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 Nágothane in the Pen taluka of the Kolába District some of the
communities worship small images called tánks on the anniversary of
their ancestors' death; among the Shudras food is given to the crows on
the last day of Bhádrapad. The custom of giving a grandfather's name
to the grandson prevails largely, and is due to the belief that the
spirits of the dead are sometimes reborn in the same family. [428]
It is also said that in some of the Hindu communities, if a child
cries continuously, ashes are applied to its forehead in the name of
one of the ancestors in the family; and if the child sleeps quietly
or stops crying, the name of that ancestor is given to it. [429]
At Shirgaon in the Thána District, the worship of ancestors is
performed on the day of the father's death, every year. On any
auspicious occasion the rite called Nandi shráddha is performed at
the beginning of the ceremony. It is believed that evil spirits or
ghosts have to remain in the ghostly state for about one thousand
years, or at least until one of the descendants in the family goes
to a holy place like Káshi (Benares) and there performs the shráddha
rites of his ancestors. [430]
At Málád in the Thána District, the worship of ancestors is performed
on the day of the father's death every month till the completion of
one year by inviting Bráhmans and giving them a feast. This is done
among Bráhmans only. The other communities worship their ancestors
by performing the rite called Chata Shráddha and by giving Shidha,
i.e., rice, pulse, vegetables and ghi to Bráhman priests. A feast is
then given to their castemen. [431]
At Kolhápur, ancestors, Mahants and Sádhus are worshipped by the rites
known as the Puranic ritual, that is, no Vedic mantras are repeated
while performing these rites. It is a common belief in this province
that the soul of the person who has committed a murder, or has incurred
debt and enmity, is obliged to repay the debt by being born again as
a servant or in some other subordinate capacity of the debtor. [432]
The tombs of the Hindu and Mahomedan saints are considered holy,
but they are not supposed to possess miracular powers. [433] The
following is a list of saints who have been deified and worshipped by
the people of the Ratnágiri District. (1) Mukundráj, (2) Dnyándev,
(3) Tukárám, (4) Eknáth, (5) Námdev, (6) Rámdás, (7) Akkalkotche
Swámi, (8) Ranganáth, (9) Dev Mámlatdár, (10) Kabir, (11) Kamál,
(12) Nipat Niranjan, (13) Tulshidás, (14) Pundalik, (15) Vashistha,
(16) Dattátraya, (17) Sohiroba, (18) Gorakshanath, (19) Purnanáth.
At Shiroda in the Ratnágiri District a practice prevails of making
vows to the tombs of women who burnt themselves as Satvis. Vows
are also made to the Musalman Pirs, and offerings are often made in
fulfilment of such vows. [434]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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