Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 7, 1896.djvu/445

Rh then bury; or (2) bury in a sitting posture. Other Hindus who bury instead of burning. Hindu soldiers who die in battle are all buried. Some castes bury all unmarried girls; some, all under ten years old, or all who die of small-pox; or boys who have not been invested with the sacred thread. The Bhuinhar Brahmins bury boys under twelve, except (1) if married, (2) if invested with the thread, which is equivalent to being half-married. The investiture must be done before a boy can be married.

464. Hindus believe that demons can enter the body by the fingers.

468-71. Games.

472. Temptation of a saint, and origin of dancing girls.

473. Bare sword a charm against evil spirits; used in the childbed. (Ancient practice quoted.)

535. Mysore.—Before the ear-piercing of an eldest daughter, preparatory to betrothal, the mother's ring-finger or little finger must be cut off from the right hand. If the girl is motherless, and the mother-in-law has not suffered amputation, she must perform the operation on the girl.

537. An essay on superstitions connected with drawing [compilation, with one or two new examples from India]. An old hag haunts tanks and ponds, and when anyone goes thither she fastens his feet with an invisible chain, which after nightfall drags him to the water and under it. If a single female rides in a boat where the rest are males, all will be drowned, unless she ties a knot in her cloth, calling to mind the name of another female. A certain convolution of hair on the head forebodes drowning. Charms against drowning: e.g., eat ants accidentally with food.

594. Banjāras.—When a B. dies, they put some gold and sweets in his mouth and burn the body. Ghost's return barred by thorny branches set in the way. Clan-feasts are held on third and thirteenth days; and some articles, including a bludgeon, are given to a Brahmin, which he is supposed to pass on to the ghost for use in the next world.

598. Fruit turned into stone.

600. Fire-worship of the demon Rāhu.

602. To cure leprosy; a long account. Speech-taboo.

604. Special rules for food of men and women.

605. Position of maternal uncle. Long description of wedding ceremonies.