Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 7, 1896.djvu/102

92 Between betrothal and marriage a girl may not take food in her bridegroom's house, nor show her face to him or his relations. After a birth, five days' uncleanness. The younger brother has a claim to wife of elder brother deceased. Certain curious restrictions on re-marriage of widows.

Infanticide is now believed to have been stopped. Human sacrifice: description by eye-witness; blood sprinkled on an idol. (The writer says he has often been told that "the Gonds and Kolâms used to sacrifice a child instead of the goat now killed, before the heap of grain first reaped at the harvest.")

Oath, most binding: The man lays his right hand on bare head of his son and heir, and with his left grasps a cow's tail. If he breaks the oath, he fears injury in person through the son and murrain in his cattle. [The Greek used to swear laying his hand on his son's head, and invoking curses on him if he lied.]

Witchcraft: Red lead used in discovering a witch. When she is named, her husband or sons are usually deputed to kill her.

Unlucky omens on a raid: sneezing, hare crossing the path, jackal howling in front or to the left, owl screeching in front.

Women excluded from certain rites (p. 174).

Appendix of tribal divisions.

396. Saharanpur.—Local deities.

399. Jhansi.—Omens used by the Dacoits. Bad Omens: Deer crossing path, seated crow cawing, ox bellowing, cat mewing, snake crossing path, snake on back of another (worse omen), partridge calling on the right, red sky (as betokening bloodshed), sneezing, meeting a one-eyed man, cry of a hare, leopard, an oilman [a frequent belief], couple of shama birds chattering, widow with ornaments on one leg, cry of new-born child, vulture, turban falling off, weapon falling out of hand, elephants' scream, dog and jackal howling together.

Good Omens: Rûpa bird seated (it has silvery feathers), shama bird on the left, or on a green tree, crows feeding on an animal, cow suckling calf, mongoose, jackal howling on the right, solitary jackal on the left, snake met and killed (especially snake seen on the left), deer going from right to left and vice versâ, owl hooting on left, fox howling at start, fox running on and looking back, horse met on the left, mounted man seen, married woman on the right with earthen vessel full of water on her head, corpse burning or burying. Brahmin carrying certain things, piece of bread,