They have various spells to cure a man possessed of an evil spirit,
or stung by a snake or scorpion, or likely to be in danger from tigers
or wild bears; and in the Morsi taluk of Berar it is stated that they
so greatly fear the effect of an enemy writing their name on a piece of
paper and tying it to a sweeper's broom that the threat to do this can
be used with great effect by their creditors. [129] To drive out the
evil eye they make a small human image of powdered turmeric and throw
it into boiled water, mentioning as they do so the names of any persons
whom they suspect of having cast the evil eye upon them. Then the pot
of water is taken out at midnight of a Wednesday or a Sunday and placed
upside down on some cross-roads with a shoe over it, and the sufferer
should be cured. Their belief about the sun and moon is that an old
woman had two sons who were invited by the gods to dinner. Before they
left she said to them that as they were going out there would be no one
to cook, so they must remember to bring back something for her. The
elder brother forgot what his mother had said and took nothing away
with him; but the younger remembered her and brought back something
from the feast. So when they came back the old woman cursed the elder
brother and said that as he had forgotten her he should be the sun
and scorch and dry up all vegetation with his beams; but the younger
brother should be the moon and make the world cool and pleasant at
night. The story is so puerile that it is only worth reproduction
as a specimen of the level of a Mahar's intelligence. The belief in
evil spirits appears to be on the decline, as a result of education
and accumulated experience. Mr. C. Brown states that in Malkapur of
Berar the Mahars say that there are no wandering spirits in the hills
by night of such a nature that people need fear them. There are only
tiny _pari_ or fairies, small creatures in human form, but with the
power of changing their appearance, who do no harm to any one.