When the sacred pickaxe used for burying corpses had to be made, the
leader of the gang, having ascertained a lucky day from the priest,
went to a blacksmith and after closing the door so that no other
person might enter, got him to make the axe in his presence without
touching any other work until it was completed. A day was then chosen
for the consecration of the pickaxe, either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
or Friday; and the ceremony was performed inside a house or tent,
so that the shadow of no living thing might fall on and contaminate
the sacred implement. A pit was dug in the ground and over it the
pickaxe was washed successively with water, sugar and water, sour
milk, and alcoholic liquor, all of which were poured over it into
the pit. Finally it was marked seven times with vermilion. A burnt
offering was then made with all the usual ingredients for sacrifice
and the pickaxe was passed seven times through the flames. A cocoanut
was placed on the ground, and the priest, holding the pickaxe by the
point in his right hand, said, 'Shall I strike?' The others replied
yes, and striking the cocoanut with the butt end he broke it in
pieces, upon which all exclaimed, 'All hail, Devi, and prosper the
Thugs.' All then partook of the kernel of the cocoanut, and collecting
the fragments put them into the pit so that they might not afterwards
be contaminated by the touch of any man's foot. Here the cocoanut
may probably be considered as a substituted sacrifice for a human
being. Thereafter the pickaxe was called Kassi or Mahi instead of
_kudali_ the ordinary name, and was given to the shrewdest, cleanest
and most sober and careful man of the party, who carried it in his
waist-belt. While in camp he buried it in a secure place with its
point in the direction they intended to go; and they believed that
if another direction was better the point would be found changed
towards it. They said that formerly the pickaxe was thrown into a
well and would come up of itself when summoned with due ceremonies;
but since they disregarded the ordinances of Kali it had lost that
virtue. Many Thugs told Colonel Sleeman [701] that they had seen the
pickaxe rise out of the well in the morning of its own accord and
come to the hands of the man who carried it; and even the several
pickaxes of different gangs had been known to come up of themselves
from the same well and go to their respective bearers. The pickaxe
was also worshipped on every seventh day during an expedition,
and it was believed that the sound made by it in digging a grave
was never heard by any one but a Thug. The oath by the pickaxe was
in their esteem far more sacred than that by the Ganges water or the
Koran, and they believed that a man who perjured himself by this oath
would die or suffer some great calamity within six days. In prison,
when administering an oath to each other in cases of dispute, they
sometimes made an image of the pickaxe out of a piece of cloth and
consecrated it for the purpose. If the pickaxe at any time fell from
the hands of the carrier it was a dreadful omen and portended either
that he would be killed that year or that the gang would suffer some
grievous misfortune. He was deprived of his office and the gang either
returned home or chose a fresh route and consecrated the pickaxe anew.