Indian Antiquary Vol 22

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 68

56
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[FEBRUARY, 1893.
biting off his wife's nose! When the neighbours saw her they assumed she was telling the truth, and some of them advised her to lodge a complaint against her husband before the magistrate! Accordingly, she went and filed a suit at the magistrate's Court. Her husband was immediately summoned to answer the complaint, and as for evidence there was no lack, for had not the whole neighourhood seen his wife without her nose before dawn by his side?
"Her husband appeared before the magistrate, and pleaded ignorance of the matter, but was at last convicted and sentenced to be hanged. But fortunately for him, the dakait, who had watched his wife on her night's excursion, had also come to the Court to see how the case was being conducted, and what the ultimate result would be. He now stood up before the magistratet and asked leave to say a word or two, which was given him. He then told the story: first about himself, who and what he was; how, having learnt that the accused had come home after several years' absence bringing, with him a large fortune, he had determined to plunder his house, how, when he came in the night on his plundering errand, he saw the complainant come out of the house and go to her paramour's; how he changed his mind about plundering and followed her quietly; how he saw what she did with the corpse of her paramour, who was killed by the wrath of God; and how, finally, as she stooped to kiss him, the corpse bit off her nose! He also told the magistrate how she had entered the old woman's hut, who advised her to play the trick which had brought the accused before the magistrate. He then asked the magistrate to lend him the services of two peons, and on the magistrate complying with his request he went and brought the corpse with the piece of the nose still in its mouth! The magistrate ordered the part of the nose to be removed from the mouth of the corpse and to be placed on the nose of the wife, and it fitted her exactly!
"The magistrate then gave judgment accordingly, cancelled the sentence of death passed on the husband, and ordered instead the wife and the old woman to be hanged. The dakait was handsomely rewarded by her husband, and went away, and ever thereafter left off robbing.
"Such, O king, is the character of women. Judge for yourself the reason for the plight I am in."
When the prince had heard the stories of the mainá and the parrot, he saw there was a great deal of truth in both the stories! But at the end he got them both reconciled, and they then all lived happily together: the prince and the princess; and the parrot and the maina.
MISCELLANEA.
THE EVIL EYE.
With reference to Note B on page 168, Vol. XXI, ante, it is worthy of remark that similar ideas prevail in Burma as in Bihar. It is believed there that, if a person looks steadily at a child or animal and says how well or beautiful it is, it will forthwith become ill. This is called lú-son-kyà, i.e., "man-magic falls (to it)." The evil eye can be averted by a string called let-p'we (or armlet,) tied round the arm or neck, and this is even worn by pregnant women to protect the child within them. In the latter case, however, it is called mi-yat let-p'we, its more especial function being to protect against a hobgoblin, called Mi-yatma. Sometimes women are
hired for as long a period as five days simply to guard pregnant woman against this latter personage. The use of a string as an amulet is also known to the Southern Chins, as is shown by the following extract from Appendix IV. to my Essay on the Language of Southern Chins and its Affinities: -
"Four or five days after the birth of a child it is duly initiated into the clan and placed under the guardianship of the Khun. A cotton string, (called khunhlüng) is tied round its wrist for a few days; as a sign to all evil spirits that the child is under the latter's protection."
BERNARD HOUGHTON.
A
1 Also 'nok-son' 'mouth-magic' and let-son 'hand-magic.' Another expression is an-bydi