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OCTOBER, 1881.]
CORRESPONDENCE AND MISCELLANEA.
289
turies, each true believer who passes being obliged "angel of death," but does not appear to be to add a stone to the heap by way of saluting the mythological, being rather a Hindu appropriation tomb, saying salám, as the expression is. These of the Musalman Malik-ul-Maut. Kala is aphills were once thickly clothed with forest growth, parently Chronos, Time, and also a mythological of which traces still remain. One of these is a name for Y & ma, the Lord of the Dead, Jam as he lignum vitae tree, of great age. Local tradition is called in the Panjab, but also Kal Bhagwan in states that it has been known for the last five this connection, and it would seem that the usage hundred years. It is an object of special rever- of Kal to represent the Lord of Death arose ence among the Kurd villagers, who consider it from a popular confusion of the senses of Kåla. endowed with supernatural attributes. They say The word or rather phrase Malik-ul-Maut 18 that a man who once set about cutting off some of course entirely Arabic, and if Kal represents branches for firewood died instantly. All around him and not he Kál, the introduction of the belief it are piles of stones, similar to those within view of into the Panjab is therefore presumably Musal. the old tomb, and each peasant who passes, not man, but the belief is by no means limited to the satisfied with saying salam, by the stone-placing
Musalmans, as the following incident will show. process, also attaches to the branches a small frag.
I went to see the wind-up of the Dasahra festival ment of his garments, which latter are generally in
in the city of Firozpur a short time ago. The a condition eminently adapted for procuring small
play being enacted was the story of Ramachandra morsels without unnecessary tearing. This seems
rescuing his wife Sita from the clutches of R&wan. to be a universal Kurd custom. In the Kurd dis
Rawan was represented by an enormous figure tricts of Anatolia I have frequently noticed rose
some 30 feet high, his younger brother Kumbha bushes thus covered with fragments of rag, forcibly
Karna by another somewhat smaller, and his wives reminding me of the similar custom in the south
by figures some 12 or 14 feet high standing behind and west of Ireland in the vicinity of holy wells.
what represented & castellated wall, which was Anotber singular superstition to be found in the
meant for Lanka. Ramachandra and Lakshman locality relates to the small boulders of blue lime
were represented by two boys about 10 years of stone, which occur in great numbers on the hill
age, song of Brahmaas, who were covered from slopes and strewn along the road. They are all
head to foot with saffron, and were followed by a supposed to be going in the direction of the shrine
ragged following of boys and young men dressed of Imam Riza at Meshd, irresistibly drawn thither
as much as possible in crimson who represented by the exceeding sanctity of the place. During
Ramachandra's "army." On the opposite side was six days of the week they are said to remain mo- Rawan's army equally ragged and dressed in dark tionless, but after sunset on Friday night they blue. Sita, a frightened-looking little Brahman girl commence moving slowly, and continue to do so
about 10 years old, and covered with saffron, sat until sunrise. Some of these boulders, from a foot
at a safe distance behind R&wan's army attended to eighteen inches in diameter and of a more or
by her "court," a miscellaneous collection of less spherical form, are quite polished on their children of her own age, waiting for Ramachan. surface, as if by constant handling, and I have no dra's victory. Ramachandra and Lakshman doubt they are frequently helped in their pious joined issue with R&wan, and both attacked one of journey by the hands of devout persong. At Meshd his champions (name not given), and after some there is a pile of such stones within the precincts sparring with swords knocked him over, whereof the mosque, and, as my informant told me, upon their army amid a good deal of screaming "each one as it arrives is added to the heap."- obtained the victory and rushed off to rescue Sita. Correspondent, Daily News.
About this period the figures of Rawan, &c. made
of bambus and paper (very palpably so) were NOTE ON MALIK-UL-MAUT.
begun to be burnt. Lanka and the wives went The third story of the collection of Panjab first and then Rawan's brother. Rawan himself was Folk-Tales (ante, vol. IX, p. 209) is regarding to go last at sunset, but as he could be only "The Lord of Death." Malik-ul-Maut or K&1, wounded in the neck, the difficulty was overcome as he is called in the Panjab. In my notes I have by firing him by a slow-match attached to it. merely remarked that he is a common object of The spark as it proceeded up his enormous body belief, and as far as I can ascertain there is very was watched with breathless interest, until it little known about him. The belief in him, how- reached the vulnerable spot, when his head suddenever, is universal, and the present note is made inly went off with a great banging, as it was filled the hope of obtaining information regarding him with fireworks (!), to the great joy of the multifrom other places. The name Kal is known all tude. The interest of the day was then over, and the over Northern India to represent" death" or the people collected (some 10,000) began to disperse,
