The " Koh" of Chota-Nagpore. 185 



season called c< angua" because it is danced in front of the house 

 instead of the akrah ; to this and to a feast held on the occasion the 

 young men are not invited. 



The " Jadoor" dances commence on the completion of the great 

 harvest of the rice crop, and continue till the commencement of the 

 hot season. This is one of the most characteristic dances, from the 

 peculiar way in which the arms are interwoven and clasped behind 

 the back of the performers. 



Then comes the " Sarhool," at the close of the month of Phalgoon 

 or early in March. The Sarhool is the flower of the Saul tree which 

 now blossoms. The boys and girls make garlands of these flowers, 

 weave them in their hair and decorate their houses with them. The 

 dance on this occasion, called the " Baihini," is a very frisky one. 

 The boys and girls dance to each other, clasping hands and pirouetting, 

 so as to cause l: dos-a-dos" concussions which appear to constitute 

 the best part of the fun. Yet the subject of the song sung at the 

 Sarhool feast is a sad one. A girl who had married out of the village 

 is supposed to return to it in affliction, and to sit weeping at one side 

 of the house, whilst her former associates are revelling at the other. 

 The songs are in the Moondah language. 



They have besides different dances for weddings, and a dance called 

 " Jumhir" which is suited to any occasion. The dances above briefly 

 noticed are all more or less connected with some religious ceremony, 

 but this is left to the elders. The young people seem to me to take 

 little interest in that part of the festival, which is, in proportion to 

 the dancing, in importance like the bread to Falstaff's sack. They 

 are always ready for a dance, and night after night in some villages 

 the akrah drums collect the youths and maidens after the evening 

 meal, and if you go quietly to the scene, as I have done, you may 

 find that, whilst some are dancing, others are flirting in the most 

 demonstrative manner, seated in detached couples on the benches or 

 on the roots of the great trees, with arms round each others' waists, 

 looking lovingly into each others' faces. 



Next to dancing, that which most engrosses the mind of the Kol 

 is the belief in and fear of witchcraft. All disease in men and in 

 cattle is attributed to one of two causes, the wrath of some evil 

 spirit who has to be appeased, or the spell of some witch or sorcerer 



