THE RELIGION AND CUSTOMS OF THE TTRA.ONS. 151 



rid of it unless they catch the woman or dain bisahi who, by the force of her mantras, 

 causes the bhuts to attack them continually. This is also the work of the ojha. He 

 comes in the evening and proceeds as he does for the ghostia the whole night, till the ris- 

 ing of the sun. At about 8 o'clock he goes into the garden or into a grove with a brass 

 plate called chepi and a lota of water. Arrived at the place appointed for the kansh- 

 phandi, he pours water into the chepi before the people that have assembled . He then 

 drops into it a grain of kurthi {Dolichos uniflorus), and calling the people that have orga- 

 nised the kansphandi, bids them look at the grain of kurthi. He himself looks at the 

 shadow of it and sees the woman that they have suspected to be the cause of the sick- 

 ness. He describes her, says what she is doing, how many children she has, etc. etc., and 

 at last pronounces her name. The people, enraged, get up, go to her house and abuse 

 and threaten her, in order to force her to confess her guilt. If she denies, they have 

 recourse to the sokha. 



The sokha is generally a Hindu or a low-caste Muhammadan, or even an Uraon bhagat. 

 A sokha is not allowed to eat meat or to drink any intoxicating liquor. The people generally 

 choose one living very far, not less than 15 or 20 miles from their village, so that they can- 

 be sure that he does not know what is going on there. They take with them a handful of 

 rice. When they come near the sokha they tell him, " We have come to you for a 

 very important business. You are our father and mother. We are in trouble : help us." 

 The sokha gets up without asking any question, brings some burning charcoal from the fire, 

 and lets fall in it some incense and a few grains of the rice the people have brought. He 

 sits near the fire, shakes his head violently and soon falls into a trance, always intently 

 looking into the fire. The people are sitting round him. He then puts all kinds of ques- 

 tions as if speaking to himself, and answers them all himself. " What kind of a woman ?" — 

 " Oh yes, she looks so and so." " How many children has she got ? " — " Oh yes, so many." 

 " Where is she living ? " — " Oh yes, in such and such a place." After some time he 

 comes back to his senses and asks the people what he has been saying. They tell him, 

 and he asks them if he has given the true descriptions of the dain bisahi. If they are 

 not satisfied with that, the sokha is ready to say her name ; but they have to pay him five 

 rupees. For this he has generally to make use of the kansphandi or the test by the 

 plate. The telling of the name is called nam tipi. 



Now, there is not the least doubt that the sokha does not know the people who come 

 to consult him. He does not even know the name of their village. There are indeed 

 some charlatans among the sokhas, but many of them are of the real type. There is no 

 question either of the ojha communicating with the sokha. How is it that they can 

 designate the same person ? When the name given by the sokha is the same as that given 

 by the ojha, they come back and go to their zemindar to consult him. He comes, assem- 

 bles the people of the village, and they send the chaukidar who, in his dignity of Maha- 

 rani-ki-naukar, seizes the dain bisahi and brings her to the dancing place. She has to 

 pay first a fine of Rs. 5 or Rs. 10 to the zemindar. Fancy now the scene that goes on 

 when all these infuriated savages gratify their rage against the person they think to be the 

 cause of the loss of their parents and children ! There is not an insult that she has not 

 to bear : they strike her, kick her, and sometimes burn her hands and legs and even kill 



