Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 58
Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications
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NOVEMAER, 1090) REMARKS ON THE ANDAVAN ISLANDERS AND THEIR COUNTRY
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the term by "God." He has a wife and a family of ono son and many daughters. He trans. mits his orders through his son to his daughters, who are his messengers, the Môrowin. He has no authority over the evil spirits and contents himself with pointing out offenders against hin'self to them. The two great evil, i.e., harmful, spirits are Frem-chauga of the Forest and Joruwin of the Sea, Like Puluga, both have wives and families. The minor evil spirits are Nila and a numerous clang, the Chol, who are practically spirits of disease. The Sun is the wife of the Moon and the Stars are their children dwelling near Puluga, hut there is 70 trace of sun-worship, though they twang their bows and "chaff "the moon during an eclipse, and a solar eclipse frightens them, keeping them silent.
The Andamanese idea of the sonl arises out of his reflection in water and not out of his shadow which follows him about. His reflection is his spirit, which goes after death to an. other jungle world, Chai-i-tan, under the earth, which is flat and supported on an immense palm tree. There the spirit repeats the life here, visits the earth occasionally and has a dis. tinct tendency to transnigration into other beings and creatures. Every child conceived has had a prior existence and the theory of metem psychosis appears in many other superstitions, notably in naming a second child after a previous dead one, because the spirit of the former babe has been transferred to the present one, and in their recognising all Natives of India and the Far East ag chauga, or persons endowed with the spirits of their ancestors.
The superstitions and mythology of the Andamanese are the direct outcome of their he. liefs in relation to spirits. Thus, fire frightens Erem-chåuga, so it is always carried. They avoid offending the Sun and the Moon by silence at their rise. Puluga shows himself in storm, and so they appease him by throwing explosive leaves on the fire, and deter him by burning bees'-wax, because he does not like the smell. Earthquakes are the sport of the ancestors. There are lucky and unlucky actions, but not many, and a few omens and charms. Animals and birds are creditert with human capacities, e.g., convicts murdered by Járawas have been found with benvy stones placed on them and stones have been found placed along their pathways. Every Andamanese knows that this is a warning to the birds not to tell the English that the men had been murdered and that the murderers had passed along the path in front.
The great bulk of the Andamanese mythology turns on Puluga and his doings with Tomo. the first ancestor, to whom and his wife he brought fire and taught all the arts and for whom he created everything. This line of belief is still alive, and everything natural that is now is attributed to Puluga. Thus, when the Andainanese were introduced to the volcano, Barren Island, on seeing the smoke from the top, they at once christened it Molat&rchona, Smoke Island, and said the fire was Puluga's.
The next most important element in the mythology is in the story of the cataclyam, which engulfed the islands and was of course caused by Puluga. It separated the population and destroyed the fire, which was afterwards stolen by Laratat, the kingfisher, and restored to the people. The population previous to the cataclysm became the chauga or ghostly an. cestora. Other stories relate the origin of customs, e.g., tattooing and dancing, of the arts, articles of food, harmful spirits, and so on.
An important ethnological item in these stories is the constant presenoe of the ideas of motom psychosis and of metamorphosis into animale, fish, birds, stone and other objecta in nature. Indeed the fauna chiefly known to the Andamanese are anoestors changed supernaturally into animals.
There are rudimentary Initiatory customs for both males and females, connected with arrival at puberty and marriageability and pointing to a limited tabu. On reaching puberty or thereabouts, between 12 and 16 years of age, abstention trom about six kinds of food, each in turn, is voluntarily commenced and gontinued for some years. At the end of each abstention there are a few oeremonies and some dancing, and the youth of both sexes then become "grown up." There is nothing else to mark this period beyond the application of an honorifin
