352 T. H. Hendley — An Account qf ilie Maiwur Blnls. [Xo. 4, 



(male and female departed spirits), &c. They wear charms or amulets on 

 their right forearm and (women especially) on the head, to keep away the 

 spirits. These charms are generally pieces of hlue string with seven knots 

 on them, each knot heing tied on whilst the witch-finder recites some incanta- 

 tion ; the knots are covered with metal to keep them undefiled. They are 

 bound on during the Holi, Dasahra, or other festivals. 



Career of a Bh.i'1 from birth to death.. Birth. — The woman is aided 

 by her female friends, and should there be a sage femme amongst the 

 people of other castes, she may be consulted in difficult cases, otherwise 

 their trust is in Devi, who is probably as valuable as the midwives, who 

 usually shut up the woman in a warm hut, and even in cases of hcemor- 

 rhage, apply warm cloths, and administer hot-spiced drinks. Cross births, 

 as amongst most uncultivated people, are rare, and if they occur, are either 

 left to the goddess, or presenting parts are hooked or amputated in accordance 

 with the advice of the most knowing person, male or female, in the district 

 —in this, however, there is little distinction between Hindu and Bhil. The 

 mother remains impure twenty days, an intermenstrual period. Guns 

 are fired at the birth of a boy, and friends are feasted. The child is named by 

 either a Brahman or a Waiti, after some astrological jugglery. Examples of 

 names will be given hereafter. The child is suckled two or three years. 

 Twin births are not thought to be common. 



The fact of the general adoption of polygamy would appear to indicate 

 a natural preponderance of female births, and at the same time prove the 

 absence of the crime of infanticide. This may be further demonstrated by the 

 observation that " old maids of 40 to 45 years of age are constantly seen 

 about Khairwara carrying wood, &c". The children are wrapped in clothes 

 after birth and placed in round cradles of bamboo. The father teaches the 

 boy to hunt, fish, &c, and he is said to be a man in his twelfth year, huuting 

 on his own account in his fifteenth. 



Marriage. — There is no fixed time for marriage : any time after the 

 girl's tenth year, when she first dresses with some decency, will do. "When 

 the time has arrived, the father sets out in search of a bride for his son. She 

 must not be a cousin, nor one of his own clan, although of course of the 

 tribe. When the girl is found, she is placed on a stool, under which sis 

 pais are thrown, the boy's father now puts one rupee and twelve pais in her 

 hand, with a quantity of rice, which the girl before rising throws behind 

 her back — thus is the betrothal completed. The bridegroom always pays 

 dapa (money) for his bride to her guardian, — a clear case of purchase. 



On an appointed day (at puberty), the" marriage takes place, a priest 

 usually performs the ceremony, the dresses of the bride and bridegroom are 

 knotted together, and they walk hand in hand round the assembly collected 

 to grace their union. There is a feast, and in some places offerings are made to 



