A Thug seldom attained to the office of Bhurtote or strangler
until he had been on several expeditions and acquired the requisite
courage or insensibility by slow degrees. At first they were almost
always shocked or frightened; but after a time they said they lost
all sympathy with the victims. They were first employed as scouts,
then as buriers of the dead, next as Shamsias or holders of hands,
and finally as stranglers. When a man felt that he had sufficient
courage and insensibility he begged the oldest and most renowned Thug
of the gang to make him his _chela_ or disciple. If his proposal was
accepted he awaited the arrival of a suitable victim of not too great
bodily strength. While the traveller was asleep with the gang at their
quarters the _guru_ or preceptor took his disciple into a neighbouring
field, followed by three or four old members of the gang. Here they
all faced in the direction in which the gang intended to move, and the
_guru_ said, "_Oh Kali, Kunkali, Bhudkali, [703] Oh Kali, Maha Kali,
Kalkatawali!_ If it seemeth to thee fit that the traveller now at
our lodging should die by the hands of this thy slave, vouchsafe, we
pray thee, the omen on the right." If they got this within a certain
interval the candidate was considered to be accepted, and if not some
other Thug put the traveller to death and he had to wait for another
chance. In the former case they returned to their quarters and the
_guru_ took a handkerchief and tied the slip-knot in one end of it
with a rupee inside it. The disciple received it respectfully in his
right hand and stood over the victim with the Shamsia or holder by
his side. The traveller was roused on some pretence or other and the
disciple passed the handkerchief over his neck and strangled him. He
then bowed down to his _guru_ and all his relations and friends in
gratitude for the honour he had obtained. He gave the rupee from the
knot with other money, if he had it, to the _guru_, and with this sugar
or sweetmeats were bought and the _gur_ sacrifice was celebrated,
the new strangler taking one of the seats of honour on the blanket
for the first time. The relation between a strangler and his _guru_
was considered most sacred, and a Thug would often rather betray
his father than the preceptor by whom he had been initiated. There
were certain classes of persons whom they were forbidden to kill,
and they considered that the rapid success of the English officers
in finally breaking up the gangs was to be attributed to the divine
wrath at breaches of these rules. The original rule [704] was that
the Sourka or first victim must not be a Brahman, nor a Saiyad,
nor any very poor man, nor any man with gold on his person, nor any
man who had a quadruped with him, nor a washerwoman, nor a sweeper,
nor a Teli (oilman), nor a Bhat (bard), nor a Kayasth (writer),
nor a leper, dancing-woman, pilgrim or devotee. The reason for
some of these exemptions is obvious: Brahmans, Muhammadan Saiyads,
bards, religious mendicants and devotees were excluded owing to their
sanctity; and sweepers, washermen and lepers owing to their impurity,
which would have the same evil and unlucky effect on their murderers
as the holiness of the first classes. A man wearing gold ornaments
would be protected by the sacred character of the metal; and the
killing of a poor man as the first victim would naturally presage a
lack of valuable booty during the remainder of the expedition. Telis
and Kayasths are often considered as unlucky castes, and even in
the capacity of victims might be held to bring an evil fortune on
their murderers.