Omens and Superstitions of Southern India Part 17

By the Kotas (artisans and cultivators) of the Nilgiris, a seed-sowing ceremony is celebrated in the month of k.u.mbam (February-March) on a Tuesday or Friday. For eight days the officiating priest abstains from meat, and lives on vegetable diet, and may not communicate directly with his wife for fear of pollution, a boy acting as spokesman. On the Sunday before the ceremony, a number of cows are penned in a kraal, and milked by the priest. The milk is preserved, and, if the omens are favourable, is said not to turn sour. If it does, this is attributed to the priest being under pollution from some cause or other. On the day of the ceremony, the priest bathes in a stream, and proceeds, accompanied by a boy, to a field or the forest. After wors.h.i.+pping the G.o.ds, he makes a small seed-pan in the ground, and sows therein a small quant.i.ty of ragi (Eleusine Coracana). Meanwhile, the Kotas of the village go to the temple, and clean it. Thither the priest and the boy proceed, and the deity is wors.h.i.+pped with offerings of cocoanuts; betel, flowers, etc. Sometimes a Terkaran (priest) becomes inspired, and gives expression to oracular utterances. From the temple all go to the house of the priest, who gives them a small quant.i.ty of milk and food. Three months later, on an auspicious day, the reaping of the crop is commenced with a very similar ceremonial.

Writing in 1832, Mr Harkness states [364] that, during the seed-sowing ceremony, "offerings are made at the temples, and, on the day of the full-moon, after the whole have partaken of a feast, the blacksmith, and the gold and silversmith, constructing separately a forge and furnace within the temple, each makes something in the way of his vocation, the blacksmith a chopper or axe, the silversmith a ring or other kind of ornament."

In connection with the ceremonial observances of the Koyis of the G.o.davari district, the Rev. J. Cain writes [365] that "at present the Koyis around Dummagudem have very few festivals, except one at the harvest of the zonna (Sorghum vulgare). Formerly they had one not only for every grain crop, but one when the ippa [366] (Ba.s.sia) flowers were ready to be gathered, another when the pumpkins were ripe, at the first tapping of the palm-tree for toddy, etc. Now, at the time the zonna crop is ripe and ready to be cut, they take a fowl into the field, kill it, and sprinkle its blood on any ordinary stone put up for the occasion, after which they are at liberty to partake of the new crop. In many villages they would refuse to eat with any Koi who has neglected this ceremony, to which they give the name Kottalu, which word is evidently derived from the Telugu word kotta (new). Rice-straw cords are hung on trees, to show that the feast has been observed. [In some places, Mr Hemingway tells me, the victim is a sheep, and the first-fruits are offered to the local G.o.ds and the ancestors.] Another singular feast occurs soon after the cholam (zonna) crop has been harvested. Early on the morning of that day, all the men of each village have to turn out into the forest to hunt, and woe betide the unlucky individual who does not bring home some game, be it only a bird or a mouse. All the women rush after him with cow-dung, mud, or dirt, and pelt him out of their village, and he does not appear again in that village till next morning. The hunter who has been most successful then parades the village with his game, and receives presents of paddy (rice) from every house. Mr Vanstavern, whilst boring for coal at Beddanolu, was visited by all the Koi women of the village, dressed up in their lord's clothes, and they told him that they had that morning driven their husbands to the forest, to bring home game of some kind or other."

Mr N. E. Marjoribanks once witnessed a grossly indecent pantomime, held in connection with this festival, which is called Bhudevi Panduga, or festival of the earth G.o.ddess. The performers were women, of whom the drummers and sword-bearers were dressed up as men. In a note on this festival, Mr F. R. Hemingway writes that "when the samalu crop is ripe, the Kois summon the pujari on a previously appointed day, and collect from every house in the village a fowl and a handful of grain. The pujari has to fast all that night, and bathe early the next morning. After bathing, he kills the fowls gathered the previous evening in the names of the favourite G.o.ds, and fastens an ear of samalu to each house, and then a feast follows. In the evening they cook some of the new grain, and kill fresh fowls, which have not to be curried but roasted, and the heart, liver, and lights of which are set apart as the especial food of their ancestral spirits, and eaten by every member of each household in their name. The bean feast is an important one, as, until it is held, no one is allowed to gather any beans. On the second day before the feast, the village pujari must eat only bread. The day before, he must fast for the whole twenty-four hours, and, on the day of the feast, he must eat only rice cooked in milk, with the bird offered in sacrifice. All the men of the village accompany the pujari to a neighbouring tree, which must be a Terminalia tomentosa, and set up a stone, which they thus dedicate to the G.o.ddess Kodalamma. Every one is bound to bring for the pujari a good hen and a seer of rice, and for himself a c.o.c.k and half a seer of rice. The pujari also demands from them two annas as his sacrificing fee."

Seed-drills used by agriculturists in the Bellary district are ornamented with carved representations of the sacred bull Nandi, the monkey-G.o.d Hanuman, and the lingam, and decorated with margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves, to bring good luck.

XII

RAIN-MAKING CEREMONIES

Among the Kalyana Singapu Kondhs of Vizagapatam, a rain-making ceremony called barmarakshasi is performed, which consists in making life-size mud images of women seated on the ground, holding grindstones between their knees, and offering sacrifices to them. [367]

In times of drought, the Koyis of the G.o.davari district hold a festival to Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers from whom they claim descent, and, when rain falls, sacrifice a cow or a pig to him. It is said [368] to be considered very efficacious if the Brahmans take in procession round the village an image of Varuna (the G.o.d of rain) made of mud from the bed of a river or tank. Another method is to pour a thousand pots of water over the lingam in the Siva temple. Malas (Telugu Pariahs) tie a live frog to a mortar, and put on the top thereof a mud figure representing the deity Gontiyalamma. They then take these objects in procession, singing "Mother frog, playing in water, pour rain by potsfull." The villagers of other castes then come and pour water over the Malas.

The Rev. S. Nicholson informs me that, to produce rain in the Telugu country, two boys capture a frog, and put it into a basket with some nim (margosa, Melia Azadirachta) leaves. They tie the basket to the middle of a stick, which they support on their shoulders. In this manner, they make a circuit of the village, visiting every house, singing the praises of the G.o.d of rain. The greater the noise the captive animal makes, the better the omen, and the more gain for the boys, for at every house they receive something in recognition of their endeavours to bring rain upon the village fields.

"In the Bellary district when the rain fails, the Kapu (Telugu cultivator) females catch a frog, and tie it alive to a new winnowing fan made of bamboo. On this fan, leaving the frog visible, they spread a few margosa leaves, and go singing from door to door, 'Lady frog must have her bath; oh! rain G.o.d, give at least a little water for her.' This means that the drought has reached such a stage that there is not even a drop of water for the frogs. When the Kapu female sings this song, the woman of the house brings a little water in a vessel, pours it over the frog, which is left on the fan outside the door sill, and gives some alms. She is satisfied that such an action will bring down rain in torrents. On the first full-moon day in the month of Bhadrapada (September), the agricultural population in the Bellary district celebrate a festival called Jok.u.mara, to appease the rain-G.o.d. The Barike women (said to belong to the Gaurimakkalu section of the Kabbera caste) go round the village in which they live, with a basket on their heads containing margosa leaves, flowers of various kinds, and sacred ashes. They beg for alms, especially from the cultivating cla.s.ses, and, in return for the alms bestowed (usually grain or food), they give some of the leaves, flowers, and ashes. The cultivators take these to their fields, prepare cholam (Sorghum) kanji or gruel, mix them with it, and sprinkle the kanji over their fields. After this the cultivator proceeds to the potter's kiln in the village, and fetches ashes from it, with which he makes the figure of a human being. This figure is placed in a field, and called Jok.u.mara or rain-G.o.d, and is supposed to have the power of bringing down the rain in due season. A second kind of Jok.u.mara wors.h.i.+p is called muddam, or the outlining of rude representations of human figures with powdered charcoal. These are made in the early morning, before the bustle of the day commences, on the ground at cross-roads, and along thoroughfares. The Barikes, who draw these figures, are paid a small remuneration in money or kind. The figures represent Jok.u.mara, who will bring down rain, when insulted by people treading on him. Yet another kind of Jok.u.mara wors.h.i.+p prevails in the Bellary district. When rain fails, the Kapu females model a small figure of a naked human being, which they place in a miniature palanquin, and go from door to door, singing indecent songs, and collecting alms. They continue this procession for three or four days, and then abandon the figure in a field adjacent to the village. The Malas take possession of the abandoned Jok.u.mara, and, in their turn, go about singing indecent songs, and collecting alms for three or four days, and then throw the figure away in some jungle. This form of Jok.u.mara wors.h.i.+p is also believed to bring down plenty of rain. In the Bellary district, the agriculturists have a curious superst.i.tion about prophesying the state of the coming season. The village of Mailar contains a Siva temple, which is famous throughout the district for an annual festival held there in the month of February. This festival has now dwindled into more or less a cattle fair. But the fame of the temple continues as regards the Karanika, which is a cryptic sentence uttered by the priest, containing a prophecy of the prospects of the agricultural season. The pujari (priest) of the temple is a Kuruba (cultivating caste). The feast at the temple lasts for ten days. On the last day, the G.o.d Siva is represented as returning victorious from the battlefield, after having slain the demon Malla (Mallasura) with a huge bow. He is met half-way from the field of battle by the G.o.ddess. The wooden bow is placed on end before the G.o.d. The Kuruba priest climbs up it, as it is held by two a.s.sistants, and then gets on their shoulders. In this posture he stands rapt in silence for a few minutes, looking in several directions. He then begins to quake and quiver from head to foot. This is the sign of the spirit of the G.o.d Siva possessing him. A solemn silence holds the a.s.sembly, for the time of the Karanika has arrived. The s.h.i.+vering Kuruba utters a cryptic sentence, such as 'Thunder struck the sky.' This is at once copied down, and interpreted as a prophecy that there will be much rain in the year to come." [369]

It is said that, in the year before the Mutiny, the prophecy was "They have risen against the white-ants."

The villagers at Kanuparti in the Guntur district of the Telugu country objected, in 1906, to the removal of certain figures of the sacred bull Nandi and lingams, which were scattered about the fields, on the ground that the rainfall would cease, if these sacred objects were taken away.

To bring down rain, Brahmans, and those non-Brahmans who copy their ceremonial rites, have their Varuna j.a.pam, or prayers to Varuna, the rain-G.o.d. Some of the lower cla.s.ses, instead of addressing their prayers to Varuna, try to induce a spirit or devata named Kodumpavi (wicked one) to send her paramour Sukra to the affected area. The belief seems to be that Sukra goes away to his concubinage for about six months, and, if he does not then return, drought ensues. The ceremony consists in making a huge figure of Kodumpavi in clay, which is placed on a cart, and dragged through the streets for seven to ten days. On the last day, the final death ceremonies of the figure are celebrated. It is disfigured, especially in those parts which are usually concealed. Vettiyans (Paraiyan grave-diggers), who have been shaved, accompany the figure, and perform the funeral ceremonies. This procedure is believed to put Kodumpavi to shame, and to get her to induce Sukra to return, and stay the drought. According to Mr W. Francis, [370] the figure, which is made of clay or straw, is dragged feet first through the village by the Paraiyans, who accompany it, wailing as though they were at a funeral, and beating drums in funeral time.

I am informed by Mr F. R. Hemingway that, when rain is wanted in the Trichinopoly district, an effigy called Koman (the king) is dragged round the streets, and its funeral performed with great attention to details. Or an effigy of Kodumpavi is treated with contumely. In some places, the women collect kanji (rice gruel) from door to door, and drink it, or throw it away on a tank bund (embankment), wailing the while as they do at funerals. People of the higher castes repeat prayers to Varuna, and read portions of the Virata Parvam in the Mahabharata, in the hope that the land will be as fertile as the country of the Virats, where the Pandavas lived. When the tanks and rivers threaten to breach their banks, men stand naked on the bund, and beat drums; and, if too much rain falls, naked men point firebrands at the sky. Their nudity is supposed to shock the powers that bring the rain, and arrest their further progress. According to Mr Francis, [371] when too much rain falls, the way to stop it is to send the eldest son to stand in it stark naked, with a torch in his hand.

A Native of Coimbatore wrote a few years ago that we have done all things possible to please the G.o.ds. We spent about two hundred rupees in performing Varuna j.a.pam on a grand scale in a strictly orthodox fas.h.i.+on. For a few days there were cold winds, and some lightning. But, alas, the j.a.pam was over, and with that disappeared all signs of getting any showers in the near future. It is noted by Haddon [372]

that, in the Torres Straits, as elsewhere, the impossible is never attempted, and a rain charm would not be made when there was no expectation of rain coming, or during the wrong season.

There is, in some parts of the country, a belief that, if lepers are buried when they die, rain will not visit the locality where their corpses have been deposited. So they disinter the bodies, and throw the remains thereof into the river, or burn them. Some years ago, a man who was supposed to be a leper died, and was buried. His skeleton was disinterred, put into a basket, and hung to a tree with a garland of flowers round its neck. The Superintendent of Police, coming across it, ordered it to be disposed of.

The following quaint superst.i.tions relating to the origin of rain are recorded by Mr Gopal Panikkar. [373]

"In the regions above the earth, there are supposed to exist large monsters called Kalameghathanmar, to whom is a.s.signed the responsibility of supplying the earth with water. These monsters are under the direction and control of Indra, [374] and are possessed of enormous physical strength. They have two huge horns projecting upwards from the sides of the crown of the head, large flas.h.i.+ng eyes, and other remarkable features. All the summer they are engaged in drawing up water from the earth through their mouths, which they spit out to produce rain in the rainy season. A still ruder imagination ascribes rain to the periodical discharge of urine by these monsters. Hence, in some quarters, there exists a peculiar aversion to the use of rain-water for human consumption."

NOTES

[1] "Gazetteer of the Nilgiris," 1908, i. 338.

[2] Bishop Whitehead, Madras Museum Bull., 1907, No. 3, v. 134.

[3] Madras Museum Bull., 1907, No. 3, v. 139-40.

[4] Malabar, 1887, i. 177-8.

[5] Used as a fly-flapper (chamara).

[6] "Malabar and its Folk," Madras, 2nd edition, 99-100.

[7] N. Sunkuni Wariar, "Ind. Ant.," 1892, xxi. 96.

[8] K. Srikantaliar, "Ind. Ant.," 1892, xxi. 193.

[9] M. N. Venkataswami, "Ind. Ant.," 1905, x.x.xiv. 176.

[10] "Gazetteer of the G.o.davari District," 1907, i. 66.

[11] "Note on the Koravas," 1908.

[12] M. J. Walhouse, "Ind. Ant.," 1881, x. 366.

[13] "Manual of the Cuddapah District," 1875, 293.

[14] "Gazetteer of the G.o.davari District," 1907, i. 47.

[15] M. J. Walhouse, "Ind. Ant.," 1876, v. 21.

[16] India, Trubner, Oriental Series, 1888, i. 182.

[17] Rev. S. Mateer, "Native Life in Travancore," 1883, 330-52.

[18] M. J. Walhouse, Journ. Anthrop. Inst., 1874, iv. 373.

[19] Voyage to the East Indies, 1777 and 1781.

[20] Rev. J. A. Sharrock, "South Indian Missions," 1910, 9.

[21] See Emma Rosenbusch (Mrs Clough), "While sewing Sandals, or Tales of a Telugu Pariah Tribe."

[22] L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer, "The Cochin Tribes and Castes,"