Among the Kalyana Singapu Kondhs of Vizagapatam, a rain-making ceremony
called barmarakshasi is performed, which consists in making life-size
mud images of women seated on the ground, holding grindstones between
their knees, and offering sacrifices to them. [367]
In times of drought, the Koyis of the Godavari district hold a festival
to Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers from whom they claim descent,
and, when rain falls, sacrifice a cow or a pig to him. It is said
[368] to be considered very efficacious if the Brahmans take in
procession round the village an image of Varuna (the god of rain)
made of mud from the bed of a river or tank. Another method is to pour
a thousand pots of water over the lingam in the Siva temple. Malas
(Telugu Pariahs) tie a live frog to a mortar, and put on the top
thereof a mud figure representing the deity Gontiyalamma. They then
take these objects in procession, singing "Mother frog, playing in
water, pour rain by potsfull." The villagers of other castes then
come and pour water over the Malas.
The Rev. S. Nicholson informs me that, to produce rain in the Telugu
country, two boys capture a frog, and put it into a basket with some
nim (margosa, Melia Azadirachta) leaves. They tie the basket to the
middle of a stick, which they support on their shoulders. In this
manner, they make a circuit of the village, visiting every house,
singing the praises of the god of rain. The greater the noise the
captive animal makes, the better the omen, and the more gain for the
boys, for at every house they receive something in recognition of
their endeavours to bring rain upon the village fields.
"In the Bellary district when the rain fails, the Kapu (Telugu
cultivator) females catch a frog, and tie it alive to a new
winnowing fan made of bamboo. On this fan, leaving the frog
visible, they spread a few margosa leaves, and go singing from
door to door, 'Lady frog must have her bath; oh! rain god, give
at least a little water for her.' This means that the drought has
reached such a stage that there is not even a drop of water for
the frogs. When the Kapu female sings this song, the woman of the
house brings a little water in a vessel, pours it over the frog,
which is left on the fan outside the door sill, and gives some
alms. She is satisfied that such an action will bring down rain in
torrents. On the first full-moon day in the month of Bhadrapada
(September), the agricultural population in the Bellary district
celebrate a festival called Jokumara, to appease the rain-god. The
Barike women (said to belong to the Gaurimakkalu section of the
Kabbera caste) go round the village in which they live, with
a basket on their heads containing margosa leaves, flowers of
various kinds, and sacred ashes. They beg for alms, especially
from the cultivating classes, and, in return for the alms bestowed
(usually grain or food), they give some of the leaves, flowers,
and ashes. The cultivators take these to their fields, prepare
cholam (Sorghum) kanji or gruel, mix them with it, and sprinkle
the kanji over their fields. After this the cultivator proceeds
to the potter's kiln in the village, and fetches ashes from it,
with which he makes the figure of a human being. This figure is
placed in a field, and called Jokumara or rain-god, and is supposed
to have the power of bringing down the rain in due season. A second
kind of Jokumara worship is called muddam, or the outlining of rude
representations of human figures with powdered charcoal. These are
made in the early morning, before the bustle of the day commences,
on the ground at cross-roads, and along thoroughfares. The Barikes,
who draw these figures, are paid a small remuneration in money or
kind. The figures represent Jokumara, who will bring down rain,
when insulted by people treading on him. Yet another kind of
Jokumara worship prevails in the Bellary district. When rain fails,
the Kapu females model a small figure of a naked human being, which
they place in a miniature palanquin, and go from door to door,
singing indecent songs, and collecting alms. They continue this
procession for three or four days, and then abandon the figure in
a field adjacent to the village. The Malas take possession of the
abandoned Jokumara, and, in their turn, go about singing indecent
songs, and collecting alms for three or four days, and then throw
the figure away in some jungle. This form of Jokumara worship
is also believed to bring down plenty of rain. In the Bellary
district, the agriculturists have a curious superstition about
prophesying the state of the coming season. The village of Mailar
contains a Siva temple, which is famous throughout the district
for an annual festival held there in the month of February. This
festival has now dwindled into more or less a cattle fair. But the
fame of the temple continues as regards the Karanika, which is a
cryptic sentence uttered by the priest, containing a prophecy of
the prospects of the agricultural season. The pujari (priest)
of the temple is a Kuruba (cultivating caste). The feast at
the temple lasts for ten days. On the last day, the god Siva is
represented as returning victorious from the battlefield, after
having slain the demon Malla (Mallasura) with a huge bow. He is
met half-way from the field of battle by the goddess. The wooden
bow is placed on end before the god. The Kuruba priest climbs
up it, as it is held by two assistants, and then gets on their
shoulders. In this posture he stands rapt in silence for a few
minutes, looking in several directions. He then begins to quake
and quiver from head to foot. This is the sign of the spirit of
the god Siva possessing him. A solemn silence holds the assembly,
for the time of the Karanika has arrived. The shivering Kuruba
utters a cryptic sentence, such as 'Thunder struck the sky.' This
is at once copied down, and interpreted as a prophecy that there
will be much rain in the year to come." [369]
It is said that, in the year before the Mutiny, the prophecy was
"They have risen against the white-ants."
The villagers at Kanuparti in the Guntur district of the Telugu country
objected, in 1906, to the removal of certain figures of the sacred bull
Nandi and lingams, which were scattered about the fields, on the ground
that the rainfall would cease, if these sacred objects were taken away.
To bring down rain, Brahmans, and those non-Brahmans who copy their
ceremonial rites, have their Varuna japam, or prayers to Varuna,
the rain-god. Some of the lower classes, instead of addressing their
prayers to Varuna, try to induce a spirit or devata named Kodumpavi
(wicked one) to send her paramour Sukra to the affected area. The
belief seems to be that Sukra goes away to his concubinage for about
six months, and, if he does not then return, drought ensues. The
ceremony consists in making a huge figure of Kodumpavi in clay,
which is placed on a cart, and dragged through the streets for seven
to ten days. On the last day, the final death ceremonies of the
figure are celebrated. It is disfigured, especially in those parts
which are usually concealed. Vettiyans (Paraiyan grave-diggers),
who have been shaved, accompany the figure, and perform the funeral
ceremonies. This procedure is believed to put Kodumpavi to shame, and
to get her to induce Sukra to return, and stay the drought. According
to Mr W. Francis, [370] the figure, which is made of clay or straw,
is dragged feet first through the village by the Paraiyans, who
accompany it, wailing as though they were at a funeral, and beating
drums in funeral time.
I am informed by Mr F. R. Hemingway that, when rain is wanted in the
Trichinopoly district, an effigy called Koman (the king) is dragged
round the streets, and its funeral performed with great attention
to details. Or an effigy of Kodumpavi is treated with contumely. In
some places, the women collect kanji (rice gruel) from door to door,
and drink it, or throw it away on a tank bund (embankment), wailing
the while as they do at funerals. People of the higher castes repeat
prayers to Varuna, and read portions of the Virata Parvam in the
Mahabharata, in the hope that the land will be as fertile as the
country of the Virats, where the Pandavas lived. When the tanks and
rivers threaten to breach their banks, men stand naked on the bund,
and beat drums; and, if too much rain falls, naked men point firebrands
at the sky. Their nudity is supposed to shock the powers that bring
the rain, and arrest their further progress. According to Mr Francis,
[371] when too much rain falls, the way to stop it is to send the
eldest son to stand in it stark naked, with a torch in his hand.
A Native of Coimbatore wrote a few years ago that we have done all
things possible to please the gods. We spent about two hundred rupees
in performing Varuna japam on a grand scale in a strictly orthodox
fashion. For a few days there were cold winds, and some lightning. But,
alas, the japam was over, and with that disappeared all signs of
getting any showers in the near future. It is noted by Haddon [372]
that, in the Torres Straits, as elsewhere, the impossible is never
attempted, and a rain charm would not be made when there was no
expectation of rain coming, or during the wrong season.
There is, in some parts of the country, a belief that, if lepers
are buried when they die, rain will not visit the locality where
their corpses have been deposited. So they disinter the bodies, and
throw the remains thereof into the river, or burn them. Some years
ago, a man who was supposed to be a leper died, and was buried. His
skeleton was disinterred, put into a basket, and hung to a tree with
a garland of flowers round its neck. The Superintendent of Police,
coming across it, ordered it to be disposed of.
The following quaint superstitions relating to the origin of rain
are recorded by Mr Gopal Panikkar. [373]
"In the regions above the earth, there are supposed to exist
large monsters called Kalameghathanmar, to whom is assigned
the responsibility of supplying the earth with water. These
monsters are under the direction and control of Indra, [374] and
are possessed of enormous physical strength. They have two huge
horns projecting upwards from the sides of the crown of the head,
large flashing eyes, and other remarkable features. All the summer
they are engaged in drawing up water from the earth through their
mouths, which they spit out to produce rain in the rainy season. A
still ruder imagination ascribes rain to the periodical discharge
of urine by these monsters. Hence, in some quarters, there exists a
peculiar aversion to the use of rain-water for human consumption."