The Irpalvusthi Ceremony
The ceremony of irpalvusthi (buffalo milk he milks) is performed about the fifteenth day after the birth of a calf. It only takes place when one of the sacred buffaloes has calved, and is not performed in ordinary villages for putiir, nor at the ti for punir. It is performed after the birth of both male and female calves. The ceremony is carried out in the same fashion at the wursuli, the kudrpali and the tarvali, but has different features at the kugvali of Taradr and at the ti.
There are special days for the ceremony. At the tarvali, it must be performed on Sunday, Wednesday, or Saturday; at the kudrpali and wursuli, on Sunday or Wednesday; at the kugvali on Saturday. The ceremony is performed at the ti, but I omitted to obtain any account of the proceedings at this grade of dairy.
When this ceremony is held at the village of Kuudr, a man from Òdr belonging to the Nodrsol must attend, and similarly a man from Kuudr must be present when the ceremony is performed at Kuudr, this regulation being the result of certain events in the histories of the buffaloes of these places (see p. [647]).
At each of the three kinds of dairy which follow the same procedure, the chief part is taken by the dairyman. At the wursuli, the wursol officiates, and at the kudrpali and tarvali, the palikartmokh.
The first appropriate occasion after the fifteenth day from the birth of the calf is appointed and the dairy is purified with [[173]]dried buffalo-dung. Contrary to the general rule, the lamp is lighted on the morning of this day. All the buffaloes are milked as usual; one or two pun of milk being poured into the patat and all the rest into the ertat.
The dairyman then puts some milk into the milking-vessel, and, carrying his wand, he leads the fifteen-day-old calf to its mother to be suckled. While the calf is being suckled, the dairyman strikes the mother on the right side of the back three times with the wand, saying “Oñ” each time. He then puts the wand on the top of the milking-vessel and, holding both in his left hand, milks the buffalo once or twice with the other hand, so that the milk splashes on the wand as it falls into the vessel. The vessel and wand are then laid at the back of the dairy, which the dairyman enters to prepare food, boiling grain or rice with milk in a special vessel (ertat) kept for the purpose. While the food is being cooked the dairyman takes some of the grass called kakar and the plant called kabudri, and sweeps the interior of the dairy with them, beginning at the patatmar. While doing this and during his other operations on this day, he must not turn his back to the contents of the dairy. After having swept the dairy, he lays the kakar and kabudri by the wall of the building, again takes the milking-vessel and wand from the back of the dairy, and, having called the people of the village, he salutes by raising the vessel and wand to his forehead and prays, all present praying with him. I am not certain whether it is the prayer of the village or a special prayer which is used on this occasion. After praying, the dairyman lays the wand on the top of the patat and pours the milk which he obtained from the buffalo into the patat over the wand. He puts the latter in its appointed place and then goes to the ertatmar, where he prepares a large number of leaves on which he portions out the food (tòrkisthiti) which he has prepared, and all the people present take this food outside the dairy. On the following day, the buffalo which has calved is milked with the rest.
When this ceremony is performed at the wursuli dairy, it is the only occasion on which the wursol prepares food; at all other times, the food of this dairyman is prepared by [[174]]the palikartmokh. On this occasion the wursol not only cooks food for himself but for all those present. Another distinctive feature of this ceremony is that it is the only occasion on which the milk of the wursulir is ever drunk.
The day of irpalvusthi is the only day on which the dairymen of the three kinds of dairy, with the exception of the wursol of certain dairies, do their work kabkaditi, i.e., do not turn their backs to the contents of the dairy.
At the kugvali of Taradr, the ceremony is more elaborate. It begins in the afternoon, when the dairy is purified with dried buffalo-dung. Three large pieces of the wood called kid are brought, and the dairyman ties the small piece of cloth called petuni to the milking-vessel and to a special wand called irpalvusthpet.[3] He also ties petuni in the form of rings round the ring and little fingers of his right hand and round the ring finger of his left hand. He then goes out with the milking-vessel and wand, and after saluting by raising them to his forehead, he goes to the place where the buffaloes are milked and prays there.
The kugvalikartmokh then takes the calf to its mother and milks as at the other dairies, but in this case he milks the buffalo completely, and if, by doing so, he has not filled his milking-vessel, he fills it with the milk of putiir. He pours this milk into the majpariv, which has been carefully cleaned, and puts the three pieces of kid wood in the fireplace. He puts into the milk three measures (ak) of rice, but adds neither salt nor jaggery. When the food is ready, he portions it out on leaves and gives to those present, who must on this occasion be limited to the people of the village. This ceremony occurs on Saturday evening.
On the following day, the ceremony is repeated, being called on this occasion îrpatadûthti, i.e., “buffalo milk he uses publicly.” When preparing food on this day the kugvalikartmokh puts into the milk eleven ak of rice[4] and adds both salt and jaggery. The number of pieces of wood used is not limited to three, but any quantity may be burnt. When the food is ready, he goes out of the dairy and finds [[175]]assembled a large number of people, including guests from other villages and clans. Among them a Melgars man must be included or there could be no ceremony. When the dairyman sees the people, he says “Ol pudra?” “People, have you come?” They answer “Pudspimi,” “We have come.” The dairyman then brings the stirring-stick (put), and, taking up some of the food on the stick, says “Tütr erkina?” “At the fire shall I throw?” and the people answer “Tütr eri!” “At the fire, throw!” The dairyman then throws the food on the stick into the fire, and portions out the rest of the food among the people, who eat it outside the dairy.
From the birth of the calf until this ceremony, the buffalo is not milked and the calf is kept, when not with its mother, in the small enclosure called kush. After the ceremony, the buffalo is milked like the rest of the herd, and the calf joins the others in the ordinary calf-house, or kwotars.