<SPAN name="ch6"></SPAN>
<h2 class="label">VI</h2>
<h2 class="main">Charms</h2>
<p class="first">Mantrams, or consecrated formulæ, are supposed
to be very powerful, and by their aid even gods can be brought under
control. They are, <i>inter alia</i>, believed to be efficacious in
curing disease, in protecting children against devils, and women
against miscarriage, in promoting development of the breasts, in
bringing offspring to barren women, in warding off misfortune
consequent on marriage with a girl who has an unlucky mark, in keeping
wild pigs from the fields, and warding off cattle disease. For the last
purpose, the magical formula is carved on a stone pillar, which is set
up in the village. They are divided into four classes, viz.,
mantrasara, or the real essence of magic; yantrasara, or the science of
cabalistic figures; prayogasara, or the method of using these for the
attainment of any object; tantrasara, or the science of symbolical acts
with or without words.</p>
<p>Mantrasara includes all mantrams, with their efficacy for good and
evil, and the methods of learning and reciting them with the aid of a
guru (spiritual preceptor). They are said to be effective only when the
individual who resorts to them is pure in mind and body. This can be
attained by the recitation of ajapagayithri (216,000 inhalations and
exhalations in twenty-four hours). These have to be divided among the
deities Ganēsa, Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Jīvathma, Paramathma,
and the guru, <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb181" href="#pb181" name="pb181">181</SPAN>]</span>in the proportion of 600, 6000, 6000, 6000,
1000, 1000, 1000. A man can only become learned in mantrams
(mantravādi) by the regular performance of the recognised
ceremonial, by proper recital of the mantrams, by burning the sacred
fire, and by taking food. A Lambādi has been seen repeating
mantrams over his patients, and touching their heads at the same time
with a book, which was a small edition of the Telugu translation of St
John’s gospel. Neither the physician nor the patient could read,
and had no idea of the contents of the book.<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3111src" href="#xd20e3111" name="xd20e3111src">1</SPAN> It is noted
by the Abbé Dubois,<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3114src" href="#xd20e3114" name="xd20e3114src">2</SPAN> that one of the principal
reasons why so little confidence is placed in European doctors by
Hindus is that, when administering their remedies, they recite neither
mantrams nor prayers.</p>
<p>Yantrasara includes all cabalistic figures, the method of drawing
and using them, and the objects to be attained by them. They are
usually drawn on thin plates of gold, silver, copper, or lead. The
efficacy of the figures, when drawn on gold, will, it is said, last for
a century, while those drawn on the less precious metals will only be
effective for six months or a year. Leaden plates are used when the
yantrams are to be buried underground. The figures should possess the
symbols of life, the eyes, tongue, eight cardinal points of the
compass, and the five elements.</p>
<p>Prayogasara includes attraction or summoning by enchantment, driving
out evil spirits, stupefaction, tempting or bringing a deity or evil
spirits under control, and enticement for love, destruction, and the
separation of friends.</p>
<p>The following are examples of cases in which a <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb182" href="#pb182" name="pb182">182</SPAN>]</span>European, who, having been trained by a guru,
was well versed in the theory and practice of native magic, was called
in to administer to Natives, who were under the spell of devils. In the
first case, a Telugu girl, about seventeen years old, had been for some
time possessed by her sister’s husband, under whose influence she
used to eat abnormal quantities of food, tear off her clothes, and use
indecent language in a voice other than her own. When the European
arrived in her room, the devil, speaking through the girl, threatened
to kill her, or the European, or the individual who put it into her.
Under the spell of a suitable mantram, the devil departed, and its
return was prevented by the wearing of a yantram. The other case was
that of a boy, who was possessed by a devil. He was found, on the
occasion of the visit of the European, lying down in the courtyard of
his house, clad in an ample loin-cloth, and with a high temperature.
Suddenly, through some invisible agency, a corner of his loin-cloth
caught fire, which was stamped out. It then caught fire in another
place, and eventually was riddled with burnt holes. This was the way in
which the devil manifested its influence, and sometimes the boy got
burnt. A mantram was recited, with the result that the burning ceased,
and the fever abated. An impromptu yantram was made out of vibhūti
(sacred ashes), and tied round the boy’s neck. A religious
mendicant came along a short time afterwards, and treated the boy for
some ordinary sickness not connected with the devil, but the medicine
did him no good. Finding the yantram round his neck, the mendicant
asserted that it was the cause of his failure, and ordered its removal.
This the boy’s relations refused to permit. But the holy man
ripped it off. Whereon the boy instantly fell down comatose. In
recording these two cases, I have reproduced my <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb183" href="#pb183" name="pb183">183</SPAN>]</span>notes made on the occasion of an interview with
the European.</p>
<p>Reference has been made (p. 180) to mantrams carved on stone
pillars. The story of a stone slab at Rāyalcheruvu in the
Anantapur district, known as the yantram rāyi or magic stone, is
narrated by Mr Francis.<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3129src" href="#xd20e3129" name="xd20e3129src">3</SPAN></p>
<div class="blockquote">
<p class="first">“The charm consists of eighty-one squares, nine
each way, within a border of tridents. Each square contains one or more
Telugu letters, but these will not combine into any intelligible words.
At the bottom of the stone are cut a lingam and two pairs of
foot-prints. Some twelve years ago, it is said, the village suffered
severely from cholera for three years in succession, and a Telugu
mason, a foreigner who was in the village at the time, cut this charm
on the stone to stop the disease. It was set up with much ceremony. The
mason went round the village at night without a stitch of clothing on
him, and with the entrails of a sheep hanging round his neck. Many
cocoanuts were offered to the stone, and many sheep slain before it.
The mason tossed a lamb in the air, caught it as it fell, tore its
throat open with his teeth, and then bounded forward, and spat out the
blood. More sheep and cocoanuts were offered, and then the slab was set
up. The mason naturally demanded a substantial return for the benefit
he had conferred on the inhabitants. When cholera now breaks out, the
villagers subscribe together, and do <i>pūja</i> (worship) to the
stone in accordance with directions left by him.”</p>
</div>
<p>Of similar stones in the South Arcot district, Mr Francis writes as
follows<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3141src" href="#xd20e3141" name="xd20e3141src">4</SPAN>:—</p>
<div class="blockquote">
<p class="first">“In several villages in the west of the district
are magical slabs, which are supposed to cure cholera and cattle
disease. On them, surrounded by a border of trisulas <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb184" href="#pb184" name="pb184">184</SPAN>]</span>(the
trident of Siva) are cut a series of little squares, in each of which
is some Tamil letter. The villagers usually explain their existence by
saying that, some forty years ago, an ascetic, whom they call the
sangili (chain) sanyāsi from his predilection for wearing red-hot
chains round his neck, came there when cholera and cattle disease were
rife, and (for a consideration) put up these slabs to ward off his
ills. He left directions that, when either disease reappeared, 108 pots
of water were to be poured over the slab, 108 bilva (<i>Ægle
Marmelos</i>) leaves tied to it and so on, and that men and animals
were then to walk through the water which had been poured over
it.”</p>
</div>
<p>Mr Francis writes further<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3155src" href="#xd20e3155" name="xd20e3155src">5</SPAN> that “in many places,
stone slabs may be seen set up in the outskirts of the villages, on
what are said to be the old boundaries. These are thought to be able to
ward off sickness, and other harm which threatens to enter the place,
and are revered accordingly. Some are quite blank, others have letters
cut on them, while others again bear the rude outline of a deity, and
are accordingly given such names as Pidāri or Ellai Amman (the
goddess of the boundary). To these last, periodical worship is often
performed, but, in the case of the others, the attentions of the
villagers are confined to an annual ceremony, whereat cocoanuts are
broken, camphor is burnt, and a light is placed on the
stone.”</p>
<div class="figure xd20e3158width" id="p185"><ANTIMG src="images/p185.gif" alt="Subramaniya Yantkam, Malabar." width-obs="616" height-obs="720">
<p class="figureHead">Subramaniya Yantkam, Malabar.</p>
<p class="first xd20e138">To face p. 185.</p>
</div>
<p>It was noted by Lieutenant R. F. Burton<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3166src" href="#xd20e3166" name="xd20e3166src">6</SPAN> that, in
some hamlets, the Kotas of the Nīlgiris have set up curiously
carved stones, which they consider sacred, and attribute to them the
power of curing diseases, if the member affected is rubbed against
them. At cross-roads in Bellary, odd geometric patterns may sometimes
<span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb185" href="#pb185" name="pb185">185</SPAN>]</span>be noticed. These are put there at night by
people suffering from disease, in the hope that the affliction will
pass to the person who first treads on the charm.<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3171src" href="#xd20e3171" name="xd20e3171src">7</SPAN></p>
<p>As examples of yantrams, the following, selected from a very large
repertoire, may be cited:—</p>
<p>Ganapathi yantram should be drawn on metal, and worship performed.
It is then enclosed in a metal cylinder, and tied by a thread round the
neck of females, or the waist or arm of men. It will cure disease,
conquer an enemy, or entice any one. If the sacred fire is kept up
while the formula is being repeated, and dry cocoanut, plantain fruits,
money, ghī (clarified butter), and sweet bread put into it, the
owner will be blessed with wealth and prosperity.</p>
<p>Bhadrakāli yantram. The figure is drawn on the floor with flour
or rice, turmeric, charcoal powder, and leaves of the castor-oil plant.
If the deity is worshipped at night, it will lead to the acquisition of
knowledge, strength, freedom from disease and impending calamities,
wealth, and prosperity. If pūja (worship) is celebrated by a
mantravādi for twelve days with the face turned towards the south,
it will produce the death of an enemy.</p>
<p>Sudarsana yantram, when drawn on a sheet of metal, and enclosed in a
cylinder worn round the neck or on the arm, will relieve those who are
ill or possessed by devils. If it is drawn on butter spread on a
plantain leaf, pūja performed, and the butter given to a barren
woman, there will be no danger to herself or her future issue.</p>
<p>Suthakadosham yantram. Children under one year of age are supposed
to be affected, if they are seen by a woman on the fourth day of
menstruation with wet clothes and empty stomach after bathing. She may
not even <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb186" href="#pb186" name="pb186">186</SPAN>]</span>see her own baby or husband till she has changed
her clothes, and taken food. To avert the evil, a waist-band, made of
the bark of the arka plant (<i>Calotropis gigantea</i>), is worn.</p>
<p>Sarabha yantram will cure persons suffering from epilepsy or
intermittent fever.</p>
<p>Subramaniya yantram, if regularly worshipped, will expel devils from
those attacked by them, and from houses.</p>
<p>Hanumān yantram will protect those who are out on dark nights,
and produce bodily strength and wisdom. If drawn on a sheet of gold,
and pūja is performed to it every Saturday, it will bring
prosperity, and help pregnant women during their confinement.</p>
<p>Pakshi yantram, if drawn on a sheet of lead, and kept in several
places round a house, will keep snakes away.</p>
<p>Vatugabhairava yantram cures disease in those who are under eighteen
years old, and drives out all kinds of evil spirits. If ashes are
smeared on the face, and the mantram is uttered sixteen times, it will
be very effective.</p>
<p>Varati yantram is very useful to any one who wishes to kill an
enemy. He should sit in a retired spot at night, with his face turned
towards the south, and repeat the mantram a thousand times for twenty
days.</p>
<p>Prathingiri yantram is drawn on a sheet of lead, and buried at a
spot over which a person, whose death is desired, will pass. It is then
placed on the floor, on which the sacred fire is kindled. The mantram
should be repeated eight hundred times for seven nights.</p>
<p>Chāmundi and Raktha Chāmundi yantrams are used for causing
the death of enemies. The mantram should be written on a sheet of lead,
and pūja, with the sacrifice of toddy and mutton, performed.</p>
<div class="figure xd20e3207width" id="p186"><ANTIMG src="images/p186.gif" alt="Hanumān Yantram, Malabar." width-obs="668" height-obs="678">
<p class="figureHead">Hanumān Yantram, Malabar.</p>
<p class="first xd20e138">To face p. 186.</p>
</div>
<p>Asvārūda yantram enables a person wearing it to cover
<span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb187" href="#pb187" name="pb187">187</SPAN>]</span>long distances on horseback, and he can make the
most refractory horse amenable by tying it round its neck.<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3217src" href="#xd20e3217" name="xd20e3217src">8</SPAN></p>
<p>An inhabitant of Malabar presented Mr Fawcett with a yantram against
the evil eye, which, if whispered over a piece of string, and tied
round any part of the body affected, would work an instantaneous cure.
A Cheruman at Calicut, who was wearing on his loin-string a copper
cylinder containing a brass strip with mantrams, sold it to me for a
rupee with the assurance that it would protect me from devils.</p>
<p>To produce an ulcer, which will cause the death of an enemy in
ninety days, a mantram is written on a piece of cadjan (palm leaf),
enclosed in an egg with a small quantity of earth on which he has
urinated, and buried in an ant-hill. A fowl is killed, and its blood
and some toddy are poured over the egg. To cure fever, the formula is
written with the finger in water contained in a basin, and the
appropriate words are repeated while the water is being drunk.</p>
<p>By some Muhammadans, on festival days, the names of holy persons,
together with their sayings, are written on mango or palmyra leaves in
ink made of charred rice. When the ink is dry, the leaves are washed in
water, which is drunk. This is supposed to cure people of many
obstinate diseases. A European official was informed by a Native
magistrate in the Vizagapatam district that, when he wanted to tear up
some old abkāri (liquor) licenses, a man implored him not to do
so, as they had brought him life for a year, and were therefore
worshipped. So the medicine was water, in which an old license had been
dipped.</p>
<p>It is recorded<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3231src" href="#xd20e3231"
name="xd20e3231src">9</SPAN> by Mr Logan that “in 1877, a poor
Māppilla (Muhammadan) <span class="corr" id="xd20e3234" title=
"Source: women">woman</span> residing in one of the Laccadive islands
was put upon her trial for witchcraft <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb188" href="#pb188" name="pb188">188</SPAN>]</span>for importing into
the island a betel leaf with a certain cabalistic and magical
inscription on it; but it fortunately turned out for her that she had
merely pounded it up, and rubbed it over her daughter’s body to
cure her of fits. Ibn Batuta (the Arab traveller who visited South
India in the fourteenth century) wrote of a Malayāli king who was
converted to Islām by the leaf of ‘the tree of
testimony,’ a tree of which it was related to him that it does
not generally drop its leaves, but at the season of autumn in every
year one of them changes its colour, first to yellow, then to red, and
that upon this is written ‘There is no God but God: Muhammad is
the Prophet of God,’ and that this leaf alone falls. The falling
of the leaf was an annual event, and the leaf itself was efficacious in
curing diseases. Nowadays the belief among the Muhammadans still
subsists, that the leaves of a certain tree growing on Mount Deli (in
Malabar) possess similar virtues.”</p>
<p>Metal bowls, engraved both on the outside and inside with texts from
the Qurān, are taken or sent by Muhammadans to Mecca, where they
are placed at the head of the tomb of the Prophet, and blessed. They
are highly valued, and used in cases of sickness for the administration
of medicine or nourishment.</p>
<p>It is on record that, at the battle of Seringapatam in 1799, an
officer took from off the right arm of the dead body of Tīpu
Sultān a talisman, which contained sewed up in pieces of fine
flowered silk a charm made of a brittle metallic substance of the
colour of silver, and some manuscripts in magic Arabic and Persian
characters. A notorious Māppilla dacoit, who was shot by the
police a few years ago, and whom his co-religionists tried to make a
saint, was at the time of his death wearing five copper and silver
charm cylinders round his waist. <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb189"
href="#pb189" name="pb189">189</SPAN>]</span></p>
<p>It is noted by Mr Logan<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3246src" href="#xd20e3246" name="xd20e3246src">10</SPAN> that “when affliction
comes, the animal affected is served with grass, fruit, etc., on which
charms have been whispered, or is bathed in charmed water, or has a
talisman in the shape of a palm leaf inscribed with charms rolled up
and tied round its neck.”</p>
<p>The tooth or claw of a tiger, worn on the neck or round the loins,
is considered effective against evil influences. A tiger’s
whiskers are held to be a most potent poison when chopped up; so, when
a tiger is killed, the whiskers are immediately singed off.<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3251src" href="#xd20e3251" name="xd20e3251src">11</SPAN> They are represented in stuffed heads by the
delicate bristles of the porcupine. When a Savara of Ganjam is killed
by a tiger, the Kudang goes through a performance on the following
Sunday to prevent a similar fate overtaking others. Two pigs are killed
outside the village, and every man, woman, and child is made to walk
over the ground whereon the pig’s blood is spilled, and the
Kudang gives to each individual some kind of tiger medicine as a
charm.<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3254src" href="#xd20e3254" name="xd20e3254src">12</SPAN></p>
<p>In Malabar the tusks of a wild boar are, in cases of protracted
labour, pressed over the abdomen of the woman from above downwards.</p>
<p>The hair of the bear is enclosed in a casket or cylinder, and tied
to the girdle round the loins of male children, and in strings round
the neck of female children, as a remedy against fever, and to prevent
involuntary discharge of urine during sleep.<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e3265src" href="#xd20e3265" name="xd20e3265src">13</SPAN></p>
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