Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 21, 1910.djvu/298

 262 Reviews.

sacrifices of animals and birds, and drinking, usually accompanied by ritual dances.

The spirit occupying the bodies of men, when released at death, wends its way to Mangru-Mangram, the ghost world, identified with certain neighbouring hills, and regarded as a place of purga- tion through which good and bad alike must pass. The way to it is long and dreary, and for the journey the soul must be pro- vided with a guide in the shape of a dog or the night-jar bird, money, and eatables. On the way lurks the monster Nawang, who covets brass earrings, which the spirit flings before him and, while the demon is busy collecting them, takes the opportunity to escape. Hence such ornaments are commonly worn by all classes. If a sick person becomes comatose before death, it is supposed that Nawang has seized him. Hence the corpse is so rapidly put away that it is supposed that premature cremation not infrequently occurs. The period of probation in Mangru-Mangram depends partly on the cause of death and partly on the sins committed during life. The suicide is reincarnated as a beetle, and one slain by an elephant or tiger in the form of the animal which caused the death. The spirit of a murderer is detained for seven generations before regaining human form. A wrong-doer is often reborn as an animal, but when it dies human shape may be regained after a second period of purgation. The Garo recognises no distinction between the souls of men and animals, both being supposed to go to Mangru-Mangram.

Many of their feasts are devoted to the expulsion of the powers of evil. An annual rite is performed to protect the tribesmen from the dangers of the forest, sickness, and other mishaps. The sowing season, the time of first-fruits, and harvest (at which a representa- tion of the head of a horse is paraded and subsequently flung into water, apparently with the intention of dispersing evil influences), all have their appropriate observances.

Among other beliefs the trust placed in prognostication from dreams is noteworthy. When an evil vision is seen, the tribal priest collects a bundle of reed-like grass, repeats spells, and strikes the dreamer with the stalks. Then the priest and patient sacrifice a cock on the bank of a stream, letting some of the blood fall into a miniature boat made of the stem of a plantain, which is launched