14 
W. H. P. Driver— The Birhors. 
[No. 1, 
Ojhd, who lights a chirdg , goes through some mummery, and dis¬ 
covers the instigators of the obsession. Amongst the Mundas the 
result is usually a free fight, but the Birhors take things more calmly, 
and the matter is amicably arranged by the party causing the devil¬ 
ment, giving the Ojhd a fowl to sacrifice, with a request to withdraw 
the devil. 
The healing art. —The Ojhd is referred to on all occasions of 
sickness, when he goes through the performance of feeling the wrist 
and looking wise, just like our own quacks. His prescription is 
nothing so nasty as physic, but simply the sacrifice of a fowl, white, 
red or black, according to the occasion, and large or small according to 
the means of the patient. Light sicknesses, such . as headache or 
stomach-ache, are cured by the Ojhd putting some ‘ ar'wd chdiil * into 
the right hand of the patient, and turning it five times round his (the 
patient’s) head. 
Festivals. —Birhors keep the following Kolarian festivals, viz., 
Magli-Parab in January; Phagua, the hunting festival, in February; 
Sarhul in March; Karam and Jittiya in September; Dasai and Soliarai 
in October. 
Dances. —They dance the Lujlirt at the Karam and the Jittiya, the 
Jargd at the Phagua and Sarhul, and the S aunt art at other times. 
Friendships. —The men make karam dal friendships by putting a 
karam leaf in each other’s hair, and giving each other a new piece of 
cloth; the women give pieces of cloth, but do not exchange karam 
leaves. The women also form other friendships among themselves by 
going to a river and splashing each other with water. They then call 
each other Gangajal. 
Marriage customs. —The Birhors do not marry until full grown. 
They have only one wife, and widows are allowed to re-marry. They 
are not allowed to marry out of their tribe, but they cannot marry into 
the same gotra, i. e ., people of the same family name. They have such 
surnames as Sing’puriya, Nag’puriya, Jag’sariya, Liluar, Beharwar, 
Siruwar, Hem’rom, Mahali, &c. Parents arrange matrimonial matters, 
the price of a wife being from Rs. 3 to Rs. 5, and the bridegroom 
goes to the house of his future father-in-law to get married. After- 
eating and drinking, the paham or priest (one of their own tribe) 
cuts the right hand little fingers of both bride and bridegroom. 
They then mark each other on the breastbone with their blood, 
or put their blood on small pieces of cloth which they exchange and 
for three days wear round their necks. After this ceremony they 
anoint each other’s heads with oil. Then the man takes some sin- 
dur in his right hand which, with an upward motion, he rubs on 
