Vol. I, No. 8.] The People of Mungelt Tahsil, 191 
[N. 8.] 
monotonous tone. He wife was alsoin the room. After playing 
for some time he arose and went to the door to go out. Outside 
the door he said he saw a figure and exclaimed, “ What is this ? ” 
Immediately he fell forward, and that is all he could remember. 
I am positive that this was not a case of shamming. I am also 
positive that he did not recall what took place, that he had no 
recollection of what took place from the time I saw him on the 
ground to the time he “came to himself” inthe Chapel. I am 
also certain that he was not under the influence of an intoxicant. 
This case puzzled me for a long while. I could not bring myself 
to believe it was a case of demon possession, though everything 
seemed to support that theory. Since this experience, I have 
looked into the subject of hypnotism, and I am now of opinion that 
this so-called ‘“‘case of possesion” was actually a case of auto- 
hypnotism. The man playing his flute in a monotonous tone 
for a long time (probably gazing at the light) brought himself 
into the hypnotic state when he was susceptible to any outside 
suggestion. Seeing a shadow, may he not have taken this to be 
a spirit about to possess him? ‘Then the cries of his neighbours 
“ Shaitan laga har” would still further deepen the impression, or, 
technically, the “ suggestion,” until he actually became to himself 
a man possessed. J have seen persons coming out of the hypnotic 
state, and the way in which consciousness returned to them re- 
minded me of the way in which the leper came to himself and was 
first conscious of his bruises. I mention this case with the only ex- 
planation which suggests itself to me. Perhaps I should say 
again that there was no history of the use of intoxicants, and the 
man whois stillinthe Asylum (May, 1905) is not addicted to the 
use of intoxicants. Need I add that all the lepers and all the 
neighbours were fully convinced that it was Shaztan who possessed 
the man, and the Shaitdn was supposed to be the spirit of a leper 
who had died fifteen days before and was buried in the grave- 
yard into which Visahu took us on that memorable night in 
August. 
68. Pacifying the God.—I once saw a man leading a black 
goat. On questioning him I was told that he had a buffalo worth 
forty rupees which was ill. He was taking the goat to tie near 
the buffalo. He would feed the goat in the name of the deo 
which possessed the buffalo, and when the buffalo recovered, at the 
next principal festival, the goat would be slaughtered in the name 
of the god. Some days later I heard that the buffalo had died, 
and the man was wishing to sell the goat. Another sacrific, however, 
proved more fortunate. I had a syce, a Ghassia by caste, who had 
an only son, who was drowned in the river. As the syce and his 
wife were getiing onin years, they wished to have another son. 
I recall the time when my syceasked leave that he might sacrifice 
a pig at some shrine in order to havea son. A year or eighteen 
months later I was told that Raru, the syce, had a son. This boy 
is now living, is about ten years of age, and comes to me every 
Christmas for Baksheesh. His father is too old for service. 
Nothing cculd convince the father that the son was not given im 
