Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 29, 1918.djvu/150

 140 The House ifi India from the Point of Vieiv

and puts them into one of the cupboards ; the Bible is said to act as a protective, and the meal and salt are emblems of prosperity.^

When this primitive " scapegoat " rite passes into the hands of the Brahmans, it rapidly develops into an elaborate piece of ritual. In Bombay this is known as Vastu-sdnti, or " Vastu-quieting," Vastu being the house spirit. The owner of the house and his wife bathe, and sit on wooden stools within a circle drawn with quartz powder, into w^hich no demon can penetrate. The host, taking water in his right hand, says : "I perform the rite of Vastu-soothing so that in future I and my family may live safely in our new house." He throws the water on the ground, while the priest says : " Let those Bhuts or evil spirits which live on this site depart, and let all evil spirits be destroyed by the Lord Siva ! " Then a mound symbolising an ant- hill, the abode of snakes, is raised, and surrounded by a thread of cotton fixed on posts. The owner makes an offering and prays : " May the Nagas or serpent' gods go to the depths of the earth, and let the Lokapalas or benign guardians of the four quarters, who prolong life and strength, abide in this dwelling ! " After this Vastu, the site spirit, and Dhruva, the polar star, emblem of stability, are worshipped. At the foundation pillar of the house, known as the " Lucky Post," a pit is dug and filled with w'ater, on which a little oil is poured. If the oil on the surface of the water takes the form^ of a tortoise, on which the earth rests, it is believed that the house will last long and that the owner will prosper. Then a golden image of Vastu is buried face downwards in a box and w^orshipped.^ The burial face downwards, w^hich is often done in the case of dead scavengers whose ghosts are dreaded, seems to be intended to hold the earth spirit safely entombed and incapable of doing mischief.

1 Notes and Queries, 4th scries, iv. 505. -Bombay Gazetteer, xx. 524 et seqq.