Note 34 — Chapter II · THE HEROIC AND VILLAGE GODLINGS.

In Hoshangâbâd a different system prevails. When a new village is formed by the aboriginal Kurkus, there is no difficulty in finding the abode of the godlings Dûngar Devatâ and Mâtâ, because you have only to look for and discover them upon their hill and under their tree. But Mutua Devatâ has generally to be created by taking a heap of stones from the nearest stream and sacrificing a pig and seven chickens to him. “There is one ceremony, however, which is worth notice, not so much as being distinctively Kurku, as illustrating the sense of mystery and chance which in the native mind seems to be connected with the idea of measurement, and which arises probably from the fact that with superficial measures, by heaping lightly or pressing down tight, very different results can be obtained. A measure is filled up with grain to the level of the brim, but no head is poured on, and it is put before Mutua Devatâ. They watch it all night, and in the morning pour it out, and measure it again. If the grain now fills up the measure and leaves enough for a head to it, and still more, if it brims and runs over, this is a sign that the village will be very prosperous, and that every cultivator’s granaries will run over in the same way. But it is an evil omen if the grain does not fill up to the level of the rims of the vessel. A similar practice obtains in the Narmadâ valley when they begin winnowing, and some repeat it every night while the winnowing goes on.”34