1895.] 
2? 
p. C. Mitra— Indian Robber Folk-lore. 
and, on their return, used to make valuable offerings out of the rich 
booty secured. This goddess was and is still known as ddkate Kali 
or the goddess Kali of the dakaits, and enjoys the reputation of having 
been the favorite deity of those marauders of Singur. 
It is said that ‘ there is honour even among thieves,’ and the Dakaits 
of Bengal were not wanting in this respect. Before they committed 
dakaitl in a person’s house, they used to send an anonymous letter to 
the good man thereof informing him of their intention to do so. One 
night, they would gather together in armed bands, and, with light¬ 
ed torches, invade the house. After reaching the place, they used to 
indulge in sword-play which they called dhali pah kheld yelling loudly all 
the time. Thereafter they attacked the house. If they saw any danger 
of being captured, or if any of them got killed, they used to bawl out 
machi pareche 1 a fly has got caught,’ and then cleared out of the place 
as fast as their heels could carry them. 
In the Panjab also, the thieves and robbers used to sacrifice goats 
or sheep before, or made offerings of sweetmeats to, their Devi or god¬ 
dess, in order to propitiate her and obtain the boon from her that they 
might be successful throughout the year in their plundering expeditions. 
On the occasions of such worship fairs were held. One such fair is held 
even at the present day at the village of Mansa Devi, four miles from 
Candlgarh, on the way to Kalka, in the Ambala District. The following 
account of this fair appeared in the Civil and Military Gazette of Lahore, 
and was quoted in the Calcutta Statesman of Wednesday, the 18th 
April 1894. 
‘ An Ancient Thieves' Fair .—Another Fair has been held in the 
Ambala district at Mansa Devi, four miles from Candlgarh on the way 
to Kalka. Owing to the zemindars being engaged in cutting their 
harvests, and the Hard war and Amritsar Baisakhi Fairs being on at the 
same time, the gathering was unusually small. For all that, however, 
there were some 20,000 people present. This was in days gone by essen¬ 
tially a Thieves' Fair , in which the robbers made their offerings of goats , 
sheep , or sweetmeats at the shrine of their devl or goddess , and prayed that 
they might be successful throughout the year in their various plundering 
expeditions. At the present time the ceremony is a novel and pleasing 
sight. The men and women are all dressed in their gorgeous holiday 
attire, and, having made their offerings, they gather together in lots and 
sing, dance, and make merry, generally for a couple of days when they 
leave for their homes after a dip in the well-known Gaggar, a stream 
which appears to be sacred to the hill people.’ 
In Bengal, it is popularly believed that in many cases thieves elude 
detection and capture because the goddess Kali has granted them the 
