witchcraft Among the Hindus. . 19 



witch's back by the person conjured, a running after senseless 

 people, invincibleness, success in love, power to charm with a 

 glance of the eye, also to obtain great treasure, to secure the 

 growing up of one's sons, to make a kingdom submissive, to 

 release a person from certain of the ill-effects already mentioned 

 as obtained by the rites, also from obstacles, ill-luck, and the 

 seeing of ominous portents. The MS. ends with the words: 

 ' He is neither devoid of power nor destitute of children in 

 whose house the divine (the goddess) A s u r I is.' 



It is a deep and interesting problem ^to determine the rela- 

 tion between religion and superstition in its various manifesta- 

 tions. The A s u r i-K a 1 p a shows that, in some cases at least, 

 witchcraft borrows the outward forms and symbols of religious 

 practices, though it must be admitted that in India, certainly, 

 the religious rites cannot claim to be much above the practices 

 copied from them in the matter of superstition. Witchcraft 

 also bears testimony to the universal belief of mankind in 

 powers outside of and above ourselves, though it tacitly denies 

 any divinity to them and seeks to control and use them for evil 

 ends. 



It will perhaps be unnecessary to go further into a descrip- 

 tion of the rites practiced by these charlatans of the East. Suf- 

 fice it to say that, like the fortune-tellers and spiritualists of 

 America, their own personal gain enters largely into the account 

 in every case, and, furthermore, that they take advantage of the 

 universal belief of mankind in some supernatural power to 

 induce skeptics in religious matters to come to them and pay 

 them for gaining by magic blessings for their patrons, which 

 others get by prayers, or for producing evils to their fellows 

 which their religion would not countenance, save as a means to 

 do good for their gods or the Brahmans. 



