Folk Lore Notes. Vol. II—KonkanJackson, A. M. T. (Arthur Mason Tippetts)
Religion
Folk Lore Notes. Vol. II—Konkan
Jackson, A. M. T. (Arthur Mason Tippetts)
Folklore -- India
At Adivare in the Ratnágiri District the following practices are
adopted for driving out evil spirits that cause disease. Incense is
burnt before the exorcist, drums are beaten, and then the exorcist
takes a burning wick in his hand and frightens the diseased person by
striking the ground with a cane or a broom of peacock feathers. He
also cries out loudly. He then draws out the evil spirit from the
body of the diseased person, and puts it in a bottle, which is either
carried out of the village and buried under ground near a big tree
or is thrown into the sea. [367] In the Sangameshwar taluka of the
Ratnágiri District, the process of exorcising is sometimes accompanied
by dancing and loud cries. The person who suffers from evil spirits
is taken to Narsoba's Wádi in the Kolhápur State where patients are
believed to find a cure. [368] In the Devgad taluka of the Ratnágiri
District the exorcist, when possessed, does not dance as at other
places, but freely uses abusive epithets to drive out the evil
spirits; and on such occasions the threats are repeated loudly by
the exorcist. [369] In the Dápoli taluka of the Ratnágiri District,
dancing is used in exorcism. While dancing, the exorcist makes a show
of different kinds of fits. They are similar to those made by a person
suffering from hysteria. He also stands and sways his body to and fro
for some time, then assumes a serene and quiet attitude, and begins
to cry out loudly. [370] There are some sorcerers at Dásgaon in the
Kolába District, who dance and cry out loudly in order to drive out the
evil spirits from the body of the diseased. [371] At Málád in the Thána
District dancing is used in exorcism. The following is a description of
one of these dances. Songs of the deity which is to be summoned on the
occasion are sung along with the music of the Tál (a kind of cymbal)
and the beating of drums called Ghumat. The Ghumat is an earthen jar,
the lower and upper ends of which are covered over with leather. The
man in whose body the deity is to make its appearance takes his bath
and sits by the side of a small prayer carpet called Asan. A small
quantity of rice (about a ser) is put in front of the carpet, and
a copper pot filled with water is placed on the rice. The musicians
begin to strike their instrument with a loud clash, and the exorcist's
body begins to shake. The shaking of the body is a sure indication of
his being spirit-possessed. He then sits upon the carpet and begins
to throw grains of rice into the copper pot containing water, gives
out the name of the particular spirit with which he is possessed, and
the cause for which it has attacked the patient. He then explains the
measures and rites by which the spirit can be driven out. The people
abide by his directions, and the patient is thus cured. [372]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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