Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 10, 1899.djvu/478

 438 The Folklore in the Legends of the Punjab.

the sea, or the special gift of the god of the rivers, or more fancifully still drops of blood from the murdered magical hero or heroine. Pearls are rain-drops during a particular asterism ; and both they and flowers are derived from the tears or laughter or speech, indifferently, of the hero or heroine, and so on.

A very large portion of the incidents observable in folktales are tricks, in the narration of which, as in that of many other contents of stories, resort is had to both plain matter-of-fact circumstances and to the whole gamut of peasant fancy and wisdom. There are tricks humorous and tricks malicious. There is the cruel practical joke, the mysterious supernatural tragedy, the downright cheat ; even the lie direct is perpetrated by the Lady of Virtue (Sila Dai), who is held up to honour as the embodiment of all the virtues.

References to, and details of, ceremonies of all sorts are a necessary, and frequently a most valuable, form of folktale incident, but they do not require more than mere mention in such a discussion as this. In the Leo^ends we are treated to many a most interesting and instructive description especially of marriage ceremonies, involving allusions to equally interesting and instructive notions about marriages generally. In fact, as regards marriages, and the betrothals which are their counterparts in India, a perusal of the Legends will take the reader over the whole subject : the beliefs, forms, ceremonies, customs and laws, and political uses ; some of them throwing light on European customs of past and present times. In other directions also we are treated to allusions to, or descriptions real or fanciful of, such practical ceremonial matters as the adoption of girls, declaring an heir to the throne, regulating a Rajput hunting- party, the reception of guests. In sacerdotal or quasi-sacer- dotal matters we have the ceremonies of divination by the breath, and initiatory rites into the sect of the Lalbegi sca- vengers, and into various sects of j'ogis Sind /agirs, of which