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FOLKLORE OF THE KONKAN
51
At Bankavali in the Dápoli taluka, it is! Pir becomes able to speak in the Hindi langubelieved that ghosts or evil spirits have the age although it may not be her mother tongue. form of a human being, but their feet are When a child or a person is suffering from the turned backwards. They can assume any attacks of a spirit, incense is burnt, and it at form they choose. Their character is ordinarily once begins to tell the whereabouts of the to trouble the people, but when satisfied they spirit and the reason why the person has been are said to prove friendly. The following attacked. He is then asked to state what be story is narrated of a person who went to wants, and when the things which the spirit reside in one of the villages of the Konkan wants are offered, it goes away. Spirits are His wife was first attacked by a ghost called generally invisible. Girba The Girha troubled him much by! The spirits that belong to the class of maligplaying mischief in his house, vis: by taking nant Bhuts are of a ferocious appearance ; away eatables or by mixing dirt in his food, but those that belong to the class of friendly At night he used to divest the couple of their Bhuts possess bodies like human beings. clothes, and on one occasion an ornament was removed by the spirit from the person of the believed that spirits are cruel by nature and wife. Tired of these annoyances, the man left have no shadow, that they are capable of taking the village and went to reside at a distance, any form they like, and can perform miracles. when, to the astonishment of the public, it At Pendur it is believed that Bhuts eat happened that the ornament which was lost at chillies, and that they do not speak with human the old village was restored to the man's wife beings. Spirits are said to remove and conwhile she was asleep in the new village, and ceal their victims for a certain period of nobody knew who brought it there. All this time." At Vijayadurg, a Bhut is considered was believed to be the work of the Girha,1
to be of mean character. People perform At Ubhádánda in the Vengurla taluka
certain rites to bring it under subjection, people believe that a Bhut is fierce in aspect
| Their actions are always contrary to nature, and very troublesome, but when its wishes are
When a person begins to cry, dance, to eat coraplied with, it becomes harmless.
forbidden things, etc., he is said to be attacked
The Bhuts reside in jungles, burial or cremation
by a Bhut. When there is enmity betgrounds, old trees, sacred groves and deserted
ween two persons, the one who dies tirst houses. They assume all sorts of shapes and
becomes a sambandh and troubles his living forms. Sometimes they appear very tall, and
enemy." At Basani, there is a belief that they can instantly assume the shape of a dog,
there are two kinds of spirits. Some ain at
the welfare of the people, and others are a cat, a tiger, or any other animal. Some
always troublesome. As they have no regular ghosts are even seen fishing on the banks of
form they cannot easily be recognised. They rivers,
can change their forms at any time. At Mitbáv in the Desgad taluka it is
The character of a Bhut is to trouble believed that the souls of those who die with
people and to take revenge on an old enemy. their wishes unfulfilled take the form of a A person attacked by a spirit speaks Bhut. They enter the bodies of people. incoherently and acts like a mad man. In such Any woman who is attacked by the Bhut of a cases the leaves of the herb satáp are used.
1 School Mas'er, Bankavali, Ratnagiri, 3 School Master, Mitbáv, Ratnkgiri. 5 School Master, Náringre, Ratnagiri. 1 School Master, Vijayadurg, Ratnagiri.
* School Master, Ubbádánda, Ratnagiri. • School Master, lbbrampur, Ratnagiri. 6 School Master, Peadur, Ratnagiri, 8 School Master, Basani, Ratnagiri,
