Dravidian Gods in Modern Hinduism 133 



lids of the eyes, which is very common among well-to-do women.^^ 

 The names of children often seem most unsuitable. Such names 

 as Pichchiah meaning crazy man, Dibbiah meaning rubbish heap, 

 Roshiah meaning an ill-tempered man, Musaliah meaning old, de- 

 crepit man, are common. The reason for giving these names is 

 that there have been deaths among the former children, and it is 

 hoped that by thus giving the new child a bad name the evil spirits 

 will think that it has no desirable qualities, and so not molest it.^' 

 At times a boy will be dressed in girl's clothing in order to deceive 

 the spirits. 



Still other devices are adopted to deceive the spirits regarding 

 children. When two children have died it is a common custom to 

 roll the third in the dust to make it very undesirable in appear- 

 ance. It is then named Kuppiah, which means rubbish. At the 

 time of marriage such a child will be disfigured or disguised, still 

 further to prevent the demons from doing any injury.^* At other 

 times a new-born child will be given to a Yanadi woman. She 

 is told that the child is useless, and she takes it away. Soon after 

 she appears at the door with the child, saying that it is hers and 

 asking the parents to take it and rear it as she is poor and cannot 

 do so. They indignantly refuse, and then she places the child on 

 the rubbish heap. After a time some member of the family will 

 go and bring the child in, saying that it is too bad to let it perish, 

 even though it is only a poor Yanadi. They name the child 

 Yanadi, and raise it in the usual way. All this is supposed to 

 throw the eager spirits off the track, and so save the child.^^ 



A pot smeared with whitewash is often placed in a field of 

 grain to protect from the evil eye. Such pots are also placed on 

 the housetops. In other cases strange images are placed in the 



32 Crooke, Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India, II, pp. 3 sq. 



33 The writer was one time working with a Brahman pundit named 

 Pichchiah. In response to my question about his name he replied that 

 three children before him had died, and so his parents named him Pichchiah 

 with the result that he had survived. 



34 Gazetteer of Tanjore, I, p. 67. 



35 In north India when one child has died the next is placed in a sieve 

 and dragged around the house to baffle the evil eye. 



^33 



