crossed by ferry after the breaking of the rains. Other
local godlings are the Bare Purakh or Great men, a collective term for
their deceased ancestors, of whom they make silver images; Parihar,
the soul of the village priest; Baram Deo, the spirit of the banyan
tree; and Gosain Deo, a deified ascetic. To the goddess Devi they
offer a black she-goat which is eaten ceremonially, and when they have
finished, the bones, skin and all the other remains of the animal are
placed in a pit inside the house. If anything should fall into this
pit it must be buried with the remains of the offering and not taken
out. And they relate that on one occasion a child fell into the pit,
and the parents, setting obedience to the law of the goddess above
the life of their child, buried it alive. But next year when the
sacrifice was again made and the pit was opened, the child was found
in it alive and playing. So they say that the goddess will save the
life of any one who is buried in the pit with her offering. When a
widower marries a second time his wife sometimes wears a _tawiz_ or
amulet in the shape of a silver box containing charms round her neck
in order to ward off the evil machinations of her predecessor's spirit.

8. Occupation: fisherman.

The occupations of the Dhimar are many and various. He is primarily
a fisherman and boatman, and has various kinds of nets for taking
fish. One of these is of triangular shape about 150 feet wide at
the base and 80 feet in height to the apex. The meshes vary from
an inch wide at the top to three inches at the bottom. The ends of
the base are weighted with stones and the net is then sunk into a
river so that the base rests on its bed and the top is held by men
in boats at the surface. Then other Dhimars beat the surface of the
water for some distance with long bamboos on both sides of the net,
driving the fish towards it. They call this a _kheda_, the term used
for a beat of the forest for game.

Another method is to stretch a long rope or cord across the river,
secured on either bank, with baited hooks attached to it at short
intervals. It is left for some hours and then drawn in. When the river
is shallow one wide-bottomed boat will be paddled up the stream and a
line of men will wade on each side beating the water with bamboos so
as to make the small fish jump into the boat. Or they put a little
cotton-seed on a stone in shallow water, and when the fish collect
to eat the seed a long