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JUNE, 1902.]
NOTES AND QUERIES.
Chillumbrum; 8. r. 149, ii, 777, ii; ann. 1781: 8. v. Pagoda, 501, i; ann. 1826: 8. v. Carnatic, 126, ii.
:
Chin; 8. v. Macheen, 406, i, s. v. Catty, 774, ii, 8. v. Macheen, 820, ii, ann. 1298 (twice) and 1300 8. v. China, 151, ii; ann. 1511: 8. v. Kling, 373, ii; ann. 1516: 8. v. Canton, 772, ii; ann. 1540 8. v. Typhoon, 728, i, twice; ann. 1552 and 1612: s. v. Singalese, 636, i. Chín ; ann. 1020 and 1205: 8. v. India, 332, i; ann. 1300 8. v. Ceylon, 139, i, s. v. Junk, 360, ii; ann. 1820: s. v. Macheen, 406, i; ann. 1442 8. v. Sarnau, 601, ii.
Chilly; s. v. 150, i, twice, 8. v. Curry, 218, i. Chilumehee; ann. 1851: 8. v. Chillumchee, 150, i. Chimchir; 8. v. Scymitar, 608, ii.
Chimices; ann. 1645: 8. v. Chints, 155, i. Chimkin; ann. 1280: 8. v. Moochulka, 443, i, Chin; s. v. China, 151, i, s. v. Macheen, 405, i
twice.
(3 times) and ii (twice); ann. 930: 8. v. Tibet, 698, ii; ann. 1200: 8. v. Tibet, 699, i; ann. 1343 8. v. Calicut, 113, ii; ann. 1442: 8. v. Macheen, 406, i, 8. v. Tenasserim, 695, ii.
Chillumchee; s. v. 149, ii, 150, i, twice, 778, i, 8. v. Gindy, 285, ii; ann. 1833: 8. v. 150, i; ann. 1857 s. v. 78, i, twice.
Chimnagie Appa; ann. 1813: s. v. Kitmutgar,
371, i.
Chimney-glass; s. v. 150, ii.
(To be continued.)
NOTES AND QUERIES.
SUPERSTITIONS AMONG HINDUS IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCES.
1. WHEN the breasts of suckling women become hard and painful they take three balls of clay, pass them three times round the painful breasts and then throw them into a well, being careful at the time to turn their backs on it. As the balls dissolve the breasts will soften.
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2. Rocking a cradle,' when empty, will produce acute pain in the stomach of the infant who occupies it. To prevent this, a wooden ladle is placed in the cradle when lying empty and is removed as soon as the infant is placed in it.
3. If a woman has veins running in a serpentine directions on her thigh, it indicates that she will lose all her husbands should she re-marry on losing the first. Women have been known to remain single to avoid this calamity. An old gentleman lately showed me a woman who had done so. Another woman, residing near the Empress Mill, Nagpur, with three such marks on her thigh, has lost two husbands, each within a short period after marriage.
4. Dropping fire on night-soil produces pain in the stomach of the person whose excreta it contains, while spitting on the excreta of another person gives tonsilitis to the spitter.
5. To stunt the growth of a dog pass it through a ring made of the cloth (chambál) which is generally placed on the heads of women when carrying water or loads.
6. When a child is in the habit of eating uncooked rice the people believe that there will be a
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heavy downpour of rain on the day the child is married, irrespective of the time of the year the marriage takes place..
7. Modes of detecting a theft or fraud.Take a lot (a brass cup for drinking water) and fill it with fresh water from a well. Place some rice on a clean spot, then take a grindstone and place this over the lôtd. Burn some frankincense and repeat the name of the suspected person and at the same time touch the stone slightly with your fingers, without moving it. If the person named is guilty, the stone will turn round on the lótá, as if moved by some unseen hand.
This method is adopted, not only in detecting fraud, but also in ascertaining whether a person will be successful in any undertaking (e. g., the passing of an examination, recovery from illness, etc.). It is also used to find out whether sickness is bodily or mental (possession).
Another mode is to place a handmill before a number of persons. Each one, in turn, throws a little grain into the mill and works it. If the mill moves with difficulty for anyone, he is guilty.
Yet another method is the following. A piece of white cloth is torn into a square and folded in half. Then a piece of stick is inserted between the folds and rolled tightly between the fingers at the same time the name of the suspected person is repeated. The cloth is then set aside and left untouched for some time. If the person whose name was repeated at the time of folding the cloth is guilty, the stick will come out of the folds, on unwrapping the cloth.
1 The Central Provinces cradle is a rude miniature hammock attached to the roof rafters.
