There is a belief that the urine of a wild monkey (langur) called
kondamuccha, which it discharges in a thick stream, possesses the
power of curing rheumatic pains, if applied to the affected part
with a mixture of garlic. Some of the poorer classes in the villages
of Kurnool obtain a sale even for stones on which this monkey has
urinated, and hill people suffering from chronic fever sometimes drink
its blood. [73] I am informed by Mr A. Ff. Martin, that he has seen
a Muduvar on the Travancore hills much pulled down by fever seize
an expiring black monkey (Semnopithecus johni), and suck the blood
from its jugular vein. Childless Muduvar couples are dieted to make
them fruitful, the principal diet for the man being plenty of black
monkey. The flesh of the black monkey (Nilgiri langur) is sold in the
Nilgiri bazaars as a cure for whooping-cough. When Savara (hill tribe
in Ganjam) children are seriously ill and emaciated, offerings are
said by Mr G. V. Ramamurthi Pantulu to be made to monkeys, not in the
belief that the illness is caused by them, but because the sick child,
in its wasted condition, has the attenuated figure of these animals.
The offerings consist of rice and other articles of food, which are
placed in baskets suspended from branches of trees in the jungle.
Some years ago, a drinking fountain was erected at the Madras Museum,
in which the water issued from the mouth of a lion. It entirely failed
in its object, as the Native visitors would not use it, because the
animal was represented in the act of vomiting.
I am informed by Mr C. Hayavadana Rao that the Beparis, who are traders
and carriers between the hills and plains in the Vizagapatam Agency
tracts, regard themselves as immune from the attacks of tigers, if
they take certain precautions. Most of them have to pass through
places infested with these beasts, and their favourite method of
keeping them off is as follows. As soon as they encamp at a place,
they level a square bit of ground, and light fires in it, round
which they pass the night. It is their firm belief that the tiger
will not enter the square, from fear lest it should become blind,
and eventually be shot. Mr Hayavadana Rao was once travelling towards
Malkangiri from Jeypore, when he fell in with a party of Beparis
thus encamped. At that time the villages about Malkangiri were being
ravaged by a notorious man-eater. In connection with man-eating tigers,
Mr S. M. Fraser narrates [74] that, in Mysore, a man-eater was said
to have attacked parties bearing corpses to the burning-ground.
"The acquisition," he writes, "of such a curious taste may
perhaps be explained by the following passage in a letter from
the Amildar. It is a custom among the villagers here not to burn
or bury the dead bodies of pregnant females, but to expose them
in the neighbouring jungles to be eaten by vultures and wild
beasts. The body is tied to a tree, in a sitting posture, and a
pot of water is put close by. Not long ago some cowherd boys came
across the dead body of a woman tied to a tree, and noticed the
foot-prints of a tiger round it, but the body was untouched. The
boys cut the rope binding the body, which fell to the ground,
and the next day the corpse was found eaten away by the tiger."
The village of Hulikal, or tiger's stone, on the Nilgiris is so called
because in it a Badaga once killed a notorious man-eater. The spot
where the beast was buried is shown near the Pillaiyar (Ganesa) temple,
and is marked by three stones. It is said that there was formerly a
stone image of the slain tiger thereabouts. [75] When a tiger enters
the dwelling of a Savara (hill tribe in Ganjam) and carries off an
inmate, the village is said to be deserted, and sacrifices are offered
to some spirits by the inhabitants. It is noted by Mr F. Fawcett [76]
that the Savaras have names for numerals up to twelve only. This is
accounted for by a story that, long ago, some Savaras were measuring
grain in a field, and, when they had completed twelve measures, a
tiger pounced on them, and devoured them. So, ever after, they have
not dared to have a numeral above twelve for fear of a tiger repeating
the performance. In the Vizagapatam district, a ballad is sung by
the Dasaris (a mendicant caste) about the goddess Yerakamma, who is
reputed to have been the child of Dasari parents, and to have had the
possession of second sight foretold by a Yerukala fortune-teller. She
eventually married, and one day begged her husband not to go to his
field, as she was sure he would be killed by a tiger if he did. He
went notwithstanding, and was slain as she had foreseen. She killed
herself by committing sati (suttee, or burning of the living widow)
on the spot where her shrine still stands. The Muduvars are said by
Mr Martin to share with other jungle folk the belief that, if any
animal is killed by a tiger or leopard so as to lie north and south,
it will not be eaten by the beast of prey. Nor will it be revisited,
so that sitting over a "kill" which has fallen north and south, in
the hope of getting a shot at the returning tiger or leopard, is a
useless proceeding. The Billava toddy-drawers believe that, if the
spathe of the palm tree is beaten with the bone of a buffalo which
has been killed by a tiger, the yield of toddy will, if the bone has
not touched the ground, be greater than if an ordinary bone is used.
I once received an application for half a pound of tiger's fat,
presumably for medicinal purposes. The bones of tigers and leopards
ground into powder, and mixed with their fat, gingelly (Sesamum)
oil, and a finely powdered blue stone, make an ointment for the cure
of syphilitic sores. The bones of a leopard or hyaena, ground into
powder and made into a paste with ox-gall and musk, are said to be a
useful ointment for application to rheumatic joints. The addition of
the fat of tigers or leopards makes the ointment more effective. I am
told that when, on one occasion, a European shot a tiger, the Natives
were so keen on securing some of the fat, that the shikaris (hunters)
came to him to decide as to the proper distribution among themselves
and the camp servants.
The leopard is looked upon as in some way sacred by the hill
Kondhs. They object to a dead leopard being carried through their
villages, and oaths are taken on a leopard's skin.
Writing in 1873, Dr Francis Day states [77] that "at Cannanore (in
Malabar), the Rajah's cat appears to be exercising a deleterious
influence on one branch at least of the fishing, viz., that for
sharks. It appears that, in olden times, one fish daily was taken
from each boat as a perquisite for the Rajah's cat, or the poocha meen
(cat-fish) collection. The cats apparently have not augmented so much
as the fishing boats, so this has been converted into a money payment
of two pies a day on each successful boat."
In connection with cats, there is a tradition that a Jogi (Telugu
mendicant) bridegroom, before tying the bottu (marriage badge)
on his bride's neck, had to tie it by means of a string dyed with
turmeric round the neck of a female cat. People sometimes object
to the catching of cats by Jogis for food, as the detachment of a
single hair from the body of a cat is considered a heinous offence. To
overcome the objection, the Jogi says that he wants the animal for a
marriage ceremony. On one occasion, I saw a Madiga (Telugu Pariah)
carrying home a bag full of kittens, which he said he was going to
eat. Some time ago, some prisoners, who called themselves Billaikavus
(cat-eaters), were confined in the Vizagapatam jail. I am informed
that these people are Mala Paidis, who eat cat flesh.
The gun with which a wolf has been shot falls under some evil
influence, and it is said not to shoot straight afterwards. Hence
some shikaris (hunters) will not shoot at a wolf.
The hyaena is believed to beat to death, or strangle with its tail,
those whom it seizes. The head of a hyaena is sometimes buried in
cattle-sheds, to prevent cattle disease. Its incisor teeth are tied
round the loins of a woman in labour, to lessen the pains. [78]
There is a belief that, when a bear seizes a man, it tickles him to
death. [79] Bears are supposed, owing to the multilobulated external
appearance of the kidneys, to gain an additional pair of these organs
every year of their life. They are believed to collect ripe wood-apples
(Feronia elephantum) during the season, and store them in a secure
place in the forest. After a large quantity has been collected,
they remove the rind, and heap together all the pulp. They then bring
honey and the petals of sweet-smelling flowers, put them on the heap
of pulp, thresh them with their feet and sticks in their hands, and,
when the whole has become a consistent mass, feast on it. The Vedans
(hunters) watch them when so engaged, drive them off, and rob them of
their feast, which they carry off, and sell as karadi panchamritham,
or bear delicacy made of five ingredients. The ordinary ingredients
of panchamritham are slices of plantain (banana) fruits, jaggery
(crude sugar) or sugar, cocoanut scrapings, ghi (clarified butter),
honey, and cardamom seeds.
It is believed that the flesh or blood of some animals, which have
certain organs largely developed, will cure disease of corresponding
organs in the human subject. Thus, the flesh of the jackal, which is
credited with the possession of very powerful lungs, is said to be
a remedy for asthma.
By the jungle Paliyans of the Palni hills, the following device
is adopted to protect themselves from the attacks of wild animals,
the leopard in particular. Four jackals' tails are planted in four
different spots, chosen so as to include the area in which they wish
to be safe from the brute. Even if a leopard entered the magic square,
it could do the Paliyan no harm, as its mouth is locked. [80]
There is a belief that the urine of wild dogs (Cyon dukhunensis) is
extremely acrid, and that they sprinkle with it the bushes through
which they drive their prey (deer and wild pigs), and then rush upon
the latter, when blinded by the pungent fluid. According to another
version, they jerk the urine into their victim's eyes with their tails.
The Koyis of the Godavari district are said by the Rev. J. Cain
[81] to hold in reverence the Pandava brothers, Arjuna and Bhima,
and claim descent from the latter by his marriage with a wild woman
of the woods. The wild dogs or dhols are regarded as the dutas or
messengers of the brothers, and they would on no account kill a dhol,
even though it should attack their favourite calf. They even regard it
as imprudent to interfere with these dutas, when they wish to feast
upon their cattle. The long black beetles, which appear in large
numbers at the beginning of the hot weather, are called by the Koyis
the Pandava flock of goats.
At a sale of cattle, the vendor sometimes takes a small quantity
of straw in his hand, and, putting some cow-dung on it, presents
it to the purchaser. [82] The five products of the cow, known as
panchagavyam--milk, curds, butter, urine, and faeces--are taken by
Hindus to remove pollution from confinement, a voyage across the seas,
and other causes. It is on record [83] that the Tanjore Nayakar,
having betrayed Madura and suffered for it, was told by his Brahman
advisers that he had better be born again. So a colossal cow was cast
in bronze, and the Nayakar shut up inside. The wife of his Brahman
guru (religious preceptor) received him in her arms, rocked him on
her knees, and caressed him on her breast, and he tried to cry like
a baby. It is recorded by Frazer [84] that, when a Hindu child's
horoscope portends misfortune or crime, he is born again from a
cow thus. Being dressed in scarlet, and tied on a new sieve, he is
passed between the hind-legs of a cow forward through the fore-legs,
and again in the reverse direction, to simulate birth. The ordinary
birth ceremonies are then gone through, and the father smells his
son as a cow smells her calf.
Tradition runs to the effect that, at the time of the separation
of Ramesvaram island from the mainland, the cows became prisoners
thereon. Not being able, like the cows of Cape Cod, which are fed
on herrings' heads, to adapt themselves to a fish diet, they became
gradually converted into diminutive metamorphosed cows, which may
still be seen grazing on the shore. The legend is based on the fancied
resemblance of the horned coffer-fishes (Ostracion cornutus), which
are frequently caught by the fishermen, to cattle. Portions of the
skulls of cats and dogs, which are sometimes picked up on the beach,
also bear a rude resemblance to the skull of a cow, the horns being
represented by the zygoma.
A story is told at Cochin that the beautiful blue and white tiles from
Canton, which adorn the floor of the synagogue of the White Jews,
were originally intended for the Durbar hall of a former Raja of
Cochin. But a wily Jew declared that bullock's blood must have been
used in the preparation of the glaze, and offered to take them off
the hands of the Raja, who was only too glad to get rid of them.
The afterbirths (placentae) of cattle are tied to a tree which yields
a milky juice, in the belief that the cow will thereby give a better
yield of milk.
There is a custom among the Tellis (Oriya oil-pressers) that,
if a cow dies with a rope round its neck, or on the spot where it
is tethered, the family is under pollution until purification has
been effected by means of a pilgrimage, or by bathing in a sacred
river. The Holodia section of the Tellis will not rear male calves,
and do not castrate their bulls. Male calves are disposed of by sale
as speedily as possible.
If the jungle Paliyans of Tinnevelly come across the carcase of a
cow or buffalo near a stream, they will not go near it for a long
time. They absolutely refuse to touch leather, and one of them
declined to carry my camera box, because he detected that it had a
leather strap.
The Bakudas of South Canara will not carry a bedstead, unless the
legs are first taken off, and it is said that this objection rests
upon the supposed resemblances between the four-legged cot and the
four-legged ox. In like manner, the Koragas have a curious prejudice
against carrying any four-legged animal, dead or alive. This extends
to anything with four legs, such as a chair, table, etc., which they
cannot be prevailed on to lift, unless one leg is removed. As they
work as coolies, this is said sometimes to cause inconvenience. [85]
Among the Sembaliguda Gadabas of Vizagapatam, there is a belief that
a piece of wild buffalo horn, buried in the ground of the village,
will avert or cure cattle disease. [86]
The jungle Kadirs believe that their gods occasionally reside in the
body of a "bison" (Bos gaurus), and have been known to worship a bull
shot by a sportsman.
The goddess Gangadevi is worshipped by the Kevutos (fishing caste)
of Ganjam at the Dasara festival, and goats are sacrificed in her
honour. In the neighbourhood of the Chilka lake, the goats are not
sacrificed, but set at liberty, and allowed to graze on the Kalikadevi
hill. There is a belief that animals thus dedicated to the goddess
do not putrify when they die, but dry up.
The Tiyans (toddy-drawers) of Malabar carry, tucked into the
waist-cloth, a bone loaded with lead at both ends, which is used for
tapping the flower-stalk of the palm tree to bring out the juice. A man
once refused to sell one of these bones to Mr F. Fawcett at any price,
as it was the femur of a sambar (Cervus unicolor), which possessed
such virtue that it would fetch juice out of any tree. Deer's horn,
ground into a fine paste, is said to be an excellent balm for pains
and swellings. It is sometimes made into a powder, which is mixed
with milk or honey, and produces a potion which is supposed to aid
the growth of stunted women. [87]
A Yanadi shikari (hunter) has been known, when skinning a black
buck (antelope) shot by a European, to cut out the testicles,
and wrap them up in his loin-cloth, to be subsequently taken as an
aphrodisiac. Antelope horn, when powdered and burnt, is said to drive
away mosquitoes, and keep scorpions away. A paste made with antelope
horn is used as an external application for sore throat. Antelope
and chinkara (Indian gazelle) horns, if kept in grain baskets, are
said to prevent weevils from attacking the grain.
The Gadabas of Vizagapatam will not touch a horse, as they are
palanquin-bearers, and have the same objection to the rival animal
that a cab-driver has to a motor-car. In South Canara, none but the
lowest Pariah will rub a horse down. If a Malai Vellala of Coimbatore
touches one of these animals, he has to perform a religious ceremonial
for the purpose of purification.
The members of the elephant sept of the Oriya Haddis, when they see
the foot-prints of an elephant, take some of the dust from the spot,
and make a mark on the forehead with it. They also draw the figure
of an elephant, and worship it, when they perform sradh and other
ceremonies. Wild elephants are said to be held in veneration by the
jungle Kadirs, whereas tame ones are believed to have lost the divine
element. [88]
When cholera breaks out in a Kondh village, all males and females
smear their bodies from head to foot with pig's fat liquefied by heat,
and continue to do so until a few days after the disappearance of the
dread disease. During this time they do not bathe, lest the smell of
the fat should be washed away.
Some women rub the blood of the small garden-bat, which has
well-developed ears, into the artificially dilated lobes of their ears,
so as to strengthen them. The wings of bats are highly prized as a
hairwash. They are crushed, and mixed with cocoanut oil, and other
ingredients. The mixture is kept underground in a closed vessel for
three months, and then used to prevent the hair from falling out or
turning grey. [89] The Paniyans of Malabar are said to eat land-crabs
for a similar purpose.
The common striped or palm-squirrel (Sciurus palmarum) was, according
to a legend, employed by Rama to assist the army of monkeys in the
construction of the bridge to connect Ramesvaram island with Ceylon,
whither Ravana had carried off his wife Sita. The squirrel helped the
monkeys by rolling in the sand on the shore, so as to collect it in
its hairy coat, and then depositing it between the piled up stones,
so as to cement them together. Seeing it fatigued by its labours,
Rama sympathetically stroked its back with the three middle fingers
of his right hand, marks of which still persist in the squirrels at
the present day. There is a further legend that, once upon a time,
one of the gods, having compassion on the toddy-drawers because
their life was a hard one, and because they were constantly exposed
to danger, left at the foot of a palmyra tree some charmed water,
the value of which was that it saved from injury any one falling
from a height. A toddy-drawer, however, got drunk, and, forgetting
to drink the elixir, went home. When he returned, he found that a
squirrel had drunk it, and vowed vengeance on it. And that is why every
toddy-drawer will always kill a squirrel, and also why the squirrel,
from whatever height it may fall, comes to no harm. [90] In a note
on the Pariah caste in Travancore, the Rev. S. Mateer narrates [91]
a legend that the Shanans (Tamil toddy-drawers) are descended from
Adi, the daughter of a Pariah woman at Karuvur, who taught them to
climb the palm tree, and prepared a medicine which would protect them
from falling from the high trees. The squirrels also ate some of it,
and enjoy a similar immunity. There is a Tamil proverb that, if you
desire to climb trees, you must be a Shanan. The story was told by
Bishop Caldwell of a Shanan who was sitting upon a leaf-stalk at the
top of a palmyra palm in a high wind, when the stalk gave way, and
he came down to the ground quite safely, sitting on the leaf, which
served the purpose of a natural parachute. Woodpeckers are called
Shanara kurivi by bird-catchers, because they climb trees like Shanans.
There is a legend that, before the Kaliyuga began, the Pandavas lived
on the Nilgiris. A kind of edible truffle (Mylitta lapidescens) is
known as little man's bread on these hills. The Badaga legendary
name for it is Pandva-unna-buthi, or dwarf bundle of food, [92]
i.e., food of the dwarfs, who are supposed to have built the pandu
kulis or kistvaens. Being so small, they called in the black-naped
hare (Lepus nigricollis) to plough their fields. The black patches
on their necks are the inherited mark of the yoke. The blood of the
hare is administered to children suffering from cough.
Bramans use a porcupine quill for parting their wives' hair in a
ceremony connected with the period of gestation known as simantam. It
is said [93] that among the Nambutiri Brahmans, the quill should have
three white marks on it. The quills of porcupines are sold by Jogis
(Telugu mendicants) to goldsmiths, for use as brushes.
There is a tradition among the fishing folk of Ramesvaram island that
a box of money was once found in the stomach of a dugong (Halicore
dugong), and an official is consequently invited to be present at the
examination of the stomach contents, so that the possessors of the
carcase may not be punished under the Treasure Trove Act for concealing
treasure. The fat of the dugong is believed to be efficacious in the
treatment of dysentery, and is administered in the form of sweetmeats,
or used instead of ghi (clarified butter) in the preparation of food.