110 An Account of the Tribe of Mhadeo Kolies. [Jan, 



the goddess Bhoany (Dewee), and the gods Khundobah and Bhyroo, 

 and the Gondhul ceremony takes place afterwards. In fact, a number 

 of the neighbours come and partake of this great and noisy feast, and on 

 Tuesday morning, when the sun has risen, the Deolushy gives the sig- 

 nal for the sheep, set aside for the offering toHeerobbah, to be sacrificed. 

 A number of the villagers assemble now, not only to partake of the 

 feast, but to observe the Deolushy performing the ceremonies customary 

 on such occasions. All the women and children are either directed to 

 quit the house during the time, or they are sent to such part of the 

 dwelling as may be to the westward and out of the way, so that their 

 shadow* cannot fall on the place to be occupied by the Deolushy. Near 

 the spot where the household gods are placed, a fire is kindled, and a 

 pot placed on it, into which four seers of oil are poured. When the 

 Deolushy enters the house, he sits down near the household gods ; 

 some of the family prepare some dainty cakes, and choice bits of the 

 mutton, which are deposited on the ground near the fire ; while others 

 cook the rest of the meat, &c. on a more extended scale. A band of 

 musicians seat themselves close to the Deolushy, who now commences 

 his operations. He is anxious to exhibit himself as if inspired, and to 

 satisfy them that he has succeeded in getting the deity Heerobbah to en- 

 ter into his person, he writhes his body about, casting his arms back- 

 wards and forwards, screamingandgroaning,and shaking himself violent- 

 ly ; in fact it might be supposed he was seized with strong convulsions ; 

 his hair is loosened, and hangs over his face and shoulders, so that he has 

 much the wild, yet drowsy, appearance of a person overcome and exhaust- 

 ed from the effects of some powerful narcotic. The drummers carry on a 

 dinning noice all this time, and, as the deity is now considered to have 

 taken complete possession of his body, and the oil is boiling hot also, 

 the audience preserve a dead silence, and the master of the house in- 

 forms the Deolushy that the pot is ready ; upon which he gets up and 

 calls out to the people to stand clear, as he is anxious that the pro- 

 ceedings should not be interrupted in any manner more, especially be 

 polluted by any impure shadow. He then takes a handful of bhundar 

 (consecrated turmeric powder) in his right hand, and in the left he 

 holds a bunch of peacock's feathers (in the end of which the image of 

 Heerobbah is inserted), and resting on his shoulder. After having once 

 or twice passed round the fire place, he sits down, then runs his hand 

 along the edge of the pot two or three times ; after which he raises it 

 a little and gradually lets the bhundar fall into the oil. He places the 

 flat of his hand now on the boiling oil, and when he withdraws it, he 

 jerks the oil off his hand into the fire, by which the flame is greatly in- 

 creased. A portion of the cakes and meat, which had previously been 

 deposited near the fire place, is now taken up by the Deolushy, and 

 cast into the pot, and, when he conceives it is sufficiently cooked, he 



* One of the superstitious ideas of the natives, is, that even the shadow of a female, un- 

 less when a child or an elderly woman, pollutes their gods. 



