On the day arranged for the ceremony at Karia the palikartmokh was ill, and as none of the other inhabitants of Karia was able to undertake the office, an elderly man, Punatvan (53), had to be fetched from another village. On his arrival he had first to go through the ordination ceremonies for the office of palikartmokh, a lucky chance which gave me the only opportunity I had during my visit of observing these proceedings.
At the ernkar wood for the fire is collected, and over small firewood the people place several logs about three feet in length, so that the fire is of an oblong form. The firewood must be of one or both of the kinds called main and kiül. While some of those present are making the fire, others will be fashioning sharply pointed stakes of wood on which the parts of the calf are to be impaled. These sticks are called ko, and must be made of one of the following four kinds of wood: avelashki, karkekoi, kwadiki, or pohvet. It was said that exactly fifty of these ko must be provided. [[277]]
The first stage of the ceremonial is to make fire by friction, which should be done by the palikartmokh. The only occasion on which I saw fire made by friction during an actual ceremony was when I witnessed the sacrifice at Karia, and on this occasion both Punatvan and his chief assistant, Pichievan (69) of Keadr, twirled the fire-sticks alternately, but though they soon produced some smoke, they failed to light the rag used as tinder. My constant attendant, Kòdrner, was called in, and with his more powerful manipulations was almost immediately successful, and the lighted rag was carried by Punatvan to the heap of firewood, which was soon in a good blaze.
FIG. 37.—PUNATVAN AND PICHIEVAN ATTEMPTING TO MAKE FIRE AT THE ‘ERKUMPTTHPIMI’ CEREMONY.[2]
As soon as the fire is alight the calf is brought to the [[278]]ernkar, and the palikartmokh goes to cut a log of tudr wood and three small branches of tudr leaves. The calf should be fifteen days old and must be without blemish. Its ears must not be split, its tail must not be cut, and its eyes must be clear.
The log of tudr wood is for the killing of the calf and is about four feet in length and about three inches in thickness. Such a log is usually called tudrkud, but on this occasion is named erkumptthkud. The three branches of tudr must consist of perfect leaves. Such branches are usually called tudrkwunak, but on the occasion of this ceremony they receive the name toashtitudr.
The palikartmokh then stands in front of the calf, holding the log and leaves in his right hand. He raises the log and leaves to his forehead as a salutation, and then recites the appointed prayer. This prayer is different for each clan and consists of clauses in each of which the kwarzam of one of the villages of the clan is followed by “——k per mâ.” Thus the first clause of the Kuudr prayer is atthkârk per mâ; atthkâr is the kwarzam of Kuudr, k is the suffix, meaning “to,” and per mâ is “may increase” or “may there be increase.” All the clauses of the prayer are of this form except the last two, which are karsêram parsêram; Nòtîrzk êr usht mâ; the first of which is a kwarzam of Kulinkars, êram probably meaning buffaloes, while the second means, “may the buffalo appear to Nòtirzi.” The calf is supposed to appear to Nòtirzi and then to go from the hill of this goddess to the hill of Kulinkars. The complete prayers of Kuudr and Kars are given on pp. 288, 289.
The palikartmokh touches the head of the calf with the erkumptthkud ([Fig. 38]) as he utters each kwarzam till he comes to the penultimate clause of the prayer, at which point he begins the following series of actions. He draws the three branches of tudr leaves along the back of the calf from head to tail and then drops one of the three toashtitudr on the ground behind the calf. The two remaining branches are drawn along the back of the calf from tail to head in the reverse direction to the first, and on reaching the head one of the two branches is dropped on the ground at the head of the animal. [[279]]The remaining branch is drawn from head to tail and dropped on the ground by the side of the first (see [Fig. 39]).
The animal is then killed by striking it on the head with the erkumptthkud. The palikartmokh then takes up the three toashtitudr, and, taking them in his right hand with the log, passes them round the calf three times. In doing this, the body of the calf rests on its side, while the log and leaves are passed between the two fore-legs, then between the two hind-legs, round the hind-quarters, and forward over the back and head, so that they make a complete circuit of the animal, and this circuit is twice repeated, so that the log and leaves are passed completely round the calf three times.