Sharp County record., 1891-06-04
DICE PROPHECIES.
The Queer Way in Which the Natives oi
India Tell Fortunes.

ing things which, as Lord Dundreary
would say, mo fellow can understands"
l mean, things bordering on the prefer
natural, not to say the supernatural.
know that it is the fashion to pooh
pooh such things. But though one may
do this at a distance of thousands of
miles from the place where the things
are seen, or are heard of from hundreds
of eye-witnesses, yet, when one is on
the spot itself, the facts stand out so
incontestably, that. one is forced to ad
NIT them, even while one can not under
stand, much less explain them.
Years ago was present at rare
scene while visiting native gentle
man of rank, says an English traveller.
He had just received the welcome news
that he would at the distance of some
months have another olive branch in
his house. He sent at once for a for
tune-teller, and the future was forecast
in my presence. The man came-one
of the class called "Rammalls, that is,
fortune-tellers by means of dice or
''raml."
Their dice are peculiar. They con-
sisted of set of three; each one consist
ing, in it's turn, of number of cubical
dice strung together on slender metal
rod Each cube was made of brass and
had cabalistic figures on each of its four
exposed surfaces Through the other
two surfaces the rod passed. and on it
each cube-two of its sides almost
touching the next two-revolved freely
and Independently of the other cubes.
The man having made his salaam, sat
down, as desired, on the edge of the
carpet, on which we were all seated.
"Do you know why sent for you?"
asked my friend.
The Rammall made no reply; but pro-
ducing his three long dice, or rather
sets of dice, he handed them to my
friend to cast For this purpose he
laid them side by side in the open palm
of his right hand, the fingers being
slightly curved. With a gentle but
quick motion, alternately advancing
and retiring his hand, he caused
the dice to roll, now wristward,
and now fngersward, on his hand.
Shaking them thus for few seconds
both the absolute and the relative po-
sitions of the cubes and their surfaces
necessarily changing at each roll-he at
length cast them on the carpet on which
we were sitting. As he did this with
some violence and to little distance,
the dice rolled good deal before they
came to final rest.
The fortune-teller gather them up to-
gether, carefully avoiding any disar-
rangement of the order and position of
the cubes or their surfaces. He placed
three sets of dice on the carpet before
himSelf, and seemed, s&ter carefully.
examining the cast of the dice, to go
into deep thought and complicated cal
culations.
Let us see. There were, say, six
cubes on each of the three slender rods,
and each cube had four marked sur
faces. There were, therefore, seventy
two surfaces on each rod; and these
again, with the positions of planets and
other fortune-telling matters. The
number, therefore, of possible combina-
tions mot permutations) is practically
as limitless as are the eventualities of
human life.
After while the Rammall said
"You wish to consult me regarding
your House se'"--meaning Of course, my
friends wife.
Both being Mahometans, etiquette
did not allow more direct allusion to
the lady. My friend, admitting that he
had guessed rightly land thus far 1t
might easily have been good guess
and no more), again took up the prof
fered dice, and went with them into the
private apartments Of the house to get
the lady's cast. A Mahometan gentle
mans wife is never shown to any of
the opposite sex except to nearest rela-
tives.
The fortune-teller meanwhile took
his 'tasbeeh' or rosary off his wrist,
and began telling the names of God in
Arabic on his beads, The lady, having
made cast as her husband had done,
he carefully brought back the dice un.
disturbed to the fortune-teller The
rosary was replaced round the wrist,
and the Rammall examined the dice
carfully. He produced and consulted
self-made almanac, the sun, moon, stars
and planets all coming in for their share
Of questioning. He took paper pen and
ink and made calculations.
After about a quarter Of an hours
work he read out the results; (D The
lady would give birth to child-(9)
Who would be daughter mot so well
come an addition TO Oriental families as
n son)--(S) On day which he named
and which was yet over seven
months off-(D The child would die
within fve months after It's birth and
(6) she would be his last child but why
he could not Tor would not tell, Us In
the ordinary course Of nature my friend
might expect several more.
The man was paid sum Of money,
and went his way. Months passed
The child was born on the day foretold,
proved TO be u daughter; died week
aftap ,AVnal ln.. lta ra,,th .,n.n, ~