104. 
earth-goddess, but it appears that on ordinary occasions any 
one who chose to do so could assume the priestly functions, 
his reputation being dependent upon his skill as a diviner. 
We are told by Hodgson that among the Bodos and Dhimals 
the priests do not form an hereditary class, though it is not 
uncommon for the son to take up the business of his father ; 
but that the elders of the people, heads of families or clans, 
frequently act as priests. We have already seen that among 
the Todas the manager of religious affairs is at once priest 
and god. His novitiate is passed by retiring to the jungle,. 
and remaining there alone and without clothing for eight 
days, during which time he performs certain purificatory rites. 
On the eighth day he returns and enters upon the discharge 
of his duties. 
Among the hill tribes generally the principal duties of a 
priest are to cure sickness, to ascertain coming events by 
divination, and to preside over the public offerings. The 
theory of the Nagas that sickness is caused by a demon, who 
takes this way to gratify a personal spite against some mortal, 
is shared by other tribes. This being the diagnosis, the only 
rational course to pursue is to call in the priest. Among the 
Kukis, when this personage arrives, he first determines from 
the symptoms which one of the gods is offended. He then 
roasts a fowl, and eats it on the spot where the sick man was 
first seized with his malady. After throwing the fragments 
away, as an offering to the demon, he goes home. Should the 
gravity of the case demand the sacrifice of a larger animal, the 
priest collects his friends and shares the feast with them. In 
case the first application of the remedy does not prove effectual, 
it has to be repeated until the man dies or his resources fail. 
Among the Garos, the priest, with the patient lying beside 
him, takes his seat near a bamboo altar, around which an 
assistant leads the animal to be sacrificed. From time to: 
time it is taken away and washed, and then brought back and 
fed with salt and caressed. Its head is then severed with a 
single blow, and its blood smeared upon the altar. A some- 
what more economical plan is in vogue among the Bodos. The 
exorcist places before him on the ground thirteen leaves, with 
a few grains of rice upon each. Over these leaves, which 
represent the names of divinities, he causes a pendulum sus- 
pended from his thumb to vibrate, and the leaf towards which 
it moves indicates the god to be propitiated. An appropriate 
victim is then promised him, but only on condition that the 
patient recovers. The same use of a pendulum has been 
observed among the Paharias. Sometimes the sickness is due 
to the spell of a witch, and then the following method is 
