Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 22, 1911.djvu/265

 Collectanea. 231

into the sea. He entices the spirits to enter a leaf tray which is filled with offerings acceptable to them. This he first lays before the shrine of the village spirit, and then starts carrying it to the village boundary, followed by a menial of the village beating a drum and carrying a cock. As he passes through the village site, the women of each house go through the form of sweeping the spirits out of their houses, and their departure is hastened by flinging near the door some live coals and water. At the village boundary the cock is sacrificed by cutting off its head. The head is buried in the ground as an offering to the village earth spirit, and the remainder of the flesh, with the offerings which had been placed on the tray, are divided among the leading members of the procession. {Twies of India, Oct. 3, 1907.)

W. Crooke.