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10. Cultivators in Bijapur do not belong to
any particular class.
11, 12 and 13. I have no answers to give to
questions 11, 12 and 13.
14. The only product prepared in Bijapur and
Jat is ganja broken and flat. Bhang as defined by
Dr. Prain is not produced in Bijapur. There is
nowhere a demand for it in the six collectorates I
am writing about, and I have satisfied myself in
more districts than one by personally enquiring at
the retail shops that bhang as defined by Dr. Prain
is never sold in these parts. The " chur," broken
stuff, which sometimes passes under that name
and which is used in the preparation of drinks,
answers to the description of broken ganja and is
sent herewith as a sample. What is, however,
bought as bhang by consumers is simply " chur "
or broken ganja.
The process beginning with the reaping of the
crop to its final stage, when marketable ganja is
produced, may be briefly described as follows :—
There being no wild hemp in any of these six
districts, my account refers to the cultivated hemp
from which ganja is produced.
The female plants commence to flower about
the beginning of January ; the more advanced
among them bear flowers a little earlier. It is,
however, about the middle of January when the
ganja flowers attain maturity, a proof of which
is to be found in the change of colour from green
to brown and from the dropping of the leaves.
The cultivator at this stage sells the standing
crop or himself cuts it and manufactures ganja.
Cutting is generally done in the morning. The
crop is not cut down all at once. The most
matured plants are selected, and the tops (ends) of
the flowery branches are cut with a sickle. Those
that remain below are plucked by hand. When
the flowered twigs are thus separated from the
plants, they are carried to the place, at no great
distance, intended for treading. The place is
somewhat hardened and cowdunged. Over this
ground they spread dry leaves of the same plant
all over. The flowered twigs are then placed in
layers in square forms. This is done in the morn-
ing. In the afternoon, at about one o'clock, the
men, after meal, return to the place, and then
three to four among themselves are set treading
and tramping over each square about 10 × 10
feet and about six inches deep.
This process continues for about three or four
hours, the twigs being turned up and down at
intervals. The stalks and the withered leaves are
then removed. They leave the twigs on the same
ground the whole night, unless they think it will
rain at night. The process of treading is thus
repeated for four days successively, and when the
fifth turn is over the process is complete, when
the flowers assume a flat shape. The stamping
and treading is done with a view to force the
small stipules and flowers to adhere to each other
and form one mass. The resinous exudation on
the ganja enables the flowers to form into one
mass very effectually. In Bijapur only flat ganja
is manufactured and no other kind.
The chur or broken ganja is not, however, the
product of any particular or special preparation,
but the result of the process of treading and
trampling. When it is going on, portions of the
flowers drop down broken, and such parts of it
as cannot be pressed on the spikes and made to
stick thereto are collected and packed separately.
This is chur or broken ganja, which passes here
vol. vii.
under the name of bhang. "he chur or broken
ganja may also be said to be the powder or residue
which is naturally accumulated at the bottom of
ganja bags during conveyance.
I visited the place of manufacture at Bijapur
on the 16th and 17th of the current mouth.
When I visited the place, it was about 2 o'clock,
and the process of treading and trampling the
ganja flowers was going on. The process is con-
tinued in the sun and not in the shade.
The preparation of ganja for smoking does not
require a detailed explanation. A few ganja pods
are soaked in cold water for a few minutes. It
they find any stalks or seeds, they separate them
from the ganja. The pods thus soaked are placed
on the left palm and rubbed hard with the right
thumb, pouring water constantly. The con-
sumers then squeeze out the stuff and mix ordi-
nary tobacco with it, and put the mixture in the
pipe and light it up. In case of the drug being
used for drinking and eating, the pods are, as in
the first instance, separated from all the impurities
by soaking them in water, and then their extract
is used in liquids or sweetmeats according to the
taste of the consumers.
16. I have in some places in the Dharwar dis-
trict seen hemp plants in private compounds.
They can't be said to have grown wild, and if
they are specially reared, it must be with special
purpose.
17. The only preparations used in these parts
are the flat and broken ganja. They are sold in
the form in which they are imported except at
Bijapur, where they are made by the cultivators
who do not belong to any special class.
18. Both flat and broken ganja lose their aroma
as well as their effect by long keeping. In the
moist climate it loses its effect in the course of
about two years almost entirely. If kept in a
closed packet it may last in a damp climate for
a year or a year and a half. In a dry climate
like that of Bijapur it may last for two or three
years. Exposure seems to me to be one of the
principal causes of deterioration, and I can sug-
gest no measures to prevent it. It has been com-
monly observed that coloured clothes, such as
turbans, do not deteriorate in Poona by exposure.
In the Konkan they are packed and placed in a
heap of rice so as to be beyond the reach of mois-
ture. But this notwithstanding, the colour loses
its brightness directly it is taken out for use. It
also gets spoiled in a damp climate much sooner
than in a dry climate.
19. Smoking is the chiefest and therefore com-
monest use of ganja. Sweetmeats and liquids
in various forms are prepared and used. The
quantity of spice, sugar and milk will in each
case depend upon the means of the persons using
them. But poor people would often drink powder-
ed ganja in a cup of sugarcane juice or in pure
water with ordinary " massala" (spice) of " miri "
(black pepper), and "baritep " (anise seed), etc.
They also add jagri to the liquid.
The most favourite drink of the well-to-do class
of ganja users, as I found in Northern India
(where they invariably use bhang for all drinking
purposes) is " ghota" or dudhiya. The intoxicat-
ing power of this drink depenus upon the quan-
tities of the various ingredients put together and
the length of time employed in oxidising the
liquid. This is a favourite drink with rich and
well-to do classes occasionally seeking relief, and
is generally used during the summer months,
when " Vedic " Brahmins assemble to repeat the
2 G