Note 64 — Chapter II · HEROIC GODLINGS
Reading edition
Soon afterwards people began to observe vows in honour of Rājbāi Mātā. The devotees of the goddess visit her temple every evening. All newly-married couples in the village offer salutations to the Mātā accompanied by hired musicians and a party of women who sing on the way to the shrine. A virgin walks in front of the party with an earthen pot and a cocoanut on her head. After the salutations, sweetmeats to the amount vowed for are distributed among all those who are present. Sometimes a woman who has observed vows for the sake of a son, presents a silver umbrella to the goddess, of the value of one rupee and a quarter or five rupees and a quarter, on the birth of a son to her. Burnt offerings and lāpsi are presented to the goddess to protect the town from such misfortunes as cholera, plague, etc.64