San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-10-17
BLACK ART IN INDIA.
A COUNTRY WHERE WITCHES AND
SoRcERERS LIVE AND THRIVE.

The Great Occult Powers OF Sorcerers.
Brahmins Who Excel in the Black Art.
There is scarcely village in Eastern and
Southern India that does not possess 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
hays is the gift of few copper coins or some
sort Of aims But there are other means EN-
ployed 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 Some
times 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 herself and her child safe by putting a
certain mark on his forehead.
TREATMENT OF THE BEwITcHED.
There are various modes Of treatment for
persons supposed to be under the influence Of
witch. The forehead Of a child suffering
from illness brought on by witch's curse is
sometimes marked with burnt turmeric
Often the mother, muttering some spells,
sprinkles 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 RENE
dies fail, as they often do, to produce any
effect on the bewitched child, what would
happen then to the poor suffererl 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 sorcerer, 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
beneicent purposes. The common sorcerers
in India are a people Of very low caste, or
no caste at all, belonging mainly to the
aboriginal races who are still outside the pale
Of Hindooism. Their treatment, though
often violent, does not in modern times result
in death, as it did in some authenticated cases
which happened years ago. The sorcerer,
taking his place In front Of his patient, with
flowers in his hand and lamp and incense
burning before him, gives burnt turmeric
and charmed mustard seed to the bewitched
person to smell, and dashes cold water with
violence upon his face Sometimes the treat
ment Of the patient at the hands Of sorcerer
vicariously tortures the witch. Thus it is
said that in one instance, upon the sorcerer
squeezing the juice Of q certain plant into
the eyes of bewitched child, the witch inn
mediately complained Of pain in the eyes,
which she lost, and the child was cared.
METHODS OF BRAHM1a soRcERERs
By far the most formidable magic powers
are, however, attributed to class Of Brah-
Minis, who are par excellence the professors
Of the black art in India. The Brahmin sor-
cerers are versed in the practice of the spells
and charms which, with the accompanying
rites, are described in the Sanskrit books,
called tantras The keynote Of these is struck
in a well known couplet, which, done into
English, runs thus: 1.-THE whole world is in
the power of the gods, and the gods are in
the power Of magic; magic is in the power of
the Brahmins, and therefore the Brahmin is
himself the god" 1t must not be forgotten,
however, that in spite of this oracular de-
liverance, and the systematization Of the
magical spells and charms in several San
skirt treatises and their commentaries, the
Brahmins themselves acquired the black art
from the wild aboriginal races Of India. OF
the six modes in which the Brahmin sorcerer
can influence his neighbors, four are malig
nant, one is doubtful and one only is benef-
cial The four malignant operations-are the
causing Of death, the destruction of property
or mental capacity, the stoppage Of physical
or mental action and the causing Of feuds be-
tween friends The art of bringing an indi-
vidual completely under the control Of the
expert is the neutral operation. The only
branch Of white magic discussed is the power
of relieving sufferer from disease or the
hostile influences of the stars and other
heavenly bodies.
A severe and prolonged probation must be
undergone before a man is considered COM
potent to commence the practice of the magic
art He must go through course of recita-
ton of cabalistic words, consisting of unin-
telligible Sanskrit roots, and of repetition of
the name of the deity to be conquered about
a million times. Special hours are assigned
Tor the performance, special postures o. the
body, special diet and specially appointed
space, beyond which the probationer is not
allowed to go until the process of initiation
is finished. OF course, all of this has to be
accompanied with handsome offerings to the
deities and the Brahmins and substantial
feasts to the latter. OF the six magical arts,
the one most frequently practiced in India in
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