Note 13 — Chapter IV · THE WORSHIP OF THE SAINTED DEAD.
Reading edition
The aboriginal Bhuiyas of Chota Nâgpur, “after disposing of their dead, perform a ceremony which is supposed to bring back to the house the spirit of the deceased, henceforth an object of household worship. A vessel filled with rice and flour is placed for the time on the tomb, and when brought back the mark of a fowl’s foot is found at the bottom of the vessel, and this indicates that the spirit of the deceased has returned.”13 This is, as we have seen, common to many of the Drâvidian tribes, and we shall meet instances of similar practices when we consider the malignant variety of ghosts.