The Progress., 1888-10-06

causing of DEATH, the destruction Of
property or mental capacity, the stop
page Of physical or mental action, and
the causing of feuds between friends.
The art of bringing an Individual COM
pletely under the control Of the expert
is the neutral operation. The only
branch of white magic discussed is the
power of relieving a sufferer from dis
ease or the hostile influences of the
stars and other heavenly bodies.
A severe and prolonged probation
must be undergone before a man is
considered competent to commence the
practice of the magic art. He must go
through a course of recitation or cabal-5
istic words, consisting of unintelligible
Sanskrit roots, and Of repetition OF the
name of the deity to be. conc uered
about a million times. Special hours
are assigned for the performance,
special postures of the body, special
diet, and a specially appointed space,
beyond which the probationer is not
allowed to go.until the process of in
itiation is finished. OF course, all of
this has to be accompanied with hand
some 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 modern
times is that Of the neutral s'subjuga-
tion." Certain ingredients are pre-
scribed for this operation. A small
piece of the frontal bone of a man, the
fruit of the poisonous plant dhatura,
camphor and honey are to be taken in
proper proportions and well mixed to-
gether, and the forehead is to be
painted with the compound before the
wearer may bring under his influence
and control the mind of any person
whom he fears or loves. Other nos
trums, similar to the ingredients in the
witches cauldron in Macbeth in
creasing in complexity and gruesome-
ness as the higher departments of the
black art are reached, are to be found
in the Sanskrit treatises.
Now, to give you some examples of
the practice of the dreaded art in India
of the present day:
A few days ago the father of a
Government official in the neighbor-s
hood of Calcutta suffered from malig-
nant fever, which increased so rapidly
that he suspected the evil influence of
some of the inmates of his family.
He therefore sent for an exorcist, who
on arriving, told the sufferer that the
culprlt was a young man living at the
time In his house, and under great OBJ
legations to him. The patient, greatly
astonished to hear of such base in
gratitude, at first declined to be-
lieve the accusation. The youth, how
ever, at once confessed his guilt, stat
ing that he had at one time learned
certainincantations which, when called
to mind in the sight Of any one suffer-
ing from illness, would infallibly ag-
gravate it. The efficacy of these spells
was, however, by the advice of the sor-
cerer, destroyed by their being whis-
pered into the ears of a goat, and no
obstacle then remained to the patients
recovery.
The jealousy of rival practitioners
sometimes leads to tragical results, as
the next illustration will show. A
man who had studied the black art
at Kam-oop, in Assam, with the most
celebrated performers, witnessed
performance by a famous sorcerer at
another place some years ago, and,
after it was over, he muttered certain
charms through which his rival lost
his way on leaving the house, fell down
and vomited blood But the occult
powers of the latter enabled him to
detect his opponent, and he determined
to revenge himself. A few days after
ward his enemy was entering tenn
pie with some cobras around his neck,
which he had caught in the Jungle and
charmed into quiescence. The sorcerer
destroyed by incantations the influence
of the charms, and the cobras bit his
enemy, the Kamroop magician, fatally.
Very recently the water in a certain
pond belonging to zemindar of high
standing and wealth having run low,
a staff of coolies under an overseer
were employed to draw water into it
from an adjacent tank. But, notwith-
standing the use of the usual hydraulic
apparatus and great exertions of the
men, the water would not rise beyond
the root of a certain tree on the bank.
Further efforts were made without sue
cess. The contractor refused to con-
tinue the work, as he suspected sor-
Gerry. Induced to resume it, he shortly
after lost his wife and one Of his sons
through fever. Finally he was himself
seized with fever, and he dreamt that
a Brahmin ghost was living under the
tree, and that it was against the ghost
wishes that the water should rise be-
yond the root Of the tree. The zemindar,
on being informed of these facts, at
once stopped the work. These we'll
authenticated stories will indicate the
extent to which even educated persons
in India are affected at this day by the
dread of the black London Stand