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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[FEBRUARY, 1907.
I. -- The Zat Fair at Gapen in Pargana Ratesh, This fair is held on the 29th of Jeth. The images of the Devt Ratesh and Kalwa dotd are brought in procession from the temple, where they are kept, to Gaţên, 400 or 500 persons accompanying them; and of these some 50 remain at Garên for the night, the rest returning home. By mid-day next day a great crowd of people collects, the men coming in bodies from opposite directions, each man armed with a bow and arrow and flourishing a ddngrd (axe), with a band of musicians preceding them. A man in one of these bodies shouts :. - Thadairi rd bhilcha, awau ji jhamal lagi thi.27 hô hô, I hunger for a shooting-match : come, the fair has started; hó, hó. The others call out hô hô in reply. The tune called a thadairt is then sung, and matches are arranged between pairs of players. One champion advances with his arrow on the string of his bow, while the other places himself in front of him, keeping his legs moving, so as to avoid being hit. The archer's object is to hit his opponent below the knee, and if he succeeds in doing so he takes a dangrd in his hand and dances, declaring that a lion's whelp was born in the house of his father at his home. The man who has been hit is allowed to sit down for a time to recover from the pain of the wound, and then he in turn takes a bow, and placing his hand on his opponent's shoulder says 'bravo, now it is my turn, beware of my arrow. If he hit his opponent he, too, dances in the same way, but if he fail his victor dances again crying, how could the arrow of such a jackal hit a tiger's cub?' This goes on until one or the other is beaten. The matches are usually arranged between men who are at enmity with one another. The play lasts for two days. Sometimes disturbances break out. Tbese used to be serious, even resulting in men being killed on either side, but nowadays a stop is put to the play, if a disturbance is feared, by pulling down the déotd's flag, when the players desist of their own accord.
On the third day a goat and two buffaloes, all males, are sacrificed to Dévf. The latter are killed in the same way as those at the Târab Fair, 29 but the shambles are at a distance from the temple, and two picked men take their stand, one on the road to Fågủ, the other on that to Ratêsh, to prevent the wounded animals going towards their respective villages, as it is believed that it is unlucky for one of them to reach either village, and bloodshed often results from the attempts of the different parties to keep the animals away from their village. Efforts have been made to induce the people to allow the buffaloes to be killed by a single blow, but the pujdris will not allow this, as being the offsprings of Devi's enemies, they must be slaughtered with as much cruelty as possible. After this rite the people make offerings to Dêvî, the money going to the temple fund, while the other things, such as grain, goats, &c., are divided among the pujárís. The chéid of the Devi then begins to nod his head (khelnd, lit. to play), and taking some grains of rice in his band, distributes them among the people, saying, 'you have celebrated my fair without disturbances, and I will protect you against all misfortunes throughout the year.' If, however, any disturbance has occurred during the fair, the offenders are made to pay a fine on the spot to obtain the Devt's pardon, otherwise it is believed that some dire catastrophe will befall them, necessitating the payment of a still heavier fine. The Devi passes the night at the fair, returning to her temple on the morning of the fourth day.
II. - The Jat Fair, Bhaldwag. This fair is held at Bhalkwag on the first Sunday in Hâr. There is a legend that a sddhů once lived on the Chabal bill. He was famous for bis miraculous feats, and was said to be a sidh. He built a small temple to Mabadeo on the bill, and established a fair, which was held continuously for some years. The offerings made at the temple were utilized to meet the expenses of the institution. After the Gurkha conquest this tract was ceded to the Maharaja of Patiala in the time of Raja Raghunath Sain. Once Rânâ Sansar Sain visited the fair, but a dispute arose, and the Patiala officials having used unbecoming words against the Rânå, he removed the ling of Mahâdêo to his
11 Lit., 'you hunger after srohery, come on, since you itob for it. Thadairi, fr. thoda, an arrow, means chery and one of the tanee or modes of the hill musio is so called, boose it is played at arobery meetings.
* [800 Appendix I., below.]
