Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
Of these, the first may be carried out in the following manner. A
figure representing the enemy to be destroyed is drawn on a small
sheet of metal (gold by preference), and to it some mystic diagrams
are added. It is then addressed with a statement that bodily injury
or the death of the person shall take place at a certain time. This
little sheet is wrapped up in another metal sheet or leaf (of gold if
possible), and buried in some place which the person to be injured or
destroyed is in the habit of passing. Should he pass over the place, it
is supposed that the charm will take effect at the time named. Instead
of the sheet of metal, a live frog or lizard is sometimes buried
within a cocoanut shell, after nails have been stuck into its eyes
and stomach. The deaths of the animal and the person are supposed to
take place simultaneously. For carrying out vasikarana, vidveshana,
and mohana, betel leaves, such as are ordinarily used for chewing, or
vegetables are somehow or other given to the victim, who unknowingly
takes them into his mouth. Exorcism may be treated as follows. If
a young woman is suffering from hysteria, and is supposed to be
possessed by an evil spirit, or by the discontented spirit of some
deceased ancestor, nervousness is excited by beating drums, blowing
conch-shells, and otherwise making a horrible noise close to her. When
the supreme moment is believed to have arrived, water is sprinkled
over the wretched woman, who is required to throw rice repeatedly on
certain diagrams on the ground, woven into which is a representation
of the goddess Durga, the ruler of evil spirits. An effigy of the evil
spirit is then buried in a copper vessel. By means of certain mantrams,
Hanuman or Kali is propitiated, and, with their aid, in some occult
manner, the position of buried treasure may be found. It is said
that the bones of a woman who has died immediately after childbirth,
and the fur of a black cat, are useful to the magician.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account