Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 21, 1910.djvu/548

 5o6 Collectanea.

alaihim walaz-zualin. Atnin 1 Qui ho wallaho ahad Alla-hus-samad lam yalid wa lam yulad wa lam ya kulla hu kofowan ahad.

" In the name of God who is merciful and benevolent ! Sulaiman, the Prophet, the son of David, salutation be to him ! The clans of snake ! Poison of snake, wind of snake ! In the name of God ! Praise be to God who feeds all worlds and is the Master of the last day ! We worship thee and we invoke thy help. Show us the direct way, the way of those whom thou hast favoured and not of those whom thou hast discarded and depraved ! Amen ! Say He is God, the Eternal God. He was not born, nor does he give birth to any, and there is none equal to Him."

The bite of a black scorpion is touched thrice with an iron prong or chimia to stop the poison from spreading.

When the fields have been damaged by rats, the people of the Dun place halwa (a sweetmeat) before their holes, and pray to them thus : — " Ai Musa Paighambar, ab hamart kheti ko nuksan na kariyo" i.e., " O Prophet Moses do not injure our fields ! " The charm simply depends on the verbal resemblance between mftsh (rat) and M^tsd (Moses).

For headache or intermittent fever, the picture of a peacock and a scorpion is drawn on a piece of paper, or bhoj pattar leaf. Sometimes this charm is worn round the neck ; sometimes it is washed in water which the patient drinks.

The following is a charm used in Sirmur for the cure of a disease in children called mitha, in which the ears are said to become cold : —

' ' Awwal bismillAh ar nam Rahtm, gath men Sarusti astaj pir, dost scibat Rahim yaqin, haqq Idilldh Muhammad RasiH-ul-ldh ! Chale mantar, phurwa bcishd, dekh mere sabkarma tamdshd, jal chhorAh jalwdf, chhorAn jal ki, chhoj/Hn kdi, tin khtint jangal ki chhonlii, chhor/ih agan sawdt, jal bdndlmh Jalwdf, bdndhAn jal ki, bdndhUn kdi, tin khtint jangal kt bdndhtln, bdndhilh agan saiudi, merd bdndhd bandhe, merd khold khule, titjhe HanAmdn pir ki diihdi.

" First by the name of God and His merciful name, in my possession is Saraswati (goddess of learning), teacher and pir. Let friends be reassured. God is true and Mohammed is his Prophet ! Let the mantra go forth, and let the word take effect ! Look at my good works and miraculous deeds ! I release the water and that which pertains to it, and its kdi (the green scum on the surface of a stagnant pool). I release the three corners of the jungle and the powerful fire. I bind water, everything per- taining to it, and its kdi. I bind the three corners of the jungle and the powerful fire. Let it be bound by my binding, and by my untying let it be loosed. Hanuman pir's oath is upon you ! "