Note {4} — Chapter XX

Note 4.—Valentyn mentions among what the Coromandel Hindus reckon unlucky rencounters which will induce a man to turn back on the road: an empty can, buffaloes, donkeys, a dog or he-goat without food in his mouth, a monkey, a loose hart, a goldsmith, a carpenter, a barber, a tailor, a cotton-cleaner, a smith, a widow, a corpse, a person coming from a funeral without having washed or changed, men carrying butter, oil, sweet milk, molasses, acids, iron, or weapons of war. Lucky objects to meet are an elephant, a camel, a laden cart, an unladen horse, a cow or bullock laden with water (if unladen ’tis an ill omen), a dog or he-goat with food in the mouth, a cat on the right hand, one carrying meat, curds, or sugar, etc., etc. (p. 91). (See also Sonnerat, I. 73.)