42 Wilder Theodore Elmore 



spirits is great. Among the men only the bravest are present. At 

 the dead of night the potter makes an image in his house. A 

 Brahman comes and performs the ceremonies to induce Donga 

 Sakti to enter the image. A sheep is killed and the blood mixed 

 with rice, which is offered as naivedyamu, the oblation presented 

 to Hindu gods. 



The idol is then taken in procession through the darkness with 

 flaring and smoking torches. A booth is hastily improvised in 

 the center of the village, and the rest of the night is spent in 

 offering bloody sacrifices, accompanied by the beating of the 

 drums, which does not cease for a moment, but at times lulls while 

 the story-teller recites tales of the acts of the terrible demoness. 

 After offering the sacrifices, food is cooked and placed before the 

 image and another image, upon which many offerings are placed, 

 is drawn in the dust. 



As morning approaches, the procession starts again, this time to 

 the boundaries of the village. A spot is smeared with cow-dung,^ 

 and on this the muggn is drawn with powdered lime. Another 

 sheep is killed and food is again cooked, mixed with blood, and 

 offered to the Sakti. Since every particle of this food must be 

 eaten, all sit down and partake of the bloody meal. When all has 

 been eaten, they turn the face of Donga Sakti away from their 

 village and towards another village, and say, " Amma, now we have 

 done everything for you. Please go away and do not enter our 

 village again." By this time it is nearly morning, and all slip back 

 into the village by devious ways, hoping that Donga Sakti will not 

 follow them and that they will be free from her for a time. 



Nadividhi Sakti is another of this group. Her name means 

 " the middle street." The significance appears to be that she 

 comes into the very center of the village to commit her depreda- 

 tions. The method of making the image and inducing her to enter 

 it shows some variations. A booth with two apartments is con- 

 structed in the middle of the village. The inner compartment is 



8 Cow-dung is useful in keeping away evil spirits. Probably this idea is 

 the reason for the universal custom in India of smearing the mud floors 

 of the houses with cow-dung and water. The reason usually given is that 

 it is a sanitary measure and it certainly is noticeable that after drying this 

 dressing seems to make the houses fresh and clean. 



42 



