Dravidian Gods in Modern Hinduism 53 



These violent demonstrations indicate that the demon is now ac- 

 tive, so the priest comes again and adjures the patient to tell the 

 name of the demon which is afflicting her. One woman gave the 

 name of a young man deceased, whom she had never seen. An- 

 other gave the name of a twin sister who had died. The priest 

 now asks the demon if it is willing to leave that night. If the 

 answer is in the affirmative he leads the woman by her hair 

 to a tree about one hundred yards away, and cutting the hair off 

 nails it to the tree. This completes the exorcism.^" 



Sometimes the demon says that it is not going to leave that 

 night, and names another time at which it will leave, perhaps a 

 week or a month later. Then the woman slowly arises and goes 

 away to return at the appointed time. The priests are anxious to 

 get the demons to leave, for they receive four annas, eight cents, 

 for each successful case and nothing for the unsuccessful ones. 

 There were about one hundred priests in attendance, mostly Sudras. 



The next morning at dawn the observer returned and found a 

 few weary women still swaying to and fro, and still being adjured 

 by the priests to tell the names of the demons. As soon as the 

 sun appeared the work of exorcism ceased, and the whole camp 

 was astir. Large numbers of sheep and goats were brought inside 

 the temple yard and offered to the chief demon god. The heads 

 of the animals were chopped off and placed in a bag for the priest, 

 and the blood poured over the fierce-looking idol. The bodies were 

 handed back to those making the offerings and were taken away to« 

 be eaten later. During this ceremony the door of the temple of 

 the Hindu god was closed to prevent him seeing the slaughter. It 

 is reported that from two hundred to five hundred sheep and goats 

 are slaughtered here every Wednesday morning. The priests 

 look like butchers, and the place literally runs with blood. 



These offerings are largely the vows which have been promised 

 in case the relief sought is secured. Some of the offerings look 



1" Two trees were covered with hair which had been nailed to them-. 

 The trees were overrun with ants and beetles, attracted no doubt by the 

 cocoanut oil so freely used on the hair by Indian women. Both trees were 

 withered from the pounding of so many nails into them. 



53 



