Copper and Brass Protectives.
Next come copper and brass. The use of copper in the form of rings and amulet cases is very common. Many of the vessels used in the daily service of the gods, such as the Argha, with which the daily oblations are made, are made of this metal. So with brass and various kinds of alloy used for bells, drinking and cooking utensils.
The common brass Lota is always carried about by a man during the period of mourning as a preservative against the evil spirits which surround him until the ghost of the dead man is finally laid. Copper rings are specially worn as an antidote to pimples and boils, while those of iron are supposed to weaken the influence of the planet Sani or Saturn, which is proverbially unlucky and malignant. His Evil Eye, in particular, brings misfortune at intervals of twenty-four years; all offerings to him are black, and consequently ill-omened, such as sesamum, charcoal, buffaloes, and black salt; and only the Dakaut, the lowest class of Brâhman priest, will accept such offerings.33