Folk Lore Notes. Vol. I—Gujarat

INTRODUCTION.

The circumstances attending the murder of Mr. A. M. T. Jackson in Nasik in December 1909 led to the raising of a small subscription among his friends, to be devoted to a memorial in some shape or form, showing the respect and affection with which he was regarded in Western India. A large part of the fund then raised was expended on the purchase of his valuable library, which now forms a part of the collection owned by the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. It was subsequently decided that the balance could not be better spent than in defraying the cost of publishing certain folklore materials which he had collected and intended, at the time of his untimely death, to publish in the pages of the Indian Antiquary. These materials were the result of an enquiry set on foot by him about the year 1900. His plan of operation was to forward, through the agency of the Education Department, Crooke's list of folklore questions to schoolmasters in various parts of the Presidency. The question paper is given below; the replies form the raw material from which these notes have been compiled. For convenience they are divided into two series: Gujarat and the Konkan.

I desire at the outset of these introductory remarks to explain that, when at the request of the memorial committee I undertook the task of seeing these notes through the press, I did not contemplate any critical handling of the materials found in the papers made over to me. I had neither the leisure nor the knowledge to carry out Mr. Jackson's intention, i.e., to edit the notes carefully with such criticisms and comparisons as his ripe scholarship would have suggested. I make no claim, therefore, to have effected more than to have rescued from the wastepaper basket a number of replies to questions regarding the beliefs of the people in Gujarat and the Konkan. The notes as now presented doubtless contain much that is trivial, and possibly many inaccuracies; but among them students of folklore may on the other hand discover material of real value--such as they are, they will, I trust, repay careful study, and perhaps serve one day to form the basis of a further and more comprehensive examination of the folk-lore of the Bombay Presidency--an examination which should not be too long deferred, for the old practices and beliefs are yearly tending to decay and vanish in contact with the spread of education. The field for enquiry is wide and rich, but workers fail to come forward; and meanwhile the old beliefs and practices slowly disappear. On the subjects with which these notes deal, much information of value has already been collected and recorded by another oriental scholar, the late Sir James Campbell, K.C.I.E., and will be found partly in the pages of the Bombay Gazetteer, and partly in the notes on the Spirit Basis of Belief and Custom which he published from time to time in the Indian Antiquary. The present notes carry striking confirmation of Sir James Campbell's theory regarding the extent to which beliefs and religious practices in this country can be traced to the desire to propitiate spirit presences. It may be remarked that Campbell's work in the domain of Indian folk-lore does not seem to have received the notice that it deserves in the works of writers on folk-lore generally, possibly because so much of it is buried in the pages of the Bombay Gazetteer or in scattered numbers of the Indian Antiquary. The notes would amply repay the labour of republication, with a summary and suitable index. They deal very fully with spirit worship and possession, witchcraft and magic, and the evil eye. They differ from the present notes in being to a large extent comparative, assembling under the various heads of ancestor worship, spirit haunts, spirit possession, exorcism, etc., kindred beliefs from all parts of the world. Doubtless his work to no small extent suggested to Mr. Jackson the line of enquiry which is contained in the question paper. From the materials accumulated by these two scholars a comprehensive study of the folk-lore of western India may one day be compiled.

The notes illustrate very fully the common beliefs in unseen presences causing mischief of various kinds. They illustrate the common methods of protection by propitiation, of spirit and disease scaring, and of avoidance of the effects of the evil eye. A full list will be found (pp. 126-130) of the lucky and unlucky omens besetting the undertaking of various acts, and much information is recorded regarding lucky and unlucky numbers, and spirit scaring names which has not, so far as I am aware, been made public before. Ceremonies for exorcising spirits that have possessed human beings are given in some detail. There will also be found an account of the interpretation commonly put on such natural phenomena as the rainbow, an eclipse, thunder, lightning, meteors, comets, &c.

Many examples are given of the beliefs regarding the means for securing successful pregnancy. The trees and animals worshipped in the country side are described, with the ceremony that is held to be suitable in each case. An unusually interesting belief is that which attributes to a certain lake in Gujarat the power to transform males into females and vice versa (see p. 39). The curing of diseases by the wearing of magic threads and the application of mantras or holy verses is also dealt with in some detail. Finally a list is given of the shrines of the country side with the tradition regarding the holy man in whose honour and to whose memory they have been erected. They are for the most part worshipped alike by Hindu and Musalman.

In conclusion, I would refer once more to the fact that no attempt has been made to edit critically the information embodied in these notes. In the scanty leisure available after official demands on my time have been met, it has only been possible to see the materials through the press as they stood, after translation. The task has been greatly lightened by the generous assistance received from R. B. P. B. Joshi who undertook the preparation of the whole of the MSS. of the Konkan series. I am also greatly indebted to Mr. G. M. Kalelkar for many arduous hours of work on the compilation of the Gujarat papers. To both these gentlemen my cordial thanks are due for their co-operation. If the publication of these materials serve to stimulate interest in the subject of Indian folk-lore, they will not have been printed in vain. Such as they are, they will, I trust, remain as a small tribute to the memory of an oriental scholar, of no mean merit, of whose services India was deprived in so untimely a manner.

R. E. Enthoven.

QUESTIONS ON FOLKLORE.

By W. CROOKE, Late of the Indian Civil Service.

Author of the Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India.

I. NATURE POWERS.

1. Give any indications of the connection of the worship of the Deota or minor local deities with the lower races, as, for instance, where the village deity is served by a priest drawn from the lower castes.

2. Give any current beliefs about sun worship. How and at what periodical feasts is the worship conducted and what form of ritual is adopted?

3. Give any customs of moving round temples or sacred objects in the course of the sun in the heavens: cases in which women after childbirth are exposed to the sun: conception believed to be caused by exposure to the rays of the sun: the use of the Swastika as an emblem.

4. Give any legends or customs connected with moon worship: the spots on the surface of the moon: the moon as a healer of disease: the custom of drinking the moon's rays: any ceremonies at new or full moon.

5. Give any legends and rites connected with eclipses.

6. Similarly for star worship; superstitions connected with the rainbow; the milky way.

7. Rites connected with worship of the earth mother: sacred things not to fall on earth: occasions when people sleep on the earth.

8. Superstitions connected with thunder and lightning.

9. Popular belief regarding earthquakes.

10. Collect instances of and ritual for worship of sacred rivers; springs; waterfalls; water spirits and goblins: prejudice against saving drowning people: ceremonies at digging and dedication of wells: well water as a cure for disease: instances of sacred lakes: palaces under the water.

11. Instances of sacred mountains and legends connected with them: dread of climbing mountains.

12. Name any deities supposed to control the weather, and describe the modes of causing or averting rain, of checking storms and hail.

13. Give instances of any rites in which women alone take part or from which they are excluded: any rites in which the worshipper must be nude.

14. Are there any sacred stones which are believed to influence the rain?

15. Note any superstitions in connection with aerolites and meteors.

II. THE HEROIC GODLINGS.

16. Describe the ritual and any legends or superstitions connected with the worship of Hanuman, Bhimsen, Bhishma.

17. Name and describe the local deities most generally worshipped in your neighbourhood. What legends are connected with them; who are their priests; what offerings and on what occasions are offerings made to them?

18. How is the local deity of a new settlement selected and installed?

19. What local deity is considered responsible for crops and cattle? When and how is he worshipped?

20. Describe the worship of Bhairon or Bhairava, Ganesa, the Matris or Mothers, the deities of the jungle, those who assist parturition.

III. DISEASE DEITIES.

21. Describe the worship of any deities who are believed to have the power of averting or causing disease, such as cholera, small pox, fever, etc.

22. Is epidemic disease attributed to witchcraft, and, if so, what precautions are taken? Give particulars of observances in connection with cattle disease.

23. What methods are in vogue for the exorcism of disease? Give examples of any rural charms used for this purpose.

24. Is dancing used in exorcism? If so, give instances of religious dances.

25. What are the position and functions of the village sorcerer and how is he appointed?

26. Give examples of the offering of rags, coins, etc., at sacred trees, wells, etc.

27. Give any methods of transferring disease to another person.