Having resided for some years amongst the Mundas and Hos of Singbhoom
and Chutia Nagpur, my attention was drawn at times to customs differing a good
deal in some ways, but having an evident affinity to those related of the Nilghiri
“Kurumbers” in Mrs. Morgan’s article in the September number of the Theosophist.
I don’t mean, to say that the practices I am about to mention are
confined simply to the Kolarian tribes, as I am aware both, Oraons (Dravidian,
tribes) and the different Hindu castes living side by side with the Kols count
many noted wizards among their number; but what little I have come to know of
these curious customs, I have learnt among the Mundas and Hos, whose language I
speak, some of the most celebrated practitioners among them being Christian
converts. The people themselves say that these practices are peculiar to their
race and not learnt from the Hindu invaders of their plateau, but from what I have
read at times in the Theosophist of
the Tantric ceremonies, I am inclined to think that some at least of the
operations have a strong savor of the Tantric Black Magic about them, though practiced
by people who are often entirely ignorant of any Hindu language.
Those remarks must be further premised by a short sketch of the Kol
ideas of worship. They have nothing that I have either seen or heard of in the
share of an image, but their periodical offerings are made to a number of
elemental spirits, and they assign a genie to every tree or rock in the country
whom they do not consider altogether malignant, but who, if not duly “fed” or
propitiated, may become so.
The Singbonga (lit. Sun or light spirit) is the chief; Buru Bonga
(Spirit of the hills) and the Ikhir Bonga (Spirit of the deep) come next. After
these come the Darha, of which each family has its own, and they may be
considered in the same light as Lares and Penates. But every threshing, flour
and oil mill has its spirit, who must be duly fed, else evil result may be
expected.
Their great festival (the Karam) is in honor of Singbonga and his
assistants; the opening words of the priest’s speech on that occasion
sufficiently indicates that they consider Singbonga, the creator of men and
things. Munu re Singbonga manokoa luckidkoa
(In the beginning Singbonga made men).
Each village has its Sarna or
sacred grove where the hereditary priest from time to time performs sacrifices
to keep things prosperous; but this only relates to spirits actually connected
with the village, the three greater spirits mentioned being considered general,
are only fed at intervals of three or more years, and always on a public road
or other public place, and once every 10 (ten) years a human being was (and as some
will tell you is) sacrificed to keep the whole community of spirits in good
train.
The Pahaus or village priests
are regular servants of the spirits and the najo, deona (1) and Bhagals (2) are people who in some way are supposed to obtain an influence or
command over them. The first and lowest grade of these adepts called najos (which may be translated as practitioners
of witchcraft pure and simple) are frequently women. They are acensed like the
“Mula Kurumbers” of demanding quantities of grain or loans of money, etc., from
people, and when these demands are refused, they go away with a remark to the
effect “that you have lots of cattle and grain just now, but we’ll see what
they are like after a month or two.” Then probably the cattle of the bewitched
person will get some disease and several of them die, or some person of his
family will become ill or get hurt in some unaccountable way. Till at last,
thoroughly frightened, the afflicted person takes a little oil and a little
uncooked rice and goes to a deona or mati (as he is called in the different
vernaculars of the province) —the grade immediately above a najo in knowledge— and promising him a
reward if he will assist him, requests his aid; if the deona accedes to the request, the proceedings are as follows.
The deona taking the oil
brought lights a small lamp and seats himself beside it with the rice in a surpa (winnower) in his hands. After
looking intently at the lamp flame for a few minutes, he begins to sing a sort
of chaunt of invocation in which all the spirits are named, and at the name of
each spirit a few grains of rice are thrown into the lamp. When the flame at
any particular name gives a jump and flares up high, the spirit concerned in
the mischief is indicated. Then the deona
takes a small portion of the rice wrapped up in a Sál (Shorea robusta) leaf and proceeds to the nearest new white-ant nest
from which he cuts the top off and lays, the little bundle, half in and half
out of the cavity. Having retired, he returns in about an hour to see if the
rice is consumed, and according to the rapidity with which it is eaten he
predicts the sacrifice which will appease the spirit. This ranges from a fowl
to a buffalo, but whatever it may include, the pouring out of blood is an
essential. It must be noted, however, that the mati never tells who the najo
is, who has excited the malignity of the spirit.
But the most important and lucrative part of a deona's business is the casting out of evil spirits, which
operation is known variously as ashab
and langhan. The sign of obsession is
generally some mental alienation accompanied (in bad cases) by a combined
trembling and restlessness of limbs, or an unaccountable swelling up of the
body. Whatever the symptoms may be, the mode of cure appears to be much the
same. On such symptoms declaring themselves, the deona is brought to the house and is in the presence of the sick
man and his friends provided with some rice in a surpa, some oil, a little vermillion, and the deona produces from his own person a little powdered sulphur and an
iron tube about four inches long and two tiklis. (3)
Before the proceedings begin all the things mentioned are touched with
vermillion, a small quantity of which is also mixed with the rice. Three or four
grains of rice and one of the tiklis being
put into the tube, a lamp is then lighted beside the sick man and the deona begins his chaunt, throwing grains
of rice at each name, and when the dame flares up, a little of the powdered sulphur
is thrown into the lamp and a little on the fuck man, who thereupon becomes
convulsed, is shaken all over and talks deliriously, the deona's chaunt growing louder all the while. Suddenly the
convulsions and the chaunt cease, and the deona
carefully takes up a little of the sulphur off the man’s body and puts into the
tube, which he then seals with the second tikli.
The deona and one of the man's
friends then leave the hut, taking the iron tube and rice with them, the spirit
being now supposed out of the man and bottled up in the iron tube. They hurry
across country until they leave the hut some miles behind. Then they go to the
edge of some tank or river, to some place they know to be frequented by people
for the purposes of bathing, etc., where, after some further ceremony, the iron
is stuck into the ground and left there. This is done with the benevolent intention
that the spirit may transfer its attentions to the unfortunate person who may
happen to touch it while bathing.
I am told the spirit in this case usually chooses a young and healthy
person. Should the deona think the
spirit has not been able to snit itself with a new receptacle, he repairs to
where a bazaar is taking place and there (after some ceremony) he mixes with
the crowd, and taking a grain of the reddened rice jerks it with his forefinger
and thumb in such a way that without attracting attention it falls on the
person or clothes of some. This is done several times to make certain. Then the
deona declares he has done his work,
and is usually treated to the best dinner the sick man’s friends can afford. It
is said that the person to whom the spirit by other of these methods is transferred
may not be affected for weeks or even months. But some fine day while ho is at his
work, he will suddenly stop, wheel round two or three times on his heels and
fall down more or less convulsed, from that time forward he will begin to be
troubled in the same way as his dis-obsessed predecessor was.
Having thus given some account of the deona, we now come to the Bhagat called by the Hindus Sokha and Sivnath. This is the highest grade of all, and as I ought to have
mentioned before the 'ilm (knowledge)
of both the deona and Bhagat grades is only to be learned by
becoming a regular chela of a practitioner; but I am given to understand (hat
the final initiation is much hastened by a seasonable liberality on the part of
the chela. During the initiation of the Sokha
certain ceremonies are performed at night by aid of a human corpse, this is one
of the things which has led me to think that this part at least of these
practices is connected with Tantric black-magic.
The Bhagat performs two
distinct functions: (1st), a kind of divination called Bhao (4) (the same in Hindi), and (2nd),
a kind of Shamanism called Darasla in
Hindi, and Bharotan in Horokaji,
which, however, is resorted to only on very grave occasions — as, for instance,
when several families think they are bewitched atone time and by the same Najo.
The Bhao is performed as
follows: The person having some query to propound, makes a small dish out of a
sal leaf and puts in it a little uncooked rice and a few pice; he then proceeds
to the Bhagat and lays before him the
leaf and its contents, propounding at the same time his query. The Bhagat then directs him to go-out and
gather two golaichi (varieties of Posinia)
flowers (such practitioners usually having a golaichi tree close to their
abodes); after the flowers are brought the Bhagat
seats himself with the rice close to the inquirer, and after some consideration
selects one of the flowers and holding it by the stalk at a distance of about a
foot from his eyes in his left hand twirls it between his thumband fingers,
occasionally with his right hand dropping on it a grain or two of rice. (5)
In a few minutes his eyes close and he begins to talk —usually about
things having nothing to do with the question in band— but after a few minutes
of this he suddenly yells out an answer to the question, and without another
word retires. The inquirer takes his meaning as he can from the answer, which, I
believe, is always ambiguous.
The Bharotan as I have above
remarked is-only resorted to when a matter of grave import has to be inquired
about; the Bhagat makes a high charge
for a seance of this description. We will fancy that three or four families in
a village consider themselves bewitched by a certain witch, and they resolve to
have recourse to a Bhagat to find out
who the witch is; with this view a day is fixed on, and two delegates are
procured from each of five neighboring villages, who accompany the afflicted
people to the house of the Bhagat,
taking with them a dali or offering
consisting of vegetables, which on arrival is formally presented to him. Two
delegates are posted at each of the four points of the compass and the other
two seat themselves with the afflicted parties to the right of the Bhagat, who occupies the centre of the
apartment with four or five chelas, a clear space being reserved on the left. One
chela then brings a small earthenware-pot full of lighted charcoal, which is
set before the Bhagat with a pile of
mange wood chips and a ball composed of dhunia
(resin of Shorea robusta), gur (treacle)
and ghee (clarified butter), and
possibly other ingredients. The Bhagat’s
sole attire consists of a scanty lenguti (waist
cloth), a necklace of the large wooden beads such as are usually worn by
fakeers, and several garlands of golaichi flowers round his neck, his hair
being unusually long and matted. Beside him stuck in the ground is his staff.
One chela stands over the firepot with a bamboo-mat fan in his hand another
takes charge of the pile of chips, and a third of the ball of composition, find
one or two others seat themselves behind the Bhagat, with drums and other musical instruments in their hands.
All being in readiness, the afflicted ones are requested to state their
grievance. This they do, and pray the Bhagat
to call before him the najo, who has
stirred up the spirits to afflict them, in order that he may be punished. The Bhagat then gives a sign to his chelas,
those behind him raise a furious din with their instruments, the fire is fed with
chips, and a bit of the composition is put on it from time to time, producing a
volume of thick greyish blue smoke; this is carefully fanned over, and towards
the Bhagat, who, when well wrapped in
smoke, closes his eyes and quietly swaying his body begins a low chaunt. The
chaunt gradually becomes louder and the sway of his body more pronounced until
he works himself into a state of complete frenzy. Then with his body actually
quivering, and his head rapidly working about from side to side, he sings in a
loud voice how a certain najo (whom
he names) had asked money of those people and was refused, and how he stirred
up certain spirits (whom he also names) to hurt them, how they killed so and so’s
bullocks some one else’s sheep and caused another’s child to fall ill. Then he
begins to call on the najo to come and
answer for his doings and in doing so rises to his feet— still commanding the najo to appear; meanwhile he reels about;
then falls on the ground and is quite still except for an occasional whine and
a muttered “I see him!" “He is coming!”
This state may last for an hour or more till at last the Bhagat sits up and announces the najo has come; as he says so a man
apparently mad with drink rushes in and falls with his head towards the Bhagat moaning and making a sort of
snorting as if half stifled. (6) In this person the bewitched parties often
recognize a neighbor and sometimes even a relation, bat whoever lie may be they
haye bound themselves to punish him. The Bhagat
then speaks to him and tells him to confess, at the same time threatening him,
in case of refusal, with his staff. He then confesses in a half stupefied manner
and his confession tallies with what the Bhagat
has told in his frenzy. The najo is then dismissed and runs out of the house in
the same hurry as he came in.
The delegates then hold a council at which the najo usually is sentenced to a fine —often heavy enough to ruin
him— and expelled from his village. Before the British Raj the convicted najo
seldom escaped with his life and during the mutiny time, when no sahibs were about, the Singbhoom Hos paid
off a large number of old scores of this sort. For record of which, see,
Statistical Account of Bengal, vol. xvii, p. 52.
In conclusion I have merely to add that I have derived this information
from people who have been actually concerned in these occurrences and among
others a man belonging to a village of my own, who was convicted and expelled from
the village with the loss of all his moveable property and one of his victims,
a relation of his, had sat by me when the above was being written.
(Theosophist, December 1882,
p.89-91)
Notes
- Cf. Sanskrit Dakini, a witch.
- Cf. Sanskrit Bhakta, a devotee.
- Tikli —is a circular piece of gilt paper which is stuck on between the eyebrows of the women of the Province as ornament.
- Cf. Sanskrit Bhava, technically applied to the ecstatic trance of some mystic sects of Vaishnavas in Bengal.
- This is the process by which the Bhagat mesmerizes himself.
- Cf. The account of Shamanism in a paper of thrilling interest called “Cave of Echoes,” published in this journal for April last.
No comments:
Post a Comment