30 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [N.S., XIII, 



peasant's practice of running through the fields with lighted 

 torches or bunches of straw or of kindling bonfires therein. 1 



(d) The potful of water is placed near the heap of corn as 

 water is a protective against the influence of evil spirits, which 

 is the root-idea underlying all the numerous bathing and lus- 

 tration ceremonies performed bj T the orthodox Hindus through- 



out India. 



Then I have to deal with the ceremonies performed on the 

 occasion of winnowing the threshed-out grains. In several 

 parts of Upper India, especially in the district of Hoshaugabad 

 in the Jubbulpur Division, C.P., the operation of winnowing 

 is looked upon in the light of a very solemn rite and is not 



until 



selected by the village astrologer. When this has been done, 

 the agriculturist, with his whole family and the entire staff of 

 his farm-hands, betakes themselves to the threshing-ground 

 and takes with them milk, butter, turmeric (a well-known 

 spirit-scarer) , boiled wheat, several kinds of grain (another 

 scarer of evil spirits) and other requisite articles of worship. 

 The threshing-floor stake is then washed with water [which is 

 a protective against the baleful influence of malignant spirits]. 

 Thereafter the offerings of the aforementioned' eatables and 

 drinkables are made to the stake and the heap of threshed-out 

 grains, the boiled wheat being scattered about to appease the 

 malignant demons hovering about— as a sop to coax them 

 from purloining the harvested crops. [Compare this practice 

 of scattering boiled wheat with the Japanese custom of scat- 

 tering dried peas through a house on the eve of the Setsuban 

 festival-day, to the accompaniment of the cry "Devils out! 

 Good fortune in!"]. Then the farmer takes his stand on a 

 three-legged stool and, taking five basketfuls [Note that five 

 is a sacred number] from the heap of threshed-out corn, win 

 novvs the same. After the winnowing has been done, the grain 

 and chaff are again collected and measured. If these exactly 

 Ml up the five baskets, or anything remains over after they 

 nave been filled up, it is considered an omen of good. Should 

 these not fill up the five baskets exactly, the place of winnow- 

 ing is considered unlucky. Thereupon he removes i few vards 

 oft to another part of the threshing-ground, the five basketfuls 

 ot gram which are kept separate from the remainder of the 

 harvested crops, are presented to a Brahman or distributed to 



the villagers. 



inno 



ana carried on without any ceremonv but with this much pre- 



winnowin 



goes on, the basket must not, on any account whatever, be 

 placed on its bottom but should alwavs be put upside down, 

 line celebrants explain this by saving that, if this were not 



> Gomme's The Handbook of Folklore (Edition 1890), p. 103. 



