beats a drum, and a third stands under the rope
singing the performer's praises and giving him encouragement. After
this the performer ties two sets of cow or buffalo horns to his
feet, which are secured to the back of the skulls so that the flat
front between the horns rests on the rope, and with these he walks
over the rope, holding the balancing-rod in his hands and descends
again. Finally he takes a brass plate and a cloth and again ascends
the rope. He places the plate on the rope and folds the cloth over
it to make a pad. He then stands on his head on the pad with his feet
in the air and holds the balancing-rod in his hands; two strings are
tied to the end of this rod and the other ends of the strings are
held by the man underneath. With the assistance of the balancing-rod
the performer then jerks the plate along the rope with his head,
his feet being in the air, until he arrives at the end and finally
descends again. This usually concludes the performance, which demands
a high degree of skill. Women occasionally, though rarely, do the
same feats. Another class of Nats walk on high stilts and the women
show their confidence by dancing and singing under them. A saying
about the Nats is: _Nat ka bachcha to kalabazi hi karega_; or 'The
rope-dancer's son is always turning somersaults.' [347]

5. Sliding or walking on ropes as a charm for the crops

The feats of the Nats as tight-rope walkers used apparently to make
a considerable impression on the minds of the people, as it is not
uncommon to find a deified Nat, called Nat Baba or Father Nat, as
a village god. A Natni or Nat woman is also sometimes worshipped,
and where two sharp peaks of hills are situated close to each other,
it is related that in former times there was a Natni, very skilful
on the tight-rope, who performed before the king; and he promised
her that if she would stretch a rope from the peak of one hill to
that of the other and walk across it he would marry her and make
her wealthy. Accordingly the rope was stretched, but the queen
from jealousy went and cut it half through in the night, and when
the Natni started to walk the rope broke and she fell down and was
killed. She was therefore deified and worshipped. It is probable that
this legend recalls some rite in which the Nat was employed to walk
on a tight-rope for the benefit of the crops, and, if he failed, was
killed as a sacrifice; for the following passage taken from Traill's
account o