Note 10 — Chapter III · RELIGIOUS AND MAGICAL BELIEFS

Mr Man records the native beliefs about bees’-wax and the plants in question. “There is an idea current that if during the first half of the rainy season they eat the Caryota sobolifera, or pluck or eat the seeds of the Entada pursœtha, or gather yams or other edible roots, another deluge would be the consequence, for Puluga is supposed to require these for his own consumption at that period of the year; the restriction, however does not extend to the fallen seeds of the Entada pursœtha, which may be collected and eaten at any time with impunity. Another of the offences visited by Puluga with storms is the burning of bee’s wax, the smell of which is said to be peculiarly obnoxious to him. Owing to this belief it is a common practice secretly to burn wax when a person against whom they bear ill-will is engaged in fishing, hunting, or the like, the object being to spoil his sport and cause him as much discomfort as possible; hence arises the saying amongst them, when suddenly overtaken by a storm, that some one must be burning wax10.”