3 6 7
31. The habit of smoking is easily formed and
difficult to leave.
A respectable young man (a Mudeliar), who had
given way to the habit, told me that for a month
he was ill after giving it up. He fell sick, had
pain in stomach, bowels were irregular, sleep and
appetite were bad. He has given up the habit for
a year past, but still has a craving if he sees
others smoke. He took to smoking a small cheroot
called pidi, in order to break off the habit of ganja
smoking ; ganja smokers deprived of the pipe become
weak and helpless. One man said he could not give
it up, and if he was unable to get ganja in one town
he would go to another. The practice of smoking
invariably leads to excess. The Mudeliar referred to
said emphatically smokers smoke in order to get in-
toxicated, ganja is a cheap and hence a popular
intoxicant.
33. The smoking of ganja and the eating of
majium, etc., are considered bad. Undoubtedly this
is the general opinion in this district. The reason
is that the custom of using these things weakens
the consumer physically and morally.
One man, I spoke to, said that if he had a friend
enslaved to ganja consumption he would recommend
him to take spirits and so substitute that habit as
less serious. The Mudeliar referred to in answer
31 was regarded by his friends as falling into a de-
praved state, and so he regarded himself and left
the habit.
Two smokers, when asked, told me they would
be glad to give up the habit. Both said they would
not persuade others to adopt it. One man said :
" my boy may perhaps follow my example, or he
may take me as a warning " ; others admitted
the habit was bad, but they said how could they
give it up. If they had plenty of food they
might, but they could not work ; they would get
pain in their backs by working. Others, to whom
I spoke (a sugarcane grower's son and a salt-
maker), said it was against their caste customs to
smoke, and that the habit was bad. I asked some
smokers : " will you get other young men to
smoke ?" They at once replied : " we would not
ruin others (mattavargalai kedukka mattom)." I
did not at all suggest the idea of ruin. Winslow's
Tamil Dictionary gives ganjagottri as meaning " a
worthless person" (gottri lit.= a young calf). The
fact that the sellers of ganja do not use it goes to
shew that the use is bad. They and other respect-
able men were somewhat indignant at my asking if
they used ganja.
I have not heard that the hemp plant is worship-
ped, but it seems that ganja powder is burned as a
sort of incense before certain idols It is said to be
offered to Mathurai veeran, Karu-annasami Mun-
niappan, Karuparayan Aiyasswami and a swami at
Palni. It is also offered in the form of ganja roti
(= ganja bread) which is made in the houses, taken
to the temple and eaten. This is said to be offered
by pilgrims to the swami at Palni. A gnani named
Corakkar is said to have used ganja and to have
given his name to the plant (viz., Corakkar Kar-
mulikkai).
The power of extinguishing sensual and wordly
desire is attributed to the plant when smoked. It
enables the smoker to concentrate his thought for
meditation.
Appendix 3 contains a piece of poetry on the use
of ganja taken from " Kudyer Sinthu." The book
treats of the use of toddy, tobacco and ganja—see
page 6. There is another song book on ganja called
Kannerivu Malai which I have not been able to
botain.
One smoker quoted " ganja Sivabatthiri, pukai ilai
Brahmabatthiri," i . e ., " ganja is Siva's leaf. To-
bacco is Brahma's leaf." 1 could not learn that
ganja was called " the lock of Siva," though as
sadai means entangled locks, it may be so called as
well as Sivabatthiri (=leaf of Siva).
34. I presume it would be a serious privation,
but I gather that even many smokers would ap-
prove such action.
35. One man who was familiar with the prepar-
ation and use of ganja, although not himself
consuming it, said that restriction would be just
as feasible in regard to cultivation of ganja as to
cultivation of opium. No doubt there would be
illicit growth and consumption, but it would pro-
bably be slight. I do not think the prohibition in
this district would occasion serious discontent or
amount to a political danger.
Resort in many cases would be more frequent
to alcohol or to other drugs. I learnt that most
ganja smokers use spirits, toddy, opium or some
electuary composed partly of ganja.
39. The smoking of ganja is said to be much
more injurious than the eating of ganja confec-
tions. It should be remembered that the smoke
is swallowed, not merely drawn into the mouth.
Smoking destroys the appetite and decreases semi-
nal secretions even from the first. It results in
impotence. The use of majium, etc., has the same
effect in the end, but at first it greatly increases
the appetite. It is used for this purpose and as
a digestive. It is a strong aphrodisiac and is used
to that end. Several men asserted that they
smoked to remove hunger and to give staying
power. One man, who said he would give it up if
he had plenty of food, said he took ¼ measure of
rice daily. The young Mudaliar I have referred
to said lie used not to eat in. the evening while he
indulged the habit of ganja smoking. A ganja
smoker will not feel stirred up to be aggressive.
Rather than fight he will bear blows quietly.
Smokers give little trouble at chattrams, they
become fearful rather than fearless, but for a time
they have great staying-power and can lift heavy
w e i g h t s o r r u n l o n g d i s t a n c e s . p i l g r i m e s g o i n g t o P a l n i f r o m M a l a b a r , s o m e 6 0 m i l e s , m o v e a l o n g
with great swiftness and go many miles ; they say
smoking ganja helps them. They do not all take
ganja ; sanyasis when begging will gash themselves
severely on the arm or neck and scarcely feel
the pain ; this is due to their practice of smoking
ganja. I have seen numberless scars of gashes on
the neck or arm of a man.
40. The Dharina Vaitthya Salai at Pollachi is
a medical institution where only native medicines
are used. The proprietor's son who was in charge
told me that only once during the last year or so
had they administered ganja. That was in a case
of dysentery, and effects being bad, it was discon-
tinued.
A native who practises medicine occasionally told
me that in bad purging or dysentery ganja heads
would be given. They would. be mixed with
other herbs and sugar. The medicine is known as
murungapulegim. To children " white legiam " or
" baly legiam " (Kuranthai majium) is given.
Ganja is also given for loss of appetite—see also
answer No. 39.
Ganja enters into various medicines for regulat-
ing the semen. There is a popular medical work
based on Augstyar called Athmarad samirtham
ennum vaitthiya sarasangkirakam by Ayulvétha-
pasha Karanganthasami Mudeliar.