142 PUJ AH — SACRIFICE. 



revenge of some oftence, and that the latter must be 

 propitiated by the sacrifice or pujah of the dead 

 animal, which, in consequence, was given up, for had 

 it been buried, they would have dug it up and eaten 

 it all the same. The ceremony was performed in the 

 evening on the slope of a hill not far off, under a large 

 ^ Mjjjiwa tree, and in front of a rough stone slab or altar, 

 about five feet high by three feet wide, leaning against 

 its trunk. Here the big beast was roasted whole, the 

 blood sprinkled upon the stone, the intestines ex- 

 amined for good or for evil, and incantations pro- 

 nounced. Dancing and singing, and all sorts of 

 abominations while away the time until the feasting 

 begins, and they seldom leave off as long as there is 

 anything to devour. If the task is beyond their 

 power, they dry the remainder in slices to eat at their 

 leisure. It afterwards transpired through the Ayah 

 that the deity was supposed to liave been offended 

 by the dhorasani, in her walk on the jDrevious day, 

 having passed, or perhaps even touched, the stone 

 which their superstition had dubbed into an emblem 

 of the Godhead. Stocks and stones, or a lump of clay, 

 and frequently trees smeared over with a little red 

 paint, are converted into an idol and reverenced by 

 the ignorant Hindu ; the natives generally adorn 

 them with little earthenware pots or chatties, and 



