But, as is natural, the worship of the tiger prevails more widely among the jungle races. We have already met with Bâgheswar, the tiger deity of the Mirzapur forest tribes. The Santâls also worship him, and the Kisâns honour him as Banrâja, or “lord of the jungle.” They will not kill him, and believe that in return for their devotion he will spare them. Another branch of the tribe does not worship him, but all swear by him. The Bhuiyârs, on the contrary, have no veneration for him, and think it their interest to slay him whenever they have an opportunity. The Juângs take their oaths on earth from an ant-hill, and on a tiger’s skin; the ant-hill is a sacred object with the Khariyas, and the tiger skin is brought in when the Hos and Santâls are sworn. Among the eastern Santâls, the tiger is worshipped, but in Râmgarh only those who have suffered from the animal’s ferocity condescend to adore him. If a man is carried off by a tiger, the Bâgh Bhût, or “Tiger ghost,” is worshipped, and an oath on a tiger’s skin is considered most solemn.[31]
Bâgh Deo, the Tiger Godling.
Further west the Kurkus of Hoshangâbâd worship the tiger godling, Bâgh Deo, who is the Wâgh Deo of Berâr. At Petri in Berâr is a sort of altar to Wâghâî Devî, the tiger goddess, founded on a spot where a Gond woman was once seized by a tiger. She is said to have vanished as if by some supernatural agency, and the Gonds who desire protection from wild beasts present to her altar gifts of every kind of animal from a cow downwards. A Gond presides over the shrine and receives the votive offerings.
In Hoshangâbâd the Bhomka is the priest of Bâgh Deo. “On him devolves the dangerous duty of keeping tigers out of the boundaries. When a tiger visits a village, the Bhomka repairs to Bâgh Deo, and makes his offerings to the god, and promises to repeat them for so many years on condition that the tiger does not appear for that time. The tiger, on his part, never fails to fulfil the compact thus solemnly made by his lord; for he is pre-eminently an upright and honourable beast—‘pious withal,’ as Mandeville says, not faithless or treacherous like the leopard, whom no compact can bind. Some Bhomkas, however, masters of more powerful spell, are not obliged to rely on the traditional honour of the tiger, but compel his attendance before Bâgh Deo; and such a Bhomka has been seen, a very Daniel among tigers, muttering his incantations over two or three at a time as they crouched before him. Still more mysterious was the power of Kâlibhît Bhomka (now, alas! no more). He died, the victim of misplaced confidence in a Louis Napoleon of tigers, the basest and most bloodthirsty of his race. He had a fine large Sâj tree into which, when he uttered his spells, he would drive a nail. On this the tiger came and ratified the contract with enormous paw manual. Such was that of Timûr the Lame, when he dipped his mighty hand in blood and stamped its impression on a parchment grant.”[32]
In the same way in other parts of the Central Provinces the village sorcerers profess to be able to call tigers from the jungles, to seize them by the ears, and control their voracity by whispering to them a command not to come near their villages, or they pretend to know a particular kind of root, by burying which they can prevent the beasts of the forest from devouring men or cattle. With the same object they lay on the pathway small models of bedsteads and other things which are supposed to act as charms and stop their advance.
Magical Powers of Dead Tigers.
All sorts of magical powers are ascribed to the tiger after death. The fangs, the claws, the whiskers are potent charms, valuable for love philters and prophylactics against demoniacal influence, the Evil Eye, disease and death. The milk of a tigress is valuable medicine, and it is one of the stock impossible tasks or tests imposed upon the hero to find and fetch it, as he is sent to get the feathers of the eagle, water from the well of death, or the mystical cow guarded by Dânos or Râkshasas.[33] The fat is considered a valuable remedy for rheumatism and similar maladies. The heart and flesh are tonics, stimulants and aphrodisiacs, and give strength and courage to those who use them. The Miris of Assam prize tiger’s flesh as food for men; it gives them strength and courage; but it is not suited for women, as it would make them too strong-minded.[34] The whiskers are believed, among other qualities which they possess, to be a slow poison when taken with food, and the curious rudimentary clavicles, known as Santokh or “happiness,” are highly valued as amulets. There is a general belief that a tiger gets a new lobe to his liver every year. A favourite amulet to repel demoniacal influence consists of the whiskers of the tiger or leopard mixed with nail parings, some sacred root or grass, and red lead, and hung on the throat or upper arm. This treatment is particularly valuable in the case of young children immediately after birth. Tiger’s flesh is also a potent medicine and charm, and it is burnt in the cow-stall when cattle disease prevails. The flesh of the tiger, or if that be not procurable, the flesh of the jackal is burnt in the fields to keep off blight from the crops.