{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_35690/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_35690","id":"gutenberg_35690","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35690","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Dravidians -- Folklore","Folklore -- India","Occultism -- India, South","Omens","Superstition -- India, South"],"text":"</pre>\n\n\n\nProduced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project\nGutenberg.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n               OMENS AND SUPERSTITIONS OF SOUTHERN INDIA\n\n                                   By\n\n                         EDGAR THURSTON, C.I.E.\n\n   Sometime superintendent of the Madras Government Museum and of the\n              Ethnographic Survey of the Madras Presidency\n\n\n                            T. Fisher Unwin\n                        London: Adelphi Terrace\n                        Leipsic: Inselstrasse 20\n                                  1912\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThis book deals mainly with some aspects of what may be termed\nthe psychical life of the inhabitants of the Madras Presidency,\nand the Native States of Travancore and Cochin. In my \"Ethnographic\nNotes in Southern India\" (1906), I stated that the confused chapter\ndevoted to omens, animal superstitions, evil eye, charms, sorcery,\netc., was a mere outline sketch of a group of subjects, which, if\nworked up, would furnish material for a volume. This chapter has\nnow been remodelled, and supplemented by notes collected since its\npublication, and information which lies buried in the seven bulky\nvolumes of my encyclopaedic \"Castes and Tribes of Southern India\"\n(1909). The area dealt with (roughly, 182,000 square miles, with\na population of 47,800,000) is so vast that I have had perforce to\nsupplement the personal knowledge acquired in the course of wandering\nexpeditions in various parts of Southern India, and in other ways, by\nrecourse to the considerable mass of information, which is hidden away\nin official reports, gazetteers, journals of societies, books, etc.\n\nTo the many friends and correspondents, European and Indian, who have\nhelped me in the accumulation of facts, and those whose writings I\nhave made liberal use of, I would once more express collectively,\nand with all sincerity, my great sense of indebtedness. My thanks\nare due to Mr L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer for supplying me with the\nillustrations of Malabar yantrams.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                            Page\n    I.    Omens                               13\n    II.   Animal Superstitions                73\n    III.  The Evil Eye                       109\n    IV.   Snake Worship                      121\n    V.    Vows, Votive and other Offerings   137\n    VI.   Charms                             180\n    VII.  Human Sacrifice                    199\n    VIII. Magic and Human Life               224\n    IX.   Magic and Magicians                237\n    X.    Divination and Fortune-Telling     273\n    XI.   Some Agricultural Ceremonies       289\n    XII.  Rain-Making Ceremonies             305\n          Index                              312\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\nMalayan Exorcist with Fowl in Mouth (see p. 246)         Frontispiece\n                                                                 Page\nSacred Vultures, Tirukazhukunram                                   86\nEvil Eye Figures, Malabar                                         112\nEvil Eye Figures Set Up in Fields                                 114\nImpressions of Hand on Wall of House                              119\nPraying for Offspring before Lingam, Snake-Stones, and Figure of\nGanesa                                                            124\nPulluvan with Pot-Drum                                            129\nVettuvans Wearing Leafy Garments                                  152\nSilver Votive Offerings                                           160\nClay and Metal Offerings, South Canara                            162\nSubramaniya Yantram                                               185\nHanuman Yantram                                                   186\nMeriah Sacrifice Post                                             202\nJumadi Bhutha, South Canara                                       237\nFigure Washed Ashore at Calicut                                   249\nKorava Woman Telling Fortune                                      283\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOMENS AND SUPERSTITIONS OF SOUTHERN INDIA\n\n\nI\n\nOMENS\n\n\nIn seeking for omens, Natives consult the so-called science of omens\nor science of the five birds, and are guided by them. Selected omens\nare always included in native calendars or panchangams.\n\nTo the quivering and throbbing of various parts of the body as omens,\nrepeated reference is made in the Hindu classics. Thus, in Kalidasa's\nSakuntala, King Dushyanta says: \"This hermitage is tranquil, and yet\nmy arm throbs. Whence can there be any result from this in such a\nplace? But yet the gates of destiny are everywhere.\" Again, Sakuntala\nsays: \"Alas! why does my right eye throb?\" to which Gautami replies:\n\"Child, the evil be averted. May the tutelary deities of your husband's\nfamily confer happy prospects!\" In the Raghuvamsa, the statement occurs\nthat \"the son of Paulastya, being greatly incensed, drove an arrow\ndeep into his right arm, which was throbbing, and which, therefore,\nprognosticated his union with Sita.\" A quivering sensation in the\nright arm is supposed to indicate marriage with a beautiful woman;\nin the right eye some good luck.\n\nDuring a marriage among the Telugu Tottiyans, who have settled in\nthe Tamil country, a red ram without blemish is sacrificed. It is\nfirst sprinkled with water, and, if it shivers, this is considered\na good omen. It is recorded, [1] in connection with the legends of\nthe Badagas of the Nilgiris, that \"in the heart of the Banagudi shola\n(grove), not far from the Dodduru group of cromlechs, is an odd little\nshrine to Karairaya, within which are a tiny cromlech, some sacred\nwater-worn stones, and sundry little pottery images representing\na tiger, a mounted man, and some dogs. These keep in memory, it is\nsaid, a Badaga who was slain in combat with a tiger; and annually\na festival is held, at which new images are placed there, and vows\nare paid. A Kurumba (jungle tribe) makes fire by friction, and burns\nincense, throws sanctified water over the numerous goats brought to\nbe sacrificed, to see if they will shiver in the manner always held\nnecessary in sacrificed victims, and then slays, one after the other,\nthose which have shown themselves duly qualified.\"\n\nIn many villages, during the festival to the village deity, water is\npoured over a sheep's back, and it is accepted as a good sign if it\nshivers. \"When the people are economical, they keep on pouring water\ntill it does shiver, to avoid the expense of providing a second victim\nfor sacrifice. But, where they are more scrupulous, if it does not\nshiver, it is taken as a sign that the goddess will not accept it,\nand it is taken away.\" [2]\n\nBefore the thieving Koravas set out on a predatory expedition, a goat\nis decorated, and taken to a shrine. It is then placed before the idol,\nwhich is asked whether the expedition will be successful. If the body\nof the animal quivers, it is regarded as an answer in the affirmative;\nif it does not, the expedition is abandoned.\n\nIf, in addition to quivering, the animal urinates, no better sign\ncould be looked for. Thieves though they are, the Koravas make it a\npoint of honour to pay for the goat used in the ceremony. It is said\nthat, in seeking omens from the quivering of an animal, a very liberal\ninterpretation is put on the slightest movement. It is recorded by\nBishop Whitehead [3] that, when an animal has been sacrificed to the\ngoddess Nukalamma at Coconada, its head is put before the shrine,\nand water poured on it. If the mouth opens, it is accepted as a sign\nthat the sacrifice is accepted.\n\nAt the death ceremonies of the Idaiyans of Coimbatore, a cock is tied\nto a sacrificial post, to which rice is offered. One end of a thread\nis tied to the post, and the other end to a new cloth. The thread is\nwatched till it shakes, and then broken. The cock is then killed.\n\nOf omens, both good and bad, in Malabar, the following comprehensive\nlist is given by Mr Logan [4]:--\n\n\n    \"Good.--Crows, pigeons, etc., and beasts as deer, etc., moving\n    from left to right, and dogs and jackals moving inversely, and\n    other beasts found similarly and singly; wild crow, ruddy goose,\n    mungoose, goat, and peacock seen singly or in couples either at\n    the right or left. A rainbow seen on the right and left, or behind,\n    prognosticates good, but the reverse if seen in front. Buttermilk,\n    raw rice, puttalpira (Trichosanthes anguina, snake-gourd),\n    priyangu flower, honey, ghi (clarified butter); red cotton juice,\n    antimony sulphurate, metal mug, bell ringing, lamp, lotus, karuka\n    grass, raw fish, flesh, flour, ripe fruits, sweetmeats, gems,\n    sandalwood, elephants, pots filled with water, a virgin, a couple\n    of Brahmans, Rajas, respectable men, white flower, white yak tail,\n    [5] white cloth, and white horse. Chank shell (Turbinella rapa),\n    flagstaff, turban, triumphal arch, fruitful soil, burning fire,\n    elegant eatables or drinkables, carts with men in, cows with\n    their young, mares, bulls or cows with ropes tied to their necks,\n    palanquin, swans, peacock and crane warbling sweetly. Bracelets,\n    looking-glass, mustard, bezoar, any substance of white colour,\n    the bellowing of oxen, auspicious words, harmonious human voice,\n    such sounds made by birds or beasts, the uplifting of umbrellas,\n    hailing exclamations, sound of harp, flute, timbrel, tabor,\n    and other instruments of music, sounds of hymns of consecration\n    and Vedic recitations, gentle breeze all round at the time of\n    a journey.\n\n    \"Bad.--Men deprived of their limbs, lame or blind, a corpse\n    or wearer of a cloth put on a corpse, coir (cocoanut fibre),\n    broken vessels, hearing of words expressive of breaking, burning,\n    destroying, etc.; the alarming cry of alas! alas! loud screams,\n    cursing, trembling, sneezing, the sight of a man in sorrow,\n    one with a stick, a barber, a widow, pepper, and other pungent\n    substances. A snake, cat, iguana (Varanus), blood-sucker (lizard),\n    or monkey passing across the road, vociferous beasts such as\n    jackals, dogs, and kites, loud crying from the east, buffalo,\n    donkey, or temple bull, black grains, salt, liquor, hide, grass,\n    dirt, faggots, iron, flowers used for funeral ceremonies, a eunuch,\n    ruffian, outcaste, vomit, excrement, stench, any horrible figure,\n    bamboo, cotton, lead, cot, stool or other vehicle carried with legs\n    upward, dishes, cups, etc., with mouth downwards, vessels filled\n    with live coals, which are broken and not burning, broomstick,\n    ashes, winnow, hatchet.\"\n\n\nIn the category of good omens among the Nayars of Travancore,\nare placed the elephant, a pot full of water, sweetmeats, fruit,\nfish, and flesh, images of gods, kings, a cow with its calf, married\nwomen, tied bullocks, gold lamps, ghi, and milk. In the list of bad\nomens come a donkey, broom, buffalo, untied bullock, barber, widow,\npatient, cat, washerman. The worst of all omens is to allow a cat\nto cross one's path. An odd number of Nayars, and an even number of\nBrahmans, are good omens, the reverse being particularly bad. On the\nVinayakachaturthi day in the month of Avani, no man is allowed to\nlook at the rising moon, on penalty of incurring unmerited obloquy.\n\nBy the Pulayas of Travancore, it is considered lucky to see another\nPulaya, a Native Christian, an Izhuva with a vessel in the hand, a\ncow behind, or a boat containing sacks of rice. On the other hand,\nit is regarded as a very bad omen to be crossed by a cat, to see a\nfight between animals, a person with a bundle of clothes, or to meet\npeople carrying steel instruments.\n\nIt is a good omen for the day if, when he gets up in the morning,\na man sees any of the following:--his wife's face, the lines on the\npalm of his right hand, his face in a mirror, the face of a rich man,\nthe tail of a black cow, the face of a black monkey, or his rice\nfields. There is a legend that Sita used to rise early, and present\nherself, bathed and well dressed, before her lord Rama, so that he\nmight gaze on her face, and be lucky during the day. This custom is\ncarried out by all good housewives in Hindu families. A fair skinned\nParaiyan, or a dark skinned Brahman, should not, in accordance with\na proverb, be seen the first thing in the morning.\n\nHindus are very particular about catching sight of some auspicious\nobject on the morning of New Year's Day, as the effects of omens\nseen on that occasion are believed to last throughout the year. Of\nthe Vishu festival, held in celebration of the New Year in Malabar,\nthe following account is given by Mr Gopal Panikkar. [6]\n\n\"Being the commencement of a new year, native superstition surrounds\nit with a peculiarly solemn importance. It is believed that a\nman's whole prosperity in life depends upon the nature, auspicious\nor otherwise, of the first things that he happens to fix his eyes\nupon on this particular morning. According to Nair, and even general\nHindu mythology, there are certain objects which possess an inherent\ninauspicious character. For instance, ashes, firewood, oil, and a lot\nof similar objects, are inauspicious ones, which will render him who\nchances to notice them first fare badly in life for the whole year,\nand their obnoxious effects will be removed only on his seeing holy\nthings, such as reigning princes, oxen, cows, gold, and such like,\non the morning of the next new year. The effects of the sight of\nthese various materials are said to apply even to the attainment\nof objects by a man starting on a special errand, who happens for\nthe first time to look at them after starting. However, with this\nview, almost every family religiously takes care to prepare the\nmost sightworthy objects on the new year morning. Therefore, on the\nprevious night, they prepare what is known as a kani. A small circular\nbell-metal vessel is taken, and some holy objects are arranged inside\nit. A grandha or old book made of palmyra leaves, a gold ornament,\na new-washed cloth, some 'unprofitably gay' flowers of the konna tree\n(Cassia Fistula), a measure of rice, a so-called looking-glass made\nof bell-metal, and a few other things, are all tastefully arranged\nin the vessel, and placed in a prominent room inside the house. On\neither side of this vessel, two brass or bell-metal lamps, filled\nwith cocoanut oil clear as diamond sparks, are kept burning, and a\nsmall plank of wood, or some other seat, is placed in front of it. At\nabout five o'clock in the morning of the day, some one who has got\nup first wakes the inmates, both male and female, of the house, and\ntakes them blindfolded, so that they may not gaze at anything else,\nto the seat near the kani. The members are seated, one after another,\nin the seat, and are then, and not till then, asked to open their eyes,\nand carefully look at the kani. Then each is made to look at some\nvenerable member of the house, or sometimes a stranger even. This\nover, the little playful urchins of the house fire small crackers\nwhich they have bought for the occasion. The kani is then taken round\nthe place from house to house, for the benefit of the poor families,\nwhich cannot afford to prepare such a costly adornment.\"\n\n\n\nI gather further, in connection with the Vishu festival, that it is\nthe duty of every devout Hindu to see the village deity the first of\nall things in the morning. For this purpose, many sleep within the\ntemple precincts, and those who sleep in their own houses are escorted\nthither by those who have been the first to make their obeisance. Many\ngo to see the image with their eyes shut, and sometimes bound with\na cloth. [7]\n\nIf a person places the head towards the east when sleeping, he will\nobtain wealth and health; if towards the south, a lengthening of life;\nif towards the west, fame; if towards the north, sickness. The last\nposition, therefore, should be avoided. [8] In the Telugu country, when\na child is roused from sleep by a thunderclap, the mother, pressing\nit to her breast, murmurs, \"Arjuna Sahadeva.\" The invocation implies\nthe idea that thunder is caused by the Mahabharata heroes, Arjuna\nand Sahadeva. [9] To dream of a temple car in motion, foretells the\ndeath of a near relative. Night, but not day dreams, are considered\nas omens for good or evil. Among those which are auspicious, may be\nmentioned riding on a cow, bull, or elephant, entering a temple or\npalace, a golden horse, climbing a mountain or tree, drinking liquor,\neating flesh, curds and rice, wearing white cloths, or jewelry set\nwith precious stones, being dressed in white cloths, and embracing\na woman, whose body is smeared with sandal paste. A person will be\ncured of sickness if he dreams of Braahmans, kings, flowers, jewels,\nwomen, or a looking-glass. Wealth is ensured by a dream that one\nis bitten in the shade by a snake, or stung by a scorpion. One who\ndreams that he has been bitten by a snake is considered to be proof\nagainst snake-bite; and if he dreams of a cobra, his wife or some\nnear relative is believed to have conceived. Hindu wives believe that\nto tell their husband's name, or pronounce it even in a dream, would\nbring him to an untimely end. If a person has an auspicious dream,\nhe should get up and not go to sleep again. But, if the dream is of\nevil omen, he should pray that he may be spared from its ill effects,\nand may go to sleep again.\n\nThe arrival of a guest is foreshadowed by the hissing noise of the\noven, the slipping of a winnow during winnowing, or of a measure\nwhen measuring rice. If one dines with a friend or relation on\nMonday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday, it is well; if on a Tuesday,\nill-feeling will ensue; if on a Thursday, endless enmity; if on a\nSunday, hatred. While eating, one should face east, west, south,\nor north, according as one wishes for long life, fame, to become\nvainglorious, or for justice or truth. Evil is foreshadowed if a\nlight goes out during meals, or while some auspicious thing, such,\nfor example, as a marriage, is being discussed. A feast given to\nthe jungle Paliyans by some missionaries was marred at the outset\nby the unfortunate circumstance that betel and tobacco were placed\nby the side of the food, these articles being of evil omen as they\nare placed in the grave with the dead. Chewing a single areca nut,\nalong with betel leaf secures vigour, two nuts are inauspicious,\nthree are excellent, and more bring indifferent luck. The basal\nportion of the betel leaf must be rejected, as it produces disease;\nthe apical part, as it induces sin; and the midrib and veins, as they\ndestroy the intellect. A leaf on which chunam (lime) has been kept,\nshould be avoided, as it may shorten life.\n\nBefore the Koyis shift their quarters, they consult the omens, to see\nwhether the change will be auspicious or not. Sometimes the hatching\nof a clutch of eggs provides the answer, or four grains of four kinds\nof seed, representing the prosperity of men, cattle, sheep, and land,\nare put on a heap of ashes under a man's bed. Any movement among them\nduring the night is a bad omen. [10]\n\nWhen a Kondh starts on a shooting expedition, if he first meets an\nadult female, married or unmarried, he will return home, and ask a\nchild to tell the females to keep out of the way. He will then make\na fresh start, and, if he meets a female, will wave his hand to her\nas a sign that she must keep clear of him. The Kondh believes that,\nif he sees a female, he will not come across animals in the jungle\nto shoot. If a woman is in her menses, her husband, brothers, and\nsons living under the same roof, will not go out shooting for the\nsame reason.\n\nIt is noted by Mr F. Fawcett [11] that it is considered unlucky by\nthe Koravas, when starting on a dacoity or housebreaking, \"to see\nwidows, pots of milk, dogs urinating, a man leading a bull, or a\nbull bellowing. On the other hand, it is downright lucky when a bull\nbellows at the scene of the criminal operation. To see a man goading\na bull is a good omen when starting, and a bad one at the scene. The\neighteenth day of the Tamil month, Avani, is the luckiest day of\nall for committing crimes. A successful criminal exploit on this day\nensures good luck throughout the year. Sundays, which are auspicious\nfor weddings, are inauspicious for crimes. Mondays, Wednesdays,\nand Saturdays are unlucky until noon for starting out from home. So,\ntoo, is the day after new moon.\" Fridays are unsuitable for breaking\ninto the houses of Brahmans or Komatis, as they may be engaged in\nworshipping Ankalamma, to whom the day is sacred.\n\nSome Boyas in the Bellary district enjoy inam (rent free) lands, in\nreturn for propitiating the village goddesses by a rite called bhuta\nbali, which is intended to secure the prosperity of the village. The\nBoya priest gets himself shaved at about midnight, sacrifices a sheep\nor buffalo, mixes its blood with rice, and distributes the rice thus\nprepared in small balls throughout the village. When he starts on this\nbusiness, all the villagers bolt their doors, as it is not considered\nauspicious to see him then.\n\nWhen a student starts for the examination hall, he will, if he sees\na widow or a Brahman, retrace his steps, and start again after the\nlapse of a few minutes. Meeting two Brahmans would indicate good luck,\nand he would proceed on his way full of hope.\n\nIf, when a person is leaving his house, the head or feet strike\naccidentally against the threshold, he should not go out, as it\nforebodes some impending mischief. Sometimes, when a person returns\nhome from a distance, especially at night, he is kept standing at the\ndoor, and, after he has washed his hands and feet, an elderly female\nor servant of the house brings a shallow plate full of water mixed\nwith lime juice and chunam (lime), with some chillies and pieces\nof charcoal floating on it. The plate is carried three times round\nthe person, and the contents are then thrown into the street without\nbeing seen by the man. He then enters the house. If a person knocks at\nthe door of a house in the night once, twice, or thrice, it will not\nbe opened. If the knock is repeated a fourth time, the door will be\nopened without fear, for the evil spirit is said to knock only thrice.\n\nA tickling sensation in the sole of the right foot foretells that\nthe person has to go on a journey. The omens are favourable if any\nof the following are met with by one who is starting on a journey,\nor special errand:--\n\n\n    Married woman.\n    Virgin.\n    Prostitute.\n    Two Brahmans.\n    Playing of music.\n    One carrying musical instruments.\n    Money.\n    Fruit or flowers.\n    A light, or clear blazing fire.\n    Umbrella.\n    Cooked food.\n    Milk or curds.\n    Cow.\n    Deer.\n    Corpse.\n    Two fishes.\n    Recital of Vedas.\n    Sound of drum or horn.\n    Spirituous liquor.\n    Bullock.\n    Mutton.\n    Precious stones.\n    One bearing a silver armlet.\n    Sandalwood.\n    Rice.\n    Elephant.\n    Horse.\n    Pot full of water.\n    Married woman carrying a water-pot from a tank.\n    Pot of toddy.\n    Black monkey.\n    Dog.\n    Royal eagle.\n    Parrot.\n    Honey.\n    Hearing kind words.\n    A Gazula Balija with his pile of bangles on his back.\n\n\nIf, on similar occasions, a person comes across any of the following,\nthe omens are unfavourable:--\n\n\n    Widow.\n    Lightning.\n    Fuel.\n    Smoky fire.\n    Hare.\n    Crow flying from right to left.\n    Snake.\n    New pot.\n    Blind man.\n    Lame man.\n    Sick man.\n    Salt.\n    Tiger.\n    Pot of oil.\n    Leather.\n    Dog barking on a housetop.\n    Bundle of sticks.\n    Buttermilk.\n    Empty vessel.\n    A quarrel.\n    Man with dishevelled hair.\n    Oilman.\n    Leper.\n    Mendicant.\n\n\nSometimes people leave their house, and sleep elsewhere on the\nnight preceding an inauspicious day, on which a journey is to be\nmade. Unlucky days for starting on a journey are vara-sulai, or days\non which Siva's trident (sula) is kept on the ground. The direction\nin which it lies, varies according to the day of the week. For\nexample, Sunday before noon is a bad time to start towards the west,\nas the trident is turned that way. It is said to be unlucky to go\nwestward on Friday or Sunday, eastward on Monday or Saturday, north\non Tuesday or Wednesday, south on Thursday. A journey begun on Tuesday\nis liable to result in loss by thieves or fire at home. Loss, too, is\nlikely to follow a journey begun on Saturday, and sickness a start on\nSunday. Wednesday and Friday are both propitious days, and a journey\nbegun on either with a view to business will be lucrative. The worst\ndays for travelling are Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday. [12] On more\nthan one occasion, a subordinate in my office overstayed his leave\non the ground that his guru (spiritual preceptor) told him that the\nday on which he should have returned was an unlucky one for a journey.\n\nIf a traveller sees a hare on his way, he may be sure that he will\nnot succeed in the object of his journey. If, however, the hare\ntouches him, and he does not at once turn back and go home, he is\ncertain to meet with a great misfortune. There is an authority for\nthis superstition in the Ramayana. After Rama had recovered Sita and\nreturned to Ayodha, he was informed that, whilst a washerman and his\nwife were quarrelling, the former had exclaimed that he was not such\na fool as the king had been to take back his wife after she had been\ncarried away by a stranger. Rama thought this over, and resolved to\nsend his wife into the forest. His brother, Lutchmana, was to drive\nher there, and then to leave her alone. On their way they met a hare,\nand Sita, who was ignorant of the purpose of the journey, begged\nLutchmana to return, as the omen was a bad one. [13]\n\nIf a dog scratches its body, a traveller will fall ill; if it lies down\nand wags its tail, some disaster will follow. To one proceeding on a\njourney, a dog crossing the path from right to left is auspicious. But,\nif it gets on his person or his feet, shaking its ears, the journey\nwill be unlucky.\n\nA person should postpone an errand on which he is starting, if he\nsees a cobra or rat-snake. In a recent judicial case, a witness gave\nevidence to the effect that he was starting on a journey, and when he\nhad proceeded a short way, a snake crossed the road. This being an\nevil omen, he went back and put off his journey till the following\nday. On his way he passed through a village in which some men had\nbeen arrested for murder, and found that one of two men, whom he had\npromised to accompany and had gone on without him, had been murdered.\n\nSneezing once is a good sign; twice, a bad sign. When a child sneezes,\nthose near it usually say \"dirgayus\" (long life), or \"sathayus\" (a\nhundred years). The rishi or sage Markandeya, who was remarkable for\nhis austerities and great age, is also known as Dirgayus. Adults who\nsneeze pronounce the name of some god, the common expression being\n\"Srimadrangam.\" When a Badaga baby is born, it is a good omen if\nthe father sneezes before the umbilical cord has been cut, and an\nevil one if he sneezes after its severance. In the Teluga country it\nis believed that a child who sneezes on a winnowing fan, or on the\ndoor-frame, will meet with misfortune unless balls of boiled rice are\nthrown over it; and a man who sneezes during his meal, especially at\nnight, will also be unlucky unless water is sprinkled over his face,\nand he is made to pronounce his own name, and that of his birthplace\nand his patron deity. [14]\n\nGaping is an indication that evil spirits have effected an entrance\ninto the body. Hence many Brahmans, when they gape, snap their fingers\nas a preventive. [15] When a great man yawns, his sleep is promoted by\nall the company with him snapping their fingers with great vehemence,\nand making a singular noise. It was noted by Alberuni [16] that Hindus\n\"spit out and blow their noses without any respect for the elder ones\npresent, and crack their lice before them. They consider the crepitus\nventris as a good omen, sneezing as a bad omen.\" In Travancore, a\ncourtier must cover the mouth with the right hand, lest his breath\nshould pollute the king or other superior. Also, at the temples,\na low-caste man must wear a bandage over his nose and mouth, so\nthat his breath may not pollute the idols. [17] A Kudumi woman in\nTravancore, at the menstrual period, should stand at a distance of\nseven feet, closing her mouth and nostrils with the palm of her hand,\nas her breath would have a contaminating effect. Her shadow, too,\nshould not fall on any one.\n\nA Kumbara potter, when engaged in the manufacture of the pot or\nhousehold deity for the Kurubas, should cover his mouth with a bandage,\nso that his breath may not defile it. The Koragas of South Canara are\nsaid to be regarded with such intense loathing that, up to quite recent\ntimes, one section of them called Ande or pot Kurubas, continually wore\na pot suspended from their necks, into which they were compelled to\nspit, being so utterly unclean as to be prohibited from even spitting\non the highway. [18] In a note on the Paraiyans (Pariahs), Sonnerat,\nwriting in the eighteenth century, [19] says that, when drinking,\nthey put the cup to their lips, and their fingers to their mouths,\nin such a way that they are defiled with the spittle. A Brahman may\ntake snuff, but he should not smoke a cheroot or cigar. When once\nthe cheroot has touched his lips, it is defiled by the saliva, and,\ntherefore, cannot be returned to his mouth. [20]\n\nAt the festivals of the village deities in the Telugu country,\nan unmarried Madiga (Telugu Pariah) woman, called Matangi [21]\n(the name of a favourite goddess) spits upon the people assembled,\nand touches them with her stick. Her touch and saliva are believed to\npurge all uncleanliness of body and soul, and are said to be invited\nby men who would ordinarily scorn to approach her. At a festival\ncalled Kathiru in honour of a village goddess in the Cochin State,\nthe Pulayans (agrestic slaves) go in procession to the temple,\nand scatter packets of palm-leaves containing handfuls of paddy\n(unhusked rice) rolled up in straw among the crowds of spectators\nalong the route. \"The spectators, both young and old, scramble to\nobtain as many of the packets as possible, and carry them home. They\nare then hung in front of the houses, for it is believed that their\npresence will help to promote the prosperity of the family, until\nthe festival comes round again next year. The greater the number of\ntrophies obtained for a family by its members, the greater, it is\nbelieved, will be the prosperity of the family.\" [22]\n\nIn a note on the Kulwadis or Chalavadis of the Hassan district in\nMysore, Captain J. S. F. Mackenzie writes [23] as follows:--\n\n\n    \"Every village has its Holigiri--as the quarters inhabited by\n    the Holiars (formerly agrestic serfs) is called--outside the\n    village boundary hedge. This, I thought, was because they are\n    considered an impure race, whose touch carries defilement with\n    it. Such is the reason generally given by the Brahman, who refuses\n    to receive anything directly from the hands of a Holiar, and yet\n    the Brahmans consider great luck will wait upon them if they can\n    manage to pass through the Holigiri without being molested. To\n    this the Holiars have a strong objection, and, should a Brahman\n    attempt to enter their quarters, they turn out in a body and\n    slipper him, in former times it is said to death. Members of\n    the other castes may come as far as the door, but they must not\n    enter the house, for that would bring the Holiar bad luck. If,\n    by chance, a person happens to get in, the owner takes care to\n    tear the intruder's cloth, tie up some salt in one corner of it,\n    and turn him out. This is supposed to neutralise all the good\n    luck which might have accrued to the trespasser, and avert any\n    evil which might have befallen the owner of the house.\"\n\n\nThe Telugu Tottiyans, who have settled in the Tamil country,\nare said by Mr F. R. Hemingway not to recognise the superiority of\nBrahmans. They are supposed to possess unholy powers, especially the\nNalla (black) Gollas, and are much dreaded by their neighbours. They\ndo not allow any stranger to enter their villages with shoes on,\nor on horseback, or holding up an umbrella, lest their god should be\noffended. It is believed that, if any one breaks this rule, he will\nbe visited with illness or some other punishment.\n\nI am informed by Mr S. P. Rice that, when smallpox breaks out in\na Hindu house, it is a popular belief that to allow strangers or\nunclean persons to go into the house, to observe festivals, and even\nto permit persons who have combed their hair, bathed in oil, or had\na shave, to see the patient, would arouse the anger of the goddess,\nand bring certain death to the sick person. Strangers, and young\nmarried women are not admitted to, and may not approach the house,\nas they may have had sexual intercourse on the previous day.\n\nIt is believed that the sight or breath of Muhammadans, just after\nthey have said their prayers at a mosque, will do good to children\nsuffering from various disorders. For this purpose, women carry or\ntake their children, and post themselves at the entrance to a mosque\nat the time when worshippers leave it. Most of them are Hindus, but\nsometimes poor Eurasians may be seen there. I once received a pathetic\nappeal from a Eurasian woman in Malabar, imploring me to lay my hands\non the head of her sick child, so that its life might be spared.\n\nIn teaching the Grandha alphabet to children, they are made to\nrepeat the letter \"ca\" twice quickly without pausing, as the word\n\"ca\" means \"die.\" In Malabar, the instruction of a Tiyan child in\nthe alphabet is said by Mr F. Fawcett to begin on the last day of\nthe Dasara festival in the fifth year of its life. A teacher, who\nhas been selected with care, or a lucky person, holds the child's\nright hand, and makes it trace the letters of the Malayalam alphabet\nin rice spread on a plate. The forefinger, which is the one used in\noffering water to the souls of the dead, and in other parts of the\ndeath ceremonies, must not be used for tracing the letters, but is\nplaced above the middle finger, merely to steady it. For the same\nreason, a doctor, when making a pill, will not use the forefinger. To\nmention the number seven in Telugu is unlucky, because the word (yedu)\nis the same as that for weeping. Even a treasury officer, who is an\nenlightened university graduate, in counting money, will say six and\none. The number seven is, for the same reason, considered unlucky by\nthe Koravas, and a house-breaking expedition should not consist of\nseven men. Should this, however, be unavoidable, a fiction is indulged\nin of making the house-breaking implement the eighth member of the\ngang. [24] In Tamil the word ten is considered inauspicious, because,\non the tenth day after the death of her husband, a widow removes the\nemblems of married life. Probably for this reason, the offspring of\nKallan polyandrous marriages style themselves the children of eight\nand two, not ten fathers. Labha is a Sanskrit word meaning profit or\ngain, and has its equivalent in all the vernacular languages. Hindus,\nwhen counting, commence with this word instead of the word signifying\none. In like manner, Muhammadans use the word Bismillah or Burketh,\napparently as an invocation like the medicinal Rx (Oh! Jupiter,\naid us). When the number a hundred has been counted, they again\nbegin with the substitute for one, and this serves as a one for the\nperson who is keeping the tally. Oriya merchants say labho (gain)\ninstead of eko (one), when counting out the seers of rice for the\nelephants' rations. The people of the Oriya Zemindaris often use,\nnot the year of the Hindu cycle or Muhammadan era, but the year of\nthe reigning Raja of Puri. The first year of the reign is called, not\none, but labho. The counting then proceeds in the ordinary course,\nbut, with the exception of the number ten, all numbers ending with\nseven or nothing are omitted. This is called the onko. Thus, if a\nRaja has reigned two and a half years, he would be said to be in the\ntwenty-fifth onko, seven, seventeen and twenty being omitted. [25]\nFor chewing betel, two other ingredients are necessary, viz., areca\nnuts and chunam (lime). For some reason, Tamil Vaishnavas object to\nmentioning the last by name, and call it moonavadu, or the third.\n\nAt a Brahman funeral, the sons and nephews of the deceased go\nround the corpse, and untie their kudumi (hair knot), leaving\npart thereof loose, tie up the rest into a small bunch, and slap\ntheir thighs. Consequently, when children at play have their kudumi\npartially tied, and slap their thighs, they are invariably scolded\nowing to the association with funerals. Among all Hindu classes it\nis considered as an insult to the god to bathe or wash the feet on\nreturning home from worship at a temple, and, by so doing, the punyam\n(good) would be lost. Moreover, washing the feet at the entrance to a\nhome is connected with funerals, inasmuch as, on the return from the\nburning-ground, a mourner may not enter the house until he has washed\nhis feet. The Badagas of the Nilgiris hold an agricultural festival\ncalled devve, which should on no account be pronounced duvve, which\nmeans burning-ground.\n\nA bazaar shop-keeper who deals in colours will not sell white paint\nafter the lamps have been lighted. In like manner, a cloth-dealer\nrefuses to sell black cloth, and the dealer in hardware to sell nails,\nneedles, etc., lest poverty should ensue. Digging operations with a\nspade should be stopped before the lamps are lighted. A betel-vine\ncultivator objects to entering his garden or plucking a leaf after\nthe lighting of the lamps; but, if some leaves are urgently required,\nhe will, before plucking them, pour water from a pot at the foot of\nthe tree on which the vine is growing.\n\nArrack (liquor) vendors consider it unlucky to set their measures\nupside down. Some time ago, the Excise Commissioner informs me,\nthe Madras Excise Department had some aluminium measures made for\nmeasuring arrack in liquor shops. It was found that the arrack corroded\nthe aluminium, and the measures soon leaked. The shop-keepers were\ntold to turn their measures upside down, in order that they might\ndrain. This they refused to do, as it would bring bad luck to their\nshops. New measures with round bottoms, which would not stand up, were\nevolved. But the shop-keepers began to use rings of indiarubber from\nsoda-water bottles, to make them stand. An endeavour was then made to\ninduce them to keep their measures inverted by hanging them on pegs,\nso that they would drain without being turned upside down. The case\nillustrates how important a knowledge of the superstitions of the\npeople is in the administration of their affairs. Even so trifling an\ninnovation as the introduction of a new arrangement for maintaining\ntension in the warp during the process of weaving gave rise a few\nyears ago to a strike among the hand-loom weavers at the Madras School\nof Arts.\n\nWhen a Paidi (agriculturists and weavers in Ganjam) is seriously ill,\na male or female sorcerer (bejjo or bejjano) is consulted. A square\ndivided into sixteen compartments is drawn on the floor with rice\nflour. In each compartment are placed a leaf-cup of Butea frondosa,\na quarter-anna piece, and some food. Seven small bows and arrows are\nset up in front thereof in two lines. On one side of the square, a big\ncup filled with food is placed. A fowl is sacrificed, and its blood\npoured thrice round this cup. Then, placing water in a vessel near\nthe cup, the sorcerer or sorceress throws into it a grain of rice,\ngiving out at the same time the name of some god or goddess. If the\nrice sinks, it is believed that the illness is caused by the anger\nof the deity, whose name has been mentioned. If the rice floats, the\nnames of various deities are called out, until a grain sinks. When\nselecting a site for a new dwelling hut, the Maliah Savaras place\non the proposed site as many grains of rice in pairs as there are\nmarried members in the family, and cover them over with a cocoanut\nshell. They are examined on the following day, and, if they are all\nthere, the site is considered auspicious. Among the Kapu Savaras,\nthe grains of rice are folded up in leaflets of the bael tree (AEgle\nMarmelos), and placed in a split bamboo.\n\nIt is recorded by Gloyer [26] that \"when a Domb (Vizagapatam hill\ntribe) house has to be built, the first thing is to select a favourable\nspot, to which few evil spirits (dumas) resort. At this spot they put,\nin several places, three grains of rice arranged in such a way that\nthe two lower grains support the upper one. To protect the grains,\nthey pile up stones round them, and the whole is lightly covered\nwith earth. When, after some time, they find on inspection that the\nupper grain has fallen off, the spot is regarded as unlucky, and\nmust not be used. If the position of the grains remains unchanged,\nthe omen is regarded as auspicious. They drive in the first post,\nwhich must have a certain length, say of five, seven, or nine ells,\nthe ell being measured from the tip of the middle finger to the\nelbow. The post is covered on the top with rice straw, leaves, and\nshrubs, so that birds may not foul it, which would be an evil omen.\"\n\nIn Madras, a story is current with reference to the statue of Sir\nThomas Munro, that he seized upon all the rice depots, and starved\nthe people by selling rice in egg-shells, at one shell for a rupee. To\npunish him, the Government erected the statue in an open place without\na canopy, so that the birds of the air might insult him by polluting\nhis face. In the Bellary district, the names Munrol and Munrolappa\nare common, and are given in hope that the boy may attain the same\ncelebrity as the former Governor of Madras. (I once came across\na Telugu cultivator, who rejoiced in the name of Curzon). One of\nSir Thomas Munro's good qualities was that, like Rama and Rob Roy,\nhis arms reached to his knees, or, in other words, he possessed the\nquality of an Ajanubahu, which is the heritage of kings, or those\nwho have blue blood in them.\n\nIn a case of dispute between two Koravas, [27] \"the decision is\nsometimes arrived at by means of an ordeal. An equal quantity of rice\nis placed in two pots of equal weight, having the same quantity of\nwater, and there is an equal quantity of fire-wood. The judges satisfy\nthemselves most carefully as to quantity, weights, and so on. The\nwater is boiled, and the man whose rice boils first is declared to be\nthe winner of the dispute. The loser has to recoup the winner all his\nexpenses. It sometimes happens that both pots boil at the same time;\nthen a coin is to be picked out of a pot containing boiling oil.\"\n\nAt one of the religious ceremonies of the Koravas, offerings of\nboiled rice (pongal) are made to the deity, Poleramma, by fasting\nwomen. The manner in which the boiling food bubbles over from the\ncooking-pot is eagerly watched, and accepted as an omen for good or\nevil. A festival called Pongal is observed by Hindus on the first day\nof the Tamil month Tai, and derives its name from the fact that rice\nboiled in milk is offered to propitiate the Sun God.\n\nBefore the ceremony of walking through fire [28] (burning embers) at\nNidugala on the Nilgiris, the omens are taken by boiling two pots of\nmilk, side by side, on two hearths. If the milk overflows uniformly\non all sides, the crops will be abundant for all the villages. But,\nif it flows over on one side only, there will be plentiful crops for\nvillages on that side only. For boiling the milk, a light obtained by\nfriction must be used. After the milk-boiling ceremonial, the pujari\n(priest), tying bells on his legs, approaches the fire-pit, carrying\nmilk freshly drawn from a cow, which has calved for the first time,\nand flowers of Rhododendron, Leucas, or jasmine. After doing puja\n(worship), he throws the flowers on the embers, and they should remain\nunscorched for a few seconds. He then pours some of the milk over\nthe embers, and no hissing sound should be produced. The omens being\npropitious, he walks over the glowing embers, followed by a Udaya [29]\nand the crowd of celebrants, who, before going through the ordeal,\ncount the hairs on their feet. If any are singed, it is a sign of\napproaching ill-fortune, or even death.\n\nIt is recorded by the Rev. J. Cain [30] that, when the Koyis of the\nGodaavari district determine to appease the goddess of smallpox or\ncholera, they erect a pandal (booth) outside their village under a\nnim tree (Melia Azadirachta).  They make the image of a woman with\nearth from a white-ant hill, tie a cloth or two round it, hang a\nfew peacock's feathers round its neck, and place it under the pandal\non a three-legged stool made from the wood of the silk-cotton tree\n(Cochlospermum Gossypium). They then bring forward a chicken, and\ntry to persuade it to eat some of the grains which they have thrown\nbefore the image, requesting the goddess to inform them whether she\nwill leave their village or not. If the chicken picks up some of\nthe grains, they regard it as a most favourable omen; but, if not,\ntheir hearts are filled with dread of the continued anger of the\ngoddess. At the Bhudevi Panduga, or festival of the earth goddess,\naccording to Mr F. R. Hemingway, the Koyis set up a stone beneath\na Terminalia tomentosa tree, which is thus dedicated to the goddess\nKodalamma.  Each worshipper brings a cock to the priest, who holds it\nover grains of rice, which have been sprinkled before the goddess. If\nthe bird pecks at the rice, good luck is ensured for the coming year,\nwhilst, if perchance the bird pecks three times, the offerer of that\nparticular bird can scarcely contain himself for joy. If the bird\ndeclines to touch the grains, ill-luck is sure to visit the owner's\nhouse during the ensuing year.\n\nConcerning a boundary oath in the Mulkangiri taluk of Vizagapatam,\nMr C. A. Henderson writes to me as follows:--\n\n\n    \"The pujari (priest) levelled a piece of ground about a foot\n    square, and smeared it with cow-dung. The boundary was marked with\n    rice-flour and turmeric, and a small heap of rice and cow-dung\n    was left in the middle. A sword was laid across the heap. The\n    pujari touched the rice-flour line with the tips of his fingers,\n    and then pressed his knuckles on the same place, thus leaving an\n    exit on the south side. He then held a chicken over the central\n    heap, and muttered some mantrams. The chicken pecked at the rice,\n    and an egg was placed on the heap. The chicken then pecked at\n    the rice again. The ceremony then waited for another party, who\n    performed a similar ceremony. There was some amusement because\n    their chickens would not eat. The chickens were decapitated, and\n    their heads placed in the square. The eggs were then broken. It\n    was raining, and there was a resulting puddle of cow-dung,\n    chicken's blood, egg, and rice, of which the representatives of\n    each party took a portion, and eat it, or pretended to do so,\n    stating to whom the land belonged. There is said to be a belief\n    that, if a man swears falsely, he will die.\"\n\n\nThough not bearing on the subject of omens, some further boundary\nceremonies may be placed under reference. At Sattamangalam, in the\nSouth Arcot district, the festival of the goddess Mariamma is said\nto be crowned by the sacrifice at midnight of a goat, the entrails\nof which are hung round the neck of the Toti (scavenger), who then\ngoes, stark naked, save for this one adornment, round all the village\nboundaries. [31]\n\nIt is recorded by Bishop Whitehead [32] that, in some parts of the\nTamil country, e.g., in the Trichinopoly district, at the ceremony for\nthe propitiation of the village boundary goddess, a priest carries\na pot containing boiled rice and the blood of a lamb which has been\nsacrificed to the boundary stone, round which he runs three times. The\nthird time he throws the pot over his shoulder on to another smaller\nstone, which stands at the foot of the boundary stone.  The pot is\ndashed to pieces, and the rice and blood scatter over the two stones\nand all round them. The priest then goes away without looking back,\nfollowed by the crowd of villagers in dead silence. In the Cuddapah\ndistrict, when there is a boundary dispute in a village, an image\nof the goddess Gangamma is placed in the street, and left there for\ntwo days. The head of a buffalo and several sheep are offered to her,\nand the blood is allowed to run into the gutter. The goddess is then\nworshipped, and she is implored to point out the correct boundary. [33]\nIn Mysore, if there is a dispute as to the village boundaries, the\nHoleya [34] Kuluvadi is believed to be the only person competent to\ntake the oath as to how the boundary ought to run. The old custom for\nsettling such disputes is thus described by Captain J. S. F. Mackenzie:\n[35]\n\n\n    \"The Kuluvadi, carrying on his head a ball made of the village\n    earth, in the centre of which is placed some earth, passes\n    along the boundary. If he has kept the proper line, everything\n    goes well, but, should he, by accident even, go beyond his own\n    proper boundary, then the ball of earth, of its own accord,\n    goes to pieces. The Kuluvadi is said to die within fifteen days,\n    and his house becomes a ruin. Such is the popular belief.\"\n\n\nSome years ago Mr H. D. Taylor was called on to settle a boundary\ndispute between two villages in Jeypore under the following\ncircumstances. As the result of a panchayat (council meeting), the\nmen of one village had agreed to accept the boundary claimed by the\nother party if the head of their village walked round the boundary and\neat earth at intervals, provided that no harm came to him within six\nmonths. The man accordingly perambulated the boundary eating earth,\nand a conditional order of possession was given. Shortly afterwards the\nman's cattle died, one of his children died of smallpox, and finally\nhe himself died within three months. The other party then claimed\nthe land on the ground that the earth-goddess had proved him to have\nperjured himself. It was urged in defence that the man had been made\nto eat earth at such frequent intervals that he contracted dysentery,\nand died from the effects of earth-eating. [36]\n\nWhen the time for the annual festival of the tribal goddess of the\nKuruvikkarans (Marathi-speaking beggars) draws nigh, the headman or\nan elder piles up Vigna Catiang seeds in five small heaps. He then\ndecides in his mind whether there is an odd or even number of seeds\nin the majority of heaps. If, when the seeds are counted, the result\nagrees with his forecast, it is taken as a sign of the approval of\nthe goddess, and arrangements for the festival are made. Otherwise\nit is abandoned for the year.\n\nAt the annual festival of Chaudeswari, the tribal goddess of Devanga\nweavers, the priest tries to balance a long sword on its point on\nthe edge of the mouth of a pot. A lime fruit is placed in the region\nof the navel of the idol, who should throw it down spontaneously. A\nbundle of betel leaves is cut across with a knife, and the cut ends\nshould unite. If the omens are favourable, a lamp made of rice-flour\nis lighted, and pongal (boiled rice) offered to it.\n\nIt is recorded by Canter Visscher [37] that, in the building of a house\nin Malabar, the carpenters open three or four cocoanuts, spilling the\njuice as little as possible, and put some tips of betel leaves into\nthem. From the way these float on the liquid they foretell whether\nthe house will be lucky or unlucky, whether it will stand for a long\nor short period, and whether another will ever be erected on its site.\n\nKorava women, if their husbands are absent on a criminal expedition\nlong enough to arouse apprehension of danger, pull a long piece out\nof a broom, and tie to one end of it several small pieces dipped in\noil. If the stick floats in water, all is well; but, should it sink,\ntwo of the women start at once to find the men. [38]\n\nIn the village of Chakibunda in the Cuddapah district, there is a pool\nof water at the foot of a hill. Those who are desirous of getting\nchildren, wealth, etc., go there and pour oil into the water. The\noil is said not to float as is usual in greasy bubbles, but to sink\nand never rise. They also offer betel leaves, on which turmeric and\nkunkumam have been placed. If these leaves sink, and after some time\nreappear without the turmeric and kunkumam, but with the marks of\nnails upon them, the person offering them will gain his wishes. The\ncontents of the leaves, and the oil, are supposed to be consumed by\nsome divine being at the bottom of the pool. [39] At Madicheruvu, in\nthe Cuddapah district, there is a small waterfall in the midst of a\njungle, which is visited annually by a large number of pilgrims. Those\nwho are anxious to know if their sins are forgiven stand under the\nfall. If they are acceptable the water falls on their heads, but,\nif they have some great guilt weighing on them, the water swerves on\none side, and refuses to be polluted by contact with the sinner. [40]\n\nAmong the Vadas (Telugu fishermen) the Mannaru is an important\nindividual who not only performs worship, but is consulted on many\npoints. If a man does not secure good catches of fish, he goes to\nthe Mannaru to ascertain the cause of his bad luck. The Mannaru\nholds in his hand a string on which a stone is tied, and invokes\nvarious gods and goddesses by name. Every time a name is mentioned,\nthe stone either swings to and fro like a pendulum, or performs a\ncircular movement. If the former occurs, it is a sign that the deity\nwhose name has been pronounced is the cause of the misfortune, and\nmust be propitiated in a suitable manner.\n\nThe Nomad Bauris or Bawariyas, who commit robberies and manufacture\ncounterfeit coin, keep with them a small quantity of wheat and sandal\nseeds in a tin or brass case, which they call devakadana or god's\ngrain, and a tuft of peacock's feathers. They are very superstitious,\nand do not embark on any enterprise without first ascertaining by\nomens whether it will be attended with success or not. This they do\nby taking at random a small quantity of grains out of the devakadana,\nand counting the number thereof, the omen being considered good or bad\naccording as the number is odd or even. [41] A gang of Donga Dasaris,\nbefore starting on a thieving expedition, proceed to the jungle near\ntheir village in the early part of the night, worship their favourite\ngoddesses, Huligavva and Ellamma, and sacrifice a sheep or fowl before\nthem. They place one of their turbans on the head of the animal as\nsoon as its head falls on the ground. If the turban turns to the right\nit is considered a good sign, the goddess having permitted them to\nproceed on the expedition; if to the left they return home. Hanuman\n(the monkey god) is also consulted as to such expeditions. They go\nto a Hanuman temple, and, after worshipping him, garland him with a\nwreath of flowers. The garland hangs on both sides of the neck. If any\nof the flowers on the right side drop down first, it is regarded as\na permission granted by the god to start on a plundering expedition;\nand, conversely, an expedition is never undertaken if any flower\nhappens to drop from the left side first. [42] The Kallans are said\nby Mr F. S. Mullaly [43] to consult the deity before starting on\ndepredations. Two flowers, the one red and the other white, are placed\nbefore the idol, a symbol of their god Kalla Alagar. The white flower\nis the emblem of success. A child of tender years is told to pluck a\npetal of one of the two flowers, and the success of the undertaking\nrests upon the choice made by the child. The Pulluvan astrologers of\nMalabar sometimes calculate beforehand the result of a project in which\nthey are engaged, by placing before the god two bouquets of flowers,\none red, the other white, of which a child picks out one with its eyes\nclosed. Selection of the white bouquet predicts auspicious results,\nof the red the reverse. In the same way, when the Kammalans (Tamil\nartisans) appoint their Anjivittu Nattamaikkaran to preside over them,\nfive men selected from each of the five divisions meet at the temple\nof the caste goddess, Kamakshi Amman. The names of the five men are\nwritten on five slips of paper, which, together with some blank slips,\nare thrown before the shrine of the goddess. A child, taken at random\nfrom the assembled crowd, is made to pick up the slips, and he whose\nname turns up first is proclaimed Anjivittu Nattamaikkaran.\n\nEclipses are regarded as precursors of evil, which must, if possible,\nbe averted. Concerning the origin thereof, according to tradition in\nMalabar, Mr Gopal Panikkar writes as follows [44]:--\n\n\n    \"Tradition says that, when an eclipse takes place, Rahu the huge\n    serpent is devouring the sun or moon, as the case may be. An\n    eclipse being thus the decease of one of those heavenly bodies,\n    people must, of necessity, observe pollution for the period during\n    which the eclipse lasts. When the monster spits out the body, the\n    eclipse is over. Food and drink taken during an eclipse possess\n    poisonous properties, and people therefore abstain from eating\n    and drinking until the eclipse is over. They bathe at the end of\n    the eclipse, so as to get rid of the pollution. Any one shutting\n    himself up from exposure may be exempted from this obligation to\n    take a bath.\"\n\n\nDeaths from drowning are not unknown in Madras at times of eclipse,\nwhen Hindus bathe in the sea, and get washed away by the surf. It\nis said [45] that, before an eclipse, the people prepare their\ndrums, etc., to frighten the giant, lest he should eat up the moon\nentirely. Images of snakes are offered to the deity on days of eclipse\nby Brahmans on whose star day the eclipse falls, to appease the wrath\nof the terrible Rahu. It is noted by Mr S. M. Natesa Sastri [46]\nthat \"the eclipse must take place on some asterism or other, and,\nif that asterism happens to be that in which any Hindu was born,\nhe has to perform some special ceremonies to absolve himself from\nimpending evil. He makes a plate of gold or silver, or of palm leaf,\naccording to his means, and ties it on his forehead with Sanskrit\nverses inscribed on it. He sits with this plate for some time, performs\ncertain ceremonies, bathes with the plate untied, and presents it to\na Brahman with some fee, ranging from four annas to several thousands\nof rupees. The belief that an eclipse is a calamity to the sun or\nmoon is such a strong Hindu belief, that no marriage takes place in\nthe month in which an eclipse falls.\"\n\nI gather [47] that, \"during an eclipse, many of the people retire into\ntheir houses, and remain behind closed doors until the evil hour has\npassed. The time is in all respects inauspicious, and no work begun or\ncompleted during this period can meet with success; indeed, so great\nis the dread, that no one would think of initiating any important work\nat this time. More especially is it fatal to women who are pregnant,\nfor the evil will fall upon the unborn babe, and, in cases of serious\nmalformation or congenital lameness, the cause is said to be that the\nmother looked on an eclipse. Women, therefore, not only retire into\nthe house, but, in order that they may be further protected from the\nevil, they burn horn shavings. The evils of an eclipse are not limited\nto human beings, but cattle and crops also need protection from the\nmalignant spirits which are supposed to be abroad. In order that the\ncattle may be preserved, they are as far as possible taken indoors,\nand especially those which have young calves; and, to make assurance\ndoubly sure, their horns are smeared with chunam (lime). The crops\nare protected by procuring ashes from the potter's field, which seem\nto be specially potent against evil spirits. With these ashes images\nare made, and placed on the four sides of the field. Comets, too,\nare looked upon as omens of evil.\"\n\nWhen a person is about to occupy a new house, he takes particular care\nto see that the planet Venus does not face him as he enters it. With\nthis star before him, he sometimes postpones the occupation, or, if\nhe is obliged to enter, he reluctantly does so through the back-door.\n\nOn the day of the capture of Seringaptam, which, being the last\nday of a lunar month, was inauspicious, the astrologer repeated the\nunfavourable omen to Tipu Sultan, who was slain in the course of the\nbattle. It is recorded [48] that \"to different Bramins he gave a black\nbuffalo, a milch buffalo, a male buffalo, a black she-goat, a jacket of\ncoarse black cloth, a cap of the same material, ninety rupees, and an\niron pot filled with oil; and, previous to the delivery of this last\narticle, he held his head over the pot for the purpose of seeing the\nimage of his face; a ceremony used in Hindostan to avert misfortune.\"\n\nThe time at which the address of welcome by the Madras Municipal\nCorporation to Sir Arthur Lawley on his taking over the Governorship\nof Madras was changed from 12-30 P.M. to 1 P.M. on a Wednesday,\nas the time originally fixed fell within the period of Rahukalam,\nwhich is an inauspicious hour on that day.\n\nIt is considered by a Hindu unlucky to get shaved for ceremonial\npurposes in the months of Adi, Purattasi, Margali, and Masi, and,\nin the remaining months, Sunday, Tuesday, and Saturday should be\navoided. Further, the star under which a man was born has to be\ntaken into consideration, and it may happen that an auspicious day\nfor being shaved does not occur for some weeks. It is on this account\nthat orthodox Hindus are sometimes compelled to go about with unkempt\nchins. Even for anointing the body, auspicious and inauspicious\ndays are prescribed. Thus, anointing on Sunday causes loss of\nbeauty, on Monday brings increase of riches, and on Thursday loss\nof intellect. If a person is obliged to anoint himself on Sunday,\nhe should put a bit of the root of oleander (Nerium) in the oil,\nand heat it before applying it. This is supposed to avert the evil\ninfluences. Similarly on Tuesday dry earth, on Thursday roots of\nCynodou Dactylon, and on Friday ashes must be used.\n\nIt is considered auspicious if a girl attains puberty on a Monday,\nWednesday, Thursday, or Friday, and the omens vary according to the\nmonth in which the first menstrual period occurs. Thus the month of\nVaiyasi ensures prosperity, Ani male issue, Masi happiness, Margali\nwell-behaved children, Punguni long life and many children. At the\nfirst menstrual ceremony of a Tiyan girl in Malabar, her aunt, or,\nif she is married, her husband's sister, pours gingelly (Sesamum)\noil over her head, on the top of which a gold fanam (coin) has been\nplaced. The oil is poured from a little cup made from a leaf of\nthe jak tree (Artocarpus integrifolia), flows over the forehead,\nand is received with the fanam in a dish. It is a good omen if the\ncoin falls with the obverse upwards.\n\nIf a Brahman woman loses her tali (marriage badge), it is regarded as\na bad omen for her husband. As a Deva-dasi (dancing-girl) can never\nbecome a widow, the beads in her tali are considered to bring good luck\nto those who wear them. And some people send the tali required for a\nmarriage to a Deva-dasi, who prepares the string for it, and attaches\nto it black beads from her own tali. A Deva-dasi is also deputed to\nwalk at the head of Hindu marriage processions. Married women do not\nlike to do this, as they are not proof against evil omens, which the\nprocession may come across, and it is believed that Deva-dasis, to whom\nwidowhood is unknown, possess the power of warding off the effects of\nunlucky omens. It may be remarked, en passant, that Deva-dasis are not\nat the present day so much patronised at Hindu marriages as in former\ndays. Much is due in this direction to the progress of enlightened\nideas, which have of late been strongly put forward by Hindu social\nreformers. General Burton narrates [49] how a civilian of the old\nschool built a house at Bhavani, and established a corps de ballet,\ni.e., a set of nautch girls, whose accomplishments extended to singing\nGod Save the King, and this was kept up by their descendants, so that,\nwhen he visited the place in 1852, he was \"greeted by the whole party,\nbedizened in all their finery, and squalling the National Anthem.\" With\nthis may be contrasted a circular from a modern European official,\nwhich states that \"during my jamabandy (land revenue settlement) tour,\npeople have sometimes been kind enough to arrange singing or dancing\nparties, and, as it would have been discourteous to decline to attend\nwhat had cost money to arrange, I have accepted the compliment in\nthe spirit in which it was offered. I should, however, be glad if you\nwould let it be generally known that I am entirely in accord with what\nis known as the anti-nautch movement in regard to such performances.\"\n\nIt was unanimously decided, in 1905, by the Executive Committee of\nthe Prince and Princess of Wales' reception committee, that there\nshould be no performance by nautch girls at the entertainment to\ntheir Royal Highnesses at Madras.\n\nThe marriage ceremonies of Are Dammaras (Marathi-speaking acrobats) are\nsupervised by an old Basavi woman, and the marriage badge is tied round\nthe bride's neck by a Basavi (public woman dedicated to the deity).\n\nWhen a marriage is contemplated among the Idaiyans (Tamil shepherds)\nof Coimbatore, the parents of the prospective bride and bridegroom\ngo to the temple, and throw before the idol a red and white flower,\neach wrapped in a betel leaf. A small child is then told to pick up\none of the leaves. If the one selected contains the white flower, it is\nconsidered auspicious, and the marriage will be contracted. The Devanga\nweavers, before settling the marriage of a girl, consult some village\ngoddess or the tribal goddess Chaudeswari, and watch the omens. A\nlizard chirping on the right is good, and on the left bad. Sometimes,\nred and white flowers wrapped in green leaves are thrown in front of\nthe idol, and the omen is considered good or bad, according to the\nflower which a child picks up. Among the hill Uralis of Coimbatore,\na flower is placed on the top of a stone or figure representing the\ntribal goddess, and, after worship, it is addressed in the words:\n\"Oh! swamil (goddess), drop the flower to the right if the marriage\nis going to be propitious, and to the left if otherwise.\" Should the\nflower remain on the image without falling either way, it is greeted\nas a very happy omen. When a marriage is in contemplation among the\nAgamudaiyans (Tamil cultivators), some close relations of the young\nman proceed to some distance northward, and wait for omens. If these\nare auspicious, they are satisfied. Some, instead of so doing, go to\na temple, and seek the omens either by placing flowers on the idol,\nand watching the directions in which they fall, or by picking up\na flower from a large number strewn in front of the idol. If the\nflower picked up, and the one thought of, are of the same colour,\nit is regarded as a good omen. Among the Gudigaras (wood-carvers) of\nSouth Canara, the parents of the couple go to a temple, and receive\nfrom the priest some flowers which have been used in worship. These\nare counted, and, if their number is even, the match is arranged. At\na marriage among the Malaialis of the Kollaimalai hills, the garlands\nwith which the bridal couple are adorned, are thrown into a well after\nthe tali has been tied on the bride's neck. If they float together,\nit is an omen that the two will love each other.\n\nAmong the Telugu Janappans (gunny-bag makers), on the day fixed for\nthe betrothal, those assembled wait silently listening for the chirping\nof a lizard, which is an auspicious sign. It is said that the match is\nbroken off if the chirping is not heard. If the omen proves auspicious,\na small bundle of nine to twelve kinds of pulses and grain is given by\nthe bridegroom's father to the father of the bride. This is preserved,\nand examined several days after the marriage. If the pulses and grain\nare in good condition, it is a sign that the newly married couple\nwill have a prosperous career. During the marriage ceremonies of\nthe Muhammadan Daknis or Deccanis, two big pots, filled with water,\nare placed near the milk-post. They are kept for forty days, and then\nexamined. If the water remains sweet, and does not \"teem with vermin,\"\nit is regarded as a good omen. The seed grains, too, which, as among\nmany Hindu castes, were sown at the time of the wedding, should by\nthis time have developed into healthy seedlings. At a Rona (Oriya\ncultivator) wedding, the Desari who officiates ties to the ends of\nthe cloths of the bridal couple a new cloth, to which a quarter-anna\npiece is attached, betel leaves and areca nuts, and seven grains of\nrice. Towards the close of the marriage rites on the third day, the\nrice is examined, to see if it is in a good state of preservation,\nand its condition is regarded as an omen for good or evil.\n\nOn the occasion of a wedding among the Badagas of the Nilgiris,\na procession goes before dawn on the marriage day to the forest,\nwhere two sticks of Mimusops hexandra are collected, to do duty as\nthe milk-posts. The early hour is selected, to avoid the chance of\ncoming across inauspicious objects. At the close of the Agamudaiyan\nmarriage ceremonies, the twig of Erythrina indica or Odina wodier, of\nwhich the milk-post was made, is planted. If it takes root and grows,\nit is regarded as a favourable omen. At a Palli (Tamil cultivator)\nwedding two lamps, called kuda vilakku (pot light) and alankara vilakku\n(ornamental light), are placed by the side of the milk-post. The\nformer consists of a lighted wick in an earthenware tray placed on\na pot. It is considered an unlucky omen if it goes out before the\nconclusion of the ceremonial.\n\nPrior to the betrothal ceremony of the Kammas (Telugu cultivators),\na near relation of the future bridegroom proceeds with a party to the\nhome of the future bride. On the way thither, they look for omens,\nsuch as the crossing of birds in an auspicious direction. Immediately\non the occurrence of a favourable omen, they burn camphor, and\nbreak a cocoanut, which must split in two with clean edges. One\nhalf is sent to the would-be bridegroom, and the other taken to the\nbride's house. When this is reached, she demands the sagunam (omen)\ncocoanut. If the first cocoanut does not split properly, others are\nbroken till the desired result is obtained.\n\nIn the Telugu country, the services of a member of the Boya caste are\nrequired if a Brahman wishes to perform Vontigadu, a ceremony by which\nhe hopes to induce favourable auspices, under which to celebrate a\nmarriage. The story has it that Vontigadu was a destitute Boya, who\ndied of starvation. On the morning of the day on which the ceremony,\nfor which favourable auspices are required, is performed, a Boya is\ninvited to the house. He is given a present of gingelly (Sesamum)\noil, wherewith to anoint himself. This done, he returns, carrying in\nhis hand a dagger, on the point of which a lime has been stuck. He is\ndirected to the cowshed, and there given a good meal. After finishing\nthe meal, he steals from the shed, and dashes out of the house,\nuttering a piercing yell, and waving his dagger. He on no account\nlooks behind him. The inmates of the house follow for some distance,\nthrowing water wherever he has trodden. By this means, all possible\nevil omens for the coming ceremony are done away with.\n\nA curious mock marriage ceremony is celebrated among Brahmans,\nwhen an individual marries a third wife. It is believed that a\nthird marriage is very inauspicious, and that the bride will become a\nwidow. To prevent this mishap, the man is made to marry the arka plant\n(Calotropis gigantea), which grows luxuriantly in wastelands, and the\nreal marriage thus becomes the fourth. The bridegroom, accompanied\nby a Brahman priest and another Brahman, repairs to a spot where this\nplant is growing. It is decorated with a cloth and a piece of string,\nand symbolised into the sun. All the ceremonies, such as making homam\n(sacred fire), tying the tali (marriage badge), etc., are performed\nas at a regular marriage, and the plant is cut down. On rathasapthami\nday, an orthodox Hindu should bathe his head and shoulders with arka\nleaves in propitiation of Surya (the sun). The leaves are also used\nduring the worship of ancestors by some Brahmans.  Among the Tangalan\nParaiyans, if a young man dies before he is married, a ceremony\ncalled kannikazhital (removing bachelorhood) is performed. Before\nthe corpse is laid on the bier, a garland of arka flowers is placed\nround its neck, and balls of mud from a gutter are laid on the head,\nknees, and other parts of the body. In some places, a variant of\nthe ceremony consists in the erection of a mimic marriage booth,\nwhich is covered with leaves of the arka plant, flowers of which\nare placed round the neck as a garland. Adulterers were, in former\ntimes, seated on a donkey, with their face to the tail, and marched\nthrough the village. The public disgrace was enhanced by placing a\ngarland of the despised arka leaves on their head. Uppiliyan women\nconvicted of immorality are said to be garlanded with arka flowers,\nand made to carry a basket of mud round the village. A Konga Vellala\nman, who has been found guilty of undue intimacy with a widow, is\nreadmitted to the caste by being taken to the village common, where\nhe is beaten with an arka stick, and by providing a black sheep for\na feast. When a Kuruvikkaran man has to submit to trial by ordeal,\nseven arka leaves are tied to his palms, and a piece of red-hot iron\nis placed thereon. His innocence is established, if he is able to\ncarry it while he takes seven long strides. The juice of the arka\nplant is a favourite agent in the hands of suicides.\n\nAt a Brahman wedding the bridegroom takes a blade of the sacred dharba\ngrass, passes it between the eyebrows of the bride and throws it away\nsaying, \"With this grass I remove the influence of any bad mark thou\nmayest possess, which is likely to cause widowhood.\"\n\nThere is a Tamil proverb relating to the selection of a wife, to the\neffect that curly hair gives food, thick hair brings milk, and very\nstiff hair destroys a family. As a preliminary to marriage among the\nKurubas (Canarese shepherds), the bridegroom's father observes certain\ncurls (suli) on the head of the proposed bride. Some of these are\nbelieved to forebode prosperity, and others misery to the family into\nwhich the girl enters by marriage. They are, therefore, very cautious\nin selecting only such girls as possess curls of good fortune. One\nof the good curls is the bashingam on the forehead, and bad ones are\nthe peyanakallu at the back of the head, and the edirsuli near the\nright temple. [50] By the Pallis (Tamil cultivators) a curl on the\nforehead is considered as an indication that the girl will become\na widow, and one on the back of the head portends the death of the\neldest brother of her husband. By the Tamil Maravans, a curl on the\nforehead resembling the head of a snake is regarded as an evil omen.\n\nA woman, pregnant for the first time, should not see a temple car\nadorned with figures of a lion, or look at it when it is being\ndragged along with the image of the god seated in it. If she does,\nthe tradition is that she will give birth to a monster.\n\nIn some places, before a woman is confined, the room in which her\nconfinement is to take place is smeared with cow-dung, and, in the\nroom at the outer gate, small wet cow-dung cakes are stuck on the\nwall, and covered with margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves and cotton\nseeds. These are supposed to have a great power in averting evil\nspirits, and preventing harm to the newly-born babe or the lying-in\nwoman. [51] In the Telugu country, it is the custom among some castes,\ne.g., the Kapus and Gamallas, to place twigs of Balanites Roxburghii or\nCalotropis gigantea (arka) on the floor or in the roof of the lying-in\nchamber. Sometimes a garland of old shoes is hung up on the door-post\nof the chamber. A fire is kindled, into which pieces of old leather,\nhair, nails, horns, hoofs, and bones of animals are thrown, in the\nbelief that the smoke arising therefrom will protect the mother\nand child against evil spirits. Among some classes, when a woman\nis pregnant, her female friends assemble, pile up before her door\na quantity of rice-husk, and set fire to it. To one door-post they\ntie an old shoe, and to the other a bunch of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum),\nin order to prevent the entry of any demon. A bitch is brought in,\npainted, and marked in the way that the women daily mark their own\nforeheads. Incense is burnt, and an oblation placed before it. The\nwoman then makes obeisance to it, and makes a meal of curry and rice,\non which cakes are placed. If there is present any woman who has\nnot been blessed with children, she seizes some of the cakes, in the\nhope that, by so doing, she may ere long have a child. [52] In some\nplaces, when a woman is in labour, her relations keep on measuring\nout rice into a measure close to the lying-in room, in the belief\nthat delivery will be accelerated thereby. Sometimes a gun is fired\noff in an adjacent room with the same object, and I have heard of a\npeon (orderly), whose wife was in labour, borrowing his master's gun,\nto expedite matters.\n\nSome Hindus in Madras believe that it would be unlucky for a\nnewly-married couple to visit the museum, as their offspring would\nbe deformed as the result of the mother having gazed on the skeletons\nand stuffed animals.\n\nTwins are sometimes objects of superstition, especially if they are\nof different sexes, and the male is born first. The occurrence of\nsuch an event is regarded as foreboding misfortune, which can only\nbe warded off by marrying the twins to one another, and leaving them\nto their fate in the jungle. Cases of this kind have, however, it is\nsaid, not been heard of within recent times.\n\nThere is a proverb that a child born with the umbilical cord round the\nbody will be a curse to the caste. If a child is born with the cord\nround its neck like a garland, it is believed to be inauspicious for\nits uncle, who is not allowed to see it for ten days, or even longer,\nand then a propitiatory ceremony has to be performed. By the Koravas\nthe birth of a child with the cord round its neck is believed to\nportend the death of the father or maternal uncle. This unpleasant\neffect is warded off by the father or the uncle killing a fowl,\nand wearing its entrails round his neck, and afterwards burying them\nalong with the cord. In other castes it is believed that a child born\nwith the cord round its neck will be a curse to its maternal uncle,\nunless a gold or silver string is placed on the body, and the uncle\nsees its image reflected in a vessel of oil. If the cord is entwined\nacross the breast, and passes under the armpit, it is believed to be\nan unlucky omen for the father and paternal uncle. In such cases, some\nspecial ceremony, such as looking into a vessel of oil, is performed. I\nam informed by the Rev. S. Nicholson that, if a Mala (Telugu Pariah)\nchild is born with the cord round its neck, a cocoanut is immediately\noffered. If the child survives, a cock is offered to the gods on the\nday on which the mother takes her first bath. When the cord is cut,\na coin is placed over the navel for luck. The dried cord is highly\nprized as a remedy for sterility. The placenta is placed by the Malas\nin a pot, in which are nim (Melia Azadirachta) leaves, and the whole\nis buried in some convenient place, generally the backyard. If this\nwas not done, dogs or other animals might carry off the placenta,\nand the child would be of a wandering disposition.\n\nThe birth of a Korava child on a new moon night is believed to augur\na notorious thieving future for the infant. Such children are commonly\nnamed Venkatigadu after the god at Tirupati. [53] The birth of a male\nchild on the day in which the constellation Rohini is visible portends\nevil to the maternal uncle; and a female born under the constellation\nMoolam is supposed to carry misery with her to the house which she\nenters by marriage.\n\nDomb children in Vizagapatam are supposed to be born without souls, and\nto be subsequently chosen as an abode by the soul of an ancestor. The\ncoming of the ancestor is signalised by the child dropping a chicken\nbone which has been thrust into its hand, and much rejoicing follows\namong the assembled relations.\n\nBy some Valaiyans (Tamil cultivators), the naming of infants is\nperformed at the Aiyanar temple by any one who is under the influence\nof inspiration. Failing such a one, several flowers, each with a name\nattached to it, are thrown in front of the idol. A boy, or the priest,\npicks up one of the flowers, and the infant receives the name which\nis connected with it. In connection with the birth ceremonies of the\nKoyis of the Godavari district, the Rev. J. Cain writes [54] that, on\nthe seventh day, the near relatives and neighbours assemble together to\nname the child. Having placed it on a cot, they put a leaf of the mowha\ntree (Bassia) in its hand, and pronounce some name which they think\nsuitable. If the child closes its hand over the leaf, it is regarded\nas a sign that it acquiesces, but, if the child rejects the leaf or\ncries, they take it as a sign that they must choose another name,\nand so throw away the leaf, and substitute another leaf and name,\nuntil the child shows its approbation.\n\nIt is noted, [55] in connection with the death ceremonies of the\nKondhs, that, if a man has been killed by a tiger, purification is made\nby the sacrifice of a pig, the head of which is cut off with a tangi\n(axe) by a Pano, and passed between the legs of the men in the village,\nwho stand in a line astraddle. It is a bad omen to him, if the head\ntouches any man's legs. According to another account, the head of\nthe decapitated pig is placed in a stream, and, as it floats down,\nit has to pass between the legs of the villagers. If it touches the\nlegs of any of them, it forebodes that he will be killed by a tiger.\n\nThe sight of a cat, on getting out of bed, is extremely unlucky, and\nhe who sees one will fail in all his undertakings during the day. \"I\nfaced the cat this morning,\" or \"Did you see a cat this morning?\" are\ncommon sayings when one fails in anything. The Paraiyans are said\nto be very particular about omens, and, if, when a Paraiyan sets\nout to arrange a marriage with a certain girl, a cat or a valiyan\n(a bird) crosses his path, he will give up the girl. I have heard\nof a superstitious European police officer, who would not start in\nsearch of a criminal, because he came across a cat.\n\nHouse dogs should, if they are to bring good luck, possess more than\neighteen visible claws. If a dog scratches the wall of a house, it\nwill be broken into by thieves; and, if it makes a hole in the ground\nwithin a cattle-shed, the cattle will be stolen. A dog approaching a\nperson with a bit of shoe-leather augurs success; with flesh, gain;\nwith a meaty bone, good luck; with a dry bone, death. If a dog enters\na house with wire or thread in its mouth, the master of the house must\nexpect to be put in prison. A dog barking on the roof of a house during\nthe dry weather portends an epidemic, and in the wet season a heavy\nfall of rain. There is a proverb \"Like a dying dog climbing the roof,\"\nwhich is said of a person who is approaching his ruin. The omen also\nsignifies the death of several members of the family, so the dog's ears\nand tail are cut off, and rice is steeped in the blood. A goat which\nhas climbed on to the roof is treated in like manner, dragged round\nthe house, or slaughtered. At the conclusion of the first menstrual\nceremony of a Kappiliyan (Canarese farmer) girl, some food is placed\nnear the entrance to the house, which a dog is allowed to eat. While\nso doing, it receives a severe beating. The more noise it makes, the\nbetter is the omen for the girl having a large family. If the animal\ndoes not howl, it is supposed that the girl will bear no children.\n\nThe sight of a jackal is very lucky to one proceeding on an errand. Its\ncry to the east and north of a village foretells something good for the\nvillagers, whereas the cry at midday means an impending calamity. If\na jackal cries towards the south in answer to the call of another\njackal, some one will be hung; and, if it cries towards the west,\nsome one will be drowned. A bachelor who sees a jackal running may\nexpect to be married shortly. If the offspring of a primipara dies,\nit is sometimes buried in a place where jackals can get at it. It\nis believed that, if a jackal does not make a sumptuous meal off the\ncorpse, the woman will not be blessed with more children. The corpses\nof the Koramas of Mysore are buried in a shallow grave, and a pot\nof water is placed on the mound raised over it. Should the spot be\nvisited during the night by a pack of jackals, and the water drunk by\nthem to slake their thirst after feasting on the dead body, the omen\nis accepted as a proof that the liberated spirit has fled to the realms\nof the dead, and will never trouble man, woman, child, or cattle.\n\nWhen a person rises in the morning, he should not face or see a cow's\nhead, but should see its hinder parts. This is in consequence of a\nlegend that a cow killed a Brahman by goring him with its horns. In\nsome temples, a cow is made to stand in front of the building with its\ntail towards it, so that any one entering may see its face. It is said\nthat, if a cow voids urine at the time of purchase, it is considered a\nvery good omen, but, if she passes dung, a bad omen. The hill Kondhs\nwill not cut the crops with a sickle having a serrated edge, such\nas is used by the Oriyas, but use a straight-edged knife. The crops,\nafter they have been cut, are threshed by hand, and not with the aid of\ncattle. The serrated sickle is not used, because it produces a sound\nlike that of cattle grazing, which would be unpropitious. If cattle\nwere used in threshing the crop, it is believed that the earth-god\nwould feel insulted by the dung and urine of the animals.\n\nA timber merchant at Calicut in Malabar is said to have spent more\nthan a thousand rupees in propitiating the spirit of a deceased\nBrahman under the following circumstances. He had built a new house,\nand, on the morning after the kutti puja (house-warming) ceremony,\nhis wife and children were coming to occupy it. Just as they were\nentering the grounds, a cow ran against one of the children, and\nknocked it down. This augured evil, and, in a few days, the child was\nattacked by smallpox. One child after another caught the disease,\nand at last the man's wife also contracted it. They all recovered,\nbut the wife was laid up with some uterine disorder. An astrologer\nwas sent for, and said that the site on which the house was built\nwas once the property of a Brahman, whose spirit still haunted it,\nand must be appeased. Expensive ceremonies were performed by Brahmans\nfor a fortnight. The house was sold to a Brahman priest for a nominal\nprice. A gold image of the deceased Brahman was made, and, after the\npurification ceremonies had been carried out, taken to the sacred\nshrine at Ramesvaram, where arrangements were made to have daily\nworship performed to it. The house, in its purified state, was sold\nback by the Brahman priest. The merchant's wife travelled by train to\nMadras, to undergo treatment at the Maternity Hospital. The astrologer\npredicted that the displeasure of the spirit would be exhibited on\nthe way by the breaking of dishes and by furniture catching fire--a\nstrange prediction, because the bed on which the woman was lying\ncaught fire by a spark from the engine. After the spirit had been\nthus propitiated, there was peace in the house.\n\nIt is noted [56] that, in the middle of the threshold of nearly all the\ngateways of the ruined fortifications round the Bellary villages may be\nnoticed a roughly carved cylindrical or conical stone, something like\na lingam. This is the boddu-rayi, literally the navel-stone, and so\nthe middle stone. It was planted there when the fort was first built,\nand is affectionately regarded as being the boundary of the village\nsite. Once a year, in May, just before the sowing season commences,\na ceremony takes place in connection with it. Reverence is first made\nto the bullocks of the village, and in the evening they are driven\nthrough the gateway past the boddu-rayi, with tom-toms, flutes, and\nother kinds of music. The Barike (village servant) next does puja\n(worship) to the stone, and then a string of mango leaves is tied\nacross the gateway above it. The villagers now form sides, one party\ntrying to drive the bullocks through the gate, and the other trying\nto keep them out. The greatest uproar and confusion naturally follow,\nand, in the midst of the turmoil, some bullock or other eventually\nbreaks through the guardians of the gate, and gains the village. If\nthat first bullock is a red one, the red grains on the red soil will\nflourish in the coming season. If he is white, white crops, such\nas cotton and white cholam, will prosper. If he is red and white,\nboth kinds will do well.\n\nVarious Oriya castes worship the goddess Lakshmi on Thursdays, in\nthe month of November, which are called Lakshmi varam, or Lakshmi's\nday. The goddess is represented by a basket filled with grain,\nwhereon some place a hair-ball which has been vomited by a cow. The\nball is called gaya panghula, and is usually one or two inches in\ndiameter. The owner of a cow which has vomited such a ball, regards\nit as a propitious augury for the prosperity of his family. A feast\nis held on the day on which the ball is vomited, and, after the ball\nhas been worshipped, it is carefully wrapped up, and kept in a box,\nin which it remains till it is required for further worship. Some\npeople believe that the ball continues to grow year by year, and\nregard this as a very good sign. Bulls are said not to vomit the balls,\nand only very few cows do so.\n\n\n    \"Throughout India,\" Mr J. D. E. Holmes writes, [57] \"but more\n    especially in the Southern Presidency, among the native population,\n    the value of a horse or ox principally depends on the existence and\n    situation of certain hair-marks on the body of the animal. These\n    hair-marks are formed by the changes in the direction in which\n    the hair grows at certain places, and, according to their shape,\n    are called a crown, ridge, or feather mark. The relative position\n    of these marks is supposed to indicate that the animal will bring\n    good luck to the owner and his relatives. There is a saying that\n    a man may face a rifle and escape, but he cannot avoid the luck,\n    good or evil, foretold by hair-marks. So much are the people\n    influenced by these omens that they seldom keep an animal with\n    unlucky marks, and would not allow their mares to be covered by\n    a stallion having unpropitious marks.\"\n\n\nIt is recorded by Bishop Whitehead [58] that \"we went to see the\nMaharaja (of Mysore) at his stables, and he showed us his fine stud\nof horses. Among them was the State horse, which is only used for\nreligious ceremonies, and is ridden only by the Maharaja himself. It is\npure white, without spot or blemish, and has the five lucky marks. This\nhorse came from Kathiawar, and is now about twenty years old. The\nMaharaja is trying to get another, to replace it when it dies. But\nit is not easy to get one with the unusual points required.\"\n\nTwo deaths occurring in a family in quick succession, were once\nbelieved to be the result of keeping an unlucky horse in the stable. I\nhave heard of a Eurasian police officer, who attributed the theft of\nfive hundred rupees, his official transfer to an unhealthy district,\nand other strokes of bad luck, to the purchase of a horse with unlucky\ncurls. All went well after he had got rid of the animal.\n\nFrom a recent note on beliefs about the bull, [59] I gather that\n\"Manu enjoins a grihasta or householder to always travel with\nbeasts which are well broken in, swift, endowed with lucky marks,\nand perfect in colour and form, without urging them much with the\ngoad. Marks are accounted lucky if they appear in certain forms,\nand at certain spots. One of these marks is usually known as sudi in\nTelugu, and suli in Tamil. A sudi is nothing but a whorl or circlet\nof hair, a properly formed sudi being perfectly round in form, and\nnearly resembling the sudivalu, the chakrayudha of Vishnu, which is\na short circular weapon commonly known as the discus of Vishnu. Every\nox should have at least two of these circlets or twists of hair, one\non the face, and one on the back, right about its centre. Two curls\nmay occur on the face, but they should not be one above the other,\nin which case they are known as kode mel kode, or umbrella above\numbrella. The purchaser of such a bull, it is believed, will soon have\nsome mishap in his house. Some, however, hold that this curl is not\nreally so bad as it is supposed to be. If the curls are side by side,\nthey are accounted lucky. In that case they are known as damara suli,\nor double kettle-drum circlet, from the kettle-drums placed on either\nside of Brahmani bulls in temple processions. It is sometimes known\nas the kalyana (marriage) suli, because such a kettle-drum is often\nused in marriage processions. A curl on the hump is held to be a very\ngood one, bringing prosperity to the purchaser. It is known as the\nkirita suli, or the crown circlet. The dewlaps should have a curl\non either side, or none. A curl on only one side is described as not\nlucky. On the back of the animal, a curl must be perfectly round. If\nit is elongated, and stretches on one side, it is known as the padai\nsuli, or the bier circlet. Kattiri suli, or the scissor circlet, is\nfound usually in the region of the belly, and is an unlucky sign. On\nthe body is sometimes found the puran suli, the circlet named after\nthe centipede from its supposed resemblance to it. On the legs is\noften found the velangu suli, or chain circlet, from its being like a\nchain bound round the legs. Both these are said to be bad marks, and\nbulls having them are invariably hard to sell. Attempts at erasure of\nunlucky marks are frequently noticed, for the reason that an animal\nwith a bad mark is scarcely, if ever, sold to advantage. One of the\nmost common and most effective ways of erasing an unlucky mark is to\nbrand it pretty deep, so that the hair disappears, and the curl is\nno more observable. Animals so branded are regarded with considerable\nsuspicion, and it is often difficult to secure purchasers for them.\"\n\nThe following are some of the marks on horses and cattle recorded by\nMr Holmes: [60]--\n\n\n(a) Horses\n\n1. Deobund (having control over evil spirits), also termed devuman\nor devumani, said by Muhammadans to represent the Prophet's finger,\nand by Hindus to represent a temple bell. This mark is a ridge,\none to three inches long, situated between the throat and counter\nalong the line of the trachea. It is the most lucky mark a horse can\npossess. It is compared to the sun, and, therefore, when it is present,\nnone of the evil stars can shine, and all unlucky omens are overruled.\n\n2. Khorta-gad (peg-driver), or khila-gad, is a ridge of hair directed\ndownwards on one or both hind-legs. It is said that no horse in the\nstable will be sold, so long as a horse with this mark is kept.\n\n3. Badi (fetter), a ridge of hair directed upwards on one or both\nforearms on the outer side, and said to indicate that the owner of\nthe animal will be sent to jail.\n\n4. Thanni (teat). Teat-like projections on the sheath of the male\nare considered unlucky.\n\n\n(b) Cattle\n\n5. Bhashicam suli is a crown on the forehead above the line of the\neyes, named after the chaplet worn by bride and bridegroom during\nthe marriage ceremony. If the purchaser be a bachelor or widower,\nthis mark indicates that he will marry soon. If the purchaser be a\nmarried man, he will either have the misfortune to lose his wife and\nmarry again, or the good fortune to obtain two wives.\n\n6. Mukkanti suli.  Three crowns on the forehead, arranged in the form\nof a triangle, said to represent the three eyes of Siva, of which\nthe one on the forehead will, if opened, burn up all things within\nthe range of vision.\n\n7. Padai suli. Two ridges of hair on the back on either side of the\nmiddle line, indicating that the purchaser will soon need a coffin.\n\n8. Tattu suli. A crown situated on the back between the points of\nthe hips, indicating that any business undertaken by the purchaser\nwill fail.\n\n9. A bullock with numerous spots over the body, like a deer, is\nconsidered very lucky.\n\nThe following quaint omen is recorded by Bishop Whitehead. [61] At\na certain village, when a pig is sacrificed to the village goddess\nAngalamman, its neck is first cut slightly, and the blood allowed to\nflow on to some boiled rice placed on a plantain leaf, and then the\nrice soaked in its own blood is given to the pig to eat. If the pig\neats it, the omen is good, if not, the omen is bad; but, in any case,\nthe pig has its head cut off by the pujari (priest).\n\nIf a Brahmani kite (Haliastur indus), when flying, is seen carrying\nsomething in its beak, the omen is considered very auspicious. The\nsight of this bird on a Sunday morning is also auspicious, so, on\nthis day, people may be seen throwing pieces of mutton or lumps of\nbutter to it. [62]\n\nIf an owl takes refuge in a house, the building is at once deserted,\nthe doors are closed, and the house is not occupied for six months,\nwhen an expiatory sacrifice must be performed. Brahmans are fed,\nand the house can only be re-entered after the proper hour has been\nfixed upon. This superstition only refers to a thatched house;\na terraced house need not be vacated. [63] Ill-luck will follow,\nshould an owl sit on the housetop, or perch on the bough of a tree\nnear the house. One screech forebodes death; two screeches forebode\nsuccess in any approaching undertaking; three, the addition of a girl\nto the family by marriage; four, a disturbance; five, that the hearer\nwill travel. Six screeches foretell the coming of guests; seven, mental\ndistress; eight, sudden death; and nine signify favourable results. A\nspecies of owl, called pullu, is a highly dreaded bird. It is supposed\nto cause all kinds of illness to children, resulting in emaciation. At\nthe sound of the screeching, children are taken into a room, to avoid\nits furtive and injurious gaze. Various propitiatory ceremonies are\nperformed by specialists to secure its good-will. Amulets are worn by\nchildren as a preventive against its evil influences. To warn off the\nunwelcome intruder, broken pots, painted with black and white dots,\nare set up on housetops. In the Bellary district, the flat roofs of\nmany houses may be seen decked with rags, fluttering from sticks,\npiles of broken pots, and so forth. These are to scare away owls,\nwhich, it is said, sometimes vomit up blood, and sometimes milk. If\nthey sit on a house and bring up blood, it is bad for the inmates;\nif milk, good. But the risk of the vomit turning out to be blood\nis apparently more feared than the off chance of its proving to be\nmilk is hoped for, and it is thought best to be on the safe side,\nand keep the owl at a distance. [64] The Kondhs believe that, if\nan owl hoots over the roof of a house, or on a tree close thereto,\na death will occur in the family at an early date. If the bird hoots\nclose to a village, but outside it, the death of one of the villagers\nwill follow. For this reason, it is pelted with stones, and driven\noff. The waist-belt of a Koraga, whom I saw at Udipi in South Canara,\nwas made of owl bones.\n\nShould a crow come near the house, and caw in its usual rapid\nraucous tones, it means that calamity is impending. But, should the\nbird indulge in its peculiar prolonged guttural note, happiness will\nensue. If a crow keeps on cawing incessantly at a house, it is believed\nto foretell the coming of a guest. The belief is so strong that some\nhousewives prepare more food than is required for the family. There\nis also an insect called virunthoo poochee, or guest insect. If\ncrows are seen fighting in front of a house, news of a death will\nshortly be heard. In some places, if a crow enters a house, it must\nbe vacated for not less than three months, and, before it can be\nre-occupied, a purification ceremony must be performed, and a number\nof Brahmans fed. Among the poorer classes, who are unable to incur\nthis expense, it is not uncommon to allow a house which has been thus\npolluted to fall into ruins. [65] In Malabar, there is a belief that\nill-luck will result if, on certain days, a crow soils one's person or\nclothes. The evil can only be removed by bathing with the clothes on,\nand propitiating Brahmans. On other days, the omen is a lucky one. On\nsradh (memorial) days, pindams (balls of cooked rice) are offered to\nthe crows. If they do not touch them, the ceremony is believed not to\nhave been properly performed, and the wishes of the dead man are not\nsatisfied. If the crows, after repeated trials, fail to eat the rice,\nthe celebrant makes up his mind to satisfy these wishes, and the crows\nare then supposed to relish the balls.  On one occasion, my Brahman\nassistant was in camp with me on the Palni hills, the higher altitudes\nof which are uninhabited by crows, and he had perforce to march down\nto the plains, in order to perform the annual ceremony in memory of\nhis deceased father. On another occasion, a Brahman who was staying\non the Palni hills telegraphed to the village of Periakulam for two\ncrows, which duly arrived confined in a cage. The sradh ceremony was\nperformed, and the birds were then set at liberty. On the last day\nof the death ceremonies of the Oddes (navvies), some rice is cooked,\nand placed on an arka (Calotropis gigantea) leaf as an offering to\nthe crows.  The arka plant, which grows luxuriantly on waste lands,\nis, it may be noted, used by Brahmans for the propitiation of rishis\n(sages) and pithrus (ancestors). [66] For seven days after the death\nof a Paniyan of Malabar, a little rice gruel is placed near the grave\nby the Chemmi (priest), who claps his hands as a signal to the evil\nspirits in the vicinity, who, in the shape of a pair of crows, are\nsupposed to partake of the food, which is hence called kaka conji,\nor crow's gruel. On the third day after the death of a Bedar (Canarese\ncultivator), a woman brings to the graveside some luxuries in the way\nof food, which is mixed up in a winnowing tray into three portions,\nand placed in front of three stones set over the head, abdomen,\nand legs of the deceased, for crows to partake of. On the sixth\nday after the death of a Korava, the chief mourner kills a fowl,\nand mixes its blood with rice. This he places, with betel leaves and\nareca nuts, near the grave. If it is carried off by crows, everything\nis considered to have been settled satisfactorily.  When a jungle\nUrali has been excommunicated from his caste, he must kill a sheep\nor goat before the elders, and mark his forehead with its blood. He\nthen gives a feast to the assembly, and puts part of the food on the\nroof of his house. If the crows eat it, he is received back into the\ncaste. A native clerk some time ago took leave in anticipation of\nsanction, on receipt of news of a death in his family at a distant\ntown. His excuse was that his elder brother had, on learning that\nhis son had seen two crows in coitu, sent him a post-card stating\nthat the son was dead. The boy turned out to be alive, but the card,\nit was explained, was sent owing to a superstitious belief that, if a\nperson sees two crows engaged in sexual congress, he will die unless\none of his relations sheds tears. To avert this catastrophe, false\nnews as to the death are sent by post or telegraph, and subsequently\ncorrected by a letter or telegram announcing that the individual is\nalive. A white (albino) crow, which made its appearance in the city\nof Madras a few years ago, caused considerable interest among the\nresidents of the locality, as it was regarded as a very good omen.\n\nAmong some classes in Mysore, there is a belief that, if a death occurs\nin a house on Tuesday or Friday, another death will speedily follow\nunless a fowl is tied to one corner of the bier. The fowl is buried\nwith the corpse. Those castes which do not eat fowls replace it by\nthe bolt of the door. [67] Among the Tamils, if a burial takes place\non a Saturday, a fowl must be buried or burnt, or another death will\nshortly occur in the family. There is a Tamil proverb that a Saturday\ncorpse will not go alone. When a fowl is sacrificed to the deity by the\njungle Paliyans of the Palni hills, the head ought to be severed at one\nblow, as this is a sign of the satisfaction of the god for the past,\nand of protection for the future. Should the head still hang, this\nwould be a bad omen, foreboding calamities for the ensuing year. [68]\nAn interesting rite in connection with pregnancy ceremonies among the\nOddes (navvies) is the presentation of a fowl or two to the pregnant\nwoman by her maternal uncle. The birds are tended with great care,\nand, if they lay eggs abundantly, it is a sign that the woman will\nbe prolific.\n\nBy some it is considered unlucky to keep pigeons about a\ndwelling-house, as they are believed, on account of their habit of\nstanding on one leg, to lead to poverty. The temple or blue-rock\npigeon is greatly venerated by Natives, who consider themselves\nhighly favoured if the birds build in their houses. Should a death\noccur in a house where there are tame pigeons, all the birds will,\nit is said, at the time of the funeral, circle thrice round the\nloft, and leave the locality for ever. House sparrows are supposed\nto possess a similar characteristic, but, before quitting the house\nof mourning, they will pull every straw out of their nests. Sparrows\nare credited with bringing good luck to the house in which they build\ntheir nests. For this purpose, when a house is under construction,\nholes are left in the walls or ceiling, or earthen pots are hung on\nthe walls by means of nails, as an attractive site for nesting. One\nmethod of attracting sparrows to a house is to make a noise with\nrupees as in the act of counting out coins.\n\nThere are experts who are able to interpret the significance of the\nchirping of lizards, which, inter alia, foretells the approach of\na case of snake-bite, and whether the patient will die or not. The\nfall of a lizard on different parts of the body is often taken as an\nomen for good or evil, according as it alights on the right or left\nside, hand or foot, head or shoulders. A Native of Cochin foretold\nfrom the chirping of a lizard that a robbery would take place at a\ncertain temple. In accordance with the prophecy, the temple jewels\nwere looted, and the prophet was sent to prison under suspicion of\nbeing an accomplice of the thieves, but subsequently released. The\nhook-swinging ceremony is said [69] to be sometimes performed after\nthe consent of the goddess has been obtained. If a lizard is heard\nchirping on the right, it is regarded as a sign of her consent. It\nis believed that the man who is swung suffers no pain if the cause\nis a good one, but excruciating agony if it is a bad one.\n\nIf an \"iguana\" (Varanus) enters a house, misfortune is certain to\noccur within a year, unless the house is shut up for six months. The\nappearance of a tortoise in a house, or in a field which is being\nploughed, is inauspicious. In the Cuddapah district, a cultivator\napplied for remission of rent, because one of his fields had been left\nwaste owing to a tortoise making its appearance in it. If, under these\ncircumstances, the field had been cultivated, the man, his wife, or\nhis cattle, would have died. It was pointed out that, as the tortoise\nwas one of Vishnu's incarnations, it should have been considered as\nan honour that the animal visited the field; but the reply was that\na tortoise would be honoured in the water, but not on the land. [70]\n\nThe sight of two snakes coiled round each other in sexual congress\nis considered to portend some great evil. The presence of a rat-snake\n(Zamenis mucosus) in a house at night is believed to bring good fortune\nto the inmates. Its evil influence is in its tail, a blow from which\nwill cause a limb to shrink in size and waste away.\n\nIn a valley named Rapuri Kanama in the Cuddapah district, there is\na pond near a Siva temple to Gundheswara. Those desirous of getting\nchildren, wealth, etc., should go there with a pure heart, bathe in the\npond, and then worship at the temple. After this, they should take a\nwild pine-apple leaf, and place it on the border of the pond. If their\nwishes are to be granted, a crab rises from the water, and bites the\nleaf in two. If their wishes will not be granted, the crab rises, but\nleaves the leaf untouched. If, however, the person has not approached\nthe pond with a pure heart, he will be set upon by a swarm of bees,\nwhich live in the vicinity, and will be driven off. [71]\n\nIf the nest of a clay-building insect is found in a house, the birth\nof a child is foretold; if a mud nest, of a male child; if a nest\nmade of jungle lac, of a girl. [72]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nII\n\nANIMAL SUPERSTITIONS\n\n\n1. Mammals\n\nThere is a belief that the urine of a wild monkey (langur) called\nkondamuccha, which it discharges in a thick stream, possesses the\npower of curing rheumatic pains, if applied to the affected part\nwith a mixture of garlic. Some of the poorer classes in the villages\nof Kurnool obtain a sale even for stones on which this monkey has\nurinated, and hill people suffering from chronic fever sometimes drink\nits blood. [73] I am informed by Mr A. Ff. Martin, that he has seen\na Muduvar on the Travancore hills much pulled down by fever seize\nan expiring black monkey (Semnopithecus johni), and suck the blood\nfrom its jugular vein. Childless Muduvar couples are dieted to make\nthem fruitful, the principal diet for the man being plenty of black\nmonkey. The flesh of the black monkey (Nilgiri langur) is sold in the\nNilgiri bazaars as a cure for whooping-cough. When Savara (hill tribe\nin Ganjam) children are seriously ill and emaciated, offerings are\nsaid by Mr G. V. Ramamurthi Pantulu to be made to monkeys, not in the\nbelief that the illness is caused by them, but because the sick child,\nin its wasted condition, has the attenuated figure of these animals.\nThe offerings consist of rice and other articles of food, which are\nplaced in baskets suspended from branches of trees in the jungle.\n\nSome years ago, a drinking fountain was erected at the Madras Museum,\nin which the water issued from the mouth of a lion. It entirely failed\nin its object, as the Native visitors would not use it, because the\nanimal was represented in the act of vomiting.\n\nI am informed by Mr C. Hayavadana Rao that the Beparis, who are traders\nand carriers between the hills and plains in the Vizagapatam Agency\ntracts, regard themselves as immune from the attacks of tigers, if\nthey take certain precautions.  Most of them have to pass through\nplaces infested with these beasts, and their favourite method of\nkeeping them off is as follows. As soon as they encamp at a place,\nthey level a square bit of ground, and light fires in it, round\nwhich they pass the night. It is their firm belief that the tiger\nwill not enter the square, from fear lest it should become blind,\nand eventually be shot. Mr Hayavadana Rao was once travelling towards\nMalkangiri from Jeypore, when he fell in with a party of Beparis\nthus encamped.  At that time the villages about Malkangiri were being\nravaged by a notorious man-eater. In connection with man-eating tigers,\nMr S. M. Fraser narrates [74] that, in Mysore, a man-eater was said\nto have attacked parties bearing corpses to the burning-ground.\n\n\n    \"The acquisition,\" he writes, \"of such a curious taste may\n    perhaps be explained by the following passage in a letter from\n    the Amildar. It is a custom among the villagers here not to burn\n    or bury the dead bodies of pregnant females, but to expose them\n    in the neighbouring jungles to be eaten by vultures and wild\n    beasts. The body is tied to a tree, in a sitting posture, and a\n    pot of water is put close by. Not long ago some cowherd boys came\n    across the dead body of a woman tied to a tree, and noticed the\n    foot-prints of a tiger round it, but the body was untouched. The\n    boys cut the rope binding the body, which fell to the ground,\n    and the next day the corpse was found eaten away by the tiger.\"\n\n\nThe village of Hulikal, or tiger's stone, on the Nilgiris is so called\nbecause in it a Badaga once killed a notorious man-eater. The spot\nwhere the beast was buried is shown near the Pillaiyar (Ganesa) temple,\nand is marked by three stones. It is said that there was formerly a\nstone image of the slain tiger thereabouts. [75] When a tiger enters\nthe dwelling of a Savara (hill tribe in Ganjam) and carries off an\ninmate, the village is said to be deserted, and sacrifices are offered\nto some spirits by the inhabitants. It is noted by Mr F. Fawcett [76]\nthat the Savaras have names for numerals up to twelve only. This is\naccounted for by a story that, long ago, some Savaras were measuring\ngrain in a field, and, when they had completed twelve measures, a\ntiger pounced on them, and devoured them. So, ever after, they have\nnot dared to have a numeral above twelve for fear of a tiger repeating\nthe performance. In the Vizagapatam district, a ballad is sung by\nthe Dasaris (a mendicant caste) about the goddess Yerakamma, who is\nreputed to have been the child of Dasari parents, and to have had the\npossession of second sight foretold by a Yerukala fortune-teller. She\neventually married, and one day begged her husband not to go to his\nfield, as she was sure he would be killed by a tiger if he did. He\nwent notwithstanding, and was slain as she had foreseen. She killed\nherself by committing sati (suttee, or burning of the living widow)\non the spot where her shrine still stands. The Muduvars are said by\nMr Martin to share with other jungle folk the belief that, if any\nanimal is killed by a tiger or leopard so as to lie north and south,\nit will not be eaten by the beast of prey. Nor will it be revisited,\nso that sitting over a \"kill\" which has fallen north and south, in\nthe hope of getting a shot at the returning tiger or leopard, is a\nuseless proceeding. The Billava toddy-drawers believe that, if the\nspathe of the palm tree is beaten with the bone of a buffalo which\nhas been killed by a tiger, the yield of toddy will, if the bone has\nnot touched the ground, be greater than if an ordinary bone is used.\n\nI once received an application for half a pound of tiger's fat,\npresumably for medicinal purposes. The bones of tigers and leopards\nground into powder, and mixed with their fat, gingelly (Sesamum)\noil, and a finely powdered blue stone, make an ointment for the cure\nof syphilitic sores. The bones of a leopard or hyaena, ground into\npowder and made into a paste with ox-gall and musk, are said to be a\nuseful ointment for application to rheumatic joints. The addition of\nthe fat of tigers or leopards makes the ointment more effective. I am\ntold that when, on one occasion, a European shot a tiger, the Natives\nwere so keen on securing some of the fat, that the shikaris (hunters)\ncame to him to decide as to the proper distribution among themselves\nand the camp servants.\n\nThe leopard is looked upon as in some way sacred by the hill\nKondhs. They object to a dead leopard being carried through their\nvillages, and oaths are taken on a leopard's skin.\n\nWriting in 1873, Dr Francis Day states [77] that \"at Cannanore (in\nMalabar), the Rajah's cat appears to be exercising a deleterious\ninfluence on one branch at least of the fishing, viz., that for\nsharks. It appears that, in olden times, one fish daily was taken\nfrom each boat as a perquisite for the Rajah's cat, or the poocha meen\n(cat-fish) collection. The cats apparently have not augmented so much\nas the fishing boats, so this has been converted into a money payment\nof two pies a day on each successful boat.\"\n\nIn connection with cats, there is a tradition that a Jogi (Telugu\nmendicant) bridegroom, before tying the bottu (marriage badge)\non his bride's neck, had to tie it by means of a string dyed with\nturmeric round the neck of a female cat. People sometimes object\nto the catching of cats by Jogis for food, as the detachment of a\nsingle hair from the body of a cat is considered a heinous offence. To\novercome the objection, the Jogi says that he wants the animal for a\nmarriage ceremony. On one occasion, I saw a Madiga (Telugu Pariah)\ncarrying home a bag full of kittens, which he said he was going to\neat. Some time ago, some prisoners, who called themselves Billaikavus\n(cat-eaters), were confined in the Vizagapatam jail. I am informed\nthat these people are Mala Paidis, who eat cat flesh.\n\nThe gun with which a wolf has been shot falls under some evil\ninfluence, and it is said not to shoot straight afterwards. Hence\nsome shikaris (hunters) will not shoot at a wolf.\n\nThe hyaena is believed to beat to death, or strangle with its tail,\nthose whom it seizes. The head of a hyaena is sometimes buried in\ncattle-sheds, to prevent cattle disease. Its incisor teeth are tied\nround the loins of a woman in labour, to lessen the pains. [78]\n\nThere is a belief that, when a bear seizes a man, it tickles him to\ndeath. [79] Bears are supposed, owing to the multilobulated external\nappearance of the kidneys, to gain an additional pair of these organs\nevery year of their life. They are believed to collect ripe wood-apples\n(Feronia elephantum) during the season, and store them in a secure\nplace in the forest. After a large quantity has been collected,\nthey remove the rind, and heap together all the pulp. They then bring\nhoney and the petals of sweet-smelling flowers, put them on the heap\nof pulp, thresh them with their feet and sticks in their hands, and,\nwhen the whole has become a consistent mass, feast on it. The Vedans\n(hunters) watch them when so engaged, drive them off, and rob them of\ntheir feast, which they carry off, and sell as karadi panchamritham,\nor bear delicacy made of five ingredients. The ordinary ingredients\nof panchamritham are slices of plantain (banana) fruits, jaggery\n(crude sugar) or sugar, cocoanut scrapings, ghi (clarified butter),\nhoney, and cardamom seeds.\n\nIt is believed that the flesh or blood of some animals, which have\ncertain organs largely developed, will cure disease of corresponding\norgans in the human subject. Thus, the flesh of the jackal, which is\ncredited with the possession of very powerful lungs, is said to be\na remedy for asthma.\n\nBy the jungle Paliyans of the Palni hills, the following device\nis adopted to protect themselves from the attacks of wild animals,\nthe leopard in particular. Four jackals' tails are planted in four\ndifferent spots, chosen so as to include the area in which they wish\nto be safe from the brute.  Even if a leopard entered the magic square,\nit could do the Paliyan no harm, as its mouth is locked. [80]\n\nThere is a belief that the urine of wild dogs (Cyon dukhunensis) is\nextremely acrid, and that they sprinkle with it the bushes through\nwhich they drive their prey (deer and wild pigs), and then rush upon\nthe latter, when blinded by the pungent fluid. According to another\nversion, they jerk the urine into their victim's eyes with their tails.\n\nThe Koyis of the Godavari district are said by the Rev. J. Cain\n[81] to hold in reverence the Pandava brothers, Arjuna and Bhima,\nand claim descent from the latter by his marriage with a wild woman\nof the woods. The wild dogs or dhols are regarded as the dutas or\nmessengers of the brothers, and they would on no account kill a dhol,\neven though it should attack their favourite calf. They even regard it\nas imprudent to interfere with these dutas, when they wish to feast\nupon their cattle. The long black beetles, which appear in large\nnumbers at the beginning of the hot weather, are called by the Koyis\nthe Pandava flock of goats.\n\nAt a sale of cattle, the vendor sometimes takes a small quantity\nof straw in his hand, and, putting some cow-dung on it, presents\nit to the purchaser. [82] The five products of the cow, known as\npanchagavyam--milk, curds, butter, urine, and faeces--are taken by\nHindus to remove pollution from confinement, a voyage across the seas,\nand other causes. It is on record [83] that the Tanjore Nayakar,\nhaving betrayed Madura and suffered for it, was told by his Brahman\nadvisers that he had better be born again. So a colossal cow was cast\nin bronze, and the Nayakar shut up inside. The wife of his Brahman\nguru (religious preceptor) received him in her arms, rocked him on\nher knees, and caressed him on her breast, and he tried to cry like\na baby. It is recorded by Frazer [84] that, when a Hindu child's\nhoroscope portends misfortune or crime, he is born again from a\ncow thus. Being dressed in scarlet, and tied on a new sieve, he is\npassed between the hind-legs of a cow forward through the fore-legs,\nand again in the reverse direction, to simulate birth. The ordinary\nbirth ceremonies are then gone through, and the father smells his\nson as a cow smells her calf.\n\nTradition runs to the effect that, at the time of the separation\nof Ramesvaram island from the mainland, the cows became prisoners\nthereon. Not being able, like the cows of Cape Cod, which are fed\non herrings' heads, to adapt themselves to a fish diet, they became\ngradually converted into diminutive metamorphosed cows, which may\nstill be seen grazing on the shore. The legend is based on the fancied\nresemblance of the horned coffer-fishes (Ostracion cornutus), which\nare frequently caught by the fishermen, to cattle. Portions of the\nskulls of cats and dogs, which are sometimes picked up on the beach,\nalso bear a rude resemblance to the skull of a cow, the horns being\nrepresented by the zygoma.\n\nA story is told at Cochin that the beautiful blue and white tiles from\nCanton, which adorn the floor of the synagogue of the White Jews,\nwere originally intended for the Durbar hall of a former Raja of\nCochin. But a wily Jew declared that bullock's blood must have been\nused in the preparation of the glaze, and offered to take them off\nthe hands of the Raja, who was only too glad to get rid of them.\n\nThe afterbirths (placentae) of cattle are tied to a tree which yields\na milky juice, in the belief that the cow will thereby give a better\nyield of milk.\n\nThere is a custom among the Tellis (Oriya oil-pressers) that,\nif a cow dies with a rope round its neck, or on the spot where it\nis tethered, the family is under pollution until purification has\nbeen effected by means of a pilgrimage, or by bathing in a sacred\nriver. The Holodia section of the Tellis will not rear male calves,\nand do not castrate their bulls. Male calves are disposed of by sale\nas speedily as possible.\n\nIf the jungle Paliyans of Tinnevelly come across the carcase of a\ncow or buffalo near a stream, they will not go near it for a long\ntime. They absolutely refuse to touch leather, and one of them\ndeclined to carry my camera box, because he detected that it had a\nleather strap.\n\nThe Bakudas of South Canara will not carry a bedstead, unless the\nlegs are first taken off, and it is said that this objection rests\nupon the supposed resemblances between the four-legged cot and the\nfour-legged ox. In like manner, the Koragas have a curious prejudice\nagainst carrying any four-legged animal, dead or alive. This extends\nto anything with four legs, such as a chair, table, etc., which they\ncannot be prevailed on to lift, unless one leg is removed. As they\nwork as coolies, this is said sometimes to cause inconvenience. [85]\n\nAmong the Sembaliguda Gadabas of Vizagapatam, there is a belief that\na piece of wild buffalo horn, buried in the ground of the village,\nwill avert or cure cattle disease. [86]\n\nThe jungle Kadirs believe that their gods occasionally reside in the\nbody of a \"bison\" (Bos gaurus), and have been known to worship a bull\nshot by a sportsman.\n\nThe goddess Gangadevi is worshipped by the Kevutos (fishing caste)\nof Ganjam at the Dasara festival, and goats are sacrificed in her\nhonour. In the neighbourhood of the Chilka lake, the goats are not\nsacrificed, but set at liberty, and allowed to graze on the Kalikadevi\nhill. There is a belief that animals thus dedicated to the goddess\ndo not putrify when they die, but dry up.\n\nThe Tiyans (toddy-drawers) of Malabar carry, tucked into the\nwaist-cloth, a bone loaded with lead at both ends, which is used for\ntapping the flower-stalk of the palm tree to bring out the juice. A man\nonce refused to sell one of these bones to Mr F. Fawcett at any price,\nas it was the femur of a sambar (Cervus unicolor), which possessed\nsuch virtue that it would fetch juice out of any tree. Deer's horn,\nground into a fine paste, is said to be an excellent balm for pains\nand swellings. It is sometimes made into a powder, which is mixed\nwith milk or honey, and produces a potion which is supposed to aid\nthe growth of stunted women. [87]\n\nA Yanadi shikari (hunter) has been known, when skinning a black\nbuck (antelope) shot by a European, to cut out the testicles,\nand wrap them up in his loin-cloth, to be subsequently taken as an\naphrodisiac. Antelope horn, when powdered and burnt, is said to drive\naway mosquitoes, and keep scorpions away. A paste made with antelope\nhorn is used as an external application for sore throat. Antelope\nand chinkara (Indian gazelle) horns, if kept in grain baskets, are\nsaid to prevent weevils from attacking the grain.\n\nThe Gadabas of Vizagapatam will not touch a horse, as they are\npalanquin-bearers, and have the same objection to the rival animal\nthat a cab-driver has to a motor-car. In South Canara, none but the\nlowest Pariah will rub a horse down. If a Malai Vellala of Coimbatore\ntouches one of these animals, he has to perform a religious ceremonial\nfor the purpose of purification.\n\nThe members of the elephant sept of the Oriya Haddis, when they see\nthe foot-prints of an elephant, take some of the dust from the spot,\nand make a mark on the forehead with it. They also draw the figure\nof an elephant, and worship it, when they perform sradh and other\nceremonies. Wild elephants are said to be held in veneration by the\njungle Kadirs, whereas tame ones are believed to have lost the divine\nelement. [88]\n\nWhen cholera breaks out in a Kondh village, all males and females\nsmear their bodies from head to foot with pig's fat liquefied by heat,\nand continue to do so until a few days after the disappearance of the\ndread disease. During this time they do not bathe, lest the smell of\nthe fat should be washed away.\n\nSome women rub the blood of the small garden-bat, which has\nwell-developed ears, into the artificially dilated lobes of their ears,\nso as to strengthen them. The wings of bats are highly prized as a\nhairwash. They are crushed, and mixed with cocoanut oil, and other\ningredients. The mixture is kept underground in a closed vessel for\nthree months, and then used to prevent the hair from falling out or\nturning grey. [89] The Paniyans of Malabar are said to eat land-crabs\nfor a similar purpose.\n\nThe common striped or palm-squirrel (Sciurus palmarum) was, according\nto a legend, employed by Rama to assist the army of monkeys in the\nconstruction of the bridge to connect Ramesvaram island with Ceylon,\nwhither Ravana had carried off his wife Sita. The squirrel helped the\nmonkeys by rolling in the sand on the shore, so as to collect it in\nits hairy coat, and then depositing it between the piled up stones,\nso as to cement them together. Seeing it fatigued by its labours,\nRama sympathetically stroked its back with the three middle fingers\nof his right hand, marks of which still persist in the squirrels at\nthe present day. There is a further legend that, once upon a time,\none of the gods, having compassion on the toddy-drawers because\ntheir life was a hard one, and because they were constantly exposed\nto danger, left at the foot of a palmyra tree some charmed water,\nthe value of which was that it saved from injury any one falling\nfrom a height. A toddy-drawer, however, got drunk, and, forgetting\nto drink the elixir, went home. When he returned, he found that a\nsquirrel had drunk it, and vowed vengeance on it. And that is why every\ntoddy-drawer will always kill a squirrel, and also why the squirrel,\nfrom whatever height it may fall, comes to no harm. [90] In a note\non the Pariah caste in Travancore, the Rev. S. Mateer narrates [91]\na legend that the Shanans (Tamil toddy-drawers) are descended from\nAdi, the daughter of a Pariah woman at Karuvur, who taught them to\nclimb the palm tree, and prepared a medicine which would protect them\nfrom falling from the high trees. The squirrels also ate some of it,\nand enjoy a similar immunity. There is a Tamil proverb that, if you\ndesire to climb trees, you must be a Shanan. The story was told by\nBishop Caldwell of a Shanan who was sitting upon a leaf-stalk at the\ntop of a palmyra palm in a high wind, when the stalk gave way, and\nhe came down to the ground quite safely, sitting on the leaf, which\nserved the purpose of a natural parachute. Woodpeckers are called\nShanara kurivi by bird-catchers, because they climb trees like Shanans.\n\nThere is a legend that, before the Kaliyuga began, the Pandavas lived\non the Nilgiris. A kind of edible truffle (Mylitta lapidescens) is\nknown as little man's bread on these hills. The Badaga legendary\nname for it is Pandva-unna-buthi, or dwarf bundle of food, [92]\ni.e., food of the dwarfs, who are supposed to have built the pandu\nkulis or kistvaens. Being so small, they called in the black-naped\nhare (Lepus nigricollis) to plough their fields. The black patches\non their necks are the inherited mark of the yoke. The blood of the\nhare is administered to children suffering from cough.\n\nBramans use a porcupine quill for parting their wives' hair in a\nceremony connected with the period of gestation known as simantam. It\nis said [93] that among the Nambutiri Brahmans, the quill should have\nthree white marks on it. The quills of porcupines are sold by Jogis\n(Telugu mendicants) to goldsmiths, for use as brushes.\n\nThere is a tradition among the fishing folk of Ramesvaram island that\na box of money was once found in the stomach of a dugong (Halicore\ndugong), and an official is consequently invited to be present at the\nexamination of the stomach contents, so that the possessors of the\ncarcase may not be punished under the Treasure Trove Act for concealing\ntreasure. The fat of the dugong is believed to be efficacious in the\ntreatment of dysentery, and is administered in the form of sweetmeats,\nor used instead of ghi (clarified butter) in the preparation of food.\n\n\n\n\n2. Birds\n\nThe following story is current concerning the sacred vultures of\nTirukazhukunram. The Ashtavasus, or eight gods who guard the eight\npoints of the compass, did penance, and Siva appeared in person before\nthem. But, becoming angry with them, he cursed them, and turned them\ninto vultures. When they asked for forgiveness, Siva directed that\nthey should remain at the temple of Vedagiri Iswara. One pair of\nthese birds still survives, and come to the temple daily at noon for\nfood. Two balls of rice cooked with ghi (clarified butter) and sugar,\nwhich have been previously offered to the deity, are placed at a\nparticular spot on the hill. The vultures, arriving simultaneously,\nappropriate a ball apiece. The temple priests say that, every day,\none of the birds goes on a pilgrimage to Benares, and the other to\nRamesvaram. It is also said that the pair will never come together,\nif sinners are present at the temple.\n\nWhen a person is ill, his family sometimes make a vow that they will\nofter a few pounds of mutton to the Braahmani kite (Haliastur indus,\nGaruda pakshi) on the patient's recovery. It is believed that, should\nthe offering be acceptable, the sick person will speedily get better,\nand the bird will come to demand its meat, making its presence known\nby sitting on a tree near the house, and crying plaintively. The\nshadow of a Braahmani kite falling on a cobra is said to stupefy\nthe snake. The Kondhs do not consider it a sin to kill this bird,\nwhich is held in veneration throughout Southern India. A Kondh will\nkill it for so slight an offence as carrying off his chickens.\n\nThe crow is believed to possess only one eye, which moves from socket\nto socket as occasion demands. The belief is founded on the legend\nthat an Asura, disguised as a crow, while Rama was sleeping with his\nhead on Sita's lap in the jungles of Dandaka, pecked at her breasts,\nso that blood issued therefrom. On waking, Rama, observing the blood,\nand learning the cause of it, clipped a bit of straw, and, after\ninfusing it with the Brahma astra (miraculous weapon), let it go\nagainst the crow Asura, who appealed to Rama for mercy. Taking pity\non it, Rama told the Asura to offer one of its eyes to the weapon,\nand saved it from death. Since that time, crows are supposed to have\nonly one eye. The Kondhs will not kill crows, as this would be a\nsin amounting to the killing of a friend. According to their legend,\nsoon after the creation of the world, there was a family consisting\nof an aged man and woman, and four children, who died one after the\nother in quick succession. Their parents were too infirm to take the\nnecessary steps for their cremation, so they threw the bodies away on\nthe ground at some distance from their home. God appeared to them in\ntheir dreams one night, and promised that he would create the crow,\nso that it might devour the dead bodies. Some Koyis believe that hell\nis the abode of an iron crow, which feeds on all who go there. There\nis a legend in the Kavarathi Island of the Laccadives, that a Mappilla\ntangal (Muhammadan priest) once cursed the crows for dropping their\nexcrement on his person, and now there is not a crow on the island.\n\nIt is believed that, if a young crow-pheasant is tied by an iron\nchain to a tree, the mother, as soon as she discovers the captive,\nwill go and fetch a certain root, and by its aid break the chain,\nwhich, when it snaps, is converted into gold.\n\nIn some Kapu (Telugu cultivator) houses, bundles of ears of rice may\nbe seen hung up as food for sparrows, which are held in esteem. The\nhopping of sparrows is said to resemble the gait of a person\nconfined in fetters, and there is a legend that the Kapus were once\nin chains, and the sparrows set them at liberty, and took the bondage\non themselves. Native physicians prescribe the flesh and bones of cock\nsparrows for those who have lost their virility. The birds are cleaned,\nand put in a mortar, together with other medicinal ingredients. They\nare pounded together for several hours, so that the artificial heat\nproduced by the operation converts the mixture into a pulpy mass,\nwhich is taken in small doses. The flesh of quails and partridges is\nalso believed to possess remedial properties.\n\nA west coast housewife, when she buys a fowl, goes through a mystic\nritual to prevent it from getting lost. She takes it thrice round\nthe fireplace, saying to it: \"Roam over the country and the forest,\nand come home safe again.\" Some years ago, a rumour spread through the\nKoyi villages that an iron cock was abroad very early in the morning,\nand upon the first village in which it heard one or more cocks crow it\nwould send a pestilence, and decimate the village. In one instance,\nat least, this led to the immediate extermination of all the cocks\nin the village.\n\nThe Indian roller (Coracias indica), commonly called the blue jay,\nis known as pala-pitta or milk bird, because it is supposed that, when\na cow gives little milk, the yield will be increased if a few of the\nfeathers of this bird are chopped up, and given to it along with grass.\n\nThe fat of the peacock, which moves gracefully and easily, is supposed\nto cure stiff joints. Peacock's feathers are sold in the bazaar,\nand the burnt ashes are used as a cure for vomiting.\n\nThe deposit of white magnesite in the \"Chalk Hills\" of the Salem\ndistrict is believed to consist of the bones of the mythical bird\nJatayu, which fought Ravana, to rescue Sita from his clutches.\n\n\n\n\n3. Reptiles and Batrachians.\n\nIt is recorded by Canter Visscher [94] that, \"in the mountains and\nremote jungles of this country (Malabar), there is a species of snake\nof the shape and thickness of the stem of a tree, which can swallow men\nand beasts entire. I have been told an amusing story about one of these\nsnakes. It is said that at Barcelore a chego (Chogan) had climbed up a\ncocoanut tree to draw toddy or palm wine, and, as he was coming down,\nboth his legs were seized by a snake which had stretched itself up\nalongside the tree with its mouth wide open, and was sucking him in\ngradually as he descended. Now, the Indian, according to the custom\nof his country, had stuck his teifermes (an instrument not unlike a\npruning knife), into his girdle with the curve turned outwards; and,\nwhen he was more than half swallowed, the knife began to rip up the\nbody of the snake so as to make an opening, by which the lucky man was\nmost unexpectedly able to escape. Though the snakes in this country\nare so noxious to the natives, yet the ancient veneration for them is\nstill maintained. No one dares to injure them or to drive them away\nby violence, and so audacious do they become that they will sometimes\ncreep between people's legs when they are eating, and attack their\nbowls of rice, in which case retreat is necessary until the monsters\nhave satiated themselves, and taken their departure.\"\n\nAnother snake story, worthy of the Baron Munchausen, is recorded in\nTaylor's \"Catalogue raisonne of Oriental Manuscripts.\" [95]\n\n\n    \"The Coya (Koyi) people eat snakes. About forty years since a\n    Brahman saw a person cooking snakes for food, and, expressing great\n    astonishment, was told by the forester that these were mere worms;\n    that, if he wished to see a serpent, one should be shown him;\n    but that, as for themselves, secured by the potent charms taught\n    them by Ambikesvarer, they feared no serpents. As the Brahman\n    desired to see this large serpent, a child was sent with a bundle\n    of straw and a winnowing fan, who went, accompanied by the Brahman,\n    into the depths of the forest, and, putting the straw on the mouth\n    of a hole, commenced winnowing, when smoke of continually varying\n    colours arose, followed by bright flame, in the midst of which a\n    monstrous serpent having seven heads was seen. The Brahman was\n    speechless with terror at the sight, and, being conducted back\n    by the child, was dismissed with presents of fruits.\"\n\n\nIt is stated by Mr Gopal Panikkar [96] that, \"people believe\nin the existence inside the earth of a precious stone called\nmanikkakkallu. These stones are supposed to have been made out of\nthe gold, which has existed in many parts of the earth from time\nimmemorial. Certain serpents of divine nature have been blowing for\nages on these treasures of gold, some of which dwindle into a small\nstone of resplendent beauty and brightness called manikkam. The moment\ntheir work is finished, the serpents are transformed into winged\nserpents, and fly up into the air with the stones in their mouths.\"\n\nAccording to another version of this legend, [97] \"people in Malabar\nbelieve that snakes guard treasure. But silver they will have\nnone. Even in the case of gold, the snakes are said to visit hidden\ntreasure for twelve years occasionally, and, only when they find that\nthe treasure is not removed in the meantime, do they begin to guard\nit. When once it has begun to watch, the snake is said to be very\nzealous over it. It is said to hiss at it day and night. This constant\napplication is believed to diminish its proportions, and to make it\nassume a smaller appearance. In time, in the place of the pointed tail,\nthe reptile is said to get wings, and the treasure, by the continuous\nhissing, to assume the form of a precious stone. When this is done,\nthe snake is said to fly with its precious acquisition. So strong is\nthis belief that, when a comet appeared some ten years ago, people\nfirmly believed that it was the flight of the winged serpent with\nthe precious stone.\"\n\nNatives, when seeking for treasure, arm themselves with a staff made\nfrom one of the snake-wood trees, in the belief that the snakes which\nguard the treasure will retire before it.\n\nIn Malabar, it is believed that snakes wed mortal girls, and fall in\nlove with women. When once they do so, they are said to be constantly\npursuing them, and never to leave them, except for an occasional\nseparation for food. The snake is said never to use its fangs against\nits chosen woman. So strong is the belief, that women in Malabar would\nthink twice before attempting to go by themselves into a bush. [98]\n\nThere is a temple in Ganjam, the idol in which is said to be protected\nfrom desecration at night by a cobra. When the doors are being shut,\nthe snake glides in, and coils itself round the lingam. Early in\nthe morning, when the priest opens the door, it glides away, without\nattempting to harm any of the large number of spectators, who never\nfail to assemble. [99]\n\nThe town of Nagercoil in Travancore derives its name from the temple\ndedicated to the snake-god (naga kovil), where many stone images of\nsnakes are deposited. There is a belief that snake-bite is not fatal\nwithin a mile of the temple.\n\nThe safety with which snake-charmers handle cobras is said to be due\nto the removal of a stone, which supplied their teeth with venom,\nfrom under the tongue or behind the hood. This stone is highly prized\nas a snake poison antidote. It is said to be not unlike a tamarind\nstone in size, shape, and appearance; and is known to be genuine if,\nwhen it is immersed in water, bubbles continue to rise from it, or\nif, when put into the mouth, it gives a leap, and fixes itself to\nthe palate. When it is applied to the punctures made by the snake's\npoison fangs, it is said to stick fast and extract the poison, falling\noff of itself as soon as it is saturated. After the stone drops off,\nthe poison which it has absorbed is removed by placing it in a vessel\nof milk which becomes darkened in colour. A specimen was submitted to\nFaraday, who expressed his belief that it was a piece of charred bone,\nwhich had been filled with blood, and then charred again. [100]\n\nThere is, in Malabar, a class of people called mantravadis (dealers\nin magical spells), who are believed to possess an hereditary power\nof removing the effects of snake poison by repeating mantrams, and\nperforming certain rites. If a house is visited by snakes, they\ncan expel them by reciting such mantrams on three small pebbles,\nand throwing them on to the roof. In cases of snake-bite, they recite\nmantrams and wave a cock over the patient's body from the head towards\nthe feet. Sometimes a number of cocks have to be sacrificed before\nthe charm works. The patient is then taken to a tank (pond) or well,\nand a number of pots of water are emptied over his head, while the\nmantravadi utters mantrams. There are said to be certain revengeful\nsnakes, which, after they have bitten a person, coil themselves round\nthe branches of a tree, and render the efforts of the mantravadi\nineffective. In such a case, he, through the aid of mantrams, sends\nants and other insects to harass the snake, which comes down from\nthe tree, and sucks the poison from the punctures which it has made.\n\nIn the early part of the last century, a certain Tanjore pill had\na reputation as a specific against the bite of mad dogs, and of the\nmost poisonous snakes. [101]\n\nThe following note on a reputed cure for snake poisoning, used by\nthe Oddes (navvies), was communicated to me by Mr Gustav Haller.\n\n\n    \"A young boy, who belonged to a gang of Oddes, was catching\n    rats, and put his hand into a bamboo bush, when a cobra bit him,\n    and clung to his finger when he was drawing his hand out of the\n    bush. I saw the dead snake, which was undoubtedly a cobra. I was\n    told that the boy was in a dying condition, when a man of the same\n    gang said that he would cure him. He applied a brown pill to the\n    wound, to which it stuck without being tied. The man dipped a root\n    into the water, and rubbed it on the lad's arm from the shoulder\n    downwards. The arm, which was benumbed, gradually became sensitive,\n    and at last the fingers could move, and the pill dropped off. The\n    moist root was rubbed on to the boy's tongue, and into the corner\n    of the eyes, before commencing operations. The man said that a used\n    pill is quite efficacious, but should be well washed to get rid\n    of the poison. In the manufacture of the pills, five leaves of a\n    creeper are dried, and ground to powder. The pill must be inserted\n    for nine days between the bark and cambium of a margosa tree\n    (Melia Azadirachta) during the new moon, when the sap ascends.\"\n\n\nThe creeper referred to is Tinospora cordifolia (gul bel), and the\nroots are apparently those of the same climbing shrub. There is a\nwidespread belief that gul bel growing on a margosa tree is more\nefficacious as a medicine than that which is found on other kinds\nof trees.\n\nIn cases of snake-bite, the Dommara snake-charmers place over the seat\nof the bite a black stone, which is said to be composed of various\ndrugs mixed together and burnt. It is said to drop off, as soon as\nit has absorbed all the poison. It is then put into milk or water to\nextract the poison, and the fluid is thrown away as being dangerous\nto life if swallowed. The Mandulas (wandering medicine men) use as\nan antidote against snake-bite a peculiar wood, of which a piece is\ntorn off, and eaten by the person bitten. [102] Among the Viramushtis\n(professional mendicants), there is a subdivision called Naga Mallika\n(Rhinacanthus communis), the roots of which are believed to cure\nsnake-bite. The jungle Paliyans of the Palni hills are said [103]\nto carry with them certain leaves, called naru valli ver, which they\nbelieve to be a very efficient antidote to snake-bite. As soon as one\nof them is bitten, he chews the leaves, and also applies them to the\npunctures. The Kudumi medicine men of Travancore claim to be able to\ncure snake-bite by the application of certain leaves ground into a\npaste, and by exercising their magical powers. The Telugu Tottiyans\nare noted for their power of curing snake-bites by means of mystical\nincantations, and the original inventor of this mode of treatment\nhas been deified under the name of Pambalamman.\n\nThe jungle Yanadis are fearless in catching cobras, which they draw\nout of their holes without any fear of their fangs. They claim to\nbe under the protection of a charm, while so doing. A correspondent\nwrites that a cobra was in his grounds, and his servant called in a\nYanadi to dislodge it. The man caught it alive, and, before killing\nit, carefully removed the poison-sac with a knife, and swallowed it\nas a protection against snake-bite.\n\nThe Nayadis of Malabar, when engaged in catching rats in their holes,\nwear round the wrist a snake-shaped metal ring, to render them safe\nagainst snakes which may be concealed in the hole.\n\nA treatment for cobra-bite is to take a chicken, and make a deep\nincision into the beak at the basal end. The cut surface is applied\nto the puncture made by the snake's fangs, which are opened up with a\nknife. After a time the chicken dies, and, if the patient has not come\nround, more chicken must be applied until he is out of danger. The\ntheory is that the poison is attracted by the blood of the chicken,\nand enters it. The following treatment for cobra bite is said [104]\nto be in vogue in some places:--\n\n\n    \"As soon as a person has been bitten, a snake-charmer is sent for,\n    who allures the same or another cobra whose fangs have not been\n    drawn to the vicinity of the victim, and causes it to bite him\n    at as nearly as possible the same place as before. Should this\n    be fulfilled, the bitten man will as surely recover as the snake\n    will die. It is believed that, if a person should come across two\n    cobras together, they will give him no quarter. To avoid being\n    pursued by them, he takes to his heels, after throwing behind\n    some garment, on which the snakes expend their wrath. When they\n    have completed the work of destruction, the pieces to which the\n    cloth has been reduced, are gathered together, and preserved as\n    a panacea for future ills.\"\n\n\nA fisherman, who is in doubt as to whether a water-snake which has\nbitten him is poisonous or not, sometimes has resort to a simple\nremedy. He dips his hands into the mud, and eats several handfuls\nthereof. [105]\n\nThe fragrant inflorescence of Pandanus fascicularis is believed to\nharbour a tiny snake, which is more deadly than the cobra. Incautious\nsmelling of the flowers may, it is said, lead to death.\n\nThe earth-snake (Typhlops braminus) is known as the ear-snake, because\nit is supposed to enter the ear of a sleeper, and cause certain death.\n\nThe harmless tree-snake (Dendrophis pictus) is more dreaded than the\ncobra. It is believed that, after biting a human being, it ascends\nthe nearest palmyra palm, where it waits until it sees the smoke\nascending from the funeral pyre of the victim. The only chance of\nsaving the life of a person who has been bitten is to have a mock\nfuneral, whereat a straw effigy is burnt. Seeing the smoke, the\ndeluded snake comes down from the tree, and the bitten person recovers.\n\nThe green tree-snake (Dryophis mycterizans) is said to have a habit\nof striking at the eyes of people, to prevent which a rag is tied\nround the head of the snake, when it is caught. Another, and more\ncurious belief is that a magical oil can be prepared from its dead\nbody. A tender cocoanut is opened at one end, and the body of the\nsnake is put into the cocoanut, which, after being closed, is buried\nin a miry place, and allowed to remain there until the body decays,\nand the water in the cocoanut becomes saturated with the products of\ndecomposition. When this has taken place, the water is taken out, and\nused as oil for a lamp. When a person carries such a lamp lighted, his\nbody will appear to be covered all over by running green tree-snakes,\nto the great dismay of all beholders. [106]\n\nFor the following note on beliefs concerning the green tree-snake\n(Dryophis), I am indebted to Dr N. Annandale. A recipe for making a\ngood curry, used by women who are bad cooks, is to take a tree-snake,\nand draw it through the hands before beginning to make the curry. To\ncure a headache, kill a tree-snake, and ram cotton seed and castor-oil\ndown its throat, until the whole body is full. Then bury it, and allow\nthe seeds to grow. Take the seeds of the plants that spring up, and\nseparate the cotton from the castor seeds. Ram them down the throat\nof a second snake. Repeat the process on a third snake, and make a\nwick from the cotton of the plant that grows out of its body, and\noil from the castor plants. If you light the wick in a lamp filled\nwith the oil, and take it outside at night, you will see the whole\nplace alive with green tree-snakes. Another way of performing the\nsame experiment is to bore a hole in a ripe cocoanut, put in a live\ntree-snake, and stop the hole up. Then place the cocoanut beneath a\ncow in a cowshed for forty days, so that it is exposed to the action\nof the cow's urine. A lamp fed with oil made from the cocoanut will\nenable you to see innumerable tree-snakes at night.\n\nThe bite of the sand-snake (Eryx Johnii) is believed to cause leprosy\nand twisting of the hands and feet. An earth-snake, which lives at\nKodaikanal on the Palni hills, is credited with giving leprosy to\nany one whose skin it licks. In the treatment of leprosy, a Russell's\nviper (Vipera russellii) is stuffed with rice, and put in an earthen\npot, the mouth of which is sealed with clay. The pot is buried for\nforty days, and then exhumed. Chickens are fed with the rice, and the\npatient is subsequently fed on the chickens. The fat of the rat-snake\n(Zamenis mucosus) is used as an external application in the treatment\nof leprosy. An old woman, during an epidemic of cholera at Bezwada,\nused to inject the patients hypodermically with an aqueous solution\nof cobra venom.\n\nMischievous children, and others, when they see two persons\nquarrelling, rub the nails of the fingers of one hand against those\nof the other, and repeat the words \"Mungoose and snake, bite, bite,\"\nin the hope that thereby the quarrel will be intensified, and grow\nmore exciting from the spectator's point of view.\n\nWhen a friend was engaged in experiments on snake venom, some Dommaras\n(jugglers) asked for permission to unbury the corpses of the snakes\nand mungooses for the purpose of food.\n\nIf a snake becomes entangled in the net of a Bestha fisherman in\nMysore when it is first used, the net is rejected, and burnt or\notherwise disposed of.\n\nThere is a widespread belief among children in Malabar, that a lizard\n(Calotes versicolor) sucks the blood of those whom it looks at. As\nsoon, therefore, as they catch sight of this creature, they apply\nsaliva to the navel, from which it is believed that the blood is\nextracted.\n\nA legend is recorded by Dr Annandale, [107] in accordance with which\nevery good Muhammadan should kill the blood-sucker (lizard), Calotes\ngigas, at sight, because, when some fugitive Muhammadans were hiding\nfrom their enemies in a well, one of these animals came and nodded\nits head in their direction till their enemies saw them.\n\nA similar legend about another lizard is described as existing in\nEgypt. Dr Annandale further records that the Hindus and Muhammadans\nof Ramnad in the Ramnad district regard the chamaeleon (Chamaeleon\ncalcaratus) as being possessed by an evil spirit, and will not touch\nit, lest the spirit should enter their own bodies. I have been told\nthat the bite of a chamaeleon is more deadly than that of a cobra.\n\nThere is a popular belief that the bite of the Brahmini lizard (Mabuia\ncarinata), called aranai in Tamil, is poisonous, and there is a saying\nthat death is instantaneous if aranai bites. The same belief exists\nin Ceylon, and Mr Arthur Willey informs me that deaths attributed to\nthe bite of this animal are recorded almost annually in the official\nvital statistics. I have never heard of a case of poisoning by the\nanimal in question. There is a legend that, \"when the cobra and the\narana were created, poison was supplied to them, to be sucked from\na leaf. The arana sucked it wholesale, leaving only the leaf smeared\nover with poison for the cobra to lap poison from; thereby implying\nthat the cobra is far less venomous than the arana. Thus people\ngreatly exaggerate the venomous character of the arana.\" [108]\n\nIt has already been noted (p. 73) that, when Savara children are\nemaciated from illness, offerings are made to monkeys. Blood-suckers\nare also said to be propitiated, because they have filamentous\nbodies. A blood-sucker is captured, small toy arrows are tied round\nits body, and a piece of cloth is tied round its head. Some drops of\nliquor are then poured into its mouth, and it is set at liberty.\n\nThe Maratha Rajas of Sandur belong to a family called Ghorpade,\nwhich name is said to have been earned by one of them scaling a\nprecipitous fort by clinging to an \"iguana\" (Varanus), which was\ncrawling up it. The flesh of the \"iguana\" is supposed to be possessed\nof extraordinary invigorating powers, and a meal off this animal is\ncertain to restore the powers of youth. Its bite is considered very\ndangerous, and it is said that, when it has once closed its teeth on\nhuman flesh, it will not reopen them, and the only remedy is to cut\nout the piece it has bitten. [109] This animal and the crocodile are\nbelieved to proceed from the eggs laid by one animal. They are laid\nand hatched near water, and, of the animals which come out of them,\nsome find their way into the water, while others remain on land. The\nformer become crocodiles, and the latter \"iguanas.\" The flesh of the\ncrocodile is administered as a cure for whooping-cough.\n\nIt is popularly believed that, if a toad falls on a pregnant woman, the\nchild that is to be born will die soon after birth. The only remedy is\nto capture the offending toad, and fry it in some medicinal oil, which\nmust be administered to the child in order to save it from death. [110]\n\n\n\n\n4. Fishes\n\nIt is recorded [111] that \"Matsya gundam (fish pool) is a curious\npool in the Macheru (fish river) near the village of Matam, close\nunder the great Yendrika hill. The pool is crowded with mahseer\n(Barbus tor) of all sizes. These are wonderfully tame, the bigger\nones feeding fearlessly from one's hand, and even allowing their\nbacks to be stroked. They are protected by the Madgole zamindars,\nwho on several grounds venerate all fish. Once, the story goes, a\nBrinjari caught one, and turned it into curry, whereon the king of the\nfish solemnly cursed him, and he and all his pack-bullocks were turned\ninto rocks, which may be seen there to the present day. At Sivaratri,\na festival occurs at the little thatched shrine near by, the priest at\nwhich is a Bagata (Telugu freshwater fisher), and part of the ritual\nconsists in feeding the sacred fish. The Madgole zamindars claim to\nbe descended from the rulers of Matsya Desa. They are installed on\na stone throne shaped like a fish, display a fish on their banners,\nand use a figure of a fish as a signature. Some of their dependents\nwear ear-rings shaped like a fish.\"\n\nA tank at Coondapoor contained a species of fish locally known as\nthe flower-fish, which was especially reserved for the table of\nTipu Sultan, being fat and full of blood. [112] The sacred fish at\nTirupparankunram near Madura are said to have been sages in a bygone\nage, and it is believed to be very meritorious to look at them. They\nare said to appear on the surface of the water only if you call out\n\"Kasi Visvanatha.\" But it is said that a handful of peas thrown into\nthe pool is more effective. The Ambalakkarans (Tamil cultivators)\nadmit that they are called Valaiyans, but repudiate any connection\nwith the caste of that name. They explain the appellation by a story\nthat, when Siva's ring was swallowed by a fish in the Ganges, one of\ntheir ancestors invented the first net (valai) made in the world.\n\nSome Natives will not eat the murrel fish (Ophiocephalus striatus),\nowing to its resemblance to a snake. Some Halepaiks (Canarese\ntoddy-drawers) avoid eating a fish called Srinivasa, because they fancy\nthat the streaks on the body bear a resemblance to the Vaishnavite\nsectarian mark (namam). Members of the Vamma gotra of the Janappans\n(Telugu traders) abstain from eating the bombadai fish, because,\nwhen some of their ancestors went to fetch water in a marriage pot,\nthey found a number of this fish in the water collected in the pot.\n\nWhen a new net is used for the first time by the Besthas of Mysore,\nthe first fish which is caught is cut, and the net is smeared with\nits blood. One of the meshes of the net is burnt, after incense has\nbeen thrown into the fire.\n\n\n\n\n5. Invertebrates\n\nThe Sahavasis of Mysore are described [113] as \"immigrants, like the\nChitpavanas. Sahavasi means co-tenant or associate, and the name is\nsaid to have been earned by the community in the following manner. In\nremote times, a certain Brahman came upon hidden treasure, but,\nto his amazement, the contents appeared in his eyes to be all live\nscorpions. Out of curiosity, he hung one of them outside his house. A\nlittle while after, a woman of inferior caste, who was passing by\nthe house, noticed it to be gold, and, upon her questioning him about\nit, the Brahman espoused her, and by her means was able to enjoy the\ntreasure. He gave a feast in honour of his acquisition of wealth. He\nwas subsequently outcasted for his mesalliance with the low caste\nfemale, while those who ate with him were put under a ban, and thus\nacquired the nickname.\"\n\nIt is commonly said that the scorpion has great reverence for the name\nof Ganesa, because it is supposed that when, on seeing a scorpion,\none cries out \"Pilliyar annai\" (in the name of Ganesa), the scorpion\nwill suddenly stop; the truth of the matter being that any loud noise\narrests the movements of the animal. [114]\n\nAt the temple of Kolaramma at Kolar in Mysore, a pit under the\nentrance is full of scorpions, and the customary offerings are silver\nscorpions. The village goddess at Nangavaram in the Trichinopoly\ndistrict is called Sattandi Amman, and her idol represents her in the\nact of weaving a garland of scorpions. It is generally supposed that\nno scorpion can live in this village, and that the sacred ashes from\nSattandi Amman's shrine are a specific for scorpion stings. People\nsometimes carry some of the ashes about with them, in case they\nshould be stung. [115] At Royachoti in the Cuddapah district, a\nfestival is held on the occasion of the god going hunting. The idol\nVirabudra is carried to a mantapam outside the town, and placed on\nthe ground. Beneath the floor of the mantapam there is a large number\nof scorpions. Whilst the god is taking his rest, the attendants\ncatch these scorpions, and hold them in their hands without being\nstung. As long as the god remains in the mantapam, the scorpions do\nnot sting, but, directly he leaves it, they resume their poisonous\npropensities. [116] The peon (attendant) in the zoological laboratory\nof one of the Madras colleges would put his hand with impunity into\na jar of live scorpions, of which he believed that only a pregnant\nfemale would sting him with hurt. Lieutenant-Colonel  D. D. Cunningham\nrecords [117] the case of a certain Yogi (religious mendicant), who\nwas insusceptible to the stings of scorpions, \"which would fix their\nstings so firmly into his fingers that, when he raised and shook\nhis hand about, they remained anchored and dangling by their tails,\nwhilst neither then nor afterwards did he show the slightest sign\nof pain or inconvenience. The immunity may possibly have been the\nresult of innate idiosyncratic peculiarity in the constitution of\nthe performer, or more probably represented the outcome of artificial\nexemption acquired at the expense of repeated inoculations with the\nvirus, and corresponding development of its antitoxin.\"\n\nA sweeper man, who had a mole on his back in shape somewhat resembling\na scorpion, believed himself to be immune against scorpion sting,\nand would confidently insert the poison spine of a live scorpion\ninto his skin. In a letter to a medical officer, a Native wrote,\nthat, when a pregnant woman is stung by a scorpion, the child which\nis in the womb at the time of such stinging, when delivered, does\nnot suffer from the sting of a scorpion, if ever it is stung during\nits lifetime. Some families keep in their homes small pots called\nthelkodukku undi (scorpion sting vessels), and occasionally drop\ntherein a copper coin, which is supposed to secure immunity against\nscorpion sting. The Sakuna Pakshi mendicants of Vizagapatam have\na remedy for scorpion sting in the root of a plant called thella\nvisari (scorpion antidote), which they carry about with them on\ntheir rounds. The root should be collected on a new-moon day which\nfalls on a Sunday. On that day, the Sakuna Pakshi bathes, cuts off\nhis loin-cloth, and goes stark-naked to a selected spot, where he\ngathers the roots. If a supply thereof is required, and the necessary\ncombination of moon and day is not forthcoming, the roots should\nbe collected on a Sunday or Wednesday. In cases of scorpion sting,\nDommara medicine-men rub up patent boluses with human milk or juice\nof the milk-hedge plant (Euphorbia Tirucalli), and apply them to\nthe parts. Among quaint remedies for scorpion sting may be noted,\nsitting with an iron crowbar in the mouth, and the application of\nchopped lizard over the puncture. The excrement of lizards fed on\nscorpions, and the undigested food in the stomach of a freshly killed\ngoat, dried and reduced to powder, are also believed to be effective\nremedies. There is a belief that scorpions have the power of reviving,\neven after being completely crushed into pulp. We are, therefore,\nwarned not to rest secure till the animal has actually been cremated.\n\nThe whip-scorpion Thelyphonus is believed to be venomous, some Natives\nstating that it stings like a scorpion, others that it ejects a slimy\nfluid which burns, and produces blisters. The caudal flagellum of\nThelyphonus, of course, possesses no poison apparatus.\n\nWhen the umbilical cord of a Kondh baby sloughs off, a spider is burnt\nin the fire, and its ashes are placed in a cocoanut shell, mixed with\ncastor-oil, and applied by means of a fowl's feather to the navel.\n\nThe eggs of red ants, boiled in margosa (Melia Azadirachta) oil,\nare said to be an invaluable remedy for children suffering from asthma.\n\nIf a house is infested by mosquitoes, or the furniture and bedding\nby bugs, the names of a hundred villages or towns should be written\non a piece of paper. Care must be taken that all the names end in\nuru, kottai, palayam, etc.  The paper is fastened to the ceiling or\nbed-post, and relief from the pests will be instantaneous. [118]\n\nThe Oriya Haddis, on the evening of the tenth day after a death,\nproceed to some distance from the house, and place food and fruits\non a cloth spread on the ground. They then call the dead man by his\nname, and eagerly wait till some insect settles on the cloth. As soon\nas this happens, the cloth is folded up, carried home, and shaken\nover the floor close to the spot where the household gods are kept,\nso that the insect falls on the sand spread on the floor. A light is\nthen placed on the sanded floor, and covered with a new pot. After\nsome time, the pot is removed, and the sand examined for any marks\nwhich may be left on it.\n\nA devil, in the disguise of a dung-beetle of large size, is believed\nto haunt the house wherein a baby has been newly born, and the impact\nof the insect against the infant will bring about its instant death.\n\nThe following case was brought to my notice by the Chemical Examiner to\nGovernment. In Malabar, a young man, apparently in good health, walked\nhome with two other men after a feast, chewing betel. Arriving at his\nhome, he retired to rest, and was found dead in the morning. Blood\nwas described as oozing out of his eyes. It was given out that the\ncause of death was an insect, which infests betel leaves, and is\nvery poisonous. The belief in death from chewing or swallowing the\nveththilai or vettila poochi (betel insect) is a very general one,\nand is so strong that, when a person suffers from giddiness, after\nchewing betel, he is afraid that he has partaken of the poisonous\ninsect. Native gentlemen take particular care to examine every betel\nleaf, wipe it with a cloth, and smear chunam (lime) over it, before\nchewing. The poochi is called by Gundert [119] vettila pampu or\nmoorkhan (snake), or vettila thel (scorpion). It has been described\n[120] as \"a poisonous creature, which lives adhering to the betel\nleaf. Its presence cannot be easily detected, and many deaths\noccur among persons who are in the habit of carelessly chewing\nbetel. The poison passes into the system through the moisture of\nthe mouth, and death ensues within an hour and a half. It generally\ninhabits the female leaf, i.e., the leaf that opens at night. The\nfollowing symptoms are seen when a person is affected with the\npoison:--exhaustion, delirium, copious perspiration, and change of\ncolour of the skin. Treatment:--administer internally the juice of\nthe leaves of a tree called arippera. Make the patient suck the milk\nof the breast of a woman, whose baby is more than eighty days old.\"\n\nA perichaete earthworm was sent to me from Malabar as a specimen\nof vettila poochi, with a note to the effect that, when it is\naccidentally chewed, the chief symptom is drawing in of the tongue,\nand consequent death from suffocation. The antidote was said to be salt\nand water, and the leaves of the goa (guava) tree. From South Canara,\nMr H. Latham sent me a planarian worm, about two inches in length,\nwhich is believed to be the vettila poochi. His camp boy told him of\na case in which death was said to have resulted from eating one of\nthese animals cooked with some jak fruit.\n\nA few years ago, a scare arose in connection with an insect, which was\nsaid to have taken up its abode in imported German glass bangles, which\ncompete with the indigenous industry of the Gazula bangle-makers. The\ninsect was reported to lie low in the bangle till it was purchased,\nwhen it would come out and nip the wearer, after warning her to\nget her affairs in order before succumbing. A specimen of a broken\nbangle, from which the insect was said to have burst forth, was sent\nto me. But the insect was not forthcoming.\n\nAs a further example of the way in which the opponents of a new\nindustry avail themselves of the credulity of the Native, I may cite\nthe recent official introduction of the chrome-tanning industry\nin Madras. In connection therewith, a rumour spread more or less\nthroughout the Presidency that the wearing of chrome-tanned boots\nor sandals gave rise to leprosy, blood poisoning, and failure of\nthe eyesight.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nTHE EVIL EYE\n\n\nThe objection which a high caste Brahman has to being seen by a low\ncaste man when he is eating his food is based on a belief allied to\nthat of the evil eye. The Brahmanical theory of vision, as propounded\nin the sacred writings, and understood by orthodox pandits, corresponds\nwith the old corpuscular theory. The low caste man being in every\nrespect inferior to the Brahman, the matter or subtle substance\nproceeding from his eye, and mixing with the objects seen by him,\nmust of necessity be inferior and bad. So food, which is seen by a low\ncaste man, in virtue of the radii perniciosi which it has received,\nwill contaminate the Brahman. This, it has been pointed out, [121] is\n\"a good illustration of the theory propounded by Mr E. S. Hartland at\nthe York meeting of the British Association (1906), that both magic\nand religion, in their earliest forms, are based on the conception\nof a transmissible personality, the mana of the Melanesian races.\"\n\nA friend once rode accidentally into a weaver's feast, and threw\nhis shadow on their food, and trouble arose in consequence. On one\noccasion, when I was in camp at Coimbatore, the Oddes (navvies) being\nafraid of my evil eye, refused to fire a new kiln of bricks for the new\nclub chambers, until I had taken my departure. On another occasion,\nI caught hold of a ladle, to show my friend Dr Rivers what were\nthe fragrant contents of a pot, in which an Odde woman was cooking\nthe evening meal. On returning from a walk, we heard a great noise\nproceeding from the Odde men who had meanwhile returned from work,\nand found the woman seated apart on a rock, and sobbing. She had been\nexcommunicated, not because I touched the ladle, but because she had\nafterwards touched the pot. After much arbitration, I paid up the\nnecessary fine, and she was received back into her caste.\n\nThe following passage occurred in an official document, which was\nsent to Sir M. E. Grant Duff, when he was Governor of Madras. [122]\nThe writer was Mr Andrew, C.S.\n\n\n    \"Sir C. Trevelyan visited Walajapet many years ago. When there,\n    he naturally asked to see the cloths, carpets, etc. (which\n    are manufactured there). Soon after (owing to the railway of\n    course), trade began to diminish, and to this day, I hear that\n    even the well-to-do traders think it was owing to the visit,\n    as they believe that, if a great man takes particular notice\n    of a person or place, ill-luck will follow. A month ago, I was\n    walking near Ranipet, and stopped for a minute to notice a good\n    native house, and asked whose it was, etc. A few hours after,\n    the house took fire (the owner, after his prayers upstairs, had\n    left a light in his room), and the people in the town think that\n    the fire was caused by my having noticed the house. So, when His\n    Excellency drove through Walajapet last July, the bazaar people\n    did not show their best cloths, fearing ill-luck would follow,\n    but also because they thought he would introduce their trade in\n    carpets, etc., into the Central Jail, Vellore, and so ruin them.\"\n\n\nIn villages, strangers are not allowed to be present, when the\ncows are milked. Sudden failure of milk, or blood-stained milk,\nare attributed to the evil eye, to remove the influence of which\nthe owner of the affected cow resorts to the magician. When the hill\nKondhs are threshing the crop, strangers may not look on the crop,\nor speak to them, lest their evil eye should be cast on them. If a\nstranger is seen approaching the threshing-floor, the Kondhs keep\nhim off by signalling with their hands, without speaking.\n\nIn Malabar, a mantram, which is said to be effective against the\npotency of the evil eye, runs as follows:--\"Salutation to thee,\nO God! Even as the moon wanes in its brightness at the sight of the\nsun, even as the bird chakora (crow-pheasant) disappears at the sight\nof the moon, even as the great Vasuki (king of serpents) vanishes\nat the sight of the chakora, even as the poison vanishes from his\nhead, so may the potency of his evil eye vanish with thy aid.\" [123]\nIn Malabar, fear of the evil eye is very general. At the corner of\nthe upper storey of almost every Nayar house near a road or path is\nsuspended some object, often a doll-like hideous creature, on which\nthe eye of the passers-by may rest. [124]\n\n\n    \"A crop,\" Mr Logan writes, [125] \"is being raised in a garden\n    visible from the road. The vegetables will never reach maturity,\n    unless a bogey of some sort is set up in their midst. A cow\n    will stop giving milk, unless a conch (Turbinella rapa) shell\n    is tied conspicuously about her horns. [Mappilla cart-drivers\n    tie black ropes round the neck, or across the faces of their\n    bullocks.] When a house or shop is being built, there surely\n    is to be found exposed in some conspicuous position an image,\n    sometimes of extreme indecency, a pot covered with cabalistic\n    signs, a prickly branch of cactus, or what not, to catch the evil\n    eye of passers-by, and divert their attention from the important\n    work in hand.\"\n\n\nMany of the carved wooden images recall forcibly to mind the Horatian\nsatire:--\"Olim truncus eram.... Obscenoque ruber porrectus ab inguine\npalus.\"\n\nFor the following note on the evil eye in Malabar, I am indebted to\nMr S. Appadorai Iyer.\n\n\n    \"It is not the eye alone that commits the mischief, but also the\n    mind and tongue. Man is said to do good or evil through the mind,\n    word and deed, i.e., manasa, vacha, and karmana. When a new house\n    is being constructed, or a vegetable garden or rice-field are in\n    a flourishing condition, the following precautions are taken to\n    ward off the evil eye:--\n\n\n    \"(a) In Buildings\n\n    \"1. A pot with black and white marks on it is suspended mouth\n    downwards.\n\n    \"2. A wooden figure of a monkey, with pendulous testicles,\n    is suspended.\n\n    \"3. The figure of a Malayali woman, with protuberant breasts,\n    is suspended.\n\n\n    \"(b) In Gardens and Fields\n\n    \"1. A straw figure, covered with black cloth daubed with black and\n    white dots, is placed on a long pole. If the figure represents a\n    male, it has pendent testicles, and, if a female, well developed\n    breasts. Sometimes, male and female figures are placed together\n    in an embracing posture.\n\n    \"2. Pots, as described above, are placed on bamboo poles.\n\n    \"3. A portion of the skull of a bull, with horns attached, is\n    set up on a long pole.\n\n    \"The figures, pots, and skulls, are primarily intended to scare\n    away crows, stray cattle, and other marauders, and secondly to\n    ward off the evil eye. Instances are quoted, in which handsome\n    buildings have fallen down, and ripe fruits and grain crops have\n    withered through the influence of the eye, which has also been\n    held responsible for the bursting of a woman's breasts.\"\n\n\nIn Madras, human figures, made of broken bricks and mortar, are kept\npermanently in the front of the upstairs verandah. Some years ago,\nSir George Birdwood recorded the flogging, by order of the Police\nMagistrate of Black Town (now George Town), Madras, of a Hindu\nboy for exhibiting an indecent figure in public view. What he had\nexplicitly done was to set up, in accordance with universal custom,\na phallic image before a house that was in course of erection by a\nHindu gentleman, who was first tried under the indictment, but was\nacquitted, he, the owner, not having been the person who had actually\nexhibited the image. [126]\n\nMonstrous Priapi, made in straw, with painted clay pots for heads, pots\nsmeared with chunam (lime) and studded with black dots, or palmyra palm\nfruits coated with chunam, may often be seen set up in the fields,\nto guard the ripening crop. In a note on the Tamil Paraiyans, the\nRev A. C. Clayton writes as follows: [127]\n\n\n    \"Charms, in the form of metal cylinders, are worn to avoid the\n    baneful influence of the evil eye. To prevent this from affecting\n    the crops, Paraiyans put up scarecrows in their fields. These\n    are usually small broken earthen pots, whitewashed or covered\n    with spots of whitewash, or even adorned with huge clay noses\n    and ears, and made into grotesque faces. For the same reason,\n    more elaborate figures, made of mud and twigs in human shape,\n    are sometimes set up.\"\n\n\nThe indecent figures carved on temple cars, are intended to avert\nthe evil eye. During temple or marriage processions, two huge human\nfigures, male and female, made of bamboo wicker-work, are carried in\nfront for the same purpose. At the buffalo races in South Canara,\nwhich take place when the first crop has been gathered, there is a\nprocession, which is sometimes headed by two dolls represented in\ncoitu borne on a man's head. At a race meeting near Mangalore, one\nof the devil-dancers had the genitalia represented by a long piece\nof cloth and enormous testicles.\n\nSometimes, in case of illness, a figure is made of rice-flour paste,\nand copper coins are stuck on the head, hands, and abdomen thereof. It\nis waved in front of the sick person, taken to a place where three\nroads or paths meet, and left there. At other times, a hole is made in\na gourd (Benincasa cerifera or Lagenaria vulgaris), which is filled\nwith turmeric and chunam, and waved round the patient. It is then\ntaken to a place where three roads meet, and broken.\n\nAt a ceremony performed in Travancore when epidemic disease prevails,\nan image of Bhadrakali is drawn on the ground with powders of five\ncolours, white, yellow, black, green, and red. At night, songs are\nsung in praise of that deity by a Tiyattunni and his followers. A\nmember of the troupe then plays the part of Bhadrakali in the act\nof murdering the demon Darika, and, in conclusion, waves a torch\nbefore the inmates of the house, to ward off the evil eye, which is\nthe most important item in the whole ceremony. The torch is believed\nto be given by Siva, who is worshipped before the light is waved.\n\nIn cases of smallpox, a bunch of nim (Melia Azadirachta) is sometimes\nmoved from the head to the feet of the sick person, with certain\nincantations, and then twisted and thrown away.\n\nThe sudden illness of children is often attributed to the evil eye. In\nsuch cases, the following remedies are considered efficacious:--\n\n(1) A few sticks from a new unused broom are set fire to, waved several\ntimes round the child, and placed in a corner. With some of the ashes\nthe mother makes a mark on the child's forehead.  If the broom burns\nto ashes without making a noise, the women cry: \"Look at it. It burns\nwithout the slightest noise. The creature's eyes are really very bad.\"\nAbuse is then heaped on the person whose eyes are supposed to have\nan evil influence.\n\n(2) Some chillies, salt, human hair, nail-cuttings, and finely powered\nearth from the pit of the door-post are mixed together, waved three\ntimes in front of the child, and thrown onto the fire. Woe betide the\npossessor of the evil eye, if no pungent, suffocating smell arises\nwhen it is burning.\n\n(3) A piece of burning camphor is waved in front of the child.\n\n(4) Balls of cooked rice, painted red, black, and white (with curds),\nare waved before the child.\n\nLoss of appetite in children is attributed by mothers to the visit of a\nsupposed evil person to the house. On that person appearing again, the\nmother will take a little sand or dust from under the visitor's foot,\nwhirl it round the head of the child, and throw it on the hearth. If\nthe suspected person is not likely to turn up again, a handful of\ncotton-seed, chillies, and dust from the middle of the street, is\nwhirled round the child's head, and thrown on the hearth. If the\nchillies produce a strong smell, the evil eye has been averted. If\nthey do not do so, the suspect is roundly abused by the mother,\nand never again admitted to the house.\n\nMatrons make the faces of children ugly by painting two or three\nblack dots on the chin and cheeks, and painting the eyelids black with\nlamp-black paste. It is a good thing to frighten any one who expresses\nadmiration of one's belongings. For example, if a friend praises your\nson's eyes, you should say to him, \"Look out! There is a snake at your\nfeet.\" If he is frightened, the evil eye has been averted. It is said\n[128] that \"you will cause mortal offence to a Hindu lady, should you\nremark of her child 'What a nice baby you have,' or 'How baby has grown\nsince I saw him last.' She makes it a rule to speak deprecatingly of\nher child, and represents it as the victim of non-existent ailments,\nso that your evil eye shall not affect it. But, should she become\naware that, in spite of her precautions, you have defiled it with\nyour admiration, she will lose no time in counteracting the effect of\ndrishtidosham. One of the simplest methods adopted for this purpose\nis to take a small quantity of chillies and salt in the closed palm,\nand throw it into the fire, after waving it thrice round the head of\nthe child, to the accompaniment of incantations. If no pungent odour\nis apparent, it is an indication that the dosham has been averted.\"\n\nAt the Sakalathi festival of the Badagas of the Nilgiris, a cake\nis made, on which are placed a little rice and butter. Three wicks\nsteeped in castor-oil are put in it, and lighted. The cake is then\nwaved round the heads of all the children of the house, taken to a\nfield, and thrown thereon with the words \"Sakalathi has come.\" At the\nSuppidi ceremony, which every Nattukottai Chetti (Tamil banker) youth\nhas to perform before marriage, the young man goes to the temple. On\nhis return home, and at the entrance of Nattukottai houses which he\npasses, rice-lamps are waved before him.\n\nThe custom of making a \"wave offering\" [129] at puberty and marriage\nceremonies is very widespread. Thus, when a Tangalan Paraiyan girl\nattains puberty, she is bathed on the ninth day, and ten small lamps\nof flour paste, called drishti mavu vilakku, are put on a sieve, and\nwaved before her. Then coloured water (arati or alam,) and burning\ncamphor, are waved in front of her. At the puberty ceremonies of\nthe Tamil Maravans, the girl comes out of seclusion on the sixteenth\nday, bathes, and returns to her house. At the threshold, her future\nhusband's sister is standing, and averts the evil eye by waving betel\nleaves, plantains, cooked flour paste, a vessel filled with water,\nand an iron measure containing rice with a style stuck in it.\n\nAt a Palli (Tamil cultivator) wedding, water coloured with turmeric\nand chunam (arati) is waved round the bride and bridegroom. Later on,\nwhen the bride is about to enter the home of the bridegroom, coloured\nwater and a cocoanut are waved in front of the newly married couple. At\na marriage among the Pallans (Tamil cultivators), when the contracting\ncouple sit on the dais, coloured water, or balls of coloured rice with\nlighted wicks, are waved round them. Water is poured into their hands\nfrom a vessel, and sprinkled over their heads. The vessel is then waved\nbefore them. During a Koliyan (Tamil weaver) wedding coloured water,\ninto which leaves of Bauhinia variegata are thrown, are waved. At a\nmarriage among the Khatris (weavers), when the bridegroom arrives at\nthe house of the bride, her mother comes out, and waves coloured water,\nand washes his eyes with water. At a Tangalan Paraiyan wedding, during\na ceremony for removing the evil eye, a pipal (Ficus religiosa) leaf is\nheld over the foreheads of the bridal couple, with its tail downwards,\nand all the close relations pour milk over it, so that it trickles over\ntheir faces. During a marriage among the Sembadavans (Tamil fishermen),\nthe bride and bridegroom go through a ceremony called sige kazhippu,\nwith the object of warding off the evil eye, which consists in pouring\na few drops of milk on their foreheads from a fig or betel leaf. At\na Kapu (Telugu cultivator) wedding, the Ganga idol, which is kept\nin the custody of a Tsakala (washerman), is brought to the marriage\nhouse. At the entrance thereto, red-coloured food, coloured water,\nand incense, are waved before it. During a marriage among the Balijas\n(Telugu traders), the bridegroom is stopped at the entrance to the\nroom in which the marriage pots are kept by a number of married women,\nand has to pay a small sum for the arati (coloured water), which is\nwaved by the women. At a Bilimagga (weaver) wedding in South Canara,\nthe bridegroom's father waves incense in front of a cot and brass\nvessel, and lights and arati water are waved before the bridegroom.\n\nAt a royal marriage in Travancore, in 1906, a bevy of Nayar maidens,\nquaintly dressed, walked in front of the Rani's palanquin. They were\nintended as Drishti Pariharam, to ward off the evil eye.\n\nSometimes, in Malabar, when a person is believed to be under the\ninfluence of a devil or the evil eye, salt, chillies, tamarinds,\noil, mustard, cocoanut, and a few pice (copper coins), are placed\nin a vessel, waved round the head of the affected individual, and\ngiven to a Nayadi, [130] whose curse is asked for. There is this\npeculiarity about a Nayadi's curse, that it always has the opposite\neffect. Hence, when he is asked to curse one who has given him alms,\nhe complies by invoking misery and evil upon him. The terms used\nby him for such invocations are attupo or mutinjupo (to perish),\nadimondupo (to be a slave), etc. [131]\n\nDuring one of my tours, a gang of Yerukalas absolutely refused to\nsit on a chair, and I had perforce to measure their heads while\nthey squatted on the ground. To get rid of my evil influence, they\nsubsequently went through the ceremony of waving red-coloured water\nand sacrificing fowls.\n\nDuring a marriage among the Madigas (Telugu Pariahs), a sheep or goat\nis sacrificed to the marriage pots. The sacrificer dips his hand in the\nblood of the animal, and impresses the blood on his palms on the wall\nnear the door leading to the room in which the pots are kept. This\nis said to avert the evil eye. Among the Telugu Malas, a few days\nbefore a wedding, two marks are made, one on each side of the door,\nwith oil and charcoal, for the same purpose. At Kadur, in the Mysore\nProvince, I once saw impressions of the hand on the walls of Brahman\nhouses. Impressions in red paint of a hand with outspread fingers\nmay be seen on the walls of mosques and Muhammadan buildings. [132]\n\nWhen cholera, or other epidemic disease, breaks out, Muhammadans leave\nthe imprint of the hand dipped in sandal paste on the door. When a\nTamil Paraiyan dies, an impression of the dead man's palm is sometimes\ntaken in cow-dung, and stuck on the wall. [133]\n\nThe failure of a criminal expedition of the Koravas is said by Mr\nF. Fawcett, [134] to be \"generally attributed to the evil eye, or\nthe evil tongue, whose bad effects are evinced in many ways. If the\nexcursion has been for house-breaking, the house-breaking implement\nis often soldered at its sharp end with panchalokam (five metals),\nto counteract the effect of the evil eye. The evil tongue is a\nfrequent cause of failure. It consists in talking evil of others, or\nharping on probable misfortunes. There are various ways of removing\nits unhappy effects. A mud figure of a man is made on the ground,\nand thorns are placed over the mouth. This is the man with the evil\ntongue. Those who have suffered walk round it, crying out and beating\ntheir mouths; the greater the noise, the better the effect. Cutting\nthe neck of a fowl half through and allowing it to flutter about,\nor inserting a red hot splinter in its anus to madden it with pain,\nare considered to be effective, while, if a cock should crow after\nits neck has been cut, calamities are averted.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\nSNAKE WORSHIP\n\n\nVery closely connected with the subject of vows and votive offerings\nis that of the worship of snakes, to which vows are made and offerings\ndedicated.\n\nIn a note on serpent worship in Malabar, [135] it is stated that \"even\nto-day some corner of the garden of every respectable tarawad [136]\nis allotted for snakes. Here a few trees are allowed to grow wild,\nand under them, on a masonry platform, one or more sculptured granite\nstones representing hooded serpents (cobras) are consecrated and set\nup. The whole area is held sacred, and a mud lamp is lighted there\nevery evening with religious regularity. I have seen eggs, milk, and\nplantains offered in the evening, after the lamp has been lit, at these\nshrines, to invoke the serpent's aid on particular occasions. Such\nis the veneration in which these shrines are held that Cherumars\n(agrestic serfs) and other low caste aborigines, who are believed to\npollute by their very approach, are absolutely interdicted from getting\nwithin the precincts. Should, however, any such pollute the shrine,\nthe resident snake or its emissary is said to apprise the owner of\nthe defilement by creeping to the very threshold of his house, and\nremaining there until the Karanavan, [137] or other managing member\nof the family promises to have it duly purified by a Brahman.\"\n\n\nConcerning snake worship in Malabar, Mr C. Karunakara Menon writes [138]\nas follows:--\n\n\"The existence of snake groves is said to owe its origin to Sri\nParasurama. [According to tradition, Parasurama was an avatar of\nVishnu, who destroyed the Kshatriya Rajas, and retired to Gokarnam\nin Canara. He called on Varuna, the god of water, to give him some\nland. Varuna caused the sea to recede, and thus the land called Kerala\n(including Malabar) came into existence. Brahmans were brought from\nNorthern India to colonise the new country, but they ran away from\nfear of the snakes, of which it was full. Parasurama then brought in a\nfurther consignment of Brahmans from the north, and divided the country\ninto sixty-four Brahmanical colonies.] Parasurama advised that a part\nof every house should be set apart for snakes as household gods. The\n(snake) groves have the appearance of miniature reserved forests, as\nthey are considered sacred, and there is a strong prejudice against\ncutting down trees therein. The groves contain a snake king and queen\nmade of granite, and a tower-like structure, made of laterite, [139]\nfor the sacred snakes. Snakes were, in olden days, considered a part\nof the property. [Transfer deeds made special mention of the family\nserpent as one of the articles sold along with the freehold.]\n\n\"When a snake is seen inside, or in the neighbourhood of the\nhouse, great care is taken to catch it without giving it the least\npain. Usually a stick is placed gently on its head, and the mouth of\nan earthenware pot is shown to it. When it is in, the pot is loosely\ncovered with a cocoanut shell, to allow of free breathing. It is\nthen taken to a secluded spot, the pot is destroyed, and the snake\nset at liberty. It is considered to be polluted by being caught in\nthis way, and holy water is sometimes poured over it. Killing a snake\nis considered a grievous sin, and even to see a snake with its head\nbruised is believed to be a precursor of calamities. Pious Malayalis\n(natives of Malabar), when they see a snake killed in this way, have\nit burnt with the full solemnities attendant on the cremation of a\nhigh-caste Hindu. The carcase is covered with a piece of silk, and\nburnt in sandalwood. A Brahman is hired to observe pollution for some\ndays, and elaborate funeral oblations are offered to the dead snake.\"\n\n\nIn Travancore there was formerly a judicial ordeal by snake-bite. The\naccused thrust his hand into a mantle, in which a cobra was wrapped\nup. If it bit him, he was declared guilty, if not innocent.\n\nIn connection with snake worship in Malabar, Mr Upendra Pai gives\nthe following details. [140] Among snakes none is more dreaded than\nthe cobra (Naia tripudians), which accordingly has gathered round\nit more fanciful superstitions than any other snake. This has led\nto cobra worship, which is often performed with a special object in\nview. In some parts of the country, every town or village has its\nimages of cobras rudely carved on stone. These cobra stones, as they\nare termed, are placed either on little platforms of stone specially\nerected for them, or at the base of some tree, preferably a holy\nfig. [141] On the fifth day of the lunar month Shravana, known as the\nNagarapanchami--that is, the fifth day of the nagas or serpents--these\nstones are first washed; then milk, curds, ghi (clarified butter), and\ncocoanut water, are poured over them. Afterwards they are decorated\nwith flowers, and offerings are made to them. The cobra stone is\nalso worshipped at other times by those who have no male children,\nin order to obtain such. But to establish new images of cobras in\nsuitable places is regarded as a surer method of achieving this\nobject. For this certain preliminary ceremonies have to be gone\nthrough, and, when once the image has been established, it is the\nduty of the establisher to see that it is properly worshipped at\nleast once a year, on the Nagarapanchami day. The merit obtained\nis proportionate to the number of images thus worshipped, so that\npious people, to obtain a great deal of merit, and at the same time\nto save themselves the expense of erecting many stone images, have\nseveral images drawn, each on a tiny bit of a thin plate of gold or\nsilver. These images are handed over to some priest, to be kept along\nwith other images, to which daily worship is rendered. In this way,\ngreat merit is supposed to be obtained. It is also believed that\nsuch worship will destroy all danger proceeding from snakes. The\ncobra being thus an object of worship, it is a deadly sin to kill or\nmaim it. For the cobra is in the popular imagination a Brahman, and\nthere is no greater sin than that of killing a Brahman. Accordingly,\nif any one kills a cobra, he is sure to contract leprosy, which is\nthe peculiar punishment of those who have either killed a cobra, or\nhave led to the destruction of its eggs by digging in or ploughing\nup soil which it haunts, or setting on fire jungle or grass in the\nmidst of which it is known to live and breed.\n\nIn a note on snake worship, Mr R. Kulathu Iyer writes as follows:\n[142]--\n\n\n    \"In Travancore there is a place called Mannarsala, which is well\n    known for its serpent worship. It is the abode of the snake king\n    and queen, and their followers. The grove and its premises cover\n    about 16 acres. In the middle of this grove are two small temples\n    dedicated to the snake king and queen. There are also thousands\n    of snakes of granite, representing the various followers of the\n    king and queen. Just to the northern side of the temple there is\n    a house, the abode of the Nampiathy, [143] who performs pooja\n    (worship) in the temple. In caste he is lower in grade than a\n    Brahmin. The temple has paddy (rice) fields and estates of its\n    own, and also has a large income from various sources. There is\n    an annual festival at this temple, known as Ayilyam festival,\n    which is celebrated in the months of Kanny and Thulam (September\n    and October). A large number of people assemble for worship\n    with offerings of gold, silver, salt, melons, etc. The sale\n    proceeds of these offerings after a festival would amount to a\n    pretty large sum. On the day previous to the Ayilyam festival,\n    the temple authorities spend something like three thousand rupees\n    in feeding the Brahmins. A grand feast is given to nearly three\n    thousand Brahmins at the house of the Nampiathy. On the Ayilyam\n    day, all the serpent gods are taken in procession to the illam\n    (house of the Nampiathy) by the eldest female member of the\n    house, and offerings of neerumpalum (a mixture of rice-flour,\n    turmeric, ghi, water of tender cocoanuts, etc.), boiled rice,\n    and other things, are made to the serpent gods. It is said that\n    the neerumpalum mixture would be poured into a big vessel, and\n    kept inside a room for three days, when the vessel would be found\n    empty. It is supposed that the serpents drink the contents. As\n    regards the origin of this celebrated grove, Mr S. Krishna Iyer,\n    in one of his contributions to the Calcutta Quarterly Review,\n    says that 'the land from Avoor on the south to Alleppy on the\n    north was the site of the Khandava forest celebrated in the\n    Mahabaratha; that, when Arjuna set fire to it, the serpents\n    fled in confusion and reached Mannarasalay, and there prayed\n    to the gods for protection; that thereupon the earth around was\n    miraculously cooled down, and hence the name mun-l-ari-l-sala,\n    the place where the earth was cooled. After the serpents found\n    shelter from the Khandava fire, an ancestress of the Nambiathy\n    had a vision calling upon her to dedicate the groves and some land\n    to the Naga Raja (snake king), and build a temple therein. These\n    commands were obeyed forth-with, and thenceforward the Naga Raja\n    became their family deity.' In the 'Travancore State Manual,'\n    Mr Nagam Iyer, referring to Mannarsala, says that 'a member of\n    this Mannarsala illam married a girl of the Vettikod illam, where\n    the serpents were held in great veneration. The girl's parents,\n    being very poor, had nothing to give in the way of dowry, so\n    they gave her one of the stone idols of the serpent, of which\n    there were many in the house. The girl took care of this idol,\n    and worshipped it regularly. Soon she became pregnant, and gave\n    birth to a male child and a snake. The snake child grew up,\n    and gave rise to a numerous progeny. They were all removed to a\n    spot where the present kavu (grove) is. In this kavu there are\n    now four thousand stone idols representing snake gods.' Such is\n    the origin of this celebrated grove of Central Travancore.\"\n\n\nOn the bank of the river separating Cranganore from the rest of\nthe Native State of Cochin is the residence of a certain Brahman\ncalled the Pampanmekkat (snake guardian) Nambudri, who has been\ncalled the high priest of serpent worship. It is recorded [144]\nby Mr Karunakara Menon that, \"a respectable family at Angadipuram\n(in Malabar) sold their ancestral house to a supervisor in the Local\nFund P. W. D. (Public Works Department). He cut down the snake grove,\nand planted it up. Some members of the vendor's family began to suffer\nfrom some cutaneous complaint. As usual the local astrologer was\ncalled in, and he attributed the ailment to the ire of the aggrieved\nfamily serpents. These men then went to the Brahmin house of Pampu\nMekat. This Namboodri family is a special favourite of the snakes. When\na new serpent grove has to be created, or if it is found necessary to\nremove a grove from one place to another, the ritual is entirely in\nthe hands of these people. When a family suffers from the wrath of the\nserpents, they generally go to this Namboodri house. The eldest woman\nof the house would hear the grievances of the party, and then, taking\na vessel full of gingelly (Sesamum) oil, and looking into it, would\ngive out the directions to be observed in satisfying the serpents.\"\n\nConcerning the Pampanmekkat Nambudri, Mr Gopal Panikkar writes [145]\nthat, \"it is said that this Nambudri household is full of cobras,\nwhich find their abode in every nook and corner of it. The inmates\ncan scarcely move about without placing their feet upon one of these\nserpents. Owing to the magic influence of the family, the serpents\ncannot and will not injure them. The serpents are said to be always at\nthe beck and call of the members of this Nambudri family, and render\nunquestioned obedience to their commands. They watch and protect the\ninterests of the family in the most zealous spirit.\"\n\nIt is said [146] that, \"every year the Nambudri receives many\nofferings in the shape of golden images of snakes, for propitiating\nthe serpent god to ward off calamity, or to enlist its aid in the\ncure of a disease, or for the attainment of a particular object. It\nis well known that the Nambudri has several hundreds of these images\nand other valuable offerings, the collection of centuries, amounting\nin value to over a lakh of rupees. This aroused the cupidity of a\ngang of dacoits (robbers), who resolved some years ago to ease the\nNambudri of a great portion of this treasure. On a certain night,\narmed with lathies (sticks), slings, torches, and other paraphernalia,\nthe dacoits went to the illam, and, forcibly effecting an entrance,\nbound the senior Nambudri's hands and feet, and threw him on his\nbreast. This precaution taken, the keys of the treasure-room were\ndemanded, the alternative being further personal injury. To save\nhimself from further violence, the keys were surrendered. The dacoits\nsecured all the gold images, leaving the silver ones severely alone,\nand departed. But, directly they went past the gate of the house,\nmany snakes chased them, and, in the twinkling of an eye, each of\nthe depredators had two snakes coiled round him, others investing\nthe gang, and threatening, with uplifted hoods and hisses, to dart\nat them. The dacoits remained stunned and motionless. Meantime, the\nauthorities were communicated with, and the whole gang was taken into\ncustody. It is said that the serpents did not budge an inch until\nafter the arrival of the officers.\"\n\nOther marvellous stories of the way in which the snakes carry out\ntheir trust are narrated.\n\nA section of Ambalavasis or temple servants in Malabar, called\nTeyyambadis, the members of which dance and sing in Bhagavati temples,\nperform a song called Nagapattu (song in honour of snakes) in private\nhouses, which is supposed to be effective in procuring offspring. [147]\n\nIn many houses of the Tiyans of Malabar, offerings are made annually to\na bygone personage named Kunnath Nayar, and to his friend and disciple,\nKunhi Rayan, a Mappilla (Muhammadan). According to the legend, the\nNayar worshipped the kite until he obtained command and control over\nall the snakes in the land. There are Mappilla devotees of Kunnath\nNayar and Kunhi Rayan, who exhibit snakes in a box, and collect\nalms for a snake mosque near Manarghat at the foot of the Nilgiri\nhills. A class of snake-charmers in Malabar, called Kuravan, go about\nthe country exhibiting snakes. It is considered to be a great act of\npiety to purchase these animals, and set them at liberty. The vagrant\nKakkalans of Travancore, who are said to be identical with the Kakka\nKuravans, are unrivalled at a dance called pampatam (snake dance).\n\nThe Pulluvans of Malabar are astrologers, medicine-men, and priests\nand singers in snake groves. According to a legend [148] they are\ndescended from a male and female servant, who were exiled by a\nBrahman in connection with the rescuing by the female of a snake\nwhich escaped when the Gandava forest was set on fire by Agni, the\ngod of fire. Another legend records how a five-hooded snake fled\nfrom the burning forest, and was taken home by a woman, and placed\nin a room. When her husband entered the room, he found an ant-hill,\nfrom which the snake issued forth, and bit him. As the result of\nthe bite, the man died, and his widow was left without means of\nsupport. The snake consoled her, and devised a plan, by which she\ncould maintain herself. She was to go from house to house, and cry\nout, \"Give me alms, and be saved from snake-poisoning.\" The inmates\nwould give alms, and the snakes, which might be troubling them,\nwould cease to annoy. For this reason, the Pulluvas, when they go\nwith their pot-drum (pulluva kudam) to a house, are asked to play,\nand sing songs which are acceptable to the snake gods, in return for\nwhich they receive a present of money. A Pulluvan and his wife preside\nat the ceremony called Pamban Tullal, which is carried out with the\nobject of propitiating the snake gods. Concerning this ceremony,\nMr L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer writes as follows [149]:--\n\n\n    \"A pandal (booth) supported by four poles driven into the ground is\n    put up for the purpose, and the tops of the poles are connected\n    with a network of strings, over which a silk or red cloth is\n    spread to form a canopy. The pandal is well decorated, and the\n    floor below it is slightly raised and smoothed. A hideous figure of\n    the size of a big serpent is drawn in rice-flour, turmeric (Curcuma\n    longa), kuvva(Curcuma angustifolia), powdered charcoal, and a green\n    powder. These five powders are essential, for their colours are\n    visible on the necks of serpents. Some rice is scattered on the\n    floor and on the sides, and ripe and green cocoanuts are placed on\n    a small quantity of rice and paddy (unhusked rice) on each side. A\n    puja for Ganapathi (the elephant god) is performed, to see that\n    the whole ceremony terminates well. A good deal of frankincense\n    is burned, and a lamp is placed on a plate, to add to the purity,\n    sanctity, and solemnity of the occasion. The members of the house\n    go round the pandal as a token of reverence, and take their seats\n    close by. It often happens that the members of several neighbouring\n    families take part in the ceremony. The women, from whom devils\n    have to be cast out, bathe and take their seats on the western\n    side, each with a flower-pod of the areca palm. The Pulluvan,\n    with his wife or daughter, begins his shrill musical tunes (on\n    serpents), vocal and instrumental alternately. As they sing, the\n    young female members appear to be influenced by the modulation of\n    the tunes and the smell of the perfumes. They gradually move their\n    heads in a circle, which soon quickens, and the long locks of hair\n    are soon let loose. These movements appear to keep time with the\n    Pulluvan's music. In their unconscious state, they beat upon the\n    floor, and wipe off the figure drawn. As soon as this is done,\n    they go to a serpent grove close by, where there may be a few stone\n    images of serpents, before which they prostrate themselves. They\n    now recover their consciousness, and take milk, water of the\n    green cocoanut, and plantain fruits, and the ceremony is over.\"\n\n\nIn connection with the Pamban Tullal, Mr Gopal Panikkar writes [150]\nthat \"sometimes the gods appear in the bodies of all these females, and\nsometimes only in those of a select few, or none at all. The refusal\nof the gods to enter into such persons is symbolical of some want of\ncleanliness in them; which contingency is looked upon as a source of\nanxiety to the individual. It may also suggest the displeasure of\nthese gods towards the family, in respect of which the ceremony is\nperformed. In either case, such refusal on the part of the gods is\nan index of their ill-will or dissatisfaction. In cases where the\ngods refuse to appear in any one of those seated for the purpose,\nthe ceremony is prolonged until the gods are so propitiated as to\nconstrain them to manifest themselves. Then, after the lapse of the\nnumber of days fixed for the ceremony, and, after the will of the\nserpent gods is duly expressed, the ceremonies close.\"\n\nSometimes, it is said, it may be considered necessary to rub away\nthe figure as many as one hundred and one times, in which case the\nceremony is prolonged over several weeks. Each time that the snake\ndesign is destroyed, one or two men, with torches in their hands,\nperform a dance, keeping step to the Pulluvan's music. The family\nmay eventually erect a small platform or shrine in a corner of their\ngrounds, and worship at it annually. The snake deity will not, it is\nbelieved, manifest himself if any of the persons or articles required\nfor the ceremony are impure, e.g., if the pot-drum has been polluted\nby the touch of a menstruating female. The Pulluvan, from whom a\ndrum was purchased for the Madras Museum, was very reluctant to part\nwith it, lest it should be touched by an impure woman. In addition\nto the pot-drum, the Pulluvans play on a lute with snakes painted\non the reptile skin, which is used in lieu of parchment. The skin,\nin a specimen which I acquired, is apparently that of the big lizard\nVaranus bengalensis. The lute is played with a bow, to which a metal\nbell is attached.\n\nIn the \"Madras Census Report,\" 1871, [151] Surgeon-Major Cornish\nstates that there is a place near Vaisarpadi, close to Madras, in\nwhich the worship of the living snakes draws crowds of votaries,\nwho make holiday excursions to the temple, generally on Sundays,\nin the hope of seeing the snakes, which are preserved in the temple\ngrounds; and, he adds, probably as long as the desire of offspring is a\nleading characteristic of the Indian people, so long will the worship\nof the serpent, or of snake-stones, be a popular cult. He describes\nfurther how, at Rajahmundry in the Telugu country, he came across\nan old ant-hill by the side of a public road, on which was placed a\nstone representing a cobra, and the ground all round was stuck over\nwith pieces of wood carved very rudely in the shape of a snake. These\nwere the offerings left by devotees at the abode taken up by an old\nsnake, who would occasionally come out of his hole, and feast on the\neggs and ghi (clarified butter) left for him by his adorers. Around\nthis place he saw many women who had come to pray at the shrine. If\nthey chanced to see the cobra, the omen was interpreted favourably,\nand their prayers for progeny would be granted.\n\n>Concerning snake worship in the Tamil country, Mr W. Francis writes\nas follows [152]:--\n\n\n    \"A vow is taken by childless wives to install a serpent\n    (nagapratishtai), if they are blessed with offspring. The\n    ceremony consists in having a figure of a serpent cut in a\n    stone slab, placing it in a well for six months, giving it life\n    (pranapratishtai) by reciting mantrams and performing other\n    ceremonies over it, and then setting it up under a pipal tree\n    (Ficus religiosa), which has been married to a margosa (Melia\n    Azadirachta). Worship, which consists mainly in going round the\n    tree 108 times, is then performed to it for the next forty-five\n    days. Similar circumambulations will also bring good luck in a\n    general way, if carried out subsequently.\"\n\n\nIt is further recorded by Mr F. R. Hemingway [153] that, \"Brahmans\nand the higher Vellalans think that children can be obtained by\nworshipping the cobra. Vellalans and Kallans perform the worship on\na Friday. Among the Vellalans, this is generally after the Pongal\nfestival. The Vellalans make an old woman cry aloud in the backyard\nthat a sacrifice will be made to the cobra next day, and that they pray\nit will accept the offering. At the time of sacrifice, cooked jaggery\n(crude sugar) and rice, burning ghi in the middle of rice-flour,\nand an egg, are offered to the cobra, and left in the backyard for\nits acceptance. The Pallis annually worship the cobra by pouring milk\non an ant-hill, and sacrificing a fowl near it. Valaiyans, Pallans,\nand Paraiyans sacrifice a fowl in their own backyards.\"\n\nIn the Tamil country, children whose birth is attributed to a vow\ntaken by childless mothers to offer a snake cut on a stone slab,\nsometimes have a name bearing reference to snakes given to them,\ni.e., Seshachalam, [154] Seshamma, Nagappa, or Nagamma. Naga, Nagasa,\nor Nageswara, occurs as the name of a totemistic exogamous sept or\ngotra of various classes in Ganjam and Vizagapatam. In the Odiya\ncaste of farmers in Ganjam, members of the Nagabonso sept claim to\nbe descendants of Nagamuni, the serpent rishi. Nagavadam (cobra's\nhood) is the name of a subdivision of the Tamil Pallis, who wear an\nornament called nagavadam, representing a cobra, in the dilated lobes\nof the ears.\n\nAnt (i.e., white-ant, Termes) hills, which have been repeatedly\nreferred to in this chapter, are frequently inhabited by cobras,\nand offerings of milk, fruit, and flowers are consequently made to\nthem on certain ceremonial occasions. Thus it is recorded, [155]\nby the Rev. J. Cain that when he was living in Ellore Fort in the\nGodavari district, in September, 1873, \"a large crowd of people,\nchiefly women and children, came in, and visited every white-ant\nhill, poured upon each their offerings of milk, flowers, and fruit,\nto the intense delight of all the crows in the neighbourhood. The\nday was called the Nagula Chaturdhi--Chaturdhi, the fourth day of\nthe eighth lunar month--and was said to be the day when Vasuki,\nTakshaka, and the rest of the thousand Nagulu were born to Kasyapa\nBrahma by his wife Kadruva. [156] The other chief occasions when\nthese ant-hills are resorted to are when people are affected with\nearache or pains in the eye, and certain skin diseases. They visit\nthe ant-hills, pour out milk, cold rice, fruit, etc., and carry away\npart of the earth, which they apply to the troublesome member, and,\nif they afterwards call in a Brahman to repeat a mantra or two,\nthey feel sure the complaint will soon vanish. Many parents first\ncut their children's hair near one of these hillocks, and offer the\nfirst fruits of the hair to the serpents residing there.\"\n\nThe colossal Jain figure of Gomatesvara, Gummatta, or Gomata Raya,\nat Sravana Belgola in Mysore, [157] is represented as surrounded by\nwhite-ant hills, from which snakes are emerging, and with a climbing\nplant twining itself round the legs and arms.\n\nOn the occasion of the snake festival in the Telugu country, the Boya\nwomen worship the Nagala Swami (snake god) by fasting, and pouring\nmilk into the holes of white-ant hills. By this a double object is\nfulfilled. The ant-hill is a favourite dwelling of the cobra, and was,\nmoreover, the burial-place of Valmiki, from whom the Boyas claim to be\ndescended. Valmiki was the author of the Ramayana, and is believed to\nhave done penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill grew\nup round him. On the Nagarapanchami day, Lingayats worship the image\nof a snake made of earth from a snake's hole with offerings of milk,\nrice, cocoanuts, flowers, etc. During the month Aswija, Lingayat\ngirls collect earth from ant-hills, and place it in a heap at the\nvillage temple. Every evening they go there with wave-offerings, and\nworship the heap. At the Dipavali festival, [158] the Gamallas (Telugu\ntoddy-drawers) bathe in the early morning, and go in wet clothes to an\nant-hill, before which they prostrate themselves, and pour a little\nwater into one of the holes. Round the hill they wind five turns of\ncotton thread, and return home. Subsequently they come once more to the\nant-hill with a lamp made of flour paste. Carrying the light, they go\nthree or five times round the hill, and throw split pulse (Phaseolus\nMungo) into one of the holes. On the following morning they again go\nto the hill, pour milk into it, and snap the threads wound round it.\n\nThe famous temple of Subramanya in South Canara is said to have\nbeen in charge of the Subramanya Stanikas (temple servants), till\nit was wrested from them by the Shivalli Brahmans. In former times,\nthe privilege of sticking a golden ladle into a heap of food piled\nup in the temple on the Shasti day is said to have belonged to the\nStanikas. They also brought earth from an ant-hill on the previous\nday. Food from the heap, and some of the earth, are received as sacred\narticles by devotees who visit the sacred shrine.\n\nAt the Smasanakollai festival in honour of the goddess Ankalamma\nat Malayanur, some thousands of people congregate at the temple. In\nfront of the stone idol is a large ant-hill, on which two copper idols\nare placed, and a brass vessel is placed at the base of the hill,\nto receive the various offerings.\n\nAt a wedding among the nomad Lambadis, the bride and bridegroom pour\nmilk into an ant-hill, and offer cocoanuts, milk, etc., to the snake\nwhich lives therein. During the marriage ceremonies of the Dandasis\n(village watchmen in Ganjam), a fowl is sacrificed at an ant-hill. At\na Bedar (Canarese cultivator) wedding, the earth from an ant-hill\nis spread near five water-pots, and on it are scattered some paddy\n(unhusked rice) and dhal (Cajanus indicus) seeds. The spot is visited\nlater on, and the seeds should have sprouted.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nVOWS, VOTIVE AND OTHER OFFERINGS\n\n\nIn addition to the observance of penances and fasting, Hindus of\nall castes, high and low, make vows and offerings to the gods, with\nthe object of securing their good-will or appeasing their anger. By\nthe lower castes, offerings of animals--fowls, sheep, goats, or\nbuffaloes--are made, and the gods whom they seek to propitiate\nare minor deities, e.g., Ellamma or Muneswara, to whom animal\nsacrifices are acceptable. [159] The higher castes usually perform\nvows to Venkateswara of Tirupati, Subramanya of Palni, Viraraghava of\nTiruvallur, Tirunarayana of Melkote, and other celebrated gods. But\nthey may, if afflicted with serious illness, at times, as at the\nleaf festival at Periyapalayam (p. 148), seek the good offices of\nminor deities.\n\n\n    \"A shrine,\" Mr F. Fawcett writes, [160] \"to which the Malayalis\n    (inhabitants of Malabar), Nayars included, resort is that of\n    Subramaniya at Palni in the north-west of the Madura district. Not\n    only are vows paid to this shrine, but men, letting their hair\n    grow for a year after their father's death, proceed to have it cut\n    there. The plate shows an ordinary Palni pilgrim. The arrangement\n    which he is carrying is called a kavadi (portable shrine). There\n    are two kinds of kavadi, a milk kavadi containing milk, and a fish\n    kavadi containing fish. The vow may be made in respect of either,\n    each being appropriate to certain circumstances. [Miniature silver\n    kavadis, and miniature crowns, are sometimes offered by pilgrims\n    to the god.] When the time comes near for the pilgrim to start for\n    Palni, he dresses in reddish-orange clothes, shoulders his kavadi,\n    and starts out. Together with a man ringing a bell, and perhaps\n    one with a tom-tom, with ashes on his face, he assumes the role of\n    a beggar. The well-to-do are inclined to reduce the beggar period\n    to the minimum, but a beggar every votary must be, and as a beggar\n    he goes to Palni in all humbleness and humiliation, and there he\n    fulfils his vow, leaves his kavadi and his hair, and a small sum of\n    money. Though the individuals about to be noticed were not Nayars,\n    their cases illustrate very well the religious idea of the Nayar\n    as expressed under certain circumstances. It was at Guruvayur (in\n    Malabar) in November 1895. On a high raised platform under a peepul\n    tree were a number of people under vows, bound for Palni. A boy\n    of fourteen had suffered as a child from epilepsy, and seven years\n    ago his father vowed on his behalf that, if he was cured, he would\n    make his pilgrimage to Palni. He wore a string of beads round his\n    neck, and a like string on his right arm. These were in some way\n    connected with the vow. His head was bent, and he sat motionless\n    under his kavadi, leaning on the bar, which, when he carried it,\n    rested on his shoulder. He could not go to Palni until it was\n    revealed to him in a dream when he was to start. He had waited\n    for his dream seven years, subsisting on roots (yams, etc.), and\n    milk--no rice. Now he had had the longed-for dream, and was about\n    to start. Another pilgrim was a man wearing an oval band of silver\n    over the lower portion of the forehead, almost covering his eyes;\n    his tongue protruding beyond the mouth, and kept in position by\n    a silver skewer through it. The skewer was put in the day before,\n    and was to be left in for forty days. He had been fasting for two\n    years. He was much under the influence of the god, and whacking\n    incessantly at a drum in delicious excitement. Several of the\n    pilgrims had a handkerchief tied over the mouth, they being under\n    a vow of silence. [At Kumbakonam in the Tanjore district, 'there\n    is a math in honour of a recently deceased saint named Paradesi,\n    who attained wide fame in the district some years ago. He never\n    spoke, and was welcomed and feasted everywhere, and was the subject\n    of many vows. People used to promise to break cocoanuts in his\n    presence, or clothe him with fine garments, if they obtained their\n    desire, and such vows were believed to be very efficacious.' [161]\n    At the Manjeshwar Temple in South Canara, there is a Darsana,\n    (man who gets inspired) called the dumb Darsana, as he gives signs\n    instead of speaking. Bishop Whitehead records [162] the case of\n    a Brahman, who had taken a vow of silence for twenty-one years,\n    because people make so much mischief by talking. He conversed\n    by means of signs and writing in the dust]. One poor man wore\n    the regular instrument of silence, the mouth-lock [163]--a wide\n    silver band over the mouth, and a skewer piercing both cheeks. He\n    sat patiently in a tent-like affair. People fed him with milk,\n    etc. The use of the mouth-lock is common with the Nayars, when\n    they assume the pilgrim's robes and set out for Palni. Pilgrims\n    generally go in crowds under charge of a priestly guide, one who,\n    having made a certain number of journeys to the shrine, wears a\n    peculiar sash and other gear.\"\n\n\nIn connection with kavadis, it may be noted that, at the time of\nthe annual migration of the sacred herd of cattle belonging to\nthe Kappiliyans (Canarese farmers in the Madura district) to the\nhills, the driver is said to carry a pot of fresh-drawn milk within\na kavadi. On the day on which the return journey to the Kambam valley\nis commenced, the pot is opened, and the milk is said to be found in a\nhardened state. A slice thereof is cut off, and given to each person\nwho accompanied the herd to the hills. It is believed that the milk\nwould not remain in good condition, if the sacred herd had been in\nany way injuriously affected during its sojourn there. The usual vow\nperformed at the shrine of Dandayudhapani or Subramanya near Settikulam\nin the Trichinopoly district is to carry milk, sugar, flour, etc.,\nin a kavadi, and offer it to the god. [164] A case is recorded [165]\nfrom Ceylon, in which a man who was about to proceed with a kavadi to\na shrine was held by several men, while a blow with the palm of the\nhand caught him in the middle of the back, to numb the pain created\nby the forcing of sharp iron hooks into the fleshy part of the back.\n\nReference has been made (p. 137) to the offering of hair by devotees\nat the Palni shrine. When people are prevented from going to a temple\nat the proper time, hair is sometimes removed from their children's\nhead, sealed up in a vessel, and put into the receptacle for offerings\nwhen the visit to the temple is paid. In cases of dangerous sickness,\nthe hair is sometimes cut off, and offered to a deity.\n\n\n    \"The sacrifice of locks,\" Mr A. Srinivasan writes, \"is meant to\n    propitiate deceased relations, and the deity which presides over\n    life's little joys and sorrows. It is a similar intention that\n    has dictated the ugly disfigurement of widows. We meet with the\n    identical fact and purpose in the habit of Telugu Brahmans and\n    non-Brahmans in general, sacrificing their whole locks of hair to\n    the goddess Ganga of Prayaga, to the god Venkatesa of Tirupati,\n    and other local gods. The Brahman ladies of the south have more\n    recently managed to please Ganga and other gods with just one or\n    two locks of hair.\"\n\n\nSometimes, in performance of a vow, Patnulkaran (Madura weaver) boys\nare taken to the shrine at Tirupati for the tonsure ceremony. [166]\nMarried couples desirous of offspring make a vow that, if a child be\ngranted to them, they will perform the ceremony of the first shaving\nof its head at the temple of the god who fulfils their desire. [167]\nIt is said [168] that Alagarkovil in the Madura district is such a\nfavourite place for carrying out the first shaving of the heads of\nchildren, that the right to the locks presented to the shrine is\nannually sold by auction.\n\nWriting in 1872, Mr Breeks remarked [169] that \"about Ootacamund,\na few Todas have latterly begun to imitate the religious practices\nof their native neighbours, and my particular friend Kinniaven, after\nan absence of some days, returned with a shaven head from a visit to\nthe temple of Siva at Nanjengudi\" (in Mysore).\n\nA Toda who came to see me had his hair hanging down in long tails\nreaching below the shoulders. He had, he said, let it grow long because\nhis wife, though married five years, had borne no child. A child had,\nhowever, recently been born, and he was going to sacrifice his locks\nas a thank-offering at the Nanjengod temple. By the Badagas of the\nNilgiris, the fire-walking ceremony is celebrated to propitiate the\ndeity Jeddayaswami, to whom vows are made. In token thereof, they grow\none twist or plait of hair, which is finally cut off as an offering\nto Jeddayaswami.\n\nBy some Gavaras (a cultivating caste) of Vizagapatam, special reverence\nis paid to the deity Jagganathaswami of Orissa, whose shrine at Puri is\nvisited by some, while others take vows in the name of the god. On the\nday of the car festival at Puri, local car festivals are held in Gavara\nvillages, and women carry out the performance of their vows. A woman,\nfor example, who is under a vow, in order that she may be cured of\nillness or bear children, takes a big pot of water, and, placing it on\nher head, dances frantically before the god, through whose influence\nthe water which rises out of the pot falls back into it, instead\nof being spilt. The class of Vaishnavite mendicants called Dasari\nclaims descent from a wealthy Sudra, [170] who, having no offspring,\nvowed that, if he was blessed with children, he would devote one to\nthe service of the deity. He subsequently had many sons, one of whom\nhe named Dasan, and placed entirely at the service of the god. Dasan\nforfeited all claim to his father's estate, and his descendants are\ntherefore all beggars. [171] In a note on the Dasaris of Mysore,\n[172] it is stated that \"they become Dasas or servants dedicated\nto the god at Tirupati by virtue of a peculiar vow, made either by\nthemselves or their relatives at some moment of anxiety or danger,\nand live by begging in his name. Among certain castes (e.g., Banajiga,\nTigala, and Vakkaliga), the custom of taking a vow to become a Dasari\nprevails. In fulfilment of that vow, the person becomes a Dasari,\nand his eldest son is bound to follow suit.\"\n\nIt may be noted that, in the Canarese country, a custom obtains among\nthe Bedars and some other castes, under which a family which has no\nmale issue must dedicate one of its daughters as a Basavi. [173]\nThe girl is taken to the temple, and married to the god, a tali\n(marriage badge) and toe-rings being put on her. Thenceforward she\nbecomes a public woman, except that she should not consort with any\none of lower caste than herself. It may be added that a Basavi usually\nlives faithfully with one man, and she works for her family as hard\nas any other woman.\n\nMarried couples, to whom offspring is born after the performance of\na vow, sometimes name it after the deity whose aid has been invoked,\nsuch as Srinivasa at Tirupati, Lakshminarasimha at Sholingur, or some\nother local god or goddess. At Negapatam, some Hindus make vows to\nthe Miran (Muhammadan saint) of Nagur, and name their child after\nhim. The name thus given is not, however, used in every-day life,\nbut abandoned like the ceremonial name given prior to the Hindu\nupanayana ceremony. In the Telugu country, the poorer classes of\nHindus sometimes promise that, if a son is born to them, they will\ncall him after a Muhammadan Fakir, and, consequently, it is far from\nuncommon to find a Hindu named Fakirgadu or Fakirappa, with a Hindu\ntermination to a Muhammadan commencement. [174]\n\nIt has been noted (p. 138) that some pilgrims to the shrine at Palni\nhave a skewer piercing both cheeks. It is recorded by Bishop Whitehead\n[175] that \"devotees go to the shrine of Durgamma at Bellary with\nsilver pins about six inches long thrust through their cheeks, and\nwith a lighted lamp in a brass dish on their head. On arriving before\nthe shrine, they place the lamp on the ground, and the pin is removed,\nand offered to the goddess.\"\n\nThe Bishop was told that the object of this ceremony is to enable\nthe devotee to come to the shrine with a concentrated mind.\n\nA common form of vow made to Mariamman at Pappakkalpatti in the\nTrichinopoly district is a promise to stick little iron skewers into\nthe body. In performance of vows, the Sedans and Kaikolans (weaver\ncastes) pierce some part of the body with a spear. The latter thrust\na spear through the muscles of the abdomen in honour of their god\nSaha-nayanar at Ratnagiri.\n\nAt the annual festival of the goddess Gangamma at Tirupati, a Kaikolan\ndevotee dances before the goddess, and, when he is worked up to the\nproper pitch of frenzy, a metal wire is passed through the middle\nof his tongue. It is believed that the operation causes no pain or\nbleeding, and the only remedy adopted is the chewing of margosa\n(Melia Azadirachta) leaves and some kunkumam (red powder) of the\ngoddess. If, during a temple car procession, the car refuses to move,\nthe Viramushtis (Lingayat mendicants), who are guardians of the idol,\ncut themselves with their swords until it is set in motion. There is\na proverb that the Siva Brahman (temple priest) eats well, whereas\nthe Viramushti hurts himself with the sword, and suffers much. The\nViramushtis are said, in former days, to have performed a ceremony\ncalled pavadam. When an orthodox Lingayat was insulted, he would\nswallow his lingam, and lie flat on the ground in front of the house\nof the offender, who had to collect some Lingayats, and send for a\nViramushti. He had to arrive accompanied by a pregnant Viramushti\nwoman, priests of Draupadi, Pachaiamman, and Pothuraja temples, some\nindividuals from the nearest Lingayat mutt, and others. Arrived at the\nhouse, the pregnant woman would sit down in front of the person lying\non the ground. With his sword the Viramushti man then made cuts in his\nscalp and chest, and sprinkled the recumbent man with the blood. He\nwould then rise, and the lingam would come out of his mouth. Mondi\nmendicants, when engaged in begging, cut the skin of the thighs with a\nknife, lie down and beat their chest with a stone, vomit, roll in the\ndust or mud, and throw ordure into the houses of those who will not\ncontribute alms. It was noted, in a recent report of the Banganapalle\nState, that an inam (grant of rent-free land) was held on condition\nof the holder \"ripping open his stomach\" at a certain festival.\n\nA vow performed in honour of the village goddess at Settikulam in\nthe Trichinopoly district is for the votaries, male and female, to\nfling themselves on heaps of thorns before her. This vow is generally\nfulfilled by those cured of disease. It is called mullu padagalam, or\nbed of thorns. [176] At the annual fire-walking festival at Nuvagode\nin Ganjam, the officiating priest sits on a seat of sharp thorns. It\nis noticed [177] by the missionary Gloyer that, on special occasions,\nsome Dombs in Vizagapatam fall into a frenzied state, in which they\ncut their flesh with sharp instruments, or pass long, thin iron bars\nthrough the tongue and cheeks, during which operation no blood must\nflow. For this purpose, the instruments are rubbed over with some\nblood-congealing material. They also affect sitting on a sacred swing,\narmed with long iron nails. Mr G. F. Paddison informs me that he once\nsaw a villager in the Vizagapatam district sitting outside the house,\nwhile groans proceeded from within. He explained that he was ill, and\nhis wife was swinging on nails with their points upwards, to cure him.\n\nIn the Tanjore district, persons afflicted with disease promise that,\nif they are cured, they will brand their bodies, go round a temple\na certain number of times by rolling over and over in the dust, and\noffer a pregnant goat by stabbing it through the womb. Sometimes vows\nof self-mortification are taken in anticipation of relief. Such are\nundertaking to go without salt in one's food, or to eat without using\nthe hands, until a cure is effected. [178] At Palni in the Madura\ndistrict, there is an annual feast at the Mariamman temple, at which\npeople, in performance of a vow, carry in their bare hands earthen\npots with a bright fire blazing inside them. They are said to escape\nburns by the favour of the goddess, but it is whispered that immunity\nis sometimes rendered doubly sure by putting sand or rice-husk at\nthe bottom of the pot. [179] Some Dasaris (religious mendicants) go\nthrough a performance called Panda Servai, which consists in beating\nthemselves with a flaming torch all over the body. I am informed by\nMr Paddison that some Dombs are reputed to be able to pour blazing\noil all over their bodies, without suffering any hurt; and one\nman is said to have had a miraculous power of hardening his skin,\nso that any one could have a free shot at him without hurting him.\nIn the Melur taluk of the Madura district, it is stated that women\nwho are anxious for offspring vow that, if they attain their wish,\nthey will go and have a cocoanut broken on their head by a priest\nat the temple of Sendurai. [180] At an annual festival in honour of\nthe god Servarayan on the Shevaroy hills in the Salem district, those\nMalayalis who wish to take a vow to be faithful to their god have to\nreceive fifteen lashes on the bare back with a stout leather thong,\nadministered by the chief priest.\n\nThe annual festival at the temple of Karamadai in the Coimbatore\ndistrict is visited by about forty or fifty thousand pilgrims,\nbelonging for the most part to the lower classes. In case of sickness\nor other calamity, they take a vow to perform one of the following:--\n\n(1) To pour water at the feet of the idol inside the temple. Each\ndevotee is provided with a goat-skin bag, or a new earthen pot. He\ngoes to the tank, and, after bathing, fills the receptacle with water,\ncarries it to the temple, and empties it before the idol. This is\nrepeated a number of times according to the nature of the vow. If the\nvow is a life-long one, it has to be performed every year until death.\n\n(2) To give kavalam to Dasaris (religious mendicants). Kavalam consists\nof plantain fruits cut up into small slices, and mixed with sugar,\njaggery (crude sugar), fried grain, or beaten rice. The Dasaris\nare attached to the temple, and wear short drawers, with strings of\nsmall brass bells tied to their wrists and ankles. They appear to be\npossessed, and move wildly about to the beating of drums. As they go\nabout, the devotees put some of the kavalam into their mouths. The\nDasaris eat a little, and spit out the remainder into the hands of\nthe devotees, who eat it. This is believed to cure all disease, and\nto give children to those who partake of it. In addition to kavalam,\nsome put betel leaves in the mouths of the Dasaris, who, after chewing\nthem, spit them into the mouths of the devotees. At night the Dasaris\ncarry torches made of rags, on which the devotees pour ghi (clarified\nbutter).  Some people say that, many years ago, barren women used\nto take a vow to visit the temple at the time of the festival, and,\nafter offering kavalam, have sexual intercourse with the Dasaris. The\ntemple authorities, however, profess ignorance of this practice.\n\nOn the last day of the Gangajatra festival at Tirupati, a figure is\nmade of clay and straw, and placed in the tope (grove), where crowds\nof all classes, including Paraiyans, present food to it. Buffaloes,\ngoats, sheep, and fowls are sacrificed, and it is said that Brahmans,\nthough they will not be present, send animals to be slaughtered. At\nthe conclusion of the festivities, the image is burnt during the\nfeast, which last over ten days, the lower orders of the people\npaint themselves, and indulge in much boisterous merriment. Those\nwho have made a vow to Ganga fast for some days before the festival\nbegins. They wear a structure made of bamboo in the form of a car,\nwhich is decorated with paper of different colours, and supported by\niron nails pressed into the belly and back. They go about with this\nstructure on their heads. Those who have been attacked by cholera,\nor other serious disease, make a vow to Ganga, and perform this\nceremonial.\n\nA festival, which is attended by huge crowds of Hindus of all\nclasses, takes place annually in the month of Audi (July-August)\nat the village of Periyapalayam, about sixteen miles from Madras,\nwhere the goddess Mariamma is worshipped under the name of\nPeriyapalayaththamman. According to the legend, as narrated by the\nRev. A. C. Clayton, [181]\n\n\n    \"there was once a Rishi (sage), who lived on the banks of the\n    Periyapalayam river with his wife Bavani. Every morning she\n    used to bathe in the river, and bring back water for the use of\n    the household. But she never took any vessel with her in which\n    to bring the water home, for she was so chaste that she had\n    acquired power to form a water-pot out of the dry river sand,\n    and carry the water home in it. One day, while bathing, she saw\n    the reflection of the face of the sky-god, Indra, in the water,\n    and could not help admiring it. When she returned to the bank of\n    the river, and tried to form her water-pot out of sand as usual,\n    she could not do so, for her admiration of Indra had ruined her\n    power, and she went home sadly to fetch a brass water-vessel. Her\n    husband saw her carrying this to the river, and at once suspected\n    her of unchastity, and, calling his son, ordered him to strike\n    off her head with a sword. It was in vain that the son tried to\n    avoid matricide. He had to obey, but he was so agitated by his\n    feelings that, when at last he struck at his mother, he cut off\n    not only her head, but that of a leather-dresser's wife who was\n    standing near. The two bodies lay side by side. The rishi was so\n    pleased with his son's obedience that he promised him any favour\n    that he should ask, but he was very angry when the son at once\n    begged that his mother might be restored to life. Being compelled\n    to keep his word, he told the son that, if he put his mother's\n    head on her trunk, she would again live. The son tried to do\n    so, but in his haste took up the head of the leather-dresser's\n    wife by mistake, and put it on Bavani's body. Leather-dressers\n    are flesh-eaters, and so it comes about that, on days when her\n    festival is celebrated, Bavani--now a goddess--longs for meat,\n    and thousands of sheep, goats, and fowls, must be slain at her\n    shrine. This legend bears marks of Brahmanic influence. Curiously\n    enough, the priest of this Paraiya shrine is himself a Brahman.\"\n\n\nThe vows, which are performed at the festival at Periyapalayam,\nare as follows:--\n\n(1) Wearing a garment of margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves, or wearing\nan ordinary garment, and carrying a lighted lamp made of rice-flour\non the head.\n\n(2) Carrying a pot decorated with flowers and margosa leaves round\nthe temple.\n\n(3) Going round the temple, rolling on the ground.\n\n(4) Throwing a live fowl on to the top of the temple.\n\n(5) Throwing a cocoanut in front, prostrating on the ground in\nsalutation, going forward several paces and again throwing the\ncocoanut, and repeating the procedure till three circuits of the\ntemple have been made.\n\n(6) Giving offerings to the idol Parasurama, cradle with baby made of\nclay or wood, etc., to bring offspring to the childless, success in a\nlawsuit or business transaction, and other good luck. In addition,\npongal (boiled rice) has to be offered, and by some a sheep or\ngoat is sacrificed. If a vow has been made on behalf of a sick\ncow, the animal is bathed in the river, clad in margosa leaves,\nand led round the temple. The leaf-wearing vow is resorted to by\nthe large majority of the devotees, and performed by men, women\nand children. Those belonging to the more respectable classes go\nthrough it in the early morning, before the crowd has collected in\nits tens of thousands. The leafy garments are purchased from hawkers,\nwho do a brisk trade in the sale thereof. The devotees have to pay a\nmodest fee for admission to the temple precincts, and go round the\nshrine three or more times. Concerning the Periyapalayam festival,\na recent writer observes that, \"the distinctive feature is that the\nworshippers are clad in leaves. The devotees are bound to wear a\ngarment made of fresh margosa twigs with their leaves. This garment\nis called vepansilai.  It consists of a string three or four yards\nlong, from which depend, at intervals of two to three inches apart,\ntwigs measuring about two feet in length, and forming a fringe of\nfoliage. This string being wound several times round the waist, the\nfringe of leaves forms a kilt or short petticoat. Men are content to\nwear the kilt, but women also wear round their neck a similar garment,\nwhich forms a short cloak reaching to the waist. To impress on devotees\nthe imperative obligation imposed on them to wear the leaf garment\nin worshipping the goddess, it is said that a young married woman,\nbeing without children, made a vow to the goddess that, on obtaining\na son, she would go on a pilgrimage to Periyapalayam, and worship her\nin accordance with the ancient rite. Her prayer having been answered,\nshe gave birth to a son, and went to Periyapalayam to fulfil her\nvow. When, however, it was time to undress and put on the vepansilai,\nher modesty revolted. Unobserved by her party, she secretly tied a\ncloth round her waist before putting on the vepansilai. So attired,\nshe went to the temple to worship. On seeing her coming, the goddess\ndetected her deceit, and, waxing wroth, set the woman's dress all\nablaze, and burnt her so severely that she died.\"\n\nIt is noted by Bishop Whitehead [182] that it was formerly the\ncustom for women to come to the shrine of Durgamma at Bellary clad in\ntwigs of the margosa tree. But this is now only done by children, the\ngrown-up women putting the margosa twigs over a cloth wrapped round the\nloins. At a festival of the village goddess at Kudligi in the Bellary\ndistrict, the procession is said by Mr F. Fawcett to be headed by a\nMadiga (Telugu Pariah) naked save for a few margosa leaves. The wearing\nof these leaves on the occasion of festivals in honour of Mariamma is a\nvery general custom throughout Southern India. Garments made of leaves\nare still worn by the females of some tribes on the west coast, e.g.,\nthe Thanda Pulayans, Vettuvans, and Koragas. Concerning the Koragas,\nMr Walhouse writes [183] that they \"wear an apron of twigs and leaves\nover the buttocks. Once this was the only covering allowed them, and\na mark of their deep degradation. But now, when no longer compulsory,\nand of no use, as it is worn over the clothes, the women still retain\nit, believing its disuse would be unlucky.\"\n\n\n    \"Kuvvakkam in the South Arcot district is known for its festival\n    to Aravan (more correctly Iravan) or Kuttandar, which is one of\n    the most popular feasts with Sudras in the whole district. Aravan\n    was the son of Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers. Local\n    traditions says that, when the great war which is described in the\n    Mahabharata was about to begin, the Kauravas, the opponents of the\n    Pandavas, to bring them success, sacrificed a white elephant. The\n    Pandavas were in despair of being able to find any such uncommon\n    object with which to propitiate the gods, until Arjuna suggested\n    that they should offer up his son Aravan. Aravan agreed to yield\n    his life for the good of the cause, and, when eventually the\n    Pandavas were victorious, he was deified for the self-abnegation\n    which had thus brought his side success. Since he died in his\n    youth, before he had been married, it is held to please him if men,\n    even though grown up and already wedded, come now and offer to\n    espouse him, and men who are afflicted with serious diseases take\n    a vow to marry him at his annual festival in the hope of thereby\n    being cured. The festival occurs in May, and for eighteen nights\n    the Mahabharata is recited by a Palli (Tamil agriculturist), [184]\n    large numbers of people, especially of that caste, assembling to\n    hear it read. On the eighteenth night, a wooden image of Kuttandar\n    is taken to a tope (grove) and seated there. This is the signal\n    for the sacrifice of an enormous number of fowls. Every one who\n    comes brings one or two, and the number killed runs literally into\n    thousands. While this is going on, all the men who have taken vows\n    to be married to the deity appear before his image dressed like\n    women, make obeisance, offer to the priest (who is a Palli by\n    caste) a few annas, and give into his hands the talis (marriage\n    badge worn by women) which they have brought with them. These\n    the priest, as representing the God, ties round their necks. The\n    God is brought back to his shrine that night, and, when in front\n    of the building, he is hidden by a cloth held before him. This\n    symbolises the sacrifice of Aravan, and the men who have just\n    been married to him set up loud lamentations at the death of\n    their husband. Similar vows are taken and ceremonies performed,\n    it is said, at the shrines of Kuttandar, two miles north-west\n    of Porto Novo, and Adivarahanattum (five miles north-west of\n    Chidambaram), and, in recent years, at Tiruvarkkulam (one mile\n    east of the latter place); other cases probably occur.\" [185]\n\n\nI am informed by Mr R. F. Stoney that, in the Madura district, iron\nchains are hung on babul (Acacia arabica) trees, and dedicated to\nthe rustic deity Karuppan. At Melur Mr Stoney saw large masses of\nsuch chains, which are made by the village blacksmiths. They are very\nrough, and are furnished at one end with what is said to be a sickle,\nand also a spear-head. I gather further [186] that, in the Melur taluk,\nthe shrine of Karuppan may usually be known by the hundreds of chains\nhung outside it, which have been presented to the god in performance of\nvows. The deity is said to be fond of bedecking himself with chains,\nand these offerings are usually suspended from a kind of horizontal\nbar made of two stone uprights supporting a slab of stone placed\nhorizontally upon the top of them. The god is also fond of presents\nof clubs and swords.\n\n\n    \"Sometimes,\" a recent writer states, \"a big chain hangs suspended\n    from a tree, and the village panchayats (tribunals) are held in\n    the Aiyanar (or Sangali Karuppan) temple. The accused is made to\n    submit to an ordeal in proof of innocence. The ordeal consists in\n    his swearing on the chain, which he is made to touch. He has such\n    a dread of this procedure, that, as soon as he touches the chain,\n    he comes out with the truth, failure to speak the truth being\n    punished by some calamity, which he believes will overtake him\n    within a week. These chains are also suspended to the trees near\n    the temples of village goddesses, and used by village panchayats\n    to swear the accused in any trial before them.\"\n\n\nIt is narrated [187] by Moor that he \"passed a tree, on which were\nhanging several hundred bells. This was a superstitious sacrifice\nby the Bandjanahs, [188] who, passing this tree, are in the habit\nof hanging a bell or bells upon it, which they take from the necks\nof their sick cattle, expecting to leave behind them the complaint\nalso. Our servants particularly cautioned us against touching these\ndiabolical bells; but, as a few were taken for our own cattle, several\naccidents that happened were imputed to the anger of the deity to\nwhom these offerings were made, who, they say, inflicts the same\ndisorder on the unhappy bullock who carries a bell from this tree as\nhe relieved the donor from.\"\n\nAt Diguvemetta in the Kurnool district, I came across a number of\nbells, both large and small, tied to the branches of a tamarind tree,\nbeneath which were an image of the deity Malalamma, and a stone bull\n(Nandi). Suspended from a branch of the same tree was a thick rope,\nto which were attached heads, skulls, mandibles, thigh-bones, and\nfeet of fowls, and the foot of a goat.\n\nMr Fawcett once saw, at a Savara village in Ganjam, a gaily ornamented\nhut near a burning-ground. Rude figures of birds and red rags were\ntied to five bamboos, which were sticking up in the air about eight\nfeet above the hut, one at each corner, and one in the centre. A\nSavara said that he built the hut for his dead brother, and had\nburied the bones in it. [189] It is noted by the Rev. J. Cain [190]\nthat, in some places, the Lambadis fasten rags torn from some old\ngarment to a bush in honour of Kampalamma (kampa, a thicket). On\nthe side of a road from Bastar are several large heaps of stones,\nwhich they have piled up in honour of the goddess Guttalamma. Every\nLambadi who passes the heaps is bound to place one stone on the heap,\nand make a salaam to it. It is further recorded by Mr Walhouse [191]\nthat, when going from the Coimbatore plains to the Mysore frontier,\nhe saw a thorn-bush rising out of a heap of stones piled round it, and\nbearing bits of rag tied to its branches by Lambadis. In the Telugu\ncountry, rags are offered to a god named Pathalayya (Mr Rags). On\nthe trunk-roads in the Nellore district, rags may be seen hanging\nfrom the babul (Acacia arabica) trees. These are offerings made to\nPathalayya by travellers, who tear off pieces of their clothing with\na vague idea that the offering thereof will render their journey\nfree from accidents, such as upsetting of their carts, or meeting\nwith robbers. Outside the temple of the village goddess at Ojini in\nthe Bellary district, Mr Fawcett tells us, [192] \"are hung numbers\nof miniature cradles and bangles presented by women who have borne\nchildren, or been cured of sickness through the intervention of the\ngoddess. Miniature cows are presented by persons whose cows have been\ncured of sickness, and doll-like figures for children. One swami (god)\nthere is, known by a tree hung with iron chains, hooks--anything iron;\nanother by rags, and so on. The ingenious dhobi (washerman), whose\nfunction is to provide torches on occasions, sometimes practises\non the credulity of his countrymen by tying a few rags to a tree,\nwhich by and by is covered with rags, for the passers-by are not so\nstiff-necked as to ask for a sign other than a rag; and under cover\nof the darkness, the dhobi makes his torch of the offerings.\"\n\nOn the road to the temple at Tirumala (Upper Tirupati) in the\nNorth Arcot district, the goddess Gauthala Gangamma has her abode\nin a margosa or avaram (Cassia auriculata) tree, surrounded by a\nwhite-ant hill. Passers-by tear off a piece of their clothing, and\ntie it to the branches, and place a small stone at the base of the\nant-hill. Occasionally cooked rice is offered, fowls are sacrificed,\nand their heads and legs tied to the tree. In the Madura district,\nbits of rag are hung on the trees in which a deity named Sattan\nis believed to reside. [193] It is noted by Mr W. Francis [194]\nthat, \"in some places in the South Arcot district, for example,\non the feeder road to the Olakkur station in Tindivanam taluk and\nnear the eighth mile of the road from Kallakurchi to Vriddhachalam,\nare trees on which passers-by have hung bits of rag, until they are\nquite covered with them. The latter of the two cases had its origin\nonly a few years back in the construction by some shepherd boys of a\ntoy temple to Ganesa formed of a few stones under the tree, to draw\nattention to which they hung up a rag or two. The tree is now quite\ncovered with bits of cloth, and beneath it is a large pile of stones,\nwhich have been added one by one by the superstitious passers-by.\"\n\nIt is recorded by the Abbe Dubois [195] that \"at Palni, in Madura,\nthere is a famous temple consecrated to the god Velayuda, whose\ndevotees bring offerings of a peculiar kind, namely large sandals,\nbeautifully ornamented, and similar in shape to those worn by the\nHindus on their feet. The god is addicted to hunting, and these shoes\nare intended for his use when he traverses the jungles and deserts in\npursuit of his favourite sport. Such shabby gifts, one might think,\nwould go very little way towards filling the coffers of the priests of\nVelayuda. Nothing of the sort: Brahmins always know how to reap profit\nfrom anything. Accordingly the new sandals are rubbed on the ground\nand rolled a little in the dust, and are then exposed to the eyes of\nthe pilgrims who visit the temple. It is clear enough that the sandals\nmust have been worn on the divine feet of Velayuda; and they become\nthe property of whosoever pays the highest price for such holy relics.\"\n\nMr Walhouse informs us [196] that the champak and other trees round\nthe ancient shrine of the Trimurti at the foot of the Anaimalai\nmountains are thickly hung with sandals and shoes, many of huge\nsize, evidently made for the purpose, and suspended by pilgrims\nas votive offerings. The god of the temple at Tirumala is said to\nappear annually to four persons in different directions, east, west,\nsouth and north, and informs them that he requires a shoe from each\nof them. They whitewash their houses, worship the god, and spread\nrice-flour thickly on the floor of a room, which is locked for the\nnight. Next morning the mark of a huge foot is found on the floor,\nand the shoe has to be made to fit this. When ready, it is taken in\nprocession through the streets of the village, conveyed to Tirumala,\nand presented to the temple. Though the makers of the shoes have worked\nin ignorance of each others' work, the shoes brought from the north\nand south, and those from the east and west, are believed to match and\nmake a pair. Though the worship of these shoes is chiefly meant for\nParaiyans, who are prohibited from ascending the Tirupati hill, as a\nmatter of fact all, without distinction of caste, worship them. The\nshoes are placed in front of the image of the god near the foot of\nthe hill, and are said to gradually wear away by the end of the year.\n\n\n    \"At Belur in the Mysore Province,\" Mr Lewis Rice writes, [197] \"the\n    god of the temple is under the necessity of making an occasional\n    trip to the Baba Budan hills to visit the goddess. On these\n    occasions he is said to make use of a large pair of slippers kept\n    for the purpose in the temple. When they are worn out, it devolves\n    upon the chucklers (leather-workers) of Channagiri and Bisvapatna,\n    to whom the fact is revealed in a dream, to provide new ones.\"\n\n\nIn order to present the slippers, they are allowed to enter the\ncourtyard of the temple.\n\nOn the way leading up to the temple at Tirumala, small stones heaped\nup in the form of a hearth, and knots tied in the leaves of young\ndate-palms may be seen. These are the work of virgins who accompany\nthe parties of pilgrims. The knots are tied to ensure the tying of the\nmarriage tali string on their necks, and the heaping up of the stones\nis done with a view to ensuring the birth of children to them. If\nthe girls revisit the hill after marriage and the birth of offspring,\nthey untie the knot on a leaf, and disarrange one of the hearths. Men\ncause their name to be cut on rocks by the wayside, or on the stones\nwith which the path leading to the temple is paved, in the belief that\ngood luck will result if their name is trodden on by some pious man.\n\nAt Tirupati, a number of Balijas are engaged in the red sanders\n(Pterocarpus santalinus) wood-carving industry. Figures of deities,\nmythological figures, miniature temple cars, and domestic utensils,\nare among the articles turned out by them. Vessels made of red\nsanders wood carry no pollution, and can be used by women during the\nmenstrual period, and taken back to the house without any purification\nceremony. For the same reason, Sanyasis (ascetics) use such vessels\nfor performing worship. The carved figures are sold to pilgrims and\nothers who visit Tirupati, and are also taken for sale to Conjeeveram,\nMadura, and other places, at times when important temple festivals\nare celebrated. Carved wooden figurines, male and female, represented\nin a state of nudity, are also manufactured at Tirupati, and sold\nto Hindus. Those who are childless perform on them the ear-boring\nceremony, in the belief that, as the result thereof, issue will be\nborn to them. Or, if there are grown-up boys or girls in a family,\nwho remain unmarried, the parents celebrate the marriage ceremony\nbetween a pair of figurines, in the hope that the marriage of their\nchildren will speedily follow. They dress up the dolls in clothes\nand jewelry, and go through the ceremonial of a real marriage. Some\nthere are who have spent as much money on a doll's wedding as on a\nwedding in real life.\n\nThe simplest form of offerings consists of fruits, such as plantains\nand cocoanuts. Without an offering of fruit no orthodox Hindu\nwould think of entering a temple, or coming into the presence of a\nNative of position. The procession of servants and retainers, each\nbringing a gift of a lime fruit, on New Year's Day is familiar to\nAnglo-Indians. By the rules of Government, framed with a view to\npreventing bribery, the prohibition of the receipt of presents from\nNative Chiefs and others does not extend to the receipt of a few\nflowers or fruits, and articles of inappreciable value, although even\nsuch trifling presents should be discouraged.\n\nAs a thanksgiving for recovery from illness, votive offerings\nfrequently take the form of silver or gold representations of the\npart of the body affected, which are deposited in a vessel kept for\nthe purpose at the temple. They are kept for sale in the vicinity of\nthe temple, and must be offered by the person who has taken the vow,\nor on whose behalf it has been taken. When a person has been ill all\nover, a silver human figure, or a thin silver wire of the same length\nas himself, and representing him, is sometimes offered.\n\nOf silver offerings from temples in the Tamil country, the Madras\nMuseum possesses an extensive collection, in which are included the\nface, hands, feet, buttocks, tongue, larynx, navel, nose, ears,\neyes, breasts, genitalia, etc.; snakes offered to propitiate the\nanger of serpents, snakes coiled in coitu, sandals, flags, umbrellas,\nand cocoanuts strung on a pole.\n\nWhen litigation arises in Malabar in connection with the title\nto a house and compound (grounds) in which it stands, a vow is\nsometimes made to offer a silver model representing the property,\nif a favourable decree is obtained. Some time ago, a rich landlord\noffered at the temple a silver model representing the exact number\nof trees, house, well, etc., and costing several hundreds of rupees,\nwhen a suit was decided in his favour.\n\nIn connection with the temple at Guruvayur in Malabar, Mr Fawcett\nwrites as follows [198]:--\n\n\n    \"I visited the festival on one occasion, and purchase was made of\n    a few offerings such as are made to the temple in satisfaction\n    of vows--a very rude representation of an infant in silver, a\n    hand, a leg, an ulcer, a pair of eyes, and, most curious of all,\n    a silver string which represents a man, the giver. Goldsmiths\n    working in silver and gold are to be seen just outside the gate\n    of the temple, ready to provide at a moment's notice the object\n    that any person intends to offer, in case he is not already in\n    possession of his votive offering.\"\n\n\nA Nayar examined by Mr Fawcett was wearing a silver ring as a vow,\nwhich was to be given up at the next festival at Kottiur in North\nMalabar. Another was wearing a silver bangle. He had a wound in his\narm which was long in healing, so he made a vow to the god at Tirupati\n(Tirumala) that, if his arm was healed, he would give up the bangle\nat the temple.\n\nA few years ago, a shrine was erected at Cochin for a picture of the\nVirgin and Child, which attained to great celebrity for its power of\nworking miracles. \"Many stories,\" Mr Fawcett writes, [199] \"of the\npower of the picture are current. A fisherman, who had lost his nets,\nvowed to give a little net, if they were found. The votive offerings,\nwhich are sometimes of copper or brass, take strange forms. There are\nfishes, prawns, rice, cocoanut trees, cows, etc. A little silver model\nof a bridge was given by a contractor, who vowed, when he found his\nfoundations were shaky, to give it if his work should pass muster. The\npower of the picture is such that the votaries are not confined to the\nChristian community. There are among them many Hindus and Mahomedans.\"\n\nIn South Canara, silver rats and pigs are offered to protect the crops\nfrom destruction by these animals. Silver rice-grains are offered when\nchildren do not take their food properly, and silver sheaves of grain\nif the crop is abundant. At Pyka, brass or clay figures of the tiger,\nleopard, elephant, wild boar, and bandicoot rat, are presented at the\nshrine of a female bhutha [200] named Poomanikunhoomani, to protect the\ncrops and cattle from the ravages of these animals. The figures must\nbe solid, as the bhuthas would be very angry if they were hollow. A\nbrass figure of Sarabha, a mythological eight-legged animal, which is\nsupposed to be the vehicle of the god Virabhadra, is presented as an\noffering to some Siva temples in South Canara in cases where a person\nis attacked with a form of ulcer known as Siva's ulcer. Sometimes a\nsilver lizard is offered at temples, to counteract the evils which\nwould result from a lizard falling on some unlucky part of the body,\nsuch as the kudumi (hair knot) of a female. The lizard, associated with\nthe name of Siva, is regarded as sacred. It is never intentionally\nkilled, and, if accidentally hurt or killed, an image of it in gold\nor silver is presented by high caste Hindus to a Siva temple. [201]\n\nIn Malabar, a Brahman magician transfers the spirits of those who have\ndied an unnatural death to images made of gold, silver, or wood, which\nare placed in a temple or special building erected for them. It is said\nby Mr F. Fawcett, \"to be a sacred duty to a deceased Tiyan in Malabar,\nwho was of importance, for example, the head of a family, to have a\nsilver image of him made, and arrange for it being deposited in some\ntemple, where it will receive its share of worship, and offerings of\nfood and water. The temples at Tirunelli in Wynad and Tirunavayi, which\nare among the oldest in Malabar, were generally the resting-places\nof these images, but now some of the well-to-do deposit them much\nfurther afield, even at Benares and Ramesvaram. A silver image is\npresented to the local Siva temple, where, for a consideration,\nworship is done every new moon day. On each of these days, mantrams\nare supposed to be repeated a thousand times. When the image has been\nthe object of these mantrams sixteen thousand times, it is supposed\nto have become eligible for final deposit at Tirunavayi or elsewhere.\"\n\nIf a Muhammadan suffers from severe pain in the hand or foot, a vow\nis sometimes taken to the effect that a silver hand or foot will be\ntaken to the grave of some saint, and put into the treasury which\nis kept there to meet the expenses of the annual ceremonies of the\nsaint. At Vizagapatam [202] there is a celebrated Muhammadan saint,\nwho lies buried by the Durga on the top of the hill overlooking the\nharbour. He is considered to be all potent over the elements of the\nBay of Bengal, and many a silver dhoni (native boat) is presented at\nhis shrine by Hindu ship-owners after a successful voyage. A suit\nonce arose between a Komati boat-owner and his Muhammadan captain\nduring settlement of the accounts. The captain stated that, during a\nstorm off the coast of Arakan, he had vowed a purse of rupees to the\nsaint, and had duly presented it on his return. This sum he charged to\nthe owner of the vessel, whose sole contention was that the vow had\nnever been discharged; the propriety of conciliating the saint in a\nhurricane he allowed. At Timmancherla in the Anantapur district there\nis a tomb of a holy Muhammadan named Masthan Ali, in whose honour a\nreligious ceremony is held annually in April, which is attended by\nboth Muhammadans and Hindus. The latter make vows at the tomb, which\nhas a special reputation for granting offspring to the childless. The\nheadman of the village, who is a Hindu, brings the first offerings\nin procession with much ceremony. [203]\n\nAt the annual festival at the temple at Nedamangad in Travancore, which\nis attended by large numbers of the lower classes, the worshippers are\nsaid by the Rev. S. Mateer [204] to \"bring with them wooden models of\ncows covered, in imitation of shaggy hair, with ears of rice. Many of\nthese images are brought, each in a separate procession from its own\nplace. The headmen are finely dressed with cloths stained purple at\nthe edge. The image is borne on a bamboo frame, accompanied by a drum,\"\nand carried round the temple. The Gudigars (wood-carvers) at Udipi in\nSouth Canara make life-size wooden buffaloes and large human figures as\nvotive offerings for the Iswara Temple at Hiriadkap, where they are set\nup in a row. By the Savaras of Vizagapatam, rudely carved and grotesque\nwooden representations of human beings, monkeys, lizards, parrots,\npeacocks, guns, pickaxes, daggers, etc., are dedicated to the tribal\ndeity. They would not sell them to the district officer who acquired\nthem on my behalf, but parted with them on the understanding that\nthey would be worshipped by the Sirkar (Government). In like manner,\nthe fishermen of the Ganjam coast objected to specimens of the gods\nwhich are placed in little shrines on the sea-shore being sent to me,\ntill they were told that it was because the Government had heard of\ntheir devotion to their gods that they wanted to have some of them\nin Madras. The gods, which are made in clay and wood, include Bengali\nBabu riding on a black horse, who is believed to bless the fishermen,\nsecure large hauls of fish for them, and protect them against danger\nwhen out fishing. It has been observed that this affinity between the\nGanjam fishermen and the Bengali Babu, resulting in the apotheosis\nof the latter, is certainly a striking example of the catholicity\nof hero-worship, and it would be interesting to know how long, and\nfor what reasons the conception of protection has appealed to the\nfollowers of the piscatory industry. It was Sir George Campbell, the\nLieutenant-Governor of Bengal, who compelled his Bengali officials,\nmuch against their inclination, to cultivate the art of equitation.\n\nI am informed by Mr G. V. Ramamurthi Pantulu that the Savaras attend\nthe markets or fairs held in the plains, or at the foot of the ghats,\nto purchase salt and other articles. If a Savara is taken ill at\nthe market or on his return thence, he attributes the illness to a\nspirit of the market called Biradi Sonum. The bulls which carry the\ngoods of the Hindu merchants to the market are supposed to convey the\nspirit. In propitiating it, the Savara makes an image of a bull in\nstraw, and, taking it out of his village, leaves it on the footpath,\nafter a pig has been sacrificed. Owners of cattle take the animals\nwhen sick round the sacred hill at Tirukazhukunram in performance of\na vow, in the belief that their health will be thus restored.\n\n\n    \"A Brahmini bull,\" Mr A. Srinivasan writes, \"is dedicated to the\n    god Venkateswara of Tirupati, for the benefit of the living in\n    fulfilment of vows. The act of dedication and release is preceded\n    by elaborate rituals of marriage, as among men and women. The\n    bride, which should be a heifer that has not calved, is furnished\n    by the father-in-law of the donor. The heifer is united in holy\n    wedlock to the bullock, after formal chanting of mantrams, by the\n    tying of the tali and toe-rings to the neck. In this sham marriage,\n    the profuse ornamentation of the couple with saffron (turmeric) and\n    red powder, the pouring of rice on their heads, and a procession\n    through the streets with music, are conspicuous features.\"\n\n\nI am told that, if the devotee cannot afford a live animal, a mimic\nrepresentative is made in rice.\n\nPainted hollow images are made by special families of Kusavans\n(potters) known as pujari (priest), who, for the privilege of making\nthem, have to pay an annual fee to the headman, who spends it on\na festival at the caste temple. When a married couple are anxious\nto have female offspring, they take a vow to offer figures of the\nseven virgins (Saptha Kannimar), who are represented all seated\nin a row. If a male or female recovers from cholera, smallpox, or\nother severe illness, a figure of the corresponding sex is offered. A\nchildless woman makes a vow to offer up the figure of a baby, if she\nbrings forth offspring. Figures of animals--cattle, horses, sheep,\netc.--are offered at the temple when they recover from sickness,\nor are recovered after they have been stolen. Horses made of clay,\npainted red and other colours, are set up in the fields to drive\naway demons, or as a thank-offering for recovery from sickness, or\nany piece of good luck. The villagers erect these horses in honour\nof the popular deity Ayanar, the guardian deity of the fields, who\nis a renowned huntsman, and is believed, when, with his wives Purna\nand Pushkala, he visits the village at night, to mount the horses,\nand ride down the demons. Ayanar is said [205] to be the special\ndeity of the Kusavan caste. Kusavans are generally the pujaris at his\ntemples, and they make the earthenware, and brick and mortar horses\nand images, which are placed before these buildings. The pupils of\nthe eyes of the various images are not painted in till they are taken\nto the temple, where offerings of fruit, etc., are first made. Even\nthe pupils of a series of images which were specially made for\nme were not painted at the potter's house, but in the verandah of\nthe traveller's bungalow where I was staying. A very interesting\naccount of the netra mangalya, or ceremony of painting the eyes\nof images, as performed by craftsmen in Ceylon, has been published\nby Mr A. K. Coomaraswamy. [206] Therein he writes that \"by far the\nmost important ceremony connected with the building and decoration\nof a vihara (temple), or with its renovation, was the actual netra\nmangalya or eye ceremonial. The ceremony had to be performed in\nthe case of any image, whether set up in a vihara or not. Even in\nthe case of flat paintings it was necessary. D. S. Muhandiram, when\nmaking for me a book of drawings of gods according to the Rupavaliya,\nleft the eyes to be subsequently inserted on an auspicious occasion,\nwith some simpler form of the ceremony described.\"\n\nOn this subject, Knox writes as follows [207]:--\n\n\n    \"Some, being devoutly disposed, will make the image of this god\n    (Buddha) at their own charge. For the making whereof they must\n    bountifully reward the Founder. Before the eyes are made, it is not\n    accounted a god, but a lump of ordinary metal, and thrown about\n    the shop with no more regard than anything else. But, when the\n    eyes are to be made, the artificer is to have a good gratification,\n    besides the first agreed upon reward. The eyes being formed, it is\n    thenceforward a god. And then, being brought with honour from the\n    workman's shop, it is dedicated by solemnities and sacrifices,\n    and carried with great state into the shrine or little house,\n    which is before built and prepared for it.\"\n\n\nPutting money into a receptacle (undi) as an offering to a particular\ndeity is a very common custom. In the case of a popular god, such\nas the one at Tirumala, an earthen pot is sometimes replaced by a\ncopper money-box or iron safe. In South Canara there was a well-to-do\nfamily, the members of which kept on depositing coins in the family\nundi, which were set apart for the Tirumala god during a number of\ngenerations. Not only in cases of sickness, but even when a member\nof the family went to a neighbouring village, and returned safely, a\nfew coins were put into the undi. For some reason, the opening of the\nundi, and offering of its contents at Tirumala, was postponed, and,\nwhen it was finally opened, it was found to contain a miscellaneous\ncollection of coins, current and uncurrent. When a temple is far\naway, and those who wish to make offerings thereat cannot, owing to\nthe expense of the journey or other reason, go there themselves,\nthe offerings are taken by a substitute. If the god to whom the\noffering is made is Srinivasa of Tirumala, a small sum of money must\nbe offered as compensation for not taking it in person. The god is\nsometimes called Vaddi Kasulu Varu, in allusion to the money (kasu)\nor interest. In some large towns, in the months of July and August,\nparties of devotees may be seen wandering about the streets, and\ncollecting offerings to the god, which will be presented to him in\ndue course. If a Kelasi (barber) in South Canara is seriously ill,\nhe sometimes undertakes a vow to beg from door to door, and convey\nthe money thus collected to Tirumala. In his house he keeps a small\nclosed box with a slit in the lid, through which he drops a coin at\nevery stroke of misfortune, and the contents are eventually sent to the\nholy shrine. [208] A few years ago, a Native complained to the police\nthat about seven hundred rupees had been stolen from some brass pots,\nwhich he kept in a separate room of his house. The money, he stated,\nwas dedicated to the Tirumula temple, and was kept in the pots buried\nin paddy (unhusked rice). He himself had put in about fifty rupees\nduring the time that the pots had been in his charge, either as an\nannual contribution, or on occasions of sickness. His mother stated\nthat it had been a custom in the family to put money into the vessel\nfor several generations, and she had never seen the pots opened.\n\nIt is whispered that Kallan dacoits invoke the aid of their deity\nAlagarswami, when they are setting out on marauding expeditions, and,\nif they are successful therein, put part of their ill-gotten gains\ninto the offertory box, which is kept at his shrine. [209] In this\nconnection, the Rev. J. Sharrock states that \"there is an understanding\nthat, if their own village gods help them in their thefts, they are to\nhave a fair share of the spoil, and, on the principle of honour among\nthieves, the bargain is always kept. When strange deities are met\nwith on their thieving expeditions, it is usual to make a vow that,\nif the adventure turns out well, part of the spoil shall next day\nbe left at the shrine of the god, or be handed over to the pujari of\nthat particular deity. They are afraid that, if this precaution be not\ntaken, the god may make them blind, or cause them to be discovered, or\nmay go so far as to knock them down, and leave them to bleed to death.\"\n\nThe most popular of the Muhammadan saints who are buried at Porto\nNovo, where a considerable number of Marakkayars (Muhammadans) are\nengaged as sailors,\n\n\n    \"is one Malumiyar, who was apparently in his lifetime a notable\n    sea-captain. His fame as a sailor has been magnified into the\n    miraculous, and it is declared that he owned ten or a dozen ships,\n    and used to appear in command of all of them simultaneously. He has\n    now the reputation of being able to deliver from danger those who\n    go down to the sea in ships, and sailors setting out on a voyage,\n    or returning from one in safety, usually put an offering in the\n    little box kept at his darga, and these sums are expended in\n    keeping that building lighted and whitewashed. Another curious\n    darga in the town is that of Araikasu Nachiyar, or the one pie\n    lady. Offerings to her must on no account be worth more than one\n    pie (1/192 of a rupee); tributes in excess of that value are of\n    no effect. If sugar for so small an amount cannot be procured, the\n    devotee spends the money on chunam (lime) for her tomb, and this is\n    consequently covered with a superabundance of whitewash. Stories\n    are told of the way in which the valuable offerings of rich men\n    have altogether failed to obtain her favour, and have had to be\n    replaced by others of the regulation diminutive dimensions.\" [210]\n\n\nThe chief god of the Dombs of Vizagapatam is said [211] to be\nrepresented by a pie piece placed in or over a new earthen pot smeared\nwith rice and turmeric powder. It is said [212] that Muhammadans,\nbelonging to the lower classes, consult panchangam Brahmans about\nthe chances of success in their enterprises. Some of these Brahmans\nsend half the fee so obtained to the Muhammadan mosque at Nagur near\nNegapatam, and will even offer sugar and flowers at that shrine,\nthough they endeavour to excuse the act by saying that the saint was\noriginally a Brahman.\n\nI once saw a Muhammadan at Tumkur in Mysore, whither he had journeyed\nfrom Hyderabad, who had a rupee tied round his arm in token of a\nvow that, if he returned safe from plague and other ills to his own\ncountry, he would give money in charity. When a Muhammadan falls\nill, a rupee and a quarter is sometimes done up in a red cloth, and\ntied round the arm, to be given to the poor on recovery. Members\nof the poorer classes tie an anna and a quarter in like manner,\nafter performing a fateha ceremony. Should the sickness of a Hindu\nbe attributed to a god or goddess, a vow is made, in token whereof\na copper or silver coin is wrapped up in a piece of cloth dipped in\nturmeric paste, and kept in the house, or tied to the neck or arm of\nthe sick person. A cock may be waved round the head of the patient,\nand afterwards reared in the house, to be eventually offered up at\nthe shrine of the deity. A Bedar, whom I saw at Hospet in the Bellary\ndistrict, had a quarter anna rolled up in cotton cloth, which he wore\non the upper arm in performance of a vow.\n\nIn an account of the cock festival at Cranganore in Malabar, whereat\nvast numbers of cocks are sacrificed, Mr Gopal Panikkar records\n[213] that, \"when a man is taken ill of any infectious disease,\nhis relations generally pray to the goddess (at Cranganore) for his\nrecovery, solemnly covenanting to perform what goes by the name of a\nthulabharam (or thulupurushadanam) [214] ceremony. This consists in\nplacing the patient in one of the scale-pans of a huge balance, and\nweighing him against gold, or, more generally, pepper (and sometimes\nother substances), deposited in the other scale-pan. Then this weight\nof the substance is offered to the goddess. This has to be performed\nright in front of the goddess in the temple yard.\"\n\nAt Mulki in South Canara there is a temple of Venkateswara, which is\nmaintained by Konkani Brahmans. A Konkani Brahman, who is attached\nto the temple, becomes inspired almost daily between 10 and 11 A.M.,\nimmediately after worship, and people consult him. Some time ago,\na rich merchant from Gujarat consulted the inspired man as to what\nsteps should be taken to enable his wife to be safely delivered. He\nwas told to take a vow that he would present to the god of the temple,\nsilver, sugar-candy, and date fruits, equal in weight to that of his\nwife. This he did, and his wife was delivered of a male child. The\ncost of the ceremonial is said to have been five thousand rupees. In\nthe thulabharam ceremony as performed by the Maharajas of Travancore,\n[215] they are weighed against gold coins, called thulabhara kasu,\nspecially struck for the occasion, which are divided among the priests\nwho performed the ceremony, and Brahmans.\n\nThe following quaint custom, which is observed at the village of\nPullambadi in the Trichinopoly district, is described by Bishop\nWhitehead. [216]\n\n\n    \"The goddess Kulanthal Amman has established for herself a useful\n    reputation as a settler of debts. When a creditor cannot recover\n    a debt, he writes down his claim on a scroll of palm-leaves, and\n    offers the goddess a part of the debt, if it is paid. The palmyra\n    scroll is hung up on an iron spear in the compound of the temple\n    before the shrine. If the claim is just, and the debtor does\n    not pay, it is believed that he will be afflicted with sickness\n    and bad dreams. In his dreams he will be told to pay the debt at\n    once, if he wishes to be freed from his misfortunes. If, however,\n    the debtor disputes the claim, he draws up a counter-statement,\n    and hangs it on the same spear. Then the deity decides which claim\n    is true, and afflicts with sickness and bad dreams the man whose\n    claim is false. When a claim is acknowledged, the debtor brings\n    the money, and gives it to the pujari, who places it before the\n    image of Kulanthal Amman, and sends word to the creditor. The\n    whole amount is then handed over to the creditor, who pays the\n    sum vowed to the goddess into the temple coffers in April or\n    May. So great is the reputation of the goddess, that Hindus come\n    from about ten miles round to seek her aid in recovering their\n    debts. The goddess may sometimes make mistakes, but, at any rate,\n    it is cheaper than an appeal to an ordinary court of law, and\n    probably almost as effective as a means of securing justice. In\n    former times, no written statements were presented; people simply\n    came and represented their claims by word of mouth to the deity,\n    promising to give her a share. The custom of presenting written\n    claims sprang up about thirty years ago, doubtless through the\n    influence of the Civil Courts. Apparently more debts have been\n    collected since this was done, and more money has been gathered\n    into the treasury.\"\n\n\nIt is noted by the Rev. A. Margoeschis [217] that \"the Hindus observe a\nspecial day at the commencement of the palmyra season (in Tinnevelly),\nwhen the jaggery season begins. Bishop Caldwell adopted the custom,\nand a solemn service in church was held, when one set of all the\nimplements used in the occupation of palmyra-climbing was brought\nto the church, and presented at the altar. Only the day was changed\nfrom that observed by the Hindus. The perils of the palmyra-climber\nare great, and there are many fatal accidents by falling from trees\nforty to sixty feet high, so that a religious service of the kind\nwas particularly acceptable and peculiarly appropriate to our people.\"\n\nThe story is told by Bishop Caldwell of a Shanar (toddy-drawer)\nwho was sitting upon a leaf-stalk at the top of a palmyra palm in a\nhigh wind, when the stalk gave way, and he came down to the ground\nsafely and quietly sitting on the leaf, which served the purpose of\na natural parachute.\n\nThe festival of Ayudha Puja (worship of tools or implements) is\nobserved by all Hindu castes during the last three days of the Dasara\nor Navarathri in the month of Purattasi (September-October). It is a\nuniversal holiday for all Hindu workmen. Even the Brahman takes part\nin this puja. His tools, however, being books, it is called Saraswati\npuja, or worship to the goddess or god of learning, who is either\nSaraswati or Hayagriva. Reading books and repetition of Vedas must be\ndone, and, for the purpose of worship, all the books in a house are\npiled up in a heap. Non-Brahmans clean the various implements used by\nthem in their daily work, and worship them. The Kammalans (artisans)\nclean their hammers, pincers, anvil, blowpipe, etc.; the Chettis\n(merchants) clean their scales and weights, and the box into which\nthey put their money. The racket-marker at the Madras Club decorates\nthe entrance to the scoring-box in which his rackets are kept, with a\nfestoon of mango leaves. The weaving and agricultural classes will be\nseen to be busy with their looms and agricultural implements. Fishermen\npile up their nets for worship. Even the bandywala (cart-driver)\npaints red and white stripes on the wheels and axles. I have myself\nbeen profusely garlanded when present as a guest at the elaborate\ntool-worshipping ceremony at the Madras School of Arts, where puja\nwas done to a bust of the late Bishop Gell set up on an improvised\naltar, with a cast of Saraswati above, and various members of the\nHindu Pantheon around.\n\nAt the festival held by the Koyis of the Godavari district in\npropitiation of a goddess called Pida, very frequently offerings\npromised long before are sacrificed, and eaten by the pujari. It is\nnot at all uncommon for a Koyi to promise to offer a seven-horned male\n(i.e. a cock) as a bribe to be let alone, a two-horned male (i.e. a\ngoat) being set apart by more wealthy or more fervent suppliants. [218]\nWhen smallpox or other epidemic disease breaks out in a Gadaba village\nin Vizagapatam, a little go-cart on wheels is constructed. In this\na clay image, or anything else holy, is placed, and it is taken to a\ndistant spot, and left there. It is also the custom, when cholera or\nsmallpox is epidemic in the same district, to make a little car, \"on\nwhich are placed a grain of saffron-stained [219] rice for every soul\nin the village, and numerous offerings such as little swings, pots,\nknives, ploughs, and the like, and the blood of certain sacrificial\nvictims, and this is then dragged with due ceremony to the boundary\nof the village. By this means the malignant essence of the deity who\nbrings smallpox or cholera is transferred across the boundary. The\nneighbouring villagers naturally hasten to move the car on with similar\nceremony, and it is thus dragged through a whole series of villages,\nand eventually left by the roadside in some lonely spot.\" [220]\n\nMarching on one occasion, towards Hampi in the Bellary district,\nwhere an outbreak of cholera had recently occurred, I came across\ntwo wooden gods on wheels by the roadside, to whom had been offered\nbaskets of fruit, vegetables, earthen pots, bead necklets, and bangles,\nwhich were piled up in front of them. It is recorded [221] by Bishop\nWhitehead that, when an epidemic breaks out in a certain village in\nthe Telugu country,\n\n\n    \"the headman of the village gets a new earthenware pot, besmears\n    it with turmeric and kunkuma (red powder), and puts inside it\n    some clay bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, three pieces of\n    charcoal, three pieces of turmeric, three pieces of incense,\n    a piece of dried cocoanut, a woman's cloth, and two annas worth\n    of coppers--a strange collection of miscellaneous charms and\n    offerings. The pot is then hung up on a tree near the image of\n    the village deity, as a pledge that, if the epidemic disappears,\n    the people will celebrate a festival.\"\n\n\nIt is further recorded [222] by Bishop Whitehead that, during the\nfestival of Mariamma at Kannanur in the Trichinopoly district,\n\"many people who have made vows bring sheep, goats, fowls, pigeons,\nparrots, cows, and calves, to the temple, and leave them in the\ncompound alive. At the end of the festival, these animals are all\nsold to a contractor. Two years ago, they fetched Rs. 400--a good\nhaul for the temple.\"\n\nBetween the Madras museum and the Government maternity hospital,\na small municipal boundary stone has been set up by the side\nof the road. To this stone supernatural powers are attributed,\nand it is alleged that in a banyan tree in a private garden close\nby a Muni lives, who presides over the welfare of the patients in\nthe hospital, and must be propitiated if the pregnant woman is to\nget over her confinement without complications. Women vow that they\nwill, if all goes well, give a cocoanut, betel, or flowers when they\nleave. Discharged patients can be seen daily, going to the stone\nand making offerings. On the day of their discharge, their friends\nbring camphor and other articles, and the whole family goes to the\nstone, where the camphor is burnt, a cocoanut broken, and perhaps\nsome turmeric or flowers placed on it. The new-born child is placed\non the bare ground in front of the stone, and the mother, kneeling\ndown, bows before it. The foreheads of both mother and child are\nmarked with the soots from the burning camphor. If her friends do\nnot bring the requisite articles, the woman goes home, and returns\nwith them to do puja to the stone, or it is celebrated at a temple\nor her house. The offerings are removed by those who present them,\nor by passers-by on the road.\n\nThe Kudubi cutch (catechu) makers of South Canara, before the\ncommencement of operations, select an Areca Catechu tree, and place a\nsword, an axe, and a cocoanut on the ground near it. They prostrate\nthemselves before the tree, with hands uplifted, burn incense, and\nbreak cocoanuts. The success of the operations is believed to depend\non the good-will of a deity named Siddedevaru. Before they commence\nwork, the Kudubis make a vow that, if they are successful, they will\noffer a fowl.\n\n\n    \"A palmyra tree in the jungle near Ramnad with seven distinct\n    trunks, each bearing a goodly head of fan-shaped leaves is,\"\n    General Burton writes, [223] \"attributed to the action of a deity,\n    and stones smeared with oil and vermilion, broken cocoanuts,\n    and fowl's feathers lying about, testify that puja and sacrifice\n    were performed here.\"\n\n\nOn the Rangasvami peak on the Nilgiris are two rude walled enclosures\nsacred to the god Ranga and his consort, within which are deposited\nvarious offerings, chiefly iron lamps and the notched sticks used\nas weighing-machines. The hereditary priest is an Irula (jungle\ntribesman). [224] Certain caves are regarded by the Muduvars of\nthe Travancore hills as shrines, wherein spear-heads, tridents,\nand copper coins are placed, partly to mark them as holy places,\nand partly as offerings to bring good luck.\n\nPrehistoric stone cells, found in the bed of a river, are believed\nto be the thunderbolts of Vishnu, and are stacked as offerings by\nthe Malaialis of the Shevaroy hills in their shrines dedicated to\nVigneswara the elephant god, who averts evil, or in little niches\ncut in rocks.\n\nOf a remarkable form of demon worship in Tinnevelly, Bishop Caldwell\nwrote that [225] \"an European was till recently worshipped as a\ndemon. From the rude verses which were sung in connection with his\nworship, it would appear that he was an English officer, who was\nmortally wounded at the taking of the Travancore lines in 1809, and\nwas buried about twenty-five miles from the scene of the battle in\na sandy waste, where, a few years ago, his worship was established\nby the Shanans of the neighbourhood. His worship consisted in the\noffering to his manes of spirituous liquors and cheroots.\"\n\nA similar form of worship, or propitiation of demons, is recorded [226]\nby Bishop Whitehead from Malabar. He was told that \"the spirits of the\nold Portuguese soldiers and traders are still propitiated on the coast\nwith offerings of toddy and cheroots. The spirits are called Kappiri\n(probably Kaffirs or foreigners). This superstition is dying out,\nbut is said to be common among the fishermen of the French settlement\nof Mai (Mahe).\"\n\nOn one occasion, a man who had been presented with two annas as\nthe fee for lending his body to me for measurement, offered it,\nwith flowers and a cocoanut, at the shrine of the village goddess,\nand dedicated to her another coin of his own as a peace-offering,\nand to get rid of the pollution caused by my money.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\nCHARMS\n\n\nMantrams, or consecrated formulae, are supposed to be very powerful,\nand by their aid even gods can be brought under control. They are,\ninter alia, believed to be efficacious in curing disease, in protecting\nchildren against devils, and women against miscarriage, in promoting\ndevelopment of the breasts, in bringing offspring to barren women,\nin warding off misfortune consequent on marriage with a girl who has\nan unlucky mark, in keeping wild pigs from the fields, and warding off\ncattle disease. For the last purpose, the magical formula is carved\non a stone pillar, which is set up in the village. They are divided\ninto four classes, viz., mantrasara, or the real essence of magic;\nyantrasara, or the science of cabalistic figures; prayogasara, or the\nmethod of using these for the attainment of any object; tantrasara,\nor the science of symbolical acts with or without words.\n\nMantrasara includes all mantrams, with their efficacy for good and\nevil, and the methods of learning and reciting them with the aid of\na guru (spiritual preceptor). They are said to be effective only when\nthe individual who resorts to them is pure in mind and body. This can\nbe attained by the recitation of ajapagayithri (216,000 inhalations\nand exhalations in twenty-four hours). These have to be divided among\nthe deities Ganesa, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Jivathma, Paramathma,\nand the guru, in the proportion of 600, 6000, 6000, 6000, 1000,\n1000, 1000. A man can only become learned in mantrams (mantravadi)\nby the regular performance of the recognised ceremonial, by proper\nrecital of the mantrams, by burning the sacred fire, and by taking\nfood. A Lambadi has been seen repeating mantrams over his patients,\nand touching their heads at the same time with a book, which was a\nsmall edition of the Telugu translation of St John's gospel. Neither\nthe physician nor the patient could read, and had no idea of the\ncontents of the book. [227] It is noted by the Abbe Dubois, [228]\nthat one of the principal reasons why so little confidence is placed in\nEuropean doctors by Hindus is that, when administering their remedies,\nthey recite neither mantrams nor prayers.\n\nYantrasara includes all cabalistic figures, the method of drawing and\nusing them, and the objects to be attained by them. They are usually\ndrawn on thin plates of gold, silver, copper, or lead. The efficacy of\nthe figures, when drawn on gold, will, it is said, last for a century,\nwhile those drawn on the less precious metals will only be effective\nfor six months or a year. Leaden plates are used when the yantrams\nare to be buried underground. The figures should possess the symbols\nof life, the eyes, tongue, eight cardinal points of the compass,\nand the five elements.\n\nPrayogasara includes attraction or summoning by enchantment, driving\nout evil spirits, stupefaction, tempting or bringing a deity or evil\nspirits under control, and enticement for love, destruction, and the\nseparation of friends.\n\nThe following are examples of cases in which a European, who, having\nbeen trained by a guru, was well versed in the theory and practice of\nnative magic, was called in to administer to Natives, who were under\nthe spell of devils. In the first case, a Telugu girl, about seventeen\nyears old, had been for some time possessed by her sister's husband,\nunder whose influence she used to eat abnormal quantities of food,\ntear off her clothes, and use indecent language in a voice other than\nher own. When the European arrived in her room, the devil, speaking\nthrough the girl, threatened to kill her, or the European, or the\nindividual who put it into her. Under the spell of a suitable mantram,\nthe devil departed, and its return was prevented by the wearing of\na yantram. The other case was that of a boy, who was possessed by a\ndevil. He was found, on the occasion of the visit of the European,\nlying down in the courtyard of his house, clad in an ample loin-cloth,\nand with a high temperature. Suddenly, through some invisible agency,\na corner of his loin-cloth caught fire, which was stamped out. It then\ncaught fire in another place, and eventually was riddled with burnt\nholes. This was the way in which the devil manifested its influence,\nand sometimes the boy got burnt. A mantram was recited, with the\nresult that the burning ceased, and the fever abated. An impromptu\nyantram was made out of vibhuti (sacred ashes), and tied round the\nboy's neck. A religious mendicant came along a short time afterwards,\nand treated the boy for some ordinary sickness not connected with\nthe devil, but the medicine did him no good. Finding the yantram\nround his neck, the mendicant asserted that it was the cause of his\nfailure, and ordered its removal. This the boy's relations refused\nto permit. But the holy man ripped it off. Whereon the boy instantly\nfell down comatose. In recording these two cases, I have reproduced\nmy notes made on the occasion of an interview with the European.\n\nReference has been made (p. 180) to mantrams carved on stone\npillars. The story of a stone slab at Rayalcheruvu in the Anantapur\ndistrict, known as the yantram rayi or magic stone, is narrated by\nMr Francis. [229]\n\n\n    \"The charm consists of eighty-one squares, nine each way,\n    within a border of tridents. Each square contains one or more\n    Telugu letters, but these will not combine into any intelligible\n    words. At the bottom of the stone are cut a lingam and two pairs\n    of foot-prints. Some twelve years ago, it is said, the village\n    suffered severely from cholera for three years in succession, and\n    a Telugu mason, a foreigner who was in the village at the time,\n    cut this charm on the stone to stop the disease. It was set up with\n    much ceremony. The mason went round the village at night without\n    a stitch of clothing on him, and with the entrails of a sheep\n    hanging round his neck. Many cocoanuts were offered to the stone,\n    and many sheep slain before it. The mason tossed a lamb in the\n    air, caught it as it fell, tore its throat open with his teeth,\n    and then bounded forward, and spat out the blood. More sheep\n    and cocoanuts were offered, and then the slab was set up. The\n    mason naturally demanded a substantial return for the benefit he\n    had conferred on the inhabitants. When cholera now breaks out,\n    the villagers subscribe together, and do puja (worship) to the\n    stone in accordance with directions left by him.\"\n\n\nOf similar stones in the South Arcot district, Mr Francis writes as\nfollows [230]:--\n\n\n    \"In several villages in the west of the district are magical slabs,\n    which are supposed to cure cholera and cattle disease. On them,\n    surrounded by a border of trisulas (the trident of Siva) are\n    cut a series of little squares, in each of which is some Tamil\n    letter. The villagers usually explain their existence by saying\n    that, some forty years ago, an ascetic, whom they call the sangili\n    (chain) sanyasi from his predilection for wearing red-hot chains\n    round his neck, came there when cholera and cattle disease were\n    rife, and (for a consideration) put up these slabs to ward off\n    his ills. He left directions that, when either disease reappeared,\n    108 pots of water were to be poured over the slab, 108 bilva (AEgle\n    Marmelos) leaves tied to it and so on, and that men and animals\n    were then to walk through the water which had been poured over it.\"\n\n\nMr Francis writes further [231] that \"in many places, stone slabs may\nbe seen set up in the outskirts of the villages, on what are said\nto be the old boundaries. These are thought to be able to ward off\nsickness, and other harm which threatens to enter the place, and are\nrevered accordingly. Some are quite blank, others have letters cut\non them, while others again bear the rude outline of a deity, and are\naccordingly given such names as Pidari or Ellai Amman (the goddess of\nthe boundary). To these last, periodical worship is often performed,\nbut, in the case of the others, the attentions of the villagers\nare confined to an annual ceremony, whereat cocoanuts are broken,\ncamphor is burnt, and a light is placed on the stone.\"\n\nIt was noted by Lieutenant R. F. Burton [232] that, in some hamlets,\nthe Kotas of the Nilgiris have set up curiously carved stones,\nwhich they consider sacred, and attribute to them the power of curing\ndiseases, if the member affected is rubbed against them. At cross-roads\nin Bellary, odd geometric patterns may sometimes be noticed. These\nare put there at night by people suffering from disease, in the hope\nthat the affliction will pass to the person who first treads on the\ncharm. [233]\n\nAs examples of yantrams, the following, selected from a very large\nrepertoire, may be cited:--\n\nGanapathi yantram should be drawn on metal, and worship performed. It\nis then enclosed in a metal cylinder, and tied by a thread round the\nneck of females, or the waist or arm of men. It will cure disease,\nconquer an enemy, or entice any one. If the sacred fire is kept\nup while the formula is being repeated, and dry cocoanut, plantain\nfruits, money, ghi (clarified butter), and sweet bread put into it,\nthe owner will be blessed with wealth and prosperity.\n\nBhadrakali yantram. The figure is drawn on the floor with flour\nor rice, turmeric, charcoal powder, and leaves of the castor-oil\nplant. If the deity is worshipped at night, it will lead to the\nacquisition of knowledge, strength, freedom from disease and impending\ncalamities, wealth, and prosperity. If puja (worship) is celebrated by\na mantravadi for twelve days with the face turned towards the south,\nit will produce the death of an enemy.\n\nSudarsana yantram, when drawn on a sheet of metal, and enclosed in\na cylinder worn round the neck or on the arm, will relieve those who\nare ill or possessed by devils. If it is drawn on butter spread on a\nplantain leaf, puja performed, and the butter given to a barren woman,\nthere will be no danger to herself or her future issue.\n\nSuthakadosham yantram. Children under one year of age are supposed\nto be affected, if they are seen by a woman on the fourth day of\nmenstruation with wet clothes and empty stomach after bathing. She may\nnot even see her own baby or husband till she has changed her clothes,\nand taken food. To avert the evil, a waist-band, made of the bark of\nthe arka plant (Calotropis gigantea), is worn.\n\nSarabha yantram will cure persons suffering from epilepsy or\nintermittent fever.\n\nSubramaniya yantram, if regularly worshipped, will expel devils from\nthose attacked by them, and from houses.\n\nHanuman yantram will protect those who are out on dark nights, and\nproduce bodily strength and wisdom. If drawn on a sheet of gold,\nand puja is performed to it every Saturday, it will bring prosperity,\nand help pregnant women during their confinement.\n\nPakshi yantram, if drawn on a sheet of lead, and kept in several\nplaces round a house, will keep snakes away.\n\nVatugabhairava yantram cures disease in those who are under eighteen\nyears old, and drives out all kinds of evil spirits. If ashes are\nsmeared on the face, and the mantram is uttered sixteen times, it\nwill be very effective.\n\nVarati yantram is very useful to any one who wishes to kill an\nenemy. He should sit in a retired spot at night, with his face\nturned towards the south, and repeat the mantram a thousand times\nfor twenty days.\n\nPrathingiri yantram is drawn on a sheet of lead, and buried at a\nspot over which a person, whose death is desired, will pass. It is\nthen placed on the floor, on which the sacred fire is kindled. The\nmantram should be repeated eight hundred times for seven nights.\n\nChamundi and Raktha Chamundi yantrams are used for causing the death\nof enemies. The mantram should be written on a sheet of lead, and puja,\nwith the sacrifice of toddy and mutton, performed.\n\nAsvaruda yantram enables a person wearing it to cover long distances\non horseback, and he can make the most refractory horse amenable by\ntying it round its neck. [234]\n\nAn inhabitant of Malabar presented Mr Fawcett with a yantram against\nthe evil eye, which, if whispered over a piece of string, and tied\nround any part of the body affected, would work an instantaneous\ncure. A Cheruman at Calicut, who was wearing on his loin-string a\ncopper cylinder containing a brass strip with mantrams, sold it to\nme for a rupee with the assurance that it would protect me from devils.\n\nTo produce an ulcer, which will cause the death of an enemy in ninety\ndays, a mantram is written on a piece of cadjan (palm leaf), enclosed\nin an egg with a small quantity of earth on which he has urinated,\nand buried in an ant-hill. A fowl is killed, and its blood and some\ntoddy are poured over the egg. To cure fever, the formula is written\nwith the finger in water contained in a basin, and the appropriate\nwords are repeated while the water is being drunk.\n\nBy some Muhammadans, on festival days, the names of holy persons,\ntogether with their sayings, are written on mango or palmyra leaves\nin ink made of charred rice. When the ink is dry, the leaves are\nwashed in water, which is drunk. This is supposed to cure people of\nmany obstinate diseases. A European official was informed by a Native\nmagistrate in the Vizagapatam district that, when he wanted to tear up\nsome old abkari (liquor) licenses, a man implored him not to do so, as\nthey had brought him life for a year, and were therefore worshipped. So\nthe medicine was water, in which an old license had been dipped.\n\nIt is recorded [235] by Mr Logan that \"in 1877, a poor Mappilla\n(Muhammadan) woman residing in one of the Laccadive islands was put\nupon her trial for witchcraft for importing into the island a betel\nleaf with a certain cabalistic and magical inscription on it; but\nit fortunately turned out for her that she had merely pounded it up,\nand rubbed it over her daughter's body to cure her of fits. Ibn Batuta\n(the Arab traveller who visited South India in the fourteenth century)\nwrote of a Malayali king who was converted to Islam by the leaf of\n'the tree of testimony,' a tree of which it was related to him that\nit does not generally drop its leaves, but at the season of autumn in\nevery year one of them changes its colour, first to yellow, then to\nred, and that upon this is written 'There is no God but God: Muhammad\nis the Prophet of God,' and that this leaf alone falls. The falling\nof the leaf was an annual event, and the leaf itself was efficacious\nin curing diseases. Nowadays the belief among the Muhammadans still\nsubsists, that the leaves of a certain tree growing on Mount Deli\n(in Malabar) possess similar virtues.\"\n\nMetal bowls, engraved both on the outside and inside with texts from\nthe Quran, are taken or sent by Muhammadans to Mecca, where they are\nplaced at the head of the tomb of the Prophet, and blessed. They are\nhighly valued, and used in cases of sickness for the administration\nof medicine or nourishment.\n\nIt is on record that, at the battle of Seringapatam in 1799, an officer\ntook from off the right arm of the dead body of Tipu Sultan a talisman,\nwhich contained sewed up in pieces of fine flowered silk a charm\nmade of a brittle metallic substance of the colour of silver, and\nsome manuscripts in magic Arabic and Persian characters. A notorious\nMappilla dacoit, who was shot by the police a few years ago, and whom\nhis co-religionists tried to make a saint, was at the time of his\ndeath wearing five copper and silver charm cylinders round his waist.\n\nIt is noted by Mr Logan [236] that \"when affliction comes, the animal\naffected is served with grass, fruit, etc., on which charms have been\nwhispered, or is bathed in charmed water, or has a talisman in the\nshape of a palm leaf inscribed with charms rolled up and tied round\nits neck.\"\n\nThe tooth or claw of a tiger, worn on the neck or round the loins,\nis considered effective against evil influences. A tiger's whiskers\nare held to be a most potent poison when chopped up; so, when\na tiger is killed, the whiskers are immediately singed off. [237]\nThey are represented in stuffed heads by the delicate bristles of the\nporcupine. When a Savara of Ganjam is killed by a tiger, the Kudang\ngoes through a performance on the following Sunday to prevent a similar\nfate overtaking others. Two pigs are killed outside the village, and\nevery man, woman, and child is made to walk over the ground whereon\nthe pig's blood is spilled, and the Kudang gives to each individual\nsome kind of tiger medicine as a charm. [238]\n\nIn Malabar the tusks of a wild boar are, in cases of protracted labour,\npressed over the abdomen of the woman from above downwards.\n\nThe hair of the bear is enclosed in a casket or cylinder, and tied to\nthe girdle round the loins of male children, and in strings round the\nneck of female children, as a remedy against fever, and to prevent\ninvoluntary discharge of urine during sleep. [239]\n\nOne of the occupations of the Kuruvikkarans (bird-catchers and\nbeggars) is the manufacture and sale of spurious jackal horns,\nknown as narikompu. To catch the jackals they make an enclosure of\na net, inside which a man seats himself armed with a big stick. He\nthen proceeds to execute a perfect imitation of the jackal's cry,\non hearing which the jackals come running to see what is the matter,\nand are beaten down. Sometimes the entire jackal's head is sold, skin\nand all. The process of manufacture of the horn is as follows. After\nthe brain has been removed, the skin is stripped off a limited area\nof the skull, and the bone at the place of junction of the sagittal\nand lambdoid sutures above the occipital foramen is filed away, so\nthat only a point, like a bony outgrowth, is left. The skin is then\nbrought back, and pressed over the little horn which pierces it. The\nhorn is also said to be made out of the molar tooth of a dog or\njackal, introduced through a small hole in a piece of jackal's skin,\nround which a little blood or turmeric paste is smeared to make it\nlook more natural. In most cases only the horn, with a small piece\nof skull and skin, is sold. Sometimes, instead of the skin from the\npart where the horn is made, a piece of skin is taken from the snout,\nwhere the long black hairs are. The horn then appears surrounded by\nlong black bushy hairs. The Kuruvikkarans explain that, when they see\na jackal with such long hairs on the top of its head, they know that\nit possesses a horn. A horn-vendor, whom I interviewed, assured me\nthat the possessor of a horn is a small jackal, which comes out of\nits hiding-place on full-moon nights to drink the dew. According to\nanother version, the horn is only possessed by the leader of a pack\nof jackals. A nomad Dommara, whom I saw at Coimbatore, carried a bag\ncontaining a miscellaneous assortment of rubbish used in his capacity\nas medicine-man and snake-charmer, which included a collection of\nspurious jackal horns. To prove the genuineness thereof, he showed\nme not only the horn, but also the feet with nails complete, as\nevidence that the horns were not made from the nails. Being charged\nwith manufacturing the horns, he swore, by placing his hand on the\nhead of a child who accompanied him, that he was not deceiving\nme. The largest of the horns in his bag, he gravely assured me,\nwas from a jackal which he dug out of its hole on the last new-moon\nnight. The Sinhalese and Tamils regard the horn as a talisman, and\nbelieve that its fortunate possessor can command the realisation\nof every wish. Those who have jewels to conceal rest in perfect\nsecurity if, along with them, they can deposit a narikompu. [240]\nThe ayah (nurse) of a friend who possessed such a talisman, remarked:\n\"Master going into any law-court, sure to win the case.\" Two horns,\nwhich I possessed, were stolen from my study table, to bring luck to\nsome Tamil member of my establishment.\n\nThe nasal bone of a jackal or fox, enclosed in a receptacle, is\nbelieved to ward off many evils. The nose of a hyaena is also held in\ngreat estimation as a charm. When a hyaena is killed, the end of the\nnose is cut off and dried, and is supposed to be a sovereign charm\nin cases of difficult labour, indigestion, and boils, if applied to\nthe nostrils of the patient. [241]\n\nIn Malabar, silver finger-rings with a piece of bristle from the tail\nof an elephant set in them, are worn as a charm.\n\nIn the Vizagapatam district, a most efficacious charm, supposed to\nrender a man invulnerable to every ill, consists of a small piece of\nblack wool, given to every one who takes a black sheep for the priest\nof a temple on the Bopelli ghat. Another much valued charm in this\ndistrict is called chemru mausa, which is described as being a small\nmusk-rat only an inch and a half long, very scarce, and only found on\nrocky hills. It is worn in a gold or silver receptacle on the arm,\nand is supposed to render a man invulnerable against sword cuts and\nmusket shots. In like manner, a mixture of gingelly (Sesamum) oil,\nthe red dye which women use, and other ingredients, put into a small\npiece of hollow bamboo, and worn on the arm, are believed to protect\na man against being shot with a bow or musket.\n\nMany of the Kadir infants on the Anaimalai hills have tied round the\nneck a charm, which takes the form of a dried tortoise foot; the tooth\nof a crocodile mimicking a phallus, and supposed to ward off attacks\nfrom a mythical water elephant which lives in the mountain streams,\nor wooden imitations of tiger's claws.\n\nThe joints taken from the tail of the black scorpion are believed to\nward off illness, if children wear them on their waist-thread. [242]\n\nOf charms worn by the Nambutiri Brahmans in Malabar, the following\nare recorded by Mr F. Fawcett [243]:--\n\nRing, in which an anavarahan coin is set. This is a very lucky\nring. Spurious imitations are often set in rings, but it is the\ngenuine one which brings good luck.\n\nGold case fastened to a string round the waist, and containing a\nfigure written on a silver plate. The man had worn it for three years,\nhaving put it on because he used to feel hot during the cold season,\nand attributed his condition to the influence of an evil spirit.\n\nTwo cylinders, one of gold, the other of silver. In each were some\nchakrams (Travancore silver coins) and a gold leaf, on which a\ncharm was inscribed. One of the charms was prepared by a Mappilla,\nthe other by a Nambutiri.\n\nIn connection with the wearing of charms by the Nayars of Malabar,\nMr Fawcett writes [244] as follows:--\n\n\n    \"One individual wore two rings made of an amalgamation of gold and\n    copper, called tambak on the ring-finger of the right hand for\n    good luck. Tambak rings are lucky rings. It is a good thing to\n    wash the face with the hand, on which is a tambak ring. Another\n    wore two rings of the pattern called triloham on the ring-finger\n    of each hand. Each of these was made during an eclipse. An Akattu\n    Charna Nayar wore an amulet, to keep off the spirit of a Brahman\n    who died by drowning.\"\n\n\nAs examples of charms worn by Bedar men in the Canarese country,\nthe following may be cited:--\n\nString tied round right arm with metal box attached to it, to drive\naway devils. String round ankle for the same purpose.\n\nNecklet of coral and ivory beads worn as a vow to the goddess\nHuligamma.\n\nNecklets of ivory beads, and a gold disc with the Vishnupad (feet\nof Vishnu) engraved on it, purchased from a religious mendicant to\nbring good luck.\n\nIn an account of the Mandulas (medicine-men) of the Telugu country,\nBishop Whitehead records [245] that a baby three days old had an anklet\nmade of its mother's hair tied round the right ankle, to keep off\nthe evil eye. The mother, too, had round her ankle a similar anklet,\nwhich she put on before her confinement. One of the men was also\nwearing an anklet of hair, as he had recently been bitten by a snake.\n\nA metal charm-cylinder is sometimes attached to the sacred thread,\nwhich is worn by Devangas (a weaving caste), who claim to be Devanga\nBrahmans.\n\nI have seen the child of a Kuruba (Canarese agriculturist) priest\nwearing a necklet with a copper ornament engraved with cabalistic\ndevices, a silver plate bearing a figure of Hanuman (the monkey god),\nas all his other children had died, and a piece of pierced pottery from\nthe burial-ground, to ward off whooping-cough. The Rev. S. Nicholson\ninforms me that, if a Mala (Telugu Pariah) child grinds its teeth in\nits sleep, a piece of a broken pot is brought from a graveyard, and,\nafter being smoked with incense, tied round the child's neck with a\npiece of string rubbed with turmeric, or with a piece of gut. In the\nTamil country, the bark of a tree on which any one has hanged himself,\na cord with twenty-one knots, and the earth from a child's grave,\nare hung round the neck, or tied to the waist-string as talismans.\n\nA Kota woman at Kotagiri on the Nilgiris, was wearing a glass necklet,\nwith a charm pendant from it, consisting of the root of some tree\nrolled up in a ball of cloth. She put it on when her baby was quite\nyoung, to protect it against devils. The baby had a similar charm on\nits neck. By some jungle Chenchus pieces of stick strung on a thread,\nor seeds of Givotia rottleriformis are worn, to ward off various\nforms of pain.\n\nSmall flat plates of copper, called takudu, are frequently worn by\nTamil Paraiyan children. One side is divided into sixteen squares\nin which what look like the Telugu numerals nine, ten, eleven\nand twelve, are engraved. On the other side a circle is drawn,\nwhich is divided into eight segments, in each of which a Telugu\nletter is inscribed. This charm is supposed to protect the wearer\nfrom harm coming from any of the eight cardinal points of the Indian\ncompass. Charms, in the form of metal cylinders, are worn for the same\npurpose by adults and children, and procured from some exorcist. [246]\n\nBy some Medaras of the Telugu country, a figure of Hanuman (the\nmonkey god) is engraved on a thin plate of gold with cabalistic\nletters inscribed on it, and worn on the neck. On eclipse days,\na piece of root of the arka plant (Calotropis gigantea) is worn on\nthe neck of females, and on the waist or arm of males.\n\nIn a note regarding moon-shaped amulets against the evil eye described\nby Professor Tylor, [247] Mr. Walhouse mentions that crescents, made of\nthin plates of metal, sometimes gold, are worn by children on the west\ncoast, suspended upon the breast with the point upwards. Neck ornaments\nin the form of a crescent are commonly worn by Muhammadan children.\n\nConcerning the use of coins as charms, Mr V. Devasahayam writes as\nfollows [248]:--\n\n\n    \"Seeing a woman with several old coins strung on the tali\n    (marriage badge) string round the neck, I offered to buy them\n    of her for a good price, but got only a torrent of abuse, since\n    she, in her ignorance and superstition, supposed that Lutchmi,\n    the goddess of fortune, would forsake her if she parted with the\n    coins. In Tranquebar there lives a head mason, who always carries\n    in his betel-nut bag a copper coin bearing the inscription of\n    Koneri Rayan, one of the later Pandyans or early Nayakars. The\n    man would on no account part with this coin, for he believes\n    that his success in business has improved since he came into\n    possession of it, and that it will continue as long as he carries\n    it with him. He says that he shall bequeath it to his family at\n    his death, to hold in veneration almost amounting to worship. For\n    dog bite, some Natives tie an old copper coin with a bandage over\n    the wound, and wear it till it has healed. Others rub the coin\n    against a copper vessel, using a few drops of the juice of the\n    datura plant in order to form a paste, and apply the paste to the\n    wound. Whooping-cough is believed to be caused by the displeasure\n    of Bhairava, the dog-god, and the whooping is regarded as a sort\n    of barking, under possession by the god. To appease his anger,\n    an old coin is hammered into a flat round disc, a rude figure of a\n    dog engraved on it, and suspended as a charm to the sick child's\n    waist. In the treatment of skin disease, dyspepsia, and leprosy,\n    old copper coins are ground to dust, heated till the dust is\n    like ashes, and administered medicinally. Soon after a Sonaga\n    woman is delivered of a child, she is made to swallow a small\n    old copper coin together with some water. Natives believe that,\n    during delivery, the whole system is so irritated that strong\n    counter-irritants must be administered to prevent tetanus.\"\n\n\nMercury cups, said to be made of an amalgam of mercury and tin, are\nstated to possess the property of allowing mercury, when poured in,\nto ooze through them, and pass out. Milk preserved in such a cup\nfor a few hours is said to turn into hard curd. Milk kept over night\nin one of these cups, or an amulet made from the cup materials, are\nbelieved to exercise a most potent influence over the male fertilising\nelement. Such an amulet, applied to the neck of a chorister, is said\nto have increased his vocal powers three or four times. Piles, and\nother bodily ailments, are believed to be cured by wearing rings,\nin the composition of which mercury is one of the ingredients.\n\nIn a case which was tried before a magistrate in Travancore, the\naccused, in order to win his case, had concealed in his under-cloth\nsome yantrams, which had been prepared for him by a sorcerer. The\nplaintiff, having got scent of this, gave information, and the charms\nwere handed over to the magistrate. It is recorded in the Vigada\nThuthan that, when a woman who gets tired of her husband sues him for\nmaintenance, she wears charm bundles (manthira kattu), so that his\nevidence may be confused and incoherent. Such charms are said to be\nconcealed in the hair of the head or in the headdress, and generally\nto consist of a lime fruit, which has been charmed by magical spells\nin a graveyard, after the sorcerer has performed certain ceremonies\nto guard him against devils catching him during the incantations. It\nis said that, in former times, if the chastity of a Tamil Paraiyan\nbride was suspected, she had to establish her virtue by picking some\ncakes out of boiling oil, and then husking some rice with her bare\nhand. Her hair, nails, and clothes were examined, to see that she\nhad no charm concealed about her. [249]\n\nA friend once dismissed a servant for cheating and lying. A\nshort time afterwards, he found nailed to a teapoy a paper scroll\ncontaining a jasmine flower tied up with coloured threads. On the\nscroll were inscribed in Tamil the mystic syllable, \"Om,\" and \"Nama\nSiva R. U. Masthan Sahibu avergal padame thunai\" (I seek for help at\nthe feet of Masthan sahib). Masthan is a Muhammad saint. The servant\nof a European police officer, who had been caught out in all sorts\nof malpractices, tried to win back the good-will of his master by\nmeans of a charm, for which he paid fifteen rupees, placed under his\nmaster's pillow.\n\nIt is recorded by Marco Polo [250] that South Indian pearl divers\n[251] call in the services of an Abraiman (Brahman?) to charm the\nsharks. \"And their charm holds good for that day only; for at night\nthey dissolve the charm, so that the fishes can work mischief at their\nwill.\" The prospects of a pearl fishery, when success seems certain,\nmay be abruptly ruined by accidents from sharks, of which the divers\nhave a superstitious, but not altogether unreasonable, dread. Before\nthe fishery of 1889, at which I was present, the divers of Kilakarai on\nthe Madura coast, as a preliminary to starting for the scene thereof,\nperformed a ceremony, at which prayers were offered for protection\nagainst the attacks of sharks.\n\n\n    \"The only precaution,\" Tennent writes, [252] \"to which the\n    Ceylon diver devotedly resorts is the mystic ceremony of the\n    shark-charmer, whose power is believed to be hereditary. Nor is\n    it supposed that the value of his incantations is at all dependent\n    upon the religious faith professed by the operator, for the present\n    head of the family happens to be a Roman Catholic. At the time\n    of our visit, this mysterious functionary was ill, and unable to\n    attend; but he sent an accredited substitute, who assured me that,\n    although he was himself ignorant of the grand and mystic secret,\n    the fact of his presence, as a representative of the higher\n    authority, would be recognised and respected by the sharks.\"\n\n\nAt the Tuticorin fishery in 1890, a scare was produced by a diver\nbeing bitten by a shark, but subsided as soon as a \"wise woman\" was\nemployed. Her powers do not, however, seem to have been great, for more\ncases of shark-bite occurred, and the fishery had to be abandoned at a\ntime when favourable breezes, clear water, plenty of boats, and oysters\nselling at a good price, indicated a successful financial result.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\nHUMAN SACRIFICE\n\n\n    \"The best known case,\" Mr Frazer writes, [253] \"of human sacrifices\n    systematically offered to ensure good crops, is supplied by the\n    Khonds or Kandhs, a Dravidian race in Bengal and Madras. Our\n    knowledge of them is derived from the accounts written by British\n    officers, who, forty or fifty years ago, were engaged in putting\n    them down. The sacrifices were offered to the earth goddess,\n    Tari Pennu or Bera Pennu, and were believed to ensure good crops,\n    and immunity from all diseases and accidents. In particular,\n    they were considered necessary in the cultivation of turmeric,\n    the Khonds arguing that the turmeric could not have a deep red\n    colour without the shedding of blood. The victim, a Meriah,\n    was acceptable to the goddess only if he had been purchased,\n    or had been born a victim, that is, the son of a victim father,\n    or had been devoted as a child by his father or guardian.\"\n\n\nIn 1837, Mr Russell, in a report on the districts entrusted to his\ncontrol, wrote as follows [254]:--\n\n\n    \"The ceremonies attending the barbarous rite (Kondh human\n    sacrifice) vary in different parts of the country. In the Maliahs\n    of Goomsur, the sacrifice is offered annually to Thadha Pennoo,\n    under the effigy of a bird intended to represent a peacock, with\n    the view of propitiating the deity to grant favourable seasons\n    and crops. The ceremony is performed at the expense of, and in\n    rotation, by certain mootahs (districts) composing a community,\n    and connected together from local circumstances. Besides these\n    periodical sacrifices, others are made by single mootahs, and even\n    by individuals, to avert any threatening calamity from sickness,\n    murrain, or other causes. Grown men are the most esteemed (as\n    victims), because the most costly. Children are purchased, and\n    reared for years with the family of the person who ultimately\n    devotes them to a cruel death, when circumstances are supposed\n    to demand a sacrifice at his hands. They seem to be treated with\n    kindness, and, if young, are kept under no constraint; but, when\n    old enough to be sensible of the fate that awaits them, they are\n    placed in fetters, and guarded. Most of those who were rescued had\n    been sold by their parents or nearest relations, a practice which,\n    from all we could learn, is very common. Persons of riper age are\n    kidnapped by wretches who trade in human flesh. The victim must\n    always be purchased. Criminals, or prisoners captured in war, are\n    not considered fitting subjects. The price is paid indifferently\n    in brass utensils, cattle, or coin. The zanee (or priest),\n    who may be of any caste, officiates at the sacrifice, but he\n    performs the poojah (offering of flowers, incense, etc.) to the\n    idol through the medium of the Toomba, who must be a Khond child\n    under seven years of age. This child is fed and clothed at the\n    public expense, eats with no other person, and is subjected to\n    no act deemed impure. For a month prior to the sacrifice, there\n    is much feasting and intoxication, and dancing round the Meriah,\n    who is adorned with garlands, etc., and, on the day before the\n    performance of the barbarous rite, is stupefied with toddy, and\n    made to sit, or, if necessary, is bound at the bottom of a post\n    bearing the effigy above described. The assembled multitude then\n    dance around to music, and, addressing the earth, say 'Oh! God,\n    we offer the sacrifice to you. Give us good crops, seasons,\n    and health.' After which they address the victim. 'We bought\n    you with a price, and did not seize you. Now we sacrifice you\n    according to custom, and no sin rests with us.' On the following\n    day, the victim being again intoxicated, and anointed with oil,\n    each individual present touches the anointed part, and wipes the\n    oil on his own head. All then proceed in procession around the\n    village and its boundaries, preceded by music, bearing the victim\n    and a pole, to the top of which is attached a tuft of peacock's\n    feathers. On returning to the post, which is always placed near\n    the village deity called Zakaree Pennoo, and represented by three\n    stones, near which the brass effigy in the shape of the peacock\n    is buried, they kill a pig in sacrifice, and, having allowed the\n    blood to flow into a pit prepared for the purpose, the victim who,\n    if it has been found possible, has been previously made senseless\n    from intoxication, is seized and thrown in, and his face pressed\n    down until he is suffocated in the bloody mire amid the noise of\n    instruments. The Zanee then cuts a piece of the flesh from the\n    body, and buries it with ceremony near the effigy and village idol,\n    as an offering to the earth. All the rest afterwards go through\n    the same form, and carry the bloody prize to their villages,\n    where the same rites are performed, part being interred near the\n    village idol, and little bits on the boundaries. The head and\n    face remain untouched, and the bones, when bare, are buried with\n    them in the pit. After this horrid ceremony has been completed,\n    a buffalo calf is brought in front of the post, and, his forefeet\n    having been cut off, is left there till the following day. Women,\n    dressed in male attire, and armed as men, then drink, dance,\n    and sing round the spot, the calf is killed and eaten, and the\n    Zanee is dismissed with a present of rice, and a hog or calf.\"\n\n\nIn the same year, Mr Arbuthnot, Collector of Vizagapatam, reported\nas follows:--\n\n\n    \"Of the hill tribe Codooloo (Kondh), there are said to be two\n    distinct classes, the Cotia Codooloo and Jathapoo Codooloo. The\n    former class is that which is in the habit of offering human\n    sacrifices to the god called Jenkery, with a view to secure\n    good crops. This ceremony is generally performed on the Sunday\n    preceding or following the Pongal feast. The victim is seldom\n    carried by force, but procured by purchase, and there is a fixed\n    price for each person, which consists of forty articles such\n    as a bullock, a male buffalo, a cow, a goat, a piece of cloth,\n    a silk cloth, a brass pot, a large plate, a bunch of plantains,\n    etc. The man who is destined for the sacrifice is immediately\n    carried before the god, and a small quantity of rice coloured with\n    saffron (turmeric) is put upon his head. The influence of this\n    is said to prevent his attempting to escape, even though set at\n    liberty. It would appear, however, that, from the moment of his\n    seizure till he is sacrificed, he is kept in a continued state\n    of stupefaction or intoxication. He is allowed to wander about\n    the village, to eat and drink anything he may take a fancy to,\n    and even to have connection with any of the women whom he may\n    meet. On the morning set apart for the sacrifice, he is carried\n    before the idol in a state of intoxication. One of the villagers\n    officiates as priest, who cuts a small hole in the stomach of the\n    victim, and with the blood that flows from the wound the idol is\n    besmeared. Then the crowds from the neighbouring villages rush\n    forward, and he is literally cut into pieces. Each person who is\n    so fortunate as to procure it carries away a morsel of the flesh,\n    and presents it to the idol of his own village.\"\n\n\nConcerning a method of Kondh sacrifice, which is illustrated by the\nwooden post preserved in the Madras Museum, Colonel Campbell records\n[255] that \"one of the most common ways of offering the sacrifice\nin Chinna Kimedi is to the effigy of an elephant (hatti mundo or\nelephant's head) rudely carved in wood, fixed on the top of a stout\npost, on which it is made to revolve. After the performance of the\nusual ceremonies, the intended victim is fastened to the proboscis of\nthe elephant, and, amidst the shouts and yells of the excited multitude\nof Khonds, is rapidly whirled round, when, at a given signal by the\nofficiating Zanee or priest, the crowd rush in, seize the Meriah,\nand with their knives cut the flesh off the shrieking wretch so\nlong as life remains. He is then cut down, the skeleton burnt, and\nthe horrid orgies are over. In several villages I counted as many\nas fourteen effigies of elephants, which had been used in former\nsacrifices. These I caused to be overthrown by the baggage elephants\nattached to my camp in the presence of the assembled Khonds, to show\nthem that these venerated objects had no power against the living\nanimal, and to remove all vestiges of their bloody superstition.\"\n\nIt is noted by Risley [256] that, while the crowd hacked the body\nof the victim, they chanted a ghastly hymn, an extract from which\nillustrates very clearly the theory of sympathetic magic underlying\nthe ritual:--\n\n\n            \"As the tears stream from thine eyes,\n            So may the rain pour down in August;\n            As the mucus trickles from thy nostrils,\n            So may it drizzle at intervals;\n            As thy blood gushes forth,\n            So may the vegetation sprout;\n            As thy gore falls in drops,\n            So may the grains of rice form.\"\n\n\nIn another report, Colonel Campbell describes how the miserable\nvictim is dragged along the fields, surrounded by a crowd of half\nintoxicated Kondhs who, shouting and screaming, rush upon him, and\nwith their knives cut the flesh piecemeal from the bones, avoiding the\nhead and bowels, till the living skeleton, dying from loss of blood,\nis relieved from torture, when its remains are burnt, and the ashes\nmixed with the new grain to preserve it from insects. Yet again,\nhe describes a sacrifice which was peculiar to the Kondhs of Jeypore.\n\n\n    \"It is,\" he says, \"always succeeded by the sacrifice of three\n    human beings, two to the sun in the east and west of the\n    village, and one in the centre, with the usual barbarities of\n    the Meriah. A stout wooden post about six feet long is firmly\n    fixed in the ground, at the foot of it a narrow grave is dug,\n    and to the top of the post the victim is firmly fastened by the\n    long hair of his head. Four assistants hold his outstretched arms\n    and legs, the body being suspended horizontally over the grave,\n    with the face toward the earth. The officiating Junna or priest,\n    standing on the right side, repeats the following invocation,\n    at intervals hacking with his sacrificing knife the back part of\n    the shrieking victim's neck. 'Oh! mighty Manicksoro, this is your\n    festal day. To the Khonds the offering is Meriah, to the kings\n    Junna. On account of this sacrifice, you have given to kings\n    kingdoms, guns, and swords. The sacrifice we now offer you must\n    eat, and we pray that our battle-axes may be converted into swords,\n    our bows and arrows into gunpowder and balls; and, if we have\n    any quarrels with other tribes, give us the victory. Preserve us\n    from the tyranny of kings and their officers.' Then, addressing\n    the victim, 'That we may enjoy prosperity, we offer you as a\n    sacrifice to our god Manicksoro, who will immediately eat you,\n    so be not grieved at our slaying you. Your parents were aware,\n    when we purchased you from them for sixty rupees, that we did so\n    with intent to sacrifice you. There is, therefore, no sin on our\n    heads, but on your parents. After you are dead, we shall perform\n    your obsequies.' The victim is then decapitated, the body thrown\n    into the grave, and the head left suspended from the post till\n    devoured by wild beasts.  The knife remains fastened to the post\n    till the three sacrifices have been performed, when it is removed\n    with much ceremony.\"\n\n\nThe Kondhs of Bara Mootah promised to relinquish the Meriah rite on\ncondition, inter alia, that they should be at liberty to sacrifice\nbuffaloes, monkeys, goats, etc., to their deities, with all the\nsolemnities observed on occasions of human sacrifice; and that they\nshould further be at liberty, upon all occasions, to denounce to\ntheir gods the Government, and some of its servants in particular,\nas the cause of their having relinquished the great rite. The last\nrecorded Meriah sacrifice in the Ganjam Maliahs occurred in 1852,\nand there are still Kondhs alive, who were present at it. The veteran\nmembers of a party of Kondhs, who were brought to Madras for the\npurpose of performing their dances before the Prince and Princess of\nWales in 1906, became widely excited when they came across the relic\nof their barbarous custom at the museum. Twenty-five descendants of\npersons who were rescued by Government officers, returned themselves\nas Meriah at the census, 1901.\n\nIt is noted by Mr W. Francis that [257] \"goats and buffaloes nowadays\ntake the place of human meriah victims, but the belief in the superior\nefficacy of the latter dies hard, and every now and again revives. When\nthe Rampa rebellion of 1879-80 spread in this district, several cases\nof human sacrifice occurred in the disturbed tracts. In 1880, two\npersons were convicted of attempting a meriah sacrifice near Ambadala\nin Bissamkatak. In 1883, a man (a beggar and a stranger) was found at\ndaybreak murdered in one of the temples in Jeypore in circumstances\nwhich pointed to his having been slain as a meriah; and, as late as\n1886, a formal enquiry showed that there were ample grounds for the\nsuspicion that the kidnapping of victims still went on in Bastar.\"\n\nEven so recently as 1902, a European magistrate in Ganjam received a\npetition, asking for permission to perform a human sacrifice, which\nwas intended to give a rich colour to the turmeric crop.\n\nThe flowers with which the sheep and goats which take the place\nof human beings are decorated are still known as meriah pushpa in\nJeypore. [258]\n\nIn an account [259] of a substituted sacrifice, which was carried\nout by the Kondhs in the Ganjam Maliahs in 1894, it is stated that,\n\"the Janni gave the buffalo a tap on the head with a small axe. An\nindescribable scene followed. The Khonds in a body fell on the animal,\nand, in an amazingly short time, literally tore the living victim to\nshreds with their knives, leaving nothing but the head, bones, and\nstomach. Death must mercifully have been almost instantaneous. Every\nparticle of flesh and skin had been stripped off during the few\nminutes they fought and struggled over the buffalo, eagerly grasping\nfor every atom of flesh. As soon as a man had secured a piece thereof,\nhe rushed away with the gory mass, as fast as he could, to his fields,\nto bury it therein according to ancient custom, before the sun had\nset. As some of them had to do good distances to effect this, it was\nimperative that they should run very fast. A curious scene now took\nplace. As the men ran, all the women flung after them clods of earth,\nsome of them taking very good effect. The sacred grove was cleared\nof people, save a few that guarded the remnants left of the buffalo,\nwhich were taken, and burnt with ceremony at the foot of the stake.\"\n\nThe buffalo sacrifice is not unaccompanied by risk, as the animal,\nbefore dying, sometimes kills one or more of its tormentors. This\nwas the case near Balliguda in 1899, when a buffalo killed the\nsacrificer. In the previous year, the desire of a village to intercept\nthe bearer of the flesh from a neighbouring village led to a fight,\nin which two men were killed.\n\nLike the Kondhs, the Koyis of the Godavari district believe in the\nefficacy of a sacrifice, to ensure good crops. In this connection, the\nRev. J. Cain writes [260] that \"the Koyi goddess Mamili or Lele must\nbe propitiated early in the year, or else the crops will undoubtedly\nfail; and she is said to be very partial to human victims. There is\nstrong reason to think that two men were murdered this year (1876)\nnear a village not far from Dummagudem as offerings to this devata,\nand there is no reason to doubt that every year strangers are quietly\nput out of the way in the Bastar country, to ensure the favour of\nthe bloodthirsty goddess.\"\n\nMr Cain writes further [261] that a langur monkey is now substituted\nfor the human victim under the name of erukomma potu or male with\nsmall breasts, in the hope of persuading the goddess that she is\nreceiving a human sacrifice.\n\nOn the site of the old fort at Ramagiri in the Vizagapatam district,\na victim was formerly sacrificed every third year.\n\n\n    \"The poor wretch was forced into a hole in the ground, three feet\n    deep and eighteen inches square, at the bottom of which the goddess\n    was supposed to dwell, his throat was cut, and the blood allowed\n    to flow into the hole, and afterwards his head was struck off and\n    placed on his lap, and the mutilated body covered with earth and a\n    mound of stones until the time for the next sacrifice came round,\n    when the bones were taken out and thrown away. At Malkanagiri,\n    periodical sacrifices occurred at the four gates of the fort, and\n    the Rani had a victim slain as a thank-offering for her recovery\n    from an illness.\" [262]\n\n\nThe nomad Koravas are said to have formerly performed human sacrifices,\none effect of which was to increase the fertility of the soil. The\nfollowing account of such a sacrifice was given to Mr C. Hayavadana\nRao by an old inhabitant of the village of Asur near Walajabad\nin the Chingleput district. A big gang of Koravas settled at the\nmeeting point of three villages of Asur, Melputtur, and Avalur,\non an elevated spot commanding the surrounding country. They had\nwith them their pack-bullocks, each headman of the gang owning about\ntwo hundred head. The cow-dung which accumulated daily attracted a\ngood many of the villagers, on one of whom the headman fixed as their\nintended victim. They made themselves intimate with him, plied him with\ndrink and tobacco, and gave him the monopoly of the cow-dung. Thus\na week or ten days passed away, and the Koravas then fixed a day\nfor the sacrifice. They invited the victim to visit them at dusk,\nand witness a great festival in honour of their caste goddess. At\nthe appointed hour, the man went to the settlement, and was induced\nto drink freely. Meanwhile, a pit, large enough for a man to stand\nupright in, had been prepared. At about midnight, the victim was\nseized, and forced to stand in the pit, which was filled in up to\nhis neck. This done, the women and children of the gang made off\nwith their belongings. As soon as the last of them had quitted the\nsettlement, the headmen brought a large quantity of fresh cow-dung,\nand placed a ball of it on the head of the victim. The ball served\nas a support for an earthen lamp, which was lighted. The man was\nby this time nearly dead, and the cattle were made to pass over his\nhead. The headmen then made off, and, by daybreak, the whole gang had\ndisappeared. The sacrificed man was found by the villagers, who have,\nsince that time, scrupulously avoided the Koravas. The victim is said\nto have turned into a Munisvara, and for a long time troubled those\nwho happened to go near the spot at noon or midnight. The Koravas are\nsaid to have performed the sacrifice, so as to insure their cattle\nagainst death from disease. The ground, on which they encamped, and on\nwhich they offered the human sacrifice, is stated to have been barren\nprior thereto, and, as the result thereof, to have become very fertile.\n\nA similar form of human sacrifice was practised in former days by the\nnomad Lambadis, concerning which the Abbe Dubois writes as follows\n[263]:--\n\n\n    \"When they wish to perform this horrible act, it is said, they\n    secretly carry off the first person they meet. Having conducted the\n    victim to some lonely spot, they dig a hole, in which they bury\n    him up to the neck. While he is still alive, they make a sort of\n    lamp of dough made of flour, which they place on his head. This\n    they fill with oil, and light four wicks in it. Having done this,\n    the men and women join hands, and, forming a circle, dance round\n    their victim, singing and making a great noise, till he expires.\"\n\n\nIt is recorded by the Rev. J. Cain [264] that the Lambadis confessed\nthat, in former days, it was the custom among them, before starting\nout on a journey, to procure a little child, and bury it in the ground\nup to the shoulders, and then drive their loaded bullocks over the\nunfortunate victim. In proportion to their thoroughly trampling the\nchild to death, so their belief in a successful journey increased. I\nam informed by the Rev. G. N. Thomssen that, at the present day, the\nLambadis sacrifice a goat or chicken, in case of removal from one part\nof the jungle to another, when sickness has come. They hope to escape\ndeath by leaving one camping ground for another. Half-way between the\nold and new grounds, the animal selected is buried alive, the head\nbeing allowed to be above ground. Then all the cattle are driven over\nthe buried creature, and the whole camp walk over the buried victim.\n\nIn the course of an interview with Colonel Marshall on the subject\nof infanticide [265] among the Todas of the Nilgiri hills, an aged\nman of the tribe remarked that [266] \"those tell lies who say that\nwe laid the child down before the opening of the buffalo-pen, so\nthat it might be run over and killed by the animals. We never did\nsuch things, and it is all nonsense that we drowned it in buffaloes'\nmilk. Boys were never killed--only girls; not those who were sickly\nand deformed--that would be a sin; but, when we had one girl, or in\nsome families two girls, those that followed were killed. An old woman\nused to take the child immediately after it was born, and close its\nnostrils, ears, and mouth with a cloth. It would shortly droop its\nhead and go to sleep. We then buried it in the ground.\"\n\nThe old man's remark about the cattle-pen refers to the Malagasy\ncustom of placing a new-born child at the entrance to a cattle-pen,\nand then driving the cattle over it, to see whether they would trample\non it or not. [267]\n\nIt is recorded by Bishop Whitehead, [268] in a note on offerings and\nsacrifices in the Telugu country, that \"sometimes, when there is a\ncattle disease, a pig is buried up to its neck at the boundary of\nthe village, a heap of boiled rice is deposited near the spot, and\nthen all the cattle of the village are driven over the head of the\nunhappy pig.... When I was on tour in the Kurnool district, an old man\ndescribed to me the account he had received from his 'forefathers' of\nthe ceremonies observed when founding a new village. An auspicious site\nis selected on an auspicious day, and then, in the centre of the site,\nis dug a large hole, in which are placed different kinds of grains,\nsmall pieces of the five metals, and a large stone called boddu-rayee\n(navel-stone), standing about three and a half feet above the ground,\nvery like the ordinary boundary stones seen in the fields. Then,\nat the entrance of the village, in the centre of the main street,\nwhere most of the cattle pass in and out on their way to and from\nthe fields, they dig another hole, and bury a pig alive.\"\n\nIt is suggested by Bishop Whitehead that the custom of thus burying\na pig may be connected with the worship of an agricultural goddess,\nor a survival of a former custom of infanticide or human sacrifice,\nsuch as prevailed among the Lambadis.\n\nIt has been suggested that certain rites performed by the Panan\nand Malayan exorcists of Malabar are survivals, or imitations of\nhuman sacrifice. Thus, in the Ucchaveli ceremony of the Panans for\ndriving out devils, there is a mock burial of the principal performer,\nwho is placed in a pit. This is covered with planks, on the top of\nwhich a sacrifice (homam) is performed with a fire kindled with jak\n(Artocarpus integrifolia) branches. [269]\n\nThe disguise of Ucchaveli is also assumed by the Malayans for the\npropitiation of the demon, when a human sacrifice is considered\nnecessary. The Malayan who is to take the part puts on a cap made\nof strips of cocoanut leaf, and strips of the same leaves tied to a\nbent bamboo stick round his waist. His face and chest are daubed with\nyellow paint, and designs are drawn thereon in red or black. Strings\nare tied tightly round the left arm near the elbow and wrist, and the\nswollen area is pierced with a knife. The blood spouts out, and the\nperformer waves the arm, so that his face is covered with blood. In\nthe ceremony for propitiating the demon Nenaveli (bloody sacrifice),\nthe Malayan smears the upper part of the body and face with a paste\nmade of rice-flour reddened with turmeric powder and chunam (lime),\nto indicate a sacrifice. Before the paste dries, parched paddy\n(unhusked rice) grains, representing smallpox pustules, are sprinkled\nover it. Strips of young cocoanut leaves, strung together so as to\nform a petticoat, are tied round the waist, a ball of sacred ashes\n(vibhuthi) is fixed on the tip of the nose, and two strips of palm\nleaf are placed in the mouth to represent fangs. If it is thought\nthat a human sacrifice is necessary to propitiate the devil, the man\nrepresenting Nenaveli puts round his neck a kind of framework made\nof plantain leaf sheaths; and, after he has danced with it on, it is\nremoved, and placed on the ground in front of him. A number of lighted\nwicks are stuck in the middle of the framework, which is sprinkled with\nthe blood of a fowl, and then beaten and crushed. Sometimes this is\nnot regarded as sufficient, and the performer is made to lie in a pit,\nwhich is covered over by a plank, and a fire kindled. A Malayan, who\nacted the part of Nenaveli before me, danced and gesticulated wildly,\nwhile a small boy, concealed behind him, sang songs in praises of the\ndemon, to the accompaniment of a drum. At the end of the performance,\nhe feigned extreme exhaustion, and laid on the ground in a state of\napparent collapse, while he was drenched with water brought in pots\nfrom a neighbouring well.\n\nA very similar rite has been recorded by Mr Lewis Rice as being\ncarried out by the Coorgs, when a particular curse, which can only\nbe removed by an extraordinary sacrifice, rests on a house, stable,\nor field. Concerning this sacrifice, Mr Rice writes as follows [270]:--\n\n\n    \"The Kaniya (religious mendicant) [271] sends for some of his\n    fraternity, the Panikas or Bannus, and they set to work. A pit\n    is dug in the middle room of the house or in the yard, or in the\n    stable, or in the field, as the occasion may require. Into this one\n    of the magicians descends. He sits down in Hindu fashion, muttering\n    mantras. Pieces of wood are laid across the pit, and covered with\n    earth a foot or two deep. Upon this platform a fire of jackwood\n    is kindled, into which butter, sugar, different kinds of grain,\n    etc., are thrown. This sacrifice continues all night, the Panika\n    sacrificer above, and his immured colleague below, repeating their\n    incantations all the while. In the morning the pit is opened, and\n    the man returns to the light of day. These sacrifices are called\n    maranada bali, or death atonements. Instead of a human being,\n    a cock is sometimes shut up in the pit, and killed afterwards.\"\n\n\nEvidence is produced by Mr Rice [272] that, in former days, human\nsacrifices were offered in Coorg, to secure the favour of the Grama\nDevatas (village goddesses) Mariamma, Durga, and Bhadra Kali.\n\n\n    \"In Kirinadu and Koniucheri Gramas,\" he writes, \"once every three\n    years, in December and June, a human sacrifice used to be brought\n    to Bhadra Kali, and, during the offering by the Panikas, the people\n    exclaimed 'Al Amma' (a man, Oh mother), but once a devotee shouted\n    'Al all Amma, Adu' (not a man, oh mother, a goat), and since that\n    time a he-goat without blemish has been sacrificed. Similarly,\n    in Bellur, once a year, by turns from each house, a man was\n    sacrificed by cutting off his head at the temple; but, when the\n    turn came to a certain home, the devoted victim made his escape to\n    the jungle. The villagers, after an unsuccessful search, returned\n    to the temple, and said to the pujari (priest) 'Kalak Adu,' which\n    has a double meaning, viz., Kalake next year, adu he will give,\n    or adu a goat, and thenceforth only scapegoats were offered.\"\n\n\nHuman sacrifice is considered efficacious in appeasing the earth\nspirit, and in warding off devils during the construction of a new\nrailway or big bridge. To the influence of such evil spirits the death\nof several workmen by accident in a cutting on the railway, which was\nunder construction at Cannanore in Malabar, was attributed. A legend\nis current at Anantapur that, on one occasion, the embankment of\nthe big tank breached. Ganga, the goddess of water, entered the body\nof a woman, and explained through her that, if some one was thrown\ninto the breach, she would cause no further damage. Accordingly,\none Musalamma was thrown in, and buried within it. The spot is\nmarked by several margosa (Melia Azadirachta) trees, and sheep,\nfowls, etc., are still occasionally offered to the girl who was thus\nsacrificed. When a tank bund (embankment) was under construction in\nMysore, there was a panic among the workmen, owing to a rumour that\nthree virgins were going to be sacrificed. When a mantapam or shrine\nwas consecrated, a human sacrifice was formerly considered necessary,\nbut a cocoanut is now sometimes used as a substitute. At Kalasapad in\nthe Cuddapah district, a missionary told Bishop Whitehead that, when\na new ward was opened at the mission dispensary in 1906, none would\nenter it, because the people believed that the first to enter would\nbe offered as a sacrifice. Their fears were allayed by a religious\nservice. During the building of a tower at the Madras Museum, just\nbefore the big granite blocks were placed in position, the coolies\ncontented themselves with the sacrifice of a goat. On the completion\nof a new building, some castes on the west coast sacrifice a fowl or\nsheep, to drive away the devils, which are supposed to haunt it.\n\nIn a field outside a village in South Canara, Mr Walhouse noticed a\nlarge square marked in lines with whitewash on the ground, with magic\nsymbols in the corners, and the outline of a human figure rudely drawn\nin the middle. Flowers and boiled rice had been laid on leaves round\nthe figure. He was informed that a house was to be built on the site\nmarked out, and the figure was intended to represent the earth spirit\nsupposed to be dwelling in the ground (or a human sacrifice?). Without\nthis ceremony being performed before the earth was dug up, it was\nbelieved that there would be no luck about the house. [273]\n\nBelief in the efficacy of human sacrifice as a means of discovering\nhidden treasure is widespread. It is recorded by Mr Walhouse\n[274] that \"one of the native notions respecting p-andu kuli, or\nkistvaens, is that men of old constructed them for the purpose of\nhiding treasure. Hence it is that antiquarians find so many have been\nransacked. It is also believed that spells were placed over them as a\nguard, the strongest being to bury a man alive in the cairn, and bid\nhis ghost protect the deposit against any but the proprietor. The\nghost would conceal the treasure from all strangers, or only be\ncompelled to disclose it by a human sacrifice being offered.\"\n\nMany beliefs exist with regard to the purpose for which the large\nprehistoric burial jars, such as are found in various parts of Southern\nIndia, were manufactured. In Travancore, some believe that they were\nmade to contain the remains of virgins sacrificed by the Rajas on\nthe boundaries of their estates, to protect them. [275] According to\nanother idea, the jars were made for the purpose of burying alive in\nthem old women who refused to die.\n\nIn a note on the Velamas of the Godavari district, Mr F. R. Hemingway\nwrites that they admit that they always arrange for a Mala (Telugu\nPariah) couple to marry, before they have a marriage in their own\nhouses, and that they provide the necessary funds for the Mala\nmarriage. They explain the custom by a story to the effect that\na Mala once allowed a Velama to sacrifice him in order to obtain\na hidden treasure, and they say that this custom is observed out\nof gratitude for the discovery of the treasure which resulted. The\nRev. J. Cain gives a similar custom among the Velamas of Bhadrachalam\nin the Godavari district, only in this case it is a Palli (fisherman)\nwho has to be married. Some years ago, a Native of the west coast,\nbelieving that treasure was hidden on his property, took council with\nan astrologer, who recommended the performance of a human sacrifice,\nwhich happily was averted. On one occasion, a little Brahman girl is\nsaid to have been decoyed when on her way to school, and murdered in\nthe god's room at a temple in Vellore, in which treasure was supposed\nto be concealed.\n\nIn 1901, a Native of the Bellary district was tried for the murder of\nhis child, in the belief that hidden treasure would thereby be revealed\nto him. The man, whose story I heard from himself in the lock-up, had\napparently implicit faith that the god would bring the child to life\nagain. The case, as recorded in the judgment of the Sessions Judge,\nwas as follows:--\n\n\n    \"The prisoner has made two long statements to the Magistrate,\n    in each of which he explains why he killed the child. From\n    these statements it appears that he had been worshipping at the\n    temple of Kona Irappa for six or seven years, and that, on one\n    or more occasions, the god appeared to him, and said: 'I am much\n    pleased with your worship. There is wealth under me. To whom\n    else should it be given but you?' The god asked the prisoner to\n    sacrifice sheep and buffaloes, and also said: 'Give your son's\n    head. You know that a head should be given to the god who confers\n    a boon. I shall raise up your son, and give you the wealth which\n    is under me.' At that time, the prisoner had only one son--the\n    deceased boy was not then born. The prisoner said to the god:\n    'I have only one son. How can I give him?' The god replied:\n    'A son will be born. Do not fear me. I shall revive the son,\n    and give you wealth.' Within one year, the deceased boy was\n    born. This increased the prisoner's faith in the god, and it\n    is apparent from his own statement that he has for some time\n    past been contemplating human sacrifice. He was advised not to\n    sacrifice the son, and for a time was satisfied with sacrificing\n    a buffalo and goats, but, as a result, did not succeed in getting\n    the wealth that he was anxious to secure. The prisoner says he\n    dug up some portion of the temple, but the temple people did not\n    let him dig further. The boy was killed on a Sunday, because the\n    prisoner says that the god informed him that the human sacrifice\n    should be on the child's birthday, which was a Sunday. The prisoner\n    mentions in his statement how he took the child to the temple on\n    the Sunday morning, and cut him with a sword. Having done so, he\n    proceeded to worship, saying: 'I offered a head to the bestower of\n    boons. Give boons, resuscitate my son, and show me wealth.' While\n    the prisoner was worshipping the god, and waiting for the god to\n    revive his son, the Reddi (headman) and the police came to the\n    temple, and interrupted the worship. The prisoner believes that\n    thereby the god was prevented from reviving the son.... The facts\n    seem to be clear. The man's mind is sound in every respect but\n    as regards this religious delusion. On that point, it is unsound.\"\n\n\nA bad feature of the case, which was reckoned against the prisoner,\nwas that he deferred the sacrifice until a second son was born, so\nthat, in any case, he was not left without male issue. It was laid\ndown by Manu that a man is perfect when he consists of three--himself,\nhis wife, and his son. In the Rig Veda it is laid down that, when\na father sees the face of a living son, he pays a debt in him, and\ngains immortality. In Sanskrit works, Putra, or son, is defined as\none who delivers a parent from a hell called put, into which those\nwho have no son fall. Hence the anxiety of Hindus to marry, and beget\nmale offspring.\n\nA few years ago, in the Mysore Province, two men were charged\nwith the kidnapping and murder of a female infant, and one was\nsentenced to transportation for life. The theory of the prosecution\nwas that the child was killed, in order that it might be offered\nas a sacrifice with the object of securing hidden treasure, which\nwas believed to be buried near the scene of the murder. A witness\ngave evidence to the effect that the second accused was the pujari\n(priest) of a Gangamma temple. He used to tell people that there was\nhidden treasure, and that, if a human sacrifice were offered, the\ntreasure might be acquired. He used to make puja, and tie yantrams\n(charms). He also made special pujas, and exorcised devils. Another\nwitness testified that her mother had buried some treasure during\nher lifetime, and she asked the pujari to discover it. He came to\nher house, made an earthen image, and did puja to it. He dug the\nground in three places, but no treasure was found. In dealing with\nthe evidence in the Court of Appeal, the Judges stated that \"it is\nwell known that ignorant persons have various superstitions about the\ndiscovery of hidden treasure, and the facts that the second accused\neither shared such superstitious beliefs, or traded on the credulity\nof his neighbours by his pretensions of special occult power, and\nthat a Sanyasi (religious mendicant) had some four years ago given\nout that treasure might be discovered by means of a human sacrifice,\ncannot justify any inference that the second accused would have acted\non the last suggestion, especially when the witnesses cannot even\nsay that the second accused heard the Sanyasi's suggestion.\"\n\nThe temple was searched, and the following articles were found:--three\nroots of the banyan tree having suralay (coil), a suralay of the banyan\ntree, round which two roots were entwined, a piece of banyan root,\nand a wheel (alada chakra) made of banyan root. Besides, there were\na copper armlet, copper thyati (charm cylinder), nine copper plates,\non which letters were engraved, a copper mokka mattoo (copper plate\nbearing figures of deities), a piece of thread coloured red, white\nand black, for tying yantrams, a tin case containing kappu (a black\nsubstance), a ball of human hair, and a pen-knife. There was also\na dealwood box containing books and papers relating to bhuta vidya\n(black art).\n\nA man was accused in 1907, in the Kurnool district, of stabbing a\nsupposed wizard in the darkest hours of a new-moon night. In the course\nof his judgment, the Judge stated that \"what may be taken as the facts\nof the case are very curious. The accused and his elder brother saw an\n'iguana' (lizard) run from the foot of a hill. This is supposed to be\none of the signs of buried treasure. They killed the animal (and ate it\neventually), and dug, and found, where it had slept, treasure in the\nshape of a pot full of old-time pagodas (gold coins). Now a goddess\n(called here Shatti, i.e., Sakti) is supposed to guard such buried\ntreasure, and the finder ought to sacrifice a cock to the goddess\nbefore receiving the treasure. The brother of the accused neglected\nto do so, and came to the deceased, who was supposed to be a warlock,\nthough his wife represents him to be merely a worshipper of Vira\nBrahma, and a distributor of holy water (thirtham) and holy ashes to\npeople possessed with devils. The deceased gave holy water to Pedda\nPichivadu to avert ill-luck, but the man suddenly died from running\na thorn into his foot, and his leg swelling in consequence. About\nthe same time, the accused's younger brother got palsy in his head,\nand the deceased failed to cure him, though he made the attempt.\"\n\nAt Girigehalli in the Anantapur district, there is a temple, concerning\nwhich the story goes that the stomach of the goddess was once opened\nby an avaricious individual, who expected to find treasure within\nit. The goddess appeared to him in a dream, and said that he should\nsuffer like pain to that which he had inflicted upon her, and he\nshortly afterwards died of some internal complaint. [276]\n\nIn the Cuddapah district, many of the inhabitants are said [277]\nto believe that there is much treasure hidden from the troublous\ndays of the eighteenth century, but they have a superstitious dread\nagainst looking for it, since the successful finder would be smitten\nby the guardian demon with a sudden and painful death.\n\nThe Panos (hill weavers) of Ganjam are said, on more than one occasion,\nto have rifled the grave of a European, in the belief that buried\ntreasure would be found.\n\nMany years ago, a woman was supposed to be possessed with a devil,\nand an exorcist was consulted, who declared that a human sacrifice was\nnecessary. A victim was selected, and made very drunk. His head was\ncut off, and the blood, mixed with rice, was offered to the idol. The\nbody was then hacked so as to deceive the police, and thrown into a\npond. [278]\n\nAt a village near Berhampur in Ganjam, Mr S. P. Rice tells us, [279]\na number of villagers went out together. By and bye, according to a\npreconcerted plan, one of the party suggested a drink. The intended\nvictim was drugged, and taken along to the statue of the goddess, or\nshrine containing what did duty for the statue. He was then thrown down\nwith his face on the ground in an attitude suggesting supplication,\nand, while he was still in a state of stupor, his head was chopped\noff with an axe.\n\nIt is narrated by Chevers [280] that, in 1840, a religious mendicant,\non his way back from Ramesvaram, located himself in a village near\nRamnad, and gave himself out to be gifted with the power of working\nmiracles. One evening, the chucklers (leather-workers) of the village,\nobserving crows and vultures hovering near a group of trees, and\nsuspecting that there was carrion for them to feast upon, were tempted\nto visit the spot, where they found a corpse, mangled most fearfully,\nand with the left hand and right leg cut off. Many nails were driven\ninto the head, a garland was placed round the neck, and the forehead\nsmeared with sandal paste.  It was rumoured that a certain person\nwas ailing, and that the holy man decreed that nothing short of a\nhuman sacrifice could save him, and that the victim should bear his\nname. The holy man disappeared, but was captured shortly afterwards.\n\nA copper-plate grant, acquired a few years ago at Tirupati, and\nbelieved to be a forgery, records that a temple car was made for the\ngoddess Kalikadevi of Conjeeveram by certain Panchalans (members of the\nartisan classes). While it was being taken to the temple, a magician\nstopped it by means of incantations. The help of another magician was\nsought, and he cut off the head of his pregnant daughter, suspended it\nto the car, and performed certain rites. The car then moved, and the\nwoman, whose head was cut off, was brought back to life. A somewhat\nsimilar legend is recorded in another copper-plate grant discovered\nin 1910 in the North Arcot district, which is also believed to be a\nforgery. It is there stated that the five castes of artisans made a\nbell-metal car for the Kamakshiamman temple at Conjeeveram. Members\nof these five castes, belonging to the left-hand faction, commenced to\ndrag it, but Seniyasingapuli, belonging to the right-hand faction, by\nmeans of magical powers, raised a thousand evil spirits against each\nwheel, and arrested its progress. A woman, named Mangammal, offered\nto sacrifice her son, and the artisans accordingly purchased the boy,\nsaying that they would give her a head equal to that of a new-born\nchild. Eventually, Mangammal herself laid down before the car. Her\nhead was cut off, and hung at the top of the car. Her abdomen was\ntorn open, and the foetus removed therefrom, and dedicated to the\nevil spirit. The headless trunk was buried in the path of the wheels.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\nMAGIC AND HUMAN LIFE\n\n\nSome of the cases here brought together serve as an illustration of\nthe difficulty which frequently arises in arriving at a decision as\nto how far the taking of human life is justified as being carried\nout in accordance with a genuine superstitious belief, and when the\nact renders the perpetrator thereof liable to punishment under the\nIndian Penal Code.\n\nFive persons were charged a few years ago at the Coimbatore sessions\nwith the murder of a young woman. The theory put forward by the\nprosecution was that two of the accused practised sorcery, and were\nunder the delusion that, if they could obtain the foetus from the\nuterus of a woman who was carrying her first child, they would be\nable to work some wonderful spells with it. With this object, they\nentered into a conspiracy with the three other accused to murder\na young married woman, aged about seventeen, who was seven months\nadvanced in pregnancy, and brutally murdered her, cutting open\nthe uterus, removing the foetus contained therein, and stealing her\njewels. The five accused persons (three men and two women) were all of\ndifferent castes. Two of the men had been jointly practising sorcery\nfor some years. It was proved that, about two years before, they had\nperformed an incantation near a river with some raw beef, doing puja\n(worship) near the water's edge in a state of nature. Evidence was\nproduced to prove that two of the accused decamped after the murder\nwith a suspicious bundle, a few days before an eclipse of the moon,\nto Tiruchengodu where there is a celebrated temple. It was suggested\nthat the bundle contained the uterus, and was taken to Tiruchengodu\nfor the purpose of performing magical rites. When the quarters in\nwhich two of the accused lived were searched, three palm-leaf books\nwere found containing mantrams regarding the pilli suniyam, a process\nof incantation by means of which sorcerers are supposed to be able to\nkill people. The record of the case states that \"there can be little\ndoubt that the first and fourth accused were taken into the conspiracy\nin order to decoy the deceased. The inducement offered to them was\nmost probably immense wealth by the working of charms by the second\nand third accused with the aid of the foetus. The medical evidence\nshowed that the dead woman was pregnant, and that, after her throat\nhad been cut, the uterus was taken out.\"\n\nIn 1829, several Natives of Malabar were charged with having proceeded,\nin company with a Paraiyan magician, to the house of a pregnant woman,\nwho was beaten and otherwise ill-treated, and with having taken the\nfoetus out of her uterus, and introduced in lieu thereof the skin of\na calf and an earthen pot. The prisoners confessed before the police,\nbut were acquitted mainly on the ground that the earthen pot was of a\nsize which rendered it impossible to credit its introduction during\nlife. The Paraiyas of Malabar and Cochin are celebrated for their\nmagical powers, and the practice of odi.\n\n\n    \"There are,\" Mr Govinda Nambiar writes, [281] \"certain specialists\n    among mantravadis (dealers in magical spells), who are known as\n    Odiyans. Conviction is deep-rooted that they have the power of\n    destroying whomever they please, and that, by means of a powerful\n    bewitching matter called pilla thilum (oil extracted from the\n    body of an infant), they are enabled to transform themselves into\n    any shape or form, or even to vanish into air, as their fancy may\n    suggest. When an Odiyan is hired to cause the death of a man, he\n    waits during the night at the gate of his intended victim's house,\n    usually in the form of a bullock. If, however, the person is inside\n    the house, the Odiyan assumes the shape of a cat, enters the house,\n    and induces him to come out. He is subsequently knocked down and\n    strangled. The Odiyan is also credited with the power, by means of\n    certain medicines, of inducing sleeping persons to open the doors,\n    and come out of their houses as somnambulists do. Pregnant women\n    are sometimes induced to come out of their houses in this way,\n    and they are murdered, and the foetus extracted from them. Murder\n    of both sexes by Odiyans was a crime of frequent occurrence before\n    the British occupation of the country.\"\n\n\nIn a case which was tried at the Malabar Sessions a few years\nago, several witnesses for the prosecution deposed that a certain\nindividual was killed by odi. One man gave the following account of\nthe process. Shoot the victim in the nape of the neck with a blunt\narrow, and bring him down. Proceed to beat him systematically all\nover the body with two sticks (resembling a policeman's truncheon,\nand called odivaddi), laying him on his back and applying the sticks\nto his chest, and up and down the sides, breaking all the ribs and\nother bones. Then raise the person, and kick his sides. After this,\nforce him to take an oath that he will never divulge the names of\nhis torturer. All the witnesses agreed about the blunt arrow, and\nsome bore testimony to the sticks.\n\nA detailed account of the odi cult, from which the following\ninformation was obtained, is given by Mr Anantha Krishna Iyer. [282]\nThe disciple is taught how to procure pilla thilum (foetus oil)\nfrom the six or seven months foetus of a young woman in her first\npregnancy. He (the Paraiyan magician) sets out at midnight from his hut\nto the house of the woman he has selected, round which he walks several\ntimes, shaking a cocoanut containing gurasi (a compound of water,\nlime, and turmeric), and muttering some mantrams to invoke the aid of\nhis deity. He also draws a yantram (cabalistic figure) on the earth,\ntaking special care to observe the omens as he starts. Should they be\nunfavourable, he puts it off for a more favourable opportunity. By\nthe potency of his cult, the woman is made to come out. Even if the\ndoor of the room in which she might sleep be under lock and key,\nshe would knock her head against it until she found her way out. She\nthus comes out, and yields herself to the influence of the magician,\nwho leads her to a retired spot either in the compound (grounds),\nor elsewhere in the neighbourhood, strips her naked, and tells her\nto lie flat. She does so, and a chora kindi (gourd, Lagenaria) is\nplaced close to the uterus. The foetus comes out in a moment. A few\nleaves of some plant are applied, and the uterus contracts. Sometimes\nthe womb is filled with rubbish, and the woman instantly dies. Care\nis taken that the foetus does not touch the ground, lest the purpose\nbe defeated, and the efficacy of the medicine completely lost. It is\ncut into pieces, dried, and afterwards exposed to the smoke above a\nfireplace. It is then placed in a vessel provided with a hole or two,\nbelow which there is another vessel. The two together are placed in a\nlarger vessel filled with water, and heated over a bright fire. The\nheat must be so intense as to affect the foetus, from which a kind\nof liquid drops, and collects in the second vessel in an hour and a\nhalf. The magician then takes a human skull, and reduces it to a fine\npowder. This is mixed with a portion of the liquid. A mark is made on\nthe forehead with this mixture, and the oil is rubbed on certain parts\nof the body, and he drinks some cow-dung water. He then thinks that he\ncan assume the figure of any animal he likes, and successfully achieves\nthe object in view, which is generally to murder or maim a person. A\nmagic oil, called angola thilum, is extracted from the angola tree\n(Alangium Lamarckii), which bears a very large number of fruits. One\nof these is believed to be capable of descending and returning to its\nposition on dark nights. Its possession can be secured by demons,\nor by an expert watching at the foot of the tree. When it has been\nsecured, the extraction of the oil involves the same operations as\nthose for extracting the pilla thilum, and they must be carried out\nwithin seven hours. The odi cult is said to have been practised by\nthe Paraiyas some twenty years ago to a very large extent in the\nrural parts of the northern division of the Cochin State, and in the\ntaluks of Palghat and Valuvanad, and even now it has not quite died\nout. Cases of extracting the foetus, and of putting persons to death\nby odi, are not now heard of owing to the fear of government officials,\nlandlords, and others.\n\nOf the odi cult as practised by the Panan magicians of the Cochin\nState, the following account is given by Mr Anantha Krishna Iyer. [283]\n\n\n    \"A Panan, who is an adept in the black art, dresses in an unwashed\n    cloth, and performs puja to his deity, after which he goes in\n    search of a kotuveli plant (Plumbago zeylanica). When he has found\n    it, he goes round it three times every day, and continues to do\n    so for ninety days, prostrating himself every day before it, and\n    on the last night, which must be a new moon night, at midnight,\n    he performs puja to the plant, burning camphor and frankincense,\n    and, after going round it three times, prostrates himself before\n    it. He then thrusts three small candles on it, and advances twenty\n    paces in front of it. With his mouth closed, he plucks the root,\n    and buries it in the ashes on the cremation ground, after which he\n    pours the water of seven green cocoanuts on it. He then goes round\n    it twenty-one times, uttering all the while certain mantrams. This\n    being over, he plunges himself in water, and stands erect until it\n    extends to his mouth. He takes a mouthful of water which he empties\n    on the spot, and takes the plant with the root which he believes to\n    possess peculiar virtues. When it is taken to the closed door of a\n    house, it has the power to entice a pregnant woman, and cause her\n    to come out, when the foetus is removed. It is all secretly done\n    at midnight. The head, hands, and legs are cut off, and the trunk\n    is taken to a dark-coloured rock, on which it is cut into nine\n    pieces, which are burned until they are blackened. At this stage\n    one piece boils, and it is placed in a new earthen pot, to which\n    is added the water of nine green cocoanuts. The pot is removed\n    to the burial ground, where the Panan performs a puja in honour\n    of his favourite deity. He fixes two poles deep in the earth,\n    at a distance of thirty feet from each other. The two poles are\n    connected by a strong wire, from which is suspended the pot to be\n    heated and boiled. Seven fireplaces are made beneath the wire, over\n    the middle of which is the pot. The branches of bamboo, katalati\n    (Achyranthes aspera), conga (Bauhinia variegata), cocoanut palm,\n    jack tree (Artocarpus integrifolia), and pavatta (Pavetta indica),\n    are used in forming a bright fire. The mixture in the pot soon\n    boils and becomes oily, at which stage it is passed through a\n    fine cloth. The oil is preserved, and a mark made with it on the\n    forehead enables the possessor to realise anything which is thought\n    of. The sorcerer must be in a state of vow for twenty-one days,\n    and live on a diet of chama kanji (gruel). The deity whose aid\n    is necessary is also propitiated by offerings.\"\n\n\nIn 1908, the following case, relating to the birth of a monster, was\ntried before the Sessions Judge of South Canara. A young Gauda girl\nbecame pregnant by her brother-in-law. After three days' labour, the\nchild was born. The accused, who was the mother of the girl, was the\nmidwife. Finding the delivery very difficult, she sent for a person to\ncome and help her. The child was, as they thought, still-born. On its\nhead was a red protuberance like a ball; round each of its forearms\nwere two or three red bands; the eyes and ears were fixed very high\nin the head; and the eyes, nose, and mouth were abnormally large. The\nmother was carried out of the outhouse, lest the devil child should\ndo her harm, or kill her. The accused summoned a Muhammadan, who was\nin the yard. He came in, and she showed him the child, and asked him\nto call the neighbours, to decide what to do. The child, she said,\nwas a devil child, and must be cut and killed, lest it should devour\nthe mother. While they were looking at the child, it began to move\nand roll its eyes about, and turn on the ground. It is a belief of\nthe villagers that such a devil child, when brought in contact with\nthe air, rapidly grows, and causes great trouble, usually killing\nthe mother, and sometimes killing all the inmates of the house. The\naccused told the Muhammadan to cover the child with a vessel, which\nhe did. Then there was a sound from inside the vessel, either of\nthe child moving, or making a sound with its mouth. The accused then\nput her hand under the vessel, dragged the child half-way out, and,\nwhile the Muhammadan pressed the edge of the vessel on the abdomen\nof the child, took a knife, and cut the body in half. When the body\nwas cut in two, there was no blood, but a mossy-green or black liquid\noozed out. The accused got two areca leaves, and put one piece of the\nchild on one, and one on the other, and told the Muhammadan to get a\nspade, and bury them. So they went to the jungle close to the house,\nand the Muhammadan dug two holes, one on one hillock, and one on\nanother. In these holes, the two pieces of the child were buried. The\nobject of this was to prevent the two pieces joining together again,\nin which case the united devil child would have come out of the grave,\nand gone to kill the mother.\n\nYears ago, it was not unusual for people to come long distances\nfor the purpose of engaging Paniyans of the Wynad (in Malabar) to\nhelp them in carrying out some more than usually desperate robbery\nor murder. Their mode of procedure, when engaged in an enterprise\nof this sort, is evidenced by two cases, which had in them a strong\nelement of savagery. On both these occasions, the thatched homesteads\nwere surrounded at dead of night by gangs of Paniyans carrying large\nbundles of rice straw. After carefully piling up the straw on all sides\nof the building marked for destruction, torches were at a given signal\napplied, and those of the inmates who attempted to escape were knocked\non the head with clubs, and thrust into the fiery furnace. In 1904,\nsome Paniyans were employed by a Mappilla (Muhammadan) to murder his\nmistress, who was pregnant, and threatened that she would noise abroad\nhis responsibility for her condition. He brooded over the matter,\nand one day, meeting a Paniyan, promised him ten rupees if he would\nkill the woman. The Paniyan agreed to commit the crime, and went\nwith his brothers to a place on a hill, where the Mappilla and the\nwoman were in the habit of gratifying their passions. Thither the man\nand woman followed the Paniyans, of whom one ran out, and struck the\nvictim on the head with a chopper. She was then gagged with a cloth,\ncarried some distance, and killed.\n\nIn 1834, the inhabitants of several villages in Malabar attacked a\nvillage of Paraiyans on the alleged ground that deaths of people and\ncattle, and the protracted labour of a woman in childbed, had been\ncaused by the practice of sorcery by the Paraiyans. They were beaten\ninhumanely with their hands tied behind their backs, so that several\ndied. The villagers were driven, bound, into a river, immersed under\nwater so as nearly to produce suffocation, and their own children\nwere forced to rub sand into their wounds. Their settlement was then\nrazed to the ground, and they were driven into banishment.\n\nThe Kadirs of the Anaimalais are believers in witchcraft, and attribute\ndiseases to the working thereof. They are expert exorcists, and\ntrade in mantravadam or magic. It is recorded by Mr Logan [284] that\n\"the family of famous trackers, whose services in the jungles were\nretained for H.R.H. the Prince of Wales's (afterwards King Edward\nVII.) projected sporting tour in the Anamalai mountains, dropped\noff most mysteriously one by one, stricken down by an unseen hand,\nand all of them expressing beforehand their conviction that they were\nunder a certain individual's spell, and were doomed to certain death\nat an early date. They were probably poisoned, but how it was managed\nremains a mystery, although the family was under the protection of\na European gentleman, who would at once have brought to light any\nostensible foul play.\"\n\nThe Badagas of the Nilgiris live in dread of the jungle Kurumbas, who\nconstantly come under reference in their folk-stories. The Kurumba is\nthe necromancer of the hills, and believed to be possessed of the power\nof outraging women, removing their livers, and so causing their death,\nwhile the wound heals by magic, so that no trace of the operation\nis left. The Badaga's dread of the Kurumba is said to be so great,\nthat a simple threat of vengeance has proved fatal. The Badaga or\nToda requires the services of the Kurumba, when he fancies that any\nmember of his family is possessed by a devil. The Kurumba does his\nbest to remove the malady by means of mantrams (magical formulae). If\nhe fails, and if any suspicion is aroused in the mind of the Badaga\nor Toda that he is allowing the devil to play his pranks instead of\nloosing his hold on the supposed victim, woe betide him. Writing in\n1832, Harkness states [285] that \"a very few years before, a Burgher\n(Badaga) had been hanged by the sentence of the provincial court for\nthe murder of a Kurumba. The act of the former was not without what\nwas considered great provocation. Disease had attacked the inhabitants\nof the hamlet, a murrain their cattle. The former had carried off\na great part of the family of the murderer, and he himself had but\nnarrowly escaped its effects. No one in the neighbourhood doubted\nthat the Kurumba in question had, by his necromancy, caused all this\nmisfortune, and, after several fruitless attempts, a party of them\nsucceeded in surrounding him in open day, and effecting their purpose.\"\n\nIn 1835, no less than fifty-eight Kurumbas were murdered, and a smaller\nnumber in 1875 and 1882. In 1891, the inmates of a single Kurumba\nhut were said to have been murdered, and the hut burnt to ashes,\nbecause one of the family had been treating a sick Badaga child,\nand failed to cure it. The district judge, however, disbelieved\nthe evidence, and all who were charged were acquitted. Again, in\n1900, a whole family of Kurumbas was murdered, of which the head,\nwho had a reputation as a medicine man, was believed to have brought\ndisease and death into a Badaga village. The sympathies of the whole\ncountryside were so strongly with the murderers that detection was\nmade very difficult, and the persons charged were acquitted. [286]\n\n\n    \"It is,\" Mr Grigg writes, [287] \"a curious fact that neither Kota,\n    Irula, or Badaga, will slay a Kurumba, until a Toda has struck\n    the first blow, but, as soon as his sanctity has been violated\n    by a blow, they hasten to complete the murderous work, which the\n    sacred hand of the Toda has begun.\"\n\n\nSome years ago, a Toda was found dead in a sitting posture on the\ntop of a hill near a Badaga village, in which a party of Todas had\ngone to collect the tribute due to them. The body was cremated, and a\nreport made to the police that the man had been murdered. On enquiry,\nit was ascertained that the dead man was supposed to have bewitched\na little Badaga girl, who died in consequence, and the presumption\nwas that he had been murdered by the Badagas out of spite.\n\nIn 1906, two men were found guilty of killing a man by shooting him\nwith a gun in South Canara. It is recorded in the judgment that \"the\naccused have a brother, who has been ill for a long time. They thought\ndeceased, who was an astrologer and mantravadi, had bewitched him. They\nhad spent fifty or sixty rupees on deceased for his treatment,\nbut it did no good, and accused came to believe that deceased not\nonly would not cure their brother himself, but would not allow other\ndoctors to do so. Also, a certain theft having occurred some months\nago, deceased professed by his magic arts to have discovered that\naccused and others were the thieves. In consequence of these things,\naccused had expressed various threats against deceased. One witness,\nwho is a mantravadi in a small way, was consulted by one of the accused\nto find some counter-treatment for deceased's bewitchment. Accused\nsaid that deceased refused to cure their brother, and would not let\nothers do so, unless they gave him certain gold coins called Rama\nTanka, said to be in their possession. They desired this possession,\nso would not satisfy deceased. So their brother was dying by inches\nunder deceased's malign influence. This witness professed to have\ndiscovered that accused's brother was being worried by one black\ndevil and two malignant spirits of the dead. It is clear from the\nevidence that accused, who are ignorant men of a low type, really\nbelieved that deceased was by his magic wilfully and slowly killing\ntheir brother. They believed that the only way to save their brother's\nlife was to kill the magician.\"\n\nDuring an epidemic of smallpox in the Jeypore hill tracts, a man\nlost his wife and child. A local subscription had been organised for\na sorcerer, on the understanding that he was to stay the course of\nthe epidemic. The bereaved man charged him with being a fraud, and,\nin the course of a quarrel, split his skull open with a tangi (axe).\n\nIn 1906, a Komati woman died of cholera in a village in Ganjam. Her\nson sought the assistance of certain men of the \"Reddika\" caste in\nobtaining wood for the pyre, carrying the corpse to the burning-ground,\nand cremating it. The son set fire to the pyre, and withdrew, leaving\nthe Reddikas on the spot. Among them was one, who is said to have\nlearnt sorcery from a Bairagi (religious mendicant), and to have\nbeen generally feared and hated in the village. To him the spread\nof cholera by letting loose the goddess of the cremation-ground,\ncalled Mashani Chendi, was attributed. Arrack (liquor) was passed\nround among those who were attending to the burning corpse, and they\ngot more or less drunk. Two of them killed the sorcerer by severe\nblows on the neck with wood-choppers. His corpse was then placed\non the burning pyre of the Komati woman, and cremated. The men who\ndelivered the death blows were sentenced to transportation for life,\nas their intoxicated state and superstitious feeling were held to\nplead in mitigation of the punishment.\n\nIn 1904 a case illustrating the prevailing belief in witchcraft\noccurred in the Vizagapatam hill tracts. The youngest of three brothers\ndied of fever, and, when the body was cremated, the fire failed to\nconsume the upper portion. The brothers concluded that death must have\nbeen caused by the witchcraft of a certain Kondh. They accordingly\nattacked him, and killed him. After death, the brothers cut the\nbody in half and dragged the upper half of it to their own village,\nwhere they attempted to nail it up on the spot where their deceased\nbrother's body failed to burn. They were arrested on the spot, with\nthe fragment of the Kondh's corpse. They were sentenced to death. [288]\n\nIn the North Arcot district, a few years ago, a reputed magician,\nwhile collecting the pieces of a burning corpse, to be used for the\npurposes of sorcery, was seized and murdered, and his body cast on\nthe burning pyre. From the recovery of duplicate bones, it was proved\nthat two bodies were burnt, and the murder was detected. Two persons\nwere sentenced to transportation for life. [289]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\nMAGIC AND MAGICIANS\n\n\nIt has been stated [290] that sorcerers usually unite together to form\na society, which may attain great influence among backward races. In\nSouthern India there are certain castes which are summed up in the\n\"Madras Census Report,\" 1901, as \"exorcists and devil-dancers,\" whose\nmost important avocation is the practice of magic. Such, for example,\nare the Nalkes, Paravas, and Pompadas of South Canara, who are called\nin whenever a bhutha (demon) is to be propitiated, and the Panans\nand Malayans of Malabar, whose magical rites are described by me in\ndetail elsewhere. [291]\n\nConcerning sorcery on the west coast, the Travancore Census\nCommissioner, 1901, writes as follows:--\n\n\n    \"The forms of sorcery familiar to the people of Malabar are of\n    three kinds:--(1) kaivisham, or poisoning food by incantations; (2)\n    the employment of Kuttichattan, a mysteriously-working mischievous\n    imp; (3) setting up spirits to haunt men and their houses, and\n    cause illness of all kinds. The most mischievous imp in Malabar\n    demonology is an annoying quip-loving little spirit, as black as\n    night, and about the size of a well-nourished twelve-year-old\n    boy. Some people say that they have seen him vis-a-vis, having\n    a forelock. There are Nambutiris (Brahmans) in Malabar to whom\n    these are so many missiles, which they may throw at anybody they\n    choose. They are, like Shakespeare's Ariel, little active bodies,\n    and most willing slaves of the master under whom they happen\n    to be placed. Their victims suffer from unbearable agony. Their\n    clothes take fire; their food turns to ordure; their beverages\n    become urine; stones fall in showers on all sides of them, but\n    curiously not on them; and their bed becomes a bed of thorns. With\n    all this annoying mischief, Kuttichattan or Boy Satan does no\n    serious harm. He oppresses and harasses, but never injures. A\n    celebrated Brahman of Changanacheri is said to own more than\n    a hundred of these Chattans. Household articles and jewelry of\n    value may be left in the premises of homes guarded by Chattan,\n    and no thief dares to lay his hand on them. The invisible sentry\n    keeps diligent watch over his master's property, and has unchecked\n    powers of movement in any medium. As remuneration for all these\n    services, the Chattan demands nothing but food, but that in a\n    large measure. If starved, the Chattans would not hesitate to\n    remind the master of their power, but, if ordinarily cared for,\n    they would be his most willing drudges. As a safeguard against the\n    infinite power secured for the master by Kuttichattan, it is laid\n    down that malign acts committed through his instrumentality recoil\n    on the prompter, who dies either childless or after frightful\n    physical and mental agony. Another method of oppressing humanity,\n    believed to be in the power of sorcerers, is to make men and women\n    possessed with spirits. Here, too, women are more subject to their\n    evil influence than men. Delayed puberty, permanent sterility,\n    and still-births, are not uncommon ills of a devil-possessed\n    woman. Sometimes the spirits sought to be exorcised refuse to leave\n    the victim, unless the sorcerer promises them a habitation in his\n    own compound (grounds), and arranges for daily offerings being\n    given. This is agreed to as a matter of unavoidable necessity,\n    and money and lands are conferred upon the mantravadi Nambutiri\n    to enable him to fulfil his promise.\"\n\n\nReference has been made (p. 238) to the falling of stones round those\nattacked by Chattans. Hysteria, epilepsy, and other disorders, are,\nin Malabar, ascribed to possession by devils, who can also cause\ncattle disease, accidents, and misfortunes of any kind. Throwing\nstones on houses, and setting fire to the thatch, are supposed to be\ntheir ordinary recreations. The mere mention of the name of a certain\nNambutiri family is said to be enough to drive them away. [292] A few\nyears ago, an old Brahman woman, in the Bellary district, complained to\nthe police that a Sudra woman living in her neighbourhood, and formerly\nemployed by her as sweeper, had been throwing stones into her house for\nsome nights. The woman admitted that she had done so, because she was\nadvised by a Lingayat priest that the remedy for intermittent fever,\nfrom which she was suffering, was to throw stones at an old woman,\nand extract some blood from her body on a new or full-moon day.\n\nSome demons are believed to have human mistresses and concubines, and\nit is narrated [293] that a Chetti (merchant) in the Tamil country\npurchased a Malabar demon from a magician for ninety rupees. But\nhardly a day had passed before the undutiful spirit fell in love with\nits new owner's wife, and succeeded in its nefarious purpose.\n\nQuite recently a woman, in order to win the affection of her husband,\ngave him a love-charm composed of datura in chutney. The dose proved\nfatal, and she was sentenced to two years' rigorous imprisonment. [294]\nA love-philtre, said to be composed of the charred remains of a mouse\nand spider, was once sent to the chemical examiner to Government\nfor analysis in a suspected case of poisoning. In connection with\nthe dugong (Halicore dugong), which is caught in the Gulf of Manaar,\nDr Annandale writes as follows [295]:--\n\n\n    \"The presence of large glands in connection with the eye afford\n    some justification for the Malay's belief that the dugong weeps\n    when captured. They regard the tears of the ikan dugong (dugong\n    fish) as a powerful love-charm. Muhammadan fishermen of the Gulf\n    of Manaar appeared to be ignorant of this usage, but told me that a\n    'doctor' once went out with them to collect the tears of a dugong,\n    should they capture one.\"\n\n\nNative physicians in the Tamil country are said to prepare an\nunguent, into the composition of which the eye of the slender Loris\n(Loris gracilis), the brain of the dead offspring of a primipara,\nand the catamenial blood of a young virgin, enter, as an effective\npreparation in necromancy. The eye of the Loris is also used for\nmaking a preparation, which is believed to enable the possessor to\nkidnap and seduce women. The tail of a chamaeleon, secured on a Sunday,\nis also believed to be an excellent love-charm.\n\nA young married student at a college in Madras attributed his illness\nto the administration by his wife of a love-philtre containing the\nbrains of a baby which had been exhumed after burial. Among the Tamil\nParaiyans and some other classes, a first-born child, if it is a male,\nis buried near or even within the house, so that its corpse may not\nbe carried away by a sorcerer, to be used in magical rites. [296]\nIf a first-born child dies, a finger is sometimes cut off, lest a\nsorcerer should dig up the body, and extract an essence (karuvu) from\nthe brain, wherewith to harm his enemies. [297] The Rev. J. Castets\ninforms me that he once saw a man being initiated into the mysteries\nof the magician's art. The apparatus included the top of the skull\nof a first-born male child inscribed with Tamil characters.\n\nA station-house police officer informed Mr S. G. Roberts that\nfirst-born children, dying in infancy, are buried near the house,\nlest their heads should be used in sorcery, a sort of ink or decoction\n(mai) being distilled from them. This ink is used for killing people at\na distance, or for winning a woman's love, or the confidence of those\nfrom whom some favour is required. In the last two cases, the ink is\nsmeared over the eyebrows. It is believed that, if an infant's head is\nused for this purpose, the mother will never have a living child. When\nMr Roberts was at Salem, he had to try a case of this practice, and\nthe Public Prosecutor informed him that it is believed that, if a hole\nis made in the top of the head of the infant when it is buried, it\ncannot be effectively used in sorcery. In the Trichinopoly district,\nthe police brought to Mr Roberts' notice a sorcerer's outfit, which\nhad been seized. There were the most frightful Tamil curses invoking\ndevils, written backwards in \"looking-glass characters\" on an olai\n(strip of palm leaf), and a looking-glass to read them by. Spells\nwritten backwards are said to be very potent. There was also a small\nround tin, containing a black treacly paste with a sort of shine\non it, which was said to have been obtained from the head of a dead\nchild. There is a Tamil proverb \"Kuzhi pillai, madi pillai,\" meaning\ngrave child, lap child, in reference to a belief that, the quicker\na first-born child is buried, the quicker is the next child conceived.\n\nThe following form of sorcery in Malabar is described by Mr\nWalhouse. [298]\n\n\n    \"Let a sorcerer obtain the corpse of a maiden, and on a Saturday\n    night place it at the foot of a bhuta-haunted tree on an altar,\n    and repeat a hundred times: Om! Hrim! Hrom! O goddess of Malayala\n    who possessest us in a moment! Come! Come! The corpse will then be\n    inspired by a demon, and rise up; and, if the demon be appeased\n    with flesh and arrack (liquor), it will answer all questions put\n    to it.\"\n\n\nA human bone from a burial-ground, over which powerful mantrams\nhave been recited, if thrown into an enemy's house, will cause his\nruin. Ashes from the burial-ground on which an ass has been rolling\non a Saturday or Sunday, if thrown into the house of an enemy, are\nsaid to produce severe illness, if the house is not vacated.\n\nFrom Malabar, a correspondent writes as follows:--\n\n\n    \"I came across a funny thing in an embankment in a rice-field. The\n    tender part of a young cocoanut branch had been cut into three\n    strips, and the strips fastened one into the other in the form\n    of a triangle. At the apex a reed was stuck, and along the\n    base and sides small flowers, so that the thing looked like a\n    ship in full sail. My inspector informed me, with many blushes,\n    that it contained a devil, which the sorcerer of a neighbouring\n    village had cut out of a young girl. Mrs Bishop, in her book\n    on Korea, mentions that the Koreans do exactly the same thing,\n    but, in Korea, the devil's prison is laid by the wayside, and is\n    carefully stepped over by every passer-by, whereas the one I saw\n    was carefully avoided by my peons (orderlies) and others.\"\n\n\nIn the Godavari district, Mr H. Tyler came across the burning funeral\npyre of a Koyi girl, who had died of syphilis. Across a neighbouring\npath leading to the Koyi village was a basket fish-trap containing\ngrass, and on each side thorny twigs, which were intended to catch\nthe malign spirit of the dead girl, and prevent it from entering the\nvillage. The twigs and trap containing the spirit were to be burnt\non the following day. By the Dombs of Vizagapatam, the souls of the\ndead are believed to roam about, so as to cause all possible harm to\nmankind, and also to protect them against the attacks of witches. A\nplace is prepared for the Duma in the door-hinge, or a fishing-net,\nwherein he lives, is placed over the door. The witches must count\nall the knots of the net, before they can enter the house. [299]\n\nAt cross-roads in the Bellary district, geometric patterns are\nsometimes made at night by people suffering from disease, in the\nbelief that the affliction will pass to the person who first treads\non the charm. [300]\n\n\n    \"At cross-roads in the South Arcot district may be sometimes seen\n    pieces of broken pot, saffron (turmeric), etc. These are traces\n    of the following method of getting rid of an obstinate disease. A\n    new pot is washed clean, and filled with a number of objects (the\n    prescription differs in different localities), such as turmeric,\n    coloured grains of rice, chillies, cotton-seed, and so forth,\n    and sometimes a light made of a few threads dipped in a little\n    dish of oil, and taken at dead of night to the cross-roads, and\n    broken there. The disease will then disappear. In some places\n    it is believed that it passes to the first person who sees the\n    debris of the ceremony the next morning, and the performer has\n    to be careful to carry it out unknown to his neighbours, or the\n    consequences are unpleasant for him.\" [301]\n\n\nSome Valaiyans, Paraiyans, and Kallans, on the occasion of a death\nin the family, place a pot filled with dung or water, a broomstick,\nand a firebrand, at some place where three roads meet, or in front of\nthe house, to prevent the ghost from returning. [302] When a Paraiyan\nman dies, camphor is burnt, not at the house, but at the junction of\nthree lanes.\n\nIn the Godavari district, a sorcerer known as the Ejjugadu (male\nphysician) is believed, out of spite or in return for payment,\nto kill another by invoking the gods. He goes to a green tree, and\nthere spreads muggu or chunam (lime) powder, and places an effigy of\nthe intended victim thereon. He also places a bow and arrow there,\nrecites certain spells, and calls on the gods. The victim is said\nto die in a couple of days. But, if he understands that the Ejjugadu\nhas thus invoked the gods, he may inform another Ejjugadu, who will\ncarry out similar operations under another tree. His bow and arrow\nwill go to those of the first Ejjugadu, and the two bows and arrows\nwill fight as long as the spell remains. The man will then be safe.\n\nWriting concerning the nomad Yerukalas, Mr F. Fawcett says [303] that\n\"the warlock takes the possessed one by night to the outskirts of the\nvillage, and makes a figure on the ground with powdered rice, powders\nof various colours, and powdered charcoal. Balls of the powders, half\ncocoanut shells, betel, four-anna pieces, and oil lamps, are placed on\nthe hands, legs, and abdomen. A little heap of boiled rice is placed\nnear the feet, and curds and vegetables are set on the top of it,\nwith limes placed here and there. The subject of the incantation\nsits near the head, while the magician mutters mantrams.  A he-goat\nis then sacrificed. Its head is placed near the foot of the figure,\nand benzoin and camphor are waved. A little grain is scattered about\nthe figure to appease the evil spirits. Some arrack is poured into a\ncup, which is placed on the body of the figure, and the bottle which\ncontained it is left on the head. The limes are cut in two, and two\ncocoanuts are broken. The patient then walks by the left side of the\nfigure to its legs, takes one step to the right towards the head,\nand one step to the left towards the feet, and walks straight home\nwithout looking back.\"\n\nIn Malabar, Mr Govinda Nambiar writes, [304] \"when a village doctor\nattending a sick person finds that the malady is unknown to him,\nor will not yield to his remedies, he calls in the astrologer, and\nsubsequently the exorcist, to expel the demon or demons which have\npossessed the sick man. If the devils will not yield to ordinary\nremedies administered by his disciples, the mantravadi himself comes,\nand a devil dance is appointed to be held on a certain day. Thereat\nvarious figures of mystic device are traced on the ground, and in their\nmidst a huge and frightful form representing the demon. Sometimes an\neffigy is constructed out of cooked and coloured rice. The patient\nis seated near the head of the figure, and opposite sits the magician\nadorned with bundles of sticks tied over the joints of his body, tails,\nand skins of animals, etc. Verses are chanted, and sometimes cocks are\nsacrificed, and the blood is sprinkled on the demon's effigy. Amidst\nthe beating of drums and blowing of pipes, the magician enters upon\nhis diabolical dance, and, in the midst of his paroxysm, may even\nbite live cocks, and suck with ferocity the hot blood.\"\n\nWhen a Malayan exorcist is engaged in propitiating a demon, a fowl is\nsometimes waved before him, and decapitated. He puts the neck in his\nmouth, and sucks the blood. By the Tiyans of Malabar a number of evil\nspirits are supposed to devote their attention to a pregnant woman,\nand to suck the blood of the child in utero, and of the mother. In the\nprocess of expelling them, the woman lies on the ground and kicks. A\ncock is thrust into her hand, and she bites it, and drinks its blood.\n\nIt is noted by Mr L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer that by the Thanda\nPulayans of the west coast \"a ceremony called urasikotukkuka is\nperformed with the object of getting rid of a devil, with which a\nperson is possessed. At a place far distant from the hut, a leaf,\non which the blood of a fowl has been made to fall, is spread on the\nground. On a smaller leaf, chunam and turmeric are placed. The person\nwho first sets eyes on these becomes possessed by the devil, and\nsets free the individual who was previously under its influence. The\nThanda Pulayans also practise maranakriyas, or sacrifices to demons,\nto bring about the death of an enemy. Sometimes affliction is supposed\nto be brought about by the enmity of those who have got incantations\nwritten on a palm leaf, and buried in the ground near a house by the\nside of a well. A sorcerer is called in to counteract the evil charm,\nwhich he digs up and destroys.\"\n\nIn a note on the Paraiyas of Travancore, [305] the Rev. S. Mateer\nwrites that Sudras and Shanars [306] frequently employ the Paraiya\ndevil-dancers and sorcerers to search for and dig out magical charms\nburied in the earth by enemies, and counteract their enchantments.\n\nA form of sorcery in Malabar called marana (destruction) is said by\nMr Fawcett [307] to be carried out in the following manner:--\n\n\n    \"A figure representing the enemy to be destroyed is drawn on a\n    small plate of metal (gold by preference), and to it some mystic\n    diagrams are added. It is then addressed with a statement that\n    bodily injury, or the death of the person, shall take place at a\n    certain time. This little sheet is wrapped up in another metal\n    sheet or leaf (of gold if possible), and buried in some place\n    which the person to be injured or destroyed is in the habit of\n    passing. Should he pass over the place, it is supposed that the\n    charm will take effect at the time named.\"\n\n\nOne favourite tantra of the South Indian sorcerer is said [308]\nto consist of \"what is popularly known in Tamil as pavai, that\nis to say, a doll made of some plastic substance, such as clay\nor wheat-flour. A crude representation of the intended victim is\nobtained by moulding a quantity of the material, and a nail or pin\nis driven into it at a spot corresponding to the limb or organ that\nis intended to be affected. [309] For instance, if there is to be\nparalysis of the right arm, the pin is stuck into the right arm\nof the image; if madness is to result, it is driven into the head,\nand so on, appropriate mantras being chanted over the image, which\nis buried at midnight in a neighbouring cremation ground. So long\nas the pavai is underground, the victim will grow from bad to worse,\nand may finally succumb, if steps are not taken in time. Sometimes,\ninstead of a doll being used, the corpse of a child recently buried\nis dug out of the ground, and re-interred after being similarly\ntreated. The only remedy consists in another sorcerer being called\nin for the purpose of digging out the pavai. Various are the methods\nhe adopts for discovering the place where the doll is buried, one of\nthem being very similar to what is known as crystal-gazing. A small\nquantity of a specially prepared thick black fluid is placed on the\npalm of a third person, and the magician professes to find out every\ncircumstance connected with the case of his client's mental or physical\ncondition by attentively looking at it. The place of the doll's burial\nis spotted with remarkable precision, the nail or pin extracted,\nand the patient is restored to his normal condition as by a miracle.\"\n\nThe following form of sorcery resorted to in Malabar in compassing\nthe discomfiture of an enemy is recorded by Mr Walhouse. [310]\n\n\n    \"Make an image of wax in the form of your enemy; take it in\n    your right hand at night, and hold your chain of beads in your\n    left hand. Then burn the image with due rites, and it shall\n    slay your enemy in a fortnight. Or a figure representing an\n    enemy, with his name and date of his birth inscribed on it, is\n    carved out of Strychnos Nux-vomica wood. A mantram is recited,\n    a fowl offered up, and the figure buried in glowing rice-husk\n    embers. Or, again, some earth from a spot where an enemy has\n    urinated, saliva expectorated by him, and a small tuft of hair,\n    are placed inside a tender cocoanut, and enclosed in a piece of\n    Strychnos Nux-vomica. The cocoanut is pierced with twenty-one\n    nails and buried, and a fowl sacrificed.\"\n\n\nA police inspector, when visiting a village a few years ago, was told\nby one of the villagers that a man was going to bury two wax dolls,\nin order to cause his death. The inspector accordingly went to the\nhouse of the suspected enemy, where he found the two dolls, and some\nbooks on witchcraft.\n\nThe Native servant of a friend in Madras found buried in a corner\nof his master's garden the image of a human figure, which had been\ndeposited there by an enemy who wished to injure him. The figure was\nmade of flour, mixed with \"walking foot earth,\" i.e., earth from the\nground, which the servant had walked over. Nails, fourteen in number,\nhad been driven into the head, neck, and each shoulder, elbow, wrist,\nhip, knee, and ankle. Buried with the figure were fourteen eggs,\nlimes, and balls of camphor, and a scrap of paper bearing the age\nof the servant, and the names of his father and mother. A Muhammadan\nfortune-teller advised the servant to burn the image, so at midnight\nhe made an offering of a sheep, camphor, betel nuts, and cocoanuts,\nand performed the cremation ceremony.\n\nIn 1903, a life-size nude female human figure with feet everted and\ndirected backwards, carved out of the soft wood of Alstonia scholaris,\nwas washed ashore at Calicut in Malabar. Long nails had been driven\nin all over the head, body, and limbs, and a large square hole cut\nout above the navel. Inscriptions in Arabic characters were scrawled\nover it. By a coincidence, the corpse of a man was washed ashore\nclose to the figure. Possibly it represented the figure of a woman\nwho was possessed by an evil spirit, which was attached to it by a\nnail between the legs before it was cast into the sea, and was made\non the Laccadive islands, [311] some of the residents on which are\nnotorious necromancers. It has been suggested [312] that the figure\nmay represent some notorious witch; that the nails were driven into\nit, and the mutilation made in order to injure her, and the spells\nadded to destroy her magical powers; finally, that the image was cast\ninto the sea as a means of getting rid of the sorceress. There is a\ntradition that the goddess Bhagavati, who is worshipped at Kodungallur\nin Malabar, was rescued by a fisherman when she was shut up in a jar,\nand thrown into the sea by a great magician. The Lingadars of the\nKistna district are said [313] to have made a specialty of bottling\nevil spirits, and casting the bottles away in some place where no\none is likely to come across them, and liberate them.\n\nA few years ago, another wooden representation of a human being was\nwashed ashore at Calicut. The figure is 11 inches in height. The arms\nare bent on the chest, and the palms of the hands are placed together\nas in the act of saluting. A square cavity, closed by a wooden lid,\nhas been cut out of the abdomen, and contains apparently tobacco,\nganja (Indian hemp), and hair. An iron bar has been driven from the\nback of the head through the body, and terminates in the abdominal\ncavity. A sharp cutting instrument has been driven into the chest\nand back in twelve places.\n\nA life-size female figure, rudely scratched on a plank of wood, with\nArabic inscriptions scrawled on it, and riddled with nails, was washed\nashore on the beach at Tellicherry in Malabar. In the same district,\na friend once picked up on the shore at Cannanore a wooden figure about\n6 inches high, riddled with nails. His wife's ayah implored him to get\nrid of it, as it would bring nothing but misfortune. He accordingly\nmade a present of it to a recently married friend, whose subsequent\ncareer was characterised by a long series of strokes of bad luck, which\nhis wife attributed entirely to the possession of the dreadful image.\n\nSometimes, in Malabar, \"a mantram is written on the stem of the kaitha\nplant, on which is also drawn a figure representing the person to\nbe injured. A hole is bored to represent the navel. The mantram\nis repeated, and at each repetition a certain thorn (karamullu)\nis stuck into the limbs of the figure. The name of the person,\nand of the star under which he was born, are written on a piece\nof cadjan, which is stuck into the navel. The thorns are removed,\nand replaced twenty-one times. Two magic circles are drawn below the\nnipples of the figure. The stem is then hung up in the smoke of the\nkitchen. A pot of toddy, and some other accessories, are procured,\nand with them the warlock performs certain rites. He then moves three\nsteps backwards, and shouts aloud thrice, fixing in the thorns again,\nand thinking all the while of the particular mischief with which he\nwill afflict the person to be injured. When all this has been done,\nthe person whose figure has been drawn on the stem, and pricked with\nthorns, feels pain.\" [314]\n\nThe following variant of the above rite has been described [315]:--\n\n\n    \"A block of lead is moulded into the effigy of a man about a span\n    in length. The stomach is opened, and the name and star of the\n    intended victim are inscribed along with a charm on a lead plate,\n    and placed therein. The effigy is laid recumbent on a plantain\n    leaf, on which a little water mixed with sandal has first been\n    sprinkled, and the smoke of an extinguished wick is passed thrice\n    over it. Then nine little square pieces of plantain leaf (or leaves\n    of Strychnos Nux-vomica) are placed round the effigy, and in each\n    square some rice-flour, and chouflower petals. Beside the effigy\n    are shells holding toddy and arrack (liquor), a burning lamp,\n    and several little wicks. One of the wicks is lighted, and the\n    flame passed thrice over the collection. Nine wicks are lighted,\n    and put on the nine squares. The charm inscribed on the lead plate\n    is at this stage repeated fervently in an undertone no less than\n    twenty-one times. This preamble, or one closely resembling it,\n    is generally the beginning of the mantravadi's programme. The rest\n    of it is guided by the special circumstances of each case. Let us\n    suppose that the wizard, having a victim in view, wishes the latter\n    to be afflicted with burning pains and insufferable heat all over\n    his body. The following is the ceremony he would perform. Thinking\n    of the victim, he drives a thorn of Canthium parviflorum into\n    the effigy, and then, folding up the collection detailed above\n    in the plantain leaf, he proceeds to a tank or pool, and immerses\n    himself up to the neck. He places the bundle on the surface of the\n    water--he tells you it will float despite the lead--and, calling\n    for a cock, cuts off its head, permitting the blood and the head\n    to fall on the bundle. He presses the bundle down into the water,\n    and submerges himself at the same time. Coming to the surface, he\n    goes ashore, whistling thrice, and being very careful not to look\n    behind him. Within twenty-one days, the charm will take effect. In\n    order to induce a boil or tumour to appear in a victim's foot,\n    the mantravadi inscribes a certain charm on a sheet of lead,\n    and stuffs the plate into a frog's mouth, repeats another charm,\n    and blows into the batrachian's mouth, which is then stitched\n    up, after which the creature is bound with twenty-one coils of\n    string. The frog is next set down on a plantain leaf, the ritual\n    already described with the squares, toddy, etc., is performed,\n    the frog is wrapped up together with the various substances in\n    the leaf, and buried at some spot where two or more roads meet,\n    and which the victim is likely to pass. Should he cross the\n    fateful spot, he will suddenly become conscious of a feeling in\n    his foot, as though a thorn had pricked him. From that moment\n    dates the beginning of a week of intense agony. His foot swells,\n    fever sets in, he has pains all over his body, and for seven days\n    existence is intolerable.  The cherukaladi is another form of\n    odi mantram, and the manner in which it is performed is extremely\n    interesting. The wizard takes three balls of rice, blackens one,\n    reddens another, and passes through the third a young yetah fish\n    (Bagarius yarrellii), after having put down its throat seven green\n    chillies, seven grains of raw rice, and as many of pepper. In the\n    carapace of a crab some toddy, and in the valve of a particular\n    kind of mussel, some arrack is placed. The sorcerer conveys\n    all these things to a hill built by termites (white-ants). The\n    crown of the hill is knocked off, and the substances are thrown\n    in. Walking round the mound thrice, the magician recites a charm,\n    and comes away without looking over his shoulder. [316] Within a\n    very short time, similar effects are produced as those resulting\n    from the previously described form of sorcery.\"\n\n\nA grandha (palm-leaf book), describing how an enemy may be struck down,\ngives the following details. The head of a fowl with dark-coloured\nflesh is cut off. The head is then split open, and a piece of cadjan\n(palm-leaf), on which are written the name of the person to be injured,\nand the name of the star under which he was born, is stuck in the\nsplit head, which is then sewn up and the tongue stitched to the\nbeak. The head is then inserted into a certain fruit, which is tied\nup with a withe of a creeper, and deposited under the enemy's gateway.\n\nIn Malabar, a wooden figure is sometimes made, and a tuft of a woman's\nhair tied on its head. It is fixed to a tree, and nails are driven\ninto the neck and breast, to inflict hurt on an enemy. Sometimes a\nlive frog or lizard is buried within a cocoanut shell, after nails have\nbeen stuck into its eyes and stomach. The deaths of the animal and the\nperson are supposed to take place simultaneously. [317] When a Tamil\nwoman of the Parivaram caste who commits adultery outside the caste is\npunished with excommunication, a mud image representing her is made,\ntwo thorns are poked into its eyes, and it is thrown away outside the\nvillage. [318] At Bangalore in the Mysore province, a monthly festival\nis held in honour of Gurumurthi Swami, at which women disturbed by the\nspirits of drowned persons become possessed. The sufferer is dragged\nby the hair of the head to a tree, to which a lock of the hair is\nnailed. She flings herself about in a frenzy, and throws herself on\nthe ground, leaving the lock of hair torn out by the roots fastened\nto the tree by the nail. Eventually the spirit goes up the tree,\nand the woman recovers. [319] In the Madura district, women possessed\nby devils may be seen at the great temple at Madura every Navaratri,\nwaiting for release.\n\n\n    \"There are many professional exorcists, who are often the pujaris\n    (priests) at the shrine of the local goddess. At dead of night\n    they question the evil spirit, and ask him who he is, why he\n    has come there, and what he wants to induce him to go away. He\n    answers through the mouth of the woman, who works herself up into\n    a frenzy, and throws herself about wildly. If he will not answer,\n    the woman is whipped with the rattan which the exorcist carries,\n    or with a bunch of margosa (Melia Azadirachta) twigs. When he\n    replies, his requests for offerings of certain kinds are complied\n    with. When he is satisfied, and agrees to leave, a stone is\n    placed on the woman's head, and she is let go, and dashes off\n    into darkness. The place at which the stone drops to the ground\n    is supposed to be the place where the evil spirit is content to\n    remain, and, to keep him there, a lock of the woman's hair is\n    nailed with an iron nail to the nearest tree.\" [320]\n\n\nSometimes a sorcerer makes an evil spirit take a vow that it will not\ntrouble any one in the future, and, in return, offers to it the blood\nof fowls, a goat, etc. He then orders the spirit to climb a tree,\nand drives three large iron nails into the trunk thereof. As iron is\ndisliked by evil spirits, the result is to confine the spirit in the\ntree, for it cannot descend beyond the nails. In the Telugu country,\nwhen a person is supposed to be possessed by a devil, it is often\nthe practice to take him to some special tree, which is believed\nto be a favourite residence of demons, and drive a nail into the\ntrunk. If the devil has any proper feeling, he thereupon leaves the\nman or woman, and takes up his abode in the tree. This ceremony is\nperformed with certain religious rites, and involves considerable\nexpenditure. Sometimes, devil drivers are called in, who \"seat the\nwoman in a fog of resin smoke, and work upon or beat her until she\ndeclares the supposed desires of the devil in the way of sacrifice;\nand, when these have been complied with, one of her hairs is put in\na bottle, formally shown to the village goddess, and buried in the\njungle, while iron nails are driven into the threshold of the woman's\nhouse to prevent the devil's return.\" [321]\n\nAt the first menstrual ceremonies of a Pulaya girl in the Cochin\nState, she stands on the morning of the seventh day before some\nParayas, who play on their flute and drum, to cast out the demons,\nif any, from her body. If she is possessed by them, she leaps with\nfrantic movements. In this case, the demon is transferred to a tree by\ndriving a nail into the trunk, after offerings have been made. [322]\nWhen an Odde (Telugu navvy) girl reaches puberty, she is confined in\na special hut, in which a piece of iron, and other things, are placed,\nto keep off evil spirits. In some castes, when a woman is in labour, an\niron sickle is kept on the cot for a similar purpose. After delivery,\nshe keeps iron in some form, e.g., a small crowbar, knife, or nails,\nin the room, and takes it about with her when she goes out. At a Nayar\nfuneral in Malabar, the chief mourner holds in his hand, or tucks into\nhis waist-cloth, a piece of iron, generally a long key. [323] At a\nmarriage among the Musu Kammas in the Telugu country, an iron ring is\ntied to the milk-post. For curing sprains, it is said to be a common\npractice to keep near the patient a sickle, an iron measure, or any\narticle of iron which is at hand. A ceremony, called Dwara Pratishta,\nis performed by Lingayats when the door-frame of a new house is set up,\nand an iron nail is driven into the frame, to prevent devils or evil\nspirits from entering the house. A former Raja of Vizianagram would\nnot allow the employment of iron in the construction of buildings in\nhis territory, because it would inevitably be followed by smallpox\nor other epidemic. [324]\n\nA few years ago, a Native servant was charged with beating with a cane\na woman who was suffering from malarial fever after her confinement,\nin order to drive out a devil, which was said to be the spirit of a\nwoman who was drowned some time previously. The woman died three days\nafter the beating, and various abrasions were found on the head and\nbody. The sub-magistrate held that the hurt was part of the ceremony,\nto which the husband and mother of the woman, and the woman herself,\ngave their consent. But, as the hurt was needlessly severe, the\nservant was fined twenty-five rupees, or in default five weeks'\nrigorous imprisonment.\n\nThe practice of extracting or knocking out some of the teeth of\na magician is widespread throughout Southern India. In connection\ntherewith Mr R. Morris writes to me as follows:--\n\n\n    \"A sorcerer's spells depend for their efficacy upon the\n    distinctness with which they are pronounced. The words uttered\n    by a man, some or all of whose front teeth are damaged, are\n    not so clear and distinct as those of a man whose teeth are\n    intact. Consequently, if a sorcerer's front teeth are smashed,\n    he is ruined as a sorcerer. And, if the front teeth of his corpse\n    are broken or extracted, his ghost is prevented from bewitching\n    people. It is necessary to mutilate a corpse, in order to prevent\n    the ghost doing what the live man unmutilated could have done. For\n    example, when a man is murdered, he is hamstrung, to prevent the\n    ghost from following in pursuit.\"\n\n\nIn connection with sorcery among the Oriyas, Mr S. P. Rice tells us\n[325] that a girl was suffering from mental disease, and believed\nto be possessed by a devil. She declared that she was bewitched by a\ncertain man, who had to be cured of his power over her. Accordingly,\nthe friends and relatives of the girl went to this man's house,\ndragged him out into the road, laid him on his back, and sat on his\nchest. They then proceeded to extract two of his front teeth with a\nhammer and pincers. Mr Rice adds that it does not appear how the cure\nwas to work--whether the operators thought that words of cursing or\nmagic, coming through the orifice of the teeth, would be mumbled, and\nthus lose some of their incisive force, and therefore of their power\nfor evil, or whether it was thought that the devil wanted room to fly\nout. Attacks upon supposed sorcerers are said to be not uncommon in the\nJeypore Agency. In one instance, a wizard's front teeth were pulled\nout by the local blacksmith, to render him unable to pronounce his\nspells with the distinctness requisite to real efficiency. [326] In the\nVizagapatam district, where a village was supposed to contain a witch,\na Dasari (religious mendicant) was called upon to examine his books,\nand name the person. He fixed on some wretched woman, whose front\nteeth were knocked out, and her mouth filled with filth. She was then\nbeaten with a switch made from the castor-oil plant. A few years ago,\na woman in the North Arcot district was suffering from severe pain\nin the abdomen, and she and her husband were made to believe that\nshe was possessed by a devil, which a Bairagi (religious mendicant)\noffered to expel. His treatment went on for some days, and the final\noperations were conducted by the side of a pond. The Bairagi repeated\nmantrams, while the woman was seated opposite him. Suddenly she grew\nviolently excited, and possessed by the deity Muniswara. She pulled the\nBairagi backwards by his hair, and cried out, \"Break his teeth.\" She\nthen opened his mouth by pulling up the upper lip, and her husband\ntook a small stone, and broke some of the incisor teeth. The woman\ncontinued to cry out, \"He is chanting mantrams; pour water into his\nmouth, and stop his breathing.\" A third party brought water, and the\nwoman's husband poured it into the Bairagi's mouth. A struggle ensued,\nand the woman called out, \"I am losing my life; he is chanting; the\nmantram is in his throat; he is binding me by his spell; put a stick\ninto his throat.\" The third party then brought the Bairagi's curved\nstick (yogathandam), which the husband thrust into the Bairagi's mouth,\nwith the result that he died. The woman was sent to a lunatic asylum,\nand her husband, as there was no previous intention to cause death,\nand he was evidently under the influence of blind superstition,\nreceived only four and a half months' imprisonment. In a further case\nwhich occurred in the North Arcot district, a man was believed to have\ngreat power over animals, of which he openly boasted, threatening to\ndestroy all the cattle of one of his neighbours. This man and his\nfriends believed that they could deprive the sorcerer of his power\nfor evil by drawing all his teeth, which they proceeded to do with\nfatal results. In the Kistna district, a Mala weaver was suspected\nof practising sorcery by destroying men with devils, and bringing\ncholera and other diseases. He was met by certain villagers, and asked\nfor tobacco. While he stopped to get the tobacco out, he was seized\nand thrown on the ground. His hands were tied behind his back, and\nhis legs bound fast with his waist-cloth. One man sat on his legs,\nanother on his waist, and a third held his head down by the kudumi\n(hair-knot). His mouth was forced open with a pair of large pincers,\nand a piece of stick was thrust between the teeth to prevent the\nmouth closing. One of the assistants got a stone as big as a man's\nfist, and with it struck the sorcerer's upper and lower teeth several\ntimes until they were loosened. Then nine teeth were pulled out with\nthe pincers. A quantity of milk-hedge (Euphorbia) juice was poured\non the bleeding gums, and the unfortunate man was left lying on his\nback, to free himself from his bonds as best he could. [327] In the\nTamil country, the Vekkil Tottiyans are supposed to be able to control\ncertain evil spirits, and cause them to possess a man. It is believed,\nhowever, that they are deprived of their power as soon as they lose\none of their teeth.\n\nThe Kondhs of Ganjam believe that they can transform themselves\ninto tigers or snakes, half the soul leaving the body and becoming\nchanged into one of these animals, either to kill an enemy, or to\nsatisfy hunger by having a good feed on cattle. During this period\nthey are said to feel dull and listless, and, if a tiger is killed\nin the forest, they will die at the same time. Mr Fawcett informs me\nthat the Kondhs believe that the soul wanders during sleep. On one\noccasion, a dispute arose owing to a man discovering that another\nKondh, whose spirit used to wander about in the guise of a tiger,\nate up his soul, and he fell ill. Like the Kondhs, some Paniyans of\nMalabar are believed to be gifted with the power of changing themselves\ninto animals. There is a belief that, if they wish to secure a woman\nwhom they lust after, one of the men gifted with the special power\ngoes to the house at night with a hollow bamboo, and goes round it\nthree times. The woman then comes out, and the man, changing himself\ninto a bull or dog, works his wicked will. The woman is said to die\nin the course of a few days. For assuming the disguise of an animal,\nthe following formulae are said [328] to be effective:--\n\n1. Take the head of a dog and burn it, and plant on it a vellakuthi\nplant. Burn camphor and frankincense, and adore it. Then pluck the\nroot, mix it with the milk of a dog, and the bones of a cat. A mark\nmade with the mixture on the forehead will enable a person to assume\nthe form of any animal he thinks of.\n\n2. Worship with a lighted wick and incense before a stick of the\nmalankara plant. Then chant the Sakti mantram one hundred and one\ntimes. Watch carefully which way the stick inclines. Proceed to the\nsouth of the stick, and pluck the whiskers of a live tiger. Make with\nthem a ball of the veerali silk, string it with silk, and enclose it\nwithin the ear. Stand on the palms of the hand to attain the disguise\nof a tiger, and, with the stick in hand, think of a cat, white bull, or\nany other animal. Then you will appear as such in the eyes of others.\n\nThe name Chedipe (prostitute) is applied to sorceresses in the Godavari\ndistrict. The Chedipe is believed to ride on a tiger at night over\nthe boundaries of seven villages, and return home at early morn. When\nshe does not like a man, she goes to him bare-bodied at dead of night,\nthe closed doors of the house in which he is sleeping opening before\nher. She sucks his blood by putting his toe in her mouth. He will\nthen lie like a corpse. Next morning he feels uneasy and intoxicated,\nas if he had taken ganja, and remains in this condition all day. If\nhe does not take medicine from some one skilled in the treatment of\nsuch cases, it is said that he will die. If he is properly treated,\nhe will recover in about ten days. If he makes no effort to get cured,\nthe Chedipe will molest him again, and, becoming gradually emaciated,\nhe will die. When a Chedipe enters a house, all those who are awake\nwill become insensible, those who are seated falling down as if they\nhad taken a soporific drug. Sometimes she drags out the tongue of the\nintended victim, who will die at once. At other times, slight abrasions\nwill be found on the skin of the victim, and, when the Chedipe puts\npieces of stick thereon, they burn as if burnt by fire. Sometimes\nshe will find him behind a bush, and, undressing there, will fall\non any passer-by in the jungle, assuming the form of a tiger with\none of the legs in human form. When thus disguised, she is called\nMarulupuli (enchanting tiger). If the man is a brave fellow, and\ntries to kill the Chedipe with any instrument he may have with him,\nshe will run away; and, if any man belonging to her village detects\nher mischief, she will assume her real form, and say blandly that\nshe is only digging roots. The above story was obtained by a Native\nofficial when he visited a Koyi village, where he was told that a\nman had been sentenced to several years' imprisonment for being one\nof a gang who had murdered a Chedipe for being a sorceress.\n\nIn the Vizagapatam district, the people believe that a witch, when she\nwishes to revenge herself on any man, climbs at night to the top of his\nhouse, and, making a hole through the roof, drops a thread down till\nthe end of it touches the body of the sleeping man. Then she sucks at\nthe other end, and draws up all the blood out of his body. Witches\nare said to be able to remove all the bones out of a man's body,\nor to deposit a fish, ball of hair, or rags in his stomach. The town\nof Jeypore was once said to be haunted by a ghost. It was described\nas a woman, who paraded the town at midnight in a state of nudity,\nand from her mouth proceeded flames of fire. She sucked the blood\nof any loose cattle she found about, and, in the same way, revenged\nherself on any man who had insulted her. [329]\n\nI am informed by Mr G. F. Paddison that, in cases of sickness among\nthe Savaras of Vizagapatam, a buffalo is tied up near the door of the\nhouse. Herbs and rice in small platters, and a little brass vessel\ncontaining toddy, balls of rice, flowers, and medicine, are brought\nwith a bow and arrow. The arrow is thicker at the basal end than\ntowards the tip. The narrow part goes, when shot, through a hole in\nfront of the bow, which is too small to allow of the passage of the\nrest of the arrow. A Beju (wise woman) pours some toddy over the\nherbs and rice, and daubs the patient over the forehead, breasts,\nstomach, and back. She croons out a long incantation to the goddess,\nstopping at intervals to call out \"Daru,\" to attract the attention\nof the goddess. She then takes the bow and arrow, and shoots twice\ninto the air, and, standing behind the kneeling patient, shoots balls\nof medicine stuck on the tip of the arrow at her. The construction\nof the arrow is such that the balls are dislodged from its tip. The\npatient is thus shot at all over the body, which is bruised by the\nimpact of the medicine balls. Afterwards the Beju shoots one or two\nballs at the buffalo, which is taken to a path forming the village\nboundary, and killed with a tangi (axe). The patient is then daubed\nwith the blood of the buffalo, rice, and toddy, and a feast concludes\nthe ceremonial. Mr Paddison once gave some medicine to the Porojas of\nVizagapatam during an epidemic of cholera in a village. They took it\neagerly, but, as he was going away, asked whether it would not be a\nquicker cure to put the witch in the next village, who had brought on\nthe cholera, into jail. In the Koraput taluk of Vizagapatam, a wizard\nonce had a reputation for possessing the power of transplanting trees,\nand it was believed that, if a man displeased him, his trees were\nmoved in the night, and planted in some one else's grounds.\n\nIt is recorded [330] by the Rev. J. Cain that the Koyis of the\nGodavari district \"assert that the death of every one is caused by\nthe machinations of a sorcerer, instigated thereto by an enemy of\nthe deceased, or of the deceased's friends. So, in former years,\ninquiry was always made as to the person likely to have been at\nsuch enmity with the deceased as to wish for his death; and, having\nsettled upon a suspicious individual, the friends of the deceased\nused to carry the corpse to the accused, and call upon him to clear\nhimself by undergoing the ordeal of dipping his hands in boiling oil\nor water. [331] Within the last two years, I have known of people\nrunning away from their village because of their having been accused\nof having procured by means of a wizard the death of some one with\nwhom they were at enmity about a plot of land.\"\n\nAccording to another account, [332] \"some male member of the family\nof the deceased throws coloured rice over the corpse as it lies on the\nbed, pronouncing as he does so the names of all the known sorcerers who\nlive in the neighbourhood. It is even now solemnly asserted that, when\nthe name of the wizard responsible for the death is pronounced, the\nbed gets up, and moves towards the house or village where he resides.\"\n\nThe Rev. J. Cain [333] once saw a magician at work in the Godavari\ndistrict, \"discovering the cause of the sickness which had laid\nprostrate a strong Koyi man. He had in his hand a leaf from an old\npalmyra leaf book, and, as he walked round and round the patient,\nhe pretended to be reading. Then he took up a small stick, and drew\na number of lines on the ground, after which he danced and sang\nround and round the sick man, who sat looking at him, evidently much\nimpressed with his performance. Suddenly he made a dart at the man,\nand, stooping down, bit him severely in two or three places in the\nback. Then, rushing to the front, he produced a few grains, which\nhe said he had found in the man's back, and which were evidently the\ncause of the sickness.\"\n\nIn another case, a young Koyi was employed to teach a few children in\nhis village, but ere long he was attacked by a strange disease, which\nno medicine could cure. As a last resource, a magician was called in,\nwho declared the illness to have been brought on by a demoness at\nthe instigation of some enemy, who was envious of the money which the\nlad had received for teaching. The magician produced a little silver,\nwhich he declared to be a sure sign that the sickness was connected\nwith the silver money he was receiving for teaching.\n\nA riot took place, in 1900, at the village of Korravanivasala in the\nVizagapatam district, under the following strange circumstances. A\nKonda Dora (hill cultivator caste) named Korra Mallayya pretended that\nhe was inspired, and gradually gathered round him a camp of four or\nfive thousand people from various places. At first his proceedings were\nharmless enough, but at last he gave out that he was a reincarnation\nof one of the five Pandava brothers, the heroes of the Mahabharata,\nwho are worshipped by the Konda Doras. [334] He further announced\nthat his infant son was the god Krishna; that he would drive out the\nEnglish, and rule the country himself; and that, to effect this,\nhe would arm his followers with bamboos, which would be turned by\nmagic into guns, and would change the weapons of the authorities\ninto water. Bamboos were cut, and rudely fashioned to resemble guns,\nand, armed with these, the camp was drilled by the Swami (god),\nas Mallayya had come to be called. The assembly next sent word that\nthey were going to loot Pachipenta, and, when two constables came to\nsee how matters stood, the fanatics fell upon them, and beat them to\ndeath. The local police endeavoured to recover the bodies, but, owing\nto the threatening attitude of the Swami's followers, had to abandon\nthe attempt. The district magistrate then went to the place in person,\ncollected reserve police from various places, and rushed the camp to\narrest the Swami and the other leaders of the movement. The police\nwere resisted by the mob, and obliged to fire. Eleven of the rioters\nwere killed, others wounded or arrested, and the rest dispersed. Sixty\nof them were tried for rioting, and three, including the Swami, for\nmurdering the constables. Of the latter, the Swami died in jail,\nand the other two were hanged. The Swami's son, the god Krishna,\nalso died, and all trouble ended.\n\nA Kapu (Telugu cultivator) in the Cuddapah district once pretended\nto have received certain maxims direct from the Supreme Being, and\nforewarned his neighbours that he would fall into a trance, which\nactually occurred, and lasted for three days. On his recovery, he\nstated that his spirit had been during this time in heaven, learning\nthe principles of the Advaita religion from a company of angels. One\nof his peculiarities was that he went about naked, because, when once\nengaged in separating two bullocks which were fighting, his cloth\ntumbled down, after which he never put it on again. This eccentric\nperson is said to have pulled a handful of maggots from the body of\na dead dog, to have put them into his mouth, and to have spat them\nout again as grains of rice. A shrine was built over his grave. [335]\n\nA few years ago, a Muhammadan fakir undertook to drive away the plague\nin Bellary. Incantations were performed over a black goat, which was\nsacrificed at a spot where several roads met. A considerable sum\nof money was collected, and the poor were fed. But the plague was\nnot stayed.\n\nOn one occasion, an old woman hearing that her only son was dangerously\nill, sought the aid of a magician, who proceeded to utter mantrams,\nto counteract the evil influences which were at work. While this was\nbeing done, an accomplice of the magician turned up, and, declaring\nthat he was a policeman, threatened to charge the two with sorcery\nif they did not pay him a certain sum of money. The woman paid up,\nbut discovered later on that she had been hoaxed.\n\nTwo men were, some years ago, sentenced to rigorous imprisonment under\nthe following circumstances. A lady, who was suffering from illness,\nasked a man who claimed to be a magician to cure her. He came with his\nconfederate, and told the patient to place nine sovereigns on a clay\nimage. This sum not being forthcoming, a few rupees and a piece of a\ngold necklace were accepted. These were deposited on the image, and it\nwas placed in a tin box, which was locked up, one of the men retaining\nthe key. On the following day the two men returned, and the rupees\nand piece of gold were placed on a fresh image. Becoming inspired by\nthe god, one of the men announced that the patient must give a gold\nbangle off her wrist, if she wished to be cured quickly. The bangle\nwas given up, and placed on the image, which was then converted into\na ball containing the various articles within it. The patient was\nthen directed to look at various corners of the room, and repeat a\nformula. The image was placed in a box, and locked up as before, and\nthe men retired, promising to return next day. This they failed to do,\nand the lady, becoming suspicious, broke open the box, in which the\nimage was found, but the money and ornaments were missing.\n\nA case relating to the supposed guarding of treasure by an evil\nspirit came before the Court in the Coimbatore district in 1908. Two\nValluvans (Tamil astrologers) were staying in a village, where they\nwere foretelling events. They went to the house of an old woman,\nand, while telling her fortune, announced that there was a devil in\nthe house guarding treasure, and promised to drive it out, if twenty\nrupees were given to them. The woman borrowed the money, and presented\nit to them. In the evening the Valluvans went into the kitchen, and\nshut the door. Certain ceremonies are said to have been performed,\nat the conclusion of which the woman and her son entered the room,\nand, in the light of a flickering torch, were shown a pit, in which\nthere was a copper pot, apparently full of gold sovereigns. One of the\nastrologers feigned a sudden attack from the devil, and fell down as\nif unconscious. The other pushed the people of the house outside the\ndoor, and again shut it. Eventually the men came out, and announced\nthat the devil was a ferocious one, and would not depart till a wick\nfrom an Erode paradesi was lighted before it, for obtaining which a\nhundred rupees were required. If the devil was not thus propitiated, it\nwould, they said, kill the people of the house sooner or later. The old\nwoman borrowed the sum required, and her son and the two astrologers\nwent to Karur to take the train to Erode, to meet the paradesi. At\nKarur the two men took tickets for different places, and the son,\nbecoming suspicious, informed the police, who arrested them. On them\nwere found some circular pieces of card covered with gold tinsel.\n\nA few years ago, a Zamindar (landowner) in the Godavari district\nengaged a Muhammadan to exorcise a devil which haunted his house. The\nlatter, explaining that the devil was a female and fond of jewelry,\ninduced the Zamindar to leave a large quantity of jewels in a locked\nreceptacle in a certain room, to which only the exorcist, and of course\nthe devil, had access. The latter, it was supposed, would be gratified\nby the loan of the jewels, and would cease from troubling. The exorcist\nmanaged to open the receptacle and steal the jewels, and, such was\nthe faith of his employer, that the offence was not suspected until\na police inspector seized Rs. 27,000 worth of jewels in Vizagapatam\non suspicion, and they were with difficulty traced to their source.\n\nIn a note on wonder-working in India, the Rev. J. Sharrock narrates\nthe following incident.\n\n\n    \"A Sanyasi (ascetic) was ordered with contempt from the house of a\n    rich Zemindar. Thereupon, the former threatened to curse his house\n    by despatching a devil to take possession of it that very night. On\n    one of the doors of the inner courtyard he made a number of magical\n    passes, and then left the house in high dudgeon. As soon as it\n    grew dark, the devil appeared on the door in flickering flames\n    of phosphorus, and almost frightened the Zemindar and the other\n    inmates out of their five senses. Wild with terror, they fled to\n    the Sanyasi, and begged and entreated him to come and exorcise\n    the devil. Of course he refused, and of course they pressed him\n    with greater and greater presents till he was satisfied. Then he\n    came with kungkuma (a mixture of turmeric, alum, and lime-juice),\n    and rubbed the fiery demon off with the usual recitation of\n    mantras. During the rest of his stay, the Sanyasi was treated\n    with the most profound respect, while his sishyas (disciples)\n    received the choicest food and fruits that could be obtained.\"\n\n\nThe following cases are called from the annual reports of the Chemical\nExaminer to the Government of Madras, in further illustration of the\npractices of pseudo-magicians.\n\n(a) A wizard came to a village, in order to exorcise a devil which\npossessed a certain woman. He was treated like a prince, and was\ngiven the only room in the house, while the family turned out into\nthe hall. He lived there for several days, and then commenced his\nceremonies. He drew the figure of a lotus on the floor, made the woman\nsit down, and commenced to twist her hair with his wand. When she\ncried out, he sent her out of the room, saying she was unworthy to sit\non the lotus figure, but promising nevertheless to exorcise the devil\nwithout her being present. He found a half-witted man in the village,\ndrugged him with ganja, brought him to the house, and performed his\nceremonies on this man, who, on becoming intoxicated with the drug,\nbegan to get boisterous. The wizard tied him up with a rope, because\nhe had become possessed of the devil that had possessed the woman. The\nman was subsequently traced by his relatives, found in an unconscious\nstate, and taken to hospital. The wizard got rigorous imprisonment.\n\n(b) Some jewels were lost, and a mantrakara (dealer in magical spells)\nwas called in to detect the thief. The magician erected a screen,\nbehind which he lit a lamp, and did other things to impress the crowd\nwith the importance of his mantrams. To the assembly he distributed\nbetel-leaf patties containing a white powder, said to be holy ashes,\nand the effect of it on the suspected individuals, who formed part\nof the crowd, is said to have been instantaneous. So magical was the\neffect of this powder in detecting the thief, that the unfortunate\nman ultimately vomited blood. When the people remonstrated with\nthe magician for the severity of his magic, he administered to the\nsufferer an antidote of solution of cow-dung and the juice of some\nleaf. The holy ashes were found to contain corrosive sublimate,\nand the magician got eighteen months' rigorous imprisonment.\n\nI may conclude with a reference to an interesting note on the Jesuits\nof the Madura Mission in the middle of the seventeenth century by\nthe Rev. J. S. Chandler, who writes as follows:--\n\n\n    \"Dr Nobili lodged in an incommodious hut, and celebrated mass in\n    another hut. The older he got, the more he added to the austerity\n    of his life. The Pandarams [336] (non-Brahman priests) made a new\n    attempt against his life. One fine day they held a council as to\n    the death he should die, and decided on magic. They summoned the\n    most famous magician of the kingdom. Every one knew of it. When\n    the day came, the magician presented himself, followed by a crowd,\n    all alert to witness the vengeance of their gods. He insolently\n    arranged his machines, and then described circles in the air. Dr\n    Nobili regarded him with a composed air. Soon the ceremonies\n    became more noisy. The features of the magician became decomposed,\n    his eyes inflamed, his face contracted like that of one possessed;\n    he ground his teeth, howled, and struck the ground with his feet,\n    hands, and forehead. Dr Nobili asked what comedy he was pretending\n    to play. Then he recited magical sentences. Dr Nobili begged him\n    to spare his throat. The magician said 'You have laughed, now die,'\n    and threw a black powder into the air, at the same time looking at\n    his victim, to see him fall at his feet, and then ... skedaddled\n    from the jeers of the crowd. Dr Nobili addressed the crowd,\n    and from that time they regarded him as more than human.\"\n\n\nMr Chandler narrates further that [337] \"a Jogi (sorcerer and exorcist)\nlost in public opinion by pretending to perform a miracle in imitation\nof a previous Jogi, by making a stone bull eat. A quantity of rice\nand other grains was served to the figure, but the vahanam (vehicle)\nof Rudra was not hungry. The Jogi made many grimaces, threatened, and\neven employed a rattan cane, but the bull remained motionless. Not\nso the spectators, who overwhelmed the Jogi with blows, and he was\nonly saved by his friends, conducted to the frontier by soldiers,\nand forbidden ever again to enter the kingdom.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nX\n\nDIVINATION AND FORTUNE-TELLING\n\n\nIt has been said [338] that \"men not only attempt to act directly\nupon nature, but they usually exhibit a keen desire to be guided\nas to the best course to take when in doubt, difficulty, or danger,\nand to be forewarned of the future. The practice of divination is by\nno means confined to professional magicians, or even to soothsayers,\nbut any one may employ the accessory means.\"\n\nOf professional diviners in Southern India, perhaps the best example\nis afforded by the Kaniyans [339] or Kanisans of Malabar, whose caste\nname is said to be a Malayalam corruption of the Sanskrit Ganika,\nmeaning astrologer. Duarte Barbosa, [340] at the beginning of the\nsixteenth century, has a detailed reference to the Kaniyans, of whom\nhe writes that \"they learn letters and astronomy, and some of them are\ngreat astrologers, and foretell many future things, and form judgements\nupon the births of men. Kings and great persons send to call them, and\ncome out of their palaces to gardens and pleasure-houses to see them,\nand ask them what they desire to know; and these people form judgement\nupon these things in a few days, and return to those that asked them,\nbut they may not enter the palaces; nor may they approach the king's\nperson on account of being low people. And the king is then alone\nwith him. They are great diviners, and pay great attention to times\nand places of good and bad luck, which they cause to be observed by\nthose kings and great men, and by the merchants also; and they take\ncare to do their business at the time which these astrologers advise\nthem, and they do the same in their voyages and marriages. And by\nthese means these men gain a great deal.\"\n\nBuchanan, [341] three centuries later, notes that the Kaniyans\n\"possess almanacks, by which they inform people as to the proper time\nfor performing ceremonies or sowing their seeds, and the hours which\nare fortunate or unfortunate for any undertaking. When persons are\nsick or in trouble, the Cunishun, by performing certain ceremonies\nin a magical square of 12 places, discovers what spirit is the cause\nof the evil, and also how it may be appeased.\"\n\nThe Kaniyans are practically the guiding spirits in all the social\nand domestic concerns in Malabar, and even Christians and Muhammadans\nresort to them for advice. From the moment of the birth of an infant,\nwhich is noted by the Kaniyan for the purpose of casting its horoscope,\nto the moment of death, the services of the village astrologer\nare constantly in requisition. He is consulted as to the cause of\nall calamities, and the cautious answers that he gives satisfy the\npeople. \"Putro na putri,\" which may either mean no son but a daughter,\nor no daughter but a son, is referred to as the type of a Kaniyan's\nanswer, when questioned about the sex of an unborn child.\n\n\n    \"It would be difficult,\" Mr Logan writes, [342] \"to describe\n    a single important occasion in everyday life when the Kanisan\n    is not at hand, foretelling lucky days and hours, casting\n    horoscopes, explaining the cause of calamities, prescribing\n    remedies for untoward events, and physicians (not physic) for\n    sick persons. Seed cannot be sown, or trees planted, unless the\n    Kanisan has been consulted beforehand. He is even asked to consult\n    his shastras to find lucky days and moments for setting out on\n    a journey, commencing an enterprise, giving a loan, executing\n    a deed, or shaving the head. For such important occasions\n    as births, marriages, tonsure, investiture with the sacred\n    thread, and beginning the A, B, C, the Kanisan is, of course,\n    indispensable. His work, in short, mixes him up with the gravest\n    as well as the most trivial of the domestic events of the people,\n    and his influence and position are correspondingly great. The\n    astrologer's finding, as one will assert with all due reverence,\n    is the oracle of God himself, with the justice of which every one\n    ought to be satisfied, and the poorer classes follow his dictates\n    unhesitatingly. The astrologer's most busy time is from January\n    to July, the period of harvest and marriages, but in the other\n    six months of the year he is far from leading an idle life. His\n    most lucrative business lies in casting horoscopes, recording\n    the events of a man's life from birth to death, pointing out\n    dangerous periods of life, and prescribing rules and ceremonies\n    to be observed by individuals for the purpose of propitiating the\n    gods and planets, and so averting the calamities of dangerous\n    times. He also shows favourable junctures for the commencement\n    of undertakings, and the grantham or book, written on palm leaf,\n    sets forth in considerable detail the person's disposition and\n    mental qualities, as affected by the position of the planets in\n    the zodiac at the moment of birth. All this is a work of labour,\n    and of time. There are few members of respectable families who\n    are not thus provided, and nobody grudges the five to twenty-five\n    rupees usually paid for a horoscope, according to the position\n    and reputation of the astrologer. Two things are essential to the\n    astrologer, namely, a bag of cowry shells (Cypraea moneta), and\n    an almanac. When any one comes to consult him, [343] he quietly\n    sits down, facing the sun, on a plank seat or mat, murmuring some\n    mantrams or sacred verses, opens his bag of cowries, and pours\n    them on the floor. With his right hand he moves them slowly round\n    and round, solemnly reciting meanwhile a stanza or two in praise\n    of his guru or teacher, and of his deity, invoking their help. He\n    then stops, and explains what he has been doing, at the same time\n    taking a handful of cowries from the heap, and placing them on\n    one side. In front is a diagram drawn with chalk (or soapstone)\n    on the floor, and consisting of twelve compartments (rasis), one\n    for each month in the year. Before commencing operations with the\n    diagram, he selects three or five of the cowries highest up in\n    the heap, and places them in a line on the right-hand side. [In\n    an account before me, three cowries and two glass bottle-stoppers\n    are mentioned as being placed on this side]. These represent\n    Ganapati (the belly god, the remover of difficulties), the sun,\n    the planet Jupiter, Sarasvati (the goddess of speech), and his\n    own guru or preceptor. To all of these the astrologer gives due\n    obeisance, touching his ears and the ground three times with both\n    hands. The cowries are next arranged in the compartments of the\n    diagram, and are moved about from compartment to compartment by\n    the astrologer, who quotes meanwhile the authority on which he\n    makes the moves. Finally he explains the result, and ends with\n    again worshipping the deified cowries, who were witnessing the\n    operation as spectators.\"\n\n\nAccording to another account, [344] the Kaniyan \"pours his cowries\non the ground, and, after rolling them in the palm of his right hand,\nwhile repeating mantrams, he selects the largest, and places them in a\nrow outside the diagram at its right-hand top corner. They represent\nthe first seven planets, and he does obeisance to them, touching his\nforehead and the ground three times with both hands. The relative\nposition of the nine planets is then worked out, and illustrated with\ncowries in the diagram.\"\n\nThe Mulla Kurumbas (jungle tribe) of Malabar are said [345] to \"have a\ngift of prophecy, some being initiated in the art known as Kotiveykal,\nliterally planting betel vine. The professor, when consulted about\nany future event, husks a small quantity of rice by hand, places it\ninside a scooped shell of a dried kuvvalam fruit (AEgle Marmelos), and\nasks one of his men to plant the betel vine. The man understands the\nmeaning, takes out the rice, and spreads it on a plank. The professor\ninvokes the Puthadi deity, makes a calculation, and gives his reply,\nwhich is generally found correct.\"\n\nConcerning a class of people called Velichchapad, who are regarded\nas oracles in Malabar, Mr F. Fawcett writes as follows [346]:--\n\n\n    \"Far away in rural Malabar, I witnessed the ceremony in which the\n    Velichchapad exhibited his quality. It was in the neighbourhood\n    of a Nayar house, to which thronged all the neighbours (Nayar),\n    men and women, boys and girls. The ceremony lasts about an\n    hour. The Nayar said it was the custom in his family to have it\n    done once a year, but could give no account of how it originated;\n    most probably in a vow, some ancestor having vowed that, if such\n    or such benefit be received, he would for ever after have an\n    annual performance of this ceremony in his house. It involved\n    some expenditure, as the Velichchapad had to be paid, and the\n    neighbours had to be fed. Somewhere about the middle of the little\n    courtyard, the Velichchapad placed a lamp (of the Malabar pattern)\n    having a lighted wick, a kalasam (brass vessel), some flowers,\n    camphor, saffron (turmeric), and other paraphernalia. Bhagavati\n    was the deity invoked, and the business involved offering flowers,\n    and waving a lighted wick round the kalasam. The Velichchapad's\n    movements became quicker, and, suddenly seizing his sword,\n    he ran round the courtyard (against the sun, as sailors say),\n    shouting wildly. He is under the influence of the deity who has\n    been introduced into him, and gives oracular utterances to the\n    deity's commands. What he said I know not, and no one else seemed\n    to know, or care in the least, much interested though they were in\n    the performance. As he ran, every now and then he cut his forehead\n    with the sword, pressing it against the skin and sawing vertically\n    up and down. The blood streamed all over his face. Presently he\n    became wilder, and whizzed round the lamp, bending forward towards\n    the kalasam. Evidently some deity, some spirit was present here,\n    and spoke through the mouth of the Velichchapad. This, I think,\n    undoubtedly represents the belief of all who were present. When\n    he had done whizzing round the kalasam, he soon became a normal\n    being, and stood before my camera. The fee for the self-inflicted\n    laceration is one rupee, some rice, etc. I saw the Velichchapad\n    about three days afterwards, going to perform elsewhere. The\n    wound on his forehead had healed. The careful observer can always\n    identify a Velichchapad by the triangular patch over the forehead,\n    where the hair will not grow, and where the skin is somewhat\n    indurated.\"\n\n\nThe Kotas of the Nilgiris worship Magali, to whose influence outbreaks\nof cholera are attributed. When the dread disease breaks out among\nthem, special sacrifices are performed with a view to propitiating\nthe goddess, who is represented by an upright stone in a rude temple\nnear Kotagiri. An annual ceremony takes place there, at which some man\nbecomes possessed, and announces to the people that Magali has come. At\nthe seed-sowing ceremony, a Kota priest sometimes becomes inspired,\nand gives expression to oracular utterances. At a Toda funeral,\nthe men, congregating on the summit of a neighbouring hill, invoked\nthe gods. Four of them, seized, apparently in imitation of the Kota\ndevadi (priest), with divine frenzy, began to shiver and gesticulate\nwildly while running to and fro with closed eyes. They then began\nto talk in Malayalam, and offer an explanation of an extraordinary\nphenomenon, which had appeared in the form of a gigantic figure,\nwhich disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. The possession by some\nTodas of a smattering of Malayalam is explained by the fact that, when\ngrazing their buffaloes on the western slopes of the Nilgiris, they\ncome in contact with Malayalam-speaking people from the neighbouring\nMalabar country.\n\nFor the following note on the Sakuna Pakshi (prophetic bird) mendicant\ncaste, I am indebted to Mr C. Hayavadana Rao. The name of the caste is\ndue to the fact that the members thereof wear on their heads a plume\ncomposed of the feathers of the Indian roller (Coracias indica) or\nblue jay of Europeans. This is one of the birds called sakuna pakshi,\nbecause they are supposed to possess the power of foretelling events,\nand on their movements many omens depend. Concerning the roller,\nJerdon writes [347] that\n\n\n    \"it is sacred to Siva, who assumed its form, and, at the feast of\n    the Dasserah at Nagpore, one or more used to be liberated by the\n    Rajah, amidst the firing of cannon and musketry, at a grand parade\n    attended by all the officers of the station. Buchanan Hamilton\n    also states that, before the Durga Puja, the Hindus of Calcutta\n    purchase one of these birds, and, at the time when they throw the\n    image of Durga into the river, set it at liberty. It is considered\n    propitious to see it on this day, and those who cannot afford to\n    buy one discharge their matchlocks to put it on the wing.\"\n\n\nA Sakuna Pakshi, before starting on a begging expedition, rises\nearly, and has a cold meal. He then puts on the Vaishnava namam mark\non his forehead, slings on his left shoulder a deer-skin pouch for\nthe reception of the rice and other grain which will be given to him\nas alms, and takes up his little drum (gilaka or damaraka) made of\nfrog's skin.\n\nClosely allied to the Sakuna Pakshis are the Budubudikes or\nBudubudukalas, a class of beggars and fortune-tellers, whose name\nis derived from the drum (budbuki) which they use when engaged in\npredicting future events.\n\n\n    \"A huge parti-coloured turban, surmounted by a bunch of feathers,\n    a pair of ragged trousers, a loose long coat, which is very often\n    out at elbows, and a capacious wallet, ordinarily constitute\n    the Budubudukala's dress. Occasionally, if he can afford it,\n    he indulges in the luxury of a tiger or cheetah (leopard) skin,\n    which hangs down his back, and contributes to the dignity of his\n    calling. Add to this an odd assortment of clothes suspended on\n    his left arm, and the picture is as grotesque as it can be. He\n    is regarded as able to predict the future of human beings by\n    the flight and notes of birds. His predictions are couched in\n    the chant which he recites. The burden of the chant is always\n    stereotyped, and purports to have been gleaned from the warble of\n    the feathered songsters of the forest. It prognosticates peace,\n    plenty and prosperity to the house, the birth of a son to the\n    fair, lotus-eyed housewife, and worldly advancement to the master,\n    whose virtues are as countless as the stars, and have the power\n    to annihilate his enemies. It also holds out a tempting prospect\n    of coming joy in an unknown shape from an unknown quarter, and\n    concludes with an appeal for a cloth. If the appeal is successful,\n    well and good. If not, the Budubudukala has the patience and\n    perseverance to repeat his visit the next day, and so on until,\n    in sheer disgust, the householder parts with a cloth. The drum,\n    which has been referred to as giving the Budubudukala his name,\n    is not devoid of interest. In appearance it is an instrument of\n    diminutive size, and is shaped like an hour-glass, to the middle\n    of which is attached a string with a knot at the end, which serves\n    as the percutient. Its origin is enveloped in a myth of which the\n    Budubudukala is very proud, for it tells of his divine descent,\n    and invests his vocation with the halo of sanctity. According to\n    the legend, the primitive Budubudukala who first adorned the face\n    of the earth was a belated product of the world's creation. When\n    he was born or rather evolved, the rest of mankind was already\n    in the field, struggling for existence. Practically the whole\n    scheme was complete, and, in the economy of the universe, the\n    Budubudukala found himself one too many. In this quandary, he\n    appealed to his goddess mother Amba Bhavani, who took pity on\n    him, and presented him with her husband the god Parameswara's\n    drum with the blessing 'My son, there is nothing else for you\n    but this. Take it and beg, and you will prosper.' Among beggars,\n    the Budubudukala has constituted himself a superior mendicant, to\n    whom the handful of rice usually doled out is not acceptable. His\n    demand is for clothes of any description, good, bad or indifferent,\n    new or old, torn or whole. For, in the plenitude of his wisdom,\n    he has realised that a cloth is a marketable commodity, which,\n    when exchanged for money, fetches more than the handful of\n    rice. The Budubudukala is continually on the tramp, and regulates\n    his movements according to the seasons of the year. As a rule, he\n    pays his visit to the rural parts after the harvest is gathered,\n    for it is then that the villagers are at their best, and in a\n    position to handsomely remunerate him for his pains. But, in\n    whatever corner of the province he may be, as the Dusserah [348]\n    approaches, he turns his face towards Vellore in North Arcot, where\n    the annual festival in honour of Amba Bhavani is celebrated.\" [349]\n\n\nThe principal tribal deity of the Kuruvikkaran beggars is Kali or\nDurga, and each sept possesses a small metal plate with a figure of\nthe goddess engraved on it, which is usually kept in the custody of\nthe headman. It is, however, sometimes pledged, and money-lenders give\nconsiderable sums on the security of the idol, as the Kuruvikkarans\nwould on no account fail to redeem it. At the annual festival of the\ngoddess, while some cakes are being cooked in oil, a member of the\ntribe prays that the goddess will descend on him. Taking some of the\ncakes out of the boiling oil, he rubs the oil on his head with his\npalm. He is then questioned by those assembled, to whom he gives\noracular replies, after sucking the blood from the cut throat of\na goat.\n\nThe nomad Koravas or Yerukalas earn a livelihood partly by telling\nfortunes. The Telugu name Yerukala is said to mean fortune-teller,\nand, as the women go on their rounds through the streets, they call\nout \"Yeruko, amma, yeruku\" i.e., prophecies, mother, prophecies.\n\nConcerning the Pachaikutti (tattooer) or Gadde (soothsayer) section of\nthese people, Mr Paupa Rao Naidu writes [350] that \"the woman proceeds\nwith a basket and a winnowing tray to a village, proclaiming their\nostensible profession of tattooing and soothsaying, which they do\nfor grain or money. When unfortunate village women, who always lose\ntheir children or often fall ill, see these Gadde women moving about,\nthey call them into their houses, make them sit, and, pouring some\ngrain into their baskets, ask them about their past misery and future\nlot. These women, who are sufficiently trained to speak in suitable\nlanguage, are clever enough to give out some yarns in equivocal terms,\nso that the anxious women, who hope for better futurity, understand\nthem in the light uppermost in their own minds. The Korava women will\nbe duly rewarded, and doubly too, for they never fail to study the\nnature of the house, to see if it offers a fair field for booty for\ntheir men.\" [351]\n\nIt is said that Korava women invoke the village goddesses when they\nare telling fortunes. They use a winnowing fan and grains of rice in\ndoing this, and prophecy good or evil according to the number of grains\non the fan. [352] They carry a basket, winnow, stick, and a wicker\ntray in which cowry shells are embedded in a mixture of cow-dung and\nturmeric. The basket represents the goddess Kolapuriamma, and the\ncowries Poleramma. When telling fortunes, the woman places on the\nbasket the winnow, rice, betel leaves and areca nuts, and the wicker\ntray. Holding her client's hand over the winnow, and moving it about,\nshe commences to chant, and name all sorts of deities. From time\nto time, she touches the hand of the person whose fortune is being\ntold with the stick. The Korava women are very clever at extracting\ninformation concerning the affairs of a client, before they proceed to\ntell her fortune. In a note on the initiation of Yerukala girls into\nthe profession of fortune-telling in Vizagapatam, Mr Hayavadana Rao\nwrites that it is carried out on a Sunday succeeding the first puberty\nceremony. A caste feast, with plenty of strong drink, is held, but the\ngirl herself fasts. The feast over, she is taken to a spot at a little\ndistance from the settlement, called Yerukonda. This is said to be the\nname of a place on the trunk road between Vizianagram and Chicacole,\nto which girls were taken in former days to be initiated. The girl is\nblindfolded with a cloth. Boiled rice and green gram (grain) are mixed\nwith the blood of a black fowl, black pig, and black goat, which are\nkilled. Of this mixture she must take at least three morsels, and,\nif she does not vomit, it is taken as a sign that she will become\na good fortune-teller. Vomiting would indicate that she would be a\nfalse prophetess.\n\nThe Irulas of the Tamil country, like the Yerukalas, are professional\nfortune-tellers. The Yerukala will carry out the work connected with\nher profession anywhere, at any time, and any number of times in a\nday. The Irula, on the contrary, remains at his home, and will only\ntell fortunes close to his hut, or near the hut where his gods are\nkept. In case of sickness, people of all classes come to consult\nthe Irula fortune-teller, whose occupation is known as Kannimar\nvarnithal. Taking up his drum, he warms it over the fire, or exposes\nit to the heat of the sun. When it is sufficiently dry to vibrate\nto his satisfaction, Kannimar is worshipped by breaking a cocoanut,\nand burning camphor and incense. Closing his eyes, the Irula beats the\ndrum, and shakes his head about, while his wife, who stands near him,\nsprinkles turmeric water over him. After a few minutes, bells are\ntied to his right wrist. In about a quarter of an hour he begins to\nshiver, and breaks out in a profuse perspiration. This is a sure sign\nthat he is inspired by the goddess. The shaking of his body becomes\nmore violent, he breathes rapidly, and hisses like a snake. Gradually\nhe becomes calmer, and addresses those around him as if he were the\ngoddess, saying: \"Oh! children, I have come down on my car, which is\ndecorated with mango flowers, margosa, and jasmine. You need fear\nnothing so long as I exist, and you worship me. This country will\nbe prosperous, and the people will continue to be happy. Ere long my\nprecious car, immersed in the tank (pond) on the hill, will be taken\nout, and after that the country will become more prosperous,\" and so\non. Questions are generally put to the inspired man, not directly,\nbut through his wife. Occasionally, even when no client has come\nto consult him, the Irula will take up his drum towards dusk, and\nchant the praises of Kannimar, sometimes for hours at a stretch,\nwith a crowd of Irulas collected round him.\n\nI gather, from a note by Mr. T. Ranga Rao, that the jungle Yanadis of\nthe Telugu country pose as prophets of human destinies, and pretend to\nhold intercourse with gods and goddesses, and to intercede between god\nand man. Every village or circle has one or more soothsayers, who learn\ntheir art from experts under a rigid routine. The period of pupilage\nis a fortnight spent in retreat, on a dietary of milk and fruits. The\ngod or goddess Venkateswaralu, Subbaroyadu, Malakondroyadu, Ankamma, or\nPoleramma, appears like a shadow, and inspires the pupil, who, directly\nthe period of probation has ceased, burns camphor and frankincense. He\nthen sings in praise of the deity, takes a sea-bath with his master,\ngives a sumptuous feast, and becomes an independent soothsayer. The\nstory runs that the ardent soothsayers of old wrought miracles by\nstirring boiling rice with his hand, which was proof against burn or\nhurt. His modern brother invokes the gods with burning charcoal in\nhis folded hands, to the beat of a drum. People flock in large numbers\nto learn the truth. The soothsayer arranges the tribal deity Chenchu\nDevudu, and various local gods, in a god-house, which is always kept\nscrupulously clean, and where worship is regularly carried on. The\nauspicious days for soothsaying are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The\nchief soothsayer is a male. The applicant presents him with areca nuts,\nfruit, flowers, and money. The soothsayer bathes, and sits in front\nof his house smeared with black, white, red, and other colours. His\nwife, or some other female, kindles a fire, and throws frankincense\ninto it. He beats his drum and sings, while a woman within repeats the\nchant in a shrill voice. The songs are in praise of the deity, at whose\nand the soothsayer's feet the applicant prostrates himself, and invokes\ntheir aid. The soothsayer feels inspired, and addresses the suppliant\nthus:--\"You have neglected me. You do not worship me. Propitiate\nme adequately, or ruin is yours.\" The future is predicted in song,\nand the rural folk place great faith in the predictions.\n\nAs an example of devil worship and divination, the practice thereof by\nthe Tamil Valaiyans and Kallans of Orattanadu in the Tanjore district\nis described as follows by Mr F. R. Hemingway. [353]\n\n\n    \"Valaiyan houses generally have an odiyan (Odina Wodier) tree\n    in the backyard, wherein the devils are believed to live,\n    and, among the Kallans, every street has a tree for their\n    accommodation. They are propitiated at least once a year, the\n    more virulent under the tree itself, and the rest in the house,\n    generally on a Friday or Monday. Kallans attach importance to\n    Friday in Adi (July and August), the cattle Pongal day in Tai\n    (January and February), and Kartigai day in the month Kartigai\n    (November and December). A man, with his mouth covered with a\n    cloth to indicate silence and purity, cooks rice in the backyard,\n    and pours it out in front of the tree, mixed with milk and jaggery\n    (crude sugar). Cocoanuts and toddy are also placed there. These\n    are offered to the devils, represented in the form of bricks or\n    mud images placed at the foot of the tree, and camphor is set\n    alight. A sheep is then brought and slaughtered, and the devils\n    are supposed to spring one after another from the tree into one\n    of the bystanders. This man then becomes filled with the divine\n    afflatus, works himself up into a kind of frenzy, becomes the\n    mouthpiece of the spirits, pronounces their satisfaction or the\n    reverse at the offerings, and gives utterance to cryptic phrases,\n    which are held to foretell good or evil fortune to those in answer\n    to whom they are made. When all the devils in turn have spoken and\n    vanished, the man recovers his senses. The devils are worshipped\n    in the same way in the house, except that no blood is shed.\"\n\n\nThe following example of the conviction of a thief by a diviner is\nrecorded by Mrs Murray-Aynsley. [354]\n\n\n    \"A friend's ayah had her blanket stolen. The native woman rejected\n    the interference of the police, which her mistress proposed,\n    but said she would send for one of her own diviners. He came,\n    caused a fire to be lighted in an earthen vessel, then took a\n    small basket-work grain-sifter used for winnowing rice. Having\n    repeated certain prayers or incantations, the diviner stuck a\n    pair of scissors into the deepest part of this tray, and, having\n    done this, required the two assistants he brought with him each to\n    put a finger beneath the holes in the scissors, and then hold the\n    sifter suspended over the fire. The servants of the house were then\n    all required, each in turn, to take a small quantity of uncooked\n    rice in their hands, and drop it into the flame, between the\n    fork formed by the scissors, the diviner all the time repeating\n    some formula. All went very smoothly till the woman-servant,\n    whom my friend had all along suspected of the theft, performed\n    this ceremony, on which the grain-sifter commenced turning round\n    rapidly. The culprit was convicted, and confessed the theft.\"\n\n\nThe following method of discovering theft by chewing rice is described\nby Daniel Johnson. [355]\n\n\n    \"A Brahmin is sent for, who writes down all the names of the people\n    in the house, who are suspected. Next day he consecrates a piece\n    of ground by covering it with cow-dung and water, over which he\n    says a long prayer. The people then assemble on this spot in a\n    line facing the Brahmin, who has with him some dry rice, of which\n    he delivers to each person the weight of a four-cornered rupee,\n    or that quantity weighed with the sacred stone called Salagram,\n    which is deposited in a leaf of the pippal or banyan tree. At the\n    time of delivering it, the Brahmin puts his right hand on each\n    person's head, and repeats a short prayer; and, when finished,\n    he directs them all to chew the rice, which at a given time must\n    be produced on the leaves masticated. The person or persons, whose\n    rice is not thoroughly masticated, or exhibits any blood on it,\n    is considered guilty. The faith they all have of the power of\n    the Brahmin, and a guilty conscience operating at the same time,\n    suppresses the natural flow of saliva to the mouth, without\n    which the hard particles of the rice bruise and cut the gums,\n    causing them to bleed, which they themselves are sensible of,\n    and in most instances confess the crime.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXI\n\nSOME AGRICULTURAL CEREMONIES\n\n\nFor the following note [356] on agricultural ceremonies in Malabar,\nI am indebted to Mr C. Karunakara Menon, who writes as an eye-witness\nthereof.\n\n\n\"Vishu, the feast of the vernal equinox, is celebrated on the\nfirst of the Malabar month Medom, between the 10th and 14th of\nApril. To the Tamulians it is the New Year's day, but to the people\nof Malabar it marks the commencement of the new agricultural year. A\nMalabar proverb says 'No hot weather after Vishu.' The first thing\nseen on the morning of Vishu day is considered as an omen for the\nwhole year. Every Malayali takes care, therefore, to look at an\nauspicious object. Arrangements are accordingly made to have a kani,\nwhich means a sight or spectacle (see p. 18). After the first sight,\nthe elders make presents of money to the junior members of the family\nand the servants. After the distribution of money, the most important\nfunction on Vishu morning is the laying of the spade-furrow, as a\nsign that cultivation operations have commenced. A spade decorated\nwith konna (Cassia Fistula) flowers, is brought, and a portion of\nthe yard on the north side smeared with cow-dung, and painted with\npowdered rice-water. An offering is made on the spot to Ganapathi\n(the elephant god), and a member of the family, turning to the\neast, cuts the earth three times. A ceremony on a grander scale is\ncalled the Chal, which literally means a furrow, for an account of\nwhich we must begin with the visit of the astrologer (Kanisan) on\nVishu eve. Every desam (hamlet) in Malabar has its own astrologer,\nwho visits families under his jurisdiction on festive occasions\n(see p. 275). Accordingly, on the eve of the new agricultural year,\nevery Hindu home in the district is visited by the Kanisans of the\nrespective desams, who, for a modest present of rice, vegetables, and\noils, make a forecast of the season's prospects, which is engrossed\non a cadjan (palm leaf). This is called the Vishu phalam, which is\nobtained by comparing the nativity with the equinox. Special mention\nis made therein as to the probable rainfall from the position of the\nplanets--highly prized information in a district where there are no\nirrigation works or large reservoirs for water. But the most important\nitem in the forecast is the day and time at which the first ploughing\nis to take place. The Chal is one of the most impressive and solemn of\nthe Malabar agricultural ceremonies, and, in its most orthodox form,\nis now prevalent only in the Palghat taluk. At the auspicious hour\nshown in the forecast, the master of the house, the cultivation agent,\nand the Cherumars, [357] assemble in the barn. A portion of the yard\nin front of the building is painted with rice-water, and a lighted\nbell-metal lamp is placed near at hand with some paddy (unhusked\nrice) and rice, and several cups made of the leaves of the kanniram\n(Strychnos Nux-vomica)--as many cups as there are varieties of seed\nin the barn. Then, placing implicit faith in his gods and ancestors,\nthe master of the house opens the barn-door, followed by a Cheruman\nwith a new painted basket containing the leaf cups. The master then\ntakes a handful of seed from a seed-basket, and fills one of the cups,\nand the cultivating agent, head Cheruman, and others who are interested\nin a good harvest, fill the cups till the seeds are exhausted. The\nbasket, with the cups, is next taken to the decorated portion of the\nyard. A new ploughshare is fastened to a new plough, and a pair of\ncattle are brought onto the scene. Plough, cattle, and basket, are\nall painted with rice-water. A procession proceeds to the fields,\non reaching which the head Cheruman lays down the basket, and makes\na mound of earth with the spade. To this a little manure is added,\nand the master throws a handful of seed into it. The cattle are then\nyoked, and one turn is ploughed by the head Cheruman. Inside this\nat least seven furrows are made, and the plough is dropped to the\nright. An offering is made to Ganapathi, and the master throws some\nseed into the furrow. Next the head Cheruman calls out, 'May the\ngods on high, and the deceased ancestors, bless the seed which has\nbeen thrown broadcast, and the cattle which are let loose, the mother\nand children of the house, the master and the slaves. May they also\nvouchsafe to us a good crop, good sunshine, and a good harvest.' A\ncocoanut is then cut on the ploughshare, and from the cut portions\nseveral deductions are made. If the hinder portion is larger than the\nfront one, it augurs an excellent harvest. If the nut is cut into two\nequal portions, the harvest will be moderate. If the cut passes through\nthe eyes of the nut, or if no water is left in the cut portions,\ncertain misfortune is foreboded. The cut fragments are then taken\nwith a little water inside them, and a leaf of the tulsi plant [358]\n(sacred basil, Ocimum sanctum) dropped in. If the leaf turns\nto the right, a propitious harvest is assured, whereas, if it\nturns to the left, certain calamity will follow. This ceremonial\nconcluded, there is much shouting, and the names of all the gods\nare called out in a confused prayer. The party then breaks up,\nand the unused seeds are divided among the workmen. The actual\nsowing of the seed takes place towards the middle of May. The\nlocal deity who is responsible for good crops is Cherukunnath\nBhagavathi, who is also called Annapurana, and is worshipped in\nthe Chirakkal taluk. Before the seed is sown, a small quantity\nis set apart as an offering to the goddess Annapurna Iswari. By\nJuly the crops should be ready for harvesting, and the previous\nyear's stock is running low. Accordingly, several ceremonies are\ncrowded into the month Karkitakam (July-August). When the sun\npasses from the sign of Gemini to Cancer, i.e., on the last day of\nMithuna (June-July), a ceremony called the driving away of Potti\n(evil spirit) is performed in the evening. The house is cleaned,\nand the rubbish collected in an old winnowing basket. A woman\nrubs oil on her head, and, taking the basket, goes three times\nround the house, while children run after her, calling out,\n'Potti, phoo' (run away, evil spirit). On the following morning\nthe good spirit is invoked, and asked to bless every householder,\nand give a good harvest. Before dawn a handful of veli, a wild yam\n(Caladium nymphoeiflorum), and turmeric, together with ten herbs\ncalled dasapushpam (ten flowers), such as are worn in the head\nby Nambutiri Brahman ladies after the morning bath, are brought\nin. They are:--\n\n\n        Thiruthali (Ipomoea sepiaria).\n        Nilappana (Curculigo orchioides).\n        Karuka (Cynodon Dactylon).\n        Cherupoola (AErua lanata).\n        Muyalchevi (Emelia sonchifolia).\n        Puvamkurunthala (Vernonia cinerea).\n        Ulinna (Cardiospermum Halicacabum).\n        Mukutti (Biophytum sensitivum).\n        Kannunni (Eclipta alba).\n        Krishnakananthi (Evolvulus alsinoides).\n\n\n\"Each of the above is believed to be the special favourite of some\ndeity, e.g., Nilappana of the god of riches, Thiruthali of the\nwife of Kama, the god of love, etc. They are stuck in the front\neaves of every house with some cow-dung. Then, before daybreak, Sri\nBhagavathi is formally installed, and her symbolical presence is\ncontinued daily till the end of the month Karkitakam. A plank, such\nas is used by Malayalis when they sit at meals, is well washed,\nand smeared with ashes. On it are placed a mirror, a potful of\nointment made of sandal, camphor, musk, and saffron (turmeric), a\nsmall round box containing red paint, a goblet full of water, and\na grandham (sacred book made of cadjan), usually Devi-Mahathmyam,\ni.e., song in praise of Bhagavathi. By its side the ten flowers are\nset. On the first day of Karkitakam, in some places, an attempt is\nmade to convert the malignant Kali into a benificent deity. From\nCalicut northward, this ceremonial is celebrated, for the most\npart by children, on a grand scale. From early morning they may\nbe seen collecting ribs of plantain (banana) leaves, with which\nthey make representations of a ladder, cattle-shed, plough, and\nyoke. Representations of cattle are made from the leaves of the\njak tree (Artocarpus integrifolia). These are placed in an old\nwinnowing basket. The materials for a feast are placed in a pot,\nand the toy agricultural articles and the pot are carried round\neach house three times, while the children call out 'Kalia, Kalia,\nmonster, monster, receive our offering, and give us plenty of seed\nand wages, protect our cattle, and support our fences.' The various\narticles are then placed under a jak tree, on the eastern side of\nthe house if possible. The next important ceremony is called the\nNira, or bringing in of the first-fruits. It is celebrated about\nthe middle of Karkitakam. The house is cleaned, and the doors\nand windows are cleansed with the rough leaves of a tree called\nparakam (Ficus hispida), and decorated with white rice paint. The\nwalls are whitewashed, and the yard is smeared with cow-dung. The\nten flowers (dasapushpam) are brought to the gate of the house,\ntogether with leaves of the following:--\n\n\n        Athi (Ficus glomerata).\n        Ithi (Ficus infectoria).\n        Arayal (Ficus religiosa).\n        Peral (Ficus bengalensis).\n        Illi (tender leaves of bamboo).\n        Nelli (Phyllanthus Emblica).\n        Jak (Artocarpus integrifolia).\n        Mango (Mangifera indica).\n\n\n\"On the morning of the ceremony, the priest of the local temple\ncomes out therefrom, preceded by a man blowing a conch (Turbinella\nrapa) shell. [359] This is a signal for the whole village,\nand every household sends out a male member, duly purified by\na bath and copiously smeared with sacred ashes, to the fields,\nto gather some ears of paddy. Sometimes the paddy is brought\nfrom the temple, instead of the field. It is not necessary to\npluck the paddy from one's own fields. Free permission is given\nto pluck it from any field in which it may be ripe. When the\npaddy is brought near the house, the above said leaves are taken\nout from the gate-house, where they had been kept over night,\nand the ears of paddy are laid thereon. The bearer is met at\nthe gate by a woman of the house with a lighted lamp. The new\npaddy is then carried to the house in procession, those assembled\ncrying out 'Fill, fill; increase, increase; fill the house; fill\nthe baskets; fill the stomachs of the children.' In a portion of\nthe verandah, which is decorated with rice paint, a small plank,\nwith a plantain leaf on it, is set. Round this the man who bears\nthe paddy goes three times, and, turning due east, places it on\nthe leaf. On the right is set the lighted lamp. An offering of\ncocoanuts and sweets is made to Ganapathi, and the leaves and\nears of paddy are attached to various parts of the house, the\nagricultural implements, and even to trees. A sumptuous repast\nbrings the ceremony to a close. At Palghat, when the new paddy is\ncarried in procession, the people say 'Fill like the Kottaram in\nKozhalmannam; fill like the expansive sands of the Perar.' This\nKottaram is eight miles west of Palghat. According to Dr Gundert,\nthe word means a store-house, or place where temple affairs are\nmanaged. It is a ruined building with crumbling walls, lined\ninside with laterite, and outside with slabs of granite. It was\nthe granary of the Maruthur temple adjoining it, and, the story\ngoes that the supply in this granary was inexhaustible.\n\n\"The next ceremony of importance is called Puthari (meal of new\nrice). In some places it takes place on Nira day, but, as a rule,\nit is an independent festival, which takes place during the great\nnational festival Onam in August. When the new rice crop has been\nthreshed, a day is fixed for the ceremony. Those who have no land\nunder cultivation simply add some grains of the new rice to their\nmeal. An indispensable curry on this day is made of the leaves\nof Cassia Tora, peas, the fruit of puthari chundanga (Swertia\nChirata), brinjals (Solanum Melongena), and green pumpkins.\nThe first crop is now harvested. There are no special ceremonies\nconnected with the cultivation of the second crop, except the one\ncalled Chettotakam in the month of Thulam (November), which is\nobserved in the Palghat taluk. It is an offering made to the gods,\nwhen the transplantation is completed; to wipe out the sin the\nlabourers may have committed by unwittingly killing the insects\nand reptiles concealed in the earth. The god, whose protection\nis invoked on this occasion, is called Muni. No barn is complete\nwithout its own Muni, who is generally represented by a block of\ngranite beneath a tree. He is the protector of cattle and field\nlabourers, and arrack (liquor), toddy, and blood, form necessary\ningredients for his worship.\n\n\"In well-to-do families, a goat is sacrificed to him, but\nthe poorer classes satisfy him with the blood of a fowl. The\nofficiating priest is generally the cultivation agent, who is a\nNayar, or sometimes a Cheruman. The goat or fowl is brought before\nthe god, and a mixture of turmeric and chunam (lime) sprinkled\nover it. If the animal shakes, it is a sign that the god is\nsatisfied. If it does not, the difficulty is got over by a very\nliberal interpretation of the smallest movement of the animal,\nand a further application of the mixture. The god who ensures\nsunshine and good weather is Mullan. He is a rural deity, and is\nset up on the borders and ridges of the rice-fields. Like Muni,\nhe is propitiated by the sacrifice of a fowl. The second crop\nis harvested in Makaram (end of January), and a festival called\nUcharal is observed from the twenty-eighth to the thirtieth in\nhonour of the menstruation of mother earth, which is believed to\ntake place on those days, which are observed as days of abstinence\nfrom all work, except hunting. A complete holiday is given to the\nCherumans. The first day is called the closing of ucharal. Towards\nevening some thorns, five or six broomsticks, and ashes, are taken\nto the room in which the grain is stored. The door is closed, and\nthe thorns and sticks are placed against it, or fixed to it with\ncow-dung. The ashes are spread before it, and, during that and\nthe following day, no one will open the door. On the second day,\ncessation from work is scrupulously observed. The house may not\nbe cleaned, and the daily smearing of the floor with cow-dung is\navoided. Even gardens may not be watered. On the fourth day the\nucharal is opened, and a basketful of dry leaves is taken to the\nfields, and burnt with a little manure. The Ucharal days are the\nquarter days of Malabar, and demands for surrender of property\nmay be made only on the day following the festival, when all\nagricultural leases expire. By the burning of leaves and manure\non his estate, the cultivator, it seems to me, proclaims that\nhe remains in possession of the property. In support of this,\nwe have the practice of a new lessee asking the lessor whether\nany other person has burnt dry leaves in the field. The Ucharal\nfestival is also held at Cherupulcherri, and at Kanayam near\nShoranur. Large crowds assemble with representations of cattle in\nstraw, which are taken in procession to the temple of Bhagavathi\nwith beating of drums and the shouting of the crowd.\"\n\n\nThe fact that the Cherumans, who are agrestic serfs, play a leading\npart in some of the festivals which have just been described, is\nsignificant. In an interesting note on the privileges of the servile\nclasses, Mr M. J. Walhouse writes [360] that \"it is well known that\nthe servile castes in Southern India once held far higher positions,\nand were indeed masters of the land on the arrival of the Brahmanical\nrace. Many curious vestiges of their ancient power still survive\nin the shape of certain privileges, which are jealously cherished,\nand, their origin being forgotten, are much misunderstood. These\nprivileges are remarkable instances of survivals from an extinct state\nof society--shadows of long-departed supremacy, bearing witness to\na period when the present haughty high-caste races were suppliants\nbefore the ancestors of degraded classes, whose touch is now regarded\nas pollution. In the great festival of Siva at Trivalur in Tanjore,\nthe headman of the Pareyans is mounted on the elephant with the god,\nand carries his chauri (yak-tail fly fan). In Madras, at the annual\nfestival of the goddess of the Black Town (now George Town [361]),\nwhen a tali (marriage badge) is tied round the neck of the idol in\nthe name of the entire community, a Pareyan is chosen to represent the\nbridegroom. At Melkote in Mysore, the chief seat of the followers of\nRamanuja Acharya, and at the Brahman temple at Belur, the Holeyas or\nPareyans have the right of entering the temple on three days in the\nyear, specially set apart for them.\"\n\nThe privilege is said to have been conferred on the Holeyas, in\nreturn for their helping Ramanuja to recover the image of Krishna,\nwhich was carried off to Delhi by the Muhammadans. Paraiyans are\nallowed to take part in pulling the cars of the idols in the great\nfestivals at Conjeeveram, Kumbakonam, and Srivilliputtur. Their touch\nis not reckoned to defile the ropes used, so that other Hindus will\npull with them. It was noted by Mr F. H. Ellis, who was Collector of\nthe Madras district in 1812, that \"a custom prevails among the slave\ncastes in Tondeimandalam, especially in the neighbourhood of Madras,\nwhich may be considered as a periodical assertion of independence at\nthe close of the Tamil month Auni, with which the revenue year ends,\nand the cultivation of the ensuing year ought to commence. The whole\nof the slaves strike work, collect in bodies outside of the villages,\nand so remain until their masters, by promising to continue their\nprivileges, by solicitations, presents of betel, and other gentle\nmeans, induce them to return. The slaves on these occasions, however\nwell treated they may have been, complain of various grievances,\nreal and imaginary, and threaten a general desertion. This threat,\nhowever, they never carry into execution, but, after the usual time,\neverything having been conducted according to mamul (custom), return\nquietly to their labours.\"\n\nComing to more recent times, it is recorded by Mr Walhouse [362]\nthat \"at particular seasons there is a festival much resembling the\nclassic Saturnalia, in which, for the time, the relation of slaves and\nmasters is inverted, and the former attack the latter with unstinted\nsatire and abuse, and threaten to strike work unless confirmed in\ntheir privileges, and humbly solicit to return to labour.\"\n\nIn villages in South Canara there are certain rakshasas (demons),\ncalled Kambla Asura, who preside over the fields. To propitiate them,\nbuffalo races, [363] which are an exciting form of sport, are held,\nusually in October and November, before the second or sugge crop is\nsown. It is believed that, if the races are omitted, there will be a\nfailure of the crop. The Koragas (field labourers) sit up through the\nnight before the Kambla day, performing a ceremony called panikkuluni,\nor sitting under the dew. They sing songs to the accompaniment of\na band about their devil Nicha, and offer toddy and a rice pudding\nboiled in a large earthen pot, which is broken so that the pudding\nremains as a solid mass. This pudding is called kandel adde, or pot\npudding. On the morning of the races, the Holeyas (agrestic serfs)\nscatter manure over the field, in which the races are to take place,\nand plough it. On the following day, the seedlings are planted. To\npropitiate various demons, the days following the races are devoted\nto cock-fighting, in which hundreds of birds may take part.\n\nImportant agricultural ceremonies are performed by the Badagas of\nthe Nilgiris, who carry out most of the cultivation on these hills,\nat the time of sowing and harvesting the crop. The seed-sowing ceremony\ntakes place in March, and, in some places, a Kurumba (jungle tribesman)\nplays an important part in it. On an auspicious day--a Tuesday before\nthe crescent moon--a priest of the Devve temple sets out several\nhours before dawn with five or seven kinds of grain in a basket and a\nsickle, accompanied by a Kurumba, and leading a pair of bullocks with\na plough. On reaching the field selected, the priest pours the grain\ninto the cloth of the Kurumba, and, yoking the animals to the plough,\nmakes three furrows in the soil. The Kurumba, stopping the bullocks,\nkneels on the ground between the furrows, facing east. Removing his\nturban, he places it on the ground, and, closing his ears with his\npalms, bawls out \"Dho, Dho\" thrice. He then rises, and scatters the\ngrain thrice on the soil. The priest and Kurumba then return to the\nvillage, and the former deposits what remains of the grain in the\nstore-room. A new pot, full of water, is placed in the milk-house,\nand the priest dips his right hand therein, saying \"Nerathubitta\"\n(it is full). This ceremony is an important one, as, until it has\nbeen performed, sowing may not commence. It is a day of feasting,\nand, in addition to rice, Dolichos Lablab is cooked.\n\nAnother agricultural ceremony of the Badagas is called Devva habba or\ntenai (Setaria italica), and is usually celebrated in June or July,\nalways on a Monday. It is apparently performed in honour of the gods\nMahalingaswami and Hiriya Udaya, to whom a group of villages will have\ntemples dedicated. The festival is celebrated at one place, whither\nthe Badagas from other villages proceed, to take part in it. About\nmidday, some Badagas and the temple priest go from the temple of\nHiriya Udaya to that of Mahalingaswami. The procession is usually\nheaded by a Kurumba, who scatters fragments of tud (Meliosma pungens)\nbark and wood as he goes on his way. The priest takes with him the\nmaterials necessary for performing worship, and, after worshipping\nMahalingaswami, the party return to the Hiriya Udaya temple, where\nmilk and cooked rice are offered to the various gods within the\ntemple precincts. On the following day, all assemble at the temple,\nand a Kurumba brings a few sheaves of Setaria italica, and ties them\nto a stone set up at the main entrance. After this, worship is done,\nand the people offer cocoanuts to the god. Later on, all the women of\nthe Madhave sept, who have given birth to a first-born child, come,\ndressed up in holiday attire, with their babies, to the temple. On this\nday they wear a special nose ornament called elemukkuththi, which is\nonly worn on one other occasion, at the funeral of a husband. The women\nworship Hiriya Udaya, and the priest gives them a small quantity of\nrice on minige (Argyreia) leaves. After eating this, they wash their\nhands with water given to them by the priest, and leave the temple\nin a line. As soon as the Devve festival is concluded, the reaping\nof the crop commences, and a measure or two of grain gathered on the\nfirst day is set apart for the Mahalingaswami temple.\n\nBy the Kotas (artisans and cultivators) of the Nilgiris, a seed-sowing\nceremony is celebrated in the month of Kumbam (February-March) on a\nTuesday or Friday. For eight days the officiating priest abstains from\nmeat, and lives on vegetable diet, and may not communicate directly\nwith his wife for fear of pollution, a boy acting as spokesman. On the\nSunday before the ceremony, a number of cows are penned in a kraal,\nand milked by the priest. The milk is preserved, and, if the omens are\nfavourable, is said not to turn sour. If it does, this is attributed\nto the priest being under pollution from some cause or other. On the\nday of the ceremony, the priest bathes in a stream, and proceeds,\naccompanied by a boy, to a field or the forest. After worshipping\nthe gods, he makes a small seed-pan in the ground, and sows therein\na small quantity of ragi (Eleusine Coracana). Meanwhile, the Kotas of\nthe village go to the temple, and clean it. Thither the priest and the\nboy proceed, and the deity is worshipped with offerings of cocoanuts;\nbetel, flowers, etc. Sometimes a Terkaran (priest) becomes inspired,\nand gives expression to oracular utterances. From the temple all go\nto the house of the priest, who gives them a small quantity of milk\nand food. Three months later, on an auspicious day, the reaping of\nthe crop is commenced with a very similar ceremonial.\n\nWriting in 1832, Mr Harkness states [364] that, during the seed-sowing\nceremony, \"offerings are made at the temples, and, on the day of the\nfull-moon, after the whole have partaken of a feast, the blacksmith,\nand the gold and silversmith, constructing separately a forge and\nfurnace within the temple, each makes something in the way of his\nvocation, the blacksmith a chopper or axe, the silversmith a ring or\nother kind of ornament.\"\n\nIn connection with the ceremonial observances of the Koyis of the\nGodavari district, the Rev. J. Cain writes [365] that \"at present\nthe Koyis around Dummagudem have very few festivals, except one at\nthe harvest of the zonna (Sorghum vulgare). Formerly they had one\nnot only for every grain crop, but one when the ippa [366] (Bassia)\nflowers were ready to be gathered, another when the pumpkins were\nripe, at the first tapping of the palm-tree for toddy, etc. Now, at\nthe time the zonna crop is ripe and ready to be cut, they take a fowl\ninto the field, kill it, and sprinkle its blood on any ordinary stone\nput up for the occasion, after which they are at liberty to partake\nof the new crop. In many villages they would refuse to eat with any\nKoi who has neglected this ceremony, to which they give the name\nKottalu, which word is evidently derived from the Telugu word kotta\n(new). Rice-straw cords are hung on trees, to show that the feast has\nbeen observed. [In some places, Mr Hemingway tells me, the victim\nis a sheep, and the first-fruits are offered to the local gods and\nthe ancestors.] Another singular feast occurs soon after the cholam\n(zonna) crop has been harvested. Early on the morning of that day,\nall the men of each village have to turn out into the forest to hunt,\nand woe betide the unlucky individual who does not bring home some\ngame, be it only a bird or a mouse. All the women rush after him with\ncow-dung, mud, or dirt, and pelt him out of their village, and he\ndoes not appear again in that village till next morning. The hunter\nwho has been most successful then parades the village with his game,\nand receives presents of paddy (rice) from every house. Mr Vanstavern,\nwhilst boring for coal at Beddanolu, was visited by all the Koi women\nof the village, dressed up in their lord's clothes, and they told\nhim that they had that morning driven their husbands to the forest,\nto bring home game of some kind or other.\"\n\nMr N. E. Marjoribanks once witnessed a grossly indecent pantomime,\nheld in connection with this festival, which is called Bhudevi Panduga,\nor festival of the earth goddess. The performers were women, of whom\nthe drummers and sword-bearers were dressed up as men. In a note on\nthis festival, Mr F. R. Hemingway writes that \"when the samalu crop\nis ripe, the Kois summon the pujari on a previously appointed day,\nand collect from every house in the village a fowl and a handful of\ngrain. The pujari has to fast all that night, and bathe early the\nnext morning. After bathing, he kills the fowls gathered the previous\nevening in the names of the favourite gods, and fastens an ear of\nsamalu to each house, and then a feast follows. In the evening they\ncook some of the new grain, and kill fresh fowls, which have not to\nbe curried but roasted, and the heart, liver, and lights of which are\nset apart as the especial food of their ancestral spirits, and eaten\nby every member of each household in their name. The bean feast is\nan important one, as, until it is held, no one is allowed to gather\nany beans. On the second day before the feast, the village pujari must\neat only bread. The day before, he must fast for the whole twenty-four\nhours, and, on the day of the feast, he must eat only rice cooked in\nmilk, with the bird offered in sacrifice. All the men of the village\naccompany the pujari to a neighbouring tree, which must be a Terminalia\ntomentosa, and set up a stone, which they thus dedicate to the goddess\nKodalamma. Every one is bound to bring for the pujari a good hen and\na seer of rice, and for himself a cock and half a seer of rice. The\npujari also demands from them two annas as his sacrificing fee.\"\n\nSeed-drills used by agriculturists in the Bellary district are\nornamented with carved representations of the sacred bull Nandi,\nthe monkey-god Hanuman, and the lingam, and decorated with margosa\n(Melia Azadirachta) leaves, to bring good luck.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXII\n\nRAIN-MAKING CEREMONIES\n\n\nAmong the Kalyana Singapu Kondhs of Vizagapatam, a rain-making ceremony\ncalled barmarakshasi is performed, which consists in making life-size\nmud images of women seated on the ground, holding grindstones between\ntheir knees, and offering sacrifices to them. [367]\n\nIn times of drought, the Koyis of the Godavari district hold a festival\nto Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers from whom they claim descent,\nand, when rain falls, sacrifice a cow or a pig to him. It is said\n[368] to be considered very efficacious if the Brahmans take in\nprocession round the village an image of Varuna (the god of rain)\nmade of mud from the bed of a river or tank. Another method is to pour\na thousand pots of water over the lingam in the Siva temple. Malas\n(Telugu Pariahs) tie a live frog to a mortar, and put on the top\nthereof a mud figure representing the deity Gontiyalamma. They then\ntake these objects in procession, singing \"Mother frog, playing in\nwater, pour rain by potsfull.\" The villagers of other castes then\ncome and pour water over the Malas.\n\nThe Rev. S. Nicholson informs me that, to produce rain in the Telugu\ncountry, two boys capture a frog, and put it into a basket with some\nnim (margosa, Melia Azadirachta) leaves. They tie the basket to the\nmiddle of a stick, which they support on their shoulders. In this\nmanner, they make a circuit of the village, visiting every house,\nsinging the praises of the god of rain. The greater the noise the\ncaptive animal makes, the better the omen, and the more gain for the\nboys, for at every house they receive something in recognition of\ntheir endeavours to bring rain upon the village fields.\n\n\n    \"In the Bellary district when the rain fails, the Kapu (Telugu\n    cultivator) females catch a frog, and tie it alive to a new\n    winnowing fan made of bamboo. On this fan, leaving the frog\n    visible, they spread a few margosa leaves, and go singing from\n    door to door, 'Lady frog must have her bath; oh! rain god, give\n    at least a little water for her.' This means that the drought has\n    reached such a stage that there is not even a drop of water for\n    the frogs. When the Kapu female sings this song, the woman of the\n    house brings a little water in a vessel, pours it over the frog,\n    which is left on the fan outside the door sill, and gives some\n    alms. She is satisfied that such an action will bring down rain in\n    torrents. On the first full-moon day in the month of Bhadrapada\n    (September), the agricultural population in the Bellary district\n    celebrate a festival called Jokumara, to appease the rain-god. The\n    Barike women (said to belong to the Gaurimakkalu section of the\n    Kabbera caste) go round the village in which they live, with\n    a basket on their heads containing margosa leaves, flowers of\n    various kinds, and sacred ashes. They beg for alms, especially\n    from the cultivating classes, and, in return for the alms bestowed\n    (usually grain or food), they give some of the leaves, flowers,\n    and ashes. The cultivators take these to their fields, prepare\n    cholam (Sorghum) kanji or gruel, mix them with it, and sprinkle\n    the kanji over their fields. After this the cultivator proceeds\n    to the potter's kiln in the village, and fetches ashes from it,\n    with which he makes the figure of a human being. This figure is\n    placed in a field, and called Jokumara or rain-god, and is supposed\n    to have the power of bringing down the rain in due season. A second\n    kind of Jokumara worship is called muddam, or the outlining of rude\n    representations of human figures with powdered charcoal. These are\n    made in the early morning, before the bustle of the day commences,\n    on the ground at cross-roads, and along thoroughfares. The Barikes,\n    who draw these figures, are paid a small remuneration in money or\n    kind. The figures represent Jokumara, who will bring down rain,\n    when insulted by people treading on him. Yet another kind of\n    Jokumara worship prevails in the Bellary district. When rain fails,\n    the Kapu females model a small figure of a naked human being, which\n    they place in a miniature palanquin, and go from door to door,\n    singing indecent songs, and collecting alms. They continue this\n    procession for three or four days, and then abandon the figure in\n    a field adjacent to the village. The Malas take possession of the\n    abandoned Jokumara, and, in their turn, go about singing indecent\n    songs, and collecting alms for three or four days, and then throw\n    the figure away in some jungle. This form of Jokumara worship\n    is also believed to bring down plenty of rain. In the Bellary\n    district, the agriculturists have a curious superstition about\n    prophesying the state of the coming season. The village of Mailar\n    contains a Siva temple, which is famous throughout the district\n    for an annual festival held there in the month of February. This\n    festival has now dwindled into more or less a cattle fair. But the\n    fame of the temple continues as regards the Karanika, which is a\n    cryptic sentence uttered by the priest, containing a prophecy of\n    the prospects of the agricultural season. The pujari (priest)\n    of the temple is a Kuruba (cultivating caste). The feast at\n    the temple lasts for ten days. On the last day, the god Siva is\n    represented as returning victorious from the battlefield, after\n    having slain the demon Malla (Mallasura) with a huge bow. He is\n    met half-way from the field of battle by the goddess. The wooden\n    bow is placed on end before the god. The Kuruba priest climbs\n    up it, as it is held by two assistants, and then gets on their\n    shoulders. In this posture he stands rapt in silence for a few\n    minutes, looking in several directions. He then begins to quake\n    and quiver from head to foot. This is the sign of the spirit of\n    the god Siva possessing him. A solemn silence holds the assembly,\n    for the time of the Karanika has arrived. The shivering Kuruba\n    utters a cryptic sentence, such as 'Thunder struck the sky.' This\n    is at once copied down, and interpreted as a prophecy that there\n    will be much rain in the year to come.\" [369]\n\n\nIt is said that, in the year before the Mutiny, the prophecy was\n\"They have risen against the white-ants.\"\n\nThe villagers at Kanuparti in the Guntur district of the Telugu country\nobjected, in 1906, to the removal of certain figures of the sacred bull\nNandi and lingams, which were scattered about the fields, on the ground\nthat the rainfall would cease, if these sacred objects were taken away.\n\nTo bring down rain, Brahmans, and those non-Brahmans who copy their\nceremonial rites, have their Varuna japam, or prayers to Varuna,\nthe rain-god. Some of the lower classes, instead of addressing their\nprayers to Varuna, try to induce a spirit or devata named Kodumpavi\n(wicked one) to send her paramour Sukra to the affected area. The\nbelief seems to be that Sukra goes away to his concubinage for about\nsix months, and, if he does not then return, drought ensues. The\nceremony consists in making a huge figure of Kodumpavi in clay,\nwhich is placed on a cart, and dragged through the streets for seven\nto ten days. On the last day, the final death ceremonies of the\nfigure are celebrated. It is disfigured, especially in those parts\nwhich are usually concealed. Vettiyans (Paraiyan grave-diggers),\nwho have been shaved, accompany the figure, and perform the funeral\nceremonies. This procedure is believed to put Kodumpavi to shame, and\nto get her to induce Sukra to return, and stay the drought. According\nto Mr W. Francis, [370] the figure, which is made of clay or straw,\nis dragged feet first through the village by the Paraiyans, who\naccompany it, wailing as though they were at a funeral, and beating\ndrums in funeral time.\n\nI am informed by Mr F. R. Hemingway that, when rain is wanted in the\nTrichinopoly district, an effigy called Koman (the king) is dragged\nround the streets, and its funeral performed with great attention\nto details. Or an effigy of Kodumpavi is treated with contumely. In\nsome places, the women collect kanji (rice gruel) from door to door,\nand drink it, or throw it away on a tank bund (embankment), wailing\nthe while as they do at funerals. People of the higher castes repeat\nprayers to Varuna, and read portions of the Virata Parvam in the\nMahabharata, in the hope that the land will be as fertile as the\ncountry of the Virats, where the Pandavas lived. When the tanks and\nrivers threaten to breach their banks, men stand naked on the bund,\nand beat drums; and, if too much rain falls, naked men point firebrands\nat the sky. Their nudity is supposed to shock the powers that bring\nthe rain, and arrest their further progress. According to Mr Francis,\n[371] when too much rain falls, the way to stop it is to send the\neldest son to stand in it stark naked, with a torch in his hand.\n\nA Native of Coimbatore wrote a few years ago that we have done all\nthings possible to please the gods. We spent about two hundred rupees\nin performing Varuna japam on a grand scale in a strictly orthodox\nfashion. For a few days there were cold winds, and some lightning. But,\nalas, the japam was over, and with that disappeared all signs of\ngetting any showers in the near future. It is noted by Haddon [372]\nthat, in the Torres Straits, as elsewhere, the impossible is never\nattempted, and a rain charm would not be made when there was no\nexpectation of rain coming, or during the wrong season.\n\nThere is, in some parts of the country, a belief that, if lepers\nare buried when they die, rain will not visit the locality where\ntheir corpses have been deposited. So they disinter the bodies, and\nthrow the remains thereof into the river, or burn them. Some years\nago, a man who was supposed to be a leper died, and was buried. His\nskeleton was disinterred, put into a basket, and hung to a tree with\na garland of flowers round its neck. The Superintendent of Police,\ncoming across it, ordered it to be disposed of.\n\nThe following quaint superstitions relating to the origin of rain\nare recorded by Mr Gopal Panikkar. [373]\n\n\n    \"In the regions above the earth, there are supposed to exist\n    large monsters called Kalameghathanmar, to whom is assigned\n    the responsibility of supplying the earth with water. These\n    monsters are under the direction and control of Indra, [374] and\n    are possessed of enormous physical strength. They have two huge\n    horns projecting upwards from the sides of the crown of the head,\n    large flashing eyes, and other remarkable features.  All the summer\n    they are engaged in drawing up water from the earth through their\n    mouths, which they spit out to produce rain in the rainy season. A\n    still ruder imagination ascribes rain to the periodical discharge\n    of urine by these monsters. Hence, in some quarters, there exists a\n    peculiar aversion to the use of rain-water for human consumption.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] \"Gazetteer of the Nilgiris,\" 1908, i. 338.\n\n[2] Bishop Whitehead, Madras Museum Bull., 1907, No. 3, v. 134.\n\n[3] Madras Museum Bull., 1907, No. 3, v. 139-40.\n\n[4] Malabar, 1887, i. 177-8.\n\n[5] Used as a fly-flapper (chamara).\n\n[6] \"Malabar and its Folk,\" Madras, 2nd edition, 99-100.\n\n[7] N. Sunkuni Wariar, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1892, xxi. 96.\n\n[8] K. Srikantaliar, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1892, xxi. 193.\n\n[9] M. N. Venkataswami, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1905, xxxiv. 176.\n\n[10] \"Gazetteer of the Godavari District,\" 1907, i. 66.\n\n[11] \"Note on the Koravas,\" 1908.\n\n[12] M. J. Walhouse, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1881, x. 366.\n\n[13] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 293.\n\n[14] \"Gazetteer of the Godavari District,\" 1907, i. 47.\n\n[15] M. J. Walhouse, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 21.\n\n[16] India, Truebner, Oriental Series, 1888, i. 182.\n\n[17] Rev. S. Mateer, \"Native Life in Travancore,\" 1883, 330-52.\n\n[18] M. J. Walhouse, Journ. Anthrop. Inst., 1874, iv. 373.\n\n[19] Voyage to the East Indies, 1777 and 1781.\n\n[20] Rev. J. A. Sharrock, \"South Indian Missions,\" 1910, 9.\n\n[21] See Emma Rosenbusch (Mrs Clough), \"While sewing Sandals, or\nTales of a Telugu Pariah Tribe.\"\n\n[22] L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, \"The Cochin Tribes and Castes,\"\n1909, i. 114.\n\n[23] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1873, ii. 65.\n\n[24] F. Fawcett, \"Note on the Koravas,\" 1908.\n\n[25] S. P. Rice, \"Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life,\"\n1901, 95-6.\n\n[26] Jeypore, Breklum, 1901.\n\n[27] F. Fawcett, \"Note on the Koravas,\" 1908.\n\n[28] Fire-walking, see Thurston, \"Ethnographic Notes in Southern\nIndia,\" 1907, 471-86.\n\n[29] Udaya is one of the divisions of the Badagas, which ranks as\nsuperior to the other divisions.\n\n[30] Koyis, see Cain, Madras Christian College Magazine (old series),\nv. 352-9, and vi. 274-80; also \"Ind. Ant.,\" v., 1876, and viii., 1879.\n\n[31] \"Gazetteer of the South Arcot District,\" 1906, i. 98.\n\n[32] Madras Museum Bull., 1907, No. 3, v. 166.\n\n[33] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 291.\n\n[34] The Holeyas were formerly agrestic serfs.\n\n[35] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1873, ii. 66.\n\n[36] Earth-eating (geophagy), see my \"Ethnographic Notes in Southern\nIndia,\" 1907, 552-4.\n\n[37] Letters from Malabar, Translation, Madras, 1862.\n\n[38] F. Fawcett, \"Note on the Koravas,\" 1908.\n\n[39] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 288.\n\n[40] Ibid., 285.\n\n[41] M. Paupa Rao Naidu, \"The Criminal Tribes of India,\" Madras,\n1907, No. 3.\n\n[42] T. M. Natesa Sastri, Calcutta Review, 1905, cxxi. 501.\n\n[43] \"Notes on the Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency,\"\n1892, 90.\n\n[44] \"Malabar and its Folk,\" Madras, 2nd. ed., 58-9.\n\n[45] Letters from Madras, 1843.\n\n[46] \"Hindu Feasts, Fasts, and Ceremonies,\" Madras, 1903, 32-3.\n\n[47] Madras Weekly Mail, 15th October, 1908.\n\n[48] Rev. E. W. Thompson, \"The Last Siege of Seringapatam,\" 1907.\n\n[49] \"An Indian Olio,\" 98.\n\n[50] \"Manual of the North Arcot District\" 1895, i. 223-4.\n\n[51] S. M. Natesa Sastri, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1889, xviii. 287.\n\n[52] Rev. J. Cain, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1875, iv. 198.\n\n[53] F. Fawcett, \"Note on the Koravas,\" 1908.\n\n[54] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 358.\n\n[55] \"Manual of the Ganjam District,\" 1882, 71-2.\n\n[56] \"Gazetteer of the Bellary District,\" 1904, i. 61.\n\n[57] Madras Agricult. Bull., 1900, ii. No. 42.\n\n[58] Madras Dioc. Mag., 1908.\n\n[59] Madras Weekly Mail, 7th October 1909.\n\n[60] Loc. cit.\n\n[61] Madras Museum Bull., 1907, v., No. 3, 173.\n\n[62] Many of the bird superstitions here recorded were published in\nan article in the Madras Mail.\n\n[63] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 293.\n\n[64] \"Gazetteer of the Bellary District,\" 1904, i. 61.\n\n[65] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 293.\n\n[66] See Thurston, \"Ethnographic Notes in Southern India,\" 1907, 44-7.\n\n[67] J. S. F. Mackenzie, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1873, ii., 68.\n\n[68] Rev. F. Dahmen, \"Anthropos,\" 1908, iii. 28.\n\n[69] Rev. M. Phillips, \"Evolution of Hinduism,\" 1903, 123.\n\n[70] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 292.\n\n[71] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 288.\n\n[72] \"Gazetteer of the Tanjore District,\" 1906, i. 66.\n\n[73] \"Manual of the Kurnool District,\" 1886, 114.\n\n[74] Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 1902, xiv., No. 2, 388-91.\n\n[75] \"Gazetteer of the Nilgiris,\" 1908, i. 328.\n\n[76] Journ. Anthrop. Soc., Bombay, i. 241-2.\n\n[77] \"Report on the Sea Fisheries of India and Burma,\" 1873, lxxvi.\n\n[78] \"Manual of the Kurnool District,\" 1886, 115.\n\n[79] M. J. Walhouse, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 23.\n\n[80] Rev. F. Dahmen, \"Anthropos,\" 1908, iii. 30.\n\n[81] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 359.\n\n[82] H. J. Stokes, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1874, iii. 90.\n\n[83] J. S. Chandler, Calcutta Review, July, 1903, cxvii. 28.\n\n[84] \"Totemism,\" 1887, 33.\n\n[85] M. J. Walhouse, Journal Anthrop. Inst., 1874, iv. 376.\n\n[86] H. D. Taylor, \"Madras Census Report,\" 1891.\n\n[87] Madras Mail, 26th January, 1906.\n\n[88] L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, \"Cochin Tribes and Castes,\" 1909,\ni. 22.\n\n[89] Madras Mail, 26th January, 1906.\n\n[90] S. P. Rice, \"Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life,\"\n1901, 211.\n\n[91] Journ. Roy. Asiat. Soc., 1884, xvi. 181.\n\n[92] Report, Govt. Botanical Gardens, Nilgiris, 1903.\n\n[93] \"Gazetteer of Malabar,\" 1908, i. 163.\n\n[94] Letters from Malabar, Translation, Madras, 1862.\n\n[95] 1862, iii. 464.\n\n[96] \"Malabar and its Folk,\" Madras, 2nd ed., 59.\n\n[97] C. Karunakara Menon, Calcutta Review, July, 1901.\n\n[98] C. Karunakara Menon, Calcutta Review, July, 1901.\n\n[99] Madras Mail, 22nd July, 1905.\n\n[100] Vide, Yule and Burnell, \"Hobson-Jobson,\" ed. 1903, 874-9.\n\n[101] Asiatic Journal, ii. 381.\n\n[102] Bishop Whitehead, Madras Diocesan Magazine, July, 1906.\n\n[103] Rev. F. Dahmen, \"Anthropos,\" 1908, iii. 22.\n\n[104] Madras Mail, 26th January, 1906.\n\n[105] Madras Mail, 26th January, 1906.\n\n[106] M. Upendra Pai, Madras Christian Coll. Mag., 1895., xiii.,\nNo. 1, 29.\n\n[107] Mem. Asiat. Soc., Bengal, 1906, i., No. 10.\n\n[108] T. K. Gopal Panikkar, \"Madras and its Folk,\" Madras, 2nd ed.,\n65-6.\n\n[109] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 293-4.\n\n[110] Madras Mail, 26th January, 1906.\n\n[111] \"Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District,\" 1907, i. 286.\n\n[112] \"Manual of the South Canara District,\" 1895, ii. 242.\n\n[113] \"Mysore Census Report,\" 1891, part i. 235.\n\n[114] S. K. Sundara Charlu, Indian Review, 1905, vi., No. 6, 421.\n\n[115] \"Gazetteer of the Trichinopoly District,\" 1907, i. 283.\n\n[116] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 288.\n\n[117] \"Plagues and Pleasures of Life in Bengal,\" 1907, 196-8.\n\n[118] Madras Mail, 26th January, 1906.\n\n[119] \"Malayalam Dictionary,\" 1872, 983.\n\n[120] Kerala Chintamani.\n\n[121] Nature, 18th October, 1906.\n\n[122] Grant Duff, \"Notes from an Indian Diary, 1881-1886.\"\n\n[123] L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, \"The Cochin Tribes and Castes,\"\n1909, i. 166.\n\n[124] F. Fawcett, Madras Museum Bull., 1901, iii., No 3, 309.\n\n[125] Malabar, 1887, i. 175.\n\n[126] D'Alviella, \"The Migration of Symbols,\" 1894, introduction;\nand Times (London), 3rd September, 1891.\n\n[127] Madras Museum Bull., 1906, v., No. 2, 86-7.\n\n[128] Madras Mail, 26th January, 1906.\n\n[129] Leviticus, viii. 29.\n\n[130] The Nayadis are a polluting class, whose approach within 300\nfeet is said to contaminate a Brahman.\n\n[131] L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, \"The Cochin Tribes and Castes,\"\n1909, i. 55-6.\n\n[132] M. J. Walhouse, Journ. Anthrop. Inst., 1890, xix. 56.\n\n[133] \"Gazetteer of the Tanjore District,\" 1906, i. 89.\n\n[134] \"Note on the Koravas,\" 1908.\n\n[135] Madras Standard, 2nd June, 1903.\n\n[136] A tarawad means a family, consisting of all the descendants in\nthe female line of one common female ancestor.\n\n[137] The senior male in a tarawad or tarwad.\n\n[138] See Calcutta Review, July, 1901, cxiii. 21-5.\n\n[139] Laterite is a reddish geological formation, found all over\nSouthern India.\n\n[140] Madras Christian Coll. Mag., 1895, xiii., No. 1, 24-5.\n\n[141] The pipal or aswatha (Ficus religiosa). Many villages have such\na tree with a platform erected round it, on which are carved figures\nof the elephant god Ganesa, and cobras. Village panchayats (councils)\nare often held on this platform.\n\n[142] Indian Patriot, 13th January, 1908.\n\n[143] Elayads, Ilayatus, or Nambiyatiris, are priests at most of the\nsnake groves on the west coast.\n\n[144] Calcutta Review, July, 1901, cxiii. 21.\n\n[145] \"Malabar and its Folk,\" Madras, 2nd ed., 150.\n\n[146] Madras Standard, 2nd June, 1903.\n\n[147] \"Gazetteer of Malabar,\" 1908, i. 112.\n\n[148] See \"Men and Women of India,\" February, 1906.\n\n[149] \"The Cochin Tribes and Castes,\" 1909, i. 153-4.\n\n[150] \"Malabar and its Folk,\" Madras, 2nd ed., 147-8.\n\n[151] Vol. i. 105.\n\n[152] \"Gazetteer of the South Arcot District,\" 1906, i. 102.\n\n[153] \"Gazetteer of the Tanjore District,\" 1906, i. 70.\n\n[154] Sesha or Adisesha is the serpent, on which Vishnu is often\nrepresented as reclining.\n\n[155] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 188.\n\n[156] See the Skanda Purana.\n\n[157] Other colossal statues of Gummatta are at Karkal and Venur or\nYenur in South Canara.\n\n[158] The feast of lights (dipa, lights, avali, a row).\n\n[159] See Bishop Whitehead, \"The Village Deities of Southern India,\"\nMadras Museum Bull., 1907, v. No. 3.\n\n[160] Ibid., 1901, iii. No. 3, 270-1.\n\n[161] \"Gazetteer of the Tanjore District,\" 1906, i. 219.\n\n[162] Madras Dioc. Mag., November, 1910.\n\n[163] See Fawcett, Note on the Mouth-lock Vow, Journ. Anthrop. Soc.,\nBombay, i. 97-102.\n\n[164] \"Gazetteer of the Trichinopoly District,\" 1907, i. 289.\n\n[165] Scottish Standard Bearer, November 1907.\n\n[166] The Patnulkarans claim to be Saurashtra Brahmans.\n\n[167] \"Gazetteer of the Tanjore District,\" 1906, i. 71.\n\n[168] \"Gazetteer of the Madura District,\" i. 86.\n\n[169] \"Primitive Tribes of the Nilagiris,\" 1873, 17.\n\n[170] Sudra is the fourth traditional caste of Manu.\n\n[171] \"Manual of the North Arcot District,\" 1895, i. 242.\n\n[172] Mysore Census Report, 1901, part i. 519.\n\n[173] Basavi, see article \"Deva-dasi\" in my \"Castes and Tribes of\nSouthern India,\" 1909, ii. 125-53.\n\n[174] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District\", 1875, 283.\n\n[175] Madras Museum Bull., 1907, v. No. 3, 149.\n\n[176] \"Gazetteer of the Trichinopoly District,\" 1907, i. 289.\n\n[177] Jeypore, Breklum, 1901.\n\n[178] \"Gazetteer of the Tanjore District,\" 1906, 1. 72.\n\n[179] \"Gazetteer of the Madura District,\" 1906, i. 86-7.\n\n[180] Ibid., 86.\n\n[181] Madras Museum Bull., 1906, v., No. 2, 78-9.\n\n[182] Madras Museum Bull., 1907, v., No. 3, 149.\n\n[183] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1881, x. 364.\n\n[184] The Pallis claim to be descendants of the fire race (Agnikula)\nof the Kshatriyas, and that, as they and the Pandava brothers were\nborn of fire, they are related.\n\n[185] \"Gazetteer of the South Arcot District,\" 1906, i. 375-6.\n\n[186] \"Gazetteer of the Madura District,\" 1906, i. 85.\n\n[187] \"Narrative of Little's Detachment,\" 1794, 212-3.\n\n[188] Lambadis or Brinjaris, who formerly acted as carriers of supplies\nand baggage in times of war in the Deccan.\n\n[189] Journ. Anthrop. Soc., Bombay, i. 253-4.\n\n[190] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1879, viii. 219.\n\n[191] Ibid., 1880, ix. 150.\n\n[192] Journ. Anthrop. Soc., Bombay, ii. 272.\n\n[193] \"Gazetteer of the Madura District,\" 1906, i. 86.\n\n[194] \"Gazetteer of the South Arcot District,\" 1906, i. 102.\n\n[195] \"Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies\" translation by\nH. K. Beauchamp, 1897, ii. 610.\n\n[196] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1880, ix. 152.\n\n[197] \"Mysore,\" 1897, ii. 350.\n\n[198] Madras Museum Bull., 1901, iii., No. 3, 266.\n\n[199] The making of a shrine, Calcutta Review, 1899, cviii. 173-5.\n\n[200] Bhutha, or demon worship, prevails in South Canara, where the\nvillages have their bhutha sthanam or demon shrine.\n\n[201] \"Cochin Census Report,\" 1901, part i. 25.\n\n[202] \"Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District,\" 1907, i. 329.\n\n[203] \"Gazetteer of the Anantapur District,\" 1905, i. 164.\n\n[204] \"Native Life in Travancore,\" 1883.\n\n[205] \"Gazetteer of the Madura District,\" 1906, i. 102.\n\n[206] \"Mediaeval Sinhalese Art,\" 1908, 70-75.\n\n[207] Philalethes, \"History of Ceylon,\" 1817, 163.\n\n[208] M. Bapu Rao, Madras Christian Coll. Mag., April 1894, xi.\n\n[209] \"Gazetteer of the Madura District,\" 1906, i. 286.\n\n[210] \"Gazetteer of the South Arcot District,\" 1906, i. 278.\n\n[211] F. Fawcett, Man, 1901, i., No. 29, p. 37.\n\n[212] \"Madras Census Report,\" 1901, part i. 134.\n\n[213] \"Malabar and its Folk,\" Madras, 2nd ed., 133.\n\n[214] Thula (scales), purusha (man), danam (gift).\n\n[215] See Shungoony Menon, \"History of Travancore,\" 1878, 58-72.\n\n[216] Madras Diocesan Record, October, 1905.\n\n[217] \"Christianity and Caste,\" 1893.\n\n[218] Rev. J. Cain, Madras Christian Coll. Mag., 1887-8, v. 358.\n\n[219] In Southern India, turmeric (Curcuma) is commonly called saffron\n(Crocus).\n\n[220] \"Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District,\" 1907, i. 75.\n\n[221] Madras Museum Bull., 1907, v., No. 3, 134.\n\n[222] Ibid., 171.\n\n[223] \"An Indian Olio,\" 79-80.\n\n[224] \"Gazetteer of the Nilgiris,\" 1908, i. 340.\n\n[225] \"The Tinnevelly Shanars,\" 1849.\n\n[226] Madras Dioc. Mag., March, 1903.\n\n[227] Rev. J. Cain, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1879, viii. 219.\n\n[228] \"Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies,' translation by\nH. K. Beauchamp, 1897, i. 143.\n\n[229] \"Gazetteer of the Anantapur District,\" 1905, i. 198.\n\n[230] \"Gazetteer of the South Arcot District,\" 1906, i. 93.\n\n[231] \"Gazetteer of the South Arcot District,\" 1906, i. 92-3.\n\n[232] \"Goa and the Blue Mountains,\" 1851, 339.\n\n[233] \"Gazetteer of the Bellary District,\" 1904, i. 60.\n\n[234] F. Fawcett, Madras Museum Bull., 1901, iii., No. 3, 307.\n\n[235] \"Malabar,\" 1887, i. 175.\n\n[236] \"Malabar,\" 1887, i. 175.\n\n[237] M. J. Walhouse, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 23.\n\n[238] F. Fawcett, Journ. Anthrop. Soc., Bombay, i. 260.\n\n[239] \"Manual of the Kurnool District,\" 1886, 116.\n\n[240] Tennent, \"Ceylon,\" 1860, i. 145.\n\n[241] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 292.\n\n[242] Madras Mail, 26th January, 1906.\n\n[243] Madras Museum Bull., 1900, iii., No. 1, 41.\n\n[244] Madras Museum Bull., 1901, iii., No. 3, 195-6.\n\n[245] Madras Dioc. Mag., July, 1905.\n\n[246] Rev. A. C. Clayton, Madras Museum Bull., 1906, v., No. 2, 86.\n\n[247] Journ. Anthrop. Inst., 1890, xix., 56.\n\n[248] Madras Christian Coll. Mag., January, 1907, vi. No. 7.\n\n[249] Rev. A. C. Clayton, Madras Museum Bull., 1906, v., No. 2, 66.\n\n[250] \"The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian,\" translation, 3rd ed.,\n1903, ii. 332.\n\n[251] The pearl fisheries are conducted from Tuticorin in the\nTinnevelly district.\n\n[252] \"Ceylon,\" 1860, ii. 564-5.\n\n[253] \"The Golden Bough,\" 1900, ii. 241 et seq. Bibliography of\nhuman sacrifice among the Kondhs, see Thurston, \"Castes and Tribes\nof Southern India,\" 1909, iii. 412-5.\n\n[254] \"Selections from the Records of the Government of India,\"\nNo. v., Suppression of human sacrifice and infanticide, 1854. The\nsubject of Meriah sacrifice is also dealt with by F. E. Penny, in\nher novel entitled \"Sacrifice,\" 1910.\n\n[255] \"Personal Narrative of Service among the Wild Tribes of\nKhondistan,\" 1864.\n\n[256] \"The People of India,\" 1908, 62.\n\n[257] \"Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District,\" 1907, i. 202.\n\n[258] \"Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District,\" 1907, i. 262-3.\n\n[259] Madras Weekly Mail, 6th June, 1894.\n\n[260] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 359.\n\n[261] Madras Christian Coll. Mag., 1887-88, v. 357.\n\n[262] \"Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District,\" 1907, i. 202.\n\n[263] \"Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies,\" translation by\nH. K. Beauchamp, 1897, i. 70-1.\n\n[264] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1879, viii. 219.\n\n[265] Infanticide, see Thurston, \"Ethnographic Notes in Southern\nIndia,\" 1907, 502-9.\n\n[266] Marshall, \"A Phrenologist amongst the Todas,\" 1873, 195.\n\n[267] Ellis, \"History of Madagascar.\"\n\n[268] \"The Village Deities of Southern India,\" Madras Museum Bull.,\n1907, v. 3, 137, 186.\n\n[269] \"Gazetteer of Malabar,\" 1908, i. 132.\n\n[270] \"Mysore and Coorg Manual,\" 1878, iii. 265.\n\n[271] The Kaniyans of the west coast are exorcisers.\n\n[272] \"Mysore and Coorg Manual,\" 1878, iii. 264-5.\n\n[273] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1881, x. 366.\n\n[274] Ibid., 1876, v. 22.\n\n[275] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1878, vii. 177.\n\n[276] \"Gazetteer of the Anantapur District,\" 1905, i. 179.\n\n[277] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 284.\n\n[278] Lieutenant-General F. F. Burton, \"An Indian Olio,\" 307.\n\n[279] \"Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life,\" 1901, 72-3.\n\n[280] \"Manual of Medical Jurisprudence in India,\" 1870.\n\n[281] Indian Review, May, 1900.\n\n[282] \"The Cochin Tribes and Castes,\" Madras, 1909, i. 77-81.\n\n[283] \"The Cochin Tribes and Castes,\" Madras, i. 176-7.\n\n[284] \"Malabar,\" 1887, i. 174.\n\n[285] \"Description of a Singular Aboriginal Race inhabiting the summit\nof the Neilgherry Hills,\" 1832, 83-4.\n\n[286] \"Madras Police Administration Report,\" 1900.\n\n[287] \"Manual of the Niligiri District,\" 1880, 212.\n\n[288] \"Madras Police Administration Report,\" 1904.\n\n[289] Ibid., 1905-6.\n\n[290] A. C. Haddon, \"Magic and Fetishism\" (Religions, ancient and\nmodern), 1906, 51.\n\n[291] See the articles devoted to these castes in my \"Castes and\nTribes of Southern India,\" 1909.\n\n[292] B. Govinda Nambiar, Indian Review, May, 1900.\n\n[293] M. J. Walhouse, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 22.\n\n[294] \"Report of the Chemical Examiner, Madras,\" 1908, 5.\n\n[295] Journ. and Proc. Asiat. Soc., Bengal, 1905, i. No. 9.\n\n[296] Rev. A. C. Clayton, Madras Museum Bull., 1906, v., No. 2, 82.\n\n[297] Cf. odi cult, 228-9.\n\n[298] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 22.\n\n[299] Gloyer, Jeypore, Breklum, 1901.\n\n[300] \"Gazetteer of the Bellary District,\" 1904, i. 60.\n\n[301] \"Gazetteer of the South Arcot District,\" 1906, i. 93.\n\n[302] \"Gazetteer of the Tanjore District,\" 1906, i. 76.\n\n[303] Journ. Anthrop. Soc., Bombay, ii. 1890, 282-5.\n\n[304] Indian Review, May, 1900.\n\n[305] Journ. Royal Asiat. Soc., 1884, xvi. 185-6.\n\n[306] For a detailed account of demonolatry among the Shanans, I\nwould refer the reader to the Rev. R. (afterwards Bishop) Caldwell's\nnow scarce \"Tinnevelly Shanans,\" 1849.\n\n[307] Madras Museum Bull., 1900, iii., No. 1, 51.\n\n[308] Madras Mail, 18th November, 1905.\n\n[309] An example of so-called homoeopathic magic. See Haddon, \"Magic\nand Fetishism\" (Religions ancient and modern), 1906, 19-22.\n\n[310] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 22.\n\n[311] Laccadiveans come to the Malabar coast in sailing-boats.\n\n[312] Nature, 18th October, 1906.\n\n[313] Madras Mail, 18th November, 1905.\n\n[314] F. Fawcett, Madras Museum Bull., 1901, iii., No. 3, 317.\n\n[315] Madras Mail, 19th November, 1897.\n\n[316] In like manner, the chief mourner at the funeral among many\ncastes, after breaking a water-pot at the graveside, retires without\nlooking back.\n\n[317] F. Fawcett, Madras Museum Bull., 1900, iii., No. 1, 51.\n\n[318] \"Gazetteer of the Madura District,\" 1906, i. 103.\n\n[319] F. Fawcett, Journ. Anthrop. Soc., Bombay, i. 533-5.\n\n[320] \"Gazetteer of the Madura District,\" 1906, i. 87.\n\n[321] \"Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District,\" 1907, i. 73.\n\n[322] L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, \"The Cochin Tribes and Castes,\"\n1909, i. 99.\n\n[323] F. Fawcett, Madras Museum Bull., 1901, iii., No. 3, 247.\n\n[324] M. J. Walhouse, \"Ind. Ant.\" 1881, x. 364.\n\n[325] \"Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life,\" 1901, 70-1.\n\n[326] \"Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District,\" 1907, i. 205.\n\n[327] H. J. Stokes, \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 355-6.\n\n[328] L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, \"The Cochin Tribes and Castes,\"\n1909, i. 167.\n\n[329] \"Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District,\" 1907, i. 73.\n\n[330] \"Ind. Ant.,\" 1876, v. 358.\n\n[331] Trial by Ordeal, see my \"Ethnographic Notes in Southern India,\"\n1907, 407-32.\n\n[332] \"Gazetteer of the Godavari District,\" 1907, i. 64.\n\n[333] Madras Christ. Coll. Mag., 1887-8, v. 355.\n\n[334] At times of census, the Konda Doras have returned themselves\nas Pandava kulam, or Pandava caste.\n\n[335] \"Manual of the Cuddapah District,\" 1875, 290-1.\n\n[336] Some Pandarams are managers of Siva temples.\n\n[337] \"A Madura Missionary, John Eddy Chandler: a Sketch of his\nLife,\" Boston.\n\n[338] A. C. Haddon, \"Magic and Fetishism\" (Religions ancient and\nmodern), 1906, 40.\n\n[339] For much of the note on Kaniyans I am indebted to Mr N. Subramani\nIyer.\n\n[340] \"Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar,\"\ntranslation, Hakluyt Society, 1866, 139.\n\n[341] \"Journey through Mysore Canara, and Malabar,\" 1807, ii. 528.\n\n[342] \"Malabar,\" 1887, i. 140-1.\n\n[343] The Kaniyan, when wanted in his professional capacity, presents\nhimself with triple ash marks of Siva on his chest, arms, and forehead.\n\n[344] \"Gazetteer of Malabar,\" 1908, i. 130.\n\n[345] C. Gopalan Nair, Malabar Series, \"Wynad, its People and\nTraditions,\" 1911, 70-1.\n\n[346] Madras Museum Bull., 1901, iii., No. 3, 273-4.\n\n[347] \"Birds of India,\" 1877, i. 216-7.\n\n[348] The Dusserah or Dasara is also known as Sarasvati puja or Ayudha\npuja (worship of weapons or tools). See p. 174.\n\n[349] Madras Weekly Mail, 8th August, 1907.\n\n[350] \"History of Railway Thieves,\" 1904.\n\n[351] The Koravas are professional burglars.\n\n[352] \"Madras Census Report,\" 1901, part i. 164.\n\n[353] \"Gazetteer of the Tanjore District,\" 1906, i. 69.\n\n[354] \"Our Tour in Southern India,\" 1883, 162-3.\n\n[355] \"Sketches of Field Sports Followed by the Natives of India,\"\n1822.\n\n[356] The note was originally published in Madras Museum Bull., 1906,\nv., No. 2, 98-105.\n\n[357] The Cherumars are field labourers, who were formerly agrestic\nslaves, and, like other servile classes, possess special privileges\non special occasions.\n\n[358] The tulsi plant is the most sacred plant of the Hindus, by whom\nit is grown in pots, or in brick or earthen pillars (brindavanam)\nhollowed out at the top, in which earth is deposited. It is watered\nand worshipped daily.\n\n[359] The sacred conch or chank shell is used as a musical instrument\nin processions, and during religious services at Hindu temples.\n\n[360] \"Ind. Ant,\" 1873, iii. 191.\n\n[361] The name Black Town was changed to George Town, to commemorate\nthe visit of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales to Madras in 1906.\n\n[362] Journ. Anthrop. Inst., 1874, iv. 371.\n\n[363] Buffalo races, see my \"Castes and Tribes of Southern India,\"\n1909, i. 157-62.\n\n[364] \"A Singular Aboriginal Race of the Nilagiris,\" 1832, 76.\n\n[365] \"Ind. Ant.\" 1879, viii. 34.\n\n[366] Liquor is distilled from ippa flowers.\n\n[367] \"Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam District,\" 1907, i. 73.\n\n[368] \"Gazetteer of the Godavari District,\" 1907, i. 47.\n\n[369] Madras Mail, 4th November, 1905.\n\n[370] \"Gazetteer of the South Arcot District,\" 1906, i. 94.\n\n[371] Ibid.\n\n[372] \"Magic and Fetishism\" (Religions ancient and modern), 1906, 62.\n\n[373] \"Malabar and its Folk,\" Madras, 2nd ed., 63-4.\n\n[374] Indra presides over the seasons and crops, and is therefore\nworshipped at times of sowing and reaping.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<pre id=\"pg-footer\">","title":"Omens and Superstitions of Southern India","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":95626}