The boys who take an active part in the Holi celebrations are known as geraiyās or holiās. For two or three nights before the Holi they steal fuel for the Holi fire and beat and abuse those who try to prevent them from so doing. They also recite coarse songs and play with dirt and mud freely. Parties of them go from shop to shop and obtain by force dates and fried gram.[57]
At midnight of the Holi day a bower is erected in the centre of the village with bits of broken earthen vessels and cocoanut shells. A fool, generally a son-in-law of some low caste Hindu in the village, is induced, by the promise of dates and cocoanut kernel, to dress in a coat on which are drawn naked pictures. A garland of worn out shoes is tied round his neck and he is mounted on a donkey. He is then called Vālam and taken from the bower through the village accompanied with music and crowds of people, who utter in a loud voice coarse and vulgar expressions as the procession moves on. At times they play jokes with the Vālam, and give him blows on the head with their fists.[58]
In some places, this procession is called Vālama Vālami and is celebrated on the night preceding the Holi. Two poor stupid persons are dressed as bride and bridegroom, the latter in a ridiculously grotesque dress. They are married on the following morning, when vulgar songs are sung. The Vālam and Vālami are represented by two naked idols, made of rags, of a man and a woman. They are carried through the village in a noisy procession and married on an altar of black earthen vessels. They are then placed erect on two wooden posts side be side.[59]
In some villages, a large stone is placed in a spacious compound in the centre of the village, and broken earthen vessels are suspended over it with cords from the wooden bower erected over the stone. An ass is brought to the spot, and a fool decked with a garland of worn out shoes is mounted on it with his face turned towards the tail of the ass. He holds the tail of the ass in his hands as reins and is carried in procession through the village to be brought back to the bower and married to another fool, dust, ashes and water being freely used in the service.[60]
In some localities naked images of a husband and wife are set in a cart and taken through the village accompanied with music, the crowd singing indecent songs all the way long.[61]
On the Holi holiday children are presented with harda (garlands of balls made of sugar) by their relatives and the friends of their families.[62]
The Holi fire is extinguished by women on the morning of the following day. The earthen vessels containing wheat and gram which are put into the pit of the Holi before the fire is lighted are then taken out. The grain is cooked by the fire of Holi, and is called Ghugari. It is distributed among the villagers, the belief being that those who eat it are protected against disease by the goddess of the Holi.[63]
There are many other superstitious beliefs held by people in connection with the Holi.
According to one belief, those who expose themselves to the heat of the Holi fire keep good health during the ensuing year. According to some, this can be secured by eating sugar-cane heated over the fire. Juvāri stems heated over the fire are given to cattle with the same object.[64]
Some believe that if salt heated over the Holi fire is given to cattle it protects them against epidemics.[64]