f Kumaon [348] seems clearly to refer to some such rite:

"Drought, want of fertility in the soil, murrain in cattle, and
other calamities incident to husbandry are here invariably ascribed
to the wrath of particular gods, to appease which recourse is had to
various ceremonies. In the Kumaon District offerings and singing and
dancing are resorted to on such occasions. In Garhwal the measures
pursued with the same view are of a peculiar nature, deserving of
more particular notice. In villages dedicated to the protection of
Mahadeva propitiatory festivals are held in his honour. At these
Badis or rope-dancers are engaged to perform on the tight-rope, and
slide down an inclined rope stretched from the summit of a cliff to
the valley beneath and made fast to posts driven into the ground. The
Badi sits astride on a wooden saddle, to which he is tied by thongs;
the saddle is similarly secured to the _bast_ or sliding cable,
along which it runs, by means of a deep groove; sandbags are tied to
the Badi's feet sufficient to secure his balance, and he is then,
after various ceremonies and the sacrifice of a kid, started off;
the velocity of his descent is very great, and the saddle, however
well greased, emits a volume of smoke throughout the greater part of
his progress. The length and inclination of the _bast_ necessarily
vary with the nature of the cliff, but as the Badi is remunerated at
the rate of a rupee for every hundred cubits, hence termed a tola,
a correct measurement always takes place; the longest _bast_ which
has fallen within my observation has been twenty-one tolas, or 2100
cubits in length. From the precautions taken as above mentioned the
only danger to be apprehended by the Badi is from breaking of the
rope, to provide against which the latter, commonly from one and
a half to two inches in diameter, is made wholly by his own hand;
the material used is the _bhabar_ grass. Formerly, if a Badi fell to
the ground in his course, he was immediately despatched with a sword
by the surrounding spectators, but this practice is now, of course,
prohibited. No fatal accident has occurred from the performance
of this ceremony since 1815, though it is probably celebrated at
not less than fifty villages in each year. After the completion of
the sliding, the _bast_ or rope is cut up and distributed among the
inhabitants of the village, who hang the pieces as charms on the eaves
of their houses. The hair of the Badi is also take