104 



DEMON POSSESSION. 



woman in the village." At this stage of the business the woman is 

 struck across her back with the tail of a Skate fish, over which the 

 aforesaid Kattu mandiram charm had previously been pronounced; 

 and if the demon still resist, the beating is repeated. After seven 

 or eight blows the demon is overpowered, and the woman regains 

 her senses. 



It is said that with whatever strength of arm the fish tail or the 

 cane be used, it will leave no marks of blows on the woman's back, 

 and that, even if there happen to be any, these will entirely dis- 

 appear in a few minutes, if the case be one of real demon possession. 

 As we ourselves however have never had the good fortune to ex- 

 amine the back of a lady after such an operation, we cannot give 

 the reader the benefit of our own evidence on the matter; we do 

 indeed know one case, in which a very sensible husband, on seeing 

 his wife beginning to shew symptoms of demon possession, imme- 

 diately seized llapota or the housebrush,* and with it gave her right 

 and left 20 or 30 smart blows, loudly exclaiming while doing so, 

 " Is there a greater demon here than myself ? I will teach thee, de- 

 mon, who I am." In this case we saw on her back the marks of 

 the blows as distinct and clear as possible. When we mentioned 

 this to some of the bystanders as contradicting the opinion, which 

 they ail held on the subject, they told us, "Oh, but these will dis- 

 appear in a few minutes. We know it very well. We have al- 

 ways fouud it so. Indeed it cannot be otherwise, unless the lady 

 be shamming possession." Some of the more ingenious but equally 

 orthodox of the party remarked that the person, who inflicted the 



* A large number of the strong, wiry midribs or central nerves of the leaflets 

 of a frond of cocoanut leaves, or of Areca leaves, being separated from the other 

 parts of the leaflets, are tied up together into a bundle with a coir yam at their 

 thicker ends, and this is called llapota. It is used in the native houses for 

 sweeping the floor, which is always done by the women. Men may use other 

 sorts of brooms or brushes for the same purpose, but will never use this, as it 

 is considered too low and mean a thing for a man to handle. The greatest 

 disgrace that one man can bring on another is to strike him with an llapota, 

 though it be but a gentle and single blow. 



