Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 21, 1910.djvu/253

 Collectanea. 2 1 7

The following notes come from the same writer's Multani Glossary (old edition) : —

C/iihri, the spotted owlet, ("button owl" of Europeans and Athene brama of Jerdon). Besides being a bird of ill omen, it is considered extremely ugly.

Harmal, a plant, {peganum harniala, Stewart), which grows abundantly in the Sindh Sagar Thai. Its seeds, mixed with bran and salt, are burnt to drive away jinns, and to avert the evil eye and the machinations of enemies.

Methrd, {tngonella fcettttm-graecum). There is a popular belief on the banks of the Indus that, if tneihrd seed is sown before noon, mithrd will come up ; if after noon, usstin {brassica eriica).

Kal kdrchchi, the king crow bird. It is reverenced by Moham- medans because it brought water to Imam Husain when he was martyred. Sindhi kdlkanchhi.

Kiiral, a large fish-hawk. The popular story is that kurals hunt in couples, one before the other. The first flies along the surface of the water, croaking "Allah ! Allah ! ", and the fish which come to the top to see who is the pious person are seized by the other bird.

The following note comes from an old Settlement Report in Gujranwila : —

" The people have curious superstitions about sugar-cane : the setting the cane is a solemn operation, none of the family are allowed to spiti on that day for fear it should cause a stringy and worthless crop, and when the crop is ripe the yf?-^/ juice pressed in the new sugar mill is distributed gratis io fakirs, servants, etc."

This is probably an instance of sympathetic magic. Spinning

would cause the cane to burst and so become worthless. The

first-fruits also are given away, though not dedicated, apparently,

to a temple.

H. A. Rose.

Armenian Folk-Tales.

The first of the following stories, " The Foolish Man," is trans- lated from the second story in Manana, a collection of Armenian folk-tales published in 1878 by Bishop Karekin Servantzdiantz.