366
(5) Tathupushti
(6) Kulk-kanthupathami
(7) Bilvathi.
Nos. 1 and 3 were said to be the same by one
seller, and No. 7 to be much the same. Nos. 3
and 7 were said to be the same by another seller.
Nos. 4 and 5 said to be the same and not very
intoxicating and with some 160 ingredients. No. 6
not very intoxicating and is used by respectable
men. Nos. 4 and 5 as their names imply are to
increase or strengthen seminal secretions. Legiam
seems to be a common name for all these
e l e c t u a r i e s — ( S a n s k r i t ) l i c k i n g " a l a m b a t i v e ; " s o m e h o w e v e r
assert that legrani is itself a different preparation.
Probably the name of the whole class gets applied
to one or other of the preparations where only one
or two preparations are sold.
There is also a preparation called ganja roti
which I have not seen. It is made in their houses
by the consumers.
3. It will grow anywhere in this district appar
ently. I have seen it growing in eight places. I
was generally told that it grew spontaneously.
There are usually some half dozen shrubs together.
In one place I saw about 30. In this place it
appeared to be cultivated.
4. The prevalent name is ganja chedi. It is
sometimes called bhang.
7. I am told that some seven miles north of
Pollachi the plant is cultivated for production of
ganja for smoking and for preparation of
e l e c t u a r i e s .
9. I know nothing about this other than that
fowl manure is sometimes used for plants grown
privately, ox manure is also good. Plants are
twisted three or four times during growth to pre
vent too much growth and to
s t r e n g t h e n t h e r e s i o u s c h a r a c t e r o f t h e p l a n t . I n t w o c a s e s I w a s
told that the plant has no special season—" neither
day nor star" (nalumillai natchatthiramilai) —and
needed about 10 months to ripen. Several assert,
however, that the plant has its own seasons, that it
ripens in January. It grows chiefly along the
borders of land where there is chilly, tobacco, or
brinjaw : not in the middle of these things, or
it would injure them.
10. They do not form a special class in this
district.
13. There is no restriction on cultivation, trans
port or manufacture.
14. Please see my answer to question No. 2.
15. As far as I can tell there is but one method
of cultivation here, and that is to obtain the plant
to be used for smoking or to make confections.
I believe there is no difference as to cultivating
one plant for smoking and another for confections.
When grown, as partly described in answer No.
9, the plant is cut down, larger leaves are stripped
off. Remainder is dried, then put in the dew, then
dried and put in the dew again two or three times.
Then put in sacks and pressed with heavy stones
until it is in the right state to sell.
16. Not usually. I saw one pilgrim preparing
some by picking off the big leaves. He said he
should dry it and be able to use it after a month's
time.
I visited a Muhammadan's garden where
g a n j a w a s g r o w n f r o m s e e d f o r h i s o w n c o n s u m p t i o n
The gardener said the Muhammadan would come
and take fresh ganja and smoke it there and then
It is not good to use fresh ganja, it should be dried
naturally or over the fire. One sanyasi I saw had
been to a garden and begged some ganja which
he prepared by pulling off the big leaves. He said
he should dry it and keep it for a month before
using.
Old ganja is preferred to newer. I heard one
purchaser say " give me good old stuff."
Those who have ganja shrubs growing in theirs
gardens seem usually to give ganja to sanyasis,
but one of the latter said that now there is hesi
tation on account of this Government enquiry
17. No special class.
18. Ganja is said to deteriorate from damp and
to lose its power after a year. It seemed to be
kept loose in sacks in the shops.
NOTE.— Please note carefully my answer to ques
tion 2.
19. Ganja is apparently used only for smoking
unless made up into confections (i.e., electuaries).
I heard that some ' might' prepare it with milk
for drinking and with eggs for eating. But I
came across no such case. Charas seems not to
be used or even known in this district.
20. Any one of any class who falls into the
habit. I have known a Brahman and a Muham
madan smoke ganja. Fakirs and sanyasis invari
ably use ganja for smoking, but their wives do not.
It is exceptional to find a female using ganja. I
only came across two who did so.
21. Podi or thul, kali, javathu—see answer No.
2. Not improbably, the first is what the Commis
sioners ask about as ' chur,' the second may be
round,' and javathu may be 'flat,' but I cannot
say with any certainty. Of the three kinds men
tioned javathu would be preferred first, then kali,
then podi. or thul.
23. Please see my answer to question 2.
27. Ganja smokers appear to be mainly fakirs
and sanyasis and to have derived the habit of
smoking from their fathers. Of the smokers
I saw, seven told me their fathers had smoked,
but only one that his mother did so. As a rule
these men beg and do no work whatever, some
say they have never done a day's work. They
wander from place to place. They say they have
smoked from the age of 10 or 12. I saw two boys
s a i d t o be 8 a nd 12 ( a nd who l ooke d not mor e )
smoking. One man said he smoked when he
was 5. Smokers invariably told me their mothers
and wives did not smoke. The mother of one
s o m k e r w a s w i t h h i m a n d h e s a i d s h e s m o k e d . S h e d e c l i n e d t h e p i p e i n m y p r e s e n c e , t h o u g h h e a n d
others took it including her two boys of 8 and 12.
Sellers of ganja also told me they sell very little
to women.
Smokers are mostly married and having one
or two children.
29. One man told me that dhatura was some
times mixed in ganja by the sellers to increase
the intoxicating properties, but by-standers tried
to hush him up. A ganja smoker told me he
took dhatura. I had not, however, much talk
with either of these men.
30. Ganja smoking seems commonly to be per-
formed in company. (The eating of electuaries
generally in solitude.) The pipe is passed from
mouth to mouth. Smoking is almost solely con
fined to the male sex— see answers 20 and 27. It
.is confined to that "time of life" which a smoker
has left to him. I saw no old ganja smoker. One
man told me that if a smoker had in the ordinary
course of nature twenty years to live, he would
live ten. As to age of smokers see answer 27.