The spirits of a deceased father, grand father, great grand father, and of a mother, grand mother, and great grand mother, i.e., all the male and female ascendants up to the third degree, receive systematic worship when the Shrāddha or funeral ceremonies are performed either on the anniversary of the death of any of them or on the day when the Nārāyan bali is performed in such holy places as Gayā, Siddhapur or Prabhās Pātan. The spirits of those who meet heroic deaths on fields of battle are called Suropuros, and pillars are erected in their memory on the spot where they breathed their last. They receive only occasional worship.1

The purvajas or spirits of deceased ancestors receive worship on the thirteenth or fourteenth day of the dark half of Shrāvan (the tenth month of the Gujarāt Hindu year), on the fourteenth of the dark half of Ashvin, on the death anniversaries and on days on which the Shrāddhas, tripindis or nil parnāvavi ceremonies are performed. On these occasions, the pitriyas (deceased ancestors) are represented by twisted braids of the durvā grass (cynodon dactylon).2

Purvajas or ancestral spirits descend to the level of ghosts when they are strongly attached to worldly objects. Such spirits often possess the bodies of their descendants, though the necessary Shrāddhas are performed for their release. The 13th, 14th and 15th days of the bright half of the months of Kārtik and Chaitra are the special days for propitiation of departed spirits by their relatives either at home or in holy places, while the whole of the dark half of the month of Bhādarvā is devoted to this purpose.3 During this fortnight, shrāddha is performed in honour of the deceased on the day corresponding to the day of his death, when Brāhmans are feasted. Thus, a person dying on the 5th day of Kārtik has his shrāddha performed on the 5th day of the sharādian. On this occasion, water is poured at the root of the Pipal, tarpan or offerings of water are made, and pinds or balls of rice are offered to the deceased.

Of all the days of the sharādian the 13th, 14th and 15th are considered to be of special importance.

The death anniversary of a pitriya is called samvatsari, valgo samachari or chhamachhari, when a shrāddha is performed and Brāhmans are feasted.

The pitriyas are also worshipped on auspicious occasions such as marriages, by the performance of a shrāddha called nāndi, when pinds (balls) of molasses are offered instead of rice. It is considered an act of merit to perform shrāddha in honour of the pitriyas on the banks of a river or tank at midday on the 8th day of the dark half of a month.

From the 13th to the 15th day of the dark half of Shrāvan, after their morning ablutions, orthodox people pour water over the Pipal, the Bābul, the Ber (Zizyphus jujube) and durvā grass, and on those places where cows are known to congregate, in the belief that by so doing the thirst of the spirits of the deceased is quenched. It is also believed that if feasts are given to the relatives of the deceased and to Brāhmans the pitriyas are satisfied.

According to some, the Sharādian lasts from the full-moon day of the month of Bhādarvā to the new-moon day of the same month, that is for a period of sixteen days. The Shrāddhas of those who die on the Punema or full-moon day of a month are performed on the full-moon day of Bhādarvā, and the Shrāddhas of those who die on the new-moon day amavasia of a month are performed on the amavasia of Bhādarvā. The 13th day of the dark half of Bhādarvā is called bālā terash that is children’s thirteenth. This day is specially devoted to the propitiation of the spirits of children.4

On the Shrāddha days Brāhmans and relatives of the deceased are feasted, and oblations called Vāsh, consisting of rice and sweets, are offered to crows.

On Āsho Vad fourteenth, that is, the fourteenth of the dark half of Āsho, it is customary to apply red lead to the pillars erected in honour of men that die heroic or noble deaths on fields of battle, to break cocoanuts before them, to light lamps fed with ghi and to offer cooked food to their spirits.5

The spirits of those who die with strong attachment to the objects of this world are said to enter the state known as asur gati or the path of demons. In this condition the spirit of the deceased possesses the person of one of his relatives and torments the family in which he lived. The members of the family, when worried by his persecutions, engage the services of a bhuvā or exorcist, who sets up a wooden image of the tormenting spirit in a niche in a wall of the house. A lamp fed with ghi is lighted daily before this image, and in times of trouble, a cocoanut is offered to it in the belief that the spirit can protect the offerers from injuries.

The pitriyas or ancestral spirits are propitiated by pouring water over the Bordi (jujube), the Tulsi (sweet basil), the Vad (banyan), the Pipal or durvā grass (cynodon dactylon) on the 13th, 14th and 15th days of the bright half of Chaitra and on the same days of the dark half of Kārtik and Shrāvan. On Vaishākh Shud Trij, that is, on the third of the bright half of Vaishākh, which is called Akhā Trij, women offer to Brāhmans two earthen jars filled with water and covered with an earthen cup containing a betelnut, a pice and a pān or betel leaf, for the propitiation of the spirits of their deceased ancestors.6

For the propitiation of a male spirit a party of Brāhmans is feasted, and for the propitiation of a female spirit three unwidowed married women.7

Rajputs, Bharvāds, Ahirs and Kolis set up either a pile of stones or a single stone on the boundary of their village in honour of those among them who die on battle fields. These piles or stones are called Pālios. On the Pālios are placed engraved images to represent the deceased in whose memory the Pālios are erected. Small pillars are also raised in the localities where such persons met their death. On the Kāli Chaudas or black fourteenth, that is the fourteenth day of the dark half of Āsho, the Pālios are daubed with red lead and worshipped with offerings of cocoanuts. Women who have become sati receive worship and offerings on the Hindu new year’s day.8

Spiritual guides such as Shankarāchārya, Vallabāchārya, the mahārājas or spiritual heads of the sect called Swāminārāyan, Lālo Bhagat and Talo Bhagat are worshipped by their devotees with offerings of food, garments and cash. In this Kali Yuga or iron age, men who are really great are rare, and even if there be some, they are invisible to the faulty vision of the present day degraded mortals. A few come into contact with such holy men by virtue of the good deeds performed by them in their past lives. These are said to attain paradise by this satsang9 (contact with the righteous).

Holy men receive personal worship during their life-time. After they are dead, their relics, such as impressions of their footsteps, their photos or busts are worshipped with offerings of sandal paste, flowers, red powder, frankincense, lamps fed with ghi and ārati (swingings of lamps).10

Every sect of Hindus has a Mahārāja or spiritual head, and it is considered meritorious to entertain and worship him on certain special occasions. The Mahārāja or Guru is received with great éclat. His followers form a procession and carry him in a palanquin or a carriage and pair accompanied with music. At the house of the person who invites him, the floor is covered with rich cloth, over which the Mahārāja is led to a raised seat specially arranged for the purpose. He is then worshipped by the host with the same details as the image of a god. His feet are washed by panchāmrita (five nectars), that is a mixture of ghi, milk, honey, sugar and water, which is sipped by the worshipper and distributed among the followers of the Mahārāja. Very often the feet of the Mahārāja are washed in water, which is considered as purifying as the panchāmrita. Great festivity and rejoicings are observed on this day at the house of the Mahārāja’s host, where crowds of the Mahārāja’s followers assemble eager for a sight of him. After spending about half an hour in the house, the Mahārāja departs, first receiving valuable presents from the host.

Spiritual guides who claim the power of working miracles are held in high esteem by the people. Some of these guides are said to have control over spiritual beings or to possess their favour. These spirits are supposed to endow them with the power of preparing mystic threads, which, when worn round the waist, neck or arm, cure various diseases.

In the Kadavāsan woods, near the village of Daldi, there lives a bāvā called Bhimputi, who is believed to possess miraculous powers. He surprises visitors by his wonderful feats and commands vows from the afflicted by mitigating their sufferings. Every day, before breakfast, the bāvā visits seven villages to collect sugar and flour, which he throws in handfuls over every anthill which he meets on his way. This act of charity has established him as a saint, and most of his prophecies are believed to be fulfilled.

A Musalmān named Muhammad Chhail is held in great respect by the people on account of his great magical powers. He is believed to be in the good graces of a Pir, who has endowed him with the power of commanding material objects to come to him from long distances, and of breaking them and making them whole again.11

Great men of antiquity often command worship as gods. A fast is observed by Hindus on the 9th day of the bright half of Chaitra, the birth day of Rāma, whose birth anniversary is celebrated at noon on that day in his temple. On this occasion, all visitors to the temple offer a pice or two to his image and receive his Prasād, that is, consecrated food, which consists of a mixture of curdled milk and sugar. The birth of Krishna is celebrated at mid-night on the eighth day of the dark half of Shrāvan, when people keep awake for the whole of the night.

The Jains observe a fast for seven days from Shrāvan Vad Bāras, that is the 12th day of the dark half of Shrāvan, to the 5th day of the bright half of Bhādarvā, in honour of Mahāvir Swāmi, one of their spiritual teachers, who is believed to have been born on the 2nd day of the bright half of Bhādarvā. This period is known as the Pajusan, during which the Jains cause the slaughter-houses and fish markets to be closed and give alms to the poor.12

A century ago there lived at Nalkanthā a sage named Bhānsāb. He met a holy death by deep meditations, and a few days after rose up from his grave in his original form. This led him to be classed in the category of great men and to command divine worship.13

Vithal, a sage of the Kāthi tribe, is revered in Pāliād. Sāvo, a devotee at Zanzarkā, is worshipped by Dheds. Fehalā, a Rajput and Tolat his wife, are enshrined at Anjār, a village in Cutch. Lālo, a Baniā devotee of Sindhāvār, received divine honours in his life-time and his image in Sāyalā is held in great reverence to this day. The samādh of Mādhvagar, an atit of Vastadi, situated in Unchadi a village in the Dhandhuka taluka in Ahmedābād, is an object of worship. Harikrishna Mahārāja, a Brāhman saint of Chudā, received divine honours at Chudā and the Charotar.14

If the souls of the departed ones are condemned to become ghosts, shrāddha ceremonies performed by their descendants are said to be efficacious in freeing them from their ghostly existence and relegating them to some other form of life.

The lives of bhuts and pishāchas, male and female ghosts, are said to extend over a thousand years.15 Shrāddhas, such as the samāchari i.e., the death anniversary and Nārāyanbali i.e., a shrāddha performed in a holy place, emancipate the ghostly spirits from their wretched existence and make them eligible for birth in a better form.16 Some believe that at the end of their ghostly existence (a thousand years) they take birth in the animal kingdom in the mortal world.17

The soul is not said to have finally perished unless it merges into the divine self and attains moksha or salvation. The passions and desires of a dying man do not permit his soul ascending beyond a certain stage, where he or she remains as a ghost until the soul is purged of all his or her desires and sins by the performance of funeral ceremonies. For relieving ancestral spirits from the low order of bhuts and pishāchas, shrāddhas are performed by their surviving relatives in such holy places as Prabhās, Gayā and Pindtārak. These ceremonies are known as Nārāyanbali, Nilotsarga and saptāha-pārāyan (recitation of a sacred book for seven consecutive days).18

Those persons who die with wicked thoughts still present and their desires not fulfilled, enter the order of evil spirits, from which they are liberated after their desires have been satisfied and their wicked thoughts eliminated.19

Bhuts and pishāchas—ghosts, male and female—can be prevented from doing harm by recourse to certain processes. For instance, the wife of a Nāgar of Gadhadā became a witch after her death and began to torment the second wife of her husband by throwing her out of bed whenever she was asleep. To prevent this, the husband took a vow to perform a shrāddha at Sidhpur in the name of the deceased wife, after the performance of which the ghostly presence stopped harassing the new wife of her husband.20

Bhuts and pishāchas are believed by some people to be immortal, because they are supposed to belong to the order of demi-gods. In the Amarkosha—the well-known Sanskrit lexicon—they are classed with divinities, such as guhyaks, and sidhas. The bhut is defined as a deity that troubles infants and the pishācha as a deity that lives on flesh. Bhuts and pishāchas are the ganas or attendants of Shiva, one of the gods of the Hindu Trinity. They are supposed to be upadevas or demi-gods.

Preta is the spirit of a person that dies a sudden or unnatural death with many of his desires unfulfilled. His soul attains emancipation by the performance of a saptāh, that is a recitation of the Bhāgvat on seven consecutive days. It is described in the Bhāgvat that Dhundhumari, the brother of Gokarn, who had become a preta, was released from his preta existence by the performance of a saptāh which his brother caused to be made. The Garudpurān mentions that King Babruvāhan emancipated a preta by the performance of a shrāddha. The mukti or salvation of a preta is in itself its death. This would prove pretas to be mortal.21

The span of life of the bhuts and pretas is very long, but those whose descendants offer them the usual oblations gain their emancipation sooner. There is a kund or spring called Zilānand in the vicinity of Jhinjhuvādā, on the banks of which is a temple of Zilakeshwar Mahādev. The performance of the pitri shrāddha by the side of this spring is believed to expedite the emancipation of the spirits of the deceased from ghostly life. Every year, on the Bhādarvā amāvāsya, that is, the new moon day of the month Bhādarvā, a great fair is held on this spot, when people from long distances visit the place to get their relatives exorcised by the bhuvās or exorcists.

It is believed, that though bhuts, pretas and pishāchas are immortal, they are scared away by the sound of a European band and of other musical instruments.22 It is said that all drums and other weird instruments whether European or Indian, have the power of scaring away evil spirits.

An evil spirit called Bābaro had entered the person of the uncle of Māldev the king of Jhālāvād much to the king’s annoyance. Māldev offered a stubborn fight to Bābaro, who, unable to cope with Māldev, promised to extend his kingdom over those villages in which he would hang up bunting in one night. It is said that the present extent of the Jāhlwād territories was due to king Māldev’s enterprise in hanging up bunting over these territories as asked by Bābaro.23

Though at the time of a man’s death the faculties may hardly be sound, yet the vārsanā—the impressions—left on his mind by his past actions are in themselves good or bad enough to impress him so as to make his departing spirit assume a new form of life in keeping with them. For instance, a man following a particular profession becomes subject to dreams bearing on that profession. When the impression created by his actions in daily life is so deep as to induce dreams, his mind, even after death, leaves to his departing soul an inclination to be engaged in the subject of his mind’s last activities. This is vāsanā.24

It is a popular saying among Hindus that children inherit the nature of their parents. It is for this reason that high caste Hindus do not utter the names of their eldest sons. There is a further belief that the Pitriyas departed from the world with certain desires unfulfilled reappear as descendants of their children to have these desires satisfied.25

As the saying goes Pitā putrena jāyate, that is a father is born in the form of the son, so the Pitriyas are born as descendants of their children, or according to the Bija vrikshanyāya, as a tree springs from its seed, that is, its offerings, so parents take birth as children of their offspring.26

The Pitriyas, whose attachment to their children or family or wealth does not die with them, reappear in the same family as descendants. It is also believed that persons dying with debts unpaid with the consciousness that they must be paid, are reborn in this world for the discharge of their obligations.27

It is not always that the Purvajas reappear in the same family. It is said about the departed spirits, that after undergoing punishment for their sins and enjoying the fruits of their good actions, they come down on earth again as drops of rain, and forming part of the grain which grows on rain water make their way into the wombs of animals and are thus reborn.28

On account of the community of their feelings, habits and ideas in previous births, members of different families form different groups. The actions performed in this life keep them bound to one another either as recipients of the return of the obligations given in the past or as givers of fresh obligations. The members of a family stand thus to one another in the relation of debtors and creditors. It is for the discharge of these debts and recovery of dues that several individuals are united in a family. This naturally leads to the members of a family taking birth again in the same family for the proper discharge of debts.

A virtuous child is declared to have been born to return the debts contracted in its past lives, and a vicious one to recover the dues.29

When an atit or holy man or a recluse dies, his body is interred, and a platform rising waist high from the ground, or a small dome-shaped temple, is built over the spot. This is called a samādh. An image of the god Shiva is generally installed in the samādh; but sometimes pādukās i.e. the impressions on stone of the footsteps of the deceased, are installed instead. Instances of the latter are the pādukās of Dattātraya, Gorakha and Machchendra Nāth.

Both the Samādh and the image of the god Shiva as well as the pādukās installed therein, are worshipped by the people, who, in course of time, give currency to the belief that the Samādh possesses certain miraculous powers, such as curing long-standing diseases, blessing barren women with children, etc. Offerings are made to the Samādh by pious persons and festivals or fairs are held in its honour by the inhabitants of the village in which the Samādh is located.30

Kabars or tombs raised over the graves of Mahomedan saints or Pirs are held in equal reverence both by Mahomedans and Hindus. To these offerings are made, and fairs are held in their honour.

Some Samādhs and Kabars noted for miraculous powers are given below.

1. Gorakhnāth:—The Samādh of Gorakhnāth lies on Mount Girnār. It is said that when the word Salām is shouted by any one standing on the brink of the hollow wherein the Samādh is said to be, the word “Aleka, Aleka, Aleka” is heard in response.31

2. Kevaldās:—The Samādh of Kevaldās stands in Susavāv. It is told that, on one occasion, when a festival was being celebrated in honour of the Bāvā Kevaldās, a nimb tree (Azadirachta Indica) overhanging the Samādh was transformed into a mitho Limbdo (Ailantas excelsa).

3. The Samādh at Kāngā:—In the religious house at Kāngā, a village in the Junāgadh State, there lived a bāvā given to religious austerities. It is said that he took Samādh32 during life. This Samādh is said to work miracles at times.

4. Similarly, a bāvā in the religious house at Navānagar called Shāradā Matha has taken a Samādh during life, and his remains and the structure over them have become an object of worship.

5. The Samādh of Lālā bhakta:—Lālā bhakta was a native of Sāyolā. He was famous for his piety, and after his death his Samādh was deified. It is said in reference to this Samādh that a meal of dainty dishes prepared for five or six persons by its side, would satisfy the hunger of a company of fifty, if one happened to arrive there at the time of serving the meal33.

6. Dātār34 Pir:—The tomb of this Pir is situated on Mount Girnār. Almost all people in Kāthiāwār and many from Gujarāt offer vows to this Pir.35

This Pir is also known by the name of Kālā Yavan.36 It is believed that he has the power of releasing the chain bonds of a person falsely accused with an offence provided he approaches the Pir in chains. The sanctity of this Pir is so great that vows in his honour secure to persons desiring male heirs the birth of sons.37

7. Asāmi Pir:—The tomb of this Pir is in Lunār. He is believed to ensure the fulfilment of certain vows made by those who have faith in him.38

8. Devalshā Pir:—The tomb of this Pir is situated at Amarān about seven miles from Todia. Many Hindus perform the first hair-cutting ceremony of their children at the shrine of this Pir with an offering of a sweet preparation of ghi, sugar or molasses, and wheat flour. The Muhammadans distribute cooked rice among the Fakirs about this shrine.

A tradition runs that, once seven eunuchs defied the power of this Pir saying that they would put no faith in him unless they conceived sons. This they did, and when in terror regarding their approaching confinement, they were told that the children would have to be taken out by cutting their bodies open. The tombs of these seven eunuchs and their sons still stand near the tomb of Devalshā to bear testimony to his glory and miraculous power.39

9. The Kabar of Hāji Karmāni:—Is situated at Dwārkān and is much respected by both Hindus and Muhammadans.40

10. The tombs of Jesal and Toral:—These are said to be the tombs of a husband and wife of the names of Jesal and Toral. They are situated in Anjār, a village in Cutch. It is said that originally these tombs were at the distance of twenty-seven feet from one another, but now the distance between them is only 7½ feet. A belief is current that the day of judgment will come when these two tombs meet.41

11. Hāj Pir and Gebānshā Pir:—The tombs of these Pirs are at Mendardā. Vows are offered to the Hāj Pir (Pilgrims saint) with the object of securing a good rainfall after an unusual drought, also for the restoration of stolen property. Vows to the Gebānshā Pir are believed to be efficacious in curing foot diseases of cattle and skin diseases of children.42

12. Panch or Five Pirs:—The tombs of these Pirs are situated in Dahurā, each of them measuring about twenty-seven feet. A miracle is attributed to these tombs in the phenomenon that they can never be accurately measured, each attempt at measurement giving a different result. Women whose sons die in infancy make vows in honour of the Panch Pirs, and take them to their tombs on their attaining a certain age, where they observe fakiri43 for ten days.44

13. Aulia Pir45:—The tomb of this Pir lies on Mount Girnār. It is believed to possess the miraculous power of stopping the career of galloping horses and bringing them to the ground, and of stupefying the senses of a person who enters the shrine.46

14. Miran Dātār:—The celebrated tomb of this Pir is in the village of Unjhā near Baroda, where a fair is held every Friday in Shrāvan. Persons possessed by evil spirits are said to be cured by visiting this tomb and offering an image of a horse stuffed with cotton, and a cocoanut. People from all parts of Gujarāt and from distant places suffering from physical infirmities, observe vows in honour of this Pir. Some wear iron wristlets round their wrists in his honour.47

15. Pir Māhābali:—The tomb of this Pir is situated at Gotarkā near Rādhanpur. Every year a fair is held in honour of this tomb, when the chief Pujāri of the shrine of Varalu goes there, holding in one hand a bayonet with its point touching his breast, and in the other, a cocoanut. It is said that when the Pujāri reaches the third step leading to the entrance of the shrine, the locked doors of the shrine fly open, and the Pujāri throws the cocoanut into the shrine. If the shrine gates do not open of themselves on his approach, the Pujāri has to stab himself to death then and there.48

16. Kalu Pir:—It is said that this Pir leads a procession every night, when monstrous kettle-drums are beaten by his phantom followers. On every Friday this procession goes on its rounds, which cover a large area.49

Other tombs noted for miraculous powers are those of Gebalshā Pir in Charādwa, of Dariā Pir in Morvi, of Hajarat Pir in Baghdād and of Khojā Pir in Ajmere.50

The followers of the tenets of Swāmi-nārāyān, Vallabhāchārya, Kabir, Shankarāchārya, Rāmānuja, Madhwāchārya, Nimbārk and Talo Bhagat look upon these personages as gods, and worship their images.51

Some of the spiritual teachers mentioned above maintained large establishments and made their supremacy hereditary. Their representatives (that is either their heirs or disciples) are looked upon as the embodiments of the same virtues as were concentrated in the founders of the sects. The great teachers are worshipped either in the form of their footprints, their images or their representatives.52

The worship of the following Muhammadan Pirs has been adopted by Hindus:—

(1) Dātār Pir in Junāgadh.

(2) Dātār in Rātaiya near Khirāsara.

(3) Gobalsha Pir:—This Pir is noted for curing boils.

(4) Tāg Pir or the live saint near Bhāyāvadar:—This Pir is believed to have the power of curing enlargement of the spleen. Persons suffering from this disease go to his shrine and distribute dry dates among children. This is supposed to propitiate him and to effect the cure.53

(5) Miran Dātār:—The miraculous and curative powers of this Pir are so potent that blind persons are known to have their eye-sight restored and childless persons to have their longings for children satisfied through his favour. Persons possessed by evil spirits are exorcised by merely wearing a ring in his name.54

The shrine of this Pir is situated in the village of Unāva in the Gāikwār’s territory in North Gujarāt. His Highness the late Gāikwār Khanderāo has fixed solid silver railings round the shrine of this Pir in gratitude for a cure effected by him.

(6) Rāmde Pir:—This Pir has obtained the epithet of Hindva Pir as he is worshipped mostly by the Hindus. He has worshippers in many places, where shrines are erected in his honour and verses and hymns composed and sung in his praise.55 He is evidently, as his name suggests, one of the first Khoja missionaries who practised teachings more Hindu than Musalmān in order to secure a following among the Hindus.

(7) Hāji Karmāni near Dvārikhān.

(8) The Dāvalsha Pir near Amarān.

(9) The Lakad Pir and the Hussein Pir in the vicinity of Ganod.

(10) Mahābali Dāda Pir:—This Pir is to be found close to the village of Varai. Milk offered to him in his shrine in indās (egg-shaped pots) is said to remain fresh for a year. Similarly, the doors of his shrine open of themselves after the lapse of a year.

(11) Mangalio Pir:—This Pir is worshipped at Dadvi.

(12) Moto Pir:—Is worshipped at Khandorana.

(13) Hindva Pir:—This is the Pir of the Khojās in Pirāna near Ahmedābād. He is so called because he is worshipped by the Hindus also.

(14) Bhadiādaro Pir:—Is in the village of Bhādia near Dhorāli.

(15) Ingārāsha Pir and Bālamsha Pir.

(16) Tamialsha and Kāsamsha Pir:—The shrines of these Pirs are on the Girnār hill.56

(17) Ganj Pir:—The shrine of this Pir is near Todia. Vows to offer a quarter of a pound of molasses to this Pir are believed to be efficacious in curing persons of fever and children of their ailments.57

There is a Pir in the village of Vadhardun near Viramgām. Persons suspected of having committed thefts are conducted in chains before this Pir. It is said that, if the charge be false, the chains break asunder of themselves.58

Apart from the respect paid to the Pirs mentioned above, the Hindus hold in great reverence the tābuts of the Muhammadans.59

There are various rural methods in vogue for the cure of barrenness.

One of these is for the barren woman to swallow the navel-string of a new-born child.60 Another is to partake of the preparation called kātlān.61

There are two kinds of preparations which go by the name of kātlān. One is prepared from seven pieces of dry ginger.62 The other is a mixture of suva,63 sunth (dry ginger), gundar (gum arabic), gol (molasses) etc.64 In order to secure the desired effect, the kātlān must be eaten seven times every Sunday or Tuesday seated on the cot of a woman in child-bed.65

The longing for a child is also believed to be satisfied by partaking of the food served to a woman, in confinement, sitting on her bed, either on a Sunday or Tuesday.66

There is also another preparation which is believed to cause conception. It consists of a mixture of pitpāpdo (Glossocardi Boswellia), sugar-cane and butter. In order to be efficacious, it must be taken on seven consecutive days commencing from the fourth day of the monthly menstrual period.67

Conception is also believed to be favoured by administering the gum of the bābul tree dissolved in milk for three days commencing from the third day of the monthly period.67

Some believe that, in order to be effective, this mixture must be taken standing.68 In some places, seeds of a vegetable plant called shivalangi are also administered.67

To secure conception, a bit of coral is also eaten, with the face turned towards the sun.67

Other preparations taken with the belief that they cause conception are:—

(1) Harde (Myrobalan) put in kansār (a preparation of wheat flour cooked in water and sweetened with molasses), (2) extract of the fruit called sārangdha, (3) pāras pipalo (Thespesia populnea) mixed with clarified butter,60 (4) gum mixed with plantains, (5) juice of the cooked leaves of the Ārani (Elaeodendren glaucum),69 (6) powder of Nāg kesar (Messua ferrea) put into milk, and (7) the roots of Bhong ringdi (a kind of poisonous plant) mixed with the milk of a cow.70

It is also believed that if a barren woman succeeds in carrying away grains of rice from the folds of the upper garment of a pregnant woman, and eats them cooked in milk, her desire for a child is satisfied.71

In celebrating the Simānt or first pregnancy ceremony of a woman, the pregnant woman is taken for a bath to a dung-hill or to a distance of about thirty yards behind the house. After the bath is over, she returns home walking over sheets of cloth spread on her way. On this occasion her company is coveted by barren women for the purpose of tearing off unseen a piece of her upper garment, as this is believed to bring about conception. It is said that if a woman succeeds in doing this, she conceives, while the victim has a miscarriage.72

Some believe that a slight pressure by a childless woman on the upper garment of a pregnant woman is sufficient to bring about the result mentioned above.73

Others hold that a slight blow on the shoulder of a pregnant woman by a childless woman satisfies the desire of the latter for a child.74

Conception is also said to be effected by branding children while at play in the streets.75

It is believed that this brand, to have efficacy, must be inflicted on a Sunday or Tuesday.75 The operation is generally performed in the evening with a red-hot needle. It is said that the branded child dies while the branding barren woman conceives a child.76

Offering bread to black dogs is also supposed to be a cure for barrenness.

Conception is also favoured by passing under the bier or palanquin holding the corpse of an ascetic or holy man while it is being carried to the cemetery.77 Some believe that such an ascetic or saint must be a follower of the Jain faith.78 Others maintain that the desired end can be secured only by wearing round the elbows the grains of rice or coins offered to the bier of a saint on its way to the cemetery.79

Other methods practised for the cure of barrenness are as follows:

The barren woman cuts off a lock of the hair of a child-bearing woman and keeps it in her custody.80

Some women collect the dust trodden on by a child-bearing woman in an earthen pot and eat it every day till it is exhausted.80

Some throw grains of adad (Phaseolus mungo) over the bed of a woman in confinement.81

Others daub their foreheads with the blood emitted by a woman in menses.80

There are some who pour water in a circle at the village gate on a Sunday or Tuesday, and when in period, partake of the powder of mindhal mixed with lāpsi (coarse wheat flour fried in ghi and sweetened with molasses or sugar) seated on the threshold of the house.82

Many wear round their necks leaves called bhojapatras on which the mystical figure given below is drawn by an exorcist.

Pieces of paper on which the following jantra is written by an ascetic, woven in a string made of five kinds of silk, are also worn round the elbows:—

About a month and a quarter after the delivery of a woman, a ceremony called zarmān zarvān is performed, when the woman goes to a neighbouring stream or well to fetch water for the first time after her delivery. Near the stream or well five small heaps of sand are made and daubed with red lead. Next, a lamp fed with ghi is lighted, and seven small betelnuts are offered to the stream or well. A cocoanut is then broken, and a part of it is thrown into the water as an offering. Next, the woman fills a jar with the water of the stream or well and returns home, taking with her six out of the seven betelnuts offered to the stream or well. On her way home she is approached by barren women who request to be favoured with one of the betelnuts, as it is believed that swallowing such a betelnut causes conception.83

Some believe that only the smallest of the seven betelnuts has the power of producing this result84. Others hold that this betelnut must be swallowed on the threshold of a house.85

Eating cocoa-kernel and molasses sitting on the threshold of the house on the fourth day of the monthly period is also believed to be a remedy for the cure of barrenness.

Placing a box containing a kori, (a small silver coin) on a spot where three roads cross one another is also said to favour conception.86

In some places, a black earthen pot containing charcoal and grains of adad (Phaseolus mungo) is placed on a spot where two roads cross one another, on a Sunday or Tuesday. On this day the barren woman has to take her meals without salt.87

Cutting off a lock of a child’s hair and keeping it in custody is also believed to satisfy the longing of a barren woman for a child. This result can also be obtained by securing a piece of a garment of a suckling child.

Some worship daily a cocoanut and a betelnut consecrated with incantations.88

Some take a bath on the third day of their period, and stand on the threshold of the house with their hair sprinkled over with kankotri (red powder). Next, a ghi-fed lamp is offered to the deities, and the devotee prostrates herself before the lamp.89

It is also believed that barrenness can be cured by religious vows, by offering alms in propitiation of malignant planets such as Mars, and by reciting the jap or incantation called gopāl santān to please the deity of that name.90

One of the religious vows of this nature is to observe fasts on twelve consecutive Sundays or Tuesdays. On these days the devotee fixes her gaze on the sun and offers him worship, after which she takes a meal prepared in milk without salt or sugar.91

Some hold a recitation of the chandi kavach a hundred times through Brāhmans with sacrificial oblations of clarified butter, sesamum seed, kamod (a kind of rice), gugal (rhododendron), sandal wood and sugarcandy.92 Others have the story of the Harivansha recited on seventeen consecutive days, during which period the devotee (i.e., the barren woman) observes brahmacharya, that is abstains from sexual enjoyment. This ceremony is believed to exorcise the fiend of barrenness.92

Some keep a vow of standing on their legs for the whole day on the fourteenth of the month of Phālgun (the fifth month of the Gujarāt Hindu year) and of breaking their fast after worshipping the sacred pyre.93

There is another vow called the Punema or full-moon day vow, the observance of which is believed to favour the birth of a son.94

Pouring water at the root of, or circumambulating, a pipal or bābul tree after a bath without removing the wet clothes, is also believed to cause conception.95

Some observe the vow of entertaining thirteen Brāhmans and thirteen virgins to a feast, and of setting up Randal Bantva.96

Women whose children die in infancy give them opprobrious names such as Khacharo (filth), Ghelo (stupid), Natho, Uko, Ukardo, Bodho, Pujo, Adāvo, Mongho, Tulhi, Tutho, Kadavi, etc. in the belief that by so doing the life of the children is lengthened.97 The idea is almost Asiatic in extent. Among Musalmāns also such names are given; and even among the Persians and Arabs boys are given such names as Masriequ and Osaid—the Stolen and the Black. Sometimes parents arrange that their children be actually stolen; and some next of kin, generally the aunt, is made to commit the kindly felony. She afterwards returns the child for a certain amount in cash or clothes. The custom is as old as the scriptures, there being an allusion in the Korān to how the little Joseph was made to steal some garment of his aunt and was claimed as a forfeit by her. Speaking about Levi, the older brothers of Joseph say to the Egyptian soldiers, “If he hath stolen (the king’s goblet) verily the brother of his too did (formerly) steal.”

Some make a vow of not cutting the hair of their children till they are taken to Ambāji, where their hair is cut for the first time.98

Some treat their children as beggars until they attain the age of five years, that is, they are dressed till that age in clothes obtained by begging. Some bore the nose of the child.98