Indian Antiquary Vol 25

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

Page 40

36
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[FEBRUARY, 1896.
Round, who enter their tribesmen, inspirit them, and force them to dance. So still more in the battle-field : the trampets, the drum, the pipes and the shout are not only to scatter pale panic and fear but to gather and draw into the fighters the spirits of their battle-loving forefathers. Still more than the listener, the singer and the player are inspired. The Beluch Bezungas spend the night singing, in their choruses working themselves into a frenzy.57 Inspired by the music, the Turki singer and harper of the South Caspian throws himself into extreme attitudes, shak. ing his head and rolling on his seat.68 Of the people of Western India the Sidis of East African origin carry further than others the belief in the inspiration of music. If music inspires, the spirit must come out of the instrument whose sounds inspire. Therefore musical instruments are spirit-homes. With the Malangas or Sidi beggars the rattle is the home of mother Misra, the musical bow or Malanga of Rawa Ghôr, the kettle-drum of Dastagir, and the cymbal of Sulaiman. As a guardian home the harp or other musical instrument has to be adorned and evil influences scared or honsed by the wild talismanic tags of the negroe, by the stately Sphinx-head of Egypt, by the lion or human face of Greece, Rome, and Middle-Age Europe.
One of the few signs of Hindu temple worship that force themselves on the notice of strangers and passers is the evening rite called arti, the waving of burning camphor and other lights, the ringing of bells, the beating of gongs and brass plates, and in the larger temples the crash of kettle-drums. The object of this strange furious jostling of noises is to keep far from the god the alreaded fire-fiends called Yoginis, who haunt the twilight, intent on evil. How the early outery of priests and worshippers, whose object is to protect the god, passes into the later hymn of praise, shout of thanks, or church-bell or muezzin call to prayer, is shewn by the following order issued in connection with the new Ilahi religion started by the emperor Akbar in A. D. 1572:"Let the governor see to the beating of a kettle-dram at sunrise and at mid-night which is the birth of sunrise, and during the progress of the great majestic light from station to station let him order small and great gons to be fired, that all men may be called to offer thanks to God."69
From the tangled maze of instances that noise scares spirits the following somewhat unclassified and haphazard examples have been chosen. All over Western India, during the 116ļi or Spring festival, ontcries, drum beatings and shouts broken by striking the mouth with the right palm are believed to scare the evil spirit called Dhundha Rakshasi.co At the Ratnagiri Marathå wedding, when the lucky moment comes, the priest shouts "Take care," the guests clap hands, and when the people outside hear the clapping they fire guns. The reason why they fire guns is to keep off Kál, that is, Time. If they did not frighten Kal, he would seize the bride and bride-groom or their fathers and mothers. Whom Kal seizes falls senseless or in a fit.61 In Bombay, in a Prabhu family, on the fifth night after a birth, servants are made to sing and beat drums all night to keep off the spirit Satthi or Mother Sixth.62 The first thing a Prabbu looks at when he rises in the morning is a drum.63 In Ratnagiri, a man, whose funeral had been performed on a false rumour of his death and who came back, had to pass through a drum before he was allowed to come into his village. The Parsis say that a cock crows to scare evil spirits. As they also say that a crowing cock is a druin, it follows that, in their opinion, a drum scares spirits.64 Ata Parsi wedding, when the bride aud bridegroom throw rice on each other, the gueste clap their hands. At the lucky moment, ina Chit pâvan thread-girding, the musicians raise a blast of music.co In Poona, music is played two hours morning and evening for four days when a Chitpâvan girl comes of age.67 The musicians in the Chitpavan weddings claim the orální, or guardian fee. Among
of Pottinger's Beluchistan, p. 29.
* Frazer's Khorligun, p. 604. * Dabistan, Vol. III. p. 132.
C Viridha Dnyana Vistar Magazine, Vol. X. p. 1875. 1 Information from the peon BADA. Owing to excitement and anxiety, nervous seizures are common at Hindu weddings. This experience koepe fresh the belief that weddings are among the chief spirit-times. With Hindus. as with Europeans Time and Death are one. *K Raghnath's Patine Prabhus.
K. Raghunath's Patane Prabhue. # Dabistan, Vol. I. p. 324.
65 Mr. Dosabhai Framji's The Paraís, Vol. I. p. 179. # Bombay Gaxetteer, Vol. XVIII. p. 117. 7 Op. cit. Vol. XVIII. p. 140, Op. cit. Vol. XVIII. p. 188.