[Nature Powers.] Page.
Worship of minor local deities. Sun-worship. Circumambulation round images and other sacred objects. Exposure of women to the Sun after child-birth. The Swastika. Moon-worship. Eclipses. Worship of planets and stars. The rainbow. The milky way. Worship of the earth. Thunder and lightning. Earthquakes. Worship of sacred rivers, springs and pools. Water spirits and goblins. Ceremonies at digging of wells. Well water as a cure for disease. Sacred Lakes. Palaces under the water. Sacred mountains. Deities who control the weather. Methods of causing or averting rain and of checking storms. Vratas or religious vows practised only by women. Rites in which women are excluded. Rites in which the worshipper must be nude. Superstitions in connection with aerolites and meteors. 1
CHAPTER II.
The worship of Hanumān, Bhimsen and Bhishma. Local deities. Installation of deities in new settlements. Deities responsible for crops and cattle. The worship of Bhairow, Ganesh, Mātrikās or mothers, the deities of the jungle and the deities who preside over childbirth. 54
CHAPTER III.
Deities who can cause or avert diseases such as cholera, small pox, fever, etc. Causes of the outbreak of cholera. Remedies adopted to stop cholera. Causes of the outbreak of small pox. Remedies adopted for the cure of small pox. Causes of fever. Remedies adopted in cases of fever. Cattle diseases. Remedies practised by the village people in connection with them. The methods for the exorcism of disease. Methods of expelling evil spirits from the body. The village sorcerer. Offerings of rags, coins, etc. at sacred trees and wells. The transferring of disease from one person to another. Scapegoats. 74
CHAPTER IV.