Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-04-27
Burmese Superstitions.

Among the Hill Karenns-some Of
whom are extremely fiery and stalxart
individuals-when an epidemic breaks
out in village, all the other neighbof-
ing. settlements establish an elementary
kind OF quarantine, taSbreak tkrnngh
which entails very unpleasant conse-
quences to the offender. The hill and
forest paths leading to-rthe afflicted vii
lage are blocked up In q loose kind of
way. A beam Is slung across the track,
a1dsto this is suspended q heavy stone.
Any one passing over this log barricade
would have to pay the penalty with his
life unless he was able to bay himself off
with the weight of th9stone IN gold, an
exceedingly improbable contingency in
the case of most mountain wayfarers.
This custom is stillste be- met with in
some of the out-oi-the- way partsn of the
British, Province Of Tenasserilri. and
Captain Low. tells us that he once found
himself In adilemma of this kind. Like
most lawebreaking Englishmen in for
eign parts he; however, got off free. He
declined altogether to paw ANYTHING at
all, and the hill men wisely concluded
that the endeavor to exact his blood
would be almost as dangerous as 10 risk
the infection, which it is satisfactory Ito
relate, did not descend upon; the VILLAGERS
thus intruded upon. Rowing demons.
who paight just as readily carry the pes
thence as human beings, are begged off
at these log barriers by the depesitinS Of
offerings of the usual kind, mostiyeatables,
as being more likely reproduce lethargv,
or at any rate good temper, than flow
ers, a posy of which is, however. fire.
quently very acceptable to the spirits.
especially if it is made up of heavy
smelling orchids. In not few of the
hill tracts there is an analogous custom
observed, one which bears a strong re-
semblance to the rite called "cennaS by
the Nagas. Before the season for the
commencement of labor on the hill
clearings the whole village is shut up
entirely and no one is allowed either to
leave or to enter the stoekade which sur,
rounds it. All the fires in the place are
put out, and no cooking is done until the
prescribed time. varying from one day
to week, has passed over These lights
are obtained from spirit fire. if the
district is fortunate enough to have such
a will-o'- wisp-like phenomenon in its
neighborhood. If not, the wizard or
spirit doctor of the community furnishes
fire in mysterious fashion, and mumbles
many "gatas" over it before the good
wives are allowed to kindle the flame on
the household hearth. Till this has been
done any visitors there may be, though
such apparitions are in most districts ex-
ceeding rarities ON the cherries hill-tops.
are kept outside, and have to provide
for, themselves in the way of food and
shelter as best they can. Fortunately
for them the highlanders are not so hos.
pitable in their preparations as the Ma
lays and Achinese, who scatter ''ranjows"
(sharp-pointed caltrops) on the paths
and feather the long grass with barbed
hooks which work into the flesh, or as
certain negro tribes who hope to make
themselves inaccessible. to demons by
plentifully sowing the paths with thorns.
--Corahitt Magazine.