THE RELIGION AND CUSTOMS OP THE URAONS. 141 



but the Ojha there and then takes a few grains of rice, rubs them in charcoal and throws 

 them at the flame of his lamp saying, " Take this, Bhula, and go away." 



Bakadhak looks like a still-born child. This is a favourite of the Ojhas, as he 

 is the bhut which produces hallucinations and trances. He has the power of shutting up 

 the eyes of the people and making them believe all that the Ojha says is true. A full-fledged 

 Ojha must have in his house the navel of a still-born child, on which he pours milk every 

 month. If he is faithful to this practice he will get many clients, the people will have 

 great confidence in him, and he can quickly discover the bhuts. 



Murkuri is the thumping bhut. Europeans to show their kindness and familiarity 

 thump people on the back. If this is followed by fever or any kind of sickness it will be 

 ascribed to the passing of Murkuri from the body of the European into the body of 

 the native. 



Chordewa is a witch rather than a bhut. It is believed that some women have the 

 power to change their soul into a black cat, who then goes about in the houses where 

 there are sick people. Such a cat has a peculiar way of mewing quite different from its 

 brethren, and is easily recognised. It steals quietly into the house, licks the lips of the 

 sick man and eats of the food that has been prepared for him. The sick man soon gets 

 worse and dies. They say it is very difficult to catch the cat, as it has all the nimbleness 

 of its nature and the cleverness of a bhut. However, they sometimes succeed, and then 

 something wonderful happens. The woman out of whom the cat has come remains 

 insensible, as it were in a state of temporary death, until the cat re-enters her body. Any 

 wound inflicted on the cat will be inflicted on her ; if they cut its ears or break its legs 

 or put out its eyes the woman will suffer the same mutilation. The Uraons say that 

 formerly they used to burn any woman that was suspected to be a Chordewa. Such a 

 woman sometimes also roams about at night in the form of a dwarf carrying a small 

 basket, in which she steals paddy, and people believe that when she comes home and 

 pours out the contents, she finds that she has stolen a big heap. People who watch at 

 night near the threshing-floor are always in a mortal fright of a Chordewa, 



There is also Anna Kuari or Mahadham ', who is in our estimation the most cruel and 

 repulsive deity of all, as she requires human sacrifice. Those savage people who put 

 good crops above everything, look upon her in a different light. She can give good 

 crops and make a man rich, and this covers a multitude of sins. People may be sceptical 

 about it and say that it is impossible that in any part of India under the British Govern- 

 ment there should still be human sacrifices. Well, in spite of all the vigilance of the 

 authorities, there are still human sacrifices in Chota Nagpur. As the vigilance of the 

 authorities increases so also does the carefulness of the Urkas or Otongas increase. They 

 choose for their victims poor waifs or strangers whose disappearance no one will notice. 

 April and May are the months in which Urkas are at work. Doha, Panari, Kukra and 

 Sirguja have got a very bad reputation. During these two months no strangers will go 

 about the country alone, and during that time nowhere will boys and girls be allowed to 

 go to the jungle and graze the cattle for fear of the Urkas. When an Urka has found a 

 victim he cuts his throat and carries away the upper part of the ring jinger and the nose. 

 Anna Kuari finds votaries not only among the Uraons but especially among the big 



