The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1906-11-14
OVER HOT EMBERS.
FIRE WALKERS TRUoeE WITH
OUT VISIBLE HARM.
Strenuous Form Of Worship and Dew
Driving in lndia-Remarkable
Feats Witnessed by TraV.
elers from the West.

large trench is dug in front oil
the shrine, about 80 or 40 feet long |
and ten feet broad and two or three
feet deep During the morning this IL
filled with logs of wood ana lagots'
which are set on fire and by 'he
evening become mass OF glowing
red.hot embers After dark the people
assemble with torches and tom-toihs
and music, and then some ~ OF ~
neonle prepare to walk lengthWlse
over the embers They are worked up
to great state Of excitement by thi
tom.toms and shouts of the crowd, ana
then the whole 30 or 40 walk over
barefooted. quite slowly and dellDer
ately. in single file, headed by one oil
the "pujaris.'
This custom of fire walking is quite
common in Malabar Kooriche, three
miles from Tellichery, in the direction
of the French settlement of Maize Is
a locality reputed for fire walking
Here a famous "pujari' by the name
of Oochatta dwells. lie actually slts
on a heap of fire at an annual FESTIVAL
but is said to be protected by the bark
of the areca nut, which is known to be
a bad conductor of heat. AT the vii
LACE of Putnam, 30 miles from Tell
cherry, in the Kaval Taluq, north Mala
bar, a weird ceremony Is performed
annually, at midnight, in connc' ion
with the worship of the village deity,
when the "pujari," who goes by the
name of Chamandy throws hihije.'
necessarily on heap of fire, about
six feet high and fifteen feet broad.
until he Is able to knock every faggo,
down and level the whole heap with
the ground One end of rope is
fastened to his arms, while the other
end Is seized by two Malayali low
caste men, who pull the 'pjari' away
each time he rushes on the heap oil
fire. Two women at the same time,
with brooms bring the fagots together
as they are knocked down by the 'pu
jari'' and endeavor to restore the heap
of fire as 1t is being dismantled by
him The wood is the "puum,' hard
Jungle wood of the Malabar forest
When the whole heap is leveled with
the groud the "puiari" brings this
ceremony to close.
Khaza Prabhu, "a pepper merchant
of Tellichery, who died few years
ago. and whose memory is still green
had a great name here for curing PEG
pie who were possessed of the devil
, and was great fire eater to boot. H'
believed he was often summoned Il
: the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha temple b!
1 the deity of this shrine to cure people
, troubled with the devil. Here he wa
, wont to incarcerate many devils tina
5 were troubling the people of Tell
, cherry, and every loose stone one nc
l. tees in the temple precincts repre-
/. sents one such devil driven out o
) the human body and imprisoned b,
: him These stones are granite slabs
( are generally three to five feet lon
I and rest against wall or tree.
t In the temple of Malabar there ar
! several deities, but the number mus
5 never exceed 80 in each. AT Audaloo
a village, three and a half miles fror
/ Tellichery, one of the village deities
a Davatha Issuran by name, committe
= atrocious sins and the other deitie
+ pulled out his tongue, and AngarakS
: ram and Bappuran, two warrior de
y ties, drove out the other deities fror
the temple, allowing only any humble
e less than 40 to dwell in any one shrine
!. From this date Angarakaran, the wa
:. rior, carries a long sword, while Bal
g puran bears a sword and shield a
well, and they are the principal de
ties worshiped during the ceremony {
fire walking. Some of the minor de
ties are Muthupendalvyam Khandhal
arnan and Kuttichathan, but all sue
II are not propitiated excepting Vassur,
IS mara. the smallpox god; Chamand.
10 who puts devils into human bodie
l. and iii and Makal-the mother an
is her two children of the iungles-wh
+ smite people with jungle fever,-Ma,
, ras Diocesan Magazine.