Note 48 — Chapter II · THE HEROIC GODLINGS.

At Adivare in the Ratnágiri District the following practices are adopted for driving out evil spirits that cause disease. Incense is burnt before the exorcist, drums are beaten, and then the exorcist takes a burning wick in his hand and frightens the diseased person by striking the ground with a cane or a broom of peacock feathers. He also cries out loudly. He then draws out the evil spirit from the body of the diseased person, and puts it in a bottle, which is either carried out of the village and buried under ground near a big tree or is thrown into the sea.48 In the Sangameshwar taluka of the Ratnágiri District, the process of exorcising is sometimes accompanied by dancing and loud cries. The person who suffers from evil spirits is taken to Narsoba’s Wádi in the Kolhápur State where patients are believed to find a cure.49 In the Devgad taluka of the Ratnágiri District the exorcist, when possessed, does not dance as at other places, but freely uses abusive epithets to drive out the evil spirits; and on such occasions the threats are repeated loudly by the exorcist.50 In the Dápoli taluka of the Ratnágiri District, dancing is used in exorcism. While dancing, the exorcist makes a show of different kinds of fits. They are similar to those made by a person suffering from hysteria. He also stands and sways his body to and fro for some time, then assumes a serene and quiet attitude, and begins to cry out loudly.51 There are some sorcerers at Dásgaon in the Kolába District, who dance and cry out loudly in order to drive out the evil spirits from the body of the diseased.52 At Málád in the Thána District dancing is used in exorcism. The following is a description of one of these dances. Songs of the deity which is to be summoned on the occasion are sung along with the music of the Tál (a kind of cymbal) and the beating of drums called Ghumat. The Ghumat is an earthen jar, the lower and upper ends of which are covered over with leather. The man in whose body the deity is to make its appearance takes his bath and sits by the side of a small prayer carpet called Asan. A small quantity of rice (about a ser) is put in front of the carpet, and a copper pot filled with water is placed on the rice. The musicians begin to strike their instrument with a loud clash, and the exorcist’s body begins to shake. The shaking of the body is a sure indication of his being spirit-possessed. He then sits upon the carpet and begins to throw grains of rice into the copper pot containing water, gives out the name of the particular spirit with which he is possessed, and the cause for which it has attacked the patient. He then explains the measures and rites by which the spirit can be driven out. The people abide by his directions, and the patient is thus cured.53