Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/142

130 The priest next makes a number of charms, one to be worn on the person, another to be hung on the bed curtains, another for the bedroom door, and one is burned and the ashes put into a basin of water which has been cursed, and is drunk by the sick person. These charms are supposed to drive away the demons from the clothing, the bed and the inward man. This ceremony takes it as a foregone conclusion that all sickness is caused by demons.

After burning paper money in little or great quantities according to the ability of the family, the priest takes the clothes of the sick person and bears them, along with a tablet on which is written his name and genealogy, out to a place overlooking a hollow with water in it. Here the priests assisted by the relatives call back the spirit of the sick person from across the waters, repeating several times the following two sentences, san hun kuei shên, ch‘i p‘ai fu t‘i (三魂歸身, 七魄附體); that is, may the three souls and seven spirits return to the body; then they finish up with a weird yell of "come back, come back." Of course when the sick man is in delirium it is believed that the soul has already left his body and gone wandering elsewhere.

Straw or reeds of any kind may be used to make an effigy, and paper clothing is made and put on it. Wine and rice are offered to it. A piece of paper money is ignited and applied to the ears, eyes, nose and mouth. Sometimes a needle is used to prick these four organs; all this is done with incantations, after which the effigy is supposed to become accursed as the substitute of the sick person. It is carried to the sick chamber and is addressed by the sorcerer as mao ta lang (茅大郎), great straw gentleman, or as mao ta chieh (茅大姐), great straw sister, according to the sex of the sick one. One sorcerer faces the effigy and questions it and another crouches behind it and answers the questions; while a third sits on a chair and pronounces judgement. The effigy is asked from whence he came; and for what purpose. The sorcerer from behind replies that he has come from a great distance purposely to be the substitute and bear the penalty of the sick person, whose name he gives.