Folk Lore Notes. Vol. II—Konkan

by A. M. T. Jackson

While plans or proposals are being made, it is considered inauspicious if any one sneezes or the sound of a lizard is heard.[55] Meeting a person of the depressed classes whose touch is pollution, or a Bráhman who accepts funeral gifts, is considered inauspicious.[56] Meeting a woman who is in her menses, a mourner, a buffalo, a snake and a diwad are considered inauspicious.[57] An iron vessel or an iron bar, cow dung cakes, salt, grass, a broom, a vulture, and a washerman bringing with him dirty clothes are also considered to be inauspicious omens.[58]

Among the Hindus in Western India, for the purpose of helping the spirit to go to heaven safely, and for securing its goodwill towards the survivors, after death ceremonies called the Shráddhas are generally performed. Some perform these ceremonies once a year in the month of Bhádrapada, and others perform them twice or thrice, i.e., on the anniversary day of the deceased as well as in the dark half of Bhádrapada, which is generally known as the manes’ fortnight (pitru paksha).[59]

The funeral solemnities performed from the 1st to the 14th day from the death of the deceased are as described below:—

On the first day, at the time of burning the dead body, a plot of ground is purified by repeating certain mantras, and the corpse is then placed on it. Before setting the funeral pile on fire, balls of boiled rice or wheat flour are put on the face, the forehead, arms and the chest of the corpse. Such balls are placed on the body of the deceased only when death has taken place on an unlucky day, or when there is an unlucky conjunction of stars. The son, or some other near relative, of the deceased generally performs these rites with the help of a Bráhman priest. On the third day he goes to the burning place, collects the ashes of the deceased, and throws them into the sea. On this occasion he is accompanied by the relatives of the deceased. Rich persons who are able to go to Benares keep the bones of their deceased parents and throw them into the Ganges at Prayága near Benares after performing certain Shráddhas there. The giving of oblations continues daily till the tenth day. The oblations of the tenth day are called Das Pinda. The rites of the eleventh day are called Ekotistha. On the eleventh day the person performing the rites has to change his sacred thread, after sipping a little cow’s urine. Cooked food is prepared at the place where the rites of the eleventh day are performed, and Bráhmans are fed there, or at least thirty-two mouthfuls of cooked food are offered to the sacred fire. A big ball of boiled rice is put before the sacred fire or near the Bráhmans taking their meals. This ball is then thrown into the sea. A male calf is branded, worshipped and let loose. This calf is called Vasu, and is considered sacred by the villagers. On the 11th day, special ceremonies for propitiating the eight Vasus and the eleven Rudras are performed, and gifts of a plot of ground, a cow, cooking vessels, various kinds of corn, golden images, silver and copper coins, clothes, shoes, umbrellas, bedding, etc. are given to the Bráhmans collected there. On the 13th day after death a feast is given to 13 or more Bráhmans and the other relatives. Navakádán, i.e., the gift of a ship and Gopradán, i.e., of a cow and a calf, are also given to the Bráhmans on the understanding that they will help the soul of the dead while crossing the river Vaitarna.[60]

Water mixed with til or sesamum seed, sandalpaste, and oblations of boiled rice are given daily to the manes to secure their goodwill towards the survivors.[61]

At Bankavli in the Dápoli taluka of the Ratnágiri District, in order to prevent the soul from assuming the form of a ghost, there is a custom of tying a piece of Gulvel, a species of moonseed, or the seed of a vegetable known as Máthbháji, round the neck of the corpse before burning it. It is also believed that, by doing this, the soul is prevented from troubling the survivors.[62]

At Poladpur in the Kolába District, some villagers drive an iron nail into the head of the corpse before it is taken to the funeral ground. They believe that, in consequence, the soul of the deceased will not turn into an evil spirit. Some people scatter grain on the road while the corpse is being carried to the cremation ground.[63]

Among the Hindus in the Konkan, as well as in the Deccan, dead bodies are generally burnt, but under the following circumstances they are buried.

Persons dying of small pox, women dying in childbirth or during their menses, children dying within six months from their birth, and Sanyásis are buried. The bodies of persons suffering from leprosy are necessarily buried.[64] Among Lingáyats the bodies are always buried. Certain mantras are repeated while burying or burning the dead body. While burying, cocoanuts and certain kinds of grain are thrown into the grave, and after covering the dead body with salt, the grave is filled up with earth and stones.[65] While burning, the dead body is placed on the funeral pile with its head to the north and feet towards the south. Tulsi wood, sandal-wood, and Bel wood are kept on the pile before placing the dead body over it. Cocoanuts and camphor cakes are placed on the body, and it is set on fire. Among the Lingáyats and Gosávis the dead are buried. Before burying, the Lingáyats have to take a written order from their priest, the Ayya or Jangam. The paper is then tied to the neck of the deceased, and the body is placed in a bag made of new cloth, the head being allowed to remain out of the bag. Bhasma or ashes, salt and camphor are also put into the bag along with the corpse, which is then buried. The Jangam repeats mantras when the body is in the grave. No such written order is necessary for the burial of Gosávis. A cocoanut is broken on the head of the corpse at the time of burying it. Among high class Hindus the corpse is carried to the funeral ground in a bier made of bamboos. Among the Lingáyats a gaily dressed frame called Makhar is prepared on the bier, and the body is dressed with clothes and head dress and seated in the Makhar. Some of them carry the dead body in a bag made of blanket. There is a custom of keeping foot-prints on the spot where a Sanyási is buried, and they are daily worshipped by the people.[66] Among the Káthawatis of Thána and Kolába Districts the dead body is first buried, and after a few days the skeleton is taken out of the grave and then burnt as usual.[67] Among the high class Hindus the moustaches are shaved at the death of parents, paternal uncle and elder brother. Among the Shudras it is not necessary to shave.[68] Persons who have lost their parents have to perform certain funeral rites or Shráddhas when they visit holy places such as Benáres, Prayág, Ayodhya and Násik, and they have to shave their moustaches at all these places before performing the funeral rites.[69] Moustaches are also shaved as a penance for certain sins. The Agnihotri, i.e., one who preserves perpetual fire in his house for worship, has to get himself shaved every fortnight.[70]

Among high class Hindus boiled rice is daily offered to the dead after a portion has been thrown into the fire, the remainder being given to the crows. The portion thrown in the fire is called Vaishvadev, and that which is given to the crows is called Kágwás. Among other Hindus it is given on the last day of Bhádrapada and on the date of the father’s death, annually.[71] Oblations of boiled rice are given to the dead every day, on the last day of the Hindu calendar month, on the date of a person’s death every month, on the same date of the dark half of Bhádrapada every year. These oblations are put out of the house before taking the meals. It is believed that the ancestors come down in the form of crows to partake of these offerings.[72] Oblations of cooked food are also offered to a cow, and considered thus to be received by the dead. They are especially given to the crows annually in the dark half of Bhádrapada on the date of the deceased’s death.[73] After the corpse has been carried to the funeral ground, an oil lamp containing one cotton wick is kept on the spot where the deceased expired. The flame of the lamp is directed towards the south as it is believed that the soul goes to heaven by the south. A ball of boiled rice and a little quantity of water or milk is kept daily for the first ten days near the lamp while repeating the name of the deceased and of the gotra to which it belonged. The lamp is taken out of the house on the 11th day.[74]