<SPAN name="ch10"></SPAN>
<h2 class="label">X</h2>
<h2 class="main">Divination and Fortune-Telling</h2>
<p class="first">It has been said<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4396src"
href="#xd20e4396" name="xd20e4396src">1</SPAN> that “men not only
attempt to act directly upon nature, but they usually exhibit a keen
desire to be guided as to the best course to take when in doubt,
difficulty, or danger, and to be forewarned of the future. The practice
of divination is by no means confined to professional magicians, or
even to soothsayers, but any one may employ the accessory
means.”</p>
<p>Of professional diviners in Southern India, perhaps the best example
is afforded by the Kaniyans<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4401src" href="#xd20e4401" name="xd20e4401src">2</SPAN> or Kanisans of Malabar, whose
caste name is said to be a Malayālam corruption of the Sanskrit
Ganika, meaning astrologer. Duarte Barbosa,<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4404src" href="#xd20e4404" name="xd20e4404src">3</SPAN> at the
beginning of the sixteenth century, has a detailed reference to the
Kaniyans, of whom he writes that “they learn letters and
astronomy, and some of them are great astrologers, and foretell many
future things, and form judgements upon the births of men. Kings and
great persons send to call them, and come out of their palaces to
gardens and pleasure-houses to see <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb274"
href="#pb274" name="pb274">274</SPAN>]</span>them, and ask them what they
desire to know; and these people form judgement upon these things in a
few days, and return to those that asked them, but they may not enter
the palaces; nor may they approach the king’s person on account
of being low people. And the king is then alone with him. They are
great diviners, and pay great attention to times and places of good and
bad luck, which they cause to be observed by those kings and great men,
and by the merchants also; and they take care to do their business at
the time which these astrologers advise them, and they do the same in
their voyages and marriages. And by these means these men gain a great
deal.”</p>
<p>Buchanan,<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4411src" href="#xd20e4411"
name="xd20e4411src">4</SPAN> three centuries later, notes that the
Kaniyans “possess almanacks, by which they inform people as to
the proper time for performing ceremonies or sowing their seeds, and
the hours which are fortunate or unfortunate for any undertaking. When
persons are sick or in trouble, the Cunishun, by performing certain
ceremonies in a magical square of 12 places, discovers what spirit is
the cause of the evil, and also how it may be appeased.”</p>
<p>The Kaniyans are practically the guiding spirits in all the social
and domestic concerns in Malabar, and even Christians and Muhammadans
resort to them for advice. From the moment of the birth of an infant,
which is noted by the Kaniyan for the purpose of casting its horoscope,
to the moment of death, the services of the village astrologer are
constantly in requisition. He is consulted as to the cause of all
calamities, and the cautious answers that he gives satisfy the people.
“Putro na putri,” which may either mean no son but a
daughter, or no daughter but a son, is referred to as the type of
<span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb275" href="#pb275" name="pb275">275</SPAN>]</span>a Kaniyan’s answer, when questioned about
the sex of an unborn child.</p>
<div class="blockquote">
<p class="first">“It would be difficult,” Mr Logan
writes,<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4421src" href="#xd20e4421" name="xd20e4421src">5</SPAN> “to describe a single important occasion in
everyday life when the Kanisan is not at hand, foretelling lucky days
and hours, casting horoscopes, explaining the cause of calamities,
prescribing remedies for untoward events, and physicians (not physic)
for sick persons. Seed cannot be sown, or trees planted, unless the
Kanisan has been consulted beforehand. He is even asked to consult his
shastras to find lucky days and moments for setting out on a journey,
commencing an enterprise, giving a loan, executing a deed, or shaving
the head. For such important occasions as births, marriages, tonsure,
investiture with the sacred thread, and beginning the A, B, C, the
Kanisan is, of course, indispensable. His work, in short, mixes him up
with the gravest as well as the most trivial of the domestic events of
the people, and his influence and position are correspondingly great.
The astrologer’s finding, as one will assert with all due
reverence, is the oracle of God himself, with the justice of which
every one ought to be satisfied, and the poorer classes follow his
dictates unhesitatingly. The astrologer’s most busy time is from
January to July, the period of harvest and marriages, but in the other
six months of the year he is far from leading an idle life. His most
lucrative business lies in casting horoscopes, recording the events of
a man’s life from birth to death, pointing out dangerous periods
of life, and prescribing rules and ceremonies to be observed by
individuals for the purpose of propitiating the gods and planets, and
so averting the calamities of dangerous times. He also shows favourable
junctures for the commencement of undertakings, and the grantham or
book, written on palm leaf, sets forth in considerable detail the
person’s disposition and mental qualities, as affected by the
position of the planets in the zodiac at the moment of birth. All this
is <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb276" href="#pb276" name="pb276">276</SPAN>]</span>a work of labour, and of time. There are few
members of respectable families who are not thus provided, and nobody
grudges the five to twenty-five rupees usually paid for a horoscope,
according to the position and reputation of the astrologer. Two things
are essential to the astrologer, namely, a bag of cowry shells
(<i>Cypræa moneta</i>), and an almanac. When any one comes to
consult him,<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4429src" href="#xd20e4429"
name="xd20e4429src">6</SPAN> he quietly sits down, facing the sun, on a
plank seat or mat, murmuring some mantrams or sacred verses, opens his
bag of cowries, and pours them on the floor. With his right hand he
moves them slowly round and round, solemnly reciting meanwhile a stanza
or two in praise of his guru or teacher, and of his deity, invoking
their help. He then stops, and explains what he has been doing, at the
same time taking a handful of cowries from the heap, and placing them
on one side. In front is a diagram drawn with chalk (or soapstone) on
the floor, and consisting of twelve compartments (rāsis), one for
each month in the year. Before commencing operations with the diagram,
he selects three or five of the cowries highest up in the heap, and
places them in a line on the right-hand side. [In an account before me,
three cowries and two glass bottle-stoppers are mentioned as being
placed on this side]. These represent Ganapati (the belly god, the
remover of difficulties), the sun, the planet Jupiter, Sarasvati (the
goddess of speech), and his own guru or preceptor. To all of these the
astrologer gives due obeisance, touching his ears and the ground three
times with both hands. The cowries are next arranged in the
compartments of the diagram, and are moved about from compartment to
compartment by the astrologer, who quotes meanwhile the authority on
which he makes the moves. Finally he explains the result, and ends with
again worshipping the deified cowries, who were witnessing the
operation as spectators.”</p>
</div>
<p><span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb277" href="#pb277" name="pb277">277</SPAN>]</span></p>
<p>According to another account,<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4436src"
href="#xd20e4436" name="xd20e4436src">7</SPAN> the Kaniyan “pours
his cowries on the ground, and, after rolling them in the palm of his
right hand, while repeating mantrams, he selects the largest, and
places them in a row outside the diagram at its right-hand top corner.
They represent the first seven planets, and he does obeisance to them,
touching his forehead and the ground three times with both hands. The
relative position of the nine planets is then worked out, and
illustrated with cowries in the diagram.”</p>
<p>The Mulla Kurumbas (jungle tribe) of Malabar are said<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4441src" href="#xd20e4441" name="xd20e4441src">8</SPAN>
to “have a gift of prophecy, some being initiated in the art
known as Kotiveykal, literally planting betel vine. The professor, when
consulted about any future event, husks a small quantity of rice by
hand, places it inside a scooped shell of a dried kuvvalam fruit
(<i>Ægle Marmelos</i>), and asks one of his men to plant the
betel vine. The man understands the meaning, takes out the rice, and
spreads it on a plank. The professor invokes the Puthadi deity, makes a
calculation, and gives his reply, which is generally found
correct.”</p>
<p>Concerning a class of people called Velichchapād, who are
regarded as oracles in Malabar, Mr F. Fawcett writes as
follows<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4449src" href="#xd20e4449" name="xd20e4449src">9</SPAN>:—</p>
<div class="blockquote">
<p class="first">“Far away in rural Malabar, I witnessed the
ceremony in which the Velichchapād exhibited his quality. It was
in the neighbourhood of a Nāyar house, to which thronged all the
neighbours (Nāyar), men and women, boys and girls. The ceremony
lasts about an hour. The Nāyar said it was the custom in his
family to have it done once <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb278" href="#pb278" name="pb278">278</SPAN>]</span>a year, but could give no account
of how it originated; most probably in a vow, some ancestor having
vowed that, if such or such benefit be received, he would for ever
after have an annual performance of this ceremony in his house. It
involved some expenditure, as the Velichchapād had to be paid, and
the neighbours had to be fed. Somewhere about the middle of the little
courtyard, the Velichchapād placed a lamp (of the Malabar pattern)
having a lighted wick, a kalasam (brass vessel), some flowers, camphor,
saffron (turmeric), and other paraphernalia. Bhagavati was the deity
invoked, and the business involved offering flowers, and waving a
lighted wick round the kalasam. The Velichchapād’s movements
became quicker, and, suddenly seizing his sword, he ran round the
courtyard (against the sun, as sailors say), shouting wildly. He is
under the influence of the deity who has been introduced into him, and
gives oracular utterances to the deity’s commands. What he said I
know not, and no one else seemed to know, or care in the least, much
interested though they were in the performance. As he ran, every now
and then he cut his forehead with the sword, pressing it against the
skin and sawing vertically up and down. The blood streamed all over his
face. Presently he became wilder, and whizzed round the lamp, bending
forward towards the kalasam. Evidently some deity, some spirit was
present here, and spoke through the mouth of the Velichchapād.
This, I think, undoubtedly represents the belief of all who were
present. When he had done whizzing round the kalasam, he soon became a
normal being, and stood before my camera. The fee for the
self-inflicted laceration is one rupee, some rice, etc. I saw the
Velichchapād about three days afterwards, going to perform
elsewhere. The wound on his forehead had healed. The careful observer
can always identify a Velichchapād by the triangular patch over
the forehead, where the hair will not grow, and where the skin is
somewhat indurated.”</p>
</div>
<p><span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb279" href="#pb279" name="pb279">279</SPAN>]</span></p>
<p>The Kotas of the Nilgiris worship Māgāli, to whose
influence outbreaks of cholera are attributed. When the dread disease
breaks out among them, special sacrifices are performed with a view to
propitiating the goddess, who is represented by an upright stone in a
rude temple near Kotagiri. An annual ceremony takes place there, at
which some man becomes possessed, and announces to the people that
Māgāli has come. At the seed-sowing ceremony, a Kota priest
sometimes becomes inspired, and gives expression to oracular
utterances. At a Toda funeral, the men, congregating on the summit of a
neighbouring hill, invoked the gods. Four of them, seized, apparently
in imitation of the Kota dēvādi (priest), with divine frenzy,
began to shiver and gesticulate wildly while running to and fro with
closed eyes. They then began to talk in Malayālam, and offer an
explanation of an extraordinary phenomenon, which had appeared in the
form of a gigantic figure, which disappeared as suddenly as it
appeared. The possession by some Todas of a smattering of
Malayālam is explained by the fact that, when grazing their
buffaloes on the western slopes of the Nīlgiris, they come in
contact with Malayālam-speaking people from the neighbouring
Malabar country.</p>
<p>For the following note on the Sakuna Pakshi (prophetic bird)
mendicant caste, I am indebted to Mr C. Hayavadana Rao. The name of the
caste is due to the fact that the members thereof wear on their heads a
plume composed of the feathers of the Indian roller (<i>Coracias
indica</i>) or blue jay of Europeans. This is one of the birds called
sakuna pakshi, because they are supposed to possess the power of
foretelling events, and on their movements many omens depend.
Concerning the roller, Jerdon writes<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4468src" href="#xd20e4468" name="xd20e4468src">10</SPAN> that</p>
<div class="blockquote">
<p class="first">“it is sacred to Siva, who assumed its form,
and, at <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb280" href="#pb280" name="pb280">280</SPAN>]</span>the feast of the Dasserah at Nagpore, one or
more used to be liberated by the Rājah, amidst the firing of
cannon and musketry, at a grand parade attended by all the officers of
the station. Buchanan Hamilton also states that, before the Durga Puja,
the Hindus of Calcutta purchase one of these birds, and, at the time
when they throw the image of Durga into the river, set it at liberty.
It is considered propitious to see it on this day, and those who cannot
afford to buy one discharge their matchlocks to put it on the
wing.”</p>
</div>
<p>A Sakuna Pakshi, before starting on a begging expedition, rises
early, and has a cold meal. He then puts on the Vaishnava nāmam
mark on his forehead, slings on his left shoulder a deer-skin pouch for
the reception of the rice and other grain which will be given to him as
alms, and takes up his little drum (gilaka or damaraka) made of
frog’s skin.</p>
<p>Closely allied to the Sakuna Pakshis are the Budubudikēs or
Budubudukalas, a class of beggars and fortune-tellers, whose name is
derived from the drum (budbuki) which they use when engaged in
predicting future events.</p>
<div class="blockquote">
<p class="first">“A huge parti-coloured turban, surmounted by a
bunch of feathers, a pair of ragged trousers, a loose long coat, which
is very often out at elbows, and a capacious wallet, ordinarily
constitute the Budubudukala’s dress. Occasionally, if he can
afford it, he indulges in the luxury of a tiger or cheetah (leopard)
skin, which hangs down his back, and contributes to the dignity of his
calling. Add to this an odd assortment of clothes suspended on his left
arm, and the picture is as grotesque as it can be. He is regarded as
able to predict the future of human beings by the flight and notes of
birds. His predictions are couched in the chant which he recites. The
burden of the chant is always stereotyped, and purports to have been
gleaned from the warble of the feathered songsters of the forest. It
prognosticates peace, plenty and prosperity to <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb281" href="#pb281" name="pb281">281</SPAN>]</span>the
house, the birth of a son to the fair, lotus-eyed housewife, and
worldly advancement to the master, whose virtues are as countless as
the stars, and have the power to annihilate his enemies. It also holds
out a tempting prospect of coming joy in an unknown shape from an
unknown quarter, and concludes with an appeal for a cloth. If the
appeal is successful, well and good. If not, the Budubudukala has the
patience and perseverance to repeat his visit the next day, and so on
until, in sheer disgust, the householder parts with a cloth. The drum,
which has been referred to as giving the Budubudukala his name, is not
devoid of interest. In appearance it is an instrument of diminutive
size, and is shaped like an hour-glass, to the middle of which is
attached a string with a knot at the end, which serves as the
percutient. Its origin is enveloped in a myth of which the Budubudukala
is very proud, for it tells of his divine descent, and invests his
vocation with the halo of sanctity. According to the legend, the
primitive Budubudukala who first adorned the face of the earth was a
belated product of the world’s creation. When he was born or
rather evolved, the rest of mankind was already in the field,
struggling for existence. Practically the whole scheme was complete,
and, in the economy of the universe, the Budubudukala found himself one
too many. In this quandary, he appealed to his goddess mother Amba
Bhavani, who took pity on him, and presented him with her husband the
god Parameswara’s drum with the blessing ‘My son, there is
nothing else for you but this. Take it and beg, and you will
prosper.’ Among beggars, the Budubudukala has constituted himself
a superior mendicant, to whom the handful of rice usually doled out is
not acceptable. His demand is for clothes of any description, good, bad
or indifferent, new or old, torn or whole. For, in the plenitude of his
wisdom, he has realised that a cloth is a marketable commodity, which,
when exchanged for money, fetches more than the handful of rice. The
Budubudukala is continually on the tramp, and regulates his movements
according to the <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb282" href="#pb282"
name="pb282">282</SPAN>]</span>seasons of the year. As a rule, he pays his
visit to the rural parts after the harvest is gathered, for it is then
that the villagers are at their best, and in a position to handsomely
remunerate him for his pains. But, in whatever corner of the province
he may be, as the Dusserah<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4489src" href="#xd20e4489" name="xd20e4489src">11</SPAN> approaches, he turns his face
towards Vellore in North Arcot, where the annual festival in honour of
Amba Bhavani is celebrated.”<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4495src"
href="#xd20e4495" name="xd20e4495src">12</SPAN></p>
</div>
<p>The principal tribal deity of the Kuruvikkāran beggars is
Kāli or Durga, and each sept possesses a small metal plate with a
figure of the goddess engraved on it, which is usually kept in the
custody of the headman. It is, however, sometimes pledged, and
money-lenders give considerable sums on the security of the idol, as
the Kuruvikkārans would on no account fail to redeem it. At the
annual festival of the goddess, while some cakes are being cooked in
oil, a member of the tribe prays that the goddess will descend on him.
Taking some of the cakes out of the boiling oil, he rubs the oil on his
head with his palm. He is then questioned by those assembled, to whom
he gives oracular replies, after sucking the blood from the cut throat
of a goat.</p>
<p>The nomad Koravas or Yerukalas earn a livelihood partly by telling
fortunes. The Telugu name Yerukala is said to mean fortune-teller, and,
as the women go on their rounds through the streets, they call out
“Yeruko, amma, yeruku” <i>i.e.</i>, prophecies, mother,
prophecies.</p>
<div class="figure xd20e4507width" id="p283"><ANTIMG src="images/p283.jpg" alt="Korava Woman Telling Fortune with Cowry Shells in Tray." width-obs=
"720" height="486">
<p class="figureHead">Korava Woman Telling Fortune with Cowry Shells in
Tray.</p>
<p class="first xd20e138">To face p. 283.</p>
</div>
<p>Concerning the Pachaikutti (tattooer) or Gadde (soothsayer) section
of these people, Mr Paupa Rao Naidu writes<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4515src" href="#xd20e4515" name="xd20e4515src">13</SPAN> that
“the woman proceeds with a basket and a <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb283" href="#pb283" name="pb283">283</SPAN>]</span>winnowing tray to a village, proclaiming their
ostensible profession of tattooing and soothsaying, which they do for
grain or money. When unfortunate village women, who always lose their
children or often fall ill, see these Gadde women moving about, they
call them into their houses, make them sit, and, pouring some grain
into their baskets, ask them about their past misery and future lot.
These women, who are sufficiently trained to speak in suitable
language, are clever enough to give out some yarns in equivocal terms,
so that the anxious women, who hope for better futurity, understand
them in the light uppermost in their own minds. The Korava women will
be duly rewarded, and doubly too, for they never fail to study the
nature of the house, to see if it offers a fair field for booty for
their men.”<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4520src" href="#xd20e4520"
name="xd20e4520src">14</SPAN></p>
<p>It is said that Korava women invoke the village goddesses when they
are telling fortunes. They use a winnowing fan and grains of rice in
doing this, and prophecy good or evil according to the number of grains
on the fan.<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4525src" href="#xd20e4525" name="xd20e4525src">15</SPAN> They carry a basket, winnow, stick, and a wicker
tray in which cowry shells are embedded in a mixture of cow-dung and
turmeric. The basket represents the goddess Kolapuriamma, and the
cowries Pōlēramma. When telling fortunes, the woman places on
the basket the winnow, rice, betel leaves and areca nuts, and the
wicker tray. Holding her client’s hand over the winnow, and
moving it about, she commences to chant, and name all sorts of deities.
From time to time, she touches the hand of the person whose fortune is
being told with the stick. The Korava women are very clever at
extracting information concerning the affairs of a client, before they
proceed to tell her fortune. In a note on the initiation of Yerukala
<span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb284" href="#pb284" name="pb284">284</SPAN>]</span>girls into the profession of fortune-telling in
Vizagapatam, Mr Hayavadana Rao writes that it is carried out on a
Sunday succeeding the first puberty ceremony. A caste feast, with
plenty of strong drink, is held, but the girl herself fasts. The feast
over, she is taken to a spot at a little distance from the settlement,
called Yerukonda. This is said to be the name of a place on the trunk
road between Vizianagram and Chicacole, to which girls were taken in
former days to be initiated. The girl is blindfolded with a cloth.
Boiled rice and green gram (grain) are mixed with the blood of a black
fowl, black pig, and black goat, which are killed. Of this mixture she
must take at least three morsels, and, if she does not vomit, it is
taken as a sign that she will become a good fortune-teller. Vomiting
would indicate that she would be a false prophetess.</p>
<p>The Irulas of the Tamil country, like the Yerukalas, are
professional fortune-tellers. The Yerukala will carry out the work
connected with her profession anywhere, at any time, and any number of
times in a day. The Irula, on the contrary, remains at his home, and
will only tell fortunes close to his hut, or near the hut where his
gods are kept. In case of sickness, people of all classes come to
consult the Irula fortune-teller, whose occupation is known as Kannimar
varnithal. Taking up his drum, he warms it over the fire, or exposes it
to the heat of the sun. When it is sufficiently dry to vibrate to his
satisfaction, Kannimar is worshipped by breaking a cocoanut, and
burning camphor and incense. Closing his eyes, the Irula beats the
drum, and shakes his head about, while his wife, who stands near him,
sprinkles turmeric water over him. After a few minutes, bells are tied
to his right wrist. In about a quarter of an hour he begins to shiver,
and breaks out in a profuse perspiration. This is a sure sign
<span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb285" href="#pb285" name="pb285">285</SPAN>]</span>that he is inspired by the goddess. The shaking
of his body becomes more violent, he breathes rapidly, and hisses like
a snake. Gradually he becomes calmer, and addresses those around him as
if he were the goddess, saying: “Oh! children, I have come down
on my car, which is decorated with mango flowers, margosa, and jasmine.
You need fear nothing so long as I exist, and you worship me. This
country will be prosperous, and the people will continue to be happy.
Ere long my precious car, immersed in the tank (pond) on the hill, will
be taken out, and after that the country will become more
prosperous,” and so on. Questions are generally put to the
inspired man, not directly, but through his wife. Occasionally, even
when no client has come to consult him, the Irula will take up his drum
towards dusk, and chant the praises of Kannimar, sometimes for hours at
a stretch, with a crowd of Irulas collected round him.</p>
<p>I gather, from a note by Mr. T. Ranga Rao, that the jungle
Yānādis of the Telugu country pose as prophets of human
destinies, and pretend to hold intercourse with gods and goddesses, and
to intercede between god and man. Every village or circle has one or
more soothsayers, who learn their art from experts under a rigid
routine. The period of pupilage is a fortnight spent in retreat, on a
dietary of milk and fruits. The god or goddess Venkatēswaralu,
Subbaroyadu, Malakondroyadu, Ankamma, or Pōlēramma, appears
like a shadow, and inspires the pupil, who, directly the period of
probation has ceased, burns camphor and frankincense. He then sings in
praise of the deity, takes a sea-bath with his master, gives a
sumptuous feast, and becomes an independent soothsayer. The story runs
that the ardent soothsayers of old wrought miracles by stirring boiling
rice with his hand, which was proof against burn or hurt. His modern
brother invokes <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb286" href="#pb286"
name="pb286">286</SPAN>]</span>the gods with burning charcoal in his
folded hands, to the beat of a drum. People flock in large numbers to
learn the truth. The soothsayer arranges the tribal deity Chenchu
Dēvudu, and various local gods, in a god-house, which is always
kept scrupulously clean, and where worship is regularly carried on. The
auspicious days for soothsaying are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The
chief soothsayer is a male. The applicant presents him with areca nuts,
fruit, flowers, and money. The soothsayer bathes, and sits in front of
his house smeared with black, white, red, and other colours. His wife,
or some other female, kindles a fire, and throws frankincense into it.
He beats his drum and sings, while a woman within repeats the chant in
a shrill voice. The songs are in praise of the deity, at whose and the
soothsayer’s feet the applicant prostrates himself, and invokes
their aid. The soothsayer feels inspired, and addresses the suppliant
thus:—“You have neglected me. You do not worship me.
Propitiate me adequately, or ruin is yours.” The future is
predicted in song, and the rural folk place great faith in the
predictions.</p>
<p>As an example of devil worship and divination, the practice thereof
by the Tamil Valaiyans and Kallans of Orattanādu in the Tanjore
district is described as follows by Mr F. R. Hemingway.<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4540src" href="#xd20e4540" name="xd20e4540src">16</SPAN></p>
<div class="blockquote">
<p class="first">“Valaiyan houses generally have an odiyan
(<i>Odina Wodier</i>) tree in the backyard, wherein the devils are
believed to live, and, among the Kallans, every street has a tree for
their accommodation. They are propitiated at least once a year, the
more virulent under the tree itself, and the rest in the house,
generally on a Friday or Monday. Kallans attach importance to Friday in
Ādi (July and <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb287" href="#pb287"
name="pb287">287</SPAN>]</span>August), the cattle Pongal day in Tai
(January and February), and Kartigai day in the month Kartigai
(November and December). A man, with his mouth covered with a cloth to
indicate silence and purity, cooks rice in the backyard, and pours it
out in front of the tree, mixed with milk and jaggery (crude sugar).
Cocoanuts and toddy are also placed there. These are offered to the
devils, represented in the form of bricks or mud images placed at the
foot of the tree, and camphor is set alight. A sheep is then brought
and slaughtered, and the devils are supposed to spring one after
another from the tree into one of the bystanders. This man then becomes
filled with the divine afflatus, works himself up into a kind of
frenzy, becomes the mouthpiece of the spirits, pronounces their
satisfaction or the reverse at the offerings, and gives utterance to
cryptic phrases, which are held to foretell good or evil fortune to
those in answer to whom they are made. When all the devils in turn have
spoken and vanished, the man recovers his senses. The devils are
worshipped in the same way in the house, except that no blood is
shed.”</p>
</div>
<p>The following example of the conviction of a thief by a diviner is
recorded by Mrs Murray-Aynsley.<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4554src"
href="#xd20e4554" name="xd20e4554src">17</SPAN></p>
<div class="blockquote">
<p class="first">“A friend’s ayah had her blanket stolen.
The native woman rejected the interference of the police, which her
mistress proposed, but said she would send for one of her own diviners.
He came, caused a fire to be lighted in an earthen vessel, then took a
small basket-work grain-sifter used for winnowing rice. Having repeated
certain prayers or incantations, the diviner stuck a pair of scissors
into the deepest part of this tray, and, having done this, required the
two assistants he brought with him each to put a finger beneath the
holes in the scissors, and then hold the sifter suspended over the
fire. The servants of the house were then all required, each in turn,
to take a small quantity of uncooked rice in their <span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb288" href="#pb288" name="pb288">288</SPAN>]</span>hands, and drop it into the flame, between the
fork formed by the scissors, the diviner all the time repeating some
formula. All went very smoothly till the woman-servant, whom my friend
had all along suspected of the theft, performed this ceremony, on which
the grain-sifter commenced turning round rapidly. The culprit was
convicted, and confessed the theft.”</p>
</div>
<p>The following method of discovering theft by chewing rice is
described by Daniel Johnson.<SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4565src" href="#xd20e4565" name="xd20e4565src">18</SPAN></p>
<div class="blockquote">
<p class="first">“A Brāhmin is sent for, who writes down all
the names of the people in the house, who are suspected. Next day he
consecrates a piece of ground by covering it with cow-dung and water,
over which he says a long prayer. The people then assemble on this spot
in a line facing the Bra̱hmin, who has with him some dry rice, of
which he delivers to each person the weight of a four-cornered rupee,
or that quantity weighed with the sacred stone called Salagram, which
is deposited in a leaf of the pippal or banyan tree. At the time of
delivering it, the Brāhmin puts his right hand on each
person’s head, and repeats a short prayer; and, when finished, he
directs them all to chew the rice, which at a given time must be
produced on the leaves masticated. The person or persons, whose rice is
not thoroughly masticated, or exhibits any blood on it, is considered
guilty. The faith they all have of the power of the Bra̱hmin, and
a guilty conscience operating at the same time, suppresses the natural
flow of saliva to the mouth, without which the hard particles of the
rice bruise and cut the gums, causing them to bleed, which they
themselves are sensible of, and in most instances confess the
crime.”</p>
</div>
<p><span class="pagenum">[<SPAN id="pb289" href="#pb289" name="pb289">289</SPAN>]</span></p>
<hr class="fnsep">
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4396" href="#xd20e4396src" name="xd20e4396">1</SPAN></span> A. C.
Haddon, “Magic and Fetishism” (Religions ancient and
modern), 1906, 40.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4401" href="#xd20e4401src" name="xd20e4401">2</SPAN></span> For much
of the note on Kaniyans I am indebted to Mr N. Subramani Iyer.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4404" href="#xd20e4404src" name="xd20e4404">3</SPAN></span>
“Description of the Coasts of East Africa and Malabar,”
translation, Hakluyt Society, 1866, 139.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4411" href="#xd20e4411src" name="xd20e4411">4</SPAN></span>
“Journey through Mysore Canara, and Malabar,” 1807, ii.
528.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4421" href="#xd20e4421src" name="xd20e4421">5</SPAN></span>
“Malabar,” 1887, i. 140–1.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4429" href="#xd20e4429src" name="xd20e4429">6</SPAN></span> The
Kaniyan, when wanted in his professional capacity, presents himself
with triple ash marks of Siva on his chest, arms, and forehead.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4436" href="#xd20e4436src" name="xd20e4436">7</SPAN></span>
“Gazetteer of Malabar,” 1908, i. 130.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4441" href="#xd20e4441src" name="xd20e4441">8</SPAN></span> C.
Gopalan Nair, Malabar Series, “Wynad, its People and
Traditions,” 1911, 70–1.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4449" href="#xd20e4449src" name="xd20e4449">9</SPAN></span>
<i>Madras Museum Bull.</i>, 1901, iii., No. 3, 273–4.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4468" href="#xd20e4468src" name="xd20e4468">10</SPAN></span>
“Birds of India,” 1877, i. 216–7.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4489" href="#xd20e4489src" name="xd20e4489">11</SPAN></span> The
Dusserah or Dasara is also known as Sarasvati pūja or Ayudha
pūja (worship of weapons or tools). <i>See</i> p. 174.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4495" href="#xd20e4495src" name="xd20e4495">12</SPAN></span>
<i>Madras Weekly Mail</i>, 8th August, 1907.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4515" href="#xd20e4515src" name="xd20e4515">13</SPAN></span>
“History of Railway Thieves,” 1904.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4520" href="#xd20e4520src" name="xd20e4520">14</SPAN></span> The
Koravas are professional burglars.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4525" href="#xd20e4525src" name="xd20e4525">15</SPAN></span>
“Madras Census Report,” 1901, part i. 164.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4540" href="#xd20e4540src" name="xd20e4540">16</SPAN></span>
“Gazetteer of the Tanjore District,” 1906, i. 69.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4554" href="#xd20e4554src" name="xd20e4554">17</SPAN></span>
“Our Tour in Southern India,” 1883, 162–3.</p>
<p class="footnote"><span class="label"><SPAN class="noteref" id="xd20e4565" href="#xd20e4565src" name="xd20e4565">18</SPAN></span>
“Sketches of Field Sports Followed by the Natives of
India,” 1822.</p>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />