46 Dr Kennedy oti the Indian Penance of Gulwugty, 



his weight and the lever, from his greater share of the pole, 

 generally four or five stept into the scale at the short end of 

 the transverse beam, and depressing it by their weight as low 

 as the pivot would allow, to an angle of about 70°, they gave 

 the cross beam a circular motion on the pivot by pulling them- 

 selves round the mast, which they could touch, or were push- 

 ed round by other assistants who crowded on the platform ; 

 whilst the poor penitent, dangling at the fearful height of at 

 least twenty feet from the ground, was swung round with a 

 rapidity scarcely describable, and the car mean while dragged 

 forward by the multitude till the sufferer himself prayed to be 

 released from his painful and perilous situation. The longest 

 period I witnessed any one person endure the torture was 

 seven minutes and a half, the generality were satisfied with two 

 minutes. The bold and heroic went up with " sword in hand, 

 and shield on arm,"" as if accoutred for action ; the meeker 

 characters held their beads in their hands, and continued re- 

 peating the names of their gods. The total number who un- 

 derwent the penance was about fifty, and the time required for 

 the car to travel from one village to the other was more than 

 seven hours, two of which were spent within the limits of the 

 village which closed the procession, the car at that time scarce- 

 ly moving onwards a foot with each individual, in order by 

 such slowness of advance to indulge as many as wished to offer 

 themselves for the ceremony. 



The hooks were precisely similar in shape, but rather strong- 

 er than the flesh hooks of the London markets, the points by 

 no means particularly sharp, nor the iron polished to any re- 

 markable brightness. No preparatory perforation of the inte- 

 guments was made previously to introducing the hooks ; but 

 they were forced through, one after the other, with as much 

 unconcern as can be imagined, the operator no more interested 

 to be tender in the office than as if he considered the patient 

 as accustomed to the ceremony, and as little affected by it as 

 himself. The only care was to avoid a flesh wound ; and the 

 extent to which the integuments were disengaged from the 

 muscles beneath, even in the youngest and stoutest persons, 

 exceedingly surprised me. To effect this tlie patient was laid 

 on the ground, and his back ^violently rubbed with abundance 



