4. The evil eye.
In order to avert the evil eye they hang round a child’s neck a nut called bajar-battu, the shell of which they say will crack and open if any one casts the evil eye on the child. If it is placed in milk the two parts will come together again. They also think that the nut attracts the evil eye and absorbs its effect, and the child is therefore not injured. If they think that some one has cast the evil eye on a child, they say a charm, ‘Ishwar, Gauri, Pārvati ke ān nazar dur ho jao,’ or ‘Depart, Evil Eye, in the name of Mahādeo and Pārvati,’ and as they say this they blow on the child three times; or they take some salt, chillies and mustard in their hand and wave it round the child’s head and say, ‘Telin kī lāgi ho, Tamolin kī lāgi ho, Marārin kī ho, Gorania (Gondin) kī ho, oke, oke, parparāke phut jāwe,’ ‘If it be a Telin, Tambolin, Marārin or Gondin who has cast the evil eye, may her eyes crack and fall out.’ And at the same time they throw the mustard, chillies and salt on the fire so that the eyes of her who cast the evil eye may crack and fall out as these things crackle in the fire.
If tiger’s claws are used for an amulet, the points must be turned outwards. If any one intends to wish luck to a child, he says, ‘Tori balayān leun,’ and waves his hands round the child’s head several times to signify that he takes upon himself all the misfortunes which are to happen to the child. Then he presses the knuckles of his hands against the sides of his own head till they crack, which is a lucky omen, averting calamity. If the knuckles do not crack at the first attempt, it is repeated two or three times. When a man sneezes he will say ‘Chatrapati,’ which is considered to be a name of Devi, but is only used on this occasion. But some say nothing. After yawning they snap their fingers, the object of which, they say, is to drive away sleep, as otherwise the desire will become infectious and attack others present. But if a child yawns they sometimes hold one of their hands in front of his mouth, and it is probable that the original meaning of the custom was to prevent evil spirits from entering through the widely opened mouth, or the yawner’s own soul or spirit from escaping; and the habit of holding the hand before the mouth from politeness when yawning inadvertently may be a reminiscence of this.