the root-man or family ancestor, speaking of his
descendant waren as _my tree_, or as a simple allusion to his
motionless condition.

The hereditary waren is the oracle of the household, as the village
waren is of the entire neighbourhood, often usurping the functions of
judge and jury, causing sometimes the innocent to suffer for the
guilty, but also, by his prophecies, being the means of recovering
stolen property. There are many other kinds of waren: a cholera waren,
a sanitary waren, a necromantic waren; and so forth. The last named
not only discovers the state of affairs of those who die suddenly, or
disappear mysteriously, but pretends to raise the dead; and a story is
recorded of an impudent impostor, taking advantage of the belief of
the people in the identity of the persons thus raised, and personating
so well a prince slain in battle some years before, that not only did
his brother swear to his identity, but the widow actually threw off
her weeds, and went to live with him!

When calamity or pestilence visits a place, the village oracle is
consulted as to the cause of the anger of the goddess Devee, and the
responses are given forth by her inspired waren, amidst a cloud of
incense, strongly reminding us of the oracle of Delphi. When the sins
have been pointed out which have caused the particular scourge, some
sacrifice is prescribed, chiefly that of goats and cocks; sometimes
the inspired waren desires a certain number of goats to be let loose,
and driven beyond the boundary, and that he, the incarnation of the
evil, will go with them. Of course, the scourge diminishes from that
day. Several who have witnessed this practice in India, have been
struck with the remarkable analogy it bears to the scape-goat of the
Mosaic dispensation, sent into the wilderness burdened with the sins
of the congregation.

The word waren signifies a dual possession--the one beneficent, and
the other malignant. One curious instance is given of a man speaking
_in_ the person of Devee, and _of_ himself as a third person, saying
to a Brahmin: 'You are going to the Concan: take _this fellow_ with
you. _He_ was happy and pure, performing _my_ worship,' &c. Under the
influence of waren, mild persons have become so infuriated as to die
under the visitation; and it is related that, during a procession in
honour of the flagellating waren, the infection spread, the waren was
propagated through the whole multitude, who became so excited by t