Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 20, 1909.djvu/391

 Collectanea. 337

Omens and Folk-Etymologies from Jaunsar.

The following items from Jaunsar Pargana, in the District of

Dera Dun, N.W. Provinces of India, are derived from a Jaunsari

vocabulary compiled by Col. Thornhill.

Cuckoo, kuphu. After the Bishu Jatra festival, the bird becomes ill of fever, and is silent.

Dove, ghughutl. If a dove sits on a house and coos, it is a very bad omen. The bird is killed or hunted away.

Dwarf, bdwana. The popular explanation is that he is only "fifty-two" {bawan) fingers high. The word is really a corruption of the Sanskrit vamana.

Goat, bdkra, (fem.) bdkrz. A goat sitting upon its hind legs is a very bad omen, and the animal is killed and sold at once.

Hair (of human head), muddo ; (of human body), bdo, bdl. Hair on the breast denotes truthfulness. A man without hair is suspected of being unreliable.

Nightmare, kachlo swino. A nightmare portends disaster or a tumble soon. A person gnashing his teeth in sleep portends death to his parents. If he sobs or weeps in his dreams it is a very good sign. To see water or a corpse in a dream is bad. So also to see a buffalo. To see a snake in a dream means that the god is angry, and a Brahman {baman) must be consulted {deo dekhdund).

One-eyed, kdjid. Such persons are considered to be deceitful. Squint-eyed, patero. Such persons are said to be un- trustworthy.

Owl, hu. The owl is not permitted to utter his ill-omened notes near a village, and if he does so is hunted away. If he calls from the roof of a house, some one in the family is sure to die.

G. A. Grierson.

Two Hindu Singing Games. A Grown-up Hindu GirPs Game.

1. Guja Guja raikooloo zemtoUoo?

2. Gujja raikooloo zemtolloo ?

Y