Magical Powers of Dead Tigers.
All sorts of magical powers are ascribed to the tiger after death. The fangs, the claws, the whiskers are potent charms, valuable for love philters and prophylactics against demoniacal influence, the Evil Eye, disease and death. The milk of a tigress is valuable medicine, and it is one of the stock impossible tasks or tests imposed upon the hero to find and fetch it, as he is sent to get the feathers of the eagle, water from the well of death, or the mystical cow guarded by Dânos or Râkshasas.33 The fat is considered a valuable remedy for rheumatism and similar maladies. The heart and flesh are tonics, stimulants and aphrodisiacs, and give strength and courage to those who use them. The Miris of Assam prize tiger’s flesh as food for men; it gives them strength and courage; but it is not suited for women, as it would make them too strong-minded.34 The whiskers are believed, among other qualities which they possess, to be a slow poison when taken with food, and the curious rudimentary clavicles, known as Santokh or “happiness,” are highly valued as amulets. There is a general belief that a tiger gets a new lobe to his liver every year. A favourite amulet to repel demoniacal influence consists of the whiskers of the tiger or leopard mixed with nail parings, some sacred root or grass, and red lead, and hung on the throat or upper arm. This treatment is particularly valuable in the case of young children immediately after birth. Tiger’s flesh is also a potent medicine and charm, and it is burnt in the cow-stall when cattle disease prevails. The flesh of the tiger, or if that be not procurable, the flesh of the jackal is burnt in the fields to keep off blight from the crops.