Note 128 — Chapter I · THE EVIL EYE AND THE SCARING OF GHOSTS.

Connected with this is the belief in the forming a connection by knotting the magic string. We have the European true love-knot, an emblem of fidelity between the pair betrothed. So in Italy interlaced serpents and all kinds of interweaving, braiding, and interlacing cords are valuable as protectives because they attract the eyes of witches.128 Thus, among the Kârans of Bengal, the essential part of the marriage ceremony is believed to be the laying of the bride’s right hand in that of the bridegroom, and binding their two hands together with a piece of string spun in a special way.129 This belief in the mystic power of knots is common in all folk-lore.130 The clothes of the bride and bridegroom in Upper India are knotted together as they revolve round the sacred fire. A similar belief explains the wearing of the Janeû or sacred thread by high-caste Hindus. The knots on it, known as Brahma-granthi, or “the knots of the Creator,” repel evil influences, and Muhammadans on their birthdays tie knots in a cord, which is known as the Sâlgirah or “year knot.”