Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 5, 1894.djvu/25

Rh here a photographic facsimile of one these charms, that for causing the death of a person, and shall be happy to place it at the disposal of anyone who may wish to see it. It would be very interesting to know if it bears any resemblance to the charms used for such purposes in other countries.

Under each charm are: the day of the week appropriate to each charm; the proper planet; point of the compass; object, such as silk cloth, tiger skin, etc., on which the magician must take his stand when repeating the charm, etc. For the death charm, the day is Saturday, the planet is Saturn, the material is lead.

If it would be of any use to the Society, I should be happy to get the pages of this book photographed, and the charms (which are in the Tamil language) transliterated and translated. Some part consists of mystic syllables, which can only be transliterated.

The old Brahmin family-priest said that the Chetti had boasted to him that he could produce showers of stones at will, upon which the old priest gave a long account of the edifying reproof he administered of the practice of such arts.

If, however, such things are standard parts of magic, and are handed down by oral tradition, it might go far to explain how such phenomena are the same in different ages, and if any connection can be traced in the matter of magical arts, in different countries. For this purpose it would be very interesting to compare these charms used in South India with those used in other countries, if any specimens are available.

Much interest was felt in the terms white and black magic used by Mr. Sewell, and he was asked if he had exactly translated the native words. He replied that he had, and it was elicited that the native significance was precisely similar to that which these terms bear in European folklore.