or “May the buffaloes and calves become well, may I recover from my illness, I will give a buffalo.”[9]
FIG. 42.—THE ‘IRNÖRTKARS’ AT KARS. IN THE BACKGROUND IS THE ‘WURSULI.’
From this account it seems clear that the ceremony of irnörtiti is not a mere punishment for offences committed. If a man commits any of the recognised offences habitually and with the knowledge of the whole community, it does not appear that anything is done. Only when some severe misfortune befalls the offender does he appeal to the diviners to learn how he has offended and how he can atone for his fault. He gives the buffalo with the definite idea of recovering from the illness or removing any other ills which his [[300]]offences have brought upon him. Giving the buffalo is clearly of the nature of a ‘sin offering,’ but the offering is only made when the sin has already had evil consequences and it is made in order to remove these consequences. Its object is atonement for an offence committed. It seemed that a man only had resort to the advice of the diviners in the case of exceptionally severe misfortunes. The act of giving the buffalo is attended by ceremonial which involves considerable expense to himself and great inconvenience to all the members of his clan. The expenses and inconvenience are so great that the ceremonies of irnörtiti and tuninörtiti are rarely performed, and in some clans it is many years since they have occurred.
There is one case in which the irnörtiti ceremony may be performed for a reason quite different from any of those given above. Owing to a quarrel which took place many generations ago, the people of Pedrkars (and probably also those of Kulhem) may not hold the office of palol. They may become eligible, however, if they perform the irnörtiti ceremony at Kuudr or Kiudr. It would seem as if they can only hold the office by expiating the offence committed in the remote past by their ancestors.
The Irnörtiti Ceremony
This ceremony takes place at certain prescribed villages, usually at the chief village of the clan, though when a clan has several important dairies the ceremony may be performed at any of them. Thus, members of the Kuudrol may give the buffalo at Kuudr, Kiudr or Miuni.
At nearly every village there is an appointed spot, usually marked by a stone or a group of stones, called irnörtkars, at which the ceremony is to be performed. At Kars there is a row of stones, shown in [Fig. 42]. At Nòdrs the appointed spot is a pool of water ([Fig. 43]) by the side of a gap in the long wall of that village.
