To Julloo and Jullal
The white ass is judged lawful.”
From the earliest times, the White Ass (Albino) has been reserved for
the use of those who might be highly honoured. In Hindustani the Ass is
termed a Gudhā and is of the same breed as those domesticated from the
original African Ass. They are used in India mostly by Dhobī's, and a
homeless race called the “Yerkala,” and it is said they cripple their
hind legs to prevent them straying. Most of these Asses have one
disposition, that they are averse to crossing a stream of water.
For the transformation of men into animals and vice-versâ, see Crooke’s
“Popular Folk Lore of Northern India.” This metamorphosis is common
throughout the whole range of Folk-lore: thus, in one of Somadeva’s
tales, a man is turned into an Ox, in another his wife transforms him
into a Buffalo, in a third the angry hermit turns the King into an
Elephant.
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