EXORCISM 299 



bamboos are removed, one after another, and all the leaves thrown 

 into the sea ; from each bamboo, as it is taken down, the devil is 

 expelled. 



Should the canoes sail off toward Chaura, much rejoicing is 

 occasioned. One seems to contain an evil, the other a benignant 

 spirit. The latter may possibly return and inform the tamiliianas 

 that the devil has reached Chaura, and in token of this, there 

 will be found near the graveyard a new Chaura pot, a chicken, 

 a paddle, or similar objects. 



If this occurs, there is a day of rejoicing, called Anihai, when 

 pigs and fowls are offered as a sacrifice to the conquering spirit, 

 and a grand feast and dance take place at night. 



This is an annual ceremony, commemorated in turn by all 

 the village, but unfortunately, as with their other customs and 

 ceremonies, the islanders, whose knowledge of their origin is 

 limited, can give no clear reason for its inception, although there 

 must be a perfectly adequate one, and state only that they do 

 it because it is " custom." 



Festivals called Maya and Inturga are also commemorated 

 to drive the jungle devils into the sea. 



One of the most effectual means of exorcising devils is by 

 fanning with leaves. The Mus racing canoe, having returned 

 to the village soon after a death had taken place there, was 

 not received in the usual manner. Two elderly men who were 

 on the beach, waiting, ran down before the canoe could touch 

 the shore, and hurriedly brushed it, and the men in it, with 

 brooms. They then brought the canoe ashore, and fanned it 

 with coco-palm leaves, so that the dead man's ghost might not 

 take possession. 



When the north-east monsoon sets in, the sea is very rough 

 on the east coast, and many people become seriously ill, the 

 result being that there are always a greater number of deaths 

 than usual in that part of the island. 



All the villages there situated accordingly take in hand the 

 process of Tatiangla, which signifies "support" or "prevention." 



In this, they fence Elpanam with palm leaves, and festoon 



