TOTEMISM AND FETISHISM.
Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum,
Cum faber incertus scamnum faceretne Priapum,
Maluit esse deum.
Horace, Sat. I. viii. 1-3.
"A totem is a class of material objects, which a savage regards with
superstitious respect, believing that there exists between them
and every member of the class an intimate and altogether special
relation." [383] As distinguished from a fetish, a totem is never
an isolated individual, but always a class of objects, generally
a class of animals or plants, rarely a class of inanimate objects,
very rarely a class of artificial objects.
Origin of Totemism.
As regards the origin of totemism great diversity of opinion
exists. Mr. Herbert Spencer considers that "it arose from a
misinterpretation of nicknames; savages first took their names from
natural objects, and then confusing these objects with their ancestors
of the same name, paid the same respect to the material totem as
they were in the habit of doing to their own ancestors." [384] The
objection to this is, as Mr. Frazer shows, that it attributes to
verbal misunderstandings far more influence than, in spite of the
comparative mythologists, they ever seem to have exercised.
Sir J. Lubbock derives the idea from the practice of naming persons
and families after animals, but "in dropping the intermediate links
of ancestor-worship and verbal misunderstanding, he has stripped the
theory of all that lent it even an air of plausibility." [385]
Recent inquiries in the course of the Ethnographical Survey of Bengal
and the North-Western Provinces enable us perhaps to approach to a
solution of the problem.
To begin with, at a certain stage of culture the idea of the connection
between men and animals is exceedingly vivid, and reacts powerfully
on current beliefs. The animal or plant is supposed to have a soul
or spirit, like that of a human being, and this soul or spirit is
capable of transfer to the man or animal and vice versâ. This feeling
comes out strongly in popular folk-lore, much of which is made up of
instances of metamorphosis such as these. The witch or sorcerer is
always changing into a tiger, a monkey, or a fish; the princess is
always appearing out of the aubergine or pomegranate.
We have, again, the familiar theory to which reference has already
been made, that the demon or magician has an external soul, which he
keeps occasionally in the Life Index, which is often a bird, a tree,
and an animal. If this life index can be seized and destroyed, the
life of the monster is lost with it.
These principles, which are thoroughly congenial to the beliefs of all
primitive races, naturally suggest a much closer union between man and
other forms of animal or vegetable life than people of a higher stage
of development either accept or admit. With people, then, at this
stage of culture, the theory that the ancestor of the clan may have
been a bear or a tortoise would present no features of improbability.
This theory accounts, as Mr. Frazer shows, for many of the obscure
rites of initiation which prevail among most savage tribes and in a
modified form among the Brâhmanized Hindus. The basis of such rites
is probably to extract the soul of the youth and temporarily transfer
it to the totem, from which in turn fresh life is infused into him.
Lastly, the result of the Indian evidence is that it is only in
connection with the rules of exogamy that totemism at the present
day displays any considerable degree of vitality. The real basis of
exogamy in Northern India seems to be the totem sept, which, however,
flourishes at the present day only among the Drâvidian tribes and those
allied to them. But it would, it is almost certain, be incorrect to say
that while totemism is at present most active among the Drâvidians,
in connection with marriage, it was peculiar to them. It is more
reasonable to infer that it continues to flourish among these races,
because of their isolation from Brâhmanical influence. As among the
inferior races of the Gangetic valley, the primitive family customs
connected with marriage, birth, and death have undergone a process
of denudation from their connection with the more advanced Hindu
races which surround them, so to a large degree in Northern India,
the totemistic sept names have been gradually shed off, and replaced
by an eponymous, local, or territorial nomenclature. In short, under
the pressure of higher culture, the kindred of the swan, turtle, or
parrot have preferred to call themselves Kanaujiya or "men of Kanauj,"
Sarwariya or "residents of the land beyond the Sarju river," and
Raghuvansa or Bhriguvansa, "descendants of the sages Raghu or Bhrigu."
We find, then, among such races, as might have been expected, that
at the present day the totemistic sept system exists only in obscure
and not easily recognizable forms. Folk etymology has also exercised
considerable influence, and a sept ashamed of its totemistic title
readily adopts some title of the eponymous type, or a local cognomen
sounding something like the name of the primitive totem. It is perhaps
too much to expect that a careful exploration of the sept titles or
tribal customs of Northern India will lead to extensive discoveries of
the primitive totemistic organization. The process of trituration which
has affected the caste nomenclature for such a lengthened period, and
the obscuration of primitive belief by association with more cultured
tribes, have been so continuous as to leave only a few fragments and
isolated survivals; but it is by a course of such inquiry that the
totemistic basis of the existing caste system can alone be reached.
I have considered this question in the light of the most recent
evidence in another place, [386] and it is needless to repeat the
results which were there arrived at.
For the purpose of such an investigation it is convenient to have
some sort of working classification of the tests of, and the forms
in which, totemism usually appears. These have been laid down by the
late Professor Robertson-Smith as follows:--
(a) The existence of stocks named after plants, animals, or similar
totems.
(b) The prevalence of a conception that the members of the stock
are of the blood of the eponym, or are sprung from a plant, etc.,
of the species chosen as the totem.
(c) The ascription of a sacred character to the totem.
Stocks Named from Animals, Plants, etc.
First as to the stocks named from animals, plants, etc. There are
two divisions of the Pûra Brâhmans of the Dakkhin, known as Bakriyâr
and Chheriyâr, founded on the names of the male and female goat. In
Upper India, the Kâchhis or market gardeners, and the Kachhwâha sept
of Râjputs allege that they take their names from the Kachchhapa or
tortoise, as the Kurmis refer their name to the Kûrma or turtle. The
Ahban Râjputs and the Ahiwâsis of Mathura connect their names with
Ahi, the dragon. The Kalhans Râjputs derive their name from the
Kâlahans or black goose. Among Brâhmans and other high castes,
Bhâradvaja, "the lark, the bringer of food," has given its name
to many sections. Mr. Risley thinks that the fact of there being a
Kasyapa division of Kumhârs or potters, who venerate the tortoise,
points to the name being a corruption of Kachchhapa, the tortoise,
in which case their name would have the same origin as that of the
Kâchhis already mentioned.
Many people, again, claim kindred with the sun and moon. Such are the
Natchez of North America and the Incas of Peru. [387] There are many
children of the sun and moon in Arabia, [388] and gypsies of the east
of Europe have a legend that they are descended from the sun and moon;
the sun having debauched his moon sister, was condemned to wander for
ever, in consequence of which their descendants can never rest. [389]
So in India, the Sûrajbansi and Chandrabansi Râjputs are said to take
their names from Sûraj, the sun, and Chandra, the moon, respectively.
According to Captain J. Montgomerie, [390] round Kashmîr, and among
the aboriginal tribes of the Himâlayan slopes, men are usually named
after animals, as the Bakhtiyâris, one of the nomad tribes of Persia,
name their children usually not after the Prophet, but after wild
animals, such as the wolf, tiger, and the like, adding some descriptive
epithet. In the same way a tribe of Lodi Pathâns in the Panjâb are
known as Nâhar or "wolf." This is said to be due to their rapacity,
and may be as likely a nickname as a survival of totemism. [391]
Totem Names among the Drâvidians.
The evidence of this point is, as has been already said, much
more distinct among the Drâvidians than among the more Hinduized
races. Details of such names among the Agariyas, Nats, Baiswârs, and
Ghasiyas have been given in detail elsewhere. [392] Thus, to take
the Dhângars, a caste in Mirzapur, allied to the Orâons of Bengal,
we find that they have eight exogamous septs, all or most of which
are of totemistic origin. Thus, Ilha is said to mean a kind of fish,
which members of this sept do not eat; Kujur is a kind of jungle herb
which this sept does not use; Tirik is probably the Tirki or bull sept
of the Orâons. In Chota Nâgpur, members of this sept do not touch any
cattle after their eyes are open. It illustrates the uncertainty of
these usages that in other places they say that the word Tirki means
"young mice," which they are prohibited from using. [393] Again,
the Mirzapur sept of the Dhângars, known as Lakara, is apparently
identical with that called Lakrar among the Bengal Orâons, who must not
eat tiger's flesh as they are named after the tiger; in Mirzapur they
derive their name from the Lakar Bagha, or hyæna, which they will not
hunt or kill. The Bara sept is apparently the same as the Barar of the
Orâons, who will not eat the leaves of the Bar tree or Ficus Indica. In
Mirzapur they will not cut this tree. The Ekka sept in Mirzapur say
that this name means "leopard," an animal which they will not kill,
but in Chota Nâgpur the same word is said to mean "tortoise" and to
be a totemistic sept of the Orâons. So, the Mirzapur Dhângars have
a Tiga sept, which they say takes its name from a jungle root which
is prohibited to them; but the Orâons of Bhâgalpur have a Tig sept,
which, according to them, means "monkey." The last of the Mirzapur
septs is the Khâha, which, like the Khakkar sept of the Orâons, means
"crow," and neither will eat the bird. Similar instances might be
almost indefinitely repeated from usages of the allied tribes in
Mirzapur and the adjoining Bengal Districts.
The Panjâb Snake Tribe.
In the Panjâb there is a special snake tribe. They observe every
Monday and Thursday in the snake's honour, cooking rice and milk,
setting a portion aside for the snake, and never eating or making
butter on those days. If they find a dead snake, they put clothes
upon it, and give it a regular funeral. They will not kill a snake,
and say that its bite is harmless to them. The snake, they say, changes
its form every hundred years, and then becomes a man or a bull. [394]
So, in Senegambia, "a python is expected to visit every child of the
Python clan within eight days after birth; and the Psylli, a snake
clan of ancient Africa, used to expose their infants to snakes in
the belief that the snakes would not harm true-born children of the
clan." [395] So, in Northern India the Bais Râjputs are children of
the snake, and supposed to be safe from its bite, and Nâga Râja is
the tribal godling of the Bâjgis. There is a well-known legend of a
queen of India, who is said to have sent to Alexander, among other
costly presents, a girl, who, having been fed with serpents from her
infancy, partook of their venomous nature. The well-known tale of
Elsie Venner has been already referred to in the same connection.
Totemism in Proper Names.
The subject of Indian proper names has not yet received the attention
it deserves. The only attempt to investigate the subject, so far,
is that of Major Temple. [396] In his copious lists there is ample
evidence that names are freely adopted from those of animals, plants,
etc. Thus we have Bagha, "Tiger"; Bheriya, "Wolf"; Billa, "Cat";
Chûha, "Rat," and so on from animals; Bagla, "Heron"; Tota, "Parrot,"
and so on from birds; Ajgar, "Python"; Mendak, "Frog"; Kachhua,
"Tortoise;"; Bhaunra, "Bumble Bee"; Ghun, "Weevil"; Dîmak, "White
Ant," etc. From plants come Bûta, "Tree"; Harabansa, "Green Bamboo"
(or more probably Hari-vansa, "the genealogy of Hari" or Vishnu); Nîma,
"Nîm tree"; Pîpal, "Pîpal tree"; Gulâba, "Rose"; Imliya, "Tamarind";
Sewa, "Apple"; Ilâcha, "Cardamum"; Mirchi, "Pepper"; Bhutta, "Maize."
The evidence of nomenclature must, of course, be received with
caution. The essence of totemism is a confessed belief in animal
descent, a name declaring that descent and some sacredness attached
to the animal or other fancied ancestor. Many of these names may be
nicknames, or titles of opprobrium selected, as we have already shown,
to baffle the Evil Eye or the influence of demons. Besides, as has been
pointed out, it does not necessarily follow because an Englishman lives
in "Acacia Villa" or "Laburnum Cottage," and calls his daughter "Rose"
or "Violet," that he is in the totemistic stage. At the same time,
it is quite possible that further inquiry will discover undoubted
instances of totemism in the nomenclature of Northern India, as is
the case with other races in a similar stage of culture.
Descent from the Totem.
We next come to Professor Robertson-Smith's second test, the belief
in descent from the totem. This branch of the subject has been very
fully illustrated by Mr. Frazer. [397] As in old times in Georgiana,
according to Marco Polo, all the king's sons were born with an
eagle on the right shoulder marking their royal origin, [398] so
Chandragupta, king of Ujjain, was the son of a scorpion. "His mother
accidentally imbibed the scorpion's emission, by means of which she
conceived." [399] The Jaitwas of Râjputâna trace their descent from
the monkey god Hanumân, and confirm it by alleging that the spine
of their princes is elongated like a tail. In the Râmâyana, one of
the wives of King Sâgara gives birth to a son who continues the race;
the other wife produces an Ikshvâku, a gourd or cane containing sixty
thousand sons. The famous Chandragupta was miraculously preserved by
the founder of his race, the bull Chando. [400] The wolf is in the
same way traditionally connected with the settlement of the Janwâr
Râjputs in Oudh, and they believe that the animal never preys on their
children. Every native believes that children are reared in the dens
of wolves, and there is a certain amount of respectable evidence in
support of the belief. [401]
Similar examples are numerous among the Drâvidian tribes. The Cheros
of the Vindhyan plateau claim descent from the Nâga or dragon. The
Râja and chief members of the Chota Nâgpur family wear turbans so
arranged as to make the head-dress resemble a serpent coiled round
the skull, with its head projecting over the wearer's brow. The seal
of the Mahârâja and the arms of his family show as a crest a cobra
with a human face under its expanded hood, surrounded with all the
insignia of royalty. The Santâl legend ascribes the origin of the
tribe to the wild goose, and similar stories are told by the family
of the Râja of Sinhbhûm, the Hos, the Malers, and the Kûrs. [402]
Special Respect Paid to the Totem.
Next come instances of special respect paid to the totem. Some idea
of the kind may be partly the origin of the worship of the cow and
the serpent. Dr. Ball describes how some Khândhs refused to carry the
skin of a leopard because it was their totem. [403] The Kadanballis of
Kanara will not eat the Sâmbhar stag, the Bargaballis the Barga deer,
and the Kuntiballis the woodcock. The Vaydas of Cutch worship the
monkey god whom they consider to be their ancestor, and to please him
in their marriage ceremony, the bridegroom goes to the bride's house
dressed up as a monkey and there leaps about in monkey fashion. [404]
It is possibly from regard to the totem that the Parihâr Râjputs of
Râjputâna will not eat the wild boar, but they have now invented a
legend that one of their princes went into a river while pursuing a
boar and was cured of a loathsome disease. [405] There is a Celtic
legend in which a child is turned into a pig, and Gessa is laid
on Diarmid not to kill a pig, as it has the same span of life as
himself. [406]
The Bengal Bâwariyas take the heron as their emblem, and must not eat
it. [407] The Orissa Kumhârs abstain from eating, and even worship
the Sâl fish, because the rings on its scales resemble the wheel
which is the symbol of their craft. [408] The peacock is a totem
of the Jâts and of the Khândhs, as the Yizidis worship the Tâous,
a half mythical peacock, which has been connected with the Phoenix
which Herodotus saw in Egypt. [409] The Parhaiyas have a tradition
that their tribe used to hold sheep and deer sacred, and used the
dung of these animals instead of cowdung to plaster their floors. So
the Kariyas do not eat the flesh of sheep, and may not even use a
woollen rug. The same prohibition of meats appears to be a survival
of totemism in Arabia. [410]
The Devak.
One of the best illustrations of this form of totemism is that of the
Devak or family guardian gods of Berâr and Bombay. Before concluding
an alliance, the Kunbi and other Berâr tribes look to the Devak,
which literally means the deity worshipped at marriage ceremonies;
the fact being that certain families hold in honour particular trees
and plants, and at the marriage ceremony branches of these trees are
set up in the house. It is said that a betrothal, in every other
respect irreproachable, will be broken off if the two houses are
discovered to pay honour to the same tree, in other words if they
worship the same family totem and hence must belong to one and the
same endogamous group. [411]
The same custom prevails in Bombay. "The usual Devaks are some
animals, like the elephant, stag, deer, or cock, or some tree, as
the Jambul, Ber, Mango, or Banyan. The Devak is the ancestor or the
head of the house, and so families which have the same guardian do not
intermarry. If the Devak be an animal, its flesh is not eaten; but if
it be a fruit tree, the use of the fruit generally is not forbidden,
though some families abstain from eating the fruit of the tree which
forms their Devak or badge." [412] Mr. Campbell gives numerous examples
of these family totems, such as wheat bread, a shell, an earthen pot,
an axe, a Banyan tree, an elephant. Oil-makers have as their totem an
iron bar, or an oil-mill; scent-makers use five piles, each of five
earthen pots, with a lighted lamp in the middle. The Bangars' Devak is
a conch-shell, that of the Pardesi Râjputs an earthen pot filled with
wheat, and so on. Many of these are probably tribal or occupational
fetishes, of which instances will be given in another place.
The Vâhanas and Avatâras.
Some have professed to find indications of totemism in the Vâhanas
and Avatâras, the "Vehicles" and the "Incarnations" of the mythology;
but this is far from certain. It has been suggested that these may
represent tribal deities imported into Hinduism. Brahma rides on the
Hansa or goose; Vishnu on Garuda, half eagle and half man, which is
the crest of the Chandravansi Râjputs; Siva on his bull Nandi; Yama
on a buffalo; Kârttikeya on a peacock; Kâmadeva on the marine monster
Makara, or on a parrot; Agni on a ram; Varuna on a fish. Ganesa is
accompanied by his rat, whence his name Akhuratha, "rat-borne." This
an ingenious comparative mythologist makes out to represent "the pagan
Sun god crushing under his feet the mouse of night." [413] Vâyu rides
on an antelope, Sani or Saturn on a vulture, and Durgâ on a tiger.
The same is the case with the Avatâras or incarnations of the
deities. Vishnu appears in the form of Vârâha, the boar; Kurma, the
tortoise; Matsya, the fish; Nara Sinha, the man-lion; Kalki, the white
horse. Rudra and Indra are also represented in the form of the boar.
The Boar as a Totem.
How the boar came to be associated with Vishnu has been much
disputed. One and not a very plausible explanation which has
been suggested is that it is because the boar is a destroyer of
snakes. [414] We know that in Râjputâna there was a regular spring
festival at which the boar was killed because he was regarded as the
special enemy of Gaurî, the Râjput tribal goddess. [415]
The comparative mythologists account for the spring boar festival
by connecting it with the ceremonial eating of the boar's head at
Christmas in Europe, as a symbol of the gloomy monster of winter,
killed at the winter solstice, after which the days get longer and
brighter. [416] Mr. Frazer explains it by the killing of the Corn
Spirit in the form of the boar. [417]
But it is, perhaps, simpler to believe with Sir A. Lyall [418] that
"when the Brâhmans convert a tribe of pig-worshipping aborigines,
they tell their proselytes that the pig was an Avatâr of Vishnu. The
Mînas in one part of Râjputâna used to worship the pig. When they
took a turn towards Islâm they changed their pig into a saint called
Father Adam, and worshipped him as such." Mr. Frazer has pointed
out that the "customs of the Egyptians touching the pig are to be
explained as based upon an opinion of the extreme sanctity rather
than of the extreme uncleanness of the animal; or rather to put it
more correctly, they imply that the animal was looked on not simply
as a filthy and a disgusting creature, but as a being endowed with
high supernatural powers, and that as such it was regarded with that
primitive sentiment of religious awe and fear in which the feelings
of reverence are almost equally blended."
There are indications of the same belief in India. Thus, in Baghera
"the boar is a sacred animal, and the natives there say that if any
man were to kill a wild boar in the neighbourhood, he would be sure to
die immediately afterwards, while no such fatal result would follow if
the same man killed a boar anywhere else." [419] In the same way the
Prabhus of Bombay eat wild pork once a year as a religious duty. The
Vaddars of the Dakkhin say that they are not troubled with ghosts,
because the pork they eat and hang in their houses scares ghosts. We
know that among the Drâvidian races and many of the menial tribes
of Hindustân the pig is the favourite offering to the local godlings
and to the deities of disease. Swine's teeth are often worn by Hindu
ascetics, and among the Kolarian races the women are forbidden to
eat the flesh. In Northern India the chief place where the worship of
Vishnu in his Vârâha or boar incarnation is localized is at Soron on
the banks of the Bûrhî Gangâ, or old Ganges, in the Etah District. The
name of the place has been derived from Sukarakshetra, "the place of
the good deed," because here Vishnu slew the demon Hiranyakesu. It
is certainly Sukarakshetra, "the plain of the hog." [420]
Garuda, another of these vehicles, is the wonder-working bird common
to many mythologies--the Rukh of the Arabian Nights, the Eorosh of
the Zend, the Simurgh of the Persians, the Anka of the Arabs, the
Kargas of the Turks, the Kirni of the Japanese, the Dragon of China,
the Norka of Russia, the Phoenix of classical fable, the Griffin of
chivalry and of Temple Bar.
From totemism we get a clue to many curious usages, especially in the
matter of food. From this idea probably arose the unclean beasts of
the Hebrew ritual. Many Hindu tribes will not eat the onion or the
turnip. Brâhmans and Bachgoti Râjputs object to potatoes. The Râjputs
place a special value on the wood of the Nîm tree; one clan alone,
the Raikwârs, are forbidden to use it as a tooth-stick. Some Kolarian
tribes, as we have already seen, refuse to use the flesh or wool of
the sheep. The Murmu, or Santâls of the blue bull sept, will not eat
the flesh of that animal. The system of the Orâons is more elaborate
still, for no sub-tribe can eat the plant or animal after which it
is named. So, the Bansetti Binjhiyas, who take their name from the
bamboo, do not touch the tree at a wedding; the Harbans Chamârs, who
are said to be in some way connected with a bone (hadda), cannot wear
bones in any shape; the Rikhiâsan Chiks do not eat beef or pork; the
Sanuâni Dhenuârs cannot wear gold; the Dhanuâr Khariyas cannot eat rice
gruel. Numerous instances of this kind are given by Mr. Risley. [421]
The transition from such observances and restrictions to the elaborate
food regulations of the modern castes is not difficult.
Fetishism Defined.
Fetishism is "the straightforward, objective admiration of
visible substances fancied to possess some mysterious influence
or faculty.... The original downright adoration of queer-looking
objects is modified by passing into the higher order of imaginative
superstition. First, the stone is the abode of some spirit, its
curious shape or position betraying possession. Next, the strange
form or aspect argues some design or handiwork of supernatural beings,
or is the vestige of their presence upon earth, and one step further
leads us to the regions of mythology and heroic legend." [422]
The unusual appearance of the object is thus supposed to imply an
indwelling ghost, without which deviation from the ordinary type
would be inexplicable. Hence fetishism depends on animism and the
ghost theory, to which in order of time it must have succeeded.
Fetishism Illustrated in Afghânistân.
The process by which the worship of such a fetish grows is well
illustrated by a case from Afghânistân. "It is sufficient for an Afghân
devotee to see a small heap of stones, a few rags, or some ruined tomb,
something, in short, upon which a tale can be invented, to imagine at
once that some saint is buried there. The idea conceived, he throws
some more stones upon the heap and sticks up a pole or flag; those
who come after follow the leader; more stones and more rags are added;
at last its dimensions are so considerable that it becomes the vogue;
a Mullah is always at hand with a legend which he makes or had revealed
to him in a dream; all the village believe it: a few pilgrims come;
crowds follow; miracles are wrought, and the game goes on, much to
the satisfaction of the holy speculator, who drives a good trade by
it, till some other Mullah more cunning than himself starts a saint
of more recent date and greater miraculous powers, when the traffic
changes hands." [423]
The same process is daily going on before our eyes in Northern India,
and it would be difficult to suggest anything curious or abnormal
which the Hindu villager will not adopt as fetish.
The Lorik Legend.
The legend of Lorik is very popular among the Ahîr tribe, and has been
localized in the Mirzapur District in a curious way which admirably
illustrates the principles which we have been discussing. The
story is related at wearisome length, but the main features of it,
according to the Shâhâbâd version, are as follows: Siudhar, an Ahîr,
marries Chandanî, and is cursed by Pârvatî with the loss of all
passion. Chandanî forms an attachment for her neighbour Lorik and
elopes with him. The husband pursues, fails to induce her to return,
fights Lorik and is beaten. The pair go and meet Mahapatiya, a Dusâdh,
the chief of the gamblers. He and Lorik play until the latter loses
everything, including the girl. She urges that her jewels did not
form part of the stake, and induces them to gamble again. She stands
opposite Mahapatiya and distracts his attention by giving him a
glance of her pretty ankles. Finally Lorik wins everything back. The
girl then tells Lorik how she has been insulted, and Lorik with his
mighty sword cuts off the gambler's head, when it and the body are
turned into stone.
Lorik had been betrothed to a girl named Satmanâin, who was not of
age and had not joined her husband. Lorik had an adopted brother
named Semru. Lorik and Chandanî, after killing the gambler, went on
to Hardoi, near Mongir, where Lorik defeated a Râja and conquered his
country. Lorik was finally seized and put into a dungeon, whence he
was released by the aid of the goddess Durgâ.
He again conquered the Râja, recovered Chandanî, had a son born to
him, and gained considerable wealth. So they determined to return to
their native land.
Meanwhile Semru, Lorik's brother by adoption, had been killed by the
Kols and all his cattle and property were plundered. Lorik's real
wife, Satmanâin, had grown into a handsome woman, but still remained
in her father's house. Lorik was anxious to test her fidelity; so
when she came to sell milk in his camp, not knowing her husband,
he stretched a loin cloth across the entrance. All the other women
stepped over it, but the delicacy of Satmanâin was so excessive that
she would not put her foot across it. Lorik was pleased, and filling
her basket with jewels, covered them with rice. When she returned,
her sister saw the jewellery and charged her with obtaining them as
the price of her dishonour. She indignantly denied the accusation,
and her nephew, Semru's son, prepared to fight Lorik to avenge the
dishonour of his aunt. Next day the matter was cleared up to the
satisfaction of all parties.
Lorik then reigned with justice, and incurred the displeasure of Indra,
who sought to destroy him. So the goddess Durgâ took the form of his
mistress Chandanî and tempted him. He succumbed to her wiles, and
she struck him so that his face turned completely round. Overcome by
grief and shame, he went to Benares, and there he and his friends were
turned into stone and sleep the sleep of magic at Manikarnika Ghât.
The Mirzapur Version.
The Mirzapur version is interesting from its association with
fetishism. As you descend the Mârkundi Pass into the valley of the
Son, you observe a large isolated boulder split into two parts,
with a narrow fissure between them. Further on in the bed of the Son
is a curious water-worn rock, which, to the eye of faith, suggests
a rude resemblance to a headless elephant. On this foundation has
been localized the legend of Lorik, which takes us back to the time
when the Aryan and the aboriginal Dasyu contended for mastery in
the wild borderland. There was once, so the tale runs, a barbarian
king who reigned at the fort of Agori, the frontier fortress on the
Son. Among his dependents was a cowherd maiden, named Manjanî, who
was loved by her clansman Lorik. He, with his brother Sânwar, came
to claim her as his bride. The Râja insisted on enforcing the Jus
primae noctis. The heroic brethren, in order to escape this infamy,
carried off the maiden. The Râja pursued on his famous wild elephant,
which Lorik decapitated with a single blow.
When they reached in their flight the Mârkundi Pass, the wise Manjanî
advised Lorik to use her father's sword, which, with admirable
forethought, she had brought with her. He preferred his own weapon,
but she warned him to test both. His own sword broke to pieces
against the huge boulder of the Pass, but Manjanî's weapon clave it
in twain. So Lorik and his brother, with the aid of the magic brand,
defeated the infidel hosts with enormous slaughter, and carried off
the maiden in triumph.
If you doubt the story, there are the cloven boulder and the petrified
elephant to witness to its truth, and both are worshipped to this day
in the name of Lorik and his bride with offerings of milk and grain.
This tale embodies a number of incidents which constantly appear in
the folk-tales. We have the gambling match in the Mahâbhârata and in
the tale of Nala and Damayantî, as well as in the Celtic legend of
the young king of Easaidh Ruadh. [424] The magic sword and the various
fidelity tests appear both in the folk-tales of the East and West.
Of living creatures turned into stone we have many instances in
connection with the Pândava legend, as in Cornwall, the granite rocks
known as the "Merry Maidens" and the "Pipers" are a party who broke
the Sabbath, were struck by lightning, and turned into stone. [425]
Jirâyâ Bhavânî.
Of a similar type is Jirâyâ Bhavânî, who is worshipped at Jungail,
south of the Son. In her place of worship, a cave on the hillside,
the only representative of the goddess is an ancient rust-eaten coat
of mail. This gives her name, which is a corruption of the Persian
Zirah, meaning a coat of armour. Close by is a little stream, known
as the Suaraiya, the meaning of which is, of course, assumed to be
"Hog river," from the Hindi Sûar, a pig. Here we have all the elements
of a myth. In one of the early fights between Hindu and Musalmân,
a wounded hero of Islâm came staggering to the bank of the stream,
and was about to drink, when he heard that its name was connected
with what is an abomination to the true believer. So he preferred
to die of thirst, and no one sees any incongruity in the fact that
the armour of a martyr of the faith has become a form of the Hindu
goddess. The shrine is now on its promotion, and Jirâyâ Bhavânî will
be provided with a Sanskrit etymology and develop before long into
a genuine manifestation of Kâlî.
Village Fetish Stones.
It is hardly necessary to say that, as Sir J. Lubbock has shown, the
worship of fetish stones prevails in all parts of the world. [426]
There is hardly a village in Northern India without a fetish of this
kind, which is very often not appropriated to any special deity, but
represents the Grâmadevatâ or Gânw-devî, or Deohâr, the collective
local divine cabinet which has the affairs of the community under
its charge.
Why spirits should live in stones has been debated. Mr. Campbell
perhaps presses the matter too far when he suggests that stones were
by early man found to contain fire, and that heated stones being found
useful in disease, cooking, and the like may have strengthened the
idea. "The earliest theory was perhaps that as the life of the millet
was in the millet seed and the life of the Mango tree was in the Mango
stone, a human spirit could live in a rock or a pebble. The belief
that the soul, or part of the soul of a man, lives in his bones,
seems closely connected with the belief in the stone as a spirit
house. Probably it was an early belief that the bones should be kept,
so that if the spirit comes back and worries the survivors he may
have a place to go to." [427]
It is quite possible that the worship of stocks and stones may not in
all places be based on exactly the same train of ideas. To the ruder
races, the more curious or eccentric the form of the stone is, the more
likely it is to be the work and possibly the abode of a spirit, and
in a stoneless land, like the Gangetic plain, any stone is a wonder,
and likely to be revered. The conception of the worshipper will always
vary in regard to it. To the savage it will be the actual home or
the occasional resting-place of the spirit; to the idolater of more
advanced ideas it will be little more than a symbol, which reminds
him of the deity without shape or form whom he is bound to worship.
Other fetish stones, again, by their form prove that they are the
work of another or a higher race. Thus, on the village fetish mounds
we often find the carved relics of some Buddhistic shrine, or the
prehistoric stone implements, which were the work of a forgotten
people.
Lastly, many stones lend themselves directly to the needs of the
phallic cultus.
One form of stone is regarded with special reverence, those that have
holes or perforations. Among these may be mentioned the Sâlagrâma, a
sort of ammonite found in the Gandak river, which has perforations,
said to be the work of the Vajrakîta insect and hence sacred to
Vishnu. The story goes that the divine Nârâyana once wandered through
the world in the form of the Vajrakîta or golden bee. The gods,
attracted by his beauty, also took the form of bees, and whirled
about him in such numbers that Vishnu, afraid of the consequences,
assumed the form of a rock and stopped the moving of Garuda and the
gods. On this Garuda, followed by all the gods, made each a separate
dwelling in the rock for the conversion of the infidels. So the Cornish
Milpreve, or adder stone which is a preservative against vipers, is a
ball of coralline limestone, the sections in the coral being thought
to be entangled young snakes. [428] In Italy, pieces of stalagmite
full of cavities are valued as amulets.
The respect for these perforated stones rests, again, on the well-known
principle that looking through a stone which has a hole bored through
it improves the sight.
All over the world it is a recognized theory that creeping through the
orifice in a perforated stone or under an arching stone or tree is
a valuable remedy in cases of disease. Mr. Lane describes how women
in Cairo walk under the stone on which the decapitated bodies of
criminals are washed, in the hope of curing ophthalmia or procuring
offspring. The woman must do this in silence, and with the left foot
foremost. [429] In Cornwall, Mr. Hunt writes: "In various parts of
the country there are, amongst the granitic masses, rocks which have
fallen across each other, leaving small openings, or there are holes,
low and narrow, extending under a pile of rocks. In nearly every case
of this kind, we find it is popularly stated that any one suffering
from rheumatism or lumbago would be cured if he crawled through the
opening. In some cases nine times are insisted on to make the charm
complete." [430] So, walking under a bramble which has formed a second
root in the earth is a cure for rheumatism, and strumous children
were passed nine times through a cleft ash tree, against the sun. The
tree was then bound up, and if the bark grew the child was cured,
if the tree died the death of the child was sure to follow. [431]
In the same way at many shrines it is part of the worship to creep
through a narrow orifice from one side to the other. At Kankhal,
worshippers at the temple of Daksha creep through a sort of tunnel
from one side to the other. The same is the rule at the temple at
Kabraiya in the Hamîrpur District, and at many other places of the
same kind. [432]
The same principle probably accounts for the respect paid to the
grindstone. Part of the earliest form of the marriage ritual consisted
in the bride standing on the family grindstone. At the present day she
puts her foot upon it and knocks down little piles of heaped grain. It
is waved over the heads of the pair to scare evil spirits. In Bombay
it is said that sitting on a grindstone shortens life, and the Kunbis
of Kolâba place a grindstone in the lying-in room, and on it set a
rice flour image of a woman, which is worshipped as the goddess,
and the baby is laid before it. Such a stone readily passes into
a fetish, as at Ahmadnagar, where there is a stone with two holes,
which any two fingers of any person's hand can fill, and the mosque
where it stands is, in consequence, much respected. [433]
Much, however, of the worship of stones appears to be the result of
the respect paid to the tombstone or cairn, which, as we have already
said, keeps down the ghost of the dead man, and is often a place in
which his spirit chooses to reside.
These rude stones are very often smeared with ruddle or red ochre. We
have here a survival of the blood sacrifice of a human being or animal
which was once universal. [434] Such sacrifices rest on the principle
that it is necessary to supply attendants to the dead or to the tribal
gods in the other world; and the commutation of human sacrifices,
first into those of animals, and then into a mere scarlet stain on
the fetish stone, is a constantly recurring fact in the history of
custom. [435] It may be worth while to discuss this transition from
the Indian evidence.
Human Sacrifice among the Indo-Aryans.
That human sacrifice prevailed among the early Aryans in India is
generally admitted. The whole question has been treated in detail by
that eminent Hindu scholar, Rajendra Lâla Mitra. He arrives at the
conclusion that, looking to the history of the ancient civilization
and the ritual of the Hindus, there is nothing to justify the belief
that the Hindus were incapable of sacrificing human victims to their
gods; that the Sunasepha hymns of the Rig Veda Sanhita most probably
refer to a human sacrifice; that the Aitareya Brâhmana refers to an
actual and not to a typical human sacrifice; that the Parushamedha
originally required the actual sacrifice of men; that the Taitareya
Brâhmana enjoys the killing of a man at the horse sacrifice; that
the Satapatha Brâhmana sanctions human sacrifice in some cases, but
makes the Parushamedha emblematic; that the Purânas recognize human
sacrifices to Chandikâ, but prohibit the Parushamedha rite; that the
Tantras enjoin human sacrifices to Chandikâ, and require that when
human victims are not available, an effigy of a human being should
be sacrificed to her. [436]
Human Sacrifice in the Folk-tales.
There is ample evidence from the folk-tales of the existence of
human sacrifice in early times. We have in the tales of Somadeva
constant reference to human sacrifices made in honour of Chandikâ
or Châmundâ. We find one Muravara, a Turushka or Indo-Scythian, who
proposes to make a human sacrifice in memory of his dead father; we
have expiatory sacrifices to Chandikâ to save the life of a king. In
one of the Panjâb tales a ship will not leave port till a human victim
is offered. In one of the modern tales we have an account of a man
and his family who sacrifice themselves before the god Jyoti Bara,
"the great diviner," who is worshipped by the Sânsya gypsies. [437]
The folk-tales also disclose ample evidence of cannibalism. The
Magian cannibals of the Book of Sindibad used to eat human flesh
raw, and the same tale is told by Herodotus of the Massagetae, the
Padaei of India, whom Col. Dalton identifies with the Birhors of
Chota Nâgpur, and of the Essedones near Lake Moeotis. [438] It is
needless to say that Indian folk-tales abound with references to the
same practices. We have cannibal Râkshasas in abundance, and in one of
Somadeva's stories Devaswâmin, the Brâhman, looks out and finds his
"wife's mouth stained with blood, for she had devoured his servant
and left nothing of him but the bones." And in the tale of Asokadatta
we have a woman who climbs on a stake and cuts slices of the flesh
of an impaled criminal, which she eats. [439] In the Mahâbhârata we
find the legend of Kalmashapada, who, while hunting, meets Saktri,
son of Vasishtha, and strikes him with his whip. The incensed sage
cursed him to become a cannibal. This curse was heard by Viswamitra,
the rival of Vasishtha, and he so contrived that the body of the
king became possessed by a man-eating Râkshasa. Kalmashapada devoured
Saktri and the hundred sons of Vasishtha, who finally restored him to
his original state. In a tale recently collected among the Drâvidian
Mânjhis, a girl accidentally cuts her finger and some of the blood
falls upon the greens, whereupon her brothers, finding that it
flavoured the mess, killed and devoured her. [440]
Human Sacrifice in Modern Times.
Up to quite modern times the same was the case, and there is some
evidence to show that the custom has not quite ceased.
Until the beginning of the present century, the custom of offering a
first-born child to the Ganges was common. Akin to this is the Gangâ
Jâtra, or murder of sick relatives on the banks of the sacred river,
of which a case occurred quite recently at Calcutta. At Katwa, near
Calcutta, a leper was burnt alive in 1812; he threw himself into a
pit ten cubits deep which was filled with burning coals. He tried
to escape, but his mother and sister thrust him in again and he was
burnt. They believed that by so doing he would gain a pure body in
the next birth. [441] Of this religious suicide in Central India,
Sir J. Malcolm wrote: "Self-sacrifice of men is less common than it
used to be, and the men who do it are generally of low tribes. One
of their chief motives is that they will be born Râjas at their next
incarnation. Women who have been long barren, vow their first child, if
one be given to them, to Omkâr Mandhâta. The first knowledge imparted
to the infant is this vow, and the impression is so implanted in his
mind, that years before his death he seems like a man haunted by his
destiny. There is a tradition that anyone saved after the leap over
the cliff near the shrine must be made Râja of the place; but to make
this impossible, poison is mixed with the last victuals given to the
devoted man, who is compelled to carry out his purpose." [442]
The modern instances of human sacrifice among the Khândhs of Bengal and
the Mers of Râjputâna are sufficiently notorious. It also prevailed
among some of the Drâvidian tribes up to quite recent times. The
Kharwârs, since adopting Hinduism, performed human sacrifices to Kâlî
in the form of Chandî. Some of our people who fell into their hands
during the Mutiny were so dealt with. The same was the case with the
Bhuiyas, Khândhs, and Mundas. Some of the Gonds of Sarguja used to
offer human sacrifice to Burha Deo, and still go through a form of
doing so. [443] There is a recent instance quoted among the Tiyars,
a class of boatmen in Benares; one Tonurâm sacrificed four men in
the hope of recovering the treasures of seven Râjas; another man was
killed to propitiate a Râkshasa who guarded a treasure supposed to be
concealed in a house where the deed was committed. [444] About 1881
a village headman sacrificed a human being to Kâlî in the Sambalpur
District, and a similar charge was made against the chief of Bastar
not many years ago.
Of the Karhâda Brâhmans of Bombay, Sir J. Malcolm writes: [445]
"The tribe of Brâhmans called Karhâda had formerly a horrid custom
of annually sacrificing to their deities a young Brâhman. The Saktî
is supposed to delight in human blood, and is represented with fiery
eyes and covered with red flowers. This goddess holds in one hand a
sword and in the other a battle-axe. The prayers of her votaries are
directed to her during the first nine days of the Dasahra feast, and
on the evening of the tenth a grand repast is prepared, to which the
whole family is invited. An intoxicating drug is contrived to be mixed
with the food of the intended victim, who is often a stranger whom the
master of the house has for several months treated with the greatest
kindness and attention, and sometimes, to lull suspicion, given him
his daughter in marriage. As soon as the poisonous and intoxicating
drug operates, the master of the house unattended takes the devoted
person into the temple, leads him three times round the idol, and on
his prostrating himself before it, takes this opportunity of cutting
his throat. He collects with the greatest care the blood in a small
bowl, which he first applies to the lips of the ferocious goddess,
and then sprinkles it over her body; and a hole having been dug at
the feet of the idol for the corpse, he deposits it with great care
to prevent discovery. After this the Karhâda Brâhman returns to his
family, and spends the night in mirth and revelry, convinced that
by the bloodthirsty act he has propitiated the goddess for twelve
years. On the morning of the following day the corpse is taken from
the hole in which it had been thrown, and the idol deposited till
next Dasahra, when a similar sacrifice is made."
There seems reason to suspect that even in the present day such
sacrifices are occasionally performed at remote shrines of Kâlî or
Durgâ Devî. Within the last few years a significant case of the kind
occurred at Benares. There are numerous instances from Nepâl. [446]
At Jaypur, near Vizagapatam, the Râja is said, at his installation
in 1861, to have sacrificed a girl to Durgâ. [447] A recent case of
such sacrifice with the object of recovering hidden treasure occurred
in Berâr; a second connected with witchcraft at Muzaffarnagar. [448]
At Chanda and Lanji in the Province of Nâgpur there are shrines to
Kâlî at which human sacrifices to the goddess have been offered almost
within the memory of this generation.
Besides the religious form of human sacrifice in honour of one of
these bloodthirsty deities, there are forms of the rite which depend
on the mystic power attributed to human flesh and blood in various
charms and black magic.
In connection with human flesh a curious story is told of a man who
went to bathe in the Ganges, and met one of the abominable Faqîrs known
as Augars or Aghorpanthis, who carry about with them fragments of a
human corpse. He saw the Faqîr cut off and eat a piece of the flesh
of a corpse, and he then offered him a piece, saying that if he ate
it he would become enormously rich. He refused the ghastly food, and
the Faqîr then threw a piece at him which stuck to his head, forming a
permanent lump. [449] In one of the tales of Somadeva the witches are
seen flying about in the air, and say, "These are the magic powers of
witches' spells, and are due to the eating of human flesh." In another
the hero exchanges an anklet with a woman for some human flesh. [450]
The same mysterious power is attributed to human blood. The blood of
the Jinn has, it is hardly necessary to say, special powers of its
own. Thus, in one of the Kashmîr stories the angel says: "This is
a most powerful Jinn. Should a drop of his blood fall to the ground
while life is in him, another Jinn will be quickly formed therefrom,
and spring up and slay you." [451] Bathing in human blood has been
regarded as a powerful remedy for disease. The Emperor Constantine
was ordered a bath of children's blood, but moved by the prayers
of the parents, he forbore to apply the remedy and was rewarded by
a miraculous recovery. In one of the European folk-tales a woman
desirous of offspring is directed to take a horn and cup herself,
draw out a clot of blood, place it in a pot, lute it down and only
uncover it in the ninth month, when a child would be found in the
pot. In the German folk-tales, bathing in the blood of innocent
maidens is a cure for leprosy. [452]
The same beliefs largely prevail in India. In 1870, a Musalmân butcher
losing his child was told by a Hindu conjuror that if he washed his
wife in the blood of a boy, his next infant would be healthy. To
ensure this result a child was murdered. A similar case occurred
in Muzaffarnagar, where a child was killed and the blood drunk by
a barren woman. [453] In one of the tales of Somadeva the pregnant
queen asks her husband to gratify her longing by filling a tank with
blood for her to bathe in. He was a righteous man, and in order to
gratify her craving he had a tank filled with the juice of lac and
other extracts, so that it seemed to be full of blood. In another
tale the ascetic tells the woman that if she killed her young son and
offered him to the divinity, another son would certainly be born to
her. Quite recently at Muzaffarnagar a childless Jât woman was told
that she would attain her desire if she bathed in water mixed with
the blood of a Brâhman child. A Hindu coolie at Mauritius bathed
in and drank the blood of a girl, thinking that thereby he would be
gifted with supernatural powers. It would be easy to add largely to
the number of instances of similar beliefs. [454]
Survivals of Human Sacrifice.
There are, in addition, numerous customs which appear to be survivals
of human sacrifice, or of the blood covenant, which also prevailed
in Arabia. [455] Among the lower castes in Northern India the
parting of the bride's hair is marked with red, a survival of the
original blood covenant, by which she was introduced into the sept
of her husband. We see that this is the case from the rites of the
more savage tribes. Among the Kewats of Bengal, a tiny scratch is
made on the little finger of the bridegroom's right hand and of the
bride's left, and the drops of blood drawn from these are mixed with
the food. Each then eats the food with which the other's blood has
been mixed. Among the Santâls blood is drawn in the same way from the
little finger of the bride and bridegroom, and with it marks are made
on both above the clavicle. [456]
Human Sacrifice and Buildings.
One standing difficulty at each decennial census has been the
rumour which spreads in remote tracts that Government is making the
enumeration with a view of collecting victims to be sacrificed at
some bridge or other building, or that a toll of pretty girls is to
be taken to reward the soldiery after some war. Thus, about a fort
in Madras it had long been a tradition that when it was first built a
girl had been built into the wall to render it impregnable. [457] It
is said that a Râja was once building a bridge over the river Jargo at
Chunâr, and when it fell down several times he was advised to sacrifice
a Brâhman girl to the local deity. She has now become the Marî or ghost
of the place, and is regularly worshipped in time of trouble. [458] In
Kumaun the same belief prevails, and kidnappers, known as Dokhutiya,
or two-legged beasts of prey, are said to go about capturing boys
for this purpose. In Kâthiâwâr, if a castle was being built and the
tower would not stand, or if a pond had been dug and would not hold
water, a human victim was offered. [459] The rumour that a victim was
required spread quite recently in connection with the Hughli Bridge at
Calcutta and the Benares water-works. The Narmadâ, it was believed,
would never allow herself to be bridged until she carried away part
of the superstructure, and caused the loss of lives as a sacrifice. At
Ahmadâbâd, by the advice of a Brâhman, a childless Vânya was induced to
dig a tank to appease the goddess Sîtalâ. The water refused to enter
it without the sacrifice of a man. As soon as the victim's blood fell
on the ground, the tank filled and the goddess came down from heaven
and rescued the victim. [460] In building the fort of Sikandarpur
in Baliya, a Brâhman and a Dusâdh girl were both immolated. [461]
The Vadala lake in Bombay refused to hold water till the local
spirit was appeased by the sacrifice of the daughter of the village
headman. When the Shorkot fort was being built one side repeatedly
fell down. A Faqîr advised the Râja to put a first-born son under the
rampart. This was done and the wall stood. The child's mother went to
Mecca, and returned with an army of Muhammadans; but they could not
take the fort. Then a Faqîr transformed himself into a cock and flew
on the roof of the palace, where he set up a loud crow. The Râja was
frightened and abandoned the place. As he was leaving it, he shouted,
"Shame on thee, O Fort! to remain standing!" and the walls at once
fell down. [462]
Modifications of Human Sacrifice.
There are also many instances of the transition from human sacrifices
to those of a milder form. Thus, when Ahmadâbâd was building, Mânik
Bâwa, a saint, every day made a cushion, and every night picked it to
pieces. As he did so the day's work fell down. The Sultân refrained
from sacrificing him, but got him into a small jar and kept him there
till the work was over. [463] The Villâlis of Pûna on the fifteenth
day after a death shape two bricks like human beings, dress them,
and lay them on a wooden stool. They weep by them all night, and
next day, taking them to the burning ground, cremate them. Among
the Telugu Brâhmans of Pûna, if a man dies at an unlucky time,
wheaten figures of men are made and burnt with the corpse. The Konkani
Marâthas of Kanara on the feast of Raulnâth get a man to cut his hand
with a knife and let three drops of blood fall on the ground. [464]
Formerly in Hoshangâbâd, men used to swing themselves from a pole,
as in the famous Bengal Charakh Pûjâ. In our territories this is now
uncommon, as the village headmen being afraid of responsibility for
an accident, generally, instead of a man, fasten up a white pumpkin,
which they swing about. [465]
At the installation of a Bhuiya Râja, a man comes forward whom the
Râja touches on the neck, as if about to cut off his head. The victim
disappears for three days; then he presents himself before the Râja,
as if miraculously restored to life. Similarly, the Gonds, instead of
a human sacrifice, now make an image of straw, which they find answers
the purpose. The Bhuiyas of Keunjhar used to offer the head of their
prime minister to Thakurânî Mâî. She is now transformed into the Hindu
Durgâ and accepts a sacrifice of goats and sheep. [466] In Nepâl,
after the Sithi Jâtra feast, the people divide into two parties and
have a match at stone-throwing; formerly this used to be a serious
matter, and any one who was knocked down and fell into the hands of
the other side was sacrificed to the goddess Kankeswarî. The actual
killing of the victim, as in the case of sacrifices to the goddess
Bachhlâ Devî, has now been discontinued under the influence of British
officers. [467] We shall meet later on in another connection other
instances of mock fights of the same kind.
Momiâî.
In connection with human sacrifice may be mentioned the curious
superstition about Momiâî or mummy.
The virtues of human fat as a magical ointment appear all through
folk-lore. Othello, referring to the handkerchief which he had given
to Desdemona, says,--
"It was dyed in the mummy which the skilful
Conserved of maidens' hearts."
Writing of witches Reginald Scot says: "The devil teacheth them to
make ointment of the bowels and members of children, whereby they
ride in the air and accomplish all their desires. After burial they
steal them out of their graves and seethe them in a cauldron till
the flesh be made potable, of which they make an ointment by which
they ride in the air." In Macbeth the first witch speaks of--
"Grease that sweaten
From the murderer's gibbet."
Indian witches are believed to use the same mystic preparation to
enable them to fly through the air, as their European sisters are
supposed to use the fat of a toad. [468] Human fat is believed to be
specially efficacious for this purpose. In one of Somadeva's stories
the Brâhman searches for treasure with a candle made of human fat in
his hand. [469] One of the Mongol Generals, Marco Polo tells us, was
accused of boiling down human beings and using their fat to grease
his mangonels; and Carpini says that when the Tartars cast Greek
fire into a town they used to shoot human fat with it, in order to
cause the fire to burn more quickly. [470] So, in Europe a candle
of human fat is said to have been used by robbers with the Hand of
Glory to prevent the inmates waking, and on the Scotch border the
torch used in the mystic ceremony of "saining" was made from the fat
of a slaughtered enemy. [471]
In India, the popular idea about Momiâî is that a boy, the fatter and
blacker the better, is caught, a small hole is bored in the top of
his head, and he is hung up by the heels over a slow fire. The juice
or essence of his body is in this way distilled into seven drops of
the potent medicine known as Momiâî.
This substance possesses healing properties of a supernatural
kind. Sword cuts, spear thrusts, wounds from arrows and other weapons
of warfare are instantly cured by its use, and he who possesses it
is practically invulnerable. In Kumaun, this substance is known as
Nârâyan Tel or Râm Tel, the "oil of Vishnu or Râma."
It is further believed that a European gentleman, known as the
Momiâî-wâla Sâhib, has a contract from Government of the right of
enticing away suitable boys for this purpose. He makes them smell a
stick or wand, which obliges them to follow him, and he then packs
them off to some hill station where he carries on this nefarious
manufacture.
As an instance of this belief, "A very black servant of a friend of
mine states that he had a very narrow escape from this Sâhib at the
Nauchandi fair at Meerut, where Government allows him to walk about
for one day and make as many suitable victims as he can by means of
his stick. The Sâhib had just put his hand in his pocket and taken out
the stick, which was dry and shrivelled and about a span long, when
the servant with great presence of mind held out his hands and said,
'Bas! Bas!' 'Enough! enough!' Thus intimidated, the Sâhib went away
into the crowd. In connection with Momiâî, a lady here narrowly escaped
a very uncanny reputation. Some of her servants gave out that she
possessed a Momiâî stick, for which she had paid a hundred rupees. On
hearing this an inquiry was made which brought out that the lady had
missed a pod of vanilla about seven inches long, of a very special
quality, that she kept rolled up in a piece of paper among some of her
trinkets. The ayah who mislaid it was scolded for her carelessness,
and told that it was worth more than she thought. She promptly put
two and two together. The shrivelled appearance which is supposed to
be peculiar to mysterious sticks, such as snake charmers produce,
the fuss made about it, and the value attached to it convinced her
that her mistress owned a Momiâî stick." [472]
These mystic sticks appear constantly in folk-lore. We have the
caduceus of Hermes, the rod of Moses, the staff of Elisha, the
wand of Circe, or of Gwydion or Skirni. In one of Somadeva's tales
the Kapâlika ascetic has a magic stick which dances. In one of the
Kashmîr tales the magic wand placed under the feet of the prince makes
him insensible, when laid under his head he revives. Many people in
England still believe in the divining rod which points out concealed
springs underground. [473]
Every native boy, particularly those who are black and fat, believes
himself a possible victim to the wiles of the dreaded Momiâî Sâhib,
who frequents hill stations because he is thus enabled to carry on
his villainous practices with comparative impunity and less danger
of detection. Even to whisper the word Momiâî is enough to make the
crowd of urchins who dog the steps of a district officer when he is on
his rounds through a town, disperse in dismay. Surgeons are naturally
exposed to the suspicion of being engaged in this awful business, and
some years ago most of the coolies deserted one of the hill stations,
because an enthusiastic anatomist set up a private dissecting-room of
his own. Freemasons, who are looked on by the general native public
as a kind of sorcerers or magicians, are also not free from this
suspicion. That such ideas should prevail among the rural population
of India is not to be wondered at, when in our own modern England it
is very commonly believed that luminous paint is made out of human
fat. [474]
The Dânapurwâla Sâhib.
Another of these dreaded Sâhibs is the Dânapurwâla Sâhib, or gentleman
from Dinapur. Why this personage should be connected with Dinapur,
a respectable British cantonment, no one can make out. At any rate,
it is generally believed that he has a contract from Government for
procuring heads for some of the museums, and he too has a magic stick
with which he entices unfortunate travellers on dark nights and chops
off their heads with a pair of shears. The influence of these magic
wands by smelling may perhaps be associated with the fact that the
nose is a spirit entry, as we have seen in the case of sneezing.
Fetish Stones.
To return after this digression to fetish stones. Of this phase
of belief we have well-known instances in the coronation stone in
Westminster Abbey, which is associated with the dream of Jacob, and
the Hajuru'l Aswad of Mecca, which Sir R. Burton believed to be an
aërolite. No one will bring a stone from the Sacred Hill at Govardhan
near Mathura, because it is supposed to be endowed with life. The
Yâdavas, who are connected with the same part of the country, had
a stone fetish, described in the Vishnu Purâna, which brought rain
and plenty. There are numerous legends connected with many of these
fetish stones, such as that in the temple of Daksha at Kankhal and
Gorakhnâtha in Kheri, [475] which are said to owe the fissures in
them to the blow of the battle-axe or sword of one of the iconoclast
Muhammadan Emperors. Of Gorakhnâtha it is said that Aurangzeb attempted
to drag up the great Lingam, and failed to do so even with the aid
of elephants. When he came to investigate the cause of his failure,
tongues of flame burst from the bottom of the pillar.
The stalactites in the Behâr Hills are regarded as the images of the
gods. [476] The pestle and mortar in which a noted Darvesh of Oudh
used to grind his drugs are now worshipped, and a leading family in
the Lucknow District keep before their family residence a large square
stone which they reverence. They say that their ancestors brought it
from Delhi, and that it is the symbol of their title to the estates,
which were granted to them by one of the Emperors. He enjoined them
to take it as the foundation of their settlement, and since that
time each new Râja on his accession presents flowers, sweetmeats,
and money to it. [477]
A great rock in the river above Badarinâth, the famous shrine in
the Hills, is worshipped as Brahm Kapâl or the skull of Brahma, and
Nandâ Devî, the mountain goddess of the Himâlaya, is worshipped in
the form of two great stones glittering with mica, and reflecting the
rays of the sun. [478] At Amosi in the Lucknow District they worship
at marriages and birth of boys the door-post of the house of an old
Râjput leader, named Binâik, who is honoured with the title of Bâba or
"father." [479] At Deodhûra in the Hills the grey granite boulders
near the crest of the ridge are said to have been thrown there in
sport by the Pândavas. Close to the temple of Devî at the same place
are two large boulders, the uppermost of which is called Ransila, or
"the stone of battle," and is cleft through the centre by a deep,
fresh-looking fissure, at right angles to which is a similar rift
in the lower rock. A small boulder on the top is said to have been
the weapon with which Bhîmsen produced these fissures, and the print
of his five fingers is still to be seen upon it. Ransila itself is
marked with the lines for playing the gambling game of Pachîsi, which,
though it led to their misfortunes, the Pândavas even in their exile
could not abandon. There are many places where the marks of the hoofs
of the horse of Bhîmsen are shown. [480] "One spot on the margin
of Lake Regillus was regarded during many ages with superstitious
awe. A mark, resembling in shape a horse's hoof, was discernible in
the volcanic rock; and this mark was believed to have been made by
one of the celestial chargers." [481]
Fetishes among the Santâls.
The Santâls, like all uncivilized races, have a whole army of
fetishes. A round piece of wood, nearly a foot in length, the top
of which is painted red, is called Banhî, or "the protector of
the jungle." Another stands for Laghû, the goddess of the earth,
who is sometimes represented by a mountain. An oblong piece of wood,
painted red, stands for Mahâmâî, "the great Mother," Devî's daughter;
a small piece of white stone daubed with red is Burhiyâ Mâî, or "the
old Mother," her granddaughter; an arrow-head stands for Dûdhâ Mâî,
"the milk Mother," the daughter of Burhiyâ; a trident painted red
represents the monkey god Hanumân, who executes all the orders of
Devî. "Sets of these symbols are placed, one on the east and one on
the west of their huts to protect them from evil spirits, snakes,
tigers, and all sorts of misfortune." [482]
Very similar to this is the worship of Bîrnâth, the fetish of the
Mirzapur Ahîrs. His platform, which is made of clay, usually contains
one, three, or five rude wooden images, each about three feet high,
with a rough representation of a human face sculptured on the top. He
was, it is said, an Ahîr who was killed by a tiger, and he is now
worshipped by them in times of trouble. His special function is
to protect the cattle from beasts of prey. The worshipper bathes,
plasters his platform with fresh clay, and laying his offering on it,
says: "Bîrnâth! Keep our cattle safe and you will get more." The same
form of worship prevails all along the Central Indian Hills. "In the
south of the Bhandâra District the traveller frequently meets with
squared pieces of wood, each with a rude figure carved in front,
set up close to each other. These represent Bangarâm, Bangarâ Bâî,
or Devî, who is said to have one sister and five brothers, the sister
being styled Kâlî, and four out of the five brothers being known as
Gantarâm, Champarâm, Nâikarâm, and Potlinga. They are all deemed to
possess the power of sending disease and death upon men, and under
these or other names seem to be generally feared in the region east
of Nâgpur. Bhîmsen, again, is generally adored under the form of one
or two pieces of wood standing three or four feet in length above the
ground, like those set up in connection with Bangarâm's worship." [483]
Fetish Stones which Cure Disease.
Many of these stones have the power of curing disease, and the water
with which they have been bathed is considered a useful medicine. This
is the case with a number of sacred Mahâdeva Lingams all over the
country. A common proverb speaks of the old woman who is ready enough
to eat the Prasâd or offering to the god, but hesitates to drink the
water in which his feet have been washed. In Western India no orthodox
Brâhman will eat his food till he has thrice sipped the water in which
his Sâlagrâma stone has been washed. [484] We have already noticed
the fetish bowl, the washings of which are administered by midwives
to secure easy parturition. So, in Western lands the stones fetched
by Merlin had the power of healing if washed in water and the patient
bathed in it. [485] Stone celts are, in Cornwall, supposed to impart
a healing effect to water in which they have been soaked. [486] In
Java a decoction of the lichen which grows on fetish stones is used
as a remedy for disease. [487] In the Isle of Lewis cattle disease
is attributed to the bites of serpents, and the suffering animals are
made to drink water into which charm stones are put; in the Highlands
large crystals of a somewhat oval shape were kept by the priests to
work charms with, and water poured thereon was given to cattle as a
preventative of disease. [488]
Fetish Stones the Abode of Spirits.
The virtue of all these fetish stones rests in their embodying the
spirits of gods or deified men. As we have shown, this is a common
principle of popular belief. In one of Miss Stokes's Indian tales,
"The man who went to seek his fate," the fate is found in stones,
some standing up and some lying down. The man beats the stone which
embodies his fate because he is miserably poor. Mr. H. Spencer thinks
that the idea of persons being turned into stones may have arisen from
instances of actual petrifaction of trees and the like; but this is
not very probable, and it is much simpler to believe with Dr. Tylor
that it depends on the principles of animism. [489]
Family Fetishes.
Some fetishes, like the Bombay Devaks, are special to particular
families. Such is the case with the Thârus, a non-Aryan tribe in the
sub-Himâlayan Tarâî. Each member of the tribe constructs a hollow
mound in front of his door, and thereon erects a stake of Palâsa
wood (Butea frondosa), which is regarded as the family fetish and
periodically worshipped.
Tool Fetishes.
Next comes the worship of the tool fetish, which, according to Sir
A. Lyall, is "the earliest phase or type of the tendency which later
on leads those of one guild or walk in life to support and cultivate
one god, who is elected in lieu of the individual trade fetishes
melted down to preside over their craft or trade interests." [490]
A good example of this is the pickaxe fetish of the Thags.
When Kâlî refused to help them in the burial of their victims
she gave them one of her teeth for a pickaxe, and the hem of her
lower garment for a noose. Hence the pickaxe was venerated by the
Thags. Its fabrication was superintended with the utmost care, and it
was consecrated with many ceremonies. A lucky day was selected, and
a smith was appointed to forge it with the most profound secrecy. The
door was closed against all intruders; the leader never left the forge
while the manufacture was going on; and the smith was allowed to do no
other work until this was completed. Next came the consecration. This
was done on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday, and care was taken
that the shadow of no living thing fell upon the axe. The consecrator
sat with his face to the west, and received the implement in a brass
dish. It was then washed in water which was allowed to fall into
a pit made for the purpose. Then further ablutions followed, the
first in sugar and water, the second in sour milk, and the third in
spirits. The axe was then marked from the head to the point with seven
spots of red lead, and replaced on the brass dish with a cocoanut,
some cloves, white sandalwood, and other articles.
A fire was next made of cowdung and the wood of the Mango and
Ber tree. All the articles deposited on the brass plate, with the
exception of the cocoanut, were thrown into the fire, and when the
flame rose the Thag priest passed the pickaxe with both hands seven
times through the fire. The cocoanut was then stripped of its husk and
placed on the ground. The officiant, holding the axe by the point,
asked: "Shall I strike?" The bystanders assented, and he then broke
the cocoanut with the blunt end of the weapon, exclaiming, "All hail,
Devî! Great Mother of us all!" The spectators responded, "All hail,
Devî, and prosper the Thags." If the cocoanut was not broken at one
blow, all the labour was lost; the goddess was considered unpropitious,
and the entire ceremony had to be repeated. The broken shell and
kernel of the cocoanut were then thrown into the fire, the pickaxe
wrapt in white cloth was placed on the ground towards the west,
and all present prostrated themselves before it. [491]
Here we have another example of magic in its sympathetic form, the
use of sundry spirit scarers, which have been already discussed,
and the cocoanut representing an actual human victim.
Weapons and Implement Fetishes.
In the same way soldiers and warlike tribes worship their
weapons. Thus, the sword was worshipped by the Râjputs, and when a man
of lower caste married a Râjput girl, she was married, as in the case
of Holkar, to his sword with his kerchief bound round it. [492] This
sword-worship is specially performed, as by the Baiswârs of Mirzapur
and the Gautam sept of Râjputs. The Nepâlese worship their weapons
and regimental colours at the Dasahra festival. At the Diwâlî, or
feast of lamps, on the first day they worship dogs; on the second day
cows and bulls; on the third day capitalists worship their treasure
under the name of Lakshmî, the goddess of wealth; on the fourth day
every householder worships as deities the members of his family,
and on the fifth day sisters worship their brothers. [493]
The same customs prevail among the artisan castes in Northern
India. The hair-scraper of the tanner is worshipped by curriers,
and the potter's wheel, regarded as a type of productiveness, is
reverenced at marriages by many of the lower castes. Even the clay
which has been mixed by the potter has mystic powers. When a person
has been bitten by a mad dog, a lump of this clay is brought, and the
wound is touched with it while a spell is recited. [494] Carpenters
worship their yard measure; Chamârs swear by the shoemaker's last, and
the children of the Darzi or tailor are made to worship the scissors.
In Bengal, the Alakhiya sect of Saiva ascetics profess profound respect
for their alms-bag; the carpenters worship their adze, chisel, and saw;
the barbers their razors, scissors, and mirror. At the Srîpanchamî,
or fifth day of the month of Mâgh, the writer class worship their
books, pens, and inkstand. The writing implements are cleaned, and
the books, wrapped in white cloth, are strewn over with flowers and
the leaves of young barley. [495]
The same customs prevail in Bombay. A mill is the Devak or guardian
of oil-makers; dancing girls worship a musical instrument; jewellers
worship their pincers and blowpipe; curriers worship an axe, and
market gardeners a pair of scales. [496]
In the Panjâb, farmers worship their oxen in August, their plough at
the Dasahra festival, and they have a ceremony at the end of October to
drive away ticks from their cattle; shepherds worship their sheep at
the full moon of July; bankers and clerks worship their books at the
Diwâlî festival; grain-sellers worship their weights at the Dasahra,
Diwâlî, and Holî, and, in a way, every morning as well. Oilmen worship
their presses at odd times; artisans salute their tools daily when they
bathe; and generally the means of livelihood, whatever they may be,
are worshipped with honour at the Diwâlî, Dasahra, and Holî. [497]
So the Pokharna Brâhmans, who are said to have been the navvies who
originally excavated the lake at Pushkar, worship in memory of this
the Kudâla, or mattock. [498]
All these customs are as old as the time of the Chaldeans, "who
sacrifice unto their net and burn incense unto their drag, because
by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous." [499]
Among these implement fetishes the corn-sieve and the plough, the
basket, the broom, and the rice-pounder are of special importance.
The Corn-sieve.
The corn-sieve or winnowing basket, the Mystica vannus Iacchi of
Virgil, has always enjoyed a reputation as an emblem of increase and
prosperity, and as possessing magical powers. The witch in Macbeth
says:--
"Her husband's to Aleppo gone, Master of the Tiger;
But in a sieve I'll thither sail."
It was used in Scotland to foretell the future at Allhallow
Eve. Divination was performed with a pair of shears and a sieve. Aubrey
describes how "the shears are stuck in a sieve, and the maidens hold up
the sieve with the top of their fingers by the handle of the shears,
then say, 'By St. Peter and St. Paul, he hath not stolen it.' After
many adjurations the sieve will turn at the name of the thief." [500]
In India the sieve is the first cradle of the baby, and in Bombay
the winnowing fan in which a newly-born child is laid is used on the
fifth day for the worship of Satvâî. This makes it impure, and it is
henceforward used only for the house sweepings. In Northern India,
when a mother has lost a child, she puts the next in a sieve and
drags it about, calling it Kadheran or Ghasîtan, "the dragged one,"
so as to baffle the Evil Eye by a pretence of contempt.
All through Upper India, at low-caste marriages, the bride's
brother accompanies the pair as they revolve in the marriage shed,
and sprinkles parched grain over them out of a sieve as a charm for
good luck and a means of scaring the demon which causes barrenness. So
Irish brides in old times used to be followed by two attendants bearing
high over the heads of the couple a sieve filled with meal, a sign
of the plenty that would be in the house, and an omen of good luck
and the blessing of children. [501] We have already seen that this
rite survives in the custom of flinging rice over the newly-married
pair as they leave for the honeymoon.
This habit of scaring the spirits of evil by means of the sieve
appears in a special usage at the Diwâlî festival. Very early
in the morning the house-mother takes a sieve and a broom, and
beats them in every corner of the house, exclaiming, "God abide,
and poverty depart!" The fan is then carried outside the village,
generally to the east or north, and being thrown away, is supposed,
like the scapegoat, to bear away with it the poverty and distress
of the household. The same custom prevails in Germany. The Posterli
is imagined to be a spectre in the shape of an old woman. In the
evening the young fellows of the village assemble, and with loud
shouts and clashing of tins, ringing of cow-bells and goat-bells,
and cracking of whips, tramp over hill and dale to another village,
where the young men receive them with like uproar. One of the party
represents the Posterli, or they draw it in a sledge in the shape of
a puppet, and leave it standing in a corner of the other village. In
the same way the Eskimo drive the demon Tuna out of their houses. [502]
Among the Kols, when a vacancy occurs in the office of the village
priest, the winnowing fan with some rice is used, and by its magical
power it drags the person who holds it towards the individual on
whom the sacred mantle has fallen. The same custom prevails among
the Orâons. [503]
The Greeks had a special name, Koskinomantis, for the man who
divined in this way with the sieve, and the practice is mentioned by
Theocritus. [504] The sieve is very commonly used in India as a rude
form of the planchette. Through the wicker-work of the raised side
or back a strong T-shaped twig is fixed, one end of which rests on
the finger. A question is asked, and according as the sieve turns
to the right or left, the answer is "Yes" or "No." This is exactly
what is known as "Cauff-riddling" in Yorkshire and Scotland. [505]
In the eastern districts of the North-Western Provinces, when the
Ojha or "cunning man" is called in to cure disease, or possession by
evil spirits, he puts some sesamum into a sieve, shakes it about,
and then proceeds to identify the ghost concerned by counting the
number of grains which remain stuck between the reeds. At a Santâl
cremation, a man takes his seat near the ashes, and tosses rice on
them with a winnowing fan till a frenzy appears to seize him, and he
becomes inspired and says wonderful things. [506]
It is one of the curiosities of comparative folk-lore that this
instrument should be credited with magical powers all over two
continents. [507]
The winnowing basket, again, perhaps from its association, like
the winnowing fan, with the sacred grain, has mystic powers. In
Scotland it was used in the rite of creeling as a means of scaring
barrenness. "The young wedded pair, with their friends, assemble in a
convenient spot. A small creel or basket is prepared for the occasion,
into which they put some stones; the young men carry it alternately,
and allow themselves to be caught by the maidens, who have a kiss when
they succeed. After a great deal of innocent mirth and pleasantry,
the creel falls at length to the young husband's share, who is obliged
generally to carry it for a long time, none of the young women having
compassion upon him. At length his fair mate kindly relieves him from
his burden; and her complaisance, in this particular, is considered
as a proof of her satisfaction at the choice she has made. [508]"
In Bengal, at the full moon immediately following the Durgâ Pûjâ, the
festival of Lakshmî, the goddess of wealth, is held. In every Hindu
house a basket, which serves as the representative of prosperity, is
set up and worshipped. This basket, or corn measure, is filled with
paddy, encircled with a garland of flowers, and covered with a piece
of cloth. They sit up all night and watch for Lakshmî to arrive,
and any negligence in watching is believed to bring misfortune on
the family. [509]
The Broom.
The same idea applies to the broom used in sweeping the house or
collecting the grain on the threshing-floor. We have already seen
the use of it to drive out poverty. "Pythagoras warned his followers
against stepping over a broom. In some parts of Bavaria, housemaids
in sweeping out the house are careful not to step over the broom for
fear of the witches. Again, it is a Bavarian rule not to step over a
broom while a confinement is taking place in a house; otherwise the
birth will be tedious, and the child will always remain small with
a large head. But if anyone has stepped over a broom inadvertently,
he can undo the spell by stepping backwards over it again." [510]
So, in Bombay, they say you should never step over a broom, or you
will cause a woman to suffer severely in childbed.
In Bombay, some old Hindu woman, to cure a child affected by the
Evil Eye, waves salt and water round its face and strikes the ground
with a broom three times; and among the Bani Isrâîls of Bombay,
when the midwife drives off the blast of the Evil Eye, she holds in
her left hand a shoe, a winnowing fan, and a broom. [511] In Italy,
the broom is an old Latin charm against sorcery. The Beriyas, a gypsy
tribe of the Ganges-Jumna Duâb, drive off the disease demon with a
broom. In Oudh, it is said, when a broomstick has been done with,
it should always be laid down, and not left standing. Mahâ-Brâhmans,
who gain by officiating at funeral ceremonies, are alleged to violate
this rule in order to cause deaths. [512]
The Rice-pounder.
The rice-pounder, too, has magical powers. We have seen that it is
one of the articles waved round the heads of the bride and bridegroom
to scare evil spirits. In Bengal, it is worshipped when the child
is first fed with grain. And there is a regular worship of it in the
month of Baisâkh, or May. The top is smeared with red lead, anointed
with oil, and offerings of rice and holy Dûrva grass made to it. The
worship has even been provided with a Brâhmanical legend. A Guru once
ordered his disciple to pronounce the word Dhenk at least one hundred
and eight times a day. Nârada Muni was so pleased with his devotion,
as he is the patron deity of the rice-pounder, that he paid him a
visit riding on one, and carried off his votary to heaven. [513]
The Plough.
Next comes the plough as a fetish. The carrying about of the plough
and the prohibition common in Europe against moving it on Shrove
Tuesday and other holidays have, like many other images of the same
class, been connected with Phallicism. [514] But, considering the
respect which an agricultural people would naturally pay to the chief
implement used in husbandry, it is simpler to class it with the other
tool fetishes of a similar kind. In India, as in Europe on Plough
Monday, [515] there is a regular worship of the plough at the end of
the sowing season, when the beam is coloured with turmeric, adorned
with garlands, and brought home from the field in triumph. After that
day it is considered unlucky to use it or lend it. The beam is put
up in the village cattle track when rinderpest is about, as a charm
to drive away the disease. Among some castes the polished share is
fixed up in the marriage shed during the ceremony. Among the Orâons,
the bride and bridegroom are made to stand on a curry stone, under
which is placed a sheaf of corn resting on the plough yoke, and among
the same people their god Darha is represented by a plough-share set
upon an altar dedicated to him. [516] Here we have the mystic influence
of grain and iron combined with the agricultural implement fetish.
Fire.
Fire is undoubtedly a very ancient Hindu protective fetish, and its
virtue as a scarer of demons is very generally recognized. One of
the earliest legends of the Hindu race is that recorded in the Rig
Veda, where Agni, the god of fire, concealed himself in heaven, was
brought down to earth by Mâtarisvan, and made over to the princely
tribe of Bhrigu, in which we have the Oriental version of the myth
of Prometheus. In the Vedas, Agni ranks next to the Rain god, and
takes precedence of every other god in connection with sacrificial
rites. Even the Sun godling is regarded as a form of the heavenly
fire. One of the titles of Agni is Pramantha, because on each occasion
when he was required he was summoned by the friction of the Aranî,
or sacred fire-drill. This word Pramantha is probably the equivalent
of the Prometheus of the Greeks.
Origin of Fire-worship.
According to Dr. Tylor, "the real and absolute worship of fire falls
into two great divisions, the first belonging to fetishism, the
second to polytheism proper, and the two apparently representing an
earlier and later stage of theological ideas. The first is the rude,
barbarous adoration of the actual flame which he watches writhing,
devouring, roaring like a wild animal; the second belongs to an
advanced generalization that any individual fire is a manifestation
of one general elemental being, the fire god." [517] In a tropical
country it would naturally be associated with the worship of the sun,
and with that of the sainted dead as the medium by which the spirit
wings its way to the other world. Among many races fire is provided
for the ghost after interment, to enable it to warm itself and cook
its food. As Mr. Spencer points out, the grave fire would tend to
develop into kindred religious rites. [518]
The Sacred Fire.
But it is almost certainly erroneous to class the sacred fire as an
institution peculiar to the so-called Aryan races. The Homa is, of
course, one of the most important elements of the modern Hindu ritual;
but at the same time it prevails extensively as a means of propitiating
the local or village godlings among many of the Drâvidian races, who
are quite as likely to have discovered for themselves the mystical
art of fire production by mechanical means, as to have adopted it by
a process of conscious or unconscious imitation from the usages of
their Hindu neighbours.
The production of fire by means of friction is a discovery which would
naturally occur to jungle races, who must have constantly seen it occur
by the ignition of the bamboo stalks rubbed together by the blasts
of summer. From this would easily be developed the very primitive
fire-drill or Asgara, used to this day by the Cheros, Korwas, Bhuiyas
and other Drâvidian dwellers in the jungle. These people even to the
present day habitually produce fire in this way. A small round cavity
is made in a dry piece of bamboo, in which two men alternately with
their open hands revolve a second pointed piece of the wood of the same
tree. Smoke and finally fire are rapidly produced in this way, and the
sparks are received on a dry leaf or other suitable tinder. The use
of the flint and steel is also common, and was possibly an early and
independent invention of the same people. Even to the present day in
some of their more secret worship of the village godlings of disease,
fire is produced for the fire sacrifice by this primitive method.
The Fire-drill.
What has been called the Aryan fire-drill, the Aranî, which in
one sense means "foreign" or "strange," and in another "moving"
or "entering," "being inserted," is not apparently nowadays used
in the ordinary ritual for the production of fire for the Homa or
fire sacrifice. The rites connected with the sacred fire have been
given in detail in another place. [519] In Northern India, at least,
the production of the sacred fire has become the speciality of one
branch of the Brâhmans, the Gujarâti, who are employed to conduct
certain special services occasionally conducted at large cost by
wealthy devotees, and known as Jag or Yaksha, in the sense of some
particular religious rite.
The Aranî in its modern form consists of five pieces. The Adhararanî is
the lower bed of the instrument, and is usually made of the hard wood
of the Khadira or Khair--Acacia catechu. In this are bored two shallow
holes, one, the Garta, a small shallow round cavity, in which the
plunger or revolving drill works and produces fire by friction. Close
to this is a shallow oblong cavity, known as the Yonî or matrix,
in which combustible tinder, generally the husk of the cocoanut,
is placed, and in which the sparks and heated ashes are received
and ignited. The upper or revolving portion of the drill is known
as Uttararanî or Pramantha. This consists of two parts, the upper
portion a piece of hard, round wood which one priest revolves with
a rope or cord known as Netra. This part of the implement is known
as Mantha or "the churner." It has a socket at the base in which the
Sanku, a spike or dart, is fixed. This Sanku is made of a softer wood,
generally that of the Pîpal, or sacred fig tree, than the Adhararanî
or base; and each Aranî is provided with several spare pieces of fig
wood for the purpose of replacing the Sanku, as it becomes gradually
charred away by friction. The last piece is the Upamantha or upper
churner, which is a flat board with a socket. This is pressed down
by one priest, so as to force the Sanku deep and hard into the Garta
or lower cavity, and to increase the resistance.
The working of the implement thus requires the labour of two priests,
one of whom presses down the plunger, and the other who revolves the
drill rapidly by means of the rope. It is not easy to obtain specimens
of the implement, which is regarded as possessing mystical properties,
and the production of the sacred fire is always conducted in secret.
We have in one of the African folk-tales a reference to the production
of the fire by friction, in which the hyæna gets his ear burnt. [520]
In one of the tales of Somadeva we read, "Then the Brâhman blessed
the king and said to him, 'I am a Brâhman named Nâga Sarman, and bear
the fruit, I hope, from my sacrifice. When the god of fire is pleased
with this Vilva sacrifice, then Vilva fruits of gold will come out
of the fire cavity. Then the god of fire will appear in bodily form,
and grant me a boon, and so I have spent much time in offering Vilva
fruits.' Then the seven-rayed god appeared from the sacrificial cavity,
bringing the king a golden Vilva fruit of his tree of valour." [521]
The Agnikunda, the hole or enclosed space for the sacred fire, out
of which, according to the popular legend, various Râjput tribes were
produced, is thus probably derived from the Garta or pit out of which
the sparks fly in the fire-drill.
The Agnihotri Brâhman has to take particular care to preserve the
germ of the sacred fire, as did the Roman vestal virgins. It is in
charge of the special guardians at some shrines, such as those of
Sambhunâth and Kharg Joginî at Nepâl. [522]
The Muhammadan Sacred Fire.
But it is not only in the Hindu ritual that the sacred fire holds
a prominent place. Thus, in ancient Ireland, the sacred fire was
obtained by the friction of wood and the striking of stones, and
it was supposed "that the spirits of fire dwelt in these objects,
and when the priests invoked them to appear, they brought good luck
to the household for the coming year, but if invoked by other hands
on that special day, their influence was malific." [523]
So, among the Muhammadans in the time of Akbar, "at noon of the day
when the sun enters the 19th degree of Aries, the whole world being
surrounded by the light, they expose a round piece of a white shining
stone, called in Hindi Sûrajkrant. [524] A piece of cotton is then held
near it, which catches fire from the heat of the stone. The celestial
fire is committed to the care of proper persons." [525] Perhaps the
best example of the Muhammadan sacred fire is that at the Imâmbâra
at Gorakhpur. There it was first started by a renowned Shiah Faqîr,
named Roshan 'Ali, and has been maintained unquenched for more than
a hundred years, a special body of attendants and supplies of wood
being provided for it. There seems little reason to believe that the
fire is a regular Muhammadan institution; it has probably arisen from
an imitation of the customs of the Hindu Jogis.
It is respected both by Hindus and Musalmâns, and as in the case
of the fires of the same kind, maintained by many noted Jogis, its
ashes have a reputation as a cure for fever. We shall meet with the
same belief of the curative effects of the ashes of the sacred fire
in the case of the Holî. The ashes of the Jogi's fire form a part of
many popular charms. In Italy, the holy log burnt on Christmas Eve,
which corresponds to the Yule log of the North of Europe, is taken with
due observances to the Faunus, or other spirits of the forest. [526]
In Ireland part of the ashes from the bonfire on the 24th of June is
thrown into sown fields to make their produce abundant. [527] The
ceremony of strewing ashes on the penitent on Ash Wednesday dates
from Saxon times. [528] A modern Muhammadan of the advanced school
has endeavoured to rationalize the curative effect of the ashes of
the Gorakhpur fire by the suggestion that it is the potash in it
which works the cure, but probably the element of faith has much to
do with it. [529]
Volcanic Fire; Will-o'-the-Wisp.
Fire of a volcanic nature is, as might be expected, regarded with
veneration. Such is the fire which in some places in Kashmîr rises
out of the ground. [530]
The meteoric light or Shahâba is also much respected. In Hoshangâbâd
there is a local godling, known as Khapra Bâba, who lives on the edge
of a tank, and is said to appear in the darkness with a procession
of lights. [531] In Rohilkhand and the western districts of Oudh,
one often hears of the Shahâba. In burial-grounds, especially where
the bodies of those slain in battle are interred, it is said that
phantom armies appear in the night. Tents are pitched, the horses are
tethered, and lovely girls dance before the heroes and the Jinn who
are in their train. Sometimes some foolish mortal is attracted by the
spectacle, and he suffers for his foolhardiness by loss of life or
reason. Sometimes these ignes fatui mislead the traveller at night,
as Robin Goodfellow "misleads night wanderers, laughing at their
harm," or the Cornish piskies, who show a light and entice people
into bogs. [532] There appears to be in Northern India no trace of
the idea which so widely appears in Europe, that such lights are the
souls of unbaptized children. [533]
The Tomb Fetish.
Next comes the respect paid to the cairn which covers the remains of
the dead or is a mere cenotaph commemorating a death. We have already
seen instances of this in the pile of stones which marks the place
where a tiger has killed a man, and in the cairns in honour of the
jungle deities, or the spirits which infest dangerous passes. The
rationale of these sepulchral cairns is to keep down the ghost of
the dead man and prevent it from injuring the living. We see the same
idea in the rule of the old ritual, that on the departure of the last
mourner, after the conclusion of the funeral ceremony, the Adhvâryu,
or officiating priest, should place a circle of stones behind him,
to prevent death overtaking those who have gone in advance. [534]
The primitive grave-heap grows into the cairn, and the cairn into the
tomb or Stûpa. [535] In the way of a tomb Hindus will worship almost
anything. The tomb of an English lady is worshipped at Bhandâra in the
Central Provinces. At Murmari, in the Nâgpur District, a similar tomb
is smeared with turmeric and lime, and people offer cocoanuts to it in
the hope of getting increased produce from their fields. The tomb of an
English officer near the Fort of Bijaygarh in the Aligarh District was,
when I visited the place some years ago, revered as the shrine of the
local village godling. There is a similar case at Râwalpindi. There
is a current tale of some people offering brandy and cigars to the
tomb of a European planter who was addicted to these luxuries in his
lifetime, but no one can tell where the tomb actually exists. [536]
Miscellaneous Fetishes.
We have already referred to the Sâlagrâma fetish. Akin to this is
the Vishnupada, the supposed footmark of Vishnu, which is very like
the footmark of Hercules, of which Herodotus speaks. [537]
There is a celebrated Vishnupada temple at Gaya, where the footprint of
Vishnu is in a large silver basin under a canopy, inside an octagonal
shrine. Pindas or holy balls and various kinds of offerings are placed
by the pilgrims inside the basin and around the footprint. [538]
It was probably derived from the footmark of Buddha, which is a
favourite subject in the early Buddhistic sculptures. Dr. Tylor,
curiously enough, thinks that it may have some connection with the
footmarks of extinct birds or animals imprinted on the strata of
alluvial rocks. [539]
Even among Muhammadans we have the same idea, and the Qadam-i-Rasûl,
or mosque of the footprint of the Prophet at Lucknow, used to contain
a stone marked with his footmarks, which was said to have been brought
by some pilgrim from Arabia. It disappeared during the Mutiny. [540]
There is another in a mosque at Chunâr and at many other places.
The same respect is paid to the footprint of Râmanand in his monastery
at Benares, and the pin of Brahma's slipper is now fixed up in the
steps of the bathing-place at Bithûr, known as the residence of the
infamous Nâna Sâhib, where it is worshipped at an annual feast.