Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review Volumes 32 and 33.djvu/136

 124 failure. Meanwhile, in the south of the Imphal valley, a wicked old man who lives at Moirang had produced copious local rainfall by catching a local deity and shutting him up in a stone which he fastened to the bottom of the river with bamboo stakes. But these local showers did not extend to the capital, and things were growing serious. The last resort in such cases is to drown a member of the royal family. The Angom Ningthon, a princeling always useful on such occasions, was held under water for some seconds, and within 24 hours heavy rain fell. At this last ceremony, H.H. the Maharaja ought to have smeared his face with mud, but (such are the results of an English education) he refused to sacrifice himself even to this extent for the common good. It seems probable that in the good old days of faith, the Maharaja would have been solemnly drowned in order to bring about the expected showers. Does this throw any light on the 'slaying of the priest'?" J. D. Anderson.

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following notes were mostly gathered from various students of McGill University, Montreal, during the last two or three years before the war. They are supplemented by a few from my own experience.

1. Fishing Population of Nova Scotia.

Diseases.—To cure an ailment in any part of the body; put five, seven, or any odd number of coins into a basin of water from a running brook; then sprinkle the patient with the water. Turn the basin upside down; if any of the coins adhere to it, the cure is effected.

To cure a flow of blood.—Move the fingers of the right hand thrice from left to right over the part affected, and blow three times on the part. Repeat both operations three times, using a certain form of words. (My informant did not know what the words were.)

