It seemed that this method of sorcery is only justified when the sorcerer is a poor man, and the references in the incantation to the poverty of the sorcerer confirm this.
When a man who has prevaricated with the request of a sorcerer suffers any evil fortune, he consults the diviners, and they may tell him not only who has produced the misfortune, but why the sorcerer has brought the misfortune upon him and they may advise the sufferer to become reconciled with his enemy and to give him what he has asked. The man goes to the sorcerer, who is usually only too ready to take the credit of the affair, and it is arranged that he shall come to the village of the sufferer. Whenever he comes a third person must be present, who is called the nedrvol, or intermediate man.[4] The nedrvol brings about the reconciliation, and arranges the terms, and then the sufferer bows down before the sorcerer and performs the kalmelpudithti salutation. The sorcerer then utters the following formula while his foot is resting on the head of the man:—
â Those teu gods udâsnûdr, if there be, an his nòdr country udâsnûdr; if there be; taned cold peu go mâ; may; term mercy ai become, peu go mâ; may; in this îr buffalo kark calf to elm all ultâmâ; be well; en my mans mind elm all tülsvîshpini, cleared from guilt have I, tan his mansm mind also tüli clear mâ. may.
Teitnir rendered this freely as follows:—
By those gods if there be gods, and by their country if there be a country; as water is cold, so goes my anger; as mercy comes, may my anger go; may his buffaloes and [[259]]calves be well; I have now nothing evil in my mind, you must also have no evil in your mind.
Food is then given to the sorcerer, who also obtains the object for which he had originally asked. Later the sorcerer goes secretly to the hut of the man and takes out the stones and hair which he had hidden in the thatch.
In removing the spell the sorcerer does not mention the names of the four gods, but speaks of them as “those gods.” The object of this is that the names of the four gods whom the sorcerer invokes shall not become generally known.
If any one quarrels with a sorcerer, the method adopted by the latter is different. He obtains a bone of a man, buffalo, or some other animal, or if unable to obtain a bone, he may use a lime. He sits, holding the bone or lime in his right hand, and utters the following incantation:—
Pithioteu Ön idith, Teikirzim Tirshtim idith; a teu sati udâsnûdr, an nòdr udâsnûdr; ank to him pudra will destroy pîrsk disease pat come mâ; may; ank to him ud one ultâkhâth incurable pun sore pâ come mâ; may; an his kal leg muri broken ûmâ; may be; an his kai hand mûri broken ûmâ; may be; an his kan eye pudri destroyed ûmâ; may be; an his ârs house ulrsh into an his kûdûpel family ûvòdink to all sakötam trouble pâ come mâ; may; âth he enk to me sakötam troubles kasvai did who agi accordingly ankm to him also sakötam troubles ö occur mâ; may; an his nòdr country udi there is ed that ariken we shall know â those teu gods udi there is ed that kanken; we shall see; i this elv bone nels into the ground alaiu what happens, ai that òlkm man to also alâ happen mâ. may.
The only clause of this incantation of which the meaning is not clear is the penultimate, and the free rendering of this was said to be “as there are undoubtedly gods, we shall see all this happen”; it seems that ariken, which means literally “we shall know,” is often used in the sense “without doubt.” If he is using a lime, the sorcerer substitutes îrsimitch for elv in the last clause.