used on the +fifth day for the worship of Satvâî. This makes it impure, and it is +henceforward used only for the house sweepings. In Northern India, +when a mother has lost a child, she puts the next in a sieve and +drags it about, calling it Kadheran or Ghasîtan, "the dragged one," +so as to baffle the Evil Eye by a pretence of contempt. + +All through Upper India, at low-caste marriages, the bride's +brother accompanies the pair as they revolve in the marriage shed, +and sprinkles parched grain over them out of a sieve as a charm for +good luck and a means of scaring the demon which causes barrenness. So +Irish brides in old times used to be followed by two attendants bearing +high over the heads of the couple a sieve filled with meal, a sign +of the plenty that would be in the house, and an omen of good luck +and the blessing of children. [501] We have already seen that this +rite survives in the custom of flinging rice over the newly-married +pair as they leave for the honeymoon. + +This habit of scaring the spirits of evil by means of the sieve +appears in a special usage at the Diwâlî festival. Very early +in the morning the house-mother takes a sieve and a broom, and +beats them in every corner of the house, exclaiming, "God abide, +and poverty depart!" The fan is then carried outside the village, +generally to the east or north, and being thrown away, is supposed, +like the scapegoat, to bear away with it the poverty and distress +of the household. The same custom prevails in Germany. The Posterli +is imagined to be a spectre in the shape of an old woman. In the +evening the young fellows of the village assemble, and with loud +shouts and clashing of tins, ringing of cow-bells and goat-bells, +and cracking of whips, tramp over hill and dale to another village, +where the young men receive them with like uproar. One of the party +represents the Posterli, or they draw it in a sledge in the shape of +a puppet, and leave it standing in a corner of the other village. In +the same way the Eskimo drive the demon Tuna out of their houses. [502] + +Among the Kols, when a vacancy occurs in the office of the village +priest, the winnowing fan with some rice is used, and by its magical +power it drags the person who holds it towards the individual on +whom the sacred mantle has fallen. The same custom prevails among +the Orâons. [503] + +The Greeks had a special name, Koskinomantis, for the man who +divined in this way with the sieve, and the practice is mentioned by +Theocritus. [504] The sieve is very commonly used in India as a rude +form of the planchette. Through the wicker-work of the raised side +or back a strong T-shaped twig is fixed, one end of which rests on +the finger. A question is asked, and according as the sieve turns +to the right or left, the answer is "Yes" or "No." This is exactly +what is known as "Cauff-riddling" in Yorkshire and Scotland. [505] +In the eastern districts of the North-Western Provinces, when the +Ojha or "cunning man" is called in to cure disease, or possession by +evil spirits, he puts some sesamum into a sieve, shakes it about, +and then proceeds to identify the ghost concerned by counting the +number of grains which remain stuck between the reeds. At a Santâl +cremation, a man takes his seat near the ashes, and tosses rice on +them with a winnowing fan till a frenzy appears to seize him, and he +becomes inspired and says wonderful things. [506] + +It is one of the curiosities of comparative folk-lore that this +instrument should be credited with magical powers all over two +continents. [507] + +The winnowing basket, again, perhaps from its association, like +the winnowing fan, with the sacred grain, has mystic powers. In +Scotland it was used in the rite of creeling as a means of scaring +barrenness. "The young wedded pair, with their friends, assemble in a +convenient spot. A small creel or basket is prepared for the occasion, +into which they put some stones; the young men carry it alternately, +and allow themselves to be caught by the maidens, who have a kiss when +they succeed. After a great deal of innocent mirth and pleasantry, +the creel falls at length to the young husband's share, who is obliged +generally to carry it for a long time, none of the young women having +compassion upon him. At length his fair mate kindly relieves him from +his burden; and her complaisance, in this particular, is considered +as a proof of her satisfaction at the choice she has made. [508]" + +In Bengal, at the full moon immediately following the Durgâ Pûjâ, the +festival of Lakshmî, the goddess of wealth, is held. In every Hindu +house a basket, which serves as the representative of prosperity, is +set up and worshipped. This basket, or corn measure, is filled with +paddy, encircled with a garland of flowers, and covered with a piece +of cloth. They sit up all night and watch for Lakshmî to arrive, +and any negligence in watching is believed to bring misfortune on +the family. [509] + + + +The Broom. + +The same idea applies to the broom used in sweeping the house or +collecting the grain on the threshing-floor. We have already seen +the use of it to drive out poverty. "Pythagoras warned his followers +against stepping over a broom. In some parts of Bavaria, housemaids +in sweeping out the house are careful not to step over the broom for +fear of the witches. Again, it is a Bavarian rule not to step over a +broom while a confinement is taking place in a house; otherwise the +birth will be tedious, and the child will always remain small with +a large head. But if anyone has stepped over a broom inadvertently, +he can undo the spell by stepping backwards over it again." [510] +So, in Bombay, they say you should never step over a broom, or you +will cause a woman to suffer severely in childbed. + +In Bombay, some old Hindu woman, to cure a child affected by the +Evil Eye, waves salt and water round its face and strikes the ground +with a broom three times; and among the Bani Isrâîls of Bombay, +when the midwife drives off the blast of the Evil Eye, she holds in +her left hand a shoe, a winnowing fan, and a broom. [511] In Italy, +the broom is an old Latin charm against sorcery. The Beriyas, a gypsy +tribe of the Ganges-Jumna Duâb, drive off the disease demon with a +broom. In Oudh, it is said, when a broomstick has been done with, +it should always be laid down, and not left standing. Mahâ-Brâhmans, +who gain by officiating at funeral ceremonies, are alleged to violate +this rule in order to cause deaths. [512] + + + +The Rice-pounder. + +The rice-pounder, too, has magical powers. We have seen that it is +one of the articles waved round the heads of the bride and bridegroom +to scare evil spirits. In Bengal, it is worshipped when the child +is first fed with grain. And there is a regular worship of it in the +month of Baisâkh, or May. The top is smeared with red lead, anointed +with oil, and offerings of rice and holy Dûrva grass made to it. The +worship has even been provided with a Brâhmanical legend. A Guru once +ordered his disciple to pronounce the word Dhenk at least one hundred +and eight times a day. Nârada Muni was so pleased with his devotion, +as he is the patron deity of the rice-pounder, that he paid him a +visit riding on one, and carried off his votary to heaven. [513] + + + +The Plough. + +Next comes the plough as a fetish. The carrying about of the plough +and the prohibition common in Europe against moving it on Shrove +Tuesday and other holidays have, like many other images of the same +class, been connected with Phallicism. [514] But, considering the +respect which an agricultural people would naturally pay to the chief +implement used in husbandry, it is simpler to class it with the other +tool fetishes of a similar kind. In India, as in Europe on Plough +Monday, [515] there is a regular worship of the plough at the end of +the sowing season, when the beam is coloured with turmeric, adorned +with garlands, and brought home from the field in triumph. After that +day it is considered unlucky to use it or lend it. The beam is put +up in the village cattle track when rinderpest is about, as a charm +to drive away the disease. Among some castes the polished share is +fixed up in the marriage shed during the ceremony. Among the Orâons, +the bride and bridegroom are made to stand on a curry stone, under +which is placed a sheaf of corn resting on the plough yoke, and among +the same people their god Darha is represented by a plough-share set +upon an altar dedicated to him. [516] Here we have the mystic influence +of grain and iron combined with the agricultural implement fetish. + + + +Fire. + +Fire is undoubtedly a very ancient Hindu protective fetish, and its +virtue as a scarer of demons is very generally recognized. One of +the earliest legends of the Hindu race is that recorded in the Rig +Veda, where Agni, the god of fire, concealed himself in heaven, was +brought down to earth by Mâtarisvan, and made over to the princely +tribe of Bhrigu, in which we have the Oriental version of the myth +of Prometheus. In the Vedas, Agni ranks next to the Rain god, and +takes precedence of every other god in connection with sacrificial +rites. Even the Sun godling is regarded as a form of the heavenly +fire. One of the titles of Agni is Pramantha, because on each occasion +when he was required he was summoned by the friction of the Aranî, +or sacred fire-drill. This word Pramantha is probably the equivalent +of the Prometheus of the Greeks. + + + +Origin of Fire-worship. + +According to Dr. Tylor, "the real and absolute worship of fire falls +into two great divisions, the first belonging to fetishism, the +second to polytheism proper, and the two apparently representing an +earlier and later stage of theological ideas. The first is the rude, +barbarous adoration of the actual flame which he watches writhing, +devouring, roaring like a wild animal; the second belongs to an +advanced generalization that any individual fire is a manifestation +of one general elemental being, the fire god." [517] In a tropical +country it would naturally be associated with the worship of the sun, +and with that of the sainted dead as the medium by which the spirit +wings its way to the other world. Among many races fire is provided +for the ghost after interment, to enable it to warm itself and cook +its food. As Mr. Spencer points out, the grave fire would tend to +develop into kindred religious rites. [518] + + + +The Sacred Fire. + +But it is almost certainly erroneous to class the sacred fire as an +institution peculiar to the so-called Aryan races. The Homa is, of +course, one of the most important elements of the modern Hindu ritual; +but at the same time it prevails extensively as a means of propitiating +the local or village godlings among many of the Drâvidian races, who +are quite as likely to have discovered for themselves the mystical +art of fire production by mechanical means, as to have adopted it by +a process of conscious or unconscious imitation from the usages of +their Hindu neighbours. + +The production of fire by means of friction is a discovery which would +naturally occur to jungle races, who must have constantly seen it occur +by the ignition of the bamboo stalks rubbed together by the blasts +of summer. From this would easily be developed the very primitive +fire-drill or Asgara, used to this day by the Cheros, Korwas, Bhuiyas +and other Drâvidian dwellers in the jungle. These people even to the +present day habitually produce fire in this way. A small round cavity +is made in a dry piece of bamboo, in which two men alternately with +their open hands revolve a second pointed piece of the wood of the same +tree. Smoke and finally fire are rapidly produced in this way, and the +sparks are received on a dry leaf or other suitable tinder. The use +of the flint and steel is also common, and was possibly an early and +independent invention of the same people. Even to the present day in +some of their more secret worship of the village godlings of disease, +fire is produced for the fire sacrifice by this primitive method. + + + +The Fire-drill. + +What has been called the Aryan fire-drill, the Aranî, which in +one sense means "foreign" or "strange," and in another "moving" +or "entering," "being inserted," is not apparently nowadays used +in the ordinary ritual for the production of fire for the Homa or +fire sacrifice. The rites connected with the sacred fire have been +given in detail in another place. [519] In Northern India, at least, +the production of the sacred fire has become the speciality of one +branch of the Brâhmans, the Gujarâti, who are employed to conduct +certain special services occasionally conducted at large cost by +wealthy devotees, and known as Jag or Yaksha, in the sense of some +particular religious rite. + +The Aranî in its modern form consists of five pieces. The Adhararanî is +the lower bed of the instrument, and is usually made of the hard wood +of the Khadira or Khair--Acacia catechu. In this are bored two shallow +holes, one, the Garta, a small shallow round cavity, in which the +plunger or revolving drill works and produces fire by friction. Close +to this is a shallow oblong cavity, known as the Yonî or matrix, +in which combustible tinder, generally the husk of the cocoanut, +is placed, and in which the sparks and heated ashes are received +and ignited. The upper or revolving portion of the drill is known +as Uttararanî or Pramantha. This consists of two parts, the upper +portion a piece of hard, round wood which one priest revolves with +a rope or cord known as Netra. This part of the implement is known +as Mantha or "the churner." It has a socket at the base in which the +Sanku, a spike or dart, is fixed. This Sanku is made of a softer wood, +generally that of the Pîpal, or sacred fig tree, than the Adhararanî +or base; and each Aranî is provided with several spare pieces of fig +wood for the purpose of replacing the Sanku, as it becomes gradually +charred away by friction. The last piece is the Upamantha or upper +churner, which is a flat board with a socket. This is pressed down +by one priest, so as to force the Sanku deep and hard into the Garta +or lower cavity, and to increase the resistance. + +The working of the implement thus requires the labour of two priests, +one of whom presses down the plunger, and the other who revolves the +drill rapidly by means of the rope. It is not easy to obtain specimens +of the implement, which is regarded as possessing mystical properties, +and the production of the sacred fire is always conducted in secret. + +We have in one of the African folk-tales a reference to the production +of the fire by friction, in which the hyæna gets his ear burnt. [520] +In one of the tales of Somadeva we read, "Then the Brâhman blessed +the king and said to him, 'I am a Brâhman named Nâga Sarman, and bear +the fruit, I hope, from my sacrifice. When the god of fire is pleased +with this Vilva sacrifice, then Vilva fruits of gold will come out +of the fire cavity. Then the god of fire will appear in bodily form, +and grant me a boon, and so I have spent much time in offering Vilva +fruits.' Then the seven-rayed god appeared from the sacrificial cavity, +bringing the king a golden Vilva fruit of his tree of valour." [521] + +The Agnikunda, the hole or enclosed space for the sacred fire, out +of which, according to the popular legend, various Râjput tribes were +produced, is thus probably derived from the Garta or pit out of which +the sparks fly in the fire-drill. + +The Agnihotri Brâhman has to take particular care to preserve the +germ of the sacred fire, as did the Roman vestal virgins. It is in +charge of the special guardians at some shrines, such as those of +Sambhunâth and Kharg Joginî at Nepâl. [522] + + + +The Muhammadan Sacred Fire. + +But it is not only in the Hindu ritual that the sacred fire holds +a prominent place. Thus, in ancient Ireland, the sacred fire was +obtained by the friction of wood and the striking of stones, and +it was supposed "that the spirits of fire dwelt in these objects, +and when the priests invoked them to appear, they brought good luck +to the household for the coming year, but if invoked by other hands +on that special day, their influence was malific." [523] + +So, among the Muhammadans in the time of Akbar, "at noon of the day +when the sun enters the 19th degree of Aries, the whole world being +surrounded by the light, they expose a round piece of a white shining +stone, called in Hindi Sûrajkrant. [524] A piece of cotton is then held +near it, which catches fire from the heat of the stone. The celestial +fire is committed to the care of proper persons." [525] Perhaps the +best example of the Muhammadan sacred fire is that at the Imâmbâra +at Gorakhpur. There it was first started by a renowned Shiah Faqîr, +named Roshan 'Ali, and has been maintained unquenched for more than +a hundred years, a special body of attendants and supplies of wood +being provided for it. There seems little reason to believe that the +fire is a regular Muhammadan institution; it has probably arisen from +an imitation of the customs of the Hindu Jogis. + +It is respected both by Hindus and Musalmâns, and as in the case +of the fires of the same kind, maintained by many noted Jogis, its +ashes have a reputation as a cure for fever. We shall meet with the +same belief of the curative effects of the ashes of the sacred fire +in the case of the Holî. The ashes of the Jogi's fire form a part of +many popular charms. In Italy, the holy log burnt on Christmas Eve, +which corresponds to the Yule log of the North of Europe, is taken with +due observances to the Faunus, or other spirits of the forest. [526] +In Ireland part of the ashes from the bonfire on the 24th of June is +thrown into sown fields to make their produce abundant. [527] The +ceremony of strewing ashes on the penitent on Ash Wednesday dates +from Saxon times. [528] A modern Muhammadan of the advanced school +has endeavoured to rationalize the curative effect of the ashes of +the Gorakhpur fire by the suggestion that it is the potash in it +which works the cure, but probably the element of faith has much to +do with it. [529] + + + +Volcanic Fire; Will-o'-the-Wisp. + +Fire of a volcanic nature is, as might be expected, regarded with +veneration. Such is the fire which in some places in Kashmîr rises +out of the ground. [530] + +The meteoric light or Shahâba is also much respected. In Hoshangâbâd +there is a local godling, known as Khapra Bâba, who lives on the edge +of a tank, and is said to appear in the darkness with a procession +of lights. [531] In Rohilkhand and the western districts of Oudh, +one often hears of the Shahâba. In burial-grounds, especially where +the bodies of those slain in battle are interred, it is said that +phantom armies appear in the night. Tents are pitched, the horses are +tethered, and lovely girls dance before the heroes and the Jinn who +are in their train. Sometimes some foolish mortal is attracted by the +spectacle, and he suffers for his foolhardiness by loss of life or +reason. Sometimes these ignes fatui mislead the traveller at night, +as Robin Goodfellow "misleads night wanderers, laughing at their +harm," or the Cornish piskies, who show a light and entice people +into bogs. [532] There appears to be in Northern India no trace of +the idea which so widely appears in Europe, that such lights are the +souls of unbaptized children. [533] + + + +The Tomb Fetish. + +Next comes the respect paid to the cairn which covers the remains of +the dead or is a mere cenotaph commemorating a death. We have already +seen instances of this in the pile of stones which marks the place +where a tiger has killed a man, and in the cairns in honour of the +jungle deities, or the spirits which infest dangerous passes. The +rationale of these sepulchral cairns is to keep down the ghost of +the dead man and prevent it from injuring the living. We see the same +idea in the rule of the old ritual, that on the departure of the last +mourner, after the conclusion of the funeral ceremony, the Adhvâryu, +or officiating priest, should place a circle of stones behind him, +to prevent death overtaking those who have gone in advance. [534] + +The primitive grave-heap grows into the cairn, and the cairn into the +tomb or Stûpa. [535] In the way of a tomb Hindus will worship almost +anything. The tomb of an English lady is worshipped at Bhandâra in the +Central Provinces. At Murmari, in the Nâgpur District, a similar tomb +is smeared with turmeric and lime, and people offer cocoanuts to it in +the hope of getting increased produce from their fields. The tomb of an +English officer near the Fort of Bijaygarh in the Aligarh District was, +when I visited the place some years ago, revered as the shrine of the +local village godling. There is a similar case at Râwalpindi. There +is a current tale of some people offering brandy and cigars to the +tomb of a European planter who was addicted to these luxuries in his +lifetime, but no one can tell where the tomb actually exists. [536] + + + +Miscellaneous Fetishes. + +We have already referred to the Sâlagrâma fetish. Akin to this is +the Vishnupada, the supposed footmark of Vishnu, which is very like +the footmark of Hercules, of which Herodotus speaks. [537] + +There is a celebrated Vishnupada temple at Gaya, where the footprint of +Vishnu is in a large silver basin under a canopy, inside an octagonal +shrine. Pindas or holy balls and various kinds of offerings are placed +by the pilgrims inside the basin and around the footprint. [538] +It was probably derived from the footmark of Buddha, which is a +favourite subject in the early Buddhistic sculptures. Dr. Tylor, +curiously enough, thinks that it may have some connection with the +footmarks of extinct birds or animals imprinted on the strata of +alluvial rocks. [539] + +Even among Muhammadans we have the same idea, and the Qadam-i-Rasûl, +or mosque of the footprint of the Prophet at Lucknow, used to contain +a stone marked with his footmarks, which was said to have been brought +by some pilgrim from Arabia. It disappeared during the Mutiny. [540] +There is another in a mosque at Chunâr and at many other places. + +The same respect is paid to the footprint of Râmanand in his monastery +at Benares, and the pin of Brahma's slipper is now fixed up in the +steps of the bathing-place at Bithûr, known as the residence of the +infamous Nâna Sâhib, where it is worshipped at an annual feast. + + + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +ANIMAL-WORSHIP. + + + Tô de kai Automedôn hypage zygon ôkeas hippous + Chanthon kai Balion, tô hama pnoiêsi petesthên + Tous eteke Zephyrô anemô Harpuia Podargê + Boskomenê leimôni para rhoon Ôkeanoio. + + Iliad, xvi. 148-51. + + + +Origin of Animal-worship. + +We now come to consider the special worship of certain animals. The +origin of this form of belief may possibly be traced to many different +sources. + +In the first place, no savage fixes the boundary line between man +and the lower forms of animal life so definitely as more civilized +races are wont to do. The animal, in their belief, has very much the +same soul, much the same feelings and passion as men have, a theory +exemplified in the way the Indian ploughman speaks to his ox, or the +shepherd calls his flock. + +To him, again, the belief is familiar that the spirits of his ancestors +appear in the form of animals, as among the Drâvidian races they +come in the shape of a tiger which attacks the surviving relatives, +or as a chicken which leaves the mark of its footsteps in the ashes +when it re-visits its former home. + +So, all these people believe that the witch soul wanders about at +night, and for want of a better shape enters into some animal, takes +the form of a tiger or a bear, or flies through the air like a bird. + +All through folk-lore we find the idea that man has kinship with +animals generally accepted. We constantly find the girl wooed by the +frog, marrying the pigeon, elephant, eagle, or whale. Every child +in the nursery reads of the frog Prince, and no savage sees any +particular incongruity in his marriage and transformation. In more +than one of the Indian tales the childless wife longs for a child +and is delivered of a snake. + +The incident of animal metamorphosis is also familiar. Thus, in one +of Somadeva's tales his mistress turns a man into an ox; in another +his wife transforms him into a buffalo; in a third the angry hermit +turns the king into an elephant. [541] Everyone remembers the terrific +scene of transformation into various animals which makes up the tale +of the second Qalandar in the Arabian Nights. Animals, too, constantly +assume other shapes. In one of the Bengal stories the mouse becomes a +cat. In other Indian tales the golden deer becomes the mannikin demon, +the white hind becomes the white witch, the hero's mother becomes a +black bitch, the hero himself a parrot, and so on. [542] In fact a +large part of the incidents of Indian stories turns on various forms +of metamorphosis, and every English child knows how the lover of Earl +Mar's daughter took the shape of a dove. + +We have again the very common incident in the folk-tales of animals +understanding the speech of human beings, and men learning the tongue +of birds, and the like. Solomon, according to the Qurân, knew the +language of animals; in the tales of Somadeva, the Vaisya Bhâshâjna +knows the language of all beasts and birds, a faculty which in Germany +is gained by eating a white snake. [543] + +Then there is the large cycle of tales in which the grateful animal +warns the hero or heroine of approaching danger, as in the story of +Bopuluchi, or brings news, or produces gold. The idea of grateful +animals assisting their benefactors runs through the whole range of +folk-lore. [544] + +Another series of cognate ideas has been very carefully analyzed by +Mr. Campbell. The spirits of the dead haunt two places, the house +and the tomb. Those who haunt the house are friendly; those who haunt +the tomb are unfriendly. Two classes of animals correspond to these +two classes of spirits--an at-home, fearless class, as the snake, the +rat, flies and ants and bees, into which the home-haunting or friendly +spirits would go; and a wild, unsociable class, such as bats and owls, +dogs, jackals, or vultures, into which the unfriendly or tomb-haunting +spirits would go. In the case of some of these tomb-haunting animals, +the dog, jackal, and vulture, the feeling towards them as tomb-haunters +seems to have given place to the belief that as the spirit lives in +the tomb where the body is laid, so, if the body be eaten by an animal, +the spirit lives in the animal, as in a living tomb. [545] + +Other animals, again, are invested with particular qualities, +fierceness and courage, strength or agility, and eating part of their +flesh, or wearing a portion as an amulet, conveys to the possessor the +qualities of the animal. A familiar instance of this is the belief in +the claws and flesh of the tiger as amulets or charms against disease +and the influence of evil spirits. + +Many animals, too, are respected for their use to man or as scarers +of demons, as the cow; as possessors of wisdom, like the elephant or +snake; as semi-human in origin or character, as the ape. But it is, +perhaps, dangerous to attempt, as Mr. Campbell has done, to push the +classification much farther, because the respect paid to any particular +animal is possibly based on varied and diverging lines of belief. + +Lastly, as Mr. Frazer has shown, many animals are regarded as +representing the Corn spirit, and are either revered or killed in +their divine forms to promote the return of vegetation with each +recurring spring. + + + +Horse-worship. + +To illustrate some of these principles from the worship of certain +special animals, we may begin with the horse. + +War horses were so highly prized by the early Aryans in their battles +with the aborigines, that the horse, under the name of Dadhikra, +"he that scatters the hoar frost like milk," soon became an object +of worship, and in the Veda we have a spirited account of the worship +paid to this godlike being. [546] + +Another horse often spoken of in the early legends is Syâma Karna, +"he with the black ears," which alone was considered a suitable victim +in the horse sacrifice or Asvamedha. One hundred horse sacrifices +entitled the sacrificer to displace Indra from heaven, so the deity +was always trying to capture the horse which was allowed to roam about +before immolation. The saint Gâlava, who was a pupil of Visvamitra, +when he had completed his studies, asked his tutor what fee he should +pay. The saint told him that he charged no fee, but he insisted in +asking, till at last the angry Rishi said that he would be content +with nothing less than a thousand black-eared horses. After long +search Gâlava found three childless Râjas, who had each two hundred +such horses, and they consented to exchange them for sons. Gâlava then +went to Yayâti, whose daughter could bear a son for any one and still +remain a virgin. By her means the three Râjas became fathers of sons, +Visvamitra took them, and to make up the number, had himself two sons +by the same mystic bride. + +In the Mahâbhârata, Uchchaihsravas, "he with the long ears," or +"he that neighs loudly," is the king of the horses, and belongs to +Indra. He is swift as thought, follows the path of the sun, and is +luminous and white, with a black tail, made so by the magic of the +serpents, who have covered it with black hair. In the folk-tales he +consorts with mares of mortal birth, and begets steeds of unrivalled +speed, like the divine Homeric coursers of Æneas. [547] In the +tales of Somadeva we find the king addressing his faithful horse, +and praying for his aid in danger, as Achilles speaks to his steeds +Xanthos and Balios, and in the Karling legend of Bayard. [548] We +meet also with the horse of Manidatta, which was "white as the moon; +the sound of its neighing was as musical as that of a clear conch or +other sweet-sounding instrument; it looked like the waves of the sea +of milk surging on high; it was marked with curls on the neck, and +adorned with the crest jewels, the bracelet, and other signs, which +it seemed it had acquired by being born in the race of Gandharvas." + +At a later mythological stage we meet Kalki, the white horse which is +to be the last Avatâra of Vishnu, and reminds us of the white horse +of the Book of Revelation. We meet in the Rig Veda with Yatudhanas, +the demon horse, which feeds now upon human flesh (like the Bucephalus +of the legend of Alexander), now upon horseflesh, and now upon milk +from cows. He has a host of brethren, such as Arvan, half horse, +half bird, on which the Daityas are supposed to ride. Dadhyanch or +Dadhîcha has a curious legend. He was a Rishiand. Indra, after teaching +him the sciences, threatened to cut his head off if he communicated +the knowledge to any one else. But the Aswins tempted him to disobey +the god, and then, to save him from the wrath of Indra, cut off his +head and replaced it with that of a horse. Finally Indra found his +horse-head in the lake at Kurukshetra, and using it as Sampson did +the jaw-bone of the ass, he slew the Asuras. We have, again, Vishnu +in the form of Hayagrîva, or "horse-necked," which he assumed to +save the Veda, carried off by two Asuras, and in another shape he +is Hayasiras or Hayasîrsha, which vomits forth fire and drinks up +the waters. In the Purânas we meet the Daitya Kesi, who assumes the +form of a horse and attacks Krishna, but the hero thrusts his hand +into his mouth and rends him asunder. A large chapter of Scottish +folk-lore depends on the doings of magic horses such as these. [549] + +The flying horse of the Arabian Nights has been transferred into +many of the current folk-tales, and has found its way into European +folk-lore. [550] In the same connection we meet the magic bridle; +the flying car, such as Pushpaka, the flying vehicle of Kuvera, the +god of wealth; the flying bed, the Urân Khatola of the Indian tales; +the flying boat, and the flying shoes. [551] + +There are numerous other horses famous in Hindu legend. The saint Alam +Sayyid of Baroda was known as Ghorê Kâ Pîr, or the horse saint. His +horse was buried near him, and Hindus hang images of the animal on +trees round his tomb. [552] We have already spoken of Gûga and his +mare Javâdiyâ. The horse of the king of Bhilsa or Bhadrâvatî was of +dazzling brightness, and regarded as the palladium of the kingdom, +but in spite of all the care bestowed upon it, it was carried off by +the Pândavas. + +There is a stock horse miracle story told in connection with Lâl Beg, +the patron saint of the sweepers. The king of Delhi lost a valuable +horse, and the sweepers were ordered to bury it, but as the animal was +very fat, they proceeded to cut it up for themselves, giving one leg to +the king's priest. They took the meat home and proceeded to cook it, +but being short of salt, they sent an old woman to buy some. She went +to the salt merchant's shop and pressed him to serve her at once, +"If you do not hurry," said she, "a thousand rupees' worth of meat +will be ruined." He informed the king, who, suspecting the state of +the case, ordered the sweepers to produce the horse. They were in +dismay at the order, but they laid what was left of the animal on a +mound sacred to Lâl Beg, and prayed to him to save them, whereupon +the horse stood up, but only on three legs. So they went to the king +and confessed how they had disposed of the fourth leg. The unlucky +priest was executed, and the horse soon after died also. [553] + +The horse is regarded as a lucky and exceedingly pure animal. When a +cooking vessel has become in any way defiled, a common way of purifying +it is to make a horse smell it. In the Dakkhin it is said that evil +spirits will not approach a horse for fear of his foam. [554] In +Northern India, the entry of a man on horseback into a sugar-cane field +during sowing time is regarded as auspicious. This taking of omens +from horses was well known in Germany, and Tacitus says, "Proprium +gentis equorum praesagia ac monitus experiri, hinnitus ac fremitus +observant." [555] There does not appear to be in India any trace of +the idea prevalent in England that the horse has the power of seeing +ghosts, or that it can cure diseases such as whooping cough. [556] +But, like the bull, the stallion is believed to scare the demon of +barrenness. In the Râmâyana, Kausalyâ touches the stallion in the +hope of obtaining sons, and with the same object the king and queen +smell the odour of the burnt marrow or fat of the horse. The water +in which a fish is washed has the same effect on women in Western +folk-lore. With the same object, at the Asvamedha, the queen lies at +night beside the slain sacrificial horse. [557] + +It is popularly supposed that the horse originally had wings, and that +the chestnuts or scars on the legs are the places where the wings +originally grew. Eating horseflesh is supposed to bring on cramp, +and when a Sepoy at rifle practice misses the target, his comrades +taunt him with having eaten the unlucky meat. [558] + + + +Modern Horse-worship. + +Of modern horse-worship there are many examples. The Palliwâl +Brâhmans of Jaysalmer worship the bridle of a horse, which Colonel Tod +supposes to prove the Scythic origin of the early colonists, who were +equestrian as well as nomadic. [559] Horse-worship is still mixed up +with the creed of the Buddhists of Yunân, who doubtless derived it +from India. [560] + +In Western India this form of worship is common. It is the chief object +of reverence at the Dasahra festival. Some Râjput Bhîls worship a deity +called Ghorâdeva or a stone horse; the Bhâtiyas worship a clay horse +at the Dasahra, and the Ojha Kumhârs erect a clay horse on the sixth +day after birth, and make the child worship it. Rag horses are offered +at the tombs of saints at Gujarât. The Kunbis wash their horses on +the day of the Dasahra, decorate them with flowers, sacrifice a sheep +to them, and sprinkle the blood on them. [561] The custom among the +Drâvidian races of offering clay horses to the local gods has been +already noticed. The Gonds have a horse godling in Kodapen, and at the +opening of the rainy season they worship a stone in his honour outside +the village. A Gond priest offers a pottery image of the animal and a +heifer, saying, "Thou art our guardian! Protect our oxen and cows! Let +us live in safety!" [562] The heifer is then sacrificed and the meat +eaten by the worshippers. The Devak or marriage guardian of some of +the Dakkhin tribes is a horse. + + + +The Worship of the Ass. + +The contempt for the ass seems to have arisen in post-Vedic +times. Indra had a swift-footed ass, and one of the epithets of +Vikramaditya was Gadharbha-rûpa, or "he in the form of an ass." The +Vishnu Purâna tells of the demon Dhenuka, who took the form of an +ass and began to kick Balarâma and Krishna, as they were plucking +fruit in the demon's grove. Balarâma seized him, with sundry of his +companions and flung him on the top of a palm tree. Khara, a cannibal +Râkshasa who was killed by Râma Chandra, also used to take the form of +an ass. Muhammad said, "The most ungrateful of all voices is surely the +voice of asses." Muhammadans believe that the last animal which entered +the ark was the ass to which Iblîs was clinging. At the threshold the +beast seemed troubled and could enter no farther, when Noah said unto +him, "Fie upon thee! Come in!" But as the ass was still in trouble +and did not advance, Noah cried, "Come in, though the Devil be with +thee!" So the ass entered, and with him Iblîs. Thereupon Noah asked, +"O enemy of Allah! Who brought thee into the ark?" And Iblîs answered, +"Thou art the man, for thou saidest to the ass, 'Come in, though the +Devil be with thee!'" [563] + +The worship of the ass is chiefly associated with that of Sîtalâ, whose +vehicle he is. The Agarwâla sub-caste of Banyas have a curious rule of +making the bridegroom just before marriage mount an ass. This is done +in secret, and though said to be intended to propitiate the goddess +of small-pox, is possibly a survival of some primitive form of worship. + +In folk-lore the ass constantly appears. We have in Somadeva the +fable of the ass in the panther's skin, which also appears in the +fifth book of the Panchatantra. Professor Weber asserts that it was +derived from the original in Æsop, but this is improbable, as it is +also found in the Buddhist Jâtakas. In one of the Kashmîr tales we +have the bird saying, "If any person will peel off the bark of my +tree, pound it, mix the powder with some of the juice of its leaves +and then work it into a ball, it will be found to work like a charm; +for any one who smells it will be turned into an ass." [564] We have +instances of ass transformation in Apuleius and Lucian, and in German +and other Western folk-tales. + + + +The Lion. + +The lion, from his comparative rarity in Northern India, appears +little in popular belief. It is one of the vehicles of Pârvatî, +and rude images of the animal are sometimes placed near shrines +dedicated to Devî. There is a current idea that only one pair of +lions exists in the world at the same time. They have two cubs, a +male and a female, which, when they arrive at maturity, devour their +parents. In the folk-tales the childless king is instructed that he +will find in the forest a boy riding on a lion, and this will be his +son. The lovely maiden in the legend of Jimutavâhana is met riding on +a lion. We have the lion Pingalika, king of beasts, with the jackal +as his minister, and in one of the cycle of tales in which the weak +animal overcomes the more powerful, the hare by his wisdom causes +the lion to drown himself. The basis of the famous tale of Androcles +is probably Buddhistic, but only a faint reference to it is found +in Somadeva. In one of the modern stories the soldier takes a thorn +out of the tiger's foot, and is rewarded with a box which contains +a manikin, who procures for him all he desires. [565] + + + +The Tiger. + +The tiger naturally takes the place of the lion. According to the +comparative mythologists, "the tiger, panther, and leopard possess +several of the mystical characteristics of the lion as the hidden +sun. Thus, Dionysos and Siva, the phallical god par excellence, +have these animals as their emblems." [566] Siva, it is true, is +represented as sitting in his ascetic form on a tiger skin, but it +is his consort, Durgâ, who uses the animal as her vehicle. Quite +apart from the solar myth theory, the belief that witches are changed +into tigers, and the terror inspired by him, are quite sufficient to +account for the honour bestowed upon him. + +Much also of the worship of the tiger is probably of totemistic +origin. Thus the Baghel Râjputs claim descent, and from him (bâgh, +vyâghra, "the spotted one") derive their name. This tribe will not, +in Central India, destroy the animal. So, "no consideration will +induce a Sumatran to catch or wound a tiger, except in self-defence, or +immediately after the tiger has destroyed a friend or a relation. When +a European has set traps for tigers, the people of the neighbourhood +have been known to go by night to the spot and explain to the tiger +that the traps were not set by them, nor with their consent." The Bhîls +and the Bajrâwat Râjputs of Râjputâna also claim tiger origin. [567] + +Another idea appearing in tiger-worship is that he eats human flesh, +and thus obtains possession of the souls of the victims whom he +devours. For this reason a man-eating tiger is supposed to walk along +with his head bent, because the ghosts of his victims sit on it and +weigh it down. [568] + +He is, again, often the disguise of a sorcerer of evil temper, an +idea similar to that which was the basis of the European dread of +lycanthropy and the were-wolf. "Accounts differ as to the way in which +the were-wolf was chosen. According to one account, a human victim +was sacrificed, one of his bowels was mixed with the bowels of animal +victims, the whole was consumed by the worshippers, and the man who +unwittingly ate the human bowel was changed into a wolf. According +to another account, lots were cast among the members of a particular +family, and he upon whom the lot fell was the were-wolf. Being led +to the brink of a tarn, he stripped himself, hung his clothes on an +oak tree, plunged into the tarn, and swimming across it, went into +desert places. There he was changed into a wolf, and herded with +wolves for nine years. If he tasted human blood before the nine years +were out he had to remain a wolf for ever. If during the nine years +he abstained from preying on men, then, when the tenth year came +round, he recovered his human shape. Similarly, there is a negro +family at the mouth of the Congo who are supposed to possess the +power of turning themselves into leopards in the gloomy depths of +the forest. As leopards, they knock people down, but do no further +harm, for they think that if, as leopards, they once lapped blood, +they would be leopards for ever." [569] + +Hence in India the jungle people who are in the way of meeting him +will not pronounce his name, but speak of him as Gîdar, "the jackal," +Jânwar, "the beast," or use some other euphemistic term. They do +the same in many cases with the wolf and bear, and though they +sometimes hesitate to kill the animal themselves, they will readily +assist sportsmen to destroy him, and make great rejoicings when he is +killed. A Shikâri will break off a branch on the road as he goes along, +and say, "As thy life has departed, so may the tiger die!" When he is +killed they will bring forward some spirits and pour it on the head of +the animal, addressing him, "Mahârâja! During your life you confined +yourself to cattle, and never injured your human subjects. Now that +you are dead, spare us and bless us!" In Akola the gardeners are +unwilling to inform the sportsmen of the whereabouts of a tiger or +panther which may have taken up its quarters in their plantation, +for they have a superstition that a garden plot loses its fertility +from the moment one of these animals is killed there. So, with the +Ainos of Japan, who when a bear is trapped or wounded by an arrow, +go through an apologetic or propitiatory ceremony. [570] + +In Nepâl they have a regular festival in honour of the tiger known +as the Bâgh Jâtra, in which the worshippers used to dance in the +disguise of tigers. + + + +Tiger-worship among the Jungle Races. + +But, as is natural, the worship of the tiger prevails more widely +among the jungle races. We have already met with Bâgheswar, the tiger +deity of the Mirzapur forest tribes. The Santâls also worship him, +and the Kisâns honour him as Banrâja, or "lord of the jungle." They +will not kill him, and believe that in return for their devotion +he will spare them. Another branch of the tribe does not worship +him, but all swear by him. The Bhuiyârs, on the contrary, have no +veneration for him, and think it their interest to slay him whenever +they have an opportunity. The Juângs take their oaths on earth from +an ant-hill, and on a tiger's skin; the ant-hill is a sacred object +with the Khariyas, and the tiger skin is brought in when the Hos and +Santâls are sworn. Among the eastern Santâls, the tiger is worshipped, +but in Râmgarh only those who have suffered from the animal's ferocity +condescend to adore him. If a man is carried off by a tiger, the Bâgh +Bhût, or "Tiger ghost," is worshipped, and an oath on a tiger's skin +is considered most solemn. [571] + + + +Bâgh Deo, the Tiger Godling. + +Further west the Kurkus of Hoshangâbâd worship the tiger godling, +Bâgh Deo, who is the Wâgh Deo of Berâr. At Petri in Berâr is a sort +of altar to Wâghâî Devî, the tiger goddess, founded on a spot where a +Gond woman was once seized by a tiger. She is said to have vanished as +if by some supernatural agency, and the Gonds who desire protection +from wild beasts present to her altar gifts of every kind of animal +from a cow downwards. A Gond presides over the shrine and receives +the votive offerings. + +In Hoshangâbâd the Bhomka is the priest of Bâgh Deo. "On him devolves +the dangerous duty of keeping tigers out of the boundaries. When a +tiger visits a village, the Bhomka repairs to Bâgh Deo, and makes his +offerings to the god, and promises to repeat them for so many years on +condition that the tiger does not appear for that time. The tiger, on +his part, never fails to fulfil the compact thus solemnly made by his +lord; for he is pre-eminently an upright and honourable beast--'pious +withal,' as Mandeville says, not faithless or treacherous like the +leopard, whom no compact can bind. Some Bhomkas, however, masters +of more powerful spell, are not obliged to rely on the traditional +honour of the tiger, but compel his attendance before Bâgh Deo; and +such a Bhomka has been seen, a very Daniel among tigers, muttering +his incantations over two or three at a time as they crouched before +him. Still more mysterious was the power of Kâlibhît Bhomka (now, +alas! no more). He died, the victim of misplaced confidence in a +Louis Napoleon of tigers, the basest and most bloodthirsty of his +race. He had a fine large Sâj tree into which, when he uttered his +spells, he would drive a nail. On this the tiger came and ratified the +contract with enormous paw manual. Such was that of Timûr the Lame, +when he dipped his mighty hand in blood and stamped its impression +on a parchment grant." [572] + +In the same way in other parts of the Central Provinces the village +sorcerers profess to be able to call tigers from the jungles, to +seize them by the ears, and control their voracity by whispering to +them a command not to come near their villages, or they pretend to +know a particular kind of root, by burying which they can prevent +the beasts of the forest from devouring men or cattle. With the same +object they lay on the pathway small models of bedsteads and other +things which are supposed to act as charms and stop their advance. + + + +Magical Powers of Dead Tigers. + +All sorts of magical powers are ascribed to the tiger after death. The +fangs, the claws, the whiskers are potent charms, valuable for love +philters and prophylactics against demoniacal influence, the Evil Eye, +disease and death. The milk of a tigress is valuable medicine, and it +is one of the stock impossible tasks or tests imposed upon the hero +to find and fetch it, as he is sent to get the feathers of the eagle, +water from the well of death, or the mystical cow guarded by Dânos or +Râkshasas. [573] The fat is considered a valuable remedy for rheumatism +and similar maladies. The heart and flesh are tonics, stimulants and +aphrodisiacs, and give strength and courage to those who use them. The +Miris of Assam prize tiger's flesh as food for men; it gives them +strength and courage; but it is not suited for women, as it would +make them too strong-minded. [574] The whiskers are believed, among +other qualities which they possess, to be a slow poison when taken +with food, and the curious rudimentary clavicles, known as Santokh or +"happiness," are highly valued as amulets. There is a general belief +that a tiger gets a new lobe to his liver every year. A favourite +amulet to repel demoniacal influence consists of the whiskers of the +tiger or leopard mixed with nail parings, some sacred root or grass, +and red lead, and hung on the throat or upper arm. This treatment +is particularly valuable in the case of young children immediately +after birth. Tiger's flesh is also a potent medicine and charm, and +it is burnt in the cow-stall when cattle disease prevails. The flesh +of the tiger, or if that be not procurable, the flesh of the jackal +is burnt in the fields to keep off blight from the crops. + + + +Tigers, Propitiation of. + +Some tigers are supposed to be amenable to courtesy. In one of +the Kashmîr tales, the hero in search of tiger's milk shoots an +arrow and pierces one of the teats of the tigress, to whom he +explains that he hoped she would thus be able to suckle her cubs +with less trouble. In other tales we find the tiger pacified if +he is addressed as "Uncle." [575] So, Colonel Tod describes how a +tiger attacked a boy near his camp, and was supposed to have, like +the fierce Râkshasa of the Nepâl legend, released the child when he +was addressed as "Uncle." [576] "This Lord of the Black Rock, for +such is the designation of the tiger, is one of the most ancient +bourgeois of Morwan; his stronghold is Kâla Pahâr, between this +and Magawâr; and his reign during a long series of years has been +unmolested, notwithstanding numerous acts of aggression on his bovine +subjects. Indeed, only two nights before he was disturbed gorging on +a buffalo belonging to a poor oilman of Morwan. Whether the tiger +was an incarnation of one of the Mori lords of Morwan, tradition +does not say; but neither gun, bow, nor spear has ever been raised +against him. In return for this forbearance, it is said, he never +preyed on man; or if he seized one, would, on being entreated with +the endearing epithet of 'Uncle,' let go his hold." [577] + + + +Tiger-worship among the Gonds. + +Among the Gonds tiger-worship assumes a particularly disgusting +form. At marriages among them, a terrible apparition appears of two +demoniacs possessed by Bâgheswar, the tiger god. They fall ravenously +on a bleating kid, and gnaw it with their teeth till it expires. "The +manner," says Captain Samuells, who witnessed the performance, +"in which the two men seized the kid with their teeth and killed +it was a sight which could only be equalled on a feeding day in the +Zoological Gardens or a menagerie." [578] + + + +Men Metamorphosed into Tigers. + +The only visible difference between the ordinary animal and a man +metamorphosed into a tiger was explained to Colonel Sleeman to consist +in the fact that the latter had no tail. In the jungles about Deori +there is said to be a root, which if a man eats, he is converted +into a tiger on the spot; and if, when in this state, he eats another +species of root, he is turned back into a man again. + +"A melancholy instance of this," said Colonel Sleeman's informant, +"occurred in my own father's family when I was an infant. His washerman +Raghu was, like all washermen, a great drunkard. Being seized with a +violent desire to ascertain what a man felt like in the state of a +tiger, he went one day to the jungle and brought back two of these +roots, and desired his wife to stand by with one of them, and the +instant she saw him assume the tiger's shape to thrust the root she +held into his mouth. She consented, and the washerman ate his root +and instantly became a tiger, whereupon she was so terrified that +she ran off with the antidote in her hand. Poor old Raghu took to the +woods, and there ate a good many of his friends from the neighbouring +villages; but he was at last shot, and recognized from his having +no tail. You may be quite sure when you hear of a tiger having no +tail that it is some unfortunate man who has eaten of that root, +and of all the tigers he will be found the most mischievous." [579] + +This is a curious reversal of the ordinary theory regarding the tail +of the tiger, to which a murderous strength is attributed. A Hindu +proverb says that the hair of a tiger's tail may be the means of +losing one's life. This has been compared by Professor De Gubernatis +with the tiger Mantikora spoken of by Ktesias, which has on its tail +hairs which are darts thrown by it for the purpose of defence. [580] + +A Nepâl legend describes how some children made a clay image of a +tiger, and thinking the figure incomplete without a tongue, went +to fetch a leaf to supply the defect. On their return they found +that Bhairava had entered the image and had begun to devour their +sheep. The image of Bâgh Bhairava and the deified children are still +to be seen at this place. We have the same legend in the Panchatantra +and the tales of Somadeva, where four Brâhmans resuscitate a tiger +and are devoured by it. [581] + +We have many instances in the folk-tales of the tiger befooled. In +one of the tales told by the Mânjhis of Mirzapur the goat has kids +in the tiger's den, and when he arrives she makes her kids squall +and pretends that she wants some tiger's flesh for them. [582] In a +Panjâbi tale the farmer's wife rides up to the tiger calling out, +"I hope I may find a tiger in this field, for I have not tasted +tiger's flesh since the day before yesterday, when I killed three," +whereupon the tiger runs away. The tale which tells how the jackal +succeeds in getting the tiger back into the cage and thus saves the +Brâhman is common in Indian folk-lore. [583] + + + +Dog-worship. + +In the Nepâl legend which we have been discussing we find Bhairava +associated with the tiger, but his prototype, the local godling +Bhairon, has the dog as his sacred animal, and his is the only temple +in Benares into which the dog is admitted. [584] + +Two conflicting lines of thought seem to meet in dog-worship. As +Mr. Campbell says, "There is a good house-guarding dog, and an evil +scavenging and tomb-haunting dog. Some of the products of the dog +are so valued in driving off spirits that they seem to be a distinct +element in the feeling of respect shown to the dog. Still it seems +better to consider the dog as a man-eater, and to hold that, like +the tiger, this was the original reason why the dog was considered +a guardian." [585] It is perhaps in this connection that the dog is +associated with Yama, the god of death. + +An ancient epithet of the dog is Kritajna, "he that is mindful +of favours," which is also a title of Siva. The most touching +episode of the Mahâbhârata is where Yudhisthira refuses to enter the +heaven of Indra without his favourite dog, which is really Yama in +disguise. These dogs of Yama probably correspond to the Orthros and +Kerberos of the Greeks, and Kerberos has been connected etymologically +with Sarvari, which is an epithet of the night, meaning originally +"dark" or "pale." [586] The same idea shows itself in the Pârsi +respect for the dog, which may be traced to the belief of the early +Persians. The dog's muzzle is placed near the mouth of the dying Pârsi +in order that it may receive his parting breath and bear it to the +waiting angel, and the destruction of a corpse by dogs is looked on +with no feeling of abhorrence. The same idea is found in Buddhism, +where on the early coins "the figure of a dog in connection with a +Buddhist Stûpa recalls to mind the use to which the animal was put in +the bleak highlands of Asia in the preferential form of sepulchre over +exposure to birds and wild beasts in the case of deceased monks or +persons of position in Tibet. Strange and horrible as it may seem to +us to be devoured by domestic dogs, trained and bred for the purpose, +it was the most honourable form of burial among Tibetans." [587] + +The Kois of Central India hold in great respect the Pândava brethren +Arjuna and Bhîma. The wild dogs or Dhol are regarded as the Dûtas +or messengers of the heroes, and the long black beetles which appear +in large numbers at the beginning of the hot weather are called the +Pândavas' goats. None of them will on any account interfere with +these divine dogs, even when they attack their cattle. [588] + + + +Dog-worship: Bhairon. + +In modern times dog-worship appears specially in connection with the +cultus of Bhairon, the Brâhmanical Bhairava, the Bhairoba of Western +India. No Marâtha will lift his hand against a dog, and in Bombay +many Hindus worship the dog of Kâla Bhairava, though the animal is +considered unclean by them. Khandê Râo or Khandoba or Khandoji is +regarded as an incarnation of Siva and much worshipped by Marâthas. He +is most frequently represented as riding on horseback and attended by a +dog and accompanied by his wife Malsurâ, another form of Pârvatî. His +name is usually derived from the Khanda or sword which he carries, +but Professor Oppert without much probability would connect it with +that of the aboriginal Khândhs who are supposed to have been original +settlers in Khândesh, after whom it was called. [589] In many temples +of Bhaironnâth, as at Benares and Hardwâr, he is depicted on the +wall in a deep blue colour approaching to black, and behind him +is the figure of the dog on which he rides. Sweetmeat sellers make +little images of a dog in sugar, which are presented to the deity as +an offering. + +At Lohâru, in the Panjâb, a common-looking grave is much respected +by the Hindus. It is said to contain the remains of a dog formerly +possessed by the chief of the victorious Thâkurs, which is credited +with having done noble service in battle, springing up and seizing +the wounded warriors' throats, many of whom it slew. Finally it was +killed and buried on the spot with beat of drum, and has since been an +object of worship and homage. "Were it not," says General Cunningham, +"for the Sagparast of Naishapur, mentioned in Khusru's charming Darvesh +tales, this example of dog-worship would probably be unique." [590] +This is, it is hardly necessary to say, a mistake. + +Thus, close to Bulandshahr, there is a grove with four tombs, which +are said to be the resting-place of three holy men and their favourite +dog, which died when the last of the saints departed this life. They +were buried together, and their tombs are held in much respect by +Muhammadans. [591] + +In Pûna, Dattâtreya is guarded by four dogs which are said to stand +for the four Vedas, and at Jejuri and Nâgpur children are dedicated +to the dogs of Khandê Râo. The Ghisâdis, on the seventh day after a +birth, go and worship water, and on coming back rub their feet on a +dog. At Dharwâr, on the fair day of the Dasahra at Malahâri's temple, +the Vâggayya ministrants dress in blue woollen coats and meet with bell +and skins tied round their middles, the pilgrims barking and howling +like dogs. Each Vâggayya has a wooden bowl into which the pilgrims +put milk and plantains. Then the Vâggayyas lay down the bowls, fight +with each other like dogs, and putting their mouths into the bowls, +eat the contents. [592] In Nepâl, there is a festival, known as +the Khichâ Pûjâ, in which worship is done to dogs, and garlands of +flowers are placed round the neck of every dog in the country. [593] +Among the Gonds, if a dog dies or is born, the family has to undergo +purification. [594] + + + +Dogs in Folk-lore: The Bethgelert Legend. + +The famous tale of Bethgelert, the faithful hound which saves the +child of his master from the wolf and is killed by mistake, appears +all through the folk-tales and was probably derived from India. In the +Indian version the dog usually belongs to a Banya or to a Banjâra, +who mortgages him to a merchant. The merchant is robbed and the dog +discovers the stolen goods. In his gratitude the merchant ties round +the neck of the dog a scrap of paper, on which he records that the +debt has been satisfied. The dog returns to his original master, +who upbraids him for deserting his post, and, without looking at the +paper, kills him, only to be overcome by remorse when he learns the +honesty of the faithful beast. This famous tale is told at Haidarâbâd, +Lucknow, Sîtapur, Mirzapur, and Kashmîr. In its more usual form, as +in the Panchatantra and the collection of Somadeva, the mungoose takes +the place of the dog and kills the cobra on the baby's cradle. [595] + +Throughout folk-lore the dog is associated with the spirits of the +dead, as we have seen to be the case with Syâma, "the black one," and +Sabala or Karvara, the "spotted ones," the attendants of Yama. [596] +Hence the dog is regarded as the guardian of the household, which +they protect from evil spirits. According to Aubrey, [597] "all +over England a spayed bitch is accounted wholesome in a house; that +is to say they have a strong belief that it keeps away evil spirits +from haunting of a house." As in the Odyssey, the two swift hounds of +Telemachus bear him company and recognize Athene when she is invisible +to others, and the dogs of Virgil howl when the goddess approaches, +so the Muhammadans believe that dogs recognize Azraîl, the angel of +death, and in Northern India it is supposed that dogs have the power +of seeing spirits, and when they see one they howl. In Shakespeare +King Henry says:-- + + + "The owl shriek'd at thy birth, an evil sign; + The night-crow cried, aboding luckless time; + Dogs howled and hideous tempests shook down trees." + + +Hence in all countries the howling of dogs in the vicinity of a house +is an omen of approaching misfortune. + +The respect for the dog is well shown in the case of the Bauris of +Bengal, who will on no account kill a dog or touch its body, and the +water of a tank in which a dog has been drowned cannot be used until +an entire rainy season has washed the impurity away. They allege +that as they kill cows and most other animals, they deem it right +to fix on some beast which should be as sacred to them as the cow to +the Brâhman, and they selected the dog because it was a useful animal +when alive and not very nice to eat when dead, "a neat reconciliation +of the twinges of conscience and cravings of appetite." [598] + +Various omens are in the Panjâb drawn from dogs. When out hunting, +if they lie on their backs and roll, as they generally do when they +find a tuft of grass or soft ground, it shows that plenty of game +will be found. If a dog lies quietly on his back in the house, it +is a bad omen, for the superstition runs that the dog is addressing +heaven for support, and that some calamity is bound to happen. [599] + +We have seen already that some of the Central Indian tribes respect the +wild dog. The same is the case in the Hills, where they are known as +"God's hounds," and no native sportsman will kill them. [600] In one +of Grimm's tales we read that the "Lord God had created all animals, +and had chosen out the wolf to be his dog," and the dogs of Odin were +wolves. [601] Another sacred dog in Indian folk-lore is that of the +hunter Shambuka. His master threw him into the sacred pool of Uradh +in the Himâlaya. Coming out dripping, he shook some of the water +on his owner, and such was the virtue of even this partial ablution +that on their death both hunter and dog were summoned to the heaven +of Siva. [602] + +All over Northern India the belief in the curative power of the tongue +of the dog widely prevails. In Ireland they say that a dried tongue +of a fox will draw out thorns, however deep they be, and an old late +Latin verse says:-- + + + In cane bis bina sunt, et lingua medicina + Naris odoratus, amor intiger, atque latratus. [603] + + +Among Musalmâns the dog is impure. The vessel it drinks from must be +washed seven times and scrubbed with earth. The Qurân directs that +before a dog is slipped in chase of game, the sportsman should call +out, "In the name of God, the great God!" Then all game seized by +him becomes lawful food. + + + +The Goat. + +The goat is another animal to which mystic powers are attributed. In +the mythology of the West he is associated with Dionysos, Pan, and +the Satyr. In England it is commonly believed that he is never seen +for twenty-four hours together, and that once in this space he pays +a visit to the Devil to have his beard combed. [604] The Devil, they +say, sometimes appears in this form, which accounts for his horns +and tail. The wild goat was associated with the worship of Artemis, +the Arab unmarried goddess. [605] In the Râmâyana, Agamukhî, or +"goat's face," is the witch who wishes Sîtâ to be torn to pieces. + +Mr. Conway asks whether this idea about the goat is due to the smell +of the animal, its butting and injury to plants, or was it demonized +merely because of its uncanny and shaggy appearance? [606] Probably +the chief reason is because it has a curious habit of occasionally +shivering, which is regarded as caused by some indwelling spirit. The +Thags in their sacrifice used to select two goats, black, and perfect +in all their parts. They were bathed and made to face the west, and if +they shook themselves and threw the water off their hair, they were +regarded as a sacrifice acceptable to Devî. Hence in India a goat +is led along a disputed boundary, and the place where it shivers is +regarded as the proper line. Plutarch says that the Greeks would not +sacrifice a goat if it did not shiver when water was thrown over it. + +In the Panjâb it is believed that when a goat kills a snake it eats it +and then ruminates, after which it spits out a Manka or bead, which, +when applied to a snake-bite, absorbs the poison and swells. If it be +then put in milk and squeezed, the poison drips out of it like blood, +and the patient is cured. If it is not put in milk, it will burst to +pieces. [607] It hence resembles the Ovum Anguinum, or Druid's Egg, +to which reference has been already made. [608] If a person suffers +from spleen, they take the spleen of a he-goat, if the patient be a +male; or of a she-goat, if the patient be a female. It is rubbed on +the region of the spleen seven times on a Sunday or Tuesday, pierced +with acacia thorns and hung on a tree. As the goat's spleen dries, +the spleen of the patient reduces. + +The horn is regarded as somehow most closely connected with the +brain. So, in the "Merry Wives of Windsor," Mrs. Quickly says: +"If he had found the young man, he would have been horn mad," and +Horace gives the advice, "Fenum habet in cornu longe fuge." Martial +describes how in his time the Roman shrines were covered with horns, +Dissimulatque deum cornibus ora frequens. [609] + +It is for this reason that the local shrines in the Himâlaya are +decorated with horns of the wild sheep, ibex, and goat. In Persia many +houses are adorned with rams' heads fixed to the corners near the roof, +which are to protect the building from misfortune. In Bilochistân and +Afghanistân it is customary to place the horns of the wild goat and +sheep on the walls of forts and mosques. [610] Akbar covered his Kos +Minars or mile-stones with the horns of the deer he had killed. The +conical support of the Banjâra woman's head-dress was originally +a horn, and many classes of Faqîrs tie a piece of horn round their +necks. We have the well-known horn of plenty, and it is very common +in the folk-tales to find objects taken out of the ears or horns of +the helpful animals. [611] + + + +Goat and Totemism. + +We perhaps get a glimpse of totemism in connection with the goat in +some of the early Hindu legends. When Parusha, the primeval man, +was divided into his male and female parts, he produced all the +animals, and the goat was first formed out of his mouth. There is, +again, a mystical connection between Agni, the fire god, Brâhmans, +and goats, as between Indra, the Kshatriyas, and sheep, Vaisyas and +kine, Sûdras and the horse. These may possibly have been tribal totems +of the races by whom these animals were venerated. [612] The sheep, +as we have already seen, is a totem of the Keriyas. The Aheriyas, +a vagrant tribe of the North-Western Provinces, worship Mekhasura or +Meshasura in the form of a ram. + + + +Cow and Bull Worship. + +But the most famous of these animal totems or fetishes is the cow or +bull. According to the school of comparative mythology the bull which +bore away Europe from Kadmos is the same from which the dawn flies +in the Vedic hymn. He, according to this theory, is "the bull Indra, +which, like the sun, traverses the heaven, bearing the dawn from +east to west. But the Cretan bull, like his fellow in the Gnossian +labyrinth, who devours the tribute children from the city of the Dawn +goddess, is a dark and malignant monster, akin to the throttling snake +who represents the powers of night and darkness." [613] This may be +so, but the identification of primitive religion, in all its varied +phases, with the sun or other physical phenomena is open to the obvious +objection that it limits the ideas of the early Aryans to the weather +and their dairies, and antedates the regard for the cow to a period +when the animal was held in much less reverence than it is at present. + + + +Respect for the Cow Modern. + +That the respect for the cow is of comparatively modern date is best +established on the authority of a writer, himself a Hindu. "Animal +food was in use in the Epic period, and the cow and bull were often +laid under requisition. In the Aitareya Brâhmana, we learn that an +ox, or a cow which suffers miscarriage, is killed when a king or +honoured guest is received. In the Brâhmana of the Black Yajur Veda +the kind and character of the cattle which should be slaughtered in +minor sacrifices for the gratification of particular divinities are +laid down in detail. Thus a dwarf one is to be sacrificed to Vishnu, +a drooping-horned bull to Indra, a thick-legged cow to Vâyu, a barren +cow to Vishnu and Varuna, a black cow to Pûshan, a cow having two +colours to Mitra and Varuna, a red cow to Indra, and so on. In a larger +and more important ceremonial, like the Aswamedha, no less than one +hundred and eighty domestic animals, including horses, bulls, goats, +sheep, deer, etc., were sacrificed. + +"The same Brâhmana lays down instructions for carving, and the +Gopatha Brâhmana tells us who received the portions. The priests +got the tongue, the neck, the shoulder, the rump, the legs, etc., +while the master of the house wisely appropriated to himself the +sirloin, and his wife had to be satisfied with the pelvis. Plentiful +libations of Soma beer were to be allowed to wash down the meat. In +the Satapatha Brâhmana we have a detailed account of the slaughter +of a barren cow and its cooking. In the same Brâhmana there is an +amusing discussion as to the propriety of eating the meat of an ox +or cow. The conclusion is not very definite. 'Let him (the priest) +not eat the flesh of the cow and the ox.' Nevertheless Yajnavalkya +said (taking apparently a very practical view of the matter), 'I, +for one, eat it, provided it is tender.'" [614] + +The evidence that cows were freely slaughtered in ancient times could +be largely extended. It is laid down in the early laws that the meat +of milch cows and oxen may be eaten, and a guest is called a Goghna or +"cow-killer," because a cow was killed for his entertainment. [615] +In the Grihya Sûtra we have a description of the sacrifice of an ox to +Kshetrapati, "the lord of the fields." In another ancient ritual the +sacrifice of a cow is stated to be very similar to that of the Satî, +and, according to an early legend, kine were created from Parusha, +the primal male, and are to be eaten as they were formed from the +receptacle of food. [616] + +It need hardly be said that the worship of the cow is not peculiar +to India, but prevails widely in various parts of the world. [617] + + + +Origin of Cow-worship. + +The explanation of the origin of cow-worship has been a subject of +much controversy. The modern Hindu, if he has formed any distinct +ideas at all on the subject, bases his respect for the cow on her +value for supplying milk, and for general agricultural purposes. The +Panchagâvya, or five products of the cow--milk, curds, butter, urine, +and dung--are efficacious as scarers of demons, are used as remedies in +disease, and play a very important part in domestic ritual Gaurochana, +a bright yellow pigment prepared from the urine or bile of the cow, +or, as is said by some, vomited by her or found in her head, is +used for making the sectarial mark, and as a sedative, tonic, and +anthelmintic. In Bombay it is specially used as a remedy for measles, +which is considered to be a spirit disease. [618] + +There is, again, something to be said for the theory which finds in +these animals tribal totems and fetishes. [619] We have a parallel +case among the Jews, where the bull was probably the ancient symbol of +the Hyksos, which the Israelites having succeeded them could adopt, +especially as it may have been retained in use by their confederates +the Midianites; and it appears in the earliest annals of Israel as +a token of the former supremacy of Joseph and his tribe, and was +subsequently adopted as an image of Iahveh himself. + +So, speaking of Egypt, Mr. Frazer writes: "Osiris was regularly +identified with the bull Apis of Memphis and the bull Mnevis of +Heliopolis. But it is hard to say whether these bulls were embodiments +of him as the corn spirit, as the red oxen appear to have been, or +whether they were not entirely distinct deities which got fused with +Osiris by syncretism. The fact that these two bulls were worshipped +by all the Egyptians, seems to put them on a different footing from +the ordinary sacred animals, whose cults were purely local. Hence, +if the latter were evolved from totems, as they probably were, some +other origin would have to be found for the worship of Apis and +Mnevis. If these bulls were not originally embodiments of the corn +god Osiris, they may possibly be descendants of the sacred cattle +worshipped by a pastoral people. If this were so, ancient Egypt +would exhibit a stratification of the three great types of religion +corresponding to the three great stages of society. Totemism or +(roughly speaking) the worship of wild animals--the religion of +society in the hunting stage--would be represented by the worship +of the local sacred animals; the worship of cattle--the religion of +society in the pastoral stage--would be represented by the cults of +Apis and Mnevis; and the worship of cultivated plants, especially +of corn--the religion of society in the agricultural stage--would be +represented by the worship of Osiris and Isis. The Egyptian reverence +for cows, which were never killed, might belong either to the second +or third of these stages." [620] + +There is some evidence that the same process of religious development +may have taken place in India. It is at least significant that the +earlier legends represent Indra as created from a cow; and we know that +Indra was the Kuladevatâ or family godling of the race of the Kusikas, +as Krishna was probably the clan deity of some powerful confederation +of Râjput tribes. Cow-worship is thus closely connected with Indra and +with Krishna in his forms as the "herdman god," Govinda or Gopâla; +and it is at least plausible to conjecture that the worship of the +cow may have been due to the absorption of the animal as a tribal +totem of the two races, who venerated these two divinities. + +Further, the phallic significance of the worship, in its modern form +at least, and its connection with fertility cannot be altogether +ignored. [621] This is particularly shown in the close connection +between Siva's bull Nandi and the Lingam worship; and there seems +reason to suspect that the bull is intended to intercept the evil +influences which in the popular belief are continually emitted from +the female principle through the Yonî. As we have already seen, the +dread of this form of pollution is universal. Hence when the Lingam +is set up in a new village the people are careful in turning the spout +of the Yonî towards the jungle, and not in the direction of the roads +and houses, lest its evil influence should be communicated to them; and +in order still further to secure this object, the bull Nandi is placed +sitting as a guardian between the Yonî and the inhabited site. [622] + +Cow-worship assumes another form in connection with the theory of +transmigration. It has become part of the theory that the soul migrates +into the cow immediately preceding its assumption of the human form, +and she escorts the soul across the dreaded river Vaitaranî, which +bounds the lower world. + + + +Cow-worship: Its Later Development. + +Though cow-worship was little known in the Vedic period, by the time +of the compilation of the Institutes of Manu it had become part of the +popular belief. He classes the slaughter of a cow or bull among the +deadly sins; "the preserver of a cow or a Brâhman atones for the crime +of killing a priest;" [623] and we find constant references in the +mediæval folk-lore to the impiety of the Savaras and other Drâvidian +races who killed and ate the sacred animal. Saktideva one day, +"as he was standing on the roof of his palace, saw a Chandâla coming +along with a load of cow's flesh, and said to his beloved Vindumatî: +'Look, slender one! How can the evil-doer eat the flesh of cows, that +are the object of veneration to the three worlds?' Then Vindumatî, +hearing that, said to her husband: 'The wickedness of this act is +inconceivable; what can we say in palliation of it? I have been born +in this race of fishermen for a very small offence owing to the might +of cows. But what can atone for this man's sin?'" [624] + + + +Re-birth through the Cow. + +When the horoscope forebodes some crime or special calamity, the +child is clothed in scarlet, a colour which repels evil influences, +and tied on the back of a new sieve, which, as we have seen, is a +powerful fetish. This is passed through the hindlegs of a cow, forward +through the forelegs towards the mouth, and again in the reverse +direction, signifying the new birth from the sacred animal. The usual +worship and aspersion take place, and the father smells his child, +as the cow smells her calf. This rite is known as the Hiranyagarbha, +and not long since the Mahârâja of Travancore was passed in this way +through a cow of gold. [625] + +The same idea is illustrated in the legend of the Pushkar Lake, which +probably represents a case of that fusion of races which undoubtedly +occurred in ancient times. The story runs that Brahma proposed to +do worship there, but was perplexed where he should perform the +sacrifice, as he had no temple on earth like the other gods. So he +collected all the other gods, but the sacrifice could not proceed as +Savitrî alone was absent; and she refused to come without Lakshmî, +Pârvatî, and Indrânî. On hearing of her refusal, Brahma was wroth, +and said to Indra: "Search me out a girl that I may marry her and +commence the sacrifice, for the jar of ambrosia weighs heavy on my +head." Accordingly Indra went and found none but a Gûjar's daughter, +whom he purified, and passing her through the body of a cow, +brought her to Brahma, telling him what he had done. Vishnu said: +"Brâhmans and cows are really identical; you have taken her from the +womb of a cow, and this may be considered a second birth." Siva said: +"As she has passed through a cow, she shall be called Gâyatrî." The +Brâhmans agreed that the sacrifice might now proceed; and Brahma +having married Gâyatrî, and having enjoined silence upon her, placed +on her head the jar of ambrosia and the sacrifice was performed. [626] + + + +Respect Paid to the Cow. + +The respect paid to the cow appears everywhere in folk-lore. We have +the cow Kâmadhenû, known also as Kâmadughâ or Kâmaduh, the cow of +plenty, Savalâ, "the spotted one," and Surabhî, "the fragrant one," +which grants all desires. Among many of the lower castes the cow-shed +becomes the family temple. [627] In the old ritual, the bride, on +entering her husband's house, was placed on a red bull's hide as a +sign that she was received into the tribe, and in the Soma sacrifice +the stones whence the liquor was produced were laid on the hide of +a bull. When a disputed boundary is under settlement, a cow skin is +placed over the head and shoulders of the arbitrator, who is thus +imbued with the divine influence, and gives a just decision. It is +curious that until quite recently there was a custom in the Hebrides of +sewing up a man in the hide of a bull, and leaving him for the night +on a hill-top, that he might become a spirit medium. [628] The pious +Hindu touches the cow's tail at the moment of dissolution, and by her +aid he is carried across the dread river of death. I have more than +once seen a criminal ascend the scaffold with the utmost composure +when he was allowed to grasp a cow's tail before the hangman did +his office. The tail of the cow is also used in the marriage ritual, +and the tail of the wild cow, though nowadays only used by grooms, +was once the symbol of power, and waved over the ruler to protect +him from evil spirits. Quite recently I found that one of the chief +Brâhman priests at the sacred pool of Hardwâr keeps a wild cow's tail +to wave over his clients, and scare demons from them when they are +bathing in the Brahma Kund or sacred pool. + +The Hill legend tells how Siva once manifested himself in his fiery +form, and Vishnu and Brahma went in various directions to see how +far the light extended. On their return Vishnu declared that he had +been unable to find out how far the light prevailed; but Brahma said +that he had gone beyond its limits. Vishnu then called on Kâmadhenû, +the celestial cow, to bear testimony, and she corroborated Brahma with +her tongue, but she shook her tail by way of denying the statement. So +Vishnu cursed her that her mouth should be impure, but that her tail +should be held holy for ever. [629] + + + +Modern Cow-worship. + +There are numerous instances of modern cow-worship. The Jâts and +Gûjars adore her under the title of Gâû Mâtâ, "Mother cow." The +cattle are decorated and supplied with special food on the Gopashtamî +or Gokulashtamî festival, which is held in connection with the +Krishna cultus. In Nepâl there is a Newâri festival, known as the +Gâê Jâtra, or cow feast, when all persons who have lost relations +during the year ought to disguise themselves as cows and dance round +the palace of the king. [630] In many of the Central Indian States, +about the time of the Diwâlî, the Maun Charâûn, or silent tending +of cattle, is performed. The celebrants rise at daybreak, wash and +bathe, anoint their bodies with oil, and hang garlands of flowers +round their necks. All this time they remain silent and communicate +their wants by signs. When all is ready they go to the pasture in +procession in perfect silence. Each of them holds a peacock's feather +over his shoulder to scare demons. They remain in silence with the +cattle for an hour or two, and then return home. This is followed +by an entertainment of wrestling among the Ahîrs or cowherds. When +night has come, a gun is fired, and the Mahârâja breaks his fast and +speaks. The rite is said to be in commemoration of Krishna feeding +the cows in the pastures of the land of Braj. [631] + +During an eclipse, the cow, if in calf, is rubbed on the horns and +belly with red ochre to repel the evil influence, and prevent the +calf being born blemished. Cattle are not worked on the Amâvas or +Ides of the month. There are many devices, such as burning tiger's +flesh, and similar prophylactics, in the cow-house to drive away +the demon of disease. So, on New Year's Day the Highlander used to +fumigate his cattle shed with the smoke of juniper. [632] Cow hair is +regarded as an amulet against disease and danger, in the same way as +the hair of the yak was valued by the people of Central Asia in the +time of Marco Polo. [633] An ox with a fleshy excrescence on his eye +is regarded as sacred, and is known as Nadiya or Nandi, "the happy +one," the title of the bull of Siva. He is not used for agriculture, +but given to a Jogi, who covers him with cowry shells, and carries +him about on begging excursions. One of the most unpleasant sights at +the great bathing fairs, such as those of Prayâg or Hardwâr, is the +malformed cows and oxen which beggars of this class carry about and +exhibit. The Gonds kill a cow at a funeral, and hang the tail on the +grave as a sign that the ceremonies have been duly performed. [634] +The Kurkus sprinkle the blood of a cow on the grave, and believe +that if this be not done the spirit of the departed refuses to rest, +and returns upon earth to haunt the survivors. [635] The Vrishotsarga +practised by Hindus on the eleventh day after death, when a bull calf +is branded and let loose in the name of deceased, is apparently an +attempt to shift on the animal the burden of the sins of the dead man, +if it be not a survival of an actual sacrifice. + + + +Feeling against Cow-killing. + +Of the unhappy agitation against cow-killing, which has been in recent +years such a serious problem to the British Government in Northern +India, nothing further can be said here. To the orthodox Hindu, +killing a cow, even accidentally, is a serious matter, and involves +the feeding of Brâhmans and the performance of pilgrimages. In the +Hills a special ritual is prescribed in the event of a plough ox +being killed by accident. [636] The idea that misfortune follows the +killing of a cow is common. It used to be said that storms arose on +the Pîr Panjâl Pass in Kashmîr if a cow was killed. [637] + +General Sleeman gives a case at Sâgar, where an epidemic was attributed +to the practice of cattle slaughter, and a popular movement arose +for its suppression. [638] Sindhia offered Sir John Malcolm in +1802 an additional cession of territory if he would introduce an +article into the Treaty with the British Government prohibiting the +slaughter of cows within the territory he had been already compelled +to abandon. The Emperor Akbar ordered that cattle should not be killed +during the Pachûsar, or twelve sacred days observed by the Jainas; +Sir John Malcolm gives a copy of the original Firmân. [639] Cow-killing +is to this day prohibited in orthodox Hindu States, like Nepâl. + + + +Bull-worship among Banjâras. + +There is a good example of bull-worship among the wandering tribe of +Banjâras. "When sickness occurs, they lead the sick man to the foot +of the bullock called Hatâdiya; for though they say that they pay +reverence to images, and that their religion is that of the Sikhs, +the object of their worship is this Hatâdiya, a bullock devoted +to the god Bâlajî. On this animal no burden is ever laid, but he +is decorated with streamers of red-dyed silk and tinkling bells, +with many brass chains and rings on neck and feet, and strings of +cowry shells and silken tassels hanging in all directions. He moves +steadily at the head of the convoy, and the place he lies down on +when tired, that they make their halting-place for the day. At his +feet they make their vows when difficulties overtake them, and in +illness, whether of themselves or cattle, they trust to his worship +for a cure." The respect paid by Banjâras to cattle seems, however, +to be diminishing. Once upon a time they would never sell cattle to +a butcher, but nowadays it is an every-day occurrence. [640] + + + +Superstitions about Cattle. + +Infinite are the superstitions about cattle, their marks, and every +kind of peculiarity connected with them, and this has been embodied +in a great mass of rural rhymes and proverbs which are always on the +lips of the people. Thus, for instance, it is unlucky for a cow to +calve in the month of Bhâdon. The remedy is to swim it in a stream, +sell it to a Muhammadan, or in the last resort give it away to a +Gujarâti Brâhman. Here may be noticed the curious prejudice against +the use of a cow's milk, which prevails among some tribes such as +the Hos and some of the aboriginal tribes of Bengal. The latter use +a species of wild cattle, the Mithun, for milking purposes, but will +not touch the milk of the ordinary cow. [641] + + + +The Buffalo. + +The respect paid to the cow does not fully extend to the buffalo. The +buffalo is the vehicle of Yama, the god of death. The female buffalo +is in Western India regarded as the incarnation of Savitrî, wife of +Brahma, the Creator. Durgâ or Bhavânî killed the buffalo-shaped Asura +Mahisa, Mahisâsura, after whom Maisûr is called. According to the +legend as told in the Mârkandeya Purâna, Ditî, having lost all her +sons, the Asuras, in the fight with the gods, turned herself into +a buffalo in order to annihilate them. She underwent such terrible +austerities to propitiate Brahma, that the whole world was shaken and +the saint Suparsva disturbed at his devotions. He cursed Ditî that her +son should be in the shape of a buffalo, but Brahma so far mitigated +the curse that only his head was to be that of a buffalo. This was +Mahisâsura, who ill-treated the gods, until they appealed to Vishnu +and Siva, who jointly produced a lovely representation of a Bhavânî, +the Mahisâsurmardanî, who slew the monster. This Mahisâsura is supposed +to be the origin of the godling Mahasoba, worshipped in Western India +in the form of a rude stone covered with red lead. + +Another of these buffalo demons is Dundubhi, "he that roars like the +sound of the kettle-drum," who in the Râmâyana bursts with his horns +the cavern of Bali, son of Indra and king of monkeys. Bali seized him +by the horns and dashed him to pieces. The comparative mythologists +regard him as one of the forms of the cloud monster the sun. [642] + +Sadasiva, one of the forms of Mahâdeva, took the form of a buffalo to +escape the Pândavas, and sank into the ground at Kedârnâth. The upper +portion of his body is said to have come to the surface at Mukhâr +Bind in Nepâl, where he is worshipped as Pasupatinâtha. When the +Pândavas were freed from their guilt, they in their gratitude built +five temples in honour of the hinder parts of the deity, which are +now known as the Pânch Kedâr-Kedarnâth, Madhya Maheswar, Rudranâth, +Tungunâth, and Kalpeswar. + +The buffalo is constantly sacrificed at shrines in honour of Durgâ +Devî. The Toda worship of the buffalo is familiar to all students of +Indian ethnology. + + + +The Antelope. + +The black buck was in all probability the tribal totem of some of the +races occupying the country anciently known as Âryâvarta. Mr. Campbell +accounts for the respect paid to the animal by the use of hartshorn as +a remedy for faintness, swoons, and nervous disorders. [643] But this +hardly explains the respect paid to it, and the use of its dung by the +Bengal Parhaiyas instead of cowdung to smear their floors looks as +if it were based on totemism. [644] This too is shown by the regard +paid its skin. As Mr. Frazer has proved, it is a custom among many +savage tribes to retain the skin as an image of the deity which the +animal represented. [645] Hence according to the old ritual, the skin +of the antelope was the prescribed dress of the student of theology, +and it is still the seat of the ascetic. [646] + +The antelope constantly appears in the folk-tales as a sort of Deus +ex machinâ, which leads the hero astray in the chase and brings +him to the home of the ogress or the ensorcelled maiden. [647] +In the Mahâbhârata, the King Parîkshit is led astray by a gazelle, +and King Pându dies when he meets his wife Madrî, because he had +once killed under similar circumstances a gazelle with his mate. In +the Vishnu Purâna, Bharata loses the fruits of his austerities by +becoming enamoured of a fawn. These fairy hinds appear throughout +the whole range of folk-lore. A Nepâlese legend tells how the three +gods Vishnu, Siva, and Brahma once appeared in the form of deer, +whence the place where they were seen is known as Mrigasthali. [648] + + + +The Elephant. + +The elephant naturally claims worship as the type of strength and +wisdom. To the rustic he impersonates Ganesa, the god of wisdom, the +remover of obstacles, who is propitiated at the commencement of any +important enterprise, such as marriage and the like. Many legends are +told to account for his elephant head. One tells how his mother Pârvatî +was so proud of her baby that she asked Sani to look at him, forgetting +the baneful effects of the look of the ill-omened deity. When he looked +at the child its head was burned to ashes, and Brahma, to console her, +told her to fix on the first head she could find, which happened to +be that of the elephant. By another account she put Ganesa to guard +the door while she was bathing, and when he refused to allow Siva to +enter, the angry god cut off his head, which was afterwards replaced +by that of the elephant. Again, one of his tusks was broken off by +Parasurâma with the axe which Siva, father of Ganesa, had given him. + +Again, there are the Lokapâlas, the eight supporters of the +world. These eight pairs of elephants support the earth. Indra with +Airâvata and Abhramu support the east; Agni with Pundarîka and Kapilâ +the south-east; Yama with Vâmana and Pingalâ the south; Sûrya with +Kumuda and Anupamâ the south-west; Varuna with Anjana and Anjanavatî +the west; Vâyu with Pushpadanta and Subhadantî the north-west; +Kuvera on the north with Sarvabhauma, and Soma on the north-east with +Supratîka. As usual, there are differences in the enumeration. + +From these all the modern elephants are descended. As Abul Fazl writes: +"When occasion arises people read incantations in their names and +address them in worship. They also think that every elephant in the +world is offspring of one of them. Thus, elephants of a white skin and +white hairs are related to the first, and elephants with a large head +and long ears, of a fierce and bold temper, and eyelids far apart, +belong to the second. Such as are good-looking, black, and high in +the back, are the offspring of the third. If tall, ungovernable, +quick in understanding, short-haired, and with red and black eyes, +they come from the fourth. If bright black, with one tusk longer than +the other, with a white breast and belly, and long and thick forefeet, +from the fifth. If fearful, with prominent veins, a short hump and +ears, and a long trunk, from the sixth. If thin-bellied, red-eyed, +and with a long trunk, from the seventh. And if of a combination of +the preceding seven qualities, from the eighth." [649] + +Through India the reverence for the white elephant of Burma and Siam +has arisen. The figure of the elephant appears on some of the pillars +of Asoka. There is an elephant gate at Fatehpur Sîkri, one of the +King Huvishka at Mathura, and another connected with the dynasty +of Kanauj at Dabhâon in the Azamgarh District. Delhi contains the +remarkable elephant statues, believed by General Cunningham to have +been erected in honour of Jaymal and Patta, the two Râjput heroes +who defended the Fort of Chithor against Akbar. [650] + +The elephant constantly occurs in folk-lore. In the projection of +its forehead it possesses a pearl, known as the Kunjara Mani, or Gaja +Mukta, which is invested with magical qualities. In the folk-tales the +wooden horse of Troy is represented by an artificial elephant filled +with soldiers; other elephants have the power of flying through +the air; in other stories, as in one of La Fontaine's fables, an +elephant selects a king by raising him up with his trunk; the elephant +Kuvalyapîda is the guardian of a kingdom, and touching an elephant +is one of the tests of a woman's chastity. We have also numerous +instances of the metamorphosis of human beings into elephants. [651] + +The hair of the elephant's tail is in high repute as an amulet, and +little village children, when an elephant passes, pat the dust where +his feet have rested and sing a song, of which one version is-- + + + Hâthi hâthi, bâr dé + Sone kî tarwâr dé-- + + +"Give us a hair, elephant, like a sword of gold." + +In Europe, it may be noted, the hair from the tail of a horse is +commonly regarded as a cure for wens. [652] + +In the Fatehpur District there is an elephant turned into stone. The +famous Jaychand of Kanauj, it is said, as in the Carthage legend, +offered to Parâsara Rishi as many villages as an elephant could walk +round. It traversed an enormous extent of country, and finally halted +at Irâdatnagar, where it was turned into stone, and once a year an +enormous fair is held in its honour. [653] + + + +The Cat. + +The cat is everywhere invested with demoniac qualities, and is the +companion of the witch. In "Macbeth" the first witch says, "Thrice +the brinded cat has mewed." Among Muhammadans the cat is a pure +animal, and to kill a cat is very unlucky, and brings on trouble and +sickness. So, among Hindus, the killing of a cat can be expiated only +by the performance of the rite known as the Prajapati Yajna, which +secures the birth of male issue. They say that Mahâdeva and Pârvatî +were one day playing dice, and Pârvatî called in Ganesa in his form +as a rat to upset the dice with his tail and cause her to make a good +throw. Mahâdeva was wroth, and called in a demon like a cat, but he +was afraid to kill Ganesa. Then Mahâdeva cursed any one in after days +who should kill a cat. We have the same tale in the Rasâlu cycle, +where the rat of Dhol Râja changes the course of the game between +him and Râja Sarkap. The cat is respected because she is the vehicle +of Shashthî, the protectress of children, and part of the orthodox +Hindu rite at dinner is giving food to the cat. Among the Orâons, +as we have seen, the birth fiend Chordeva comes in the form of a cat. + + + +The Rat and Mouse. + +The rat is sacred as the vehicle of Ganesa. In Bombay, "to call +a rat a rat is considered by lower classes of Hindus as unlucky, +and so they call him Undir Mâma, or 'the rat uncle.' He is so called +because he is probably supposed to be the spirit of an uncle. It is +considered a great sin to kill a rat, and so, when rats give trouble +in a house, the women of the house make a vow to them that, if they +cease troubling, sweet balls will be given to them on a certain day, +and it is believed by the Hindus that when such a vow has been made, +the rats cease troubling them for some time." [654] In parts of England +it is believed that a field mouse creeping over the back of a sheep +gives it paralysis, and that this can be cured only by shutting up a +mouse in a hollow of the trunk of the witch elm or witch hazel tree +and leaving it to die of famine. [655] + +The curiously deformed idiot boys which are collected at the shrine +of Shâh Daula at Gujarât are known from their wizened appearance as +the rats of Shâh Daula. [656] + + + +The Squirrel. + +The little Indian squirrel is called in the Panjâb Râma Chandra Kâ +Bhagat, or the saint of Râma Chandra, because when he was building +the bridge across the strait to Lanka, the squirrel helped by shaking +dust from his tail, and the god stroked it on the back, hence the +dark marks which it bears to the present day. Many of the Drâvidian +tribes claim descent from the squirrel. + + + +The Bear. + +The bear is regarded as a scarer of disease, and sickly children are +taken for a ride on the back of a tame bear or one of his hairs is worn +round the neck as an amulet. It was Jâmbavat, the king of the bears, +who carried off the celebrated amulet, Syamantaka. He was pursued +by Krishna, to whom he surrendered the gem and gave him his daughter +Jâmbavatî to wife. He afterwards with his army of bears assisted Râma +in his invasion of Lanka. + + + +The Jackal. + +The jackal is an important character in the folk-tales, where he +assumes the part taken in Europe by the fox. Many are the tales told +of his acuteness. The pack is supposed to howl only at each watch +of the night, and the leader says, Main Dilli kâ Bâdshâh hûn--"I am +King of Delhi" thrice, and his companions say, Ho! ho! ho!--"Yes! of +course you are." + + + +The Hare. + +Of the hare in the moon we have spoken already, and also referred +to the animal in connection with omens. In Cornwall, when a girl has +loved not wisely but too well, she haunts her deceiver in the shape +of a white hare. [657] + + + +Birds: The Crow. + +Passing on to birds, the crow is a famous totem or sacred bird. [658] +It personifies in Indian tradition the soul of the dead man; hence, +to give food to the crows, known in Northern India as Kâgaur, is +equivalent to offering food to the Manes. Râma in the Râmâyana orders +Sîtâ to make this offering, and Yama, in reward for its services, +conceded to it the right of eating the funeral meats, for which +reason the souls of the dead, when this food is given to the crows, +are enabled to pass into a better world. Hence the bird is known as +Balipushta or "nourished by offerings," and Balibhuj or "devourer of +oblations." [659] + +In the Mahâbhârata, the son of Drona, one of the few survivors of the +Kauravas, sees an owl killing the crows on a sacred fig tree, and this +suggests to him the idea of attacking the camp of the Pândavas. This +contest of the owl and the crow forms the subject of one of the tales +of Somadeva. [660] The incident of the wicked crow, which bit the +foot of Sîtâ, is related in the Râmâyana. The Bhâtus of Central India, +a class of migratory athletes, worship Nârâyana and the bamboo, with +which all their feats are performed. When they bury their dead they +place rice and oil at the head of the grave, and stand near to worship +whatever animal comes to eat the offerings. They draw the happiest +omen of the state of the departed from crows visiting the spot. [661] + +In the Garuda Purâna a tale is told of a wicked hunter who was +killed by a tiger in the depths of the forest, and his ghost became a +troublesome Bhût, until one day a crow carried off one of the bones +and dropped it into the Ganges, when the sinner was at once carried +in a heavenly chariot to the mansions of the blessed. This legend is +localized in the Hills and tells how Karma Sarma was killed by a tiger +in the forest. A crow took up one of his bones and carried it to the +shrine at Tungkshetra, and such is the virtue of the soil there that +the hunter was at once carried off to the heaven of Indra. [662] + +Bhusundi is the legendary crow of the battlefield, who drinks the blood +of the slain. He had more blood than he could drink in the wars of the +two Asuras, Sumbha and Nisumbha, who contended with the gods. He just +quenched his thirst in the wars of Râma, but broke his beak against +the hard, dry ground, which had soaked in the small amount of blood +shed by the comparatively degenerate heroes of the Mahâbhârata. He +now croaks over the armies as they go out to war, and looks for some +Armageddon, when his thirst will at last be satisfied. + +Manifold are the ideas about crows and omens taken from their +appearance and cawing. Some people think a crow has only one eye, which +he shifts from one cavity to the other as he finds it convenient. In +the Panjâb, if a crow picks up a woman's handkerchief and then drops +it, she will not use it, but gives it to a beggar. [663] The brains +of a crow are a specific against old age, but the cawing of a crow +is ominous at the beginning of a journey. If a crow hops and caws +on the roof a guest may be expected. Musalmâns have both fear and +respect for the crow, because it was he showed Cain how to bury Abel. + + + +The Hand of Glory. + +It is a common belief in Europe that the Hand of Glory, or the +dried-up hand of a criminal who has been executed, is a powerful +charm for thieves. In Ireland, "if a candle is placed in a dead hand, +neither wind nor water can extinguish it, and if carried into a house, +the inmates will sleep the sleep of the dead as long as it remains +under the roof, and no power on earth can wake them as long as the +dead hand holds the candle." The hand of a dead man is also used +to stir the milk when butter will not form. [664] So, in Northern +India, thieves have a superstition that the ashes of a corpse will, +if sprinkled by the door of a house, prevent the inmates from awaking +during the commission of a burglary. The Hand of Glory, according to +Sir G. Cox, is "the light flashing from the dim and dusky storm-cloud," +[665] but this can hardly, with the utmost ingenuity, be invoked +to explain the similar usage of Indian burglars, who carry about +with them the stick out of a crow's nest, the Gad kî Lakrî, which +opens locks and holds the household spell-bound. The Indian thief, +like his English brother, by the way, often carries about a piece of +charcoal as a charm in his operations. + + + +The Fowl. + +Among some of the Indian races the value set on the fowl may possibly, +as Mr. Campbell suggests, depend on the feeling that the spirits of +the dead wandering near their ancient homes find an asylum in the +domestic fowls. [666] At any rate, as a sacrifice, the black fowl +is very generally preferred. This is so among the Drâvidian races of +Central India. In Ireland the first egg laid by a little black hen, +eaten the very first thing in the morning, will keep you from fever +for the year. [667] In Germany it was held that to find treasure, +that is to say, to scare the fiends which guard and hide it, one +should use a black he-goat and a black fowl. [668] + +One of the Italian charms directs, "To bewitch one till he die, take +a black hen and pluck from it every feather; and this done, keep them +all carefully, so that not one be lost. With these you may do any harm +to grown-up people or children." [669] Another possible reason for the +respect paid to the fowl is that the corn spirit is often killed in +the form of a cock to promote the periodical vegetation of the crops. + + + +The Dove and Pigeon. + +The dove is held in much respect by Musalmâns. "Among the Northern +Semites the dove is sacred to Ashtoreth and has all the marks of a +totem, for the Syrians would not eat it. It was not merely a symbol, +but received divine honour. In Arabia we find a dove idol in the +Qaaba, and sacred doves surround it." [670] So, the Kheshgi Pathâns +of Qasûr in the Panjâb will not kill pigeons; they are similarly +protected by Hindus at Bharatpur, and among Muhammadans they rank +as the Sayyid among birds. In Northern India a house with pigeons +is supposed to be safe from ghosts. The dove is believed to utter +a peculiar note four times in succession, in which she bewails her +neglected lover. She says,-- + + + Pisûn thi, kâtûn thi: + Ayâ thâ, chalâ gayâ. + + +"While I was grinding flour and spinning, he came and departed." [671] + + + +The Goose or Swan. + +The goose or swan is possibly an illustration of what may be a +tribal totem. It is said in the Bhâgavata Purâna that at one time +there existed one Veda, one god Agni, and one caste. This we learn +from the commentator was in the Krita age, and the one caste he +tells us of was named Hansa or Swan. The Hansas are, again, in the +Vishnu Purâna, said to be one of four castes or tribes existing in +a district exterior to India, and finally we learn from the Linga +Purâna that Hansa was a name of Brahma himself. It is reasonable to +suppose that we have a swan tribe in the Indian Hansas. [672] As an +argument in favour of the theory that the Hansa was a tribal totem, +we find that the Kalhans Râjputs of Oudh are said to take their name +from the Kâla Hansa or Black Swan; that Râjputs nowadays will not eat +it; and that the same respect is shown to a bird of allied type, the +Brâhmani Duck, and its mate, the Chakwa, Chakwi of our rivers. They +were once two lovers, separated by fate, changed into ducks, and +all through the night they call sadly to each other across the broad +stream of the Ganges, which keeps them apart. + +To the Hansa is ascribed the fabulous power of being able to separate +milk from water after the two have been mixed together. [673] In +England the goose is supposed to have some uncanny way of predicting +weather. [674] In Welsh belief the wild goose is a witch, especially +if first seen on the first Thursday night of the lunar month. [675] +The ancient Greeks ascribed to the swan the gift of prophecy and +song; the sacred geese of the capital were respected at Rome, and +the ancient Germans considered it a prophetic bird. The goose was +a favourite Buddhist emblem, and a flock of them is depicted on the +Lion Pillar at Betiya in Tirhût. [676] + +In the story of Nala and Damayantî, a flock of these birds arranges +the interviews between the lovers, and in the Mahâbhârata the Rishis +take the form of a swan to convey the divine message. According to +the comparative mythologists, it is needless to say, the Hansa is +the sun. [677] + + + +Sundry Sacred Birds. + +Mention has already been made of Garuda, half man, half bird, the +vehicle of Vishnu. He is the son of one of the daughters of Daksha, +whom we have already met with in connection with the moon, and the +sage Kasyapa. According to the Mahâbhârata, he was given leave to +devour wicked men, but not to touch a Brâhman. Once he did devour +a Brâhman, but the holy man so burnt his throat that he was glad +to disgorge him. In the Râmâyana we meet with Jatâyu, who is said +to be a son of Garuda and king of the vultures. He tried to stop +the chariot in which Râvana was abducting Sîtâ, and though wounded, +was able to carry the news to Râma. + +A bird known as the Malahâri or "filth destroyer" is a sort of totem +of the Kanjar gipsies. If they see it singing on a green branch to +the front or right, it is an auspicious omen, and they start at once +on the prowl. + +So with the Khanjarît, in Sanskrit Khanjanâkriti, the wagtail, which +is also known as Râm Chiraiya or "the bird of Râma." It is associated +with Vishnu, because the marks on its throat are said to resemble the +Sâlagrâma. It comes from the heaven of Râma in the end of the rains, +and remains till the close of spring, and then bears back to Râma a +report of the state of the world and the crops. When it first appears +every one bows to it. A Sanskrit text lays down that when a person +first sees the bird, if he be standing near a Brâhman, or near water, +or sitting on an elephant, or at daybreak, or when the bird is flying +near or sitting on a serpent, it is considered propitious. When a +person first sees it in the east, it brings him good luck all through +the year; when seen in the south-east, it predicts loss by fire; +to the south-west, fighting; to the west, acquisition of wealth; +if seen to the north-east, the observer will gain good clothes and +jewels. He who sees it in the north-west will die. The superstitions +in Europe connected with the magpie and cuckoo are of much the same +class. In Ireland it is said, "Beware of killing the water wagtail, +for it has three drops of the Devil's blood in its little body, +and ill-luck ever goes with it and follows it." [678] + +The Ojhiyâls or wizards of the Central Provinces sell the skins of a +species of Buceros, called Dhanchirya, which are used to hang up in +the house to secure wealth (dhan), whence its name; and thigh bones +of the same bird are hung round the wrists of children as a charm +against evil spirits. [679] + + + +The Hoopoe. + +The legend of the hoopoe is thus told by Arrian: "To the king of the +Indians was born a son. The child had elder brothers, who, when they +came to man's estate, turned out to be very unjust and the greatest of +reprobates. They despised their brother because he was the youngest; +and they scoffed at their father and their mother, whom they despised +because they were old and grey-headed. The boy, accordingly, and his +aged parents could no longer live with these wicked men, and away they +fled from home, all three together. In the course of the protracted +journeys which they had then to undergo, the old people succumbed +to fatigue and died, and the boy showed them no light regard, but +buried them in himself, having cut off his head with a sword. Then, +as the Brachmanes (Brâhman) tell us, the all-seeing sun, in admiration +of this surprising act of piety, transformed the boy into a bird, +which is most beautiful to behold, and which lives to a very advanced +age. So on his head there grew up a crest, which was, as it were, +a memorial of what he had done in the time of his flight." [680] + +Somadeva gives another story of this bird. Rajatadanshtra one day +saw his sister Somaprabhâ playing on a Pinjara, and when she would +not give it to him, took the form of a bird and flew away with it +to heaven. She cursed him that he should become a bird with a golden +crest, but promised that when in his bird shape he should fall into +a blind well, "and a merciful person draws you out, and you do him +a service in return, you shall be released from this curse." [681] + +The Muhammadan tradition is that the Hudhud, or hoopoe, had the +power of finding water which the devils have buried under the earth, +and she assisted Solomon to find water for ablution, and helped him +to find Bilqîs, the queen of Sheba. In Sweden the appearance of the +hoopoe is looked on as an omen of war. [682] + + + +The Woodpecker. + +So of the woodpecker, which is said to have been a Râja in a former +birth, and still to retain his royal crest. In Italian tradition the +woodpecker (Picus Martis) is a digger in forests, where he lives alone +and digs and hews, and knows all hidden secrets and treasures. [683] +In India the Titihrî, or sandpiper, is said to sleep with his legs +in the air and thus supports the firmament. + + + +The Peacock. + +The peacock is, of course, a sacred bird. He is specially venerated +by the Jâts, who strongly object to seeing the bird killed near their +villages. A bunch of the feathers is waved over the sick to scare +the demon of disease. As we have already seen, it is a charm against +snake-bite to smoke one of its feathers in a pipe. In Europe the loud +calling of the bird presages a death. + + + +The Pheasant. + +Once upon a time the Monâl pheasant of the Hills and the Kalchuniya +had a dispute as to when the sun arose. The Monâl woke first and then +walked between the legs of the other, who was so injured that he has +never been able to do anything but skip ever since. + + + +The Kite. + +Young kites do not open their eyes till they are shown a bit of +gold. The best cure for weak eyes is to apply to them antimony mixed +with the yolk of a kite's egg, a good instance of sympathetic magic, +because the kite is the most long-sighted of birds. When sweepers +suffer from rheumatic pains, they kill a kite on Tuesday, cut up +the bones, and tie them to the affected part, which brings about an +immediate cure. [684] + + + +The Partridge. + +The partridge and the peacock once contended in dancing, and when the +turn of the partridge came he borrowed the pretty feet of the peacock, +which he has never returned since. Râja Nala, at one period of his +life, came under the malignant influence of Sani or Saturn and lost +all he possessed in the world. At last, as he was starving, he managed +to catch a black partridge and set about roasting it. But the ill-luck +of the evil planet asserted itself and the dead bird came to life and +flew away. The result is the black marks of charring which still remain +upon its body. Now it cries in the words, Subhân terî qudrat--"Great +is the power of the Almighty," because it was saved from the fire. + + + +The Parrot. + +Last among sacred birds comes the parrot. Of course, according to +Professor De Gubernatis and his school, he represents the sun. [685] +The bird appears constantly in the folk-tales as gifted with the power +of speaking and possessed of wisdom. The wife of the sage Kasyapa was, +according to the Vishnu Purâna, the mother of all the parrots. In the +folk-tales we have the parrot who knows the four Vedas who is like +the falcon in the Squire's tale of Chaucer. [686] In others he warns +the hero of fortune, befriends the heroine, and is the companion of +Râja Rasâlu. [687] The talking parrot constantly warns the deceived +husband. The bird seems to have been a sort of marriage totem among +the Drâvidian races, for images of it made of the wood of the cotton +tree or of clay are hung up in the marriage shed among the Kols and +lower castes in the North-Western Provinces. + + + +The Alligator. + +The alligator and crocodile are revered because of their habit of +killing human beings. Writing of South Africa, Mr. Macdonald says: +"To the Bathlapin the crocodile is sacred, and by all it is revered, +but rather under the form of fear than of affection. I have often +thought that the 'river calling' of South Africa, where there are +no crocodiles, is the survival of an ancient recollection of the +time when the ancestors of the present Kaffirs dwelt on the margins +of rivers infested by these murderous brutes, and where they often +saw their women drawn underneath when going to the river to fetch +water." [688] The crocodile may thus be the type of many of the +Indian water demons to whom reference has been already made. Hence, +it is a general rule among savages to spare crocodiles, or rather +only to kill them in obedience to the law of blood feud, that is, +as a retaliation for the slaughter of men by crocodiles. In India +it became a favourite form of religious suicide to be devoured by +the crocodiles at Gangasâgar. Makara, a sort of marine monster, half +crocodile and half shark, is the vehicle of Kâmadeva, the god of love, +and Gangâ Mâî is depicted as riding on an alligator. They are sometimes +put into tanks and worshipped, and fishermen have a tradition that, +if duly appeased, they never attack them. [689] + + + +Fish. + +Fish are in many places regarded as sacred. The salmon of knowledge +appears in the Celtic folk-lore. [690] The sacred speckled trout are +found in many Irish wells, and the same idea prevails in many parts +of Europe. [691] We find the fish figuring in the Hindu myth of the +Creation. Manu, while he was bathing, found a fish in the water, +which said, "I will save thee from the flood which shall destroy +the world." The fish grew and was about to go to the ocean, when he +directed Manu to build a boat. When the deluge came, the fish dragged +the boat by his horn to a place of safety. The myth appears in other +forms, more or less akin to the Hebrew story based on Babylonian +tradition. + +There are many places in India where fish are protected, such as +those at Kota and in the Mahânadî river, the Betwa at Bhilsa, Hardwâr, +Mathura, Mirzapur, Benares, Nepâl, and in Afghanistân. [692] In the +Sâraswata pool in the Himâlaya lived the sacred fish called Mrikunda; +they are fed on the fourteenth of the light half of each month, +and oblations are offered for the repose of the Manes of deceased +relations. [693] It is a common custom among pious Hindus to feed +fish at sacred places with a lâkh or more of little balls of flour +wrapped up in Bhojpatra or birch bark or paper with the name of Râma +written upon it. Their eating the name of the deity ensures their +salvation, and thus confers religious merit on the giver. The fish +is the vehicle of Khwâja Khizr, the water god, and hence has become a +sort of totem of the Shiah Musalmâns and the crest of the late royal +family of Oudh. Pictures of fish are constantly drawn on the walls +of houses as a charm against demoniacal influence. + + + +The Fish in Folk-lore. + +The fish constantly appears in the folk-tales. We have in Somadeva +the fish that laughed when it was dead; the fish that swallows the +hero or heroine or a boat. [694] In one of the Kashmîr tales we have +the fish swallowing the ring, which is like the tale which Herodotus +tells of Polycrates. In another we have the Oriental version of the +story of Jonah, where the merchant is found by the potter in the +belly of the fish. [695] So, Pradyumna, son of Krishna and Rukminî, +was thrown into the ocean by the demon Sambara, and recovered from +the belly of a fish by his wife Mâyâ Devî. In many of the modern +tales the fish takes the form of the Life Index. The king Bhartari, +the brother of the celebrated Râja Vikramaditya, who is now a godling +and spends part of the day at Benares and part at the Chunâr Fort, +had a fish, "the digestion of which gave him knowledge of all +that occurred in the three worlds." By a divine curse the nymph +Adrikâ was transformed into a fish which lived in the Jumnâ. Here +she conceived by the king Uparichara, was caught by a fisherman, +taken to the king and opened, when she regained her heavenly form, +and from her were produced Matsya, the male, and Matsyâ, the female +fish, the progenitors of the finny race. The fish often plays a part +in the miraculous conception myths, as in the Mahâbhârata we read +of a fish which devours the seed, and a girl having eaten it brings +forth a child. The fish incarnation of Vishnu possibly represents the +adoption of a fish totem into Brâhmanism. It is needless to say that +the legendary fish has been identified with the sun by the school of +comparative mythologists. [696] + + + +The Eel. + +The eel is a totem of the Mundâri Kols of Bengal and of the Orâons, +neither of whom will eat it. In Northern England an eel skin tied round +the leg is a cure for cramp. Eel fat, in the European tales, is used +as a magic ointment, and gives the power of seeing the fairies. [697] + + + +The Tortoise. + +The tortoise, again, is sacred. Vishnu appeared as a tortoise in the +Satya Yuga or first age to recover some things of value which had been +lost in the deluge. In the form of a tortoise he placed himself at +the bottom of the sea of milk, and made his back the basis on which +the gods and demons, using the serpent Vâsuki as a rope, churned the +ocean by means of the mount Mandara. The Ganrâr, a tribe of Bengal +fishermen, make sacrifices of the river tortoise to the goddess +Kolokumârî, the daughter of the deep; this is the only sacrifice +she will accept, and she brings sickness on those who fail to make +this offering. [698] The tortoise is a totem of the Mundâri Kols, +and the Kharwârs and Mânjhis of Mirzapur worship clay images of it, +which they keep in their house, because on one occasion it conveyed +their first ancestor across a river in flood. + +The Gonds have a similar tradition that the tortoise saved their +ancestor Lingo from the clutches of the alligator. The tortoise is +also a helper in one of the German tales. [699] In one of Somadeva's +stories, the tortoise is sacrificed by a Brâhman to the Manes of his +father. [700] + + + +The Frog. + +The frog, again, is invested with mystical powers. The monstrous toad +of Berkeley Castle is said to be really a seal. [701] + +In English folk-lore it is associated with witches, and wears a +precious jewel in its head. Hindus believe that the female frog is the +spirit of Mandodarî, the wife of Râvana. It is a common belief that +the fat of the frog forms a magic ointment which enables witches to fly +through the air. [702] According to a Scotch Saga, the middle piece of +a white snake roasted by the fire gives a knowledge of supernatural +things to anyone who shall put his finger in the fat which drops +from it. According to one of the Indian legends, Agni, the fire god, +took refuge in the water to escape the gods, but the frogs, suffering +from the heat, informed the gods, and the angry deity cursed them that +their speech should henceforth be inarticulate. The frog by his voice +announces the coming of rain; hence when rain holds off it is a common +charm to pour water over a frog, another instance of sympathetic magic. + + + +Insects. + +Even insects are in some cases regarded with veneration. In Cornwall, +the ants are "the small people" in their state of decay from off the +earth; it is deemed most unlucky to destroy a colony of ants. [703] + +The ant-hill is, as we have seen, used as an altar by some of the +Drâvidian tribes, and on it they take their oaths. Hence ants are +carefully fed on certain days by both Hindus and Jainas, and are +regarded as in some way connected with the souls of the sainted +dead. We have in many of the folk-tales the ant as a helper. + +So, in many parts of the Panjâb, the many-coloured grasshopper, which +feeds on the leaves of the Madâr or great swallow wort, is called +Râmjî-kî-gâê or "Râma's cow," which reminds us of the respect paid +by English children to the ladybird insect. [704] So, the Greeks and +Romans called the Cicada Mantis or "the soothsayer," and it is often +delineated on their tombs as a charm against evil. Mystic powers of +the same kind are attributed to the spider, and to Daddy Longlegs in +our nurseries. + +The souls of the dead are believed to enter into flies and bees. Hence +in parts of Great Britain news of a death in a family is whispered +into the beehive. [705] In one of Somadeva's tales we find the monkeys +trying to warm themselves over a firefly, which is gifted with various +miraculous powers. [706] A fly falling into an inkstand is a lucky +omen. In the Râmâyana Hanumân metamorphoses himself into a fly to +reach Sîtâ, and there are many instances of this in the tales. + +Lastly, comes the Tassar silkworm. In Mirzapur, when the seed of the +silkworm is brought to the house, the Kol or Bhuiyâr puts it in a +place which has been carefully plastered with cowdung to bring good +luck. From that time the owner must be careful to avoid ceremonial +impurity; he must give up cohabitation with his wife, he must not +sleep on a bed, he must not shave nor have his nails cut, nor anoint +himself with oil, nor eat food cooked with butter, nor tell lies, +nor do anything opposed to his simple code of morality. He vows to +Singârmatî Devî that if the worms are duly born he will make her an +offering. When the cocoons open and the worms appear, he collects the +women of his house and they sing the usual song as at the birth of +a baby into the family, and some red lead is smeared on the parting +of the hair of all the married women of the neighbourhood. He feeds +his clansmen, and duly makes the promised offering to Singârmatî +Devî. When the worms pair, the rejoicings are made as at a marriage. + +In Bengal, in addition to these precautions, the women, apparently +through fear of sexual pollution, are carefully excluded from the +silkworm shed. [707] We have the same idea in the Western Isles of +Scotland, where they send a man very early on the morning of the first +of May to prevent any woman from crossing, for that, they say, would +prevent the salmon from coming into the river all the year round. [708] + + + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE BLACK ART. + + Simulacraque cerea figit + Et miserum tenues in jecur urget acus. + + Ovid, Heroides, vi. 91, 92. + + +From the Baiga or Ojha, who by means of his grain sieve fetish +identifies the particular evil spirit by which his patient is +afflicted, we come to the regular witch or wizard. He works in India by +means and appliances which can be readily paralleled by the procedure +of his brethren in Western countries. [709] + + + +The Witch. + +The position of the witch has been so clearly stated by Sir A. Lyall, +that his remarks deserve quotation. "The peculiarity of the witch +is that he does everything without the help of the gods. It begins +when a savage stumbles on a few natural effects out of the common +run of things, which he finds himself able to work by unvarying rule +of thumb. He becomes a fetish to himself. Fetishism is the adoration +of a visible object supposed to possess active power. A witch is one +who professes to work marvels, not through the aid or counsel of the +supernatural beings in whom he believes as much as the rest, but by +certain occult faculties which he conceives himself to possess. There +is a real distinction even in fetishism between the witch and the +brother practitioner on a fetish, or between the witch and the Shaman, +who rolls about the ground and screams out his oracles; and this +line, between adoration and inspiration, vows and oracles on the one +side, and thaumaturgy by occult, incomprehensible arts on the other, +divides the two professions from bottom to top. Hence, the witch, +and not the man who works through the fetish, is proscribed. Hence +any disappointment in the aid which the aboriginal tribes are entitled +to expect from their gods to avoid averting disease or famine, throws +the people on the scent of witchcraft." [710] + +Again, "The most primitive witchcraft looks very like medicine in the +embryonic state; but as no one will give the aboriginal physician +any credit for cures or chemical effects produced by simple human +knowledge, he is soon forced back into occult and mystic devices, +which belong neither to religion nor to destiny, but are a ridiculous +mixture of both; whence the ordinary kind of witchcraft is generated." + +And he goes on to show how "the great plagues, cholera and the +small-pox, belong to the gods; but a man cannot expect a great +incarnation of Vishnu to cure his cow, or find his lost purse; nor +will public opinion tolerate his going to any respectable shrine +with a petition that his neighbour's wife, his ox, or his ass may be +smitten with some sore disease." This, however, must be taken with +the correction that, as we have seen already, the deities which rule +disease are of a much lower grade than the divine cabinet which rules +the world. The main difference then between the hedge priest and the +witch is, as Sir A. Lyall shows, that the former serves his god or +devil, whereas the latter makes the familiar demon, if one is kept, +serve him. + + + +Witchcraft: How Developed. + +The belief in witchcraft is general among the lower and less advanced +Indian races. Colonel Dalton's assertion that the Juângs, who were +quite recently in the stage of wearing leaf aprons, do not believe +in witchcraft or sorcery, must be accepted with great caution. It +is quite certain that all the allied Drâvidian races, even those at +a somewhat higher state of culture than the Juângs, such as Kols, +Kharwârs, and Cheros, firmly believe in witchcraft. But all these +people observe the most extreme reticence on the subject. If you ask +a Mirzapur Hill-man if there are any witches in his neighbourhood, +he will look round furtively and suspiciously, and even if he admits +that he has heard of such people, he will be very reluctant to give +much information about them. + +A belief in witchcraft is, then, primarily the heritage of the more +isolated and least advanced races, like the Kols and Bhîls, Santâls and +Thârus. In fact, whatever may be the ethnical origin of the theory, it +is at present in Northern India almost specialized among the Drâvidian, +or aboriginal peoples. It also widely prevails among those who lead a +nomadic life and are thus brought more directly in contact with nature +in her wilder and sterner moods, such as the Nat and the Kanjar, the +Hâbûra and the Sânsiya. So, in Europe sorcery and fortune-telling, +the charming of disease, the making of love philters, and so on are +the function of the Romani; and Mr. Leland hazards the supposition +that Herodias was a gipsy. [711] + +The belief that a certain person is a witch is probably generated +in various ways. Many a one becomes reputed as a witch from the +realization of some unlucky prophecy, or the fulfilment of some +casual, passionate curse or imprecation upon an enemy or rival. The +old Scottish rhymes exactly express this feeling:-- + + + There dwelt a weaver in Moffat toun, + That said the minister would die sune; + The minister died, and the fouk o' the toun + They brant the weaver wi' the wadd o' the lume, + And ca'd it weel-waned on the warloch loon. [712] + + +With this is intimately connected the belief in the Evil Eye, +and that certain persons have the power of calling down on their +enemies the influence of evil spirits; and, as in Western lands, +such a power is often attributed to persons afflicted with ugliness, +deformity, crankiness of temper, liability to sudden fits of passion, +epilepsy, and the like. Disease or death, famine, accident, or any +form of trouble, never, in popular belief, come naturally. There is +always behind calamity some malignant power which selects the victim, +and the attribution of this faculty to any one naturally regarded as +uncanny, or who practises rites or worship strange to orthodox belief, +is in the opinion of the rustic only reasonable. + + + +The Jigar Khor. + +One particularly dreaded form of witch is the Jigar Khor or +liver-eater, of whom Abul Fazl gives a description: "One of this class +can steal away the liver of another by looks and incantations. Other +accounts say that by looking at a person he deprives him of his +senses, and then steals from him something resembling the seed of a +pomegranate, which he hides in the calf of his leg; after being swelled +by the fire, he distributes it among his fellows to be eaten, which +ceremony concludes the life of the fascinated person. A Jigar Khor is +able to communicate his art to another by teaching him incantations, +and by making him eat a bit of the liver cake. These Jigar Khors +are mostly women. It is said they can bring intelligence from a long +distance in a short space of time, and if they are thrown into a river +with a stone tied to them, they nevertheless will not sink. In order to +deprive any one of this wicked power, they brand his temples and every +joint of his body, cram his eyes with salt, suspend him for forty days +in a subterraneous chamber, and repeat over him certain incantations." + +Of the modern Jigar Khors of the Panjâb we are told that when a witch +succeeds in taking out a man's liver, she will not eat it for two and +a half days. If after eating it she is put under the influence of an +exorciser, she can be forced to take the liver of some animal and put +it back to replace that taken from the original victim. [713] In one +of the tales of Somadeva the wicked wife of the barber is a witch, +and when he is asleep she takes out his entrails and sucks them, +and then replaces them as before. [714] + + + +The Witch in Folk-lore. + +We have already learned to look to the folk-tales for the most +trustworthy indications of popular belief, and here the dark shadow of +witchcraft overclouds much of their delicate fancy. Here we find the +witch taking many forms--of an old woman in trouble, of a white hind +with golden horns, of a queen. Others, like the archwitch Kâlarâtrî +or "black night," are of repulsive appearance; she has dull eyes, +a depressed, flat nose. Her eyebrows, like those of the werewolves or +vampires of Slavonia, [715] meet together; she has large cheeks, widely +parted lips, projecting teeth, a long neck, pendulous breasts, a large +belly, and broad, expanded feet. "She appears as if the Creator had +made a specimen of his skill in producing ugliness." Like the Jigar +Khor she obtains her powers by eating human flesh, or like modern +witches, who claim to possess the Dâyan kâ Mantra or Dâkinî's spell, +by which she can tear out the heart of her victim. + +The powers of such witches are innumerable. They can find anything on +earth, can open or patch up the sky, possess second sight, can restore +the dead to life, can set fire to water, can turn stones into wax, +can separate lovers, can metamorphose the hero into any shape they +please. They control the weather and cause storms and tempests. If +they follow one they hate and measure his footsteps in the dust, +he at once becomes lame. [716] + +They carry on their unholy revels in cemeteries and cremation +grounds. They meet under the leadership of the dreaded Bhairava, +as German witches assemble on the Blocksberg. So Diana Herodias +leads the Italian witches who meet at the walnut tree of Benevento, +as those of Cornwall collect at Trewa. [717] + +Many witches obtain power over the fever demon. She fastens a string +round the hero's neck, and by a spell turns him into an ape. She often +kills a child, and the heroine, like Genoveva, is falsely accused, +and expelled from her home, until the plot is discovered and she is +restored to her husband's love. Lastly, we have the conflict between +the powers of good and evil, the benevolent and malignant witch, which +forms one of the stock incidents of the European folk-tales. [718] +The malignant, liver-eating witch is naturally associated with the +tomb-haunting badger. One of them appeared quite recently at Ahmadâbâd, +and being supposed to carry off children in the disguise of a badger, +was called Adam Khor, or the devourer of the sons of men. [719] + + + +Instruction in Witchcraft. + +Writing of Italy, Mr. Leland says: [720]--"Among the priestesses of the +hidden spell, an elder dame has usually in hand some younger girl, whom +she instructs, firstly, in the art of bewitching or injuring enemies, +and secondly, in the more important processes of annulling or unbinding +the spells of others, or causing mutual love or conferring luck." + +So, among the Agariyas of Bengal, there are old women, professors +of witchcraft, who stealthily instruct the young girls. "The latter +are all eager to be taught, and are not considered proficient till +a fine forest tree selected to be experimented on is destroyed by +the potency of their charms; so that the wife a man takes to his +bosom has probably done her tree, and is confident in the belief that +she can, if she pleases, dispose of her husband in the same manner, +if he makes himself obnoxious." [721] + +So, in Bombay, when a Guru, or teacher, wishes to initiate a candidate +into the mysteries of the Black Art, he directs the candidate to +watch a favourable opportunity for the commencement of the study, the +opportunity being the death of a woman in childbirth. As soon as this +event takes place, the candidate is instructed what to do. He watches +the procession as the dead is being taken to the burning or burial +ground, and takes care to see who the bearers are. He then takes a +small tin box in his hand, and picking up a pinch of the earth out +of the hind footsteps of the two rear bearers, he keeps the earth +in the tin box. Then he watches where the dead body is being burnt, +and goes home. + +"Next day he goes to the spot, and taking a little of the ashes of +the corpse, puts it in the tin box. Subsequently, on a suitable day, +that is on a new moon or on an eclipse day, he goes to the burning +ground at midnight, and taking off his clothes, he sits on the ground, +and placing the tin box in front of him, lights a little incense, and +repeats the incantations taught to him by his guru or teacher. When +he has practised the repetition of the incantations, the spirit Hadal +becomes subject to his control, and by her help he becomes able to +annoy any one he pleases. + +"Among the troubles which the witch or magician brings upon his +enemies, the following are said to be the most common in the Dakkhin as +well as in the Konkan. The witch causes star-shaped or cross-like marks +of marking-nuts on the body of the person she has a grudge against. The +peculiarity of these marks is that they appear in numbers in different +parts of the body, and as suddenly disappear. The other troubles are +the drying-up of the milk of milch cattle, or turning the milk into +blood; stopping or retarding the growth of the foetus in cattle, and +turning them into moles; stealing grain or other field produce from +the farm-yards of the victim; letting loose wolves, jackals, or rats +into the victim's field; pricking needles or thorns into the victim's +eyes or body; applying turmeric to the eyes of a female victim, or +putting lampblack into her eyes; or tearing the open end of her robe; +and causing death to an enemy by means of a method of the Black Art, +called Mûth, literally 'a handful.' + +"The Mûth generally consists of a handful of rice or Urad pulse +(Phaseolus radiatus) charmed and sent by the witch against her enemy +through the agency of the familiar spirit. It is likened to a shock of +electricity sudden and sharp, which strikes in the centre of the heart, +causes vomiting and spitting of blood, and may, if not warded against, +end in the death of the victim. Practised experts pretend to see the +Mûth rolling through the air, like a red-hot ball, and say that they +can avert its evil consequences in two ways--either by satiating it, +which is done so as to cause a little bleeding, and allowing the blood +to drop on a charmed lemon, which is afterwards cut and thrown into a +river; or by reversing its action and sending it back to the person +who issued it, which is done by charging a lemon and throwing it in +the direction whence the Mûth has been seen to come. The operation +of a Mûth is most dreaded in many parts of Bombay, and especially in +the Konkan. Cases of sudden illness, blood vomiting, or sudden death +are frequently attributed to the agency of a Mûth or charmed handful +of rice or pulse sent by an enemy." [722] + +We have here examples of the dread of the woman dying at her +confinement, which we have already noticed in the case of the Churel, +and the nudity charm is also familiar. + + + +Witch Seasons. + +In Central India, witches are supposed, by the aid of their familiars, +who are known as Bîr, or "the hero," to inflict pain, disease, and +death upon human beings. Their power of witchcraft, like that of all +Indian witches, exists on the fourteenth, fifteenth, and twenty-ninth +of each month, and in particular at the Diwâlî or feast of lamps, +and the Naurâtrî or nine days devoted to the worship of Durgâ. + +In the same way the Irish witches flit on November Eve, and "on that +night mortal people should keep at home, or they will suffer for it; +for souls of the dead have power over all things on that night of +the year, and they hold a festival with the fairies, and drink red +wine from the fairy cups and dance to fairy music till the moon goes +down." [723] Of the Allhallows demon Professor Rhys writes: "This +night was the Saturnalia of all that was hideous and uncanny in the +world of spirits. It had been fixed as the time of all others when the +Sun god, whose power had been gradually falling off since the great +feast associated with him on the first of August, succumbed to his +enemies, the powers of darkness and of winter. It was their first +hour of triumph after an interval of subjection, and the popular +imagination pictured them stalking abroad with more than ordinary +insolence and aggressiveness." [724] + +At other times the Indian witches appear, dress, talk, and eat like +other women, but "when the fit is on them, they are sometimes seen +with their eyes glaring red, their hair dishevelled and bristled, +while their heads are often turned round in a strange, convulsive +manner. On the nights of those days, they are believed to go abroad, +and after casting off their garments, to ride about on tigers and +other wild animals; and if they desire to go on the water, alligators +come like the beasts of the forests at their call, and they disport +in rivers and lakes upon their backs till dawn of day, about which +period they always return home, and resume their usual forms and +occupations." [725] + + + +Witches Taking the Form of Tigers. + +The idea that witches take the form of tigers is widespread. Colonel +Dalton describes how a Kol, tried for the murder of a wizard, stated +in his defence that his wife having been killed by a tiger in his +presence, he stealthily followed the animal as it glided away after +gratifying its appetite, and saw that it entered the house of one +Pûsa, a Kol, whom he knew. He called out Pûsa's relations, and when +they heard the story, they not only credited it, but declared that +they had long suspected Pûsa of possessing such power; on entering +they found him, and not a tiger; they delivered him bound into the +hands of his accuser, who at once killed him. In explanation of their +proceedings, they deposed that Pûsa had one night devoured an entire +goat, and roared like a tiger while he was eating it; and on another +occasion he had informed his friends that he felt a longing for a +particular bullock, and that very night the bullock was carried off +by a tiger. [726] + +Mr. Campbell gives a very similar story from Bombay, in which a +man-eating tiger was supposed to be a witch in disguise. [727] All +these stories very closely resemble the European were-wolf and similar +legends. [728] In Mirzapur they tell a tale of one of the Drâvidian +Bhuiyârs, whose wife went recently on the Pura Mamuâr Hill, when an +evil spirit in the form of a tiger attacked and killed her. This was +after her death ascertained to be the case by the inquiries of the +village Baiga, who now does an annual ceremony and sacrifice near +the place. For such witch tigers the favourite remedy is to knock +out their teeth to prevent their doing any more mischief and becoming +the Indian equivalent of the Loupgarou. [729] + + + +Witches Extracting Substances from their Victims. + +Another remedy is thus described by Abul Fazl: "The sorceress casts +something out of her mouth like the grain of a pomegranate, which +is believed to be part of the heart which she has eaten. The patient +picks it up as part of his own intestine and greedily swallows it. By +this means, as if his heart was replaced in his body, he recovers +his health by degrees." + +The idea that witches extract substances out of a sick person's body +is very common. [730] The witch in Macbeth says, "I will drain him +dry as hay." In the same way the original object of kissing is said +to be to extract an evil spirit out of a person. Many people get a +holy man to kiss a sick child and blow over some water which is given +it to drink, and thus the evil spirit is removed. + +General Sleeman gives the case of a trooper who had taken some +milk from an old woman without payment, and was seized with severe +internal pains, which he attributed to her witchcraft. She was sent +for, but denied having bewitched him. She admitted, however, that +"the household gods may have punished him for his wickedness." She +was ordered to cure him, and set about collecting materials for the +purpose, but meanwhile the pains left him. + +Another man took a cock from an old Gond woman and was similarly +affected. "The old cock was actually heard crowing in his belly." In +spite of all the usual remedies he died, and the cock never ceased +crowing at intervals till his death. + +He tells of another witch who was known to be such by the juice of the +sugar-cane she was eating turning into blood. A man saw her staring +at him and left the district at once. "It is well known that these +spells and curses can only reach a distance of ten or twelve miles, +and if you offend one of these witches, the sooner you put that +distance between you and them, the better." + +Another witch was bargaining with a man for some sugar-cane. She seized +one end of the stalk and the purchaser the other. A scuffle ensued, and +a soldier came up and cut the cane in two with a sword. Immediately a +quantity of blood flowed from the cane to the ground, which the witch +had been drawing through it from the man's body. So we read of the +two witches in the Italian tale, who "seeing that he would not go, +cast him by their witchcraft into a deep sleep, and with a small +tube sucked all his blood from his veins, and made it into a blood +pudding which they carried with them. And this gave them the power +to be invisible till they should return." [731] + +"It is the general belief that there is not a village or a single +family without its witch in this part of the country. Indeed, no one +will give his daughter in marriage to a family without one, saying, +'If my daughter has children, what will become of them without +a witch to protect them from witches of other families in the +neighbourhood?'" [732] Sir John Malcolm notices the same fact. "In +some places men will not marry into a family where there is not a +Dâkinî or witch to save them from the malice of others; but this name, +which is odious, is not given to those persons by their relations +and friends. They are termed Rakhwâlî or guardians." [733] + + + +Witches and Cats. + +One sign of the witch is that she is accompanied by her cat. This is +an idea which prevails all over the world. Thus, in Ireland, cats are +believed to be connected with demons. On entering a house the usual +salutation is, "God save all here except the cat!" Even the cake on the +griddle may be blessed, but no one says, "God bless the cat!" [734] +The negroes in Mussouri say "some cats are real cats and some are +devils; you can never tell which is which, so for safety it is well +to whip them all soundly." [735] One explanation of the connection +of witches and cats is that "when Galinthis was changed into a cat +by the Fates, Hecate took pity on her and made her her priestess, +in which office she continues to this day." [736] We have already +seen that it is probably her stealthy ways and habit of going about +at night which gave the cat her uncanny character. + +The cat, say the jungle people, is aunt of the tiger, and taught +him everything but how to climb a tree. The Orâons of Chota Nâgpur +say that Chordeva, the birth fiend, comes in the form of a cat and +worries the mother. [737] The Thags used to call the caterwauling +of cats Kâlî ki Mauj, or the roaring wave of Kâlî, and it was of +evil omen. The omen could be obviated only by gargling the mouth in +the morning with sour milk and spitting it out. We have already seen +the danger of killing a cat. Zâlim Sinh, the famous regent of Kota, +thought that cats were associated with witches, and on one occasion +when he believed himself exposed to enchantment, ordered that every +cat should be expelled from his cantonment. [738] + + + +Witch Ordeals. + +All the ordeals for witches turn on the efficacy of certain things +to which reference has been already made as scarers of evil spirits. + +Thus, the ordeal of walking over hot coals and on heated ploughshares +was a common method of testing a witch both in India and in +Europe. [739] Zâlim Sinh, however, generally used the water ordeal, +a test which is known all over the world. [740] Even Pliny knew that +Indian witches could not sink in water. [741] Manu prescribes water +as a form of oath, and to this day it is a common form of oath ordeal +for a man to stand in water when he is challenged to swear. Zâlim Sinh +used to say that handling balls of hot iron was too slight a punishment +for such sinners as witches, for it was well known that they possessed +substances which enabled them to do this with impunity; so he used +to throw them into a pool of water; if they sank, they were innocent; +if they, unhappily, came to the surface, their league with the powers +of darkness was apparent. A bag of cayenne pepper tied over the head, +if it failed to suffocate, afforded another test. + +"The most humane method employed was rubbing the eyes with a well-dried +capsicum; and certainly if they could furnish the demonstration of +their innocence by withholding tears, they might justly be deemed +witches." [742] Akin to these tests is the folk-tale ordeal by +which the calumniated heroine bathes in boiling oil to prove her +chastity. [743] + + + +Santâl Witch Ordeals. + +Forbes gives the tests in vogue in his day among the Santâls, whom +he calls Soontaar. Branches of the Sâl tree (Shorea robusta) marked +with the names of all the females of the village, whether married or +unmarried, who had attained the age of twelve years, were planted in +the morning in water for the space of four and a half hours; and the +withering of any of these branches was proof of witchcraft against the +person whose name was attached to it. Small portions of rice enveloped +in pieces of cloth marked as before, were placed in a nest of white +ants; the consumption of the rice in any of the bags was proof of +witchcraft against the woman whose name it bore. Lamps were lighted +at night; water was placed in cups made of leaves, and mustard oil +was poured drop by drop into the water, while the name of each woman +in the village was pronounced. The appearance of the shadow of any +woman in the water during the ceremony proved her to be a witch. [744] + + + +Witch Tests, Bilâspur. + +One of the most noted witch-finders in the Bilâspur District of the +Central Provinces had two most effectual means of checkmating the +witches. "His first effort was to get the villagers to describe the +marked eccentricities of the old women of the community, and when these +had been detailed, his experience soon enabled him to seize on some +ugly or unlucky idiosyncrasy, which indicated in unmistakable clearness +the unhappy offender. If no conclusion could be arrived at in this way, +he lighted an ordinary earthen lamp, and repeating consecutively the +name of each woman in the village, he fixed on the witch or witches +by the flicker of the wick when the name or names were mentioned. The +discovery of the witch soon led to her being grossly maltreated, and, +under the Native Government, almost invariably in her death. Since +the introduction of the British rule these cases are becoming year +to year rarer; but the belief itself remains strong and universal, +and the same class of superstitions pervades every-day life." [745] + + + +Witch Tests, Bastar. + +In Bastar, "a fisherman's net is wound round the head of the suspected +witch to prevent her escaping or bewitching her guards. Two leaves of +the Pîpal or sacred fig tree, one representing her and the other her +accusers, are thrown upon her outstretched hands. If the leaf in her +name fall uppermost, she is supposed to be a suspicious character; +if the leaf fall with the lower part upwards, it is possible that +she may be innocent, and popular opinion is in her favour." The final +test is the usual water ordeal. [746] + + + +Miscellaneous Tests: Eggs. + +Several persons, natives of the Khasiya Hills, were convicted +of beating to death a man whom they believed to be a wizard. They +confessed freely, saying that he destroyed their wives and daughters +by witchcraft. One of the accused was the brother of the wife of the +deceased. It appears that they discovered he was a sorcerer by the +appearance of an egg when broken. [747] A similar case is reported +among the Banjâras of Berâr. [748] The use of eggs in this way opens +up an interesting chapter in folk-lore. Thus, we have the famous +legend which tells how a golden egg was produced at the beginning +of all things, and from it Prajapati Brahma, the great progenitor of +the universe, was produced. This piece of primitive folk-lore appears +in the folk-tales in the numerous stories of children produced from +eggs. [749] In one of the Kashmîr tales the egg of the wondrous bird +has the power of transmuting anything it touches into gold. [750] +Again, we have everywhere instances of the belief in the power of eggs +as guardians against evil spirits. "An egg laid on Ascension Day hung +to the roof of the house preserveth the same from all hurts." [751] +Children in Northumberland, when first sent abroad in the arms of the +nurse, are presented with an egg, salt, and fine bread. In India, we +constantly see the eggs of the ostrich hung up in mosques and tombs +to repel evil influences. We have the same idea in the use of eggs +at Easter in England. In the Konkan, Kunbis give a mixture of eggs +and turmeric to a man who spits blood; and to remove the effects of +the Evil Eye, they wave bread and an egg round a sick person. The +Sultânkârs, when their wives are possessed with evil spirits, offer +rice, a fowl, and an egg, and the spirit passes away. The Beni Israels, +to avert evil, break a hen's egg under the forefoot of the bridegroom's +horse. [752] + +There is another form of witch test in Chhatîsgarh, where a pole +of a particular wood is erected on the banks of a stream, and each +suspected person, after bathing, is required to touch the pole; +it is supposed that if any witch does this her hand will swell. + + + +The Rowan Tree. + +According to British folk-lore, one of the most potent antidotes +for witches is a twig of the rowan tree bound with scarlet thread, +or a stalk of clover with four leaves laid in the byre, or a bough +of the whitty, or "wayfaring tree." [753] Many, in fact, are the +herbs which are potent in this way, of which the chief is perhaps +that Moly, "that Hermes once to wise Ulysses gave." In India, the +substitute for these magic trees is a branch of the tamarind, or a +stalk of the castor-oil tree (Palma Christi). If, after receiving in +silence an ordinary scourging by the usual methods, the suspected +person cries out at a blow with the magic branch, he is certainly +guilty. [754] These plants are everywhere supposed to exercise power +over witches, and even in places like the North-Western Provinces, +where witch-hunting is happily a thing of the past, a Chamâr or +currier, a class which enjoy an uncanny reputation, is exceedingly +afraid of even a slight blow with a castor-oil switch. + + + +Witch-finding among Kols. + +The Kolarian witch-finder's test is to put a large wooden grain measure +under a flat stone as a pivot on which the latter can revolve. A +boy is then seated on the stone supporting himself with his hands, +and "the names of all the people in the neighbourhood are slowly +pronounced. As each name is uttered a few grains of rice are thrown +at the boy. When they come to the name of the witch or wizard, the +stone turns and the boy rolls off." [755] This, no doubt, is the +effect of the boy's falling into a state of coma, and losing the +power of supporting himself with his hands. + + + +Marks of Witches. + +Some witches are believed to learn the secrets of their craft by +eating filth. We have already seen that this is also believed to +be the case with evil spirits. Such a woman, in popular belief, is +always very lovely and scrupulously neat in her personal appearance, +and she always has a clear line of red lead applied to the parting +of her hair. Witches have a special power of casting evil glances on +children, and after a child is buried, they are believed to exhume the +corpse, anoint it with oil, and bring it to life to serve some occult +purpose of their own. On the same principle the Kâfirs believe that +dead bodies are restored to life, and made hobgoblins to aid their +owners in mischief. [756] Indian witches, moreover, are supposed to +keep a light burning during the ceremony of child exhumation, and if +the father or the mother has the courage to run and snatch away the +child just as it is revived, and before the witch can blow out the +light, the child will be restored to them safe and sound. [757] + + + +Charms Recited Backward. + +One well-known characteristic of witches is that she cannot die as +long as she is a witch, but must while alive pass on her craft to +another, is well recognized in India. Hence a witch is always on +the look-out for some one to whom she may delegate her functions, +and many well-meaning people have been ruined in this way through +misplaced confidence in the benevolence of a witch. [758] + +Indian witches also resemble their European sisters in their habit +of reciting their charms backward,-- + + + He who'd read her aright must say her + Backwards like a witch's prayer. + + +And in "Much ado about Nothing," Hero says of Beatrice,-- + + + "I never yet saw man + How wise, how noble, young, how rarely featured, + But she would spell him backward." + + +This backward recital of spells appears all through folk-lore. [759] +Indian witches are supposed to repeat two letters and a half from +a verse in the Qurân, known only to themselves, and to say them +backwards. We have the same belief in one of the tales of Somadeva, +where Bhîmabhatta prays in his extremity to Mother Ganges, and +she says, "Now receive from me this charm called 'forwards and +backwards.' If a man repeats it forwards, he will become invisible to +his neighbour; but if he repeats it backwards, he will assume whatever +shape he desires." [760] The use of this charm enables the witch to +take the liver out of a living child and eat it. But, in order to do +this effectively, she must first catch some particular kind of wild +animal not larger than a dog, feed it with cakes of sugar and butter, +ride on it, and repeat the charm one hundred times. When dying, the +breath will not leave the body of the witch until she has taught +the two and a half letters to another woman, or failing a woman, +until she has repeated it to a tree. [761] + + + +Witchcraft by Means of Hair, Nail Parings, etc. + +The idea is common in folk-lore that a witch can acquire power over +her victim by getting possession of a lock of hair, the parings of +his nails, or some other part of his body. In the "Comedy of Errors," +Dromio of Syracuse says,-- + + + "Some devils ask but the parings of one's nail, + A rush, a hair, a drop of blood, a pin, + A nut, a cherry stone." + + +In Ireland, nail-parings are an ingredient in many charms, and +hair-cuttings should not be placed where birds can find them, for they +take them to build their nests, and then you will have headaches all +the year after. [762] The same is the case with the leavings of food, +which should be thrown to the crows lest some ill-disposed person get +possession of them. On the same principle English mothers hide away the +first tooth of a child. [763] There are numerous instances of these +and similar beliefs all through the whole range of folk-lore. Hence +natives of India are very careful about the disposal of hair-cuttings +and nail-parings; and it is only at shrines and sacred places of +pilgrimage where shaving is a religious duty that such things are +left lying about on the ground. In the Grihyasûtras it is provided +that the hair cut from a child's head at the end of the first, third, +fifth, or seventh year shall be buried in the earth at a place covered +with grass or in the neighbourhood of water. The carelessness shown +at places of pilgrimage in this respect rests on the belief that the +sanctity of the place is in itself a protective against sorcery. But +some people do not depend on this, and fling the hair into running +water. At Hardwâr the barber at the sacred pool takes the hair which +he keeps collected in a bag and flings it into the air on the top of +the neighbouring hill, at least he assures his patrons that he does so. + + + +Witchcraft by Means of Images. + +Another means which witches are supposed to adopt in order to +injure those whom they dislike, is to make an image of wax, flour, +or similar substances, and torture it, with the idea that the pain +will be communicated to the person whom they desire to annoy. + +Thus, among Muhammadans, when the death of an enemy is desired, +a doll is made of earth taken from a grave, or a place where bodies +are cremated, and various sentences of the Qurân are read backwards +over twenty-one small wooden pegs. The officiant is to repeat the +spell three times over each peg, and is then to strike them so as +to pierce various parts of the body of the image. The image is then +to be shrouded like a corpse, conveyed to a cemetery, and buried in +the name of the enemy whom it is intended to injure. He will, it is +believed, certainly die after this rite is performed. The practice +has become a branch of the fine arts and numerous methods are detailed +by Dr. Herklots. [764] + +It is almost unnecessary to say that similar ideas prevail in +Europe. The wounded Melun in "King John" says:-- + + + "Have I not hideous death within my view, + Retaining but a quantity of life, + Which bleeds away, even as a form of wax + Resolveth from his figure 'gainst the fire?" + + +An old woman in Cornwall was advised "to buy a bullock's heart, and get +a packet of pound pins. She was to stick the heart as full of pins as +she could, and the body that wished her ill felt every pin run into +the bullock's heart, same as if they had been run into her." [765] +Examples of such images may be seen in the Pitt-Rivers collection at +Oxford. Sir W. Scott describes how, under the threshold of a house in +Dalkeith, was found the withered heart of some animal, full of many +scores of pins; and Aubrey tells us of one Hammond, of Westminster, +who was hanged or tried for his life in 1641 for killing a person by +means of an image of wax. This was one of the charges made against +the unfortunate Jane Shore. [766] + +In Bengal, "a person sometimes takes a bamboo which has been used +to keep down a corpse during cremation, and making a bow and arrow +with it, repeats incantations over them. He then makes an image of +his enemy in clay, and lets fly an arrow into this image. The person +whose image is thus pierced is said to be immediately seized with a +pain in his breast." In the folk-tales restoration to life is usually +effected by collecting the ashes or bones of the deceased and making +an image of them, into which life is breathed. [767] + + + +Witchcraft through the Footsteps. + +It was a precept of Pythagoras not to run a nail or a knife into +a man's foot. This, from the primitive point of view, was really +a moral, not merely a prudential precept. For it is a world-wide +superstition that by injuring the footsteps you injure the foot that +made them. Thus, in Mecklenburgh it is thought that if you thrust +a nail into a man's footsteps the man will go lame. The Australian +blacks held exactly the same view. "Seeing that a Tutungolung was very +lame," says Mr. Howitt, "I asked him what was the matter. He said, +'Some fellow has put bottle in my foot.' I asked him to let me see +it. I found that he was probably suffering from acute rheumatism. He +explained that some enemy must have found his foot-track, and have +buried in it a piece of broken bottle." [768] The same feeling +widely prevails in Northern India, and rustics are in the habit of +attributing all sorts of pains and sores to the machinations of some +witch or sorcerer who has meddled with their footprints. + + + +Punishment of Witches. + +The method by which witches are punished displays a diabolical +ingenuity. The Indian newspapers a short time ago recorded six out of +nine murders in the Sambalpur District as due to "the superstition, +which is so general, that the spread of cholera is due to the sorcery +of some individual, whose evil influence can be nullified if he be +beaten with rods of the castor-oil plant. The people who are thus +suspected are so cruelly beaten that in the majority of cases they +die under the infliction." + +A milder form of treatment is to make the witch drink the filthy water +of a washerman's tank, which is believed to destroy her skill. [769] +The punishment in vogue in Central India was to make witches drink +the water used by curriers, leather being, as we have seen, a scarer +of evil spirits, and drinking such water involves degradation from +caste. In more serious cases the witch's nose was cut off, or she +was put to death. [770] + +In Bastar, if a man is adjudged guilty of witchcraft, he is beaten by +the crowd, his hair is shaved, the hair being supposed to constitute +his power of mischief, his front teeth are knocked out, in order, +it is said, to prevent him from muttering incantations, or more +probably, as we have already seen, to prevent him from becoming a +Loupgarou. All descriptions of filth are thrown at him; if he be of +good caste, hog's flesh is thrust into his mouth, and lastly he is +driven out of the country, followed by the abuse and execrations of +his enlightened fellow-men. Women suspected of sorcery have to undergo +the same ordeal; if found guilty, the same punishment is awarded, +and after being shaved, their hair is attached to a tree in some +public place. In Chhattîsgarh, a witch has her hair shaved with a +blunt knife, her two front teeth are knocked out, she is branded in +the hinder parts, has a ploughshare, which is a strong fetish, tied +to her legs, and she is made to drink the water of a tannery. [771] + + + +Witchcraft Punishments among the Drâvidians. + +In former times among the Drâvidian races persons denounced as +witches were put to death in the belief that witches breed witches and +sorcerers. A terrible raid was made on these unfortunate people when +British authority was relaxed during the Mutiny, and most atrocious +murders were committed. "Accusations of witchcraft are still sometimes +made, and persons denounced are subjected to much ill-usage, if they +escape with their lives." [772] Among the Bhîls suspected persons used +to be suspended from a tree head downwards, pounded chillies being +first put into the witch's eyes to see if the smarting would bring +tears from her. Sometimes after suspension she was swung violently from +side to side. She was finally compelled to drink the blood of a goat, +slaughtered for the purpose, which is regarded as a substitute for the +sick man's life, and to satisfy the witch's craving for blood. She was +then brought to the patient's bedside, and required to make passes +over his head with a Nîm branch; a lock of hair was also cut from +the head of the witch and buried in the ground, that the last link +between her and her former powers of mischief might be broken. [773] + + + +Other Witchcraft Punishments. + +Dr. Chevers has collected a number of instances in which the punishment +of death or mutilation was inflicted on supposed witches. He quotes +a case in 1802, in which several of the witnesses declared that +they remembered numerous instances of persons being put to death for +sorcery; one of them, in particular, proved that her mother had been +tried and executed as a witch. In another case a Kol, thinking that +some old women had bewitched him, placed them in a line and cut off all +their heads, except that of the last, who, objecting to this drastic +form of ordeal, ran away and escaped. In another, the nose-ring of a +suspected witch was torn out with such violence as to cause extensive +laceration. There are recorded instances of even more brutal forms +of mutilation. A case occurred at Dhâka in which some people went to +the house of a supposed witch, intending, as they said, to make her +discontinue her enchantments, and ill-treated her in such a shameful +way as to leave her in a dying state. She appears to have been in the +habit of prescribing medicine for children, and this seems to have +been the only basis for the reports that she practised magic. [774] + + + +Drawing Blood from a Witch. + +One favourite way of counteracting the spells of a witch is to draw +blood from her. Thus, Professor Rhys, writing of Manxland, says: +"There is a belief that if you can draw blood, however little, from a +witch or one who has the Evil Eye, he loses his power of harming you; +and I have been told that formerly this belief was sometimes acted +on. Thus, on leaving church, for instance, the man who fancied himself +in danger from another would go up to him, or walk by his side, and +inflict on him a slight scratch or some other trivial wound, which +elicited blood." [775] In the First Part of "Henry VI." Talbot says +to the Pucelle de Orleans,-- + + + "I'll have a bout with thee; + Devil or devil's dam, I'll conjure thee; + Blood will I draw on thee, thou art a witch." + + +And Hudibras says,-- + + + "Till drawing blood o' the Dames like witches, + They're forthwith cur'd of their capriches." + + +So at the present day in Mirzapur, when a woman is marked down +as a witch, the Baiga or Ojha pricks her tongue with a needle, +and the blood thus extracted is received on some rice, which she +is compelled to eat. In another case she is pricked on the breast, +tongue, and thighs, and given the blood to drink. The ceremony is +most efficacious if performed on the banks of a running stream. This +is probably a survival of the actual blood sacrifice of a witch. + + + +Witch Haunts. + +"In any country an isolated or outlying race, the lingering survivors +of an older nationality, is liable to the imputation of sorcery." [776] +This is exactly true of Asia. Marco Polo makes the same assertion about +Pachai in Badakhshân. He says the people of Kashmîr "have extraordinary +acquaintance with the devilries of enchantment, insomuch that they +can make their idols to speak. They can also by their sorceries +bring on changes of weather, and produce darkness, and do a number +of things so extraordinary, that without seeing them no one would +believe them. Indeed this country is the very original source from +which idolatry has spread abroad." In Tibet, he says, "are the best +enchanters and astrologers that exist in that part of the world; +they perform such extraordinary marvels and sorceries by diabolical +art, that it astounds one to see or even hear of them." [777] So +in European folk-lore the north was considered the home of witches, +and in Shakespeare La Pucelle invokes the aid of the spirit under the +"lordly monarch of the north." + +In India, the same is the case with the Konkan in Bombay. [778] The +semi-aboriginal Thârus of the Himâlayan Tarâî are supposed to possess +special powers of this kind, and Thâruhat, or "the land of the Thârus," +is a common synonym for "Witchland." At Bhâgalpur, Dr. Buchanan was +told that twenty-five children died annually through the malevolence +of witches. These reputed witches used to drive a roaring trade, as +women would conceal their children on their approach and bribe them +to go away. In Gorakhpur, he says, the Tonahis or witches were very +numerous, "but some Judge sent an order that no one should presume to +injure another by enchantment. It is supposed that the order has been +obeyed, and no one has since imagined himself injured, a sign of the +people being remarkably easy to govern," [779] and it may be added +of the patriarchal style of government in those early days. Nowadays +the accusation of witchcraft is practically confined to the menial +tribes. The wandering, half-gipsy Banjâras, or grain-carriers, are +notoriously witch-ridden, and the same is the case with the Dom, +Sânsiya, Hâbûra, and other vagrants of their kin. + + + +Nonâ Chamârin, the Witch. + +At the present day the half-deified witch most dreaded in the +Eastern Districts of the North-Western Provinces is Lonâ, or Nonâ, +a Chamârin, or woman of the currier caste. Her legend is in this +wise. The great physician Dhanwantara, who corresponds to Luqmân +Hakîm of the Muhammadans, was once on his way to cure King Parikshit, +and was deceived and bitten by the snake king Takshaka. He therefore +desired his son to roast him and eat his flesh, and thus succeed to his +magical powers. The snake king dissuaded them from eating the unholy +meal, and they let the cauldron containing it float down the Ganges. A +currier woman, named Lonâ, found it and ate the contents, and thus +succeeded to the mystic powers of Dhanwantara. She became skilful in +cures, particularly of snake-bite. Finally she was discovered to be +a witch by the extraordinary rapidity with which she could plant out +rice seedlings. One day the people watched her, and saw that when she +believed herself unobserved, she stripped herself naked, and taking the +bundle of the plants in her hands threw them into the air, reciting +certain spells. When the seedlings forthwith arranged themselves +in their proper places, the spectators called out in astonishment, +and finding herself discovered, Nonâ rushed along over the country, +and the channel which she made in her course is the Lonî river to +this day. So a saint in Broach formed a new course for a river by +dragging his clothes behind him. In Nonâ's case we have the nudity +charm, of which instances have been already given. + + + +Pûtanâ, the Witch Fiend. + +Another terrible witch, whose legend is told at Mathura, is Pûtanâ, +the daughter of Bali, king of the lower world. She found the infant +Krishna asleep, and began to suckle him with her devil's milk. The +first drop would have poisoned a mortal child, but Krishna drew her +breast with such strength that he drained her life-blood, and the +fiend, terrifying the whole land of Braj with her cries of agony, fell +lifeless on the ground. European witches suck the blood of children; +here the divine Krishna turns the tables on the witch. [780] + + + +The Witch of the Palwârs. + +The Palwâr Râjputs of Oudh have a witch ancestress. Soon after the +birth of her son she was engaged in baking cakes. Her infant began to +cry, and she was obliged to perform a double duty. At this juncture +her husband arrived just in time to see his demon wife assume gigantic +and supernatural proportions, so as to allow both the baking and +nursing to go on at the same time. But finding her secret discovered, +the witch disappeared, leaving her son as a legacy to her astonished +husband. [781] Here, though the story is incomplete, we have almost +certainly, as in the case of Nonâ Chamârin, one of the Melusina type of +legend, where the supernatural wife leaves her husband and children, +because he violated some taboo, by which he is forbidden to see her +in a state of nudity, or the like. [782] + +The history of witchcraft in India, as in Europe, is one of the saddest +pages in the annals of the people. Nowadays, the power of British law +has almost entirely suppressed the horrible outrages which, under the +native administration, were habitually practised. But particularly in +the more remote and uncivilized parts of the country, this superstition +still exists in the minds of the people, and occasional indications of +it, which appear in our criminal records, are quite sufficient to show +that any relaxation of the activity of our magistrates and police would +undoubtedly lead to its revival in some of its more shocking forms. + + + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +SOME RURAL FESTIVALS AND CEREMONIES. + + + En d' etithei neion malakên pieiran arouran, + Eureian, tripolon· polloi d' apotêres en autê + Zeugea dineuontes elastreon entha kai entha. + + Iliad, xviii. 541-43. + + +The subject of rural festivals is much too extensive for treatment in +a limited space. Here reference will be made only to a few of those +ceremonies which illustrate the principles recently elucidated from +the folk-lore of Europe by Messrs. Frazer, Gomme, and Mannhardt. [783] + + + +The Akhtîj. + +The respect paid to ploughing is illustrated by the early Vedic legend +of Sîtâ, who, like the Etruscan Tago, sprung from a furrow. [784] +It is only in a later development of the story that she becomes the +daughter of Janaka, and wife of Râma Chandra. + +The agricultural year in Northern India begins with the ceremony of +the Akhtîj, "the undecaying third," which is celebrated on the third +day of the light fortnight in the month of Baisâkh, or May. In the +North-Western Provinces the cultivator first fees his Pandit to select +an auspicious hour on that day for the commencement of ploughing. In +most places he does not begin till 3 p.m.; in Mirzapur the time fixed +is usually during the night, as secrecy is in most of these rural +ceremonies an important part of the ritual. + +In Rohilkhand the cultivator goes at daybreak to one of his fields, +which must be of a square or oblong shape. He takes with him a brass +drinking vessel of water, a branch of the Mango tree, both of which +are, as we have seen, efficacious in scaring spirits, and a spade. The +object of the rite is to propitiate Prithivî, "the broad world," +as contrasted with Dhartî Mâî, or "Mother Earth," and Sesha Nâga, +the great snake which supports the world. Whenever Sesha yawns he +causes an earthquake. + +The Pandit first makes certain observations by which he is able +to determine in which direction the snake happens at the time to be +lying, because, in order to ease himself of his burden, he moves about +beneath the world, and lies, sometimes north and south, north-west +and south-east, and so on. This imaginary line having been marked +off, the peasant digs up five clods of earth with his spade. This +is a lucky number, as it is a quarter more than four. Hence Sawâi, +or one and a quarter, has been taken as one of the titles of the +Mahârâja of Jaypur. He then sprinkles water five times into the trench +with the branch of the sacred mango. The object of this is by a form +of sympathetic magic to ensure the productiveness of the crop, and +scare the demons of evil which would injure it. In Bombay, at the +beginning of the sowing season, a cocoanut is broken and thrown at +each side of the plough, so that the soil spirits may leave and make +room for Lakshmî, the goddess of prosperity, who is represented by +the plough. [785] During all these proceedings the peasant watches +the omens most carefully, and if anything inauspicious happens, the +ceremony must be discontinued and recommenced at a luckier hour later +on in the day. When he gets home, some woman of the family, who must +not be a widow, who is naturally considered unlucky, presents him +with curds and silver for good luck. He then stays all day in the +house, rests, and does no work, and does not even go to sleep. He +avoids quarrels and disputes of all kinds, and on that day will give +neither grain nor money, nor fire to any one. [786] Next day he eats +sweet food and balls of wheaten flour, toasted with curds and sugar, +but carefully abstains from salt. + +These usages have parallels in the customs of other lands. Thus, +the rule against giving fire on the sowing day prevailed in Rome, +and is still observed in the rural parts of England. In Iceland and +the Isle of Man it is believed that fire and salt are the most sacred +things given to man, and if you give them away on May Day you give +away your luck for the year; no one will give fire from a house while +an unbaptized baby is in it. [787] + +In Râjputâna the custom is less elaborate. The first day of ploughing +after the rains begin is known as the Halsotiya festival. Omens +being favourable, the villagers proceed to the fields, each household +carrying a new earthen pot, coloured with turmeric, the virtues of +which have been already explained, and full of Bâjra millet. Looking +to the north, the home of the gods, they make an obeisance to the +earth, and then a selected man ploughs five furrows. The ploughman's +hands and the bullock's hoofs are rubbed with henna, and the former +receives a dinner of delicacies. [788] + +In Mirzapur, only the northern part of the field, that facing the +Himâlaya is dug up in five places with a piece of mango wood. The +peasant, when he goes home, eats rich food, and abstains from quarrels. + +All over the country the people seem to be becoming less careful +about these observances. Some, without consulting a Pandit at all, +go early to the field on the morning after the Holî fire is lighted, +scratch the ground with a ploughshare, and on their return eat cakes +and sweetmeats. Others, on the first day after the Holî, when they +hear the voice of the Koil, or Indian cuckoo at twilight, go in +silence to the field and make a few scratches. [789] + +Among the Drâvidian Hill tribes of Mirzapur, the ceremony seems to be +merely a formal propitiation of the village godlings. Among the Korwas, +before ploughing commences, the Baiga makes an offering of butter and +molasses in his own field. This he burns in the name of the village +godlings, and does a special sacrifice at their shrine. After this +ploughing commences. The Kharwârs, before sowing, take five handfuls +of grain from the sowing basket, and pray to Dhartî Mâtâ, the earth +goddess, to be propitious. They keep the grain, grind it, and offer it +at her annual festival in the month of Sâwan or August. The Pankas only +do a burnt offering through the Baiga, and offer up cakes and other +food, known as Nêuj. Before the spring sowing, a general offering of +five cocks is made to the village godlings by the Baiga, who consumes +the sacrifice himself. All these people do not commence agricultural +work till the Baiga starts work in his own field, and they prefer to +do this on Monday. + +In Hoshangâbâd the ceremony is somewhat different. The ploughing is +usually begun by the landlord, and all the cultivators collect and +assist at the ceremony in his field before they go on to their own. "It +is the custom for him to take a rupee and fasten it up in the leaf of +the Palâsa tree with a thorn. He also folds up several empty leaves +in the same way and covers them all with a heap of leaves. When he has +done worship to the plough and bullocks, he yokes them and drives them +through the heap, and all the cultivators then scramble for the leaf +which contains the rupee. They then each plough their fields a little, +and returning in a body, they are met by the daughter or sister of +the landlord, who comes out to meet them with a brass vessel full of +water, a light in one hand and the wheaten cakes in the other. The +landlord and each of the cultivators of his caste put a rupee into +her water vessel and take a bit of the cake, which they put on their +heads. On the same day an earthen jar full of water is taken by each +cultivator to his threshing-floor, and placed to stand on four lumps +of earth, each of which bears the name of one of the four months of +the rainy season. Next morning as many lumps as are wetted by the +leaking of the water jar (which is very porous and always leaks), +so many months of rain will there be, and the cultivator makes his +arrangements for the sowing accordingly." [790] + +In the Himâlaya, again, there is a different ritual: "On the day fixed +for the commencement of ploughing the ceremony known as Kudkhyo and +Halkhyo takes place. The Kudkhyo takes place in the morning or evening, +and begins by lighting a lamp before the household deity and offering +rice, flowers, and balls made of turmeric, borax, and lemon juice. The +conch is then sounded, and the owner of the field or relative whose +lucky day it is, takes three or four pounds of seed-grain from a basin +and carries it to the edge of the field prepared for its reception. He +then scrapes a portion of the earth with a mattock, and sows a part +of the seed. One to five lamps are placed on the ground, and the +surplus seed is given away. At the Halkhyo ceremony, the balls as +above described are placed on the ploughman, plough, and plough cattle; +four or five furrows are ploughed and sown, and the farm servants are +fed." [791] This custom of giving away what remains of the seed-grain +to labourers and beggars prevails generally throughout Northern India. + +A curious rite is performed in Kulu at the rice planting. "Each family +in turn keeps open house. The neighbours, men and women, collect at the +rice-fields. As soon as a field is ready, the women enter it in line, +each with a bundle of young rice in her hands, and advance dabbing the +young plants into the slush as they go. The mistress of the house and +her daughters, dressed in their gayest, take their stand in front of +the line, and supply more bundles of plants as they are wanted. The +women sing in chorus as they work; impromptu verses are often put in, +which occasion a great deal of laughter. Two or three musicians are +generally entertained by the master of the house, who also supplies +food and drink of his best for the whole party. The day's work often +ends with a tremendous romp, in which every one throws mud at his +neighbours, or tries to give him or her a roll in it. No such ceremony +is observed in sowing other crops, rice having been formerly, in all +probability, the most important crop. It is also the custom to make +a rude image of a man in dough and to throw it away as a sacrifice to +the Ishta Deotâ or household deity." [792] This can hardly be anything +but a survival of an actual sacrifice to appease the field godlings +at sowing time. The rude horseplay which goes on is like that at the +Saturnalia and on the English Plough Monday. + +Going on to the Drâvidian races, the Mundas have a feast in May at +the time of sowing for the first rice crop. "It is held in honour +of the ancestral shades and other spirits, who, if unpropitiated, +would prevent the seed from germinating. A he-goat and a cock are +sacrificed." Again in June they have a festival to propitiate the +local gods, that they may bless the crops. "In the Mundâri villages +everyone plants a branch of the Bel tree in his land, and contributes +to the general offering, which is made by the priest in the sacred +grove, a fowl, a pitcher of beer, and a handful of rice." In July, +again, each cultivator sacrifices a fowl, and after some mysterious +rites, a wing is stripped off and inserted in a cleft of a bamboo, +and stuck up in the rice-field or dung-heap. If this is omitted, +the rice crop, it is supposed, will not come to maturity. It appears +more like a charm than a sacrifice. Among the Kols of Chota Nâgpur, +there is a special dance, "the women follow the men and change their +attitudes and positions in obedience to signals from them." In one +special figure "the women all kneel and pat the ground with their +hands, in tune of music, as if coaxing the earth to be fertile." [793] + + + +Prohibition of Ploughing. + +A clergyman in Devonshire informed Brand that the old farmers in his +parish called the three first days of March "Blind Days," which were +anciently considered unlucky, and on them no farmer would sow his +seed. [794] + +In Northern India there are certain days on which ploughing is +forbidden, such as the Nâgpanchamî or snake feast held on the +fifth of the light half of Sâwan, and the fifteenth of the month +Kârttik. Turning up the soil on such days disturbs Seshanâga, the great +world serpent and Mother Earth. But Mother Earth is also supposed +to sleep on six days in every month--the 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 21st, +and 24th; or, as others say, the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th, 10th, 21st, and +24th. On such days it is inadvisable to plough if it can be possibly +avoided. The fifteen days in the month of Kuâr which are devoted to +the worship of the Pitri or sainted dead, are also an inauspicious +time for agricultural work. + +All these ceremonies at the commencement of the agricultural season +remind us in many ways of the observance of the festivals of Plough +Monday and similar customs in rural England. [795] + + + +The Rakshabandhan and Jâyî Festivals. + +We have already noticed the use of the knotted cord or string as an +amulet. On the full moon of Sâwan is held the Salono or Rakshabandhan +festival, when women tie these amulets round the wrists of their +friends. Connected with this is what is known as the barley feast, +the Jâyî or Jawâra of Upper India, and the Bhujariya of the Central +Provinces. It is supposed to be connected in some way with the famous +story of Alha and Udal, which forms the subject of a very popular +local epic. They were Râjputs of the Banâphar clan, and led the +Chandels in their famous campaign against the Râhtaurs of Kanauj, +which immediately preceded, and in fact led up to, the Muhammadan +conquest of Northern India. [796] + +In connection with this simple rural feast, a most elaborate ritual +has been prescribed under Brâhmanical influence, but all that is +usually done is that on the seventh day of the light half of Sâwan, +grains of barley are sown in a pot of manure, and spring up so +rapidly that by the end of the month the vessel is full of long, +yellowish-green stalks. On the first day of the next month, Bhâdon, +the women and girls take these out, throw the earth and manure into +water, and distribute the plants to their male friends, who bind them +in their turbans and about their dress. [797] + +We have already come across an instance of a similar practice among +the Kharwârs at the Karama festival, and numerous examples of the same +have been collected by Mr. Frazer. [798] Thus, "in various parts of +Italy and all over Sicily it is still customary to put plants in water +or in earth on the Eve of St. John, and from the manner in which they +are found to be blooming or faded on St. John's Day omens are drawn, +especially as to fortune in love. In Prussia two hundred years ago +the farmers used to send out their servants, especially their maids, +to gather St. John's wort on Midsummer Eve or Midsummer Day. When they +had fetched it, the farmer took as many plants as there were persons +and stuck them on the wall or between the beams; and it was thought +that the person whose plant did not bloom would soon fall sick or +die. The rest of the plants were tied in a bundle, fastened to the +end of a pole, and set up at the gate or wherever the corn would +be brought in at the next harvest. This bundle was called Kupole, +the ceremony was known as Kupole's festival, and at it the farmer +prayed for a good crop of hay, etc." + +We have the same idea in the English rural custom of "wearing the +rose." There can be no reasonable doubt that all these rites were +intended to propitiate the spirit of vegetation and promote the +germination and growth of the next crop. [799] + + + +The Diwâlî, or Feast of Lamps. + +The regular Diwâlî, or Feast of Lamps, which is performed on the last +day of the dark fortnight in the month of Kârttik, is more of a city +than a rural festival. But even in the villages everyone burns a lamp +outside the house on that night. + +The feast has, of course, been provided with an appropriate +legend. Once upon a time an astrologer foretold to a Râja that on the +new moon of Kârttik his Kâl, or fate, would appear at midnight in +the form of a snake; that the way to avoid this was that he should +order all his subjects on that night to keep their houses, streets, +and lanes clean; that there should be a general illumination; that the +king, too, should place a lamp at his door, and at the four corners +of his couch, and sprinkle rice and sweetmeats everywhere. + +If the door-lamp went out it was foretold that he would become +insensible, and that he was to tell his Rânî to sing the praises of +the snake when it arrived. These instructions were carefully carried +out, and the snake was so pleased with his reception, that he told +the Rânî to ask any boon she pleased. She asked for long life for her +husband. The snake replied that it was out of his power to grant this, +but that he would make arrangements with Yamarâja, the lord of the +dead, for the escape of her husband, and that she was to continue to +watch his body. + +Then the snake carried off the spirit of the king to Yamarâja. When +the papers of the king's life were produced before Yamarâja his age +was denoted by a cipher, but the kindly snake put a seven before +it, and thus raised his age to seventy years. Then Yamarâja said: +"I find that this person has still seventy years to live. Take him +back at once." So the snake brought back the soul of the king, and he +revived and lived for seventy years more, and established this feast +in honour of the event. Much the same idea appears in one of Grimm's +German tales. [800] + +The original basis of the feast seems to have been the idea that on +this night the spirits of the dead revisit their homes, which are +cleaned and lighted for their reception. Now it is chiefly observed +in honour of Lakshmî, the goddess of wealth and good luck, who is +propitiated by gambling. On this night the women make what is called +"the new moon lampblack" (Amâwas Kâ Kâjal), which is used throughout +the following year as a charm against the Evil Eye, and, as we have +already seen, the symbolical expulsion of poverty goes on. + +Immediately following this festival is the Bhaiyya Dûj, or "Brothers' +second," when sisters make a mark on the foreheads of their brothers +and cause them to eat five grains of gram. These must be swallowed +whole, not chewed, and bring length of days. The sister then makes +her brother sit facing the east, and feeds him with sweetmeats, +in return for which he gives her a present. + + + +The Govardhan. + +Following the Diwâlî comes what is known as the Govardhan, or Godhan, +which is a purely rural feast. In parts of the North-Western Provinces, +the women, on a platform outside the house, make a little hut of mud +and images of Gaurî and Ganesa; there they place the parched grain +which the girls offered on the night of the Diwâlî; near it they +lay some thorny grass, wave a rice pounder round the hut, and invoke +blessings on their relations and friends. This is also a cattle feast, +and cowherds come round half drunk and collect presents from their +employers. They sing, "May this house grow as the sugar-cane grows, +as Ganga increases at the sacred confluence of Prayâg!" + +In the Panjâb "the women make a Govardhan of cowdung, which consists +of Krishna lying on his back surrounded with little cottage loaves of +dung to represent mountains, in which are stuck stems of grass with +tufts of cotton or rag on the top for trees, and by little dung balls +for cattle, watched by dung men dressed in little bits of rag. Another +opinion is that the cottage loaves are cattle, and the dung balls +calves. On this they put the churn-staff, five white sugar-canes, some +parched rice, and a lamp in the middle. The cowherds are then called +in, and they salute the whole, and are fed with rice and sweets. The +Brâhman then takes the sugar-cane and eats a bit, and till then no one +must eat, cut, or press cane. Rice-milk is then given to the Brâhmans, +and the bullocks have their horns dyed and are extra well fed." [801] + +The Emperor Akbar, we are told, used to join in this festival. [802] + +The custom in Cawnpur, known as the Dâng, or "Club," Diwâlî is very +similar. The cowherds worship Govardhan in the form of a little heap +of cowdung decorated with cotton, and go round to the houses of the +persons whose cattle they graze, dance to the music of two sticks +beaten together and a drum played by a Hindu weaver, and get presents +of grain, cloth, or money. [803] + + + +Cattle Festivals. + +There are a number of similar usages in various parts of the country +solemnized with the object of protecting the herds. Thus in Hoshangâbâd +they have the rite of frightening the cattle. "Everyone keeps awake +all night, and the herdsmen go out begging in a body, singing, +and keeping the cattle from sleeping. In the morning they are all +stamped with the hand dipped in yellow paint for the white ones, +and white paint for the red ones, and strings of cowries or peacocks' +feathers are tied to their horns. Then they are driven out with wild +whoops or yells, and the herdsman standing at the doorway smashes +an earthen water jar on the last. The neck of this is placed on the +gateway leading to the cattle sheds, and preserves them from the +Evil Eye. In the afternoon the cattle are all collected together, +and the Parihâr priest sprinkles them with water, after which they +are secure from all possible evil." [804] + +This reminds us of the custom of Manx cattle dealers, who drive +their herd through fire on May Day, so as to singe them a little, +and preserve them from harm. [805] The same was probably the origin +of the bull-running in the town of Stamford of which Brand gives an +account. So the Chinese make an effigy of an ox in clay, which after +being beaten by the governor, is stoned by the people till they break +it in pieces, from which they expect an abundant year. + +We have already met with instances where the scape animal merges in a +sacrifice. In Garhwâl, at the sacrifice in honour of Devî, the Brâhmans +make a circle of flour filled with various sorts of colours. Inside +this they sit and repeat sacred verses. Then a male buffalo is made +to move round the circle seven times, and everyone throws some holy +rice and oats over it. After this the headman of the village strikes +it lightly on the back with a sword and makes it run, on which the +people follow and hack it to pieces with their swords. [806] + +So in Bengal, on the last day of the month Kârttik (October-November) +a pig is turned loose among a herd of buffaloes, who are encouraged to +gore it to death. The carcase is given to the Dusâdh village menials +to eat. The Ahîrs, who practise this strange rite, aver that it has no +religious significance, and is merely a sort of popular amusement. They +do not themselves partake of any part of the pig. [807] It is plainly +a survival of a regular sacrifice, probably intended to promote the +fertility of the herds and crops. + +Similar customs for the protection of cattle prevail in other parts +of the country. Thus, in Mirzapur, at the Diwâlî, a little earthen +bell is procured from the village potter, and hung round the necks +of the cattle as a protective. + +In Berâr, at the Pola festival, the bullocks of the whole village pass +in procession under a sacred rope made of twisted grass and covered +with mango leaves. The sacred pole of the headman is then borne aloft +to the front. He gives the order to advance, and all the bullocks, his +own leading the way, file under the rope according to the respective +rank of their owners. The villagers vie with each other in having +the best decorated and painted bullocks, and large sums are often +expended in this way. This rope is supposed to possess the magic +power of protecting the cattle from disease and accident. [808] + +In Northern India it is a common charm to drive the cattle under a +rope fixed over the village cattle path, and among the Drâvidians of +Mirzapur, two poles and a cross bar are fixed at the entrance of the +village with the same object. The charm is rendered more powerful if +a plough beam is sunk in the ground close by. + +The custom of the silent tending of cattle has been already +mentioned. At the cattle festival in Râjputâna, in the evening the +cow is worshipped, the herd having been previously tended. "From +this ceremony no rank is excepted; on the preceding day, dedicated +to Krishna, prince and peasant all become pastoral attendants of the +cow in the form of Prithivî or the Earth." [809] In some places the +flowers and other ornaments of the cattle, which they lose in their +wild flight, are eagerly picked up and treated as relics bringing good +fortune. We have a similar idea in the blessing of cattle in Italy, +[810] and this is probably the origin of the observance described by +Aubrey, when "in Somersetshire, where the wassaile (which is, I think, +Twelfe Eve), the ploughmen have their Twelfe cake, and they go into +the ox-house to the cattle, and drink to the ox with the crumpled +horn that treads out the corne." [811] + + + +The Sleep of Vishnu. + +According to the rural belief, Vishnu sleeps for four months in the +year, from the eleventh of the bright half of the month Asârh, the +Deosoni Ekâdashî, "the reposing of the god," till the eleventh of the +bright half of the month Kârttik, the Deothân, or "god's awakening." So +the demon Kumbha Karana in the Râmâyana when he is gorged sleeps for +six months. According to Mr. Campbell, [812] during these four months +while the god sleeps demons are abroad, and hence there are an unusual +number of protective festivals in that period. On the day he retires +to rest women mark the house with lines of cowdung as a safeguard, +fast during the day, and eat sweetmeats at night. During the four +months of the god's rest it is considered unlucky to marry, repair +the thatch of a hut, or make the house cots. His rising at the Deothân +marks the commencement of the sugar-cane harvest, when the cane mill +is marked with red paint, and lamps are lighted upon it. The owner of +the crop then does worship in his field, and breaks off some stalks +of sugar-cane, which he puts on the boundary. He distributes five +canes each to the village Brâhman, blacksmith, carpenter, washerman, +and water carrier, and takes five home. + +Then on a wooden board about one and a half feet long two figures +of Vishnu and his wife Lakshmî are drawn with lines of butter and +cowdung. On the board are placed some cotton, lentils, water-nuts, +and sweets; a fire sacrifice is offered, and the five canes are +placed near the board and tied together at the top. The Sâlagrâma, +or stone emblematical of Vishnu, is lifted up, and all sing a rude +melody, calling on the god to wake and join the assembly. "Then all +move reverently round the emblems, the tops of the cane are broken +off and hung on the roof till the Holî, when they are burnt. When +the worship has been duly performed, and the officiating Brâhman +has declared that the fortunate moment has arrived, the cutting may +commence. The whole village is a scene of festivity, and dancing and +singing go on frantically. Till this day no Hindu will eat or touch +the crop. They believe that even jackals will not eat the cane till +then. The real fact is that till then the juice has not properly come +up, and the cane is not worth eating. On the first day the cane is +cut the owner eats none of it, it would bring him bad luck." [813] + + + +Ceremonies to Avert Blight, etc. + +There are various ceremonies intended to save certain crops from the +ravages of blight and insects. Blight is very generally attributed to +the constant measurement of the soil which goes on during settlement +operations, to the irreligious custom of eating beef, or to adultery, +or to a demon of the east wind, who can be appeased with prayers and +ceremonies. [814] No pious Hindu, if the seed fails, will re-sow his +winter crop. + +When sugar-cane germinates, the owner of the crop does worship on the +next Saturday before noon. On one of the days of the Naurâtrî in the +month of Kuâr the cultivator himself, or through his family priest, +burns a fire sacrifice in the field and offers prayers. In the month +of Kârttik he has a special ceremony to avert a particularly dangerous +grub, known as the Sûndi. For this purpose he takes from his house +butter, cakes, sweets, and five or six lumps of dough pressed into +the shape of a pear, with some clean water. He goes to the field, +offers a fire sacrifice, and presents some of the cakes to the field +spirit. He then buries one of the lumps of dough at each corner of his +field, and, having eaten the rest of the cakes, goes home happy. [815] + +When field-mice do injury to the crop the owner goes to a Syâna, or +cunning man, who writes a charm, the letters of which he dissolves in +water and scatters it over the plants. The ancient Greek farmer was +recommended to proceed as follows: "Take a sheet of paper and write on +it these words, 'Ye mice here present, I adjure ye that ye injure me +not, neither suffer another mouse to injure me. I give you yonder field +(specifying the field), but if ever I catch you here again, by the help +of the Mother of the gods, I will rend you in seven pieces.' Write +this and stick the paper on an unhewn stone in the field where the +mice are, taking care to keep the written side uppermost." [816] + +General Sleeman gives a case of a cowherd who saw in a vision that +the water of the Biyâs river should be taken up in pitchers and +conveyed to the fields attacked with blight, but that none of it +should be allowed to fall on the ground in the way. On reaching the +field a small hole should be made in the bottom of the pitcher so as +to keep up a small but steady stream, as the bearer carried it round +the border of the field, so that the water might fall in a complete +ring except at a small opening which was to be kept dry, so that +the demon of the blight could make his escape through it. Crowds of +people came to fetch the water, which was not supposed to have any +particular virtue except that arising from this revelation. [817] + + + +Scaring of Locusts. + +Locusts, one of the great pests of the Indian peasant's life, are +scared by shouting, lighting of fires, beating of brass pots, and in +particular, by ringing the temple bell. In Sirsa, the Karwa, a flying +insect which injures the flower of the Bâjra millet, is expelled by +a man taking his sister's son on his shoulder and feeding him with +rice-milk while he repeats the following charm: "The nephew has +mounted his uncle's shoulder. Go, Karwa, to some other field!" [818] + +In the Panjâb a popular legend thus explains the enmity between the +starling and the locust. Once upon a time the locusts used to come +and destroy the crops as they were ripening. The people prayed to +Nârâyana, and he imprisoned them in a deep valley in the Himâlaya, +putting the starlings to keep them in confinement. Now and again the +locusts try to escape and the starlings promptly put them to death. The +legend is probably based on the fact that both the starlings and the +locusts come from the Hills, and about the same time. [819] + +Another device to scare them is based on the well-known principle +of treating with high distinction one or two chosen individuals of +the obnoxious species, while the rest are pursued with relentless +vigour. "In the East Indian island of Bali, the mice which ravage +the rice-fields are caught in great numbers and burnt in the same +way that corpses are burnt. But two of the captured mice are allowed +to live and receive a little packet of white linen. Then the people +bow down before them, as before gods, and let them go." [820] So +in Mirzapur the Drâvidian tribes, when a flight of locusts comes, +catch one, decorate its head with a spot of red lead, salaam to it, +and let it go, when the whole flight immediately departs. + + + +Betel Planting. + +When cultivators in the North-Western Provinces sow betel, they cook +rice-milk near the plants and offer it to the local godling. They +divide the offering, and a little coarse sugar is dedicated to +Mahâbîr, the monkey god, which is taken home and distributed among +the children. This is known as Jeonâr Pûjâ or "the banquet rite." The +Barais, who make a speciality of cultivating the plant, have two +godlings of their own, Sokha Bâba, the ghost of some famous magician, +and Nâgbeli, the "creeper Nâga," or snake, who is connected with the +sinuous growth of the tendrils. + +In Bengal, the Baruis, a similar caste, worship their patron goddess +on the fourth day of the month Baisâkh with offerings of flowers, +rice, sweetmeats, and sandal-wood paste. Some do the Navamî Pûjâ in +honour of Ushas, or the Aurora, on the sixth day of the waning moon +in Asin. Plantains, rice, sugar, and sweetmeats are placed in the +centre of the garden, from which the worshippers retire, but after a +little time return, and carrying out the offerings, distribute them +among the village children. In Bikrampur, Sunjâî, a form of Bhâgawatî, +is worshipped. + +They do not employ Brâhmans in the worship, because, they say, a +Brâhman was the first cultivator of betel. Through his neglect the +plant grew so high that he used his sacred thread to fasten up the +tendrils, but as it still shot up faster than he could supply thread, +its charge was given to a Kâyasth or writer. Hence it is that a Brâhman +cannot enter a betel garden without defilement. [821] In another form +of the story, the thread of the Brâhman grew up to the sky and became +a betel tendril. So, in a Tartar story, the hop plant originates from +the bow-string of a man that had been turned into a bear. [822] + +All over India, the betel plant, perhaps on account of the delicacy +of its growth, is considered as being very susceptible to demoniacal +influence, and a woman or a person in a state of ceremonial pollution +is excluded from the nursery. We meet with an instance of the same +idea among the Ainos. "They prepare for the fishing by observing +rules of ceremonial purity, and when they have gone out to fish the +women at home must keep strict silence, or the fish would hear them +and disappear. When the first fish is caught he is brought home +and passed through a small opening at the end of the hut, but not +through the door; for if he were passed through the door, the other +fish would certainly see him and disappear." [823] + +All these protective measures intended to guard the crop from +defilement and demoniacal influence are rather like the old English +rule of the young men and girls walking round the corn to bless it +on Palm Sunday, an observance which Audley drily remarks in his time +"gave many a conception." [824] + + + +Sugar-cane Sowing. + +When sugar-cane is being planted, the sower is decorated with +silver ornaments, a necklace, flowers, and a red mark is made on his +forehead. It is considered a favourable omen if a man on horseback +come into the field while the sowing is going on. After the sowing +is completed, all the men employed come home to the farmer's house +and have a good dinner. [825] All surplus seed is carefully destroyed +with fire, as it is believed that the plants grown from it would be +worthless and produce only flowers and seed. + +In the Panjâb, on the first day of sowing, sweetened rice is brought +to the field, the women smear the outside of the vessel with it, and +it is then distributed to the workmen. Next morning a woman puts on a +necklace and walks round the field, winding thread on a spindle. This +forms a sacred circle which repels evil influence from the crop. On +the night of the Deothân, when Vishnu wakes from his four months' +sleep, lamps are lighted on the cane mill, and it is smeared with +daubs of red paint. [826] + + + +Cotton Planting. + +When the cotton has sprung up, the owner of the field goes there on +Sunday forenoon with some butter, sweetmeats, and cakes. He burns a +fire sacrifice, offers up some of the food, and eats the remainder in +silence. Here we have another instance of the taboo against speaking, +which so commonly appears in these rural ceremonies. [827] + +When the cotton comes into flower, some parched rice is taken to the +field on a Wednesday or Friday; some is thrown broadcast over the +plants, and the rest given to children, the object assigned being that +the bolls may swell, as the rice does when parched. Many instances of +symbolical or sympathetic magic of the same kind might be collected +from the usages of other races. Thus, for instance, in Sumatra, the +rice is sown by women, who, in sowing, let their hair hang loose down +their back, in order that the rice may grow luxuriantly and have long +stalks. [828] + +When the cotton is ripe and ready for picking, the women pickers +go to the north or east quarters of the field with parched rice and +sweetmeats. These directions are, of course, selected with reference +to the Himâlaya, the home of the gods, and the rising sun. They pick +two or three large pods, and then sit down and pull out the cotton +in as long a string as possible without breaking it. They hang these +threads on the largest cotton plant they can find in the field, round +which they sit, and fill their mouths as full as possible with the +parched rice, which they blow out as far as they can in each direction; +the idea being, of course, the same as in the ceremony when the plant +flowers. A fire offering is made and the picking commences. [829] + +The custom in Karnâl is very similar. When the pods open and the +cotton is ready for picking, the women go round the field eating +rice-milk, the first mouthful of which they spit on the field towards +the west. The first cotton picked is exchanged for its weight in +salt, which is prayed over and kept in the house till the picking is +over, when it is distributed among the members of the household and +friends. [830] + + + +The Last Sheaf. + +In Hoshangâbâd, when the reaping is nearly over, a small patch of +corn is left standing in the last field, and the reapers rest a +little. Then they rush at this piece, tear it up, and cast it in +the air, shouting victory to their deities, Omkâr Mahârâja, Jhamajî, +Râmjî Dâs, or other local godlings according to their persuasions. A +sheaf is made of this corn, which is tied to a bamboo, stuck up on +the last harvest cart, carried home in triumph, and fastened up at +the threshing-floor or to a tree, or on the cattle shed, where its +services are essential in averting the Evil Eye. [831] + +The same custom prevails in the eastern districts of the North-Western +Provinces. Sometimes a little patch in the corner of the field is +left untilled as a refuge for the field spirit; sometimes it is sown +and the corn reaped with a rush and shout and given to the Baiga as +an offering to the local godlings, or distributed among beggars. + +This is a most interesting analogue of a branch of European folk-lore +which has been copiously illustrated by Mr. Frazer. [832] It is the +Devon custom of "Crying the Neck." The last sheaf is the impersonation +of the Corn Mother, and is worshipped accordingly. We have met already +with the same idea in the reservation of small patches of the original +forest for the accommodation of the spirits of the jungle. + + + +First-fruits. + +There are many customs connected with the disposal of the first-fruits +of the crop. The eating of the new grain is attended with various +observances, in which the feeding of Brâhmans and beggars takes a +prominent place. In Kângra, the first-fruits of corn, oil, and wine, +and the first fleece of the sheep are not indeed actually given, +but a symbolical offering is made in their stead. These offerings +are made to the Jâk or field spirit to whom reference has already +been made. The custom has now reached a later stage, for the local +Râja puts the right of receiving the offerings on behalf of the Jâk +to public auction. [833] + +In the same way at Ladâkh, "the main rafters of the houses are +supported by cylindrical or square pillars of wood, the top of which, +under the truss, is, in the houses of the peasantry, encircled +by a band of straw and ears of wheat, forming a primitive sort of +capital. It is the custom, I was told, to consecrate the two or three +first handsful of each year's crop to the spirit who presides over +agriculture, and these bands are thus deposited. Sometimes rams' +horns are added to this decoration." [834] + +In Northern India the first pressing of the sugar-cane is attended +with special observances. When the work of pressing commences, the +first piece of sugar made is presented to friends or beggars, as is +the first bowl of the extracted juice, and in the western districts of +the North-Western Provinces some is offered in the name of the saint +Shaikh Farîd, who from this probably gains his title of Shakkarganj, +or "Treasury of sugar." + +The Santâls have a harvest-home feast in December, at which the Jag +Mânjhi, or headman of the village, entertains the people. The cattle +are anointed with oil and daubed over with vermilion, and a share of +rice-beer is given to each animal. [835] + +Everywhere in treading out the grain the rule that the cattle move +round the stake in the course of the sun is rigidly observed. + + + +Ceremonies at Winnowing. + +Winnowing is a very serious and solemn operation, not lightly to be +commenced without due consultation of the stars. + +In Hoshangâbâd, when the village priest has fixed a favourable +time, the cultivator, his whole family, and his labourers go to the +threshing-floor, taking with them the prescribed articles of worship, +such as milk, butter, turmeric, boiled wheat, and various kinds of +grain. The threshing-floor stake is washed in water, and these things +are offered to it and to the pile of threshed grain. The boiled wheat +is scattered about in the hope that the Bhûts or spirits may content +themselves with it and not take any of the harvested corn. Then the +master stands on a three-legged stool, and taking five basketsful +from the threshed heap, winnows them. After winnowing, the grain +and chaff are collected again and measured; if the five baskets are +turned out full, or anything remains over, it is a good omen. If +they cannot fill the baskets, the place where they began winnowing is +considered unlucky and it is removed a few yards to another part of +the threshing-floor. The five basketsful are presented to a Brâhman, +or distributed in the village, not mixed with the rest of the harvest. + +Winnowing can then go on as convenient, but one precaution must be +taken. As long as winnowing goes on the basket must never be set down +on its bottom, but always upside down. If this were not done, the +spirits would use the basket to carry off the grain. The day's results +are measured generally in the evening. This is done in perfect silence, +the measurer sitting with his back to the unlucky quarter of the sky, +and tying knots to keep count of the number of the baskets. The spirits +rob the grain until it is measured, but when once it has been measured +they are afraid of detection. [836] + +In the Eastern Panjâb, the clean grain is collected into a +heap. Preparatory to measuring, the greatest care has to be observed +in the preparation of this heap, or evil spirits will diminish the +yield. One man sits facing the north, and places two round balls of +cowdung on the ground. Between them he sticks in a plough-coulter, +a symbol known as Shâod Mâtâ or "the mother of fertility." A piece of +the Âkh or swallow-wort and some Dûb grass are added, and they salute +it, saying: "O Mother Shâod! Give the increase! Make our bankers and +rulers contented!" The man then carefully hides the image of Shâod +from all observers while he covers it up with grain, which the others +throw over his head from behind. When it is well covered, they pile +the grain upon it, but three times during the process the ceremony of +Châng is performed. The man stands to the south of the heap and goes +round it towards the west the first and third time, and the reverse +way the second time. As he goes round, he has the hand furthest from +the heap full of grain, and in the other a winnowing fan, with which +he taps the heap. When the heap is finished they sprinkle it with +Ganges water, and put a cloth over it till it is time to measure +the grain. A line is then drawn on the ground all round the heap, +inside which none but the measurer must go. All these operations must +be performed in profound silence. [837] + +In Bareilly, when the whole of the grain and chaff has been winnowed, +all the dressed grain is collected into a heap. "The winnower, with +his basket in his right hand, goes from the south towards the west, +and then towards the north, till he reaches the pole to which the +treading-out cattle have been tethered. He then returns the same way, +goes to the east till he reaches the pole, and back again to the +south; then he places the basket on the ground and utters some pious +ejaculation. Then an iron sickle, a stick of the sacred Kusa grass, +and a bit of swallow-wort, with a cake of cowdung in a cleft stick, +are placed on the heap, and four cakes of cowdung at the four corners; +and a line is traced round it with cowdung. A fire offering is then +made, and some butter and coarse sugar are offered as sacrifice. Water +is next thrown round the piled grain and the remainder of the sugar +distributed to those present." [838] + +In the Etah District, the owner of the field places to the north of +the pile of grain a threshing-floor rake, a bullock's muzzle, and a +rope at a distance of three spans from the piled grain; and between +these things and the pile he lays a little offering consisting of +a few ears of grain, some leaves of the swallow-wort, and a few +flowers. These things are laid on a piece of cowdung. He then covers +the pile of grain with a cloth to protect it from thieving Bhûts, +and puts in a basket three handfuls of grain as the perquisite of the +village priest who lights the Holî fire. Something is also laid by for +the village beggars. Then he sprinkles a little grain on the cloth, +and fills a basket full of grain which he pours back on the pile as an +emblem of increase. He then bows to the gods who live in the northern +hills, and mutters a prayer; it is only at this time that he breaks +the silence with which the whole ceremony is performed. The cloth is +then removed, and the rite is considered complete. + + + +Measurement of Grain. + +All these precautions are based on principles which have been +already discussed, and we meet in them with the familiar fetishes and +demon-scarers, of which we have already quoted instances--the iron +implements, the sacred grasses and plants, water and milk, cowdung, +the winnowing fan, and so on. + +All over Northern India a piece of cowdung, known as Barhâwan, "that +which gives the increase," is laid on the piled grain, and a sacred +circle is made with fire and water round it. Silence, as we have +already seen, is a special element in the worship. All this rests on +the idea that until the grain is measured, vagrant Bhûts will steal +or destroy it. This is something like the principle of travellers, +who keep a cowry or two in their purses, so that thieves may not +be able to divine the contents. So, in a Talmudic legend we read, +"It is very difficult for devils to obtain money, because men are +careful to keep it locked or tied up; and we have no power to take +anything that is measured or counted; we are permitted to take only +what is free and common." [839] + +In the Eastern Panjâb grain must not be measured on the day of +the new or full moon, and Saturday is a bad day for it. It must be +begun at dawn, or sunset, or midnight, when the Bhûts are otherwise +engaged. Four men go inside the enclosure line with a wooden measuring +vessel, and no one must come near them till they have finished. They +sit facing the north and spread a cloth on the ground. One fills the +measure from the heap with the winnowing fan, another empties it on the +cloth, substituting an empty one for it. The man who has the measure +puts down for every measure filled a small heap of grains of corn, +by which the account is kept. Perfect silence must be observed till +the whole operation is finished, and especially all counting aloud +of the number of measures must be avoided. But when once the grain +is measured, it is safe from the Evil Eye; the people are at liberty +to quarrel over the division of it. [840] + +The same rule of silence often appears in the custom of Europe. Favete +linguis was the principle on such occasions in Rome. So in the +"Tempest" Prospero says,-- + + + "Hush and be mute, + Or else our spell is marred." + + +In the Highlands, on New Year's Day, a discreet person is sent to draw +a pitcher of water from the ford, which is drunk next day as a charm +against the spell of witchcraft, the malignity of Evil Eyes, and the +activity of all infernal agency. So the baker who makes the bannocks on +Shrove Tuesday must be mute as a stone; the cake on St. Mark's Eve must +be made in silence, and the same is the rule on St. Faith's Day. [841] + +The same rule of secrecy and silence is observed in the worship of +Dulha Deo. Among the Gaiti Gonds, their great festival is held after +the ingathering of the rice harvest, when they proceed to a dense +part of the jungle, which no woman is permitted to enter, and where, +to represent the great god, a copper coin has been hung up, enclosed +in a joint of bamboo. Arriving at the spot, they take down the copper +god in his case, and selecting a small area about a foot square, they +lay on it the copper coin, before which they arrange as many small +heaps of uncooked rice as there are deities worshipped by them. The +chickens brought for sacrifice are loosed and permitted to feed on +the rice, after which they are killed and their blood sprinkled +between the copper coin and the rice. Goats are also offered, +and their blood presented in the same manner. Until prohibited by +the Hindus, sacrifices of cows were also common. On the blood some +country spirits is poured as a libation to their deities. The copper +coin is now lifted, replaced in its bamboo case, which is shut up with +leaves, wrapped up in grass, and returned to its place in the tree, +to remain there till it is required on the following year. [842] + + + +The Holî: Its Origin. + +The most famous and interesting of the village festivals is the Holî, +which is held in the early spring, at the full moon of Phâlgun. One +account of its origin describes it as founded in honour of a female +demon or Râkshasî called Dundhas, "she who would destroy many." + +Another account connects the observance with the well-known legend of +Hiranya-kasipu, "golden-dressed," and his son Prahlâda. Hiranya-kasipu +was, it is said, a Daitya, who obtained from Siva the sovereignty of +the three worlds for a million years, and persecuted his pious son +Prahlâda because he was such a devoted worshipper of Vishnu. Finally +the angry god, in his Nara-sinha or man-lion incarnation, slew +the sinner. + +Harnâkas, as the father is called in the modern version of the story, +was an ascetic, who claimed that the devotion of the world was to +be paid to him alone. His son Prahlâda became a devotee of Vishnu, +and performed various miracles, such as saving a cat and her kittens +out of the blazing kiln of a potter. His father was enraged at what +he considered the apostasy of his son, and with the assistance of his +sister Holî or Holikâ, commenced to torture Prahlâda. Many attempts on +his life failed, and finally Vishnu himself entered a pillar of heated +iron, which had been prepared for the destruction of Prahlâda, and +tore Harnâkas to pieces. Then Holî tried to burn herself and Prahlâda +together, but the fire left him unscathed and she was consumed. The +fire is now supposed to be burnt in commemoration of this tragedy. + +This legend has been localized at a place called Deokali near Irichh +in the Jhânsi District, where Hiranya-kasipu is said to have had his +palace. Just below it is a deep pool, into which Prahlâda was flung +by the orders of his father, and the mark of the foot of the martyr +is still shown on a neighbouring rock. [843] + +Another legend identifies Holî with the witch Pûtanâ, who attempted +to destroy the infant Krishna by giving him her poisoned nipple to +suck. [844] + +Lastly, a tale told at Hardwâr brings us probably nearer the real +origin of the rite. Holikâ or Holî was, they say, sister of Sambat or +Sanvat, the Hindu year. Once, at the beginning of all things, Sambat +died, and Holî in her excessive love for her brother insisted on being +burnt on his pyre, and by her devotion he was restored to life. The +Holî fire is now burnt every year to commemorate this tragedy. + + + +Propitiation of Sunshine. + +There seems to be little doubt that the custom of burning the Holî +fire rests on the same basis as that of similar observances in +Europe. The whole subject has recently been copiously illustrated by +Mr. J. G. Frazer. [845] His conclusion is that "they are sun charms +or magical ceremonies intended to ensure a proper supply of sunshine +for men, animals, and plants. We have seen that savages resort to +charms for making sunshine, and we need not wonder that primitive +man in Europe has done the same. Indeed, considering the cold and +cloudy climate of Europe during a considerable portion of the year, +it is natural that sun charms should have played a much more prominent +part among the superstitious practices of European peoples than among +those of savages who live near the equator. This view of the festival +in question is supported by various considerations drawn partly from +the rites themselves, partly from the influences they are believed +to exert on the weather and on vegetation. For example, the custom of +rolling a burning wheel down a hill-side, which is often observed on +these occasions, seems a very natural imitation of the sun's course +in the sky, and the imitation is particularly appropriate on Midsummer +Day, when the sun's annual declension begins. Not less graphic is the +imitation of his apparent revolution by swinging a burning tar barrel +round a pole. The custom of throwing blazing discs, shaped like suns, +into the air, is probably also a piece of imitative magic." [846] +In these, as in so many cases, the magic force is supposed to take +effect through mimicry or sympathy. + +It is true, of course, that the climatic conditions of Northern India +do not, as a rule, necessitate the use of incantations to produce +sunshine. But it must be remembered that the native of the country does +not look on the fierceness of the summer sun with the same dread as is +felt by Europeans. To him it is about the most pleasant and healthy +season of the year, and people who are sometimes underfed and nearly +always insufficiently dressed have more reason to fear the chills +of December and January than the warmth of May and June. It is also +usually recognized in popular belief that seasonable and sufficient +rainfall depends on the due supply of sunshine. + + + +The Holî Observances. + +The Holî, while generally observed in Northern India, is performed +with special care by the cowherd classes of the land of Braj, or the +region round the city of Mathura, where the myth of Krishna has been +localized, and it is here that we meet with some curious incidents +which are undoubtedly survivals of the most primitive usages. + +The ceremonies in vogue at Mathura have been very carefully recorded +by Mr. Growse. [847] He notes "the cheeriness of the holiday-makers +as they throng the narrow, winding streets on their way to and +from the central square of the town of Barsâna, where they break +into groups of bright and ever varying combinations of colour, with +the buffooneries of the village clowns, and the grotesque dances of +the lusty swains, who, with castanets in hand, caricature in their +movements the conventional graces of the Indian ballet girl. + +"Then follows a mock fight between the men of the adjoining village +of Nandgânw and the women of Barsâna. The women have their mantles +drawn down over their faces and are armed with long, heavy bamboos, +with which they deal their opponents many shrewd blows on the head and +shoulders. The latter defend themselves as best they can with round +leather shields and stag horns, as they dodge in and out among the +crowd, and now and again have their flight cut off, and are driven +back upon the crowd of excited viragoes. Many laughable incidents +occur. Not unfrequently blood is drawn; but an accident of this kind +is regarded rather as an omen of good fortune, and has never been +known to give rise to any ill-feeling. Whenever the fury of their +female assailants appears to be subsiding, it is again excited by +the men shouting at them snatches of ribald rhymes." + + + +The Lighting of the Holî Fire. + +Next day the Holî fire is lit. By immemorial custom, the boys are +allowed to appropriate fuel of any kind for the fire, the wood-work +of deserted houses, fences, and the like, and the owner never dares +to complain. We have the same custom in England. The chorus of the +Oxfordshire song sung at the feast of Gunpowder Plot runs,-- + + + A stick and a stake + For King James's sake; + If you won't give me one, + I'll take two, + The better for me, + The worse for you. + + +This is chanted by the boys when collecting sticks for the bonfire, +and it is considered quite lawful to appropriate any old wood they +can lay hands on after the recitation of these lines. [848] + +Mr. Growse goes on to describe how a large bonfire had been stacked +between the pond and the temple of Prahlâda (who, as we have already +seen, is connected with the legend), inside which the local village +priest, the Kherapat or Panda, who was to take the chief part in the +performance of the day, was sitting, telling his beads. At 6 p.m. the +pile was lit, and being composed of the most inflammable materials, +at once burst into a tremendous blaze. The lads of the village +kept running close round it, jumping and dancing and brandishing +their bludgeons, while the Panda went round and dipped in the pond, +and then with his dripping turban and loin-cloth ran back and made a +feint of passing through the fire. In reality he only jumped over the +outermost verge of the smouldering ashes, and then dashed into his cell +again, much to the dissatisfaction of the spectators, who say that the +former incumbent used to do it much more thoroughly. If on the next +recurrence of the festival the Panda shows himself equally timid, the +village proprietors threaten to eject him as an impostor from the land +which he holds rent-free, simply on the score of his being fire-proof. + +It is hardly necessary to say that this custom of jumping through the +fire prevails in many other places. We have already had an instance +of it in the case of the fire worship of Râhu. In Greece people jump +through the bonfires lighted on St. John's Eve. The Irish make their +cattle pass through the fire, and children are passed through it in +the arms of their fathers. The passing of victims through the fire +in honour of Moloch is well known. [849] + + + +The Throwing of the Powder. + +In the Indian observance of the Holî next followed a series of +performances characterized by rude horseplay and ribald singing. Next +day came the throwing of the powder. "Handfuls of red powder, mixed +with glistening talc, were thrown about. Up to the balconies, above +and down on the heads of the people below; and seen through this +atmosphere of coloured cloud, the frantic gestures of the throng, +their white clothes and faces all stained with red and yellow patches, +and the great timbrels with branches of peacocks' feathers, artificial +flowers and tinsel stars stuck in their rims, borne above the players' +heads, and now and then tossed up in the air, combined to form a +curious and picturesque spectacle." + +Then followed another mock fight between men and women, conducted +with perfect good-humour on both sides, and when it was all over, +many of the spectators ran into the arena, and rolled over and over +in the dust, or streaked themselves with it on the forehead, taking +it as the dust hallowed by the feet of Krishna and the Gopîs. + + + +The Holî in Mârwâr. + +Colonel Tod gives an interesting account of the festival as performed +at Mârwâr. He describes the people as lighting large fires into which +various substances, as well as the common powder, were thrown; and +around which groups of children danced and screamed in the streets, +"like so many infernals; until three hours after sunrise of the +new moon of the month of Chait, these orgies are continued with +increased vigour; when the natives bathe, change their garments, +worship, and return to the ranks of sober citizens, and princes and +chiefs receive gifts from their domestics." [850] + + + +The Ashes of the Holî Fire. + +The belief in the efficacy of the Holî fire in preventing the blight +of crops, and in the ashes as a remedy for disease, has been already +noticed. So in England, the Yule log was put aside, and was supposed +to guard the house from evil spirits. [851] + + + +The Basis of the Holî Rite. + +We have seen that the primary basis of this and similar rites is +probably the propitiation of sunshine. But the present observances in +India are probably a survival of a very much more primitive cultus. We +have already seen that in one form of the popular legend, Holî is the +sister of Sambat, the year, and revived him from death by burning +herself with his corpse. We find the same idea in Nepâl, where a +wooden post adorned with flags is erected in front of the palace, +and this is burned at night, representing the burning of the body of +the old year, and its re-birth with each succeeding spring. [852] + +The Drâvidian Hill tribes of Mirzapur do not perform the Holî ceremony +like their Hindu neighbours, but on the same date the Baiga burns a +stake, a ceremony which is known as Sambat Jalânâ, or "the burning +of the old year." + +In Kumaun each clan puts up the Chîr or rag-tree. A middle-sized tree +or a large branch is cut down and stripped of its leaves. Young men +go round and beg scraps of cloth, which are tied to the tree, and it +is then set up in the middle of the village. Near it the Holî fire +is burnt. On the last day the tree itself is burnt, and the people +jump over the ashes as a cure for itch and similar diseases. While +the tree is burning, men of other clans try to snatch away some of +the rags. It is regarded as being very propitious to be able to do +this, and the clan which loses is not allowed to set up the tree +again. Faction fighting in order to gain the right of setting up the +tree has practically ceased under British law. [853] + +The ceremony in another form appears at Gwâlior. There, instead of +a tree, they burn large heaps of cowdung fuel. The Marwâris erect a +nude figure known as Nathurâm, made of bricks, of a most disgusting +shape. This, when the pile of cowdung cakes is consumed, is broken to +pieces with blows of shoes and bludgeons. Another beautifully carved +image of the same kind is paraded through the bazars and kept safely +from year to year. This Nathurâm is said to have been a scamp from +some part of Northern India, who went to Mârwâr and seduced a number +of women, until he was detected and put to death. He then became a +malignant ghost and began to torment women and children, and now his +spirit can be appeased only by a series of indecent songs and gestures +performed by the women. No Mârwâri household is without an image of +Nathurâm, and a representation of him is laid with the married pair +after the wedding, while barren women and those whose children die +pray to him for offspring. He is in short a phallic fetish. + +The Holî, then, in its most primitive form, is possibly an aboriginal +usage which has been imported into Brâhmanism. This is specially +shown by the functions of the Kherapat or village priest, who lights +the fire. He is sometimes a Brâhman, but often a man drawn from the +lower races. As we have seen, his duties among the Drâvidian races +are performed by the Baiga, who is always drawn from the non-Aryan +races. It seems probable that the legends connecting the rite with +Prahlâda and Krishna are a subsequent invention, and that the fire +is really intended to represent the burning of the old year and +the re-birth of the new, which they pray may be more propitious to +the families, cattle, and crops of the worshippers. The observance +seems also to include certain ceremonies intended to scare the evil +spirits which bring disease and famine. The compulsory entry of the +local priests into the fire can hardly be anything but a survival of +human sacrifice, intended to secure the same results; and the dancing, +singing, waving of flags, screaming, the mock fight, and the throwing +of red powder, a colour supposed, as we have seen, to be obnoxious +to evil spirits, are probably based on the same train of ideas. + +Finally comes the indecency of word and gesture, which is a distinct +element in the rite. There seems reason to believe that in the worship +of certain deities in spring, promiscuous intercourse was regarded +as a necessary part of the ceremony. [854] This appears at what is +called the Kâhi ka Mela in Kulu, in which indecency is supposed to +scare evil spirits. [855] We have already noticed the practice of +indecency as a rain charm, and it seems at least a plausible hypothesis +that the unchecked profligacy which prevails among the Hindus at the +spring feast and at the Kajalî in autumn may be intended to repel evil +spirits which check the fecundity of men, animals, and crops. The same +idea probably also underlies the licentious observance of the Karama +among the Drâvidian races. The same theory explains similar usages in +Europe, such as the Lupercalia, Festum Stultorum, Matronalia Festa, +Liberalia, and our own All Fools' Day, where the indecent part of the +performance has disappeared under the influence of a purer faith and +a higher morality, and a little kindly merriment is its only survival. + +Of the mock fight as a charm for rain we have spoken already, and at +the Holî it may be merely a fertility charm. Of these mock fights +we have numerous instances in the customs of Northern India. Thus, +in Kumaun, in former days at the Bagwâh festival the males of several +villages used to divide into two bodies and sling stones at each other +across a stream. The results were so serious that it was suppressed +after the British occupation of the country. [856] The people in some +places attribute the increase of cholera and other plagues to its +discontinuance. In the plains, the custom survives in what is known +as the Barra, when the men of two villages have a sort of Tug of War +with a rope across the boundary of the village. Plenty is supposed +to follow the side which is victorious. + +Another of these spring rites is that known as the Râli ka Mela in +Kângra, the Râli being a sort of rude image of Siva or Pârvatî. The +girls of the village in March take baskets of Dûb grass and flowers, +of which they make a heap in a selected place. Round this they walk and +sing for ten days, and then they erect two images of Siva and Pârvatî, +who are married according to the regular rites. At the conjunction or +Sankrânt in the month of Baisâkh the images are flung into a pool and +mock funeral obsequies are performed. The object of the ceremonial +is said to be to secure a good husband. [857] + +In Gorakhpur this spring rite takes the form of hunting and crucifying +a monkey on the village boundary. This is said to be intended to +scare these animals, which injure the crops. But the rite seems to +be intended to secure fertility, and is possibly the survival of an +actual sacrifice. + +Of the same class is what is known in the Hills as the Badwâr rite, +where a Dom, one of the menial castes, is made to slide down a rope +from a high precipice. The intention is to promote the fertility of +the crops and expel the demons of disease. + + + +Marriage of the Powers of Vegetation. + +Mr. Frazer has collected instances of the marriage of the powers of +vegetation, of which we have a survival in the English King and Queen +of the May. This seems to be the explanation of the remarkable rite +among the Kharwârs, of which Mr. Forbes has given an account. [858] + +"One of the most remarkable of the Kharwâr deities is called Durgâgiya +Deotâ; this spirit rejoices in the name of Mûchak Rânî. She is a +Chamârin by caste, and her home is on a hill called Buhorâj; her +priests are Baigas. All the Kharwârs regard her with great veneration, +and offer up pigs and fowls to her several times during the year. Once +a year, in the month of Aghan, what is called the Kâruj Pûjâ takes +place in her honour. + +"The ceremony is performed in the village threshing-floor, when a kind +of bread and kids are offered up. Once in three years the ceremony of +marrying the Rânî is performed with great pomp. Early in the morning of +the bridal day both men and women assemble with drums and horns, form +themselves into procession and ascend the hill, singing a wild song in +honour of the bride and bridegroom. One of the party is constituted +the priest, who is to perform the wedding ceremony. This man ascends +the hill in front of the procession, shouting and dancing till he +works himself into a frenzy. The procession halts at the mouth of a +cave, which does, or is supposed to, exist on the top of the hill. The +priest then enters the cave and returns bearing with him the Rânî, who +is represented as a small oblong-shaped and smooth stone, daubed over +with red lead. After going through certain antics, a piece of Tasar +silk cloth is placed on the Rânî's head, and a new sheet is placed +below her, the four corners being tied up in such a manner as to +allow the Rânî, who is now supposed to be seated in her bridal couch, +to be slung on a bamboo, and carried like a dooly or palanquin. + +"The procession then descends the hill and halts under a Banyan tree +till noon, when the marriage procession starts for the home of the +bridegroom, who resides on the Kandi hill. + +"On their arrival there, offerings, consisting of sweetened milk, +two copper pice, and two bell-metal wristlets, are presented to +the bride, who is taken out of her dooly and put into the cave in +which the bridegroom, who, by the way, is of the Agariya caste, +resides. This cave is supposed to be of immense depth, for the stone +goes rolling down, striking the rocks as it falls, and the people +all listen eagerly till the sound dies out, which they say it does +not do for nearly half an hour. + +"When all is silent, the people return rejoicing down the hill, +and finish off the evening with a dance. The strangest part of the +story is that the people believe that the caves on the two hills are +connected, and that every third year the Rânî returns to her father's +house. They implicitly believe that the stone yearly produced is the +same. The village Baigas could probably explain the mystery. + +"In former times the marriage used to take place every year, but +on one occasion, on the morning succeeding the marriage ceremony, +the Rânî made her appearance in the Baiga's house. The Baiga himself +was not present, but his wife, who was at home, was very indignant +at this flightiness on the part of the Rânî, and the idea of her +going about the country the morning after her marriage so shocked the +Baigâin's sense of propriety, that she gave the Rânî a good setting +down, and called upon her to explain herself, and as she could give +no satisfactory account of her conduct, she was punished by being +married every three years, instead of yearly as before." + +The mock marriage of Ghâzi Miyân, to which some reference has been +already made, a very favourite rite among the Musalmâns and low Hindu +castes of the North-Western Provinces, is very possibly the survival +of some non-Aryan rite of this kind, performed to secure the annual +revival of the year and the powers of vegetation. + + + +The Drâvidian Saturnalia. + +Some of the Drâvidian tribes enjoy the Saturnalia in other forms. + +Thus, the Gond women have the curious festival known as Gurtûtnâ or +"breaking of the sugar." "A stout pole about twelve or fifteen feet +high is set up, and a lump of coarse sugar with a rupee in it placed +on the top; round it the Gond women take their stand, each with a +little green tamarind rod in her hands. The men collect outside, +and each has a kind of shield made of two parallel sticks joined +with a cross-piece held in the hand to protect themselves from the +blows. They make a rush together, and one of them swarms up the pole, +the women all the time plying their rods vigorously; and it is no +child's play, as the men's backs attest next day. When the man gets +to the top, he takes the piece of sugar, slips down, and gets off +as rapidly as he can. This is done five or six times over with the +greatest good-humour, and generally ends with an attack of the women +en masse upon the men. It is the regular Saturnalia for the women, +who lose all respect, even for a settlement officer; and on one +occasion when he was looking on, he only escaped by the most abject +submission and presentation of rupees." [859] + +The Bhîls of Gujarât plant a small tree or branch firmly in the +ground. The women stand near it, and the men outside. One man rushing +in tries to uproot the tree, and the men and women fall upon him +and beat him so soundly that he has to retire. He is succeeded by +another, who is belaboured in the same way, and this goes on till +one man succeeds in bearing off the tree, but seldom without a load +of blows which cripples him for days. [860] + +All these mock combats have their parallels in English customs, such +as the throwing of the hood at Haxey, the football match at Derby, +the fighting on Lammas Day at Lothian, and hunting of the ram at +Eton. [861] + + + +The Desauli of the Hos. + +The Hos of Chutia Nâgpur have a similar festival, the Desauli held in +January, "when the granaries are full of grain, and the people are, +to use their own expression, 'full of devilry!' They have a strange +notion that at this period men and women are so overcharged with +vicious propensities that it is absolutely necessary for the safety +of the person to let off steam by allowing for the time full vent to +the passions. The festival, therefore, becomes a sort of Saturnalia, +during which servants forget their duty to their masters, children +their reverence for their parents, men their respect for women, +and women all notions of gentleness, modesty, and delicacy; they +become raging Bacchantes. It opens with a sacrifice to Desauli of +three fowls, a cock and two hens, one of which must be black, and +offered with some flowers of the Palâsa tree (Butea frondosa), bread +made from rice flour and sesamum seeds. The sacrifice and offering +are made by the village priest, if there be one, or if not by any +elder of the village who possesses the necessary legendary lore; +and he prays that during the year they are going to enter on they +and their children may be preserved from all misfortune and sickness, +and that they may have seasonable rain and good crops. Prayer is also +made in some places for the souls of the departed. At this period an +evil spirit is supposed to infest the locality, and to get rid of it, +men, women, and children go in procession round and through every part +of the village with sticks in their hands, as if beating for game, +singing a wild chant and vociferating loudly, till they feel assured +that the bad spirit must have fled, and they make noise enough to +frighten a legion. These religious ceremonies over, the people give +themselves up to feasting, drinking immoderately of rice-beer till +they are in a state of wild ebriety most suitable for the purpose of +letting off steam." [862] + +With these survivals of perhaps the most primitive observances of the +races of Northern India we may close this survey of their religion and +folk-lore. To use Dr. Tylor's words in speaking of savage religions +generally, "Far from its beliefs and practices being a rubbish heap +of miscellaneous folly, they are consistent and logical in so high a +degree as to begin, as soon as even roughly classified, to display the +principles of their formation and development; and these principles +prove to be essentially rational, though working in a mental condition +of intense and inveterate ignorance." 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G., "Totemism," London, 1887. + +Frere, Miss M., "Old Deccan Days," London, 1870. + +Führer, A., "Monumental Antiquities and Inscriptions of the North-West +Provinces and Oudh," Allahabad, 1891. + + +Ganga Datt Upreti, "Proverbs and Folk-lore of Kumaun and Garhwâl," +Ludhiana, 1894. + +"Gazetteer of Berâr," Bombay, 1870. + +"Gazetteer of Bombay," Bombay, v.d. + +"Gazetteer of Central Provinces," Nagpur, 1870. + +"Gazetteer of Himâlayan Districts of the North-Western Provinces," +by E. T. Atkinson, 3 vols., Allahabad, 1882-84. + +"Gazetteer of Oudh," 3 vols., Allahabad, 1870. + +"Gazetteer of Râjputâna," 3 vols., Calcutta, v.d. + +"Gesta Romanorum," translation by C. Swan and W. Hooper, London, 1888. + +Goldziher, I., "Mythology among the Hebrews," translation by +J. Martineau, London, 1877. + +Gordon-Cumming, Miss C. F., "From the Hebrides to the Himalayas," +2 vols., London, 1876. + +Gregor, Rev. W., "Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of +Scotland," Folk-lore Society, London, 1881. + +Grierson, G., "Bihâr Peasant Life," Calcutta, 1885. + +Grimm, "Teutonic Mythology," translation by J. S. Stallybrass, 4 vols., +London, 1880-88. + +Grimm, "Household Tales," translated by Margaret Hunt, 2 vols., +London, 1884. + +Grote, G., "History of Greece," 12 vols., London, 1869. + +Growse, F. S., "Mathura, a District Memoir," Allahabad, 1885. + +Growse, F. S., "Râmâyan of Tulasi Dâs," Allahabad, 1877-80. + +Gunthorpe, Major E. J., "Notes on the Criminal Tribes of Bombay, +Berar and the Central Provinces," Bombay, 1882. + + +Hardy, E. S., "Manual of Buddhism," London, 1880. + +Hartland, E. S., "Science of Fairy Tales," London, 1891. + +Hartland, E. S., "Legend of Perseus," London, 1894-95. + +Haug, M., "Aitareya Brâhmanam of the Rig Veda," 2 vols., Bombay, 1863. + +Hearn, W. 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A., "Sketches from Nepâl," 2 vols., London, 1880. + +Oldham, W., "Memoirs of the Ghâzipur District," 2 vols., Allahabad, +1870-76. + + +"Panjâb Notes and Queries," 4 vols., Allahabad, 1883-87. + +"Proceedings Asiatic Society of Bengal," Calcutta, v.d. + +"Proceedings Royal Asiatic Society," London, v.d. + + +Rajendra Lâla Mitra, "Indo-Aryans," 2 vols., London and Calcutta, 1881. + +Reid, J. R., "Azamgarh Settlement Report," Allahabad, 1881. + +Rhys, J., "Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion, as +illustrated by Celtic Heathendom," London, 1888. + +Risley, H. H., "Tribes and Castes of Bengal," 2 vols., Calcutta, 1891. + +Robertson-Smith, W., "Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia," Cambridge, +1885. + +Rousselet, L., "India and its Native Princes," London, 1890. + +Rowney, H. B. (Shoshee Chunder Dutt), "Wild Tribes of India," +London, 1882. + + +Schliemann, H., "Ilios," London, 1880. + +Schrader, O., "Prehistoric Antiquities," London, 1890. + +Scott, Sir W., "Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft," London, 1884. + +Sherring, M. A., "The Sacred City of the Hindus," London, 1868. + +Sherring, M. A., "Hindu Tribes and Castes," 3 vols., Calcutta, 1872-81. + +Sleeman, W. H., "Journey Through the Kingdom of Oudh," 2 vols., +London, 1858. + +Sleeman, W. H., "Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official," +2 vols., edited by V. A. Smith, London, 1893. + +Spencer, H., "Principles of Sociology," 3rd edition, 2 vols., +London, 1885. + +Starcke, C. N., "The Primitive Family," London, 1889. + +Stokes, Miss M., "Indian Fairy Tales," London, 1880. + + +Tawney, C. H., "Katha Sarit Sâgara," 2 vols., Calcutta, 1880. + +Temple, R. C., "Legends of the Panjâb," Bombay, v.d. + +Temple, R. C., "Proper Names of Panjâbis," Bombay, 1883. + +Temple, R. C., "Wideawake Stories," Bombay, 1884. + +Tennent, Sir J. E., "Ceylon," 2nd edition, 2 vols., 1859. + +Thomas, E., "Chronicles of the Pathân Kings of Delhi," London, 1871. + +"Thugs, Illustrations of the History and Practices of the," London, +1837. + +Tod, J., "Annals and Antiquities of Râjasthân," 2 vols., Calcutta, +1884. + +Trumbull, H. C., "The Blood Covenant," London, 1887. + +Tylor, E. B., "Researches into the Early History of Mankind," +London, 1865. + +Tylor, E. B., "Primitive Culture," 2 vols., London, 1873. + + +Wake, C. S., "Serpent-worship," London, 1888. + +Ward, W., "View of the History, Literature, and Religion of the +Hindus," Madras, 1863. + +Westropp, H. M., "Primitive Symbolism," London, 1885. + +Wheeler, J. T., "History of India," 3 vols., London, 1867-74. + +Whitney, W. D., "Oriental and Linguistic Studies," New York, 1873. + +Wilde, Lady, "Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions of +Ireland," London, 1888. + +Williams, Sir Monier, "Sanskrit-English Dictionary," Oxford, 1872. + +Williams, Sir Monier, "Brâhmanism and Hinduism," 4th edition, +London, 1891. + +Wilson, J., "Indian Caste," 2 vols., Bombay, 1877. + +Wilson, H. H., "Works," 12 vols., London, 1862-71. + +Wilson, H. H., "Vishnu Purâna," London, 1840. + +Wilson, J., "Karnâl Settlement Report," Lahore, 1886. + +Wright, D., "History of Nepâl," Cambridge, 1877. + +Wright, F. N., "Memorandum on the Agriculture of Cawnpur," Allahabad, +1877. + + +Yule, H., "The Book of Ser Marco Polo," 2 vols., London, 1871. + + + + + + + +NOTES + + +[1] For some of the literature of the Evil Eye see Tylor, "Early +History," 134; Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 187 +sq.; Westropp, "Primitive Symbolism," 58 sqq.; Gregor, "Folk-lore of +North-East Scotland," 8. + +[2] "Natural History," vii. 2. + +[3] Ibbetson, "Panjâb Ethnography," 117. + +[4] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 24. + +[5] Campbell, "Notes," 207. + +[6] On this see valuable notes by W. Cockburn in "Panjâb Notes and +Queries," i. 14. + +[7] For many lists of such names see Temple, "Proper Names of +Panjâbis," 22 sqq.; "Indian Antiquary," viii. 321 sq.; x. 321 sq.; +"Panjâb Notes and Queries," i.26, 51; iii. 9. + +[8] Gregor, "Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 35. + +[9] "Folk-lore," iii. 85. + +[10] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 20. + +[11] "Folk-lore," i. 273; Spencer, "Principles of Sociology," i. 242; +Lubbock, "Origin of Civilization," 243; Farrer, "Primitive Manners," +119 sq. + +[12] "Notes," 400. + +[13] Cunningham, "Archæological Reports," vii. 6. + +[14] "Folk-lore," ii. 179. + +[15] "Bombay Gazetteer," v. 45 sq. + +[16] "Folk-lore," iv. 147. + +[17] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," ii. 42. + +[18] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 53. + +[19] Gregor, "Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 7. + +[20] Brand, "Observations," 753. + +[21] Campbell, "Notes," 184. + +[22] "Notes," 34. + +[23] Gregor, "Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 5, 60, 62. + +[24] Reg. vs. Lalla, "Nizâmat Adâlat Reports," 22nd September, 1853. + +[25] Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," ii. 281. + +[26] "Folk-lore," i. 154. + +[27] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 386, 575; ii. 64. + +[28] Brand, "Observations," 339. + +[29] "Primitive Manners," 293. + +[30] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 181. + +[31] "Etruscan Roman Remains," 264. + +[32] "Bombay Gazetteer," v. 123; and for another instance, see Jarrett, +"Aîn-i-Akbari," ii. 197. + +[33] Lâl Bihâri Dê, "Folk-tales," 108 sqq.; Wilson, "Indian Caste," +ii. 174. + +[34] Campbell, "Notes," 69. + +[35] Brand, "Observations," 344, 733. + +[36] v. 21. + +[37] For further examples see Campbell, "Notes," 126 sqq. + +[38] Temple, "Wideawake Stories," 83; Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," +i.478. + +[39] Cunningham, "Archæological Reports," vii. 50. + +[40] Campbell, "Notes," 119. + +[41] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 53. + +[42] Brand, "Observations," 733. + +[43] "Anatomy of Melancholy," 434. + +[44] Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 146; +Leland. "Etruscan Roman Remains," 267. + +[45] Hunt, "Popular Romances," 213. + +[46] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 67. + +[47] Campbell, "Notes," 49 sq. + +[48] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 115, 270, 272. + +[49] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," i. 51. + +[50] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," ii. 209. + +[51] Brand, "Observations," 166. + +[52] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 260, 279; Hartland, "Legend +of Perseus," ii. 258 sqq. + +[53] "Folk-lore," iv. 358, 361. + +[54] Brand, loc. cit., 724. + +[55] Campbell, "Notes," 131; Tylor, "Primitive Culture," ii. 439. + +[56] Brand, loc. cit., 668. + +[57] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 198. + +[58] Schrader, "Prehistoric Antiquities," 163 sqq. + +[59] Gregor, "Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 45; Lady Wilde, +"Legends," 205. + +[60] "Folk-lore," ii. 292; Rhys, "Lectures," 446, 553; Campbell, +"Popular Tales," Introduction, lxx.; ii. 98; Hartland, "Legend of +Perseus," i. 37. + +[61] Brand, "Observations," 355. + +[62] Frazer, "Golden Bough," i. 125. + +[63] "Bombay Gazetteer," xii. 117. + +[64] Campbell, "Notes," 95. + +[65] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 261, 321. + +[66] Brand, "Observations," 58. + +[67] Hartland, "Legend of Perseus," ii. 289. + +[68] Dalton, loc. cit., 261. + +[69] "Settlement Report," 274. + +[70] "North Indian Notes and Queries," ii. 29. + +[71] Campbell, "Notes," 92. + +[72] Growse, "Râmâyana," 99. + +[73] Frazer, "Totemism," 26 sq. + +[74] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 157, 161, 191, 219, 251. + +[75] Bholanâth Chandra, "Travels of a Hindu," i. 326; "Panjâb Notes +and Queries," i. 27, 99; Farrer, "Primitive Manners," 125. + +[76] Campbell, "Notes," p. 134. + +[77] Yule, "Marco Polo," ii. 69,99; Herodotus, v. 6; and for the +Dacians, Pliny, "Natural History," vii. 10; xxii. 2. + +[78] Loc. cit., ii. 218. + +[79] Hislop, "Papers," ii., note; Risley, "Tribes and Castes," i. 292. + +[80] Brand, "Observations," 399. For the Indian versions of Cinderella +and her shoe, see "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 102, 121. + +[81] "Legend of Perseus," i. 171. + +[82] Hunt, "Popular Romances," 409. + +[83] Campbell, "Notes," 105. + +[84] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 86. + +[85] Brand, "Observations," 335. + +[86] Campbell, "Notes," 91, quoting Chambers, "Book of Days," 720. + +[87] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 93. + +[88] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iv. 132; Campbell, "Notes," 284. + +[89] Brand, "Observations," 121. + +[90] Brand, "Observations," 598. + +[91] Rhys, "Lectures." 348; Miss Cox, "Cinderella," 489; Grimm, +"Household Tales," ii. 429; Hartland, "Legend of Perseus," i. 12. + +[92] Knowles, "Folk-lore of Kashmîr," 333. + +[93] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 283. + +[94] Spencer, "Principles of Sociology," i. 254, note, 301. + +[95] "History of Indian Architecture," 57 sqq.; Cunningham, +"Archæological Reports," ii. 87; xvi. 8 sqq. + +[96] Monier-Williams, "Brâhmanism and Hinduism," 203. + +[97] Aubrey, "Remaines," 57. + +[98] "Notes," 177. + +[99] Westropp, "Primitive Symbolism," 58 sqq., 61 sqq. + +[100] "Bombay Gazetteer," xviii. 473, 426. + +[101] "Settlement Report," 59 sqq. + +[102] Tod, "Annals," i. 383, note, 411, note. + +[103] Campbell, "Notes." 251. + +[104] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," ii. 44. + +[105] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 186. + +[106] "Folk-lore," ii. 75; Lady Wilde, "Legends," 110; Brand, +"Observations," 754. + +[107] Lady Wilde, loc. cit., 79. + +[108] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 337; ii. 233, 358. + +[109] ii. 279. + +[110] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 61. + +[111] Tod, "Annals," i. 457; "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 169. + +[112] Brand, "Observations," 359. + +[113] Trumbull, "Blood Covenant," 65; Lubbock, "Origin +of Civilization," 25; Tylor, "Early History," 128 sq.; Jones, +"Finger-ring Lore," 91 sqq. + +[114] Knowles, "Folk-tales," 23. + +[115] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 61; ii. 80; Lane, "Arabian +Nights," i. 9. + +[116] Miss Frere, "Old Deccan Days," 230, 236. + +[117] Knowles, "Folk-tales," 467. + +[118] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," ii. 49; Tawney, loc. cit., i. 300. + +[119] Henderson, "Folk-lore of Northern Counties," 155; Gregor, +"Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 145. + +[120] "Notes and Queries," i. ser. iv. 500. + +[121] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 259. + +[122] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 195, 197, 199. + +[123] "Settlement Report," 278, 286. + +[124] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 15. + +[125] Tod, "Annals," i. 415; Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern +Counties," 20. + +[126] Knowles, "Folk-tales of Kashmîr," 71; Tawney, "Katha Sarit +Sâgara," i. 340. + +[127] Risley, "Tribes and Castes." i. 173, 315. + +[128] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 168. + +[129] Risley, loc. cit., i. 425. + +[130] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 576, quoting Lenormant, +"Chaldean Magic and Sorcery," 141; Ralston, "Songs of the Russian +People," 288. + +[131] Campbell, "Notes," 60. + +[132] Harland, "Science of Fairy Tales," 79 sqq. + +[133] Growse, 146. + +[134] "Primitive Culture," i. 120. + +[135] Frazer, "Golden Bough," ii. 151. + +[136] Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 48; Lady Wilde, +"Legends," 146 sqq. + +[137] Lâl Bihâri Dê, "Govinda Sâmanta," i. 12. + +[138] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 66. It has been suggested that +the idea arose from the Sanskrit word sasin, meaning "hare-marked" +or "the moon"; but this seems rather putting the cart before +the horse. Conway, "Demonology," i. 125; Gubernatis, "Zoological +Mythology," ii. 8; Aubrey, "Remaines," 20, 109. + +[139] "Bombay Gazetteer," vi. 126; Gregor, "Folk-lore of North-East +Scotland," 128; Lady Wilde, "Legends," 179. + +[140] Tod, "Annals," ii. 577 sq. + +[141] Malcolm, "Central India," i. 253, note. + +[142] Tawney, loc cit., ii. 128. + +[143] Blochmann, "Aîn-i-Akbari," i. 91. + +[144] "Annals," i. 694. + +[145] Malcolm, "Central India," i. 12, note. + +[146] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 137, 207; ii. 28; iii. 18; +"Panjâb Notes and Queries," i. 15, 87, 137. + +[147] Growse, "Mathura," 128. + +[148] Gregor, "Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 200 sq. + +[149] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 15. + +[150] Hunt, "Popular Romances," 379; "Contemporary Review," +xlviii. 108; Gregor, "Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 206. + +[151] Monier-Williams, "Brâhmanism and Hinduism," 293. + +[152] Spencer, "Principles of Sociology," i. 153. + +[153] Gregor, loc. cit., 206; Conway, "Demonology," i. 53; Farrer, +"Primitive Manners," 23. + +[154] "Bombay Gazetteer," xii. 107; Campbell, "Notes," 394. + +[155] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," ii. 34. + +[156] Brand, "Observations," 450. + +[157] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 219. + +[158] "Folk-lore," i. 155. + +[159] Knowles, "Folk-tales," 401. + +[160] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 260. + +[161] "North Indian Notes and Queries," ii. 10; iii. 90. + +[162] "Folk-lore," iv. 257. + +[163] "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 832; Tylor, "Primitive Culture," +ii. 126; Wilson, "Essays," ii. 292; Spencer, "Principles of Sociology," +i. 147. + +[164] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," ii. 19. + +[165] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 83. + +[166] "Zoological Mythology," i. 49. + +[167] Frazer, "Golden Bough," i. 154. + +[168] "Bombay Gazetteer," viii. 159. + +[169] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 83. + +[170] Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 14, 271; Tawney, +"Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 305, 546; Tylor, "Primitive Culture," ii. 194 +sq; "Contemporary Review," xlviii. 113; Grierson, "Behâr Peasant Life," +388; "Folk-lore," ii. 26, 294. + +[171] "Bombay Gazetteer," xii. 109; "Illustrations of the History +and Practices of the Thags," 9. + +[172] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," ii. 75. + +[173] "Notes," 214, 473. + +[174] "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 264. + +[175] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 202 sq. + +[176] "Folk-lore," iv. 360. + +[177] "Settlement Report," 263 sq. + +[178] Hislop, "Papers," 19. + +[179] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 274. + +[180] "Principles of Sociology," i. 161. + +[181] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 12; Tylor, "Primitive Culture," +ii. 33 sq. + +[182] "North Indian Notes and Queries," ii. 7; iii. 17; Campbell, +"Notes," 495. + +[183] Frazer, "Golden Bough," i. 196. + +[184] "Bombay Gazetteer," iii. 220. + +[185] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 281. + +[186] "Legend of Perseus," ii. 320. + +[187] Temple, "Wide-awake Tales," 414; "Legends of the Panjâb," +i. Introduction xix.; "Folk-lore," ii. 236; Miss Cox, "Cinderella," +504; Clouston, "Popular Tales," i. 341; Campbell, "Santâl Folk-tales," +16; Grimm, "Household Tales," ii. 382. + +[188] Spencer, "Principles of Sociology," i. 157, 206; Tylor, +"Primitive Culture," i. 482; Lubbock, "Origin of Civilization," 37; +Farrer, "Primitive Manners," 21 sq. + +[189] Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," i. 49. + +[190] "Descriptive Ethnology," 205. + +[191] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 118, 140. + +[192] "Bombay Gazetteer," xii. 118; "Folk-lore," iv. 245. + +[193] "Travels in the Himâlaya," i. 342. + +[194] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," i. 126, 174, 395; ii. 71; "Bombay +Gazetteer," xiii. 187; Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 218. + +[195] Hunt, "Popular Romances," 82. + +[196] Brand, "Observations," 519. + +[197] Tylor, "Primitive Culture," ii. 152. + +[198] Risley, loc. cit., ii. 326. + +[199] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 204 sq. + +[200] Dyer, "Popular Customs," 57. + +[201] Ibid., 199. + +[202] Ibid., 398. + +[203] "Folk-lore," ii. 310. + +[204] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 345. + +[205] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 35. + +[206] "Remaines," 95; Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," +57. + +[207] Gregor, "Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 213. + +[208] Frazer, "Contemporary Review," xlviii. 117; Spencer, "Principles +of Sociology," i. 195. + +[209] Campbell, "Notes," 334. + +[210] Numbers xix. 15. + +[211] "Annals," ii. 542. + +[212] Grimm, "Household Tales," ii. 402; Clouston, "Popular Tales," +i. 380. + +[213] Lane, "Arabian Nights," i. 71; Lâl Bihâri Dê, "Folk-tales," +198, 274. + +[214] Brand, "Observations," 435. + +[215] Lâl Bihâri Dê, "Folk-tales of Bengal," 198, 206; "Govinda +Sâmanta," i. 135; "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 199. + +[216] "Folk-lore," ii. 286. + +[217] "Notes," 165. + +[218] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 25. + +[219] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 229; ii. 116; Tylor, "Primitive +Culture," i. 476; ii. 148, 215. + +[220] Tawney, loc. cit., ii. 338, 511. + +[221] "Notes," 146 sq. + +[222] Tawney, loc. cit., i. 337, 204; ii. 427, 83. + +[223] Temple, "Wide-awake Stories," 317; "Indian Antiquary," xi. 260 +sq.; Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 163. + +[224] As if from Jaksh, "to eat;" a more probable derivation is Yaksh, +"to move," "to worship." + +[225] Spencer Hardy, "Manual of Buddhism," 269; Conway, "Demonology," +i. 151 sq. + +[226] "Bombay Gazetteer," v. 133, 236. + +[227] Frazer, "Golden Bough," ii. 17. + +[228] "Himâlayan Gazetteer," iii. 117. + +[229] Ibid., ii. 833; "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 56. + +[230] Ganga Datt, "Folk-lore," 71. + +[231] Aubrey, "Remaines," 59; Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern +Counties," 263. + +[232] Ghoghar in Bombay takes the form of a native seaman or Lascar, +"Bombay Gazetteer," iv. 343. + +[233] Jacobs, "English Fairy Tales." + +[234] "Principles of Sociology," i. 359. + +[235] "Primitive Culture," ii. 221, 89. + +[236] "Golden Bough," i. 39. + +[237] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 56, 40, 43, 283; Hislop, +"Papers," 10. + +[238] "Brihatsanhita," Rajendra Lâla Mitra, "Indo-Aryans," i. 245. + +[239] Campbell, "Notes," 225. + +[240] Forlong, "Rivers of Life;" Westropp, "Primitive Symbolism." + +[241] Groome, "Encyclopædia Britannica," s.v. "Gypsies." + +[242] "Calcutta Review," xxvi. 512. + +[243] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 174; ii. 181, 592, 286. + +[244] Ibid., ii. 270. + +[245] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 123; Grimm, "Household +Tales," ii. 429. + +[246] Ibid., ii. 142. + +[247] Grimm, "Household Tales," ii. 596. + +[248] Temple, "Wide-awake Stories," 413. + +[249] Knowles, "Folk-tales," 184; Grimm, loc. cit., ii. 428. + +[250] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 153; ii. 387, 460. + +[251] Dyer, "Popular Customs," 467. + +[252] Führer, "Monumental Antiquities," 304; "North Indian Notes and +Queries," i. 4, 37; "Bombay Gazetteer," ii. 355. + +[253] "Golden Bough," i. 61. + +[254] "North Indian Notes and Queries," ii. 112. + +[255] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 129, 132, 141, 186, 188. + +[256] Hislop, "Papers," 20. + +[257] "Berâr Gazetteer," 29, 31. + +[258] Growse, "Mathura," 70, 76 sqq., 83, 420, 470, 458. + +[259] "Himâlayan Gazetteer," iii. 47. + +[260] Moorcroft, "Travels," i. 211. + +[261] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 16. + +[262] Conway, "Demonology," i. 315 sq.; Farrer, "Primitive Manners," +309; Sir W. Scott, "Letters on Demonology," 79; Gregor, "Folk-lore of +North-East Scotland," 116, 179; Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern +Counties," 278. + +[263] "Oudh Gazetteer," i. 566; Führer, "Monumental Antiquities," +304. See instances collected by Hartland, "Legend of Perseus," +ii. 35 sqq. + +[264] Henderson, loc. cit., 273. + +[265] Campbell, "Notes," 221 sq. + +[266] "Calcutta Review," lxix. 364 sq. + +[267] Campbell, "Notes," 237. + +[268] Haug, "Aitareya Brâhmanam," ii. 486 sq. + +[269] Cunningham, "Bhilsa Topes," 24; "Archæological Reports," +i. 5 sq.; Ferguson, "Eastern Architecture," 69; Führer, "Monumental +Antiquities," 127. + +[270] "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 783. + +[271] Campbell, "Notes," 238. + +[272] Tod, "Annals," i. 611. + +[273] See instances collected by Wake, "Serpent Worship," 18. + +[274] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 293. + +[275] Ibbetson, "Panjâb Ethnography," 118; "Panjâb Notes and Queries," +ii. 55; O'Brien, "Multâni Glossary," 82. + +[276] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," ii. 74; Elliot, "Supplementary +Glossary," 26. + +[277] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 148, 281, 283; Rousselet, +"India and its Native Princes," 369 sq. + +[278] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 162. + +[279] Sleeman, "Rambles and Recollections," ii. 18; Tylor, "Primitive +Culture," ii. 225. + +[280] "Quarterly Review," cxiv. 226; "Folk-lore," iii. 88. + +[281] Hunt, "Popular Romances," 420. + +[282] Temple, "Legends of the Panjâb," i. 473. + +[283] Campbell, "Notes," 234. + +[284] Mullaly, "Notes on Madras Criminal Tribes," 20. + +[285] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 38. + +[286] i. 287. + +[287] Ward, "Hindus," ii. 13, quoted by Campbell, "Notes," 229. + +[288] Lâl Bihâri Dê, "Folk-tales," 280. + +[289] Campbell, loc. cit., 229. + +[290] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 207. + +[291] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 189. + +[292] "Sirsa Settlement Report," 154. + +[293] Wilson, "Works," iii. 68. + +[294] Campbell, "Notes," 248. + +[295] Rhys, "Lectures," 359. + +[296] Kelly, "Curiosities," 159; Conway, "Demonology," i. 126; +Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," i. 225; Dyer, "Popular Customs," +274; Brand, "Observations," 616. + +[297] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 439. + +[298] Campbell, "Santâl Folk-tales," 54. + +[299] Campbell, "Notes," 239. + +[300] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 109, 220, 234. + +[301] Campbell, loc. cit., 232. + +[302] Ibbetson, "Panjâb Ethnography," 119. + +[303] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," ii. 42; "North Indian Notes and +Queries," ii. 27. + +[304] "Eastern India," iii. 555. + +[305] "North Indian Notes and Queries," ii. 151 sq. + +[306] "Notes," 461. + +[307] "Bombay Gazetteer," vii. 61. + +[308] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," ii. 201. + +[309] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 194. + +[310] Ibid., 319. + +[311] Atkinson, "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 912. + +[312] Wright, "History of Nepâl," 33. + +[313] "Settlement Report," 38. + +[314] "Archæological Reports," x. 177. + +[315] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 15. + +[316] "Settlement Report," 167. + +[317] "Bombay Gazetteer," iii. 221. + +[318] Oppert, "Original Inhabitants," 73. + +[319] "Totemism," 33 sqq. + +[320] Campbell, "Notes," 250. + +[321] Manning, "Ancient India," ii. 330 sq.; Tawney, "Katha Sarit +Sâgara," i. 185. + +[322] "Primitive Culture," ii. 239. + +[323] Monier-Williams, "Brâhmanism and Hinduism," 319 sqq. + +[324] Wheeler, "History of India," i. 148; "Gazetteer Central +Provinces," lxiii.; lxxii.; Campbell, "Notes," 269; Ferguson, "Tree +and Serpent Worship," Appendix D; Elliot, "Supplementary Glossary," +s.v. "Gaur Taga"; Tod, "Annals," i. 38; Atkinson, "Himâlayan +Gazetteer," ii. 280 sqq., 297; Temple, "Legends of the Panjâb," +i. 414 sq. + +[325] Bhekal Nâg is perhaps the Sanskrit bheka, "frog." It has been +suggested that the gypsy Beng or Devil is connected with Bheka, and +thus allied to serpent-worship (Groome, "Encyclopædia Britannica," +Art. "Gypsies"). Sir G. Cox ("Introduction," 87, note) makes out +Bheki, or "the squatting frog," to be an old name for the sun. For +the Himâlayan snake shrines see Atkinson, loc. cit., ii. 374 sq. + +[326] Oldham, "Contemporary Review," April, 1885. + +[327] Oldfield, "Sketches," ii. 204; Wright, "History," 85. + +[328] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 173, 544. + +[329] "Calcutta Review," li. 304 sq.; liv. 25 sq.; Ferguson, "Eastern +Architecture," 289; "Central Provinces Gazetteer," 86. + +[330] Tawney, loc. cit. i. 577. + +[331] Ibid., i. 312; ii. 225. + +[332] "Archæological Reports," vii. 4. + +[333] "Settlement Report," 121. + +[334] Beal, "Travels of Fah Hian," 67 sq. + +[335] "Archæological Reports," i. 274. + +[336] Wright, "History of Nepâl," 85, 141. + +[337] Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 289; +"Gloucestershire Folk-lore," 23. + +[338] Führer, "Monumental Antiquities," 144. + +[339] Beal, loc. cit., 90. + +[340] "Eastern India," ii. 149. + +[341] Growse, "Mathura," 55, 58. + +[342] Ibid., 71. + +[343] "Reports," xxi. 2, "Academy," 23rd April, 1887. + +[344] Sherring, "Sacred City," 75, 87 sqq.; Führer, "Monumental +Antiquities," 211. For weather snakes see Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," +i. 438. + +[345] "Brâhmanism and Hinduism," 323. + +[346] Tawney, loc. cit., i. 32, 55, 538; ii. 568. + +[347] Gangadatta, "Folk-lore of Kumaun," Introduction, vii. + +[348] Ibbetson, "Panjâb Ethnography," 114; "Legends of the Panjâb," +i. 426. + +[349] "Principles of Sociology," i. 345; Gubernatis, "Zoological +Mythology," ii. 407 sq.; Wake, "Serpent-worship," 105; Tylor, +"Primitive Culture," ii. 240. + +[350] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 132. + +[351] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," i. 2. + +[352] Tod, "Annals," i. 777 sqq. + +[353] Clouston, "Popular Tales," i. 127; Grimm, "Household Tales," +ii. 405; Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 454; Jacobs, "English +Fairy Tales," 207, 251. + +[354] Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," ii. 407; Clouston, loc. cit., +i. 126. + +[355] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," ii. 91. + +[356] Conway, "Demonology," i. 353 sq. + +[357] Miss Frere, "Old Deccan Tales," 33; Lâl Bihâri Dê, "Folk-tales," +19. + +[358] "Oriental Memoirs," ii. 19, 385. + +[359] Knowles, "Folk-tales," 492. + +[360] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 182. + +[361] Tawney, loc. cit., ii. 99; Temple, "Legends of the Panjâb," +i. Introduction, xv.; "Wideawake Stories," 193, 331. + +[362] Atkinson, "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 851. + +[363] Tod, "Annals," i. 614; Wright, "History," 37. + +[364] Rousselet, "India and its Native Princes," 28. + +[365] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 75. + +[366] "Eastern India," ii. 481. + +[367] Grierson, "Bihâr Peasant Life," 405; "Maithili Chrestomathy," +23 sqq., where examples of the songs are given; "Panjâb Notes and +Queries," iii. 38. + +[368] Atkinson, "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 836. + +[369] "Settlement Report," 120 sq. + +[370] "Natural History," xxxvii. 10. + +[371] "Gazetteer," xi. 36. + +[372] "Popular Tales," ii. 385. + +[373] Führer, "Monumental Antiquities," 28. + +[374] Hardy, "Manual of Buddhism," 146. + +[375] "Oudh Gazetteer," i. 597. + +[376] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," i. 15. + +[377] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 564; ii. 315. + +[378] Temple, "Wideawake Stories," 304, 424; "Panjâb Notes and +Queries," i. 15, 76. + +[379] Sleeman, "Rambles," i. 42; Conway, "Demonology," i. 354. + +[380] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 92, 59. + +[381] "Remaines," 39. He perhaps refers to Tavernier, "Travels," +Ball's Edition), i. 42; ii. 249. + +[382] "Custom and Myth," ii. 197. + +[383] Frazer, "Totemism," 1; and his article on "Totemism," in +"Encyclopædia Britannica," 9th Edition. + +[384] "Principles of Sociology," i. 367. + +[385] "Origin of Civilization," 260, and Mr. Frazer's criticism, +loc. cit. + +[386] "Tribes and Castes," Introduction. + +[387] Frazer, "Golden Bough," i. 13, note. + +[388] Robertson-Smith, "Kinship," 17. + +[389] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 90. + +[390] Quoted by McLennan, "Fortnightly Review," 1869, p. 419. + +[391] O'Brien, "Multâni Glossary," 260 sq. + +[392] "Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh," +s.v.v. + +[393] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 254; Risley, "Tribes and +Castes," ii. 327. + +[394] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," ii. 91. + +[395] Frazer, "Golden Bough," ii. 95. + +[396] "Dissertation on the Proper Names of Panjâbis," 155 sq. + +[397] "Totemism," 3 sqq. + +[398] Yule, "Marco Polo," i. 52. + +[399] Hardy, "Manual of Buddhism," 251. + +[400] Max Müller, "Ancient Sanskrit Literature," 290. + +[401] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 10; ii. 215; iii. 144; Ball, +"Jungle Life," 455 sqq. + +[402] Dalton "Descriptive Ethnology," 126, 162, 165 sq., 179, 185, +209, 231, 265. + +[403] "Jungle Life," 600. + +[404] Campbell, "Notes," 7. + +[405] "Râjputâna Gazetteer," i. 223. + +[406] Rhys, "Lectures," 508. + +[407] Dalton, loc. cit., 327. + +[408] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," Introduction, xlvii. + +[409] Conway, "Demonology," i. 27; "Herodotus," ii. 73. + +[410] Dalton, loc. cit., 131, note; Ball, loc. cit., 89; +Robertson-Smith, "Kinship," 306 sq. + +[411] "Berâr Gazetteer," 187. + +[412] Campbell, "Notes," 8 sqq. + +[413] Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," ii. 68; and see Lang, +"Custom and Myth," 113. + +[414] Conway, "Demonology," i. 144. + +[415] Tod, "Annals," i. 599. + +[416] Gubernatis, loc. cit., ii. 13. + +[417] "Golden Bough," ii. 26 sqq., 58. + +[418] "Asiatic Studies," 264. + +[419] "Archæological Reports," vi. 137. + +[420] Führer, "Monumental Antiquities," 88. + +[421] "Tribes and Castes," ii. Appendix; Dalton, loc. cit., 162, +note, 213, 254. + +[422] Lyall, "Asiatic Studies," 9 sq. + +[423] Ferrier, "Caravan Journey," 186. + +[424] Muir, "Ancient Sanskrit Texts," v. 425 sq.; Lâl Bihâri Dê, +"Folk-tales of Bengal," 193 sq., 277; Temple, "Legends of the Panjâb," +48 sqq.; "Wideawake Stories," 277 sqq.; Campbell, "Popular Tales," +i. 2; Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 323; and for fidelity tests, +Grimm, "Household Tales," i. 453; Tawney, loc. cit., ii. 601; Clouston, +"Popular Romances," i. 43, 173. + +[425] Tylor, "Primitive Culture," i. 352, note; "Wideawake Stories," +419 sqq.; "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iv. 201; Knowles, "Folk-tales of +Kashmîr," 192; Tawney, loc. cit., i. 123; Grimm, loc. cit., ii. 400; +Hunt, "Popular Romances," 178. + +[426] Also see Rhys, "Lectures," 206; Lang, "Custom and Myth," 52. + +[427] "Notes," 163. + +[428] Hunt, "Popular Romances," 418. + +[429] "Modern Egyptians," i. 325. + +[430] "Popular Romances," 177. + +[431] "Popular Romances," 412, 415. + +[432] Führer, "Monumental Antiquities," 173. + +[433] "Bombay Gazetteer," xi. 56; xvii. 698. + +[434] Robertson-Smith, "Kinship," 49; Lubbock, "Origin of +Civilization," 306; Tylor, "Primitive Culture," ii. 164; Conway, +"Demonology," ii. 284. + +[435] Spencer, "Principles of Sociology," i. 268; Lang, "Custom and +Myth," i. 270. + +[436] "Indo-Aryans," ii. 70 sqq.; "Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal," +1876; Max Müller, "Ancient Sanskrit Literature," 408 sq.; Muir, +"Ancient Sanskrit Texts," i., ii., passim; Wilson, "Rig Veda," +i. 59, 63; "Essays," ii. 247 sqq.; Atkinson, "Himâlayan Gazetteer," +ii. 800, 867. + +[437] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 336; ii. 253, 338; Temple, +"Wideawake Stories," 147; Lâl Bihâri Dê, "Folk-tales," 194; Miss Frere, +"Old Deccan Days," 6; "North Indian Notes and Queries," ii. 111, 129; +iii. 105. + +[438] Burton, "Arabian Nights," iv. 376. + +[439] Tawney, loc. cit., i. 212; ii. 616. + +[440] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 65. + +[441] Ibid., ii. 22. + +[442] "Central India," ii. 210. + +[443] Campbell, "Khondistân," passim; Frazer, "Golden Bough," i. 384 +sqq.; "Râjputâna Gazetteer," ii. 47; Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," +130, 147, 176, 285 sq., 281. + +[444] Chevers, "Medical Jurisprudence," 406, 411. + +[445] Campbell, "Notes," 339: Wilson, "Indian Caste," ii. 22 sq.; +"Bombay Gazetteer," x. 114. + +[446] Wright, "History," 11, note. + +[447] Ball, "Jungle Life," 580. + +[448] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 112, 148. And for other +instances, see Balfour, "Cyclopædia," iii. 477 sqq. + +[449] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 75. + +[450] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 157, 214. + +[451] Knowles, "Folk-tales," 2. + +[452] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 294; Grimm, "Household Tales," +i. 396; Hartland, "Legend of Perseus," i. 98. + +[453] "Report Inspector-General Police, N.-W.P., 1870," page 93; +"Panjâb Notes and Queries," ii. 205; iii. 74, 162; Chevers, "Medical +Jurisprudence," 842, 396; Campbell, "Notes," 338. + +[454] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 148; iii. 71. + +[455] Robertson-Smith, "Kinship," 48 sq. + +[456] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," i. 456; Dalton, "Descriptive +Ethnology," 220. + +[457] "Folk-lore," iv. 260. + +[458] "North Indian Notes and Queries." iii. 40. + +[459] Ibid., 106. + +[460] "Bombay Gazetteer," ii. 349; xiv. 49. + +[461] Führer, "Monumental Antiquities," 194. + +[462] For similar instances see "Archæological Reports," v. 98; +"Bombay Gazetteer," xx. 144; "Folk-lore Records," iii. Part II. 182; +"Oudh Gazetteer," iii. 253; "Indian Antiquary," xi. 117; "Calcutta +Review," lxxvii. 106; Lâl Bihâri Dê, "Folk-tales," 130; "Panjâb Notes +and Queries," iii. 110; "North Indian Notes and Queries," ii. 27, +63, 93; Campbell, "Santâl Folk-tales," 106. + +[463] "Bombay Gazetteer," iv. 276. + +[464] Campbell, "Notes," 348. + +[465] "Settlement Report," 126. + +[466] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 146, 281; Risley, "Tribes and +Castes," i. 115. + +[467] Wright, "History," 35 sq., 156, note, 126, 205, 265. + +[468] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 594. + +[469] Ibid., i. 306. + +[470] Yule, "Marco Polo," ii. 165. + +[471] Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 54, 200 sqq. + +[472] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 190. + +[473] Miss Cox, "Cinderella," 485; Knowles, "Kashmîr Tales," 199; +Clouston, "Popular Tales," i. 88; Rhys, "Lectures," 241; Tawney, +"Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 612. + +[474] "Folk-lore Record," iii. Part II. 283. For the commonplace +Momiâî which is used as an application by women before parturition, +see Watt's "Dictionary of Economic Products," ii. 115. + +[475] Führer, "Monumental Antiquities," 284. + +[476] Buchanan, "Eastern India," i. 526. + +[477] "Oudh Gazetteer," i. 303; ii. 415. + +[478] Atkinson, "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 311, note, 792 sq. + +[479] "Oudh Gazetteer," i. 61. + +[480] "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 282. + +[481] Macaulay, "Battle of Lake Regillus," Introduction. + +[482] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 220. + +[483] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 2. + +[484] Campbell, "Notes," 30. + +[485] Rhys, "Lectures," 193. + +[486] Hunt, "Popular Romances," 427. + +[487] Forbes, "Wanderings of a Naturalist," 103. + +[488] Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 165; Brand, +"Observations," 621. + +[489] "Principles of Sociology," i. 109 sq., 310; Tylor, "Primitive +Culture," i. 353. + +[490] "Asiatic Studies," 16. + +[491] "Illustrations of the History and Practice of the Thags." 46 sqq. + +[492] Tod, "Annals," i. 615; "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 221. + +[493] Oldfield, "Sketches," 344, 352. + +[494] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 54. + +[495] Wilson, "Essays," ii. 188; Risley, "Tribes and Castes," i. 16, +67, 93, 451. + +[496] Campbell, "Notes," 9. + +[497] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," ii. 20 sq., 93. + +[498] Tod, "Annals," ii. 320. + +[499] Habakkuk i. 16; Isaiah xxi. 5. + +[500] Dyer, "Popular Customs," 400; Brand, "Observations," 209, 773; +Aubrey, "Remaines," 25. + +[501] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 116. + +[502] Grimm, "Teutonic Mythology," 934; Frazer, "Golden Bough," +ii. 164. + +[503] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 187, note, 247. + +[504] "Idylls," iii. 31. + +[505] Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 52; Gregor, +"Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 43, 92. + +[506] Dalton, loc. cit., 218. + +[507] "Academy," 23rd July, 1887; "Gentleman's Magazine," July, 1887; +Henderson, loc. cit., 233; Brand, "Observations," 233; Lady Wilde, +"Legends," 207. + +[508] Brand, "Observations," 354. + +[509] "Calcutta Review," xviii. 60. + +[510] "Folk-lore," i. 157; ii. 293. + +[511] Campbell, "Notes," 53. + +[512] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 202; Leland, "Etruscan Roman +Remains," 79. + +[513] "Calcutta Review," xviii. 51. + +[514] Cox, "Mythology of the Aryan Nations," ii. 119, note. + +[515] Chambers, "Book of Days," i. 94 sq. + +[516] Dalton, loc. cit., 252, 258. + +[517] "Primitive Culture," ii. 277. + +[518] "Principles of Sociology," i. 158, 273. + +[519] "Tribes and Castes of the N.-W. P. and Oudh," s. v. "Agnihotri." + +[520] Grimm, "Household Tales," ii. 547. + +[521] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 322. + +[522] Oldfield, "Sketches," ii. 242; Wright, "History," 35; and compare +Prescott, "Peru," i. chap. 3; Lubbock, "Origin of Civilization," 312. + +[523] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 126. + +[524] Abul Fazl appears to have confused Sûraj Sankrânti or the +entrance of the sun into a constellation with Sûrya-Kânta or +"sun-beloved," the sun-crystal or lens, which gives out heat when +exposed to the rays of the sun. + +[525] Blochmann, "Aîn-i-Akbari," i. 48. + +[526] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 103. + +[527] "Folk-lore," iv. 359. + +[528] Dyer, "Popular Customs," 92. + +[529] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 199. + +[530] Hugel, "Travels," quoted by Jarrett, "Aîn-i-Akbari," ii. 314. + +[531] "Settlement Report," 121. + +[532] "North Indian Notes and Queries," ii. 117; Hunt, "Popular +Romances," 81; Campbell, "Popular Tales," ii. 82. + +[533] Conway, "Demonology," i. 225. + +[534] Rajendra Lâla Mitra, "Indo-Aryans," i. 146. + +[535] Ferguson, "Tree and Serpent Worship," 88; "History of Indian +Architecture," 60; Cunningham, "Bhilsa Topes," 9; Spencer, "Principles +of Sociology," i. 254 sq. + +[536] "Central Provinces Gazetteer," 63; "Panjâb Notes and Queries," +ii. 8; "North Indian Notes and Queries," ii. 93. + +[537] iv. 82. + +[538] Monier-Williams, "Hinduism and Brâhmanism," 309. + +[539] Tennent, "Ceylon, ii. 132; Ferguson, "Indian Architecture," +184, with engraving; Tylor, "Early History," 116. + +[540] "Oudh Gazetteer," ii. 370. + +[541] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 342; ii. 135, 230, 302, 363; +"North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 13; Clouston, "Popular Tales," +i. 448. + +[542] Lâl Bihâri Dê, "Folk-tales," 139. + +[543] Tawney, loc. cit., i. 499; ii. 276; Grimm, "Household Tales," +No. 33; i. 357; Knowles, "Folk-tales of Kashmîr," 432; Campbell, +"Santâl Folk-tales," 22; Miss Cox, "Cinderella," 496; Campbell, +"Popular Tales," i. 283. + +[544] Temple, "Wideawake Stories," 74, 412; Lâl Bihâri Dê, loc. cit., +40, 106, 134, 138, 155, 210, 223; "Cinderella," 526; "North Indian +Notes and Queries," iii. 13; Clouston, loc. cit., i. 223. + +[545] Campbell, "Notes," 259. + +[546] "Rig Veda," iv. 33; Datt, "History of Civilization," i. 72 sq., +79; Monier-Williams, "Brâhmanism and Hinduism," 329. + +[547] Wright, "History," 165; "Iliad," v. 265 sqq.; Tawney, "Katha +Sarit Sâgara," ii. 593. + +[548] Tawney, ibid., i. 130, 574, quoting Grimm, "Teutonic Mythology," +i. 392. + +[549] Campbell, "Popular Tales," Introduction, lxxviii. + +[550] Miss Cox, "Cinderella," 476; Clouston, "Popular Tales," i. 373. + +[551] Clouston, loc. cit., i. 417; Grimm, "Household Tales," ii. 479; +Tawney, loc. cit., ii. 261; Clouston, ibid., 110, 218; Tawney, ibid., +i. 13. + +[552] Rousselet, "India and its Native Princes," 116. + +[553] "Indian Antiquary," xi. 325 sq.; "Panjâb Notes and Queries," +ii. 2. + +[554] Campbell, "Notes," 392. + +[555] "Germania," 10. + +[556] Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 142. + +[557] Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," i. 332. + +[558] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," i. 113. + +[559] "Annals," ii. 319. + +[560] Lubbock, "Origin of Civilization," 275. + +[561] Campbell, "Notes," 292. + +[562] Hislop, "Papers," Appendix, i. iii. + +[563] Burton, "Arabian Nights," ii. 340. + +[564] Knowles, "Folk-tales," 90; Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 168; +Clouston, "Popular Tales," i. 97; Grimm, "Household Tales," ii. 419. + +[565] Tawney, loc. cit., i. 37, 78; ii. 28, 32; Grimm, loc. cit., +ii. 404; Tawney, loc. cit., ii. 107. + +[566] Gubernatis, loc. cit., ii. 160. + +[567] Forsyth, "Highlands of Central Indian," 278; Tod, "Annals," +ii. 660; Rowney, "Wild Tribes," 139; Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," +214; Frazer, "Golden Bough," ii. 110. + +[568] Trumbull, "Blood Covenant," 312; Tylor, "Primitive Culture," +i. 309; Sleeman, "Rambles," i. 153 sqq. + +[569] "Folk-lore," i. 169; Lyall, "Asiatic Studies," 13; Spencer, +"Principles of Sociology," i. 323; Conway, "Demonology," i. 313 sq.; +Scott, "Letters on Demonology," 174. + +[570] "Berâr Gazetteer," 62; Wright, "History of Nepâl," 38; Frazer, +"Golden Bough," ii. 101. + +[571] Dalton, loc. cit., 132, 133, 158, 214. + +[572] "Berâr Gazetteer," 191 sq.; "Hoshangâbâd Settlement Report," +255 sq. + +[573] See for example Knowles, "Kashmîr Folk-tales," 3, 45, 46. + +[574] Dalton, loc. cit., 33. + +[575] Knowles, loc. cit., 47; Campbell, "Santâl Tales," 18. + +[576] Wright, "History," 169. + +[577] "Annals," ii. 669. + +[578] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 280. + +[579] "Rambles and Recollections," i. 154 sqq. + +[580] "Zoological Mythology," i. 160 sq. + +[581] Wright, "History," 161; Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 348 sq. + +[582] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 65. + +[583] Temple, "Wideawake Stories," 116; Campbell, "Santâl Folk-tales," +40; Clouston, "Popular Tales," i. 146. + +[584] Sherring, "Sacred City," 63, 65. + +[585] "Notes," 276. + +[586] Cox, "Mythology of the Aryan Nations," ii. 336. + +[587] "Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal," lix. 212. The horror with +which the Homeric Greeks regarded the eating of a corpse by dogs +comes out very strongly in the Iliad. + +[588] "Indian Antiquary," v. 358 sq. + +[589] "Original Inhabitants," 157 sq. + +[590] "Archæological Reports," xxiii. 26. + +[591] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 118. + +[592] Campbell, "Notes," 276 sq. + +[593] Wright, "History," 39 sq. + +[594] Hislop, "Papers," 6. + +[595] "Folk-lore," iii. 127; "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 94, +148; iv. 46, 150, 173; "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 18, 67; +Knowles, "Folk-tales of Kashmîr," 36, 429; Clouston, "Popular Tales," +ii. 166; Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 90; "Gesta Romanorum," +Introd. xlii. + +[596] Conway, "Demonology," i. 134; Gregor, "Folk-lore of North-East +Scotland," 126 sq. + +[597] "Remaines," 53. + +[598] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," i. 79 sq. + +[599] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," i. 88. + +[600] "Journal Asiatic Society, Bengal," 1847, p. 234. + +[601] "Household Tales," ii. 444. + +[602] Atkinson, "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 329. + +[603] "Folk-lore," iv. 351; "Gesta Romanorum," 25. + +[604] Brand, "Observations," 583. + +[605] Robertson-Smith, "Kinship," 194. + +[606] "Demonology," i. 122. + +[607] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 15. + +[608] Brand, "Observations," 785. + +[609] "Epigrams," i. 6. + +[610] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iv. 131; Moorcroft, "Travels," i. 22; +"Journal Asiatic Society Bengal," 1840, p. 572; "Aîn-i-Akbari," i. 289. + +[611] Miss Cox, "Cinderella," 473. + +[612] Muir, "Ancient Sanskrit Texts," i. 24 sq.; iii. 166, 310 sq.; +McLennan, "Fortnightly Review," 1870, 198 sq. + +[613] Cox, "Mythology of the Aryan Nations," i. 107, 437 sq.; +ii. 49 sq. + +[614] Romesh Chandra Datt, "History of Indian Civilization," i. 253 sq. + +[615] Bühler, "Sacred Laws," Part i. 64, 119, note. + +[616] Rajendra Lâla Mitra, "Indo-Aryans," ii. 134; Muir, "Ancient +Sanskrit Texts," i. 24 sqq. + +[617] Schliemann, "Ilios," 112; Rawlinson, "Herodotus," ii. 27 sq., +41; Ewald, "History of Israel," ii. 4; Robertson-Smith, "Kinship," +196; Frazer, "Golden Bough," ii. 40. + +[618] Campbell, "Notes," 285. + +[619] Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," i. 3 sqq.; Cox, +"Introduction," 151 sqq.; Kuenen, "Religion of Israel," i. 236 +sq.; Goldziher, "Mythology among the Hebrews," 226, 343; Wake, +"Serpent-worship," 35; Spencer, "Principles of Sociology," i. 340; +McLennan, "Fortnightly Review," 1870, p. 199. + +[620] "Golden Bough," ii. 60. + +[621] Hartland, "Legend of Perseus," i. 158. + +[622] Sellon, "Memoirs Anthropological Society of London," i. 328. + +[623] "Institutes," xi. 60, 80. + +[624] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 227. + +[625] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 215. + +[626] Atkinson, "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 914; "Râjputâna Gazetteer," +ii. 67. + +[627] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 39. + +[628] Miss Gordon-Cumming, "From the Hebrides to the Himâlaya," i. 141. + +[629] Atkinson, loc. cit., ii. 771; Wright, "History of Nepâl," 82. + +[630] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 109. + +[631] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 154. + +[632] Dyer, "Popular Customs," 18. + +[633] Yule, "Marco Polo," ii. 341. + +[634] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 283. + +[635] "Indian Antiquary," i. 348 sq. + +[636] Atkinson, "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 913. + +[637] Jarrett, "Aîn-i-Akbari," ii. 348, quoting Erskine; "Babar," +Introduction, 47. + +[638] "Rambles," i. 199 sqq. + +[639] "Central India," i. 329, note; ii. 164. + +[640] Balfour, "Journal Asiatic Society Bengal," xiii. N.S.; Gunthorpe, +"Notes on Criminal Tribes of Berâr," 36. + +[641] Ball, "Jungle Life," 165; "North Indian Notes and Queries," +i. 60; "Calcutta Review," lxxx. 53, 58. + +[642] Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," i. 75. + +[643] "Notes," 287. + +[644] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 131. + +[645] "Golden Bough," ii. 93. + +[646] Manu, "Institutes," ii. 41. + +[647] Burton, "Arabian Nights," ii. 508; Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," +i. 166; Clouston, "Popular Tales," i.; "Gesta Romanorum," Tale xviii. + +[648] Wright, "History," 81. + +[649] Blochmann, "Aîn-i-Akbari," i. 121. + +[650] Führer, "Monumental Antiquities," 8, 73, 105, 188; Cunningham, +"Archæological Reports," i. 225. + +[651] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 73, 177, 328 sq.; ii. 102, +215, 500, 540; Knowles, "Kashmîr Folk-tales," 17. + +[652] Black, "Folk Medicine," 152. + +[653] Führer, loc. cit., 161. + +[654] Campbell, "Notes," 267. + +[655] Brand, "Observations," 739. + +[656] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iv. 2. + +[657] Hunt, "Popular Romances," 377. + +[658] For the crow in English folk-lore, see Henderson, "Folk-lore +of the Northern Counties," 126; Gregor, "Folk-lore of N.E. Scotland," +135 sq. + +[659] Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," ii. 253 sq.; "Panjâb Notes +and Queries," i. 27. + +[660] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 64, 73. + +[661] Balfour, "Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal," N.S. xiii. + +[662] Monier-Williams, "Brâhmanism and Hinduism," 301; Atkinson, +"Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 329. + +[663] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 15. + +[664] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 81 sq., 172; "Panjâb Notes and Queries," +iii. 24; Brand, "Observations," 732; Henderson, "Folk-lore of the +Northern Counties," 239 sq.; Aubrey, "Remaines," 197; "North Indian +Notes and Queries," ii. 215. + +[665] "Mythology of the Aryan Nations," ii. 219 sq. + +[666] "Notes," 264. + +[667] "Folk-lore," iv. 350. + +[668] Grimm, "Teutonic Mythology," iii. 977. + +[669] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 354. + +[670] Robertson-Smith, "Kinship," 196 sq. + +[671] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 12, 42, 60; ii. 29; +iii. 161; Grimm, "Household Tales," i. 367; ii. 428, 573. + +[672] McLennan, "Fortnightly Review," vi. 582. + +[673] Knowles, "Kashmîr Folk-tales," 449. + +[674] Brand, "Observations," 699. + +[675] Rhys, "Lectures," 175. + +[676] Ferguson, "History of Indian Architecture," 54; Tennent, +"Ceylon," i. 484. + +[677] Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," ii. 307 sqq. + +[678] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 177. + +[679] Hislop, "Papers," 6. + +[680] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 178. + +[681] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 105. + +[682] Brand, "Observations," 701. + +[683] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 272. + +[684] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 81; "North Indian Notes and +Queries," iii. 162. + +[685] "Zoological Mythology," i. 375. + +[686] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 18. + +[687] Temple, "Wideawake Stories," 139, 205, 255 sqq. + +[688] "Folk-lore," iii. 342. + +[689] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 4, 38. + +[690] Rhys, "Lectures," 553. + +[691] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 238 sq. + +[692] Rousselet, "India and its Native Princes," 402; "North Indian +Notes and Queries," i. 76; ii. 57, 93; iii. 130. + +[693] Atkinson, "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 380, 775. + +[694] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 24, 207; ii. 599. + +[695] Knowles, "Folk-tales," 27, 158. + +[696] Cox, "Mythology of the Aryan Nations," i. 292, note; ii. 25 sq. + +[697] Hartland, "Science of Fairy Tales," 65. + +[698] Buchanan, "Eastern India," iii. 532. + +[699] Grimm, "Household Tales," ii. 407. + +[700] Tawney, loc. cit., ii. 271. + +[701] "Gloucestershire Folk-lore," 9. + +[702] Tawney, loc. cit., ii. 594; Grimm, loc. cit., i. 357. + +[703] Hunt, "Popular Romances," 130. + +[704] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 8. + +[705] Brand, "Observations," 685. + +[706] "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 39. + +[707] Buchanan, "Eastern India," ii. 157. + +[708] Dyer, "Popular Customs," 270. + +[709] For the European witch, consult among other authorities Scott, +"Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft," passim; Chambers, "Book of +Days," i. 356 sq.; Gregor, "Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 69 sq.; +Conway, "Demonology," ii. 317, 327; Lubbock, "Origin of Civilization," +245 sq. + +[710] "Asiatic Studies," 79 sqq., 89 sqq. + +[711] "Etruscan Roman Remains," 155. + +[712] Chambers, "Popular Rhymes of Scotland," 23. + +[713] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 14. + +[714] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," i. 289. + +[715] Tylor, "Primitive Culture," ii. 176; Tawney, loc. cit., i. 375. + +[716] Temple, "Wideawake Stories," 395; Tawney, loc. cit., i. 157, +159, 289, 340; ii. 164, 240; Brand, "Observations," 589; Rhys, +"Lectures," 199: Hunt. "Popular Romances," 327. + +[717] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 150; Hunt, loc. cit., 328. + +[718] Dyer, "Popular Customs," 395; Tawney, loc. cit., i. 313. + +[719] "Bombay Gazetteer," iv. 27; Temple, "Legends of the Panjâb," +iii. 13. + +[720] Loc. cit., 3. + +[721] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 323. + +[722] Campbell, "Notes," 203 sq. + +[723] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 78. + +[724] "Lectures," 516 sq. + +[725] Malcolm, "Central India," ii. 212. + +[726] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 290. + +[727] "Notes," 257 sq. + +[728] Tylor, "Primitive Culture," i. 312 sqq.; Henderson, "Folk-lore +of the Northern Counties," 201 sq. + +[729] Balfour, "Cyclopædia," i. 961; Lyall, "Asiatic Studies," 85; +"Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 7. + +[730] Tylor, "Early History," 276. + +[731] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 218. + +[732] "Rambles and Recollections," i. 84 sqq. + +[733] "Central India," ii. 216. + +[734] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 151. + +[735] Leland, loc. cit., 221. + +[736] Brand, "Observations," 609. + +[737] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 252. + +[738] Malcolm, "Central India," ii. 214, note. + +[739] Leland, loc. cit., 57; Brand, loc. cit., 740; Clouston, +"Popular Tales," i. 177. + +[740] Tod, "Annals," ii. 106. + +[741] "Natural History," vii. 2. + +[742] Tod, "Annals," ii. 638; Malcolm, loc. cit., ii. 212. + +[743] Temple, "Legends of the Panjâb," i. Introduction, xxi; "Wideawake +Stories," 429. + +[744] "Oriental Memoirs," ii. 374 sq. + +[745] "Central Provinces Gazetteer," 110 sq. + +[746] Ibid., 39. + +[747] "Reports Nizâmat Adâlat," 14th December, 1854. + +[748] "Berâr Gazetteer," 197. + +[749] Hartland, "Legend of Perseus," i. 98. + +[750] Knowles, "Folk-tales," 77. + +[751] Dyer, "Popular Customs," 164; Brand, "Observations," 108, 341. + +[752] Campbell, Notes," 83. + +[753] "Folk-lore," ii. 290; Gregor, "Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," +188; Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 201, 218 sq., +244; Aubrey, "Remaines," 247; Farrer, "Primitive Manners," 290 sq. + +[754] "Central Provinces Gazetteer," 157. + +[755] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 199. + +[756] Spencer, "Principles of Sociology," i. 240. + +[757] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," ii. 6. + +[758] See Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 199. + +[759] Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 32; Gregor, +"Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 183. + +[760] Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. 221. + +[761] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 7. + +[762] Lady Wilde, "Legends," 197, 206. See instances collected by +Hartland, "Legend of Perseus," ii. 64 sq. + +[763] Aubrey, "Remaines," 11; and for examples of similar practices +see Sir W. Scott, "Letters on Demonology," 273; Spencer, "Principles +of Sociology," i. 243; Tylor, "Primitive Culture," i. 116; ii. 149; +Lubbock, "Origin of Civilization," 241, 244; Henderson, loc. cit., +148; Farrer, "Primitive Manners," 287; Oldenberg, "Grihya Sûtras," +i. 57.; Hartland, "Legend of Perseus," ii. 70 sq. + +[764] "Qânûn-i-Islâm," 222 sq. + +[765] Hunt, "Popular Romances," 320. + +[766] "Letters on Demonology," 273; "Remaines," 61, 228; "Folk-lore," +iii. 385; iv. 256; Miss Cox, "Cinderella," 491. + +[767] Ward, "Hindus," i. 100; Temple, "Legends of the Panjâb," +i. Introduction, xvii; and compare Tawney, "Katha Sarit Sâgara," ii. + +[768] "Folk-lore," i. 157; Hartland, "Legend of Perseus," ii. 78. + +[769] "Hoshangâbâd Settlement Report," 287. + +[770] Malcolm, "Central India," ii. 212 sq. + +[771] "Central Provinces Gazetteer," 39, 157. + +[772] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 199. + +[773] Chevers, "Indian Medical Jurisprudence," 546 sq. + +[774] Ibid., 12, note, 14, note, 393, 488, 492, note, 493, 514; Ball, +"Jungle Life," 115 sq.; "Calcutta Review," v. 52. + +[775] "Folk-lore," ii. 293; Hunt, "Popular Romances," 315. + +[776] Tylor, "Primitive Culture," i. 113. + +[777] Yule, "Marco Polo," i. 172, 175, with note; ii. 41; Sir W. Scott, +"Letters on Demonology," 68 sq. + +[778] Campbell, "Notes," 141. + +[779] "Eastern India," ii. 108, 445. + +[780] Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," ii. 202; Growse, "Mathura," +53. + +[781] "Oudh Gazetteer," iii. 480. + +[782] Hartland, "Science of Fairy Tales," 270 sqq. + +[783] Frazer, "Golden Bough;" Gomme, "Ethnology in Folk-lore;" +Mannhardt, "Wald- und Feldkulte." + +[784] Leland, "Etruscan Roman Remains," 96. + +[785] Campbell, "Notes," 89. + +[786] On the rule against giving fire from his house, see Hartland, +"Legend of Perseus," ii. 94. + +[787] Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 74; "Folk-lore," +iii. 12, 84, 90; Dyer, "Popular Customs," 14; Lady Wilde, "Legends," +103, 106, 203. + +[788] "Gazetteer," iii. 237. + +[789] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 95. + +[790] "Settlement Report," 123 sq. + +[791] Atkinson, "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 856. + +[792] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 196. + +[793] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 198. + +[794] "Observations," 316. + +[795] Chambers, "Book of Days," i. 94 sqq.; Aubrey "Remaines," 40 sq. + +[796] Cunningham, "Archæological Reports," ii. 455. + +[797] Atkinson, loc. cit., ii. 886. + +[798] "Golden Bough," i. 249. + +[799] "Hoshangâbâd Settlement Report," 124; Atkinson, loc. cit., +ii. 870; "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iv. 197. + +[800] "Household Tales," ii. 276. + +[801] Ibbetson, "Panjâb Ethnography," 120. + +[802] Blochmann, "Aîn-i-Akbari," i. 217. + +[803] Wright, "Cawnpur Memorandum," 105; Buchanan, "Eastern India," +i. 194. + +[804] "Settlement Report," 17. + +[805] "Folk-lore," ii. 303; Brand, "Observations," 7; Rhys, +"Lectures," 520. + +[806] "North Indian Notes and Queries," ii. 92. + +[807] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," i. 290. + +[808] "Berâr Gazetteer," 207. + +[809] Tod, "Annals," i. 631. + +[810] Gubernatis, "Zoological Mythology," i. 51. + +[811] "Remaines," 40; Brand, "Observations," 17. + +[812] Campbell, "Notes," 376. + +[813] "Bareilly Settlement Report," 93 sq. + +[814] Sleeman, "Rambles and Recollections," i. 235, 240. + +[815] "Bareilly Settlement Report," 93. + +[816] "Folk-lore," i. 163. + +[817] "Rambles and Recollections," i. 248. + +[818] "Settlement Report," 256. + +[819] "North Indian Notes and Queries," ii. 64. + +[820] Frazer, "Golden Bough," ii. 131. + +[821] Risley, "Tribes and Castes," i. 72. + +[822] "Folk-lore," iii. 321. + +[823] Frazer, "Golden Bough," ii. 122. + +[824] "Remaines," 9; Brand, "Observations," 118. + +[825] "Bareilly Settlement Report," 93. + +[826] "Karnâl Settlement Report," 151. + +[827] "Bareilly Settlement Report," 93; "North Indian Notes and +Queries," iii. 94; and compare Tylor, "Primitive Culture," ii. 40; +Lady Wilde, "Legends," 199. + +[828] Frazer, "Golden Bough," iii. 94. + +[829] "Bareilly Settlement Report," 87 sq. + +[830] "Karnâl Settlement Report," 183. + +[831] "Settlement Report," 78. + +[832] "Golden Bough," i. 333 sqq.; Brand, "Observations," 311; +Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 87; "Folk-lore," +iv. 123; Hunt, "Popular Romances," 385. + +[833] "Panjâb Notes and Queries," iii. 56. + +[834] "North Indian Notes and Queries," i. 57. + +[835] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 213. + +[836] "Settlement Report," 78 sq. + +[837] "Karnâl Settlement Report," 173. + +[838] "Settlement Report," 78. + +[839] Conway, "Demonology," ii. 117. + +[840] "Karnâl Settlement Report," 174. + +[841] Dyer, "Popular Customs," 17, 90, 199, 384. + +[842] Hislop, "Papers," 22. + +[843] Führer, "Monumental Antiquities," 118. + +[844] Buchanan, "Eastern India," ii. 480; Wilson, "Essays," ii 233; +Atkinson, "Himâlayan Gazetteer," ii. 867 sq.; "Panjâb Notes and +Queries," iii. 127; Growse, "Mathura," 56. + +[845] "Golden Bough," ii. 246; and see Conway, "Demonology," i. 65 +sqq.; Henderson, "Folk-lore of the Northern Counties," 72 sqq.; Gregor, +"Folk-lore of North-East Scotland," 167 sq.; Brand, "Observations," +165 sqq. + +[846] Frazer, "Golden Bough," ii. 268. + +[847] "Mathura," 84 sq. + +[848] Dyer, "Popular Customs," 414. + +[849] Hunt, "Popular Romances," 208; "Folk-lore," i. 520; ii. 128; +Dyer, loc. cit., 234. + +[850] "Annals," i. 599 sq. + +[851] Dyer, loc. cit., 52. + +[852] Wright, "History," 41. + +[853] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 92. + +[854] "Folk-lore," ii. 178; "Herodotus," ii. 58. + +[855] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 184. + +[856] Ibid., iii. 17, 99. + +[857] "Indian Antiquary," xi. 297. + +[858] "North Indian Notes and Queries," iii. 24. + +[859] "Hoshangâbâd Settlement Report," 126 sq. + +[860] "Bombay Gazetteer," vi. 29. + +[861] Dyer, "Popular Customs," 32, 75, 85, 353 sq. + +[862] Dalton, "Descriptive Ethnology," 196 sq. + +[863] "Primitive Culture," i. 22 sq. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of +Northern India, Vol. II (of 2), by W. Crooke + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 43682 *** |