THE USE OF AMULETS IN THE PREVENTION OP DISEASE. 247 



Consecrated sand and white mustard-see d are scattered about the room, and some- 

 times at night over the child's bed. The mouth of a broken pitcher, an iron axe, a 

 bamboo ladder, paddy, cactus thorns, or the skull of a cow are placed in the room, and 

 the bones of a cow which has been struck by lightning, or of a vulture, the skull of a 

 bastard child, a kite's claws and various roots are buried within it. The Muhammadans 

 draw a circle round the bed, and passages from the Quran and the names of angels are 

 recited every night to scare away evil spirits. All the doors and windows of the room 

 are sometimes netted, and thorny plants are placed at the four corners. A keu branch 

 {Pandanus fcetidus) is hung from each corner of the roof. A sard inscribed with mantras 

 may be buried in each corner of the room, whilst a fifth is hung over the child's bed. 

 Slips of paper bearing mintras, or the names of Hari, Ram and Durga, written by a 

 Brahman, are hung on the walls. An iron nail is sometimes driven into each leg of the 

 child's carpal and ah (rice prepared from paddy, without boiling), mustard, and a kend 

 branch are tied in a rag to one of the legs at the head of the bed. Guns are sometimes 

 fired daily outside the room. 



In Bihar a Yamadip (a cirdg which is used for the illuminations on the night before 

 Dewali and then discarded) is sometimes used in preference to other lamps during a 

 confinement, as it is believed to possess the virtue of scaring away evil spirits. 



Various articles are placed at the door of the room into which an iron nail is some- 

 times driven. These are generally much the same as the things placed within it, such 

 as thorns, iron in various forms, old shoes, cloth wicks, green grass, turmeric, a snake's 

 skin, a cow's skull, a tortoise shell, or a pot of water, and need not be described at 

 length. The precautions are usually observed, and no alms may be given by the 

 parents until after the Nikasan ceremony (generally on the twelfth day l ), when the 

 child is bathed in hot water and brought out. The sixth day is critical, as on that day 

 S'asthi, the patron deity of children, will, if offended, send her messengers Panca " and 

 Panel to take back the child. She must accordingly be propitiated. An earthen pot 

 containing a scrap of iron and a light is left on the road on the evening of the fifth day, 

 and on the sixth day she is worshipped in the form of a stone smeared with vermilion, 

 under a banyan tree. The ceremony is performed by a Brahman, and cooked rice, curry, 

 da/, sweetmeats, cakes, and flowers are offered, the food being afterwards given to the 

 mother to eat. This pujd is often repeated on the 21st day in the case of a male, or on 

 the 30th day for a female child. Matrka and Dwarpal, a host of protecting deities, 

 are also worshipped. The former sometimes occupy the supreme place of worship until 

 the babe has passed its infancy, when S'asthi takes their place. The latter are usually 

 worshipped on the same days as S'asthi. Meanwhile, on the sixth day, the confinement 

 room is kept closed throughout the day, the door only being opened to allow the mother 

 to take in her food. The child, after being laid for a moment on a palm-leaf fan covered 

 with new cloth, is transferred to the lap of its mother and kept there till next morning. A 



1 Among the Santals the child is brought out on the ninth day. In some places precautions are observed for as long as thirty 

 days. 



* The special attribute of Panca or Paficanan is to cause fits and foaming at the mouth. Kandunl Burl or Pafici causes 

 excessive crying. Sasthl controls both of these godlings, and her worship is therefore essential. 



