232 THE SUPERINTENDENT OF ETHNOGRAPHY, BENGAL, ON 



Restrictions of diet and rules of life are prescribed in each case, and the metal 

 in which the charms are enclosed is also an important factor. The non-observance 

 of any of these forms will prevent the amulet from proving efficacious. The reason of 

 all this mystery and secrecy is clear. Cure by means of amulets is obviously a form of 

 faith-healing, and would be very unlikely to produce the results, which undoubtedly are 

 produced in many cases, if the wearer knew that his charm contained only the most 

 common substances. The giver's occupation too would be gone, if everyone could pro- 

 cure the remedies for himself. And the prescription of a number of minute observances 

 allow of a retreat in case of failure, for it is never difficult to show that some essential 

 has been omitted. 



In order that they may have full potency, plants must be gathered at an auspicious 

 time on an auspicious day. This varies in each case, and it is believed that if a root is 

 not secured in the proper manner at the proper moment, it will fail to achieve the purpose 

 for which it is used. The usual time is either in the middle of the night, or at earliest 

 dawn, before the crows have alighted on the earth. The favourite days of the week 

 are Tuesday, Saturday (the two evil days), Sunday, and, more rarely, Thursday. The 

 Amabasya (darkest) night is the favourite night of the month, and the Karttik Amabasya 

 is the most auspicious of all. The new moon is usually preferred to the full moon, 

 though certain herbs must be gathered on full- moon nights. The most auspicious stars 

 are Pusya and S'atabhisa. Some herbs must be gathered during an eclipse. 1 Other 

 specially favourable days are the 13th day of the moon, the Asvin and Caitra Dasahara, 

 any day during the Durga Puja, Samkranti days, especially the Caitra Sarhkranti, and 

 the days of the Carak and Kali Pujas. 



In Chota Nagpur and Orissa it is customary to place an offering of milk, rice, betel, 

 turmeric and a pice before the plant which is to be uprooted, on the previous night, as 

 an invitation {ncvata) to the latent power within it. Sometimes incense is burned in a ghi- 

 fed lamp, and a cock is offered when the plant is plucked. The person who uproots the 

 plant (usually a woman), must be pure and chaste, must sometimes have fasted the 

 previous day, and is often completely marked. Nudity is regarded as the purest state, 

 as cloth may be defiled by the touch of anything impure. This custom is, however, 

 more frequent among Tantriks than among Vediks. In other cases the plant is uprooted 

 before the person who does so has bathed or eased himself. Plants collected for amulets 

 to be worn for the attainment of evil objects, such as seduction, are usually plucked 

 by a woman, who bathes and uproots them with hair unbound and dripping clothes. 

 Sometimes plants must be uprooted at one pull. Sometimes the gatherer walks round 

 them three times and kicks them before uprooting them. Sometimes he must hold 

 his breath and look behind him or face in a certain direction. Sometimes they must 

 be gathered near the temple of a particular god or on a burial-ground or at a 

 burning-ghat. The night of the Kali Puja is especially favourable for the collec- 

 tion of skulls and herbs from such places. A preliminary ritual is often performed to 



1 In the Santal Parganas Kamars are in the habit of hammering their iron into elongated slabs during an eclipse. These are 

 afterwards converted into sickles or amulet cases. The sickles are applied red-hot to the skin for the cure of head or stomach- 

 ache, 



