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MAT, 1898.)
SPIRIT BASIS OF BELIEF AND CUSTOM
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4. Spirit-entries. Spirits are said to go in and out of the body like bees in a hive. But there seem to be the following chief spirit-entries: -the top of the head, the hair, the mouth, the hands, the feet, the nose, the eyes, and the ears. That the above parts of the body are believed to be spiritentries will be made clear from the following rites performed and the words spoken by the chief mourner at the time of performing the varsha shraddha, or the commemorative rites of the dead :-" The chief mourner after taking water in his right hand says: I do touch the different parts of my body in order that they may be purified,' and then throws the water on the ground. Then touching his eyes with water he says: 'I bow to the sages Gautama and Bharadvája; let them protect my eyes'; touching his ears with water he says : Let the sages Visvamitra and Kabyâpa protect my ears'; touching his head he says : Let the sacred cow gáyatri and fire protect my head '; touching his chin he says: 'Let the god Brihaspati protect my chin (mouth)'; touching his neck he says: 'Let the gods Ushnik and Sun protect my neck'; touching his navel he says : Let the gods Indra and Trishtap protect my narel'; touching his knees he says: "Let the god Marut protect my knees '; touching his feet he says : Let the god Vishnu protect my feet'; and, lastly, he says: "Let all the gods protect my body.'"
The Head. - Spirits go in and out of the body through the hole in the top of the skull. So among the Sênvi Brahmans of Kânara, when their chief teacher, or Raja Sanyasi, dies, the new teacher strikes & cocoanut on the crown of the dead teacher's head, and makes an opening in the skull in which a skligrám stone is laid.50 So in Dharwar, when an abbot, or suami dies, the crown of his head is broken with a cocoanut, and his body is stuffed with salt and powdered mustard.52 Among the Pâtâne Prabhus of Poona, after setting fire to the pyre, when the skull bursts, a cocoanat is thrown at the head. Among the Roman Catholics of Thâųâ at the time of Baptism, the priest anoints the top of the child's head with Holy Oil, and thrice pours water over it.62 Among the Dharwar Lingayats the priest blesses a child by laying lis right hand on the child's head.53 At a Lingayat funeral a Jangam sets his right foot on the dead person's head.54 When a Medar, or basket-maker, of Dharwar dies, a Lingayat priest comes and places his foot on the corpse's head.55 At a Gond wedding an old man knocks the heads of the bride and bridegroom together.58 When a Whallia, or Mysore Mahar, touches a man of pure caste, the man has to wash his lead.67 In Malabar, when any one is defiled, it is the custom to wash the head, not the hands.58 The most meritorious of deaths among the Hindus s to hold the breath with such force that the soul is driven out through the crowa of the head.59 The soul enters the body through the crack in the crown.60 In his bathing ceremony, the Brahman repeatedly throws water on the crown of his head,61 The top and middle of the head is the window of life, the passage of the soul. In that place is the flower of one thousand leaves. This is the residence of the glorious divinity. She wears smelling herbs and flowers. The Beni-Isra'il priest blesses the bride and bridegroem by laying his hand on their heads.c3 The high priest of the Jews, on whose head anointing oil has been poured, shall not uncover his
00 Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. XV. p. 150. It is believed that sanyasis, whose spirits pass through the crown of the head, go straight to heaven. The Hindus believe that a human being, by the practice of self-denial and austerities, qan attain the power of centering his soul in the crown of his head, and of dying at will, when the soul leaves the body through a minute opening called Brahma randhra. They further believe that a man who reaches this state becomes insensible to all bodily sufferings, and, though seemingly dead, is capable of living for a time without food or drink or without breathing. Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. XV. p. 160.
01 Information from Mr. Tirmalrko. 61 Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. XIII. p. 210. 63 Information from Mr. Tirmalrio. 04 Information from Mr. Tirmalrio. 65 Information from Mr. Tirmalrio. * Hislop's Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provincea, Vol. I. p. iii. 67 Buchanan's Mysore, Vol. I. p. 315. 68 Op. cit. Vol. II. p. 491. 09 Dubois, Vol. II. p. 278.
** Colebrooke's Miscellaneous Essays, Vol. I. p. 50. 61 Op. cit. Vol. I. p. 125.
67 Dabistan, Vol. I. p. cxii. as Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. XVIII. p. 522.
