Superstitions of the Natives—How they consecrate their houses—Their charms against the evil eye—Auguries on building their houses—The respect for the Kalu tree, and the state of departed souls—Exorcisms—Lucky and unlucky Omens.
In this letter I propose to satisfy your curiosity respecting the superstitious practices and opinions which prevail among the benighted heathen, in the midst of whom I am at present sojourning.
A member of the higher castes will never inhabit his newly built house, until it has been solemnly purified and consecrated by the priests; because it is supposed to have been defiled by the builders, who belong to an unclean caste. Among the grandees the ceremony of consecration takes place in the following manner. An idol is carried thrice round the house, to the sound of trumpets, and deposited before the eastern door. The priests then enter the house, and having laid some cowdung mixed with ashes on a pisang* leaf they mutter some prayers over it, after which a Namboori sprinkles the house, first with water from a copper basin in which are placed the small red flowers of the Ixora shrub called by the Portuguese Foule Paran, and then with the cowdung; the idol is then brought inside the house, and the Namboories proceed to eat some cakes. These ceremonies duly performed, a great feast is held outside the house, the food consisting of rice, butter, pisang, milk and curry; the guests, who have been first thoroughly smeared with oil (like the ancient heathens, who used to anoint their guests as a mark of honor), sitting cross-legged around the building. While on the subject of their houses, I must mention their superstition about the east door; when they go out for the first time in the morning it must always be through this entrance, which is considered lucky, because from it they first behold the morning sun, before which they bend with reverence.
They are in the habit of setting up a Molik or figure in their fields, young plantations, and houses, and particularly in their roads: not for the purpose of scaring the birds, as is done in Europe, but to act as a charm against the evil eye. This Molik may be the image either of an idol, a man, or an ape, or sometimes it is merely some kind of painted vessel. If the eye of a person possessed of a malign aspect fall on this object, it is robbed of all power of working mischief either to plants or to anything else. This superstition prevails not only among the heathen; for there are some christians who are for ever talking of the Toeca Olhos. I was told by the Dutch Official at Paponetti, that there was a Mocqua chief living there, whose countenance was supposed by the natives, to be endowed with this pernicious influence; so that he was entreated never to enter fields when the plants were in bloom, lest he should injure them; which request he observed. They imagine that this evil eye works no harm to the lands and plants of the possessor, but rather increases their fertility.
In commencing the building of a house, the first prop must be put up on the east side; the carpenters open three or four cocoanuts, spilling the juice as little as possible, and put some tips of betel leaves into them; and, from the way these float in the liquid, they foretel whether the house will be lucky or unlucky, whether it will stand for a long or short period, and whether another will ever be erected on its site. I have been told that the heathens say that the destruction of fort Paponetti by our arms was foretold by the builders from these auguries. They receive for the performance of this rite one or two Cochin fanams, three measures of rice, and a garment worth three fanams.
There is an odd shaped tree called a Kalu, the stem of which seems to be formed by several twisted branches growing into each other. It is generally very large, and its spreading branches shoot out roots, many of which fix themselves in the ground, thus furnishing fresh nourishment to enable the branches to extend further. This tree is esteemed sacred, and is hung about with lamps which are lighted up in the evening. They have a legend, that the chief of the minor gods, Cheraman by name, was despatched by the supreme deity to introduce certain improvements on the earth. Fatigued by his long journey through a dreary wilderness without food or drink, he stretched himself beneath the shadow of the banian tree to seek repose and refreshment; and his object was so marvellously effected that he arose with his strength as completely renovated as if he had partaken of a hearty meal. In memory of this event, this tree is dedicated to the pagodas in the neighbourhood of which one is always to be found: they are also planted there for the refreshment of departed souls: for the majority and the most intelligent of these heathens believe that in the beginning, the deity created a certain number of souls, which inhabit sometimes human and sometimes brute bodies; but that on quitting human bodies the souls repose for a century under the refreshing shade of the banian, after which they transmigrate into other bodies, either of men or of beasts according to their conduct during their past life. It is considered a piece of great good fortune to transmigrate into the body of a white cow; whilst to pass into that of a buffalo is just the reverse, as that animal undergoes great ill-treatment at the hands of the Malabars, being the object of their utmost contempt and aversion.
The people believe that during the intermediate period of a hundred years, the souls of the departed visit their descendants. They therefore prepare, either within or without their houses, little apartments or huts, which are fresh smeared every morning, and furnished with a small bench, about a foot in length and a hand breadth from the ground, on which toddy is placed; which, in the evening, as the departed spirits have not touched it, they themselves drink, and it is considered a hallowed beverage. They always put aside a little rice at their meals, or strew some grains on the ground for these ghosts: and if they have more in the dish than they can eat, they throw out the remainder to the crows, and this also is put to the account of the spirits. They perform a ceremony like this on the feast of the souls, in the month of July.
- They carry their ideas of witchcraft to an unequalled pitch; to this influence the most dire diseases are imputed in many places, and it is supposed to have power both to cause and cure them, so that apothecaries and doctors would find it difficult to obtain a livelihood here: they are less foolish in the neighbourhood of Cochin. It is said (by the majority, that is) that there exist 36,000 demons, of whom a few are good; and the worst among them are Tjatte Pannikerri, Tjangadi and Cooli Mootootoe Pannikerri. They ascribe to these spirits the power of occupying the bodies of men whose souls have departed: they have no power over christians, even those who are so merely in name not in heart. Every individual has his own special demon whom he serves, and who in return assists him in the execution of his projects. They suppose that if a man has no other way of venting his wrath on his adversary, he can send his own demon to do it for him. To effect this purpose he must make an image of the demon, and perform certain ceremonies before it, upon which it sets forth, and assails the victim with all kinds of diseases, madness, convulsions, &c. In order to discover whether these disorders proceed from natural causes or from malign influence, the friends of the patient repair to a Canniane or soothsayer, who determines the question by the result obtained from counting up some cowries, and can also indicate the person from whom the evil spirit was sent; the latter immediately confesses his guilt, or if he refuses, is brought before the rajah and compelled to do so, while the sufferer on his part must promise to make restitution of any thing to which the other party had a lawful claim. The exorcism proceeds as follows. A man of the washerman caste is introduced who has a drum shaped like an hour glass; he describes a magic circle on the ground within which he makes various characters, in red and white, and then throws in pieces of betel leaves, rice, turmeric, Ixora flowers, areca nuts, tobacco, palm leaves, and date shells, &c. A woman taken from the household of the party who has employed the aid of the demon, is made to sit down facing the circle, clothed in a white garment, her hair floating loose, her arms folded, and carrying on her bosom a cashew nut leaf. The washerman now beats his drum, singing at the same time a magic song: on which the unclean spirit quits the patient and enters the body of the woman, who immediately sets up a tremendous howling, and begins to jump about like a mad woman; then the demon speaking through her voice announces the rewards he expects and the rites to be performed in return for the alacrity with which he has executed the mission of his employer. These being promised, the spirit leaves the woman, who falls down as if dead and lies in this posture for an hour; at the expiration of which the washerman takes away all that he put in the circle and eats it with his household: he receives four fanams in payment for his service; a like sum is also paid to the Canniane.
The official at Paponetti told me that he had witnessed very strange effects from these exorcisms at which he had himself sometimes been called in to keep order. On one occasion, a woman was brought in to him, very ill, to all appearance dead. Her friends complained, that an evil spirit had been sent to her by a Nair woman, whom they produced, and that the patient had lain seven days without food, like a corpse. The accused was asked whether the tale were true; she replied in the affirmative adducing as the motive, that a little piece of gold, worth about two rix dollars, which she had inherited and wore as an ornament on her neck, had been stolen from her. The officer commanded her to recall the spirit; this she performed with the usual rites, and the sufferer who lay inanimate, opened her eyes, in his presence, asked for cheese and betel, and in short was restored to perfect health and walked home.
These people are also addicted to the observance of lucky and unlucky days; Monday and Thursday come under the latter category, and Sunday under the former. The last day of the month is unlucky. It is a bad omen to meet a cat or a snake, on first going out in the morning, and they will turn back to escape passing it: this they will do also if a crow flies past on the left hand; on the right hand it is considered lucky. It is a good sign to sneeze with the face turned towards the house from which they have come out, but with the face turned in the direction in which they are going it is unlucky. Leo is the most propitious sign of the zodiac, and it is a piece of good fortune to be born, and business is best executed under its influence. Thus you see, dear friend, how superstition rules this land.