Note 134 — Chapter II · TREE AND SERPENT WORSHIP.
Reading edition
In Behâr during the month of Sâwan (August) crowds of women calling themselves Nâgin, or “wives of the snake,” go about begging for two and a half days, during which period they neither sleep under a roof nor eat salt. Half the proceeds of the begging are given to Brâhmans, and the other half invested in salt and sweetmeats, which are eaten by all the people of the village.134