Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 24, 1913.djvu/473

Rh Beneath the cloth on which the clothes (16, 17) of Santhong and his wife were laid, two pieces of iron are said to be buried on which the feet of the god rest. The Raja, the Moirang ningthau (who is the chief pundit), and the maiba having taken the places assigned to them, a small piece of gold was affixed to the right horn of the buffalo, and a piece of silver to the left. Then the maiba commenced a long oration in praise of Santhong, and, calling for his assistance, at intervals he sprinkled water from the pot (5) in front of him to the right and left by means of a wisp of grass. When the maiba had finished, the Moirang ningthau rose and knelt by the stone of the present Raja, his grandson, and producing a little book read therefrom some secret charms. At intervals he smoothed the stone down with both hands. This completed, the offerings were removed, and the young Raja came forward, and, standing in front of the stones, tested his fortune by throwing two small discs, one of gold and one of silver, on to a plantain leaf. The first two throws were not very satisfactory, as the silver disc fell slightly nearer to the stones than the golden one, but on the third try the two discs fell quite close together, the golden being between the silver and the stones; this was said to be a very lucky throw, and the Raja was well satisfied. A small hole was now dug some three feet in front of the Raja's stone to a depth of six or eight inches, and when water welled up in the cavity every one was pleased; but, had milk taken the place of water, their satisfaction would have been greater, whereas, had a rush of air taken place when the hole was dug, the omen would have been bad. In this hole the maiba now placed two iron pegs with crutch-shaped tops, driving them a short distance into the ground and then, placing a small cross-bar of iron in the crutches, he placed a thin iron sheet about six inches square behind the pegs, and pressed it down till the top was level with the cross piece, which was a few inches below the ground