Chapter VI · THE EVIL EYE AND THE SCARING OF GHOSTS.
Reading edition
It is believed that the following objects are liable to be influenced by an evil eye:—
(1) Persons having fine glossy hair, fiery eyes, exquisite form, refined gait, fine speech or good handwriting, (2) good sportsmen, (3), pickles, (4) pāpad (wafer biscuits), (5) seva (vermicelli), (6) all attractive objects.
The precautions taken to evade the influence of the evil eye are as follows:—
(1) When children are dressed and decked with ornaments, a spot is made on their cheeks or near their necks with a black pigment or collyrium, as it is believed that the dark colour is an antidote against the influence of the evil eye.
(2) Some efficacious inscription is engraved on a copper plate, which is suspended round the child’s neck.
(3) A bead of kachakada is also worn round the neck.
(4) A tiger’s nail or tooth is worn round the neck.
(5) An iron ring is worn on the finger.
(6) A lime is worn in the turban or headdress.
(7) An incantation in the praise of Hanumān is written on a piece of paper and put in an anklet which is worn.
(8) A piece of thread of five kinds of silk or cotton spun by a virgin is given seven knots on the fourteenth day of the dark half of Āshvin and worn on the person.
(9) In order that sweet meats and other eatables such as pāpad (wafer biscuits), pickles, etc., may not be spoilt by an evil eye, a lime, an iron nail or a knife is put into them.
(10) In order that a cot or cradle may not be broken by the influence of an evil eye, a black woollen thread is tied round it.
If, in spite of the precautions mentioned above, the influence of the evil eye prevails, the following remedies are adopted to remove its effects:—
(1) The evil eye is fastened or curbed, as they say, by one of the processes described in Chapter III above.
(9) A side of a loaf of millet flour is baked by being exposed to fire, clarified butter is applied to this side, and a fine cotton thread is passed round the loaf. Next, the loaf is waved round the head of the ailing child and thrown into fire. If the cotton thread is not burnt by the fire, an evil eye is believed to be the cause of the illness.18
Sometimes the loaf is offered to a black dog after it has been waved round the child’s head.18
Some people throw a newly-born child on a dung-hill and take it back, saying that they found it on the dung-hill, with the belief that a child of such low origin cannot be snatched away from them by Fate. Such children are named Punjio, Unkardo or Kacharo meaning ‘dung-hill.’
Some children are named Khoto, Amatho or Jutho, all meaning ‘false’, with the belief that children so named are considered to belong to gods or Fate, and hence cannot be taken away from their parents by the god of death.
Some make earthen figures of children, call them Ila Ili or Pithad, and carry them through the village on the Holi day (the full-moon day of Fālgun), with the belief that by so doing they ensure a long life to the children.
The opprobrious and other special spirit-scaring names generally given to boys are as follows:—
The contemptuous names given to girls are:—
It is said that in ancient times change of sex could be effected.
The following things are considered efficacious in protecting oneself against evil spirits:—
Amulets are generally used as a precaution against the attack of evil spirits or the influence of an evil eye. They are also used to cure diseases. They are made of iron, copper, tin, gold, silver, alloys of precious metals, or leather.
It is believed by some people, that a chiti (amulet) or dora in order to be effective, must not be touched with water.
The dora of the god Kāl-bhairav at Benares, which is made of silk thread with seven twists, is tied round the wrist of a patient in the belief that it cures illness.
A janjiro (black cotton thread with seven knots) of the god Hanumān is worn round the arm with the same belief.
Surakano, that is, twisted iron wire, consecrated by the worshipper of the goddess Machhu, is worn by the Bharvāds round the elbow or the wrist with the belief that it cures wind.
Others hold that the circle must be drawn with the point of a sword.68
Some maintain that the circle cannot be a protective unless it is drawn with enchanted water, milk or sesamum oil.
There are various superstitious beliefs entertained by people regarding omens.
4. While starting on a good errand, if one breathes through the left nostril or comes across a person carrying a basket of eggs, it is a good omen.
5. If at the time of leaving for a visit to another town or village, the position of the moon in the circle explaining the position of stars with reference to one’s birth-day stars, be in the rear or on the left of that position, it is a bad omen, but if it be in the front or on the right it is a good omen.
The moon in front means fulfilment of the intended purpose, on the right, it confers happiness and prosperity, on the back it causes death, and on the left, loss of wealth.
7. A cat or a serpent crossing one’s path is ominous of evil; but if either passes on the right, it foretells good.79
8. A jackal howling in the evening prognosticates damage by fire to the town or village; its howling at midnight predicts robbery; while in the last part of the night it foretells good.
9. Kāg-rāshiās (expounders of the utterances of crows) know the good and bad indications of the croakings of crows.
10. The wailing notes of the bird Fāvadi forebode evil.79
11. The throbbing of the right eye or side in the case of men and of the left eye or side in the case of women is considered to be a good omen, while the contrary is bad.79
12. If the bird holo sweeps the roof of one’s house continuously for a number of days, a calamity is supposed to be imminent for the inmates of the house.
Certain days of the week are considered lucky while others are considered unlucky. It is also believed that certain days are auspicious for performing certain acts, while others are inauspicious for the performance of the same acts.
It is forbidden to eat dālia (baked split gram) on Sunday, but it is favoured on Friday.
The beliefs regarding the lucky and unlucky days of a month are similar to those of the lucky and unlucky days of the week.
According to another belief, the 1st, 6th and 11th days of a month are good, the 3rd and 8th are dates of success (that is acts commenced on these days are crowned with success); the 5th, 10th and 15th are purna tithis, that is, complete days, (meaning that the moon on these days appears full one-third, full two-thirds and completely full); while the 2nd, 7th and 12th are auspicious days.
The ceremonies described below are performed to help the spirit to the other world.
When a man is on the point of death the floor is cow-dunged and an offering of sesamum seeds, Durva grass (cynodon dactylon) and Java (barley) is made to the deities. Next, water of the Ganges or the Jumna is dropped into the mouth of the dying man and the name of Rām is whispered in his ear, as this is believed to turn his consciousness to God and thus facilitate his way to the other world.
When a patient is convinced that his case is hopeless, he distributes money or other valuable articles among Brāhmans, as this is believed to make his way to heaven easy.
When a grave is commenced in a certain spot, the corpse must be buried on that spot, even though the ground be rocky or otherwise unsuitable. As far as possible, the corpses of relatives are buried near one another.145
The occasions on which the hair is shaved are as follows:—
1. When a boy attains the age of three years, his head is shaved completely for the first time.
2. At the time of performing shrāddha in holy places, the head, except the top-knot, and the moustaches and face must be shaved.
3. On the ninth day after the death of a man, all his male relatives younger than himself have to shave their heads, except the top-knot, and the moustaches and chin.
4. On the day of investing a boy with the sacred thread his head is shaved before the investiture.
7. All the male relatives of the deceased have to get their heads shaved on the ninth day after death.
11. On the occasion of a man being readmitted to his own caste, out of which he has been expelled for some breach of caste rules, he has to shave his head and face by way of prāyaschitta or atonement.150
The spirits of the dead are represented by balls of rice flour or cooked rice, and offerings of water, cotton thread, red powder, abir (white scented powder), red lead, sandal paste, frankincense, lamps, sesamum seeds and of the leaves of the Tulsi, the tamarind, the Agathio or Agathi (Sesbania grandiflora) and the Bhangra, and the flowers and seeds of the Java, are made to them.
Rice balls are also offered to crows or thrown into water in the belief that by so offering they reach the spirits of deceased ancestors.156
A tradition is current that Tulsidās, the celebrated author of the Rāmāyan in Hindi and a great devotee of Rām, had secured personal visits from the god Hanumān through the favour of a ghost.
It is related that in the Chhāliāchok at Limbdi, no woman has yet succeeded in reciting a garabi (song) in honour of the goddess Mahākāli to the end, as a ghost which lives on the tamarind tree opposite the chok (square) is averse to its completion.
There are various ways of frightening crying children to silence, one of which is to invoke evil spirits.