350 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [Sept., 1914. 



I. Beneficent Magic and the Principle of Sympathetic 



Alliance. 



(a) Beneficent Contagious Magic. 



As typical instances of contagious magic in Chota Nagpur, 

 1 may mention the practice, though not very general now, of 

 an Oraon hunter eating the eye of a hare to get the hare's keen 

 vision, and that of an Oraon singer eating the liver of a fox to 

 acquire musical voice. The use of amulets of various kinds 

 turther exemplifies the same principle. Thus, the charred 

 remains of fuel with which a corpse has been burnt are worn 

 on the neck by the Oraons as a remedy for fever ; and a shred 

 torn out of the cloth which a man had on while being eaten 

 by a tiger, is tied to the tail of an ox, cow, or buffalo, 

 as a cure for cattle-disease. The strong hand of death and 

 the powerful jaws of the tiger have in these cases imparted 

 their mysterious energy to the charcoal and to the rag respec- 

 tively On a similar principle, rings and bracelets made of 

 iron which had been laid out in the open during an eclipse of 

 the sun , are worn by the M undas and the Oraons to avert 

 lightning-strokes. Among other instances of beneficent con- 

 tagious magic I may refer to the various customs relating to 

 purificatory baths, expiatory drinking of sacrificial blood, and 

 nre-lustration or rather purification by fumigation, in vogue 

 amongst the Oraons and the M undas. 



Water, fire, and sacrificial blood are beneficent powers, 

 and contact with them is believed to counteract the evil 

 influences of harmful powers. 



Beneficent 



Of beneficent imitative magic, the rain-making ceremony 

 ot Uraon women is an interesting illustration. In a season of 

 drought on a day appointed beforehand, the women of an 

 uraon village, after ablutions, proceed in a body to a certain 



carrying 



spring t the village. Arrived at the tree, they all simultane- 

 ously pour the water of their pitchers over the foot of the tree. 

 it is believed that after this ceremony has been duly per- 

 iormed, the needed show ens of rain are not long in coming. 



As another instance of mimetic magic I may mention the 

 am which requires the women of every Oraon family to 



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custom 



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put a live crab into their burning hearth, on the occasion of 

 cue spring festival known as the sarhul. As the crab crackles 

 pLI ?r e ' ? he women exclaim, "May our urid (Phaseolus 



