she declared that she would no longer devour those
whom the Thugs slaughtered; but she agreed to present them with one
of her teeth for a pickaxe, a rib for a knife and the hem of her lower
garment for a noose, and ordered them for the future to cut about and
bury the bodies of those whom they destroyed. As there seems reason
to suppose that the goddess Kali represents the deified tiger, on
which she rides, she was eminently appropriate as the patroness of
the Thugs and in the capacity of the devourer of corpses.

15. The sacred pickaxe

When the sacred pickaxe used for burying corpses had to be made, the
leader of the gang, having ascertained a lucky day from the priest,
went to a blacksmith and after closing the door so that no other
person might enter, got him to make the axe in his presence without
touching any other work until it was completed. A day was then chosen
for the consecration of the pickaxe, either Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
or Friday; and the ceremony was performed inside a house or tent,
so that the shadow of no living thing might fall on and contaminate
the sacred implement. A pit was dug in the ground and over it the
pickaxe was washed successively with water, sugar and water, sour
milk, and alcoholic liquor, all of which were poured over it into
the pit. Finally it was marked seven times with vermilion. A burnt
offering was then made with all the usual ingredients for sacrifice
and the pickaxe was passed seven times through the flames. A cocoanut
was placed on the ground, and the priest, holding the pickaxe by the
point in his right hand, said, 'Shall I strike?' The others replied
yes, and striking the cocoanut with the butt end he broke it in
pieces, upon which all exclaimed, 'All hail, Devi, and prosper the
Thugs.' All then partook of the kernel of the cocoanut, and collecting
the fragments put them into the pit so that they might not afterwards
be contaminated by the touch of any man's foot. Here the cocoanut
may probably be considered as a substituted sacrifice for a human
being. Thereafter the pickaxe was called Kassi or Mahi instead of
_kudali_ the ordinary name, and was given to the shrewdest, cleanest
and most sober and careful man of the party, who carried it in his
waist-belt. While in camp he buried it in a secure place with its
point in the direction they intended to go; and they believed that
if another direction was better the point would be found changed
towards it. They said