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198
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
two are important. One is Gokalâshtami, or the birthday of Krishna, and the other is Chauti; the latter is of greater moment than the former. The one carries with it mere signs of fasting, and looks more a gala-day than one set apart for any religious performance, while the other seems to be a holy-day of abstinence and temperance. On the "Áshtami" some cakes of urid (black gram) are made in addition to the usual dainties. The services of Bacchus are called in aid. The master of the koppu invites his relatives and friends. A regular feast commences, when the master takes the lead and enjoys the company of his guests by seating himself in their midst. They are made to sit on the floor cross-legged, with a little space intervening between every guest, who pays strict regard to all the rules of rank and decency. To keep up the distinction of sexes, the females are seated in an opposite row. The host calls upon some of his inmates or friends to serve on the occasion. Now come curries, followed by rice and cakes as the means of the master permit. The butler Koragar serves out to the company the food meant for the banquet, while the guests eat it heartily. If one of them let rice fall on his neighbour's plate, the whole company cease eating. The offender is at once brought to the bar charged with having spoiled the dinner. He is tried and sentenced to pay a fine that may cover the expense of another banquet. In case of resistance to the authorities of this tribunal, he is excommunicated, and abandoned by his wife, children, and all his relatives. No one dare touch or speak to him. A plea of poverty of course receives a kind consideration. The offender is made to pay a small sum of money in the shape of a fine, which is usually paid for him by a wellto-do Koragar as his humanity and compassion dictate. To crown the feast, a great quantity of toddy finds its way into the midst of the company. A small piece of dry areca-leaf sewed together covers the head of the Koragar and forms for him a hat. This hat he uses for a cup, which will contain a large quantity of liquor. A sufficient quantity of toddy is poured in it, and if, in the pouring, a drop finds its way to the ground, the butler is sure to undergo the same penalty that attaches itself to any irregularity in the dinner as described above. After the banquet, some male members of the society join in a dance to the pipe, while others are stimulated by intoxicating drink into frisking and jumping about. The supper over, the guests, pleased and contented, wish their host a hearty good-bye and retreat to their koppus. Thus ends the Ashtami. To turn to the other festival. The inmates of the house are invariably required to fast the previous night, and
[JULY, 1874.
on the day previous, flesh or drink is not allowed. The next morning before sunrise a virgin washes and smears with cowdung a part of the house. The place having been thus hallowed, a fresh basket, specially meant for the occasion, is placed on the spot. It contains a handful of beaten rice, two plantains, and two pieces of sugarcane. The basket is then said to contain the god of the day, whom the sugarcane represents. The spot is very holy, and cannot be approached by men or women. A common belief that the prayers made by a virgin are duly responded to on account of her virgin purity does not admit of the worship being conducted by any one else. The girl adorns the basket with the flowers collected from the forest, and prays the god to pour his choicest blessings on the inmates of the house all the year round. The prayer concludes the worship, and the worship concludes the feast, and the Koragar abstains the whole day from work.
A few words on the ceremonies observed on the birth of a child by the Koragars. After a child is born, the mother is unclean, and cannot be touched or approached. The inmates take leave of their koppu for five nights, and depend on the hospitality of their friends-placing the confined woman under the sole charge of a nurse or midwife. On the sixth night the master of the koppu calls his neighbours, who will hardly refuse to oblige him with their presence. The confined woman and the child are given a tepid bath, which makes them pure. Members of each house bring with them a ser of rice, half a ser of cocoanut-oil, and a cocoanut. The woman, with the baby on her lap, is seated on a mat-her neighbours' presents before her in a flat basket. The senior man present consults with his comrades as to what name will best suit the child, which is called Toma, Tukra, or Tanya, as fancy dictates. A black string is then tied round the waist of the baby. The rice, which comes in heaps from the neighbours, is used for dinner on the occasion, and the cocoanuts are split into two pieces, the under-part of each being given to the mother of the child, and the other part to the owner. This custom is followed if the child be a boy. In case it be a girl, the owner receives the under-part, leaving the remainder for the mother. The neighbours eat the part of the nut thus received on the spot.
A custom generally obtains among the Hindus of the higher order, of putting their children into the hands of a Koraga woman, who may for brevity's sake be called a Korati. A Hindu woman, as is generally the case with mothers, is greatly mortified, and eventually turns extremely morose, at the repeated loss of her children. She does not like or allow them to go through the ceremony
