150 THE LATE REV. P. DEHON ON 



carrying a lamp, two antelope horns and a bhanda or earthen pot painted red and white 

 inside, he goes to the house of the votary. Plenty of rice-beer has been prepared for the 

 exorcists, as they will have hard work. The ghosna goes on the whole night with great 

 vehemence till about 3 o'clock in the morning, when the whole party falls into a trance and 

 the ojha declares that Pat or some other great deota is riding on his shoulders and orders 

 him to hammer the bhut. He gets up, seizes the antelope horn and begins to hammer in 

 all the corners of the house like a madman upsetting everything, whilst the people of the 

 house anxiously wait, trembling with fear and constantly asking him if he will be able to 

 drive out the bhut. Of course he will. He continues hammering for half an hour and 

 calls one of his pupils also to help him. At the end, panting and exhausted, he declares 

 that the bhut is subdued. He then lights his lamp and ascertains that the bhut is really 

 exhausted and asks for mercy. He will then take out the wick and put it into the iron 

 cone, but to be sure that the bhut is not pretending he takes out the wick, puts it back 

 into the lamp, hammers again, lights it again and repeats the operation three or four times 

 till the bhut appears to be fainting. Bhuts are great rascals, and ought to be treated as 

 such, and no precaution is omitted to secure them properly. At last the wick with the 

 bhut is put in the iron cone, which is shut by hammering the protruding end over the 

 opening. The bhut is now well secured. A procession is formed, the offering in front. 

 One of the pupils carries the bhanda with a lamp burning inside. The people of the 

 village follow. Everyone leaves the house, the ojha last of all carrying the singhi. He 

 himself carefully shuts the door, and all march to the ant-hill in which the ojha had put 

 the ex voto before. There the ojha takes out the sakhua leaf with the arwa rice, and then 

 the slaughter begins. First a white cock to Dharmes, saying : " Sattri Maharaj,a burden 

 on the head of women, a burden on the shoulders of men. " Then follow a black fowl to 

 Dakhin, a black cock to Day ha, one black and white to the ancestors, then again a pig 

 for Dakhin, one reddish white for Darha, and one black and white for Churil. Some of 

 the blood is poured on the singhi, in the ant-hill and in the bhanda. In a shoot of sakhua, 

 one inch thick and one foot long, they insert one pice and some turmeric. This they 

 deposit in the ant-hill, put a stone over it and shut it well, pronouncing this anathema : "If 

 you descend to the centre of the earth may 16 cobras bite you ; if you ascend up may 

 vultures eat you ; if you fly may your wing break ; if you try to come back may your 

 leg break." After this they wash their hands and feet and go a little aside to offer a white 

 cock to Dharmes saying: " He, Dharmes, deign to persuade this bhut not to tease us any 

 more. We are stupid men, thou knowest what is to be done. We do not know. ' A he- 

 goat is then sacrificed to Pat or whatever other deota that has helped in securing the bhut. 

 0\ course they eat there and then the flesh of the offerings. When they return the ojha 

 opens the door of the house and has it cleaned and besmeared with cow-dung by one of 

 his pupils. He goes then to sit in a corner, and the people come in like strangers. He 

 receives them as such and welcomes them, saying that they can stay, that everything is all 

 right. The comedy is over and the ojha gets one rupee and four annas and a pot of 

 beer. 



Kansphandi or test by the plate (the finding out of a dam bisahi or witch). — When 

 in spite of the ghosna and niksari sickness is always recurring, they think they cannot get 



