104 GHULAM MUHAMMAD 



they lose their senses and commence to dance to the noise of the drums. They also eat 

 some of the extremely bitter leaves of the "chili" {Juniperus macrocarpa) while dancing. 

 The music then becomes fast and furious, and the onlookers cheer loudly. The Danyals 

 glance from time to time towards the surrounding trees, among which the giants and fairies 

 have taken up a position. After a short dance the Danyals place their hands on the 

 shoulders of the drum-beaters and their ears on the drums, as if they are very attentively 

 listening to what the drums says. In a short time they again commence dancing, and 

 sing the prophecies they have been told by the drums. If there be anybody present 

 wearing red clothes when a Danyal is dancing, the Danyal is much annoyed and rushes 

 at him. No man clad in red 1 clothes is therefore allowed to be present. After an hour's 

 dance the performance closes, and one or two strong men appear in the circle, and the 

 Danyals climb upon their backs and are carried away out of the enclosure to a house, 

 on which after a short rest they recover from their frenzy. 



I once asked a Danyal woman of Gilgit how she had become a Danyal, and after long 

 hesitation she related to me the following story : " When about seven years of age 

 I used to go with my flocks to the distant pastures on the hills. Once I saw a 

 fairy sitting on a Chili tree and eating its leaves. Her eyes were brilliant and large, 

 with thick eyebrows, which were high above the eyes and almost joining the hair 

 of her head. She came towards me and asked me to accompany her, saying that her 

 house was built of gold, and that I should be well feasted there. Hearing this I lost my 

 senses, and as I was then standing on the edge of a stream, I fell down into it and got a 

 severe wound on the right thigh. Some of the shepherd boys who were also feeding 

 their flocks at some distance saw me fall, and, hastily taking me out of the water, carried 

 me to the village. My father then killed a goat in order to ascertain if I were really 

 under the power of the fairies, and I drank all of its blood, but I was unconscious of what 

 was going on around and remained in this state for about ten days without taking any food. 

 During this time the number of giants and fairies which appeared to me increased to four- 

 teen, of whom seven were Muhammadans and seven Hindus, each sect remaining apart. 

 Their queen, who was Hindu, was clad like a fakir and had gathered her hair on the top of 

 her head, upon which she wore a cap. They brought and showed me different kinds of food , 

 but gave me nothing to eat. In these days they taught me to dance, and the following 

 two incantations called " Gano " and " Wiyo " : — 



Gano. 



Ganam, Ganam, Trakhan ai Zooli ganam ; Zooli ai Hazooli ganam ; Yun ai ganooli 

 ganam ; Pa ai paroni ganam ; Ding dolok ganam ; Tip philil ganam ; Jin janwar ganam ; 

 Ashpo ai choro ganam ; Jakun ai goko ganam ; Ajeh ai oran ganam ; Ayi ai chhal 

 ganam ; Turmuk ai shoolo ganam ; Bun ai shara ganam ; Neeli jut ganam ; Shiril ai 

 shani ganam ; Dewak ai chhai ganam ; Chai chatri joo ganam ; Musha birga ai joo 

 ganam ; Dewak ai pun ganam ; Aga ai tare ganam ; Birdi ai bathai ganam ; Sat khap 



l When I first saw a dance by a Danyal woman in 1893 at Gilgit, a man with a red umbrella came into the circle. This enraged 

 the dancer, although she herself was wearing red chintz. 



