The Colfax chronicle., 1888-11-24
BLACK ART In INDIA.
4 Country Where Sorcerers Live
and Thrive.

There is scarcely village in Eastern |
and Southern India that does not pos
sess its witch, to whom terrible powers
are attributed by the popular mind.
The witches, they say, can suck the
blood Of healthy children; and the
anxious mother directly she sees the
witch approach, catches up her child
and mutters some charm to save the
dear one from being sucked to death.
OF course the best antidote to the occult
influence of the dreaded hags is the
gift Of few copper coins or some sort
Of aims. But there are other means
employed to counteract their malignity.
They are sometimes detected by salt
being placed on their heads, which
causes them to turn round and mutter
incoherent syllables. Sometimes the
trembling mother spits on the head of
her child, or gently bites his little
finger, in order to render him witch
proof. No woman of the lower orders
who lives in village infested by
witch would venture to leave her house
with her child until she had made her.
self and her child safe by putting GER
tain mark on his forehead.
There are various modes Of treatment
for persons supposed to be under the
influence Of witch. The forehead of
child suffering from illness brought
ON by q witch's curse is sometimes
marked with burnt tumeric. Often the
mother. muttering some spells, sprin-
kles water over her child and rubs his
forehead over with burnt wicks Of
earthen lamps fed with mustard oil.
Sometimes branches of particular trees
are waved over the patient, who is
made to chew the leaves of plum trees.
But should these simple remedies fail,
a. they often do, to produce any effect
on the bewitched child, what would
happen then to the poor suffererP
There is no need to be in despair in
this matter, for. as the dock grows side
by side with the nettle, SO In India
there lives close by the witch the sor-
cerer, the practitioner of the black art,
who is always called in when the simple
remedies fail.
Like the witches, the sorcerers are
believed to possess great occult powers;
but, unlike the former, they often use
their skill for benefcent purposes. The
common sorcerers in India are a poo.
pie of very low caste, or no caste at all
belonging mainly to the aboriginal
races who are still outside the pale o
Hindooism. Their treatment, though
often violent, does not In modern times
result in death, as it did in some authen
ticated cases which happened years ago
The sorcerer, taking his place In from
Of his patient, with flowers in his hand
and q lamp and incense burning befor,
him. gives burnt tumeric and charmed
mustard seed to the bewitched person
to smell, and dashes cold water will
violence upon his face. Sometimes tn,
treatment Of the patient at the hands
Of sorcerer vicariously tortures tn,
witch. Thus It Is said that in one in
stance, upon the sorcerer squeezing tn,
juice Of certain plant into the eyes o
. ebewitched child, the witch immedi
otely complained of pain in the eyes
which she lost. and the child was cured
By far tho most formidable maQi
powers are, however, attributed to
class Of Brahmins, who are, par excel
1ence. the professors of the black art i
India. The Brahmin sorcerers ar
versed in the practice Of the spells an
charms which. with the accompanying
rites. are described in the Sanslxri
books, called tantras. The key-not
Of these is struck in well-know
couplet, which, done into English, run
thus: The whole world is in tn
power Of the gods. and the gods are
the power of magic; magic is in th
power Of the Brahmins, and therefor
The Brahmin is himself the god"
must not be forgotten, however, ths
A spite Of this oracular deliveranc,
and the Decentralization Of the magic,
spells and charms in several Sanskr
treatises and their commentaries, Il
Brahmins themselves acquired Il
black art from the Wild aboriginal rac'
~ India
of the six modes In which the Bral
: m6n oorcerer can influence his neigl
Nm, four are malignant ono is douh
"a. ana one only Il beneficial, 7!
~ uoollenant opereaiqqa ~. =