1917.] Indian Ceremonies for Disease-Transference. 21 



der of the rice and marua are sold, and, with the sale-proceeds 

 thereof, liquor is bought which they drink and then return 

 home. On the following day, the men or women, as the case 

 may be, of the villages visited on the preceding day undertake 

 a similar M disease-driving " expedition in the same direction. 

 In this way, the rumoured calamity is expelled from village to 

 village till it is altogether driven out of the Oraon country. 

 While going on such expeditions, the men are headed by the 

 village Pahan, and the women by the latter's wife and a few 

 other elderly women of the village. A similar " Rog-Khedna" 

 expedition is also undertaken whenever a woman happens to 

 drive a plough, for by reason of her so doing, it is apprehended 

 that drought and famine would overtake the Oraon-land. 1 



We will now compare all the aforedescribed variants of the 

 disease-transference ceremonies. As the result of comparison 

 we find that : — 



(a) In some cases, the spirit of the disease is supposed to 

 be transferred to a cart or chariot which is conveyed to the 

 next adjoining village to which it is believed to be transferred. 



(b) In one case, the disease-spirit is supposed to be con- 

 fined in a basket which is taken to and left in the next adjoin- 

 ing village to which the disease is believed to have been passed 

 on. 



(a) In one case from Northern India, the disease-spirit is 

 believed to be compressed into a wooden cow-bell or into cud- 

 gels which are taken to, and dropped down upon, the lands of 

 the next adjoining village. It is believed that the disease is 

 thereby transferred to the latter. 



(d) In another case, a similar process is, by analogy, resorted 

 to for warding off or expelling public calamities. 



1 The Oraons of Chota Nagpur. By S. C. Roy. Ranchi : 1915. pp 





