The harsh sound of a crow is taken as a sure sign of an impending mishap.
The dog, cat, pig, ass, buffalo, rat, bhálu, an old female jackal, lizard, and the birds cock, crow, kite, vulture, owl, bat, and pingla are considered as unholy and inauspicious by Hindus.
CHAPTER X.
WITCHCRAFT.
Chetak is an art secretly learnt by women. It is a form of the black art. A woman well versed in the mantras of chetak can do any mischief she chooses. She can kill a child or turn any person into a dog or other animal by the power of her incantations. The Chetakin can remove all the hair from the head of a woman, or scatter filth, etc. in a person’s house, make marks of crosses with marking nuts on all the clothes, or play many other such tricks without betraying a trace of the author of the mischief. The chetakins are able to mesmerize a man and order him to do anything they want. A Chetakin or witch cannot herself appear in the form of an animal.
They follow revolting forms of ceremonies. All witches who have learnt the black art meet at night once a month on the Amávásya day or no moon day of every month, at a burning ground outside the village. On such occasions they go quite naked, and apply turmeric and red powders to the body and forehead. While coming to the cremation ground they bring on their heads burning coals in an earthen pot called Kondi. At this meeting they repeat their mantras, and take care that none are forgotten. After completing the repetition of the mantras, they go round the village and return to their respective houses. They have no special haunts or seasons.
In the Kolhápur District the woman who is in possession of a chetak is called chetakin. The chetak is said to abide by her orders. It is believed to bring corn and other things from houses or harvesting grounds. It is seen only by its mistress the chetakin. The belief that the chetakins can turn a person into the form of an animal does not prevail in this district. They do not wander from one place to another. The chetakin has to go once a year to the temple of the deity from whom the chetak has been brought, and to pay the annual tribute for the use of that chetak or servant spirit.[1]
There are no witches in the Ratnágiri District. It is said that there are some at Kolwan in the Thána District. They are generally found among Thákars. Some of them come to the Ratnágiri District, but though no one can tell anything about their powers, ignorant people are very much afraid of them.[2] It is believed that they can turn persons into animals by means of their incantations. The person once charmed by their mantras is said to blindly abide by their orders. It is also believed that they can ruin anybody by their magic.
There are no witches at Rái in the Thána District. The woman who can influence evil spirits to do harm to others is called a Bhutáli. It is said that the Bhutális assemble at the funeral ground in a naked state on the full-moon day and on the Amávásya, or the last day of every month, to refresh their knowledge of the black art.[3]