Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 13, 1902.djvu/80

 68 Unlucky Children.

The Eighth Child.^

The eighth child [i.e. the one after the seventh ?), is very unlucky if a son, as he is sure to cause his father's death.^ But in Karnal the eighth child is peculiarly dangerous to the mother.

The remedy is, to pass a charkha, or spinning-wheel, thrice round the mother, and give it to the midwife. The charkha must be in perfect order.

Dhai Sira OR " 2\ Head."

Mr. Talbot writes that in Jhelum, a Trikhal is drilled with 2\ holes — a local expression meaning two holes in one ear and one in the other, or one in each ear and one in the nose. In Mozaffargarh a dhai-sira, mula or sat-sira is a child whose head has not been properly shaped.

How is the use of the number " 2| " to be explained ? ^ The information obtained requires to be still further sup- plemented and the various forms of belief explained.

H. A. Rose, Superintendent of Ethnography, Punjab. Simla, July 2gth, 1901.

' Connected apparently with the eight names of Rudra. Muir's Sanskrit Texts, iv., pp. 383 et sqq.

^ Indian Notes and Queries, 1886, vol. iv., § 94.

omen, implying superiority and good luck. Double this is Dhdi^=.2\ i.e. better still.— W. Crooke.]
 * \Savdi^= \\, i.e. one-quarter better than other people, is a name of good