The Saint Paul globe., 1904-05-29
HINDUS WORSHIP THE INK POT
Accept 1t the Symbol of All Power-They Put 1t on an
Altar and Bow Before It,

the nature of his next existence can
be ascertained by placing ashes from
the potter's kiln in a shallow vessel
and carefully smoothing them. Next
morning, it is alleged, the ashes will
be found marked with human foot
prints If the soul Of the dead man is
to be reborn as a human being; with
claws If bird; wavy lines If a tree,
and so on. A man and his wife bathe
IN the Ganges with their clothes tied
together to ensure their being married
to one another in their next state Of
existence.
The actual practices and beliefs Of
the Mohammedans in India differ con-
Slderably and the uneducated are deem
~ infected with Hinduism. Afghans
and Balochs are equally ignorant of
everything connected with their re-
llglon beyond its most elementary doc
tr1nes. While devout believers. in the
eff1cacy Of prayer the popular maxim
of the Afghans, Loot and pray" Indi-
Gates how little their piety affects their
conduct. God will not favor a RaIoeh
who does not steal and rob-" saw the
Balochs, and their practice has at
least the merit Of conforming to their
profession of faith. "The BaIoch who
steals and murders secures heaven for
seven generations of his forefathers'
is another of their proverbs which they
SSN'OA VIC VIII dSNOul l6INOT.
Whatever name be given to the vari-
GUS creeds the Hindoos profess. with
the more ignorant among them they
become mere medleys of weird SUPER
stitions. IF a man dies of q snake
bite" says the Magahiya Dorns OF the
Gya district, 1--WE worship his spirit
lest he should come back and give lis
bad dreams. We also Worship the
snake lest the snake god should serve
us In like fashion" Any man therefore
conspicuous enough by his deeds in
life, or the manner of his death. to
stand chance OF being dreamed of
among a tolerably large circle of ac-
quaintances is likely in the course of
time to take rank as a god.
Systematic robbery is so far asrec-
ogniZed means OF livelihood among
these Doms that 1t has impressed itself
upon their religion and a distinct ritual
is ordained for those who go forth
TO commit a burglary. A circle of one
span and four fingers in diameter is
drawn on the ground and smeared
smooth with COW dung. Squatted In
front of this the worshiper gashes his
left arm with the curved Dom knife,
and with his finger daubs five streaks
OF blood in the circle, praying in a., low
voice that dark night may aid his
design. that his booty may be ample,
and that he and his gang may escape
detection.
The patron deity of the Binds is
kasi Bahia. who attained a place
among the gods in this fashion. A
mysterious epidemic was carrying off
the herds on the banks of the Ganges.
and all the customary expiatory sac
rlnces had proved Intellectual One
evening on going to the river a clown
ish Ahir saw figure Finsing his mouth
from time to time and making an un-
earthly sound with a coneh shell. The
lout concluded that he must be the
demon who was causing the epidemic
and creeping UP to the unsuspecting
bather smashed his skull with a club.
Kasi Baba was the name of the mur-
dered brahmin, and the cessation of
the murrain coinciding with his death
1t was decided that he was the malefi-
cent spirit who sends disease among
the cattle and now when any infection
breaks. out among them all sorts of
queer things are done to induce him to
stop IT.