Identifier: nativesofnorther00croo (find matches)
Title: Natives of northern India
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Crooke, William, 1848-1923
Subjects: Ethnology -- India India -- Social conditions India -- Description and travel
Publisher: London : A. Constable and Company, ltd.
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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tralhills have many devices of this kind, and allege thatthey know the special things which, so placed, willcause various kinds of disease. They look suspiciouslyon any one who examines the marks after they havepassed along a jungle path. In the plains this methodis employed to remove epidemic disease from a sickchild. The cross-roads are the place where the charmworks best. A few scales from the body of a personattacked by smallpox are placed on a little pile ofearth in the middle of the road and decorated withflowers. Any one who touches such things is believedto take the malady with him, and so relieve the patient. Magic of this kind is used most commonly in thecase of disease. The popular theory is that it is dueto an evil spirit, or to the machinations of some wizard.When a person sickens, the first stage of the cure is toascertain who is responsible for his illness. To dis-cover this, various devices are employed. In ChotaNagpur, when an Ojha, or exorcist, is summoned for No. 31
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O o MAGIC, SHAMANISM, WITCHCRAFT 253 this purpose, he either calls in the aid of a brother inthe craft, or brings with him one or two disciples whohave a smattering of the art. A bell-metal tray is pro-duced and filled with pure water, into which a smallhandful of coarse pulse is thrown. The dish is placedin the sun, and the Ojha, repeating incantations in awhisper, so that the sacred words may not reach anyone who is ill disposed, stares steadily into the dish,observing the shadow cast by the grains floating onthe surface. After some time he retires to a shortdistance, and his place is taken by one of his assistants,who does the like. The Ojha then proceeds to questionhim as to what he sees. There is, of course, collusionbetween the parties, and by and by the person whomit was arranged to denounce, generally a widow orchildless woman, is named. It is useless for her toprotest. In former days she would certainly havebeen murdered. At present she escapes with a beat-ing, and is forced

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