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The Folklore of Bombay

1924

Campbell's examination of the beliefs and practices of the people of the Bombay Presidency seems to have led him to the conclusion that spirits were in origin ancestors and that the scaring or housing of these spirits formed the basis not only of most of the beliefs and practices of the wild tribes and low castes forming the primitive elements of the population but to a much larger extent than [...] It is certain that the Aryan invasion of North-west India brought with it the worship of the sun the sky the winds and other phenomena of nature and it is probable that to this simple cult residence in India previous to the date of the compilation of the Sutras added the spirit-scaring rites and the belief in omens which were in vogue among the indigenous population. [...] It is customary to quote from the Bhagavadgita the saying of Krishna: ' I am the very light of the sun and the moon.' Being the embodiment or the fountain of light the sun imparts his lustre either to the bodies or to the eyes of his devotees. [...] After the birth of a son to the wife of a Rajput the hair on the boy's head is shaved for the first time in the presence of the Madavraj deity and a suit of rich clothes is presented to the image by the maternal uncle of the child. [...] Better educated people recite a verse which runs : ' Bow unto Savita the sun the observer of this world and its quarters the eye of the universe the inspirer of all energy the holder of a threefold personality (being an embodiment of the forms of the three gods of the Hindu Trinity Brahma Vishnu and Shiva)—the embodiment of the three Vedas the giver of happiness and the abode of God.' Aft
history
Pages
349
Published in
United Kingdom
SARF Document ID
sarf.146893
Segment Pages Author Actions
Frontmatter
5-8 R.E Enthoven view
Introduction
9-28 R.E Enthoven view
I Worship of Natural Objects
29-73 R.E Enthoven view
II Worship of Natural Objects
74-140 R.E Enthoven view
IV Worship of Ancestors Holy Men and Saints
141-168 R.E Enthoven view
V Spirit Possession and Scaring
169-207 R.E Enthoven view
VI Totemism and Animal Worship
208-221 R.E Enthoven view
VII The Evil Eye and Avoidance; Witchcraft and Magic
222-242 R.E Enthoven view
VIII Dreams and Omens
243-256 R.E Enthoven view
IX Disease Deities and Curing of Disease in Human Beings
257-280 R.E Enthoven view
X Women’s Rites
281-300 R.E Enthoven view
XI Village Field and Other Rites
301-324 R.E Enthoven view
XII Miscellaneous Beliefs and Practices
325-343 R.E Enthoven view
Appendix Questions on Folk-Lore
344-349 W. Crooke view
Index
350-353 R.E Enthoven view

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