CHAPTER XVIII.

A MISUNDERSTOOD INDIAN CUSTOM.

In India no one would think of offering to the water-spirits such impure articles as pins and needles and nails, much less “rags tored off shirts and petticoats.” It would be positive defilement of water. Sometimes, however, flags are seen hoisted near holy wells, and European travellers represent them as rag wells corresponding to those with which they are familiar in the west. There is, however, a good deal of difference between the two customs. In the first place these flags are not rags. They are made of new, unused cloth. It is a universal custom in India to put up _dhajas_ or standards near shrines, sepulchres and sacred trees believed to harbour spirits. When there is such a shrine or tree near a well, a flag is hoisted at the spot. But it is done in honour, not of the water-spirit, but of the god or goddess installed in the shrine or of the spirit dwelling in the tree or of the saint buried in the vicinity. I have made personal enquiries and consulted authorities in search of evidence for rag wells in India, but have not come across any single instance. True, Crooke in his _Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India_, makes the rather sweeping assertion that India supplies numerous examples of the custom of hanging up rags on trees or near sacred wells. Mention is also made in the _Folklore Notes of Gujarat_ of flags that are sometimes hoisted near holy wells “in honour of the water-goddess Jaldevki.” European folklorists are thereby led to docket these as illustrations of the prevalence of the cult of rag wells in India. But there is no evidence to show that rags are offered to wells. These authors are often misled by the incomplete data that they receive from their informants and in the absence of full particulars any such incident as a flag hoisted near a well is put forward as an example indicating the prevalence of a custom altogether foreign to the conceptions and even repugnant to the sentiments of the Indian population.

No one mentions flags, all the folklorists talk of rags. Perhaps, there is an excuse for it, as the new flags, no doubt, get soiled in course of time. But, as pointed out above, it should not have been overlooked that a regular standard is invariably put up in honour of the presiding deity. It has no suggestion for disease-transference. All deities, whatever their specific virtues, get this honour without exception. The question, then, for consideration is, does the same idea of reverence account for the flags hoisted on trees? There is no doubt that the primary idea was the same, although in process of time superstitious people came to think that that was an offering demanded by the spirits living in the trees and that if the offering was not given, calamities would befall, particularly illness. For instance, one of these spirits is known by the name of _Chitharia_ or _Ragged Pir_. He is supposed to dwell in such trees as the Khijado, _i.e._, Shami (Prosopis Spicigera) and Bawal, _i.e._, Babhul (Acacia Arabica). It is a common belief that if a mother fails to offer a flag to such a holy tree while passing by it, her children’s health and life are jeopardised. According to another belief, travellers, in order to accomplish their journey safely, offer flags to the trees reputed to be the dwelling-places of spirits, if they happen to come across them during the journey.

In the _Folklore Notes of Gujarat_ several interesting examples of these beliefs and practices have been given and these may be transcribed here in the compiler’s own words:—

“Some believe that both male and female spirits reside in the _Khijado_, _Bāval_ and _Kerado_ trees and throw rags over them with the object of preventing passers-by from cutting or removing the trees. Some pile stones round their stems and draw tridents over them with red lead and oil. If superstitious people come across such trees, they throw pieces of stones on the piles, believing them to be holy places, and think that by doing so they attain the merit of building a temple or shrine. A belief runs that this pile should grow larger and larger day by day, and not be diminished. If the base of such a tree is not marked by a pile of stones, rags only are offered; and if rags are not available, the devotee tears off a piece of his garment, however costly it may be, and dedicates it to the tree.

“Once a child saw its mother offering a rag to such a tree, and asked her the reason of the offering. The mother replied that her brother, that is the child’s maternal uncle, dwelt in the tree. Hence a belief arose that a _chithario_ (ragged) uncle dwells in such trees. Others assert that the _chithario pir_ dwells in such trees, and they propitiate him by offering cocoanuts and burning frankincense before it.

“There is a _Khijado_ tree near Sultanpur which is believed to be the residence of a demon _māmo_. This demon is propitiated by the offerings of rags.

“Some declare that travellers fix rags of worn-out clothes to the trees mentioned above in order that they may not be attacked by the evil spirits residing in them. Another belief is that the spirits of deceased ancestors residing in such trees get absolution through this form of devotion. It is also believed that a goddess called _chitharia devi_ resides in such trees, and being pleased with these offerings, blesses childless females with children, and cures persons suffering from itch of their disease. There is a further belief that ragged travellers, by offering pieces of their clothes to the _Khijado_, _Bāval_ or _Kerado_ trees, are blessed in return with good clothes.

“Some believe that Hanumān, the lord of spirits, resides in certain trees. They call him _chithario_ or ragged Hanumān. All passers-by offer rags to the trees inhabited by him. There is such a tree near the station of Shirei. There is a tamarind tree on the road from Tamnagar to Khantalia which is believed to be the residence of _chithario_ Hanumān and receives similar offerings. Another tamarind tree of this description is near Marad and there is a _Khijado_ tree on the road between Kalavad and Vavadi which is similarly treated.

“It is related by some people that in deserts trees are rare and the summer heat is oppressive. To the travellers passing through such deserts the only place of rest is in the shadow of a solitary tree that is to be met occasionally. In order that no harm be done to such trees, some people have given currency to the belief that a spirit called _māmo_ dwells in such trees and expects the offering of a rag and a pice at the hands of every passer-by.

“In some places, the _Borādi_ (jujube,) _Pipal_, _Vad_ (banyan) and the sweet basil receive offerings of a pice and a betel-nut from travellers, while the _Khijado_ and _Bāval_ are given rags.”

In all these instances we notice the confusion of rags with flags, but they unmistakably establish the point that the idea underlying the offering is that of propitiating the spirit. A few more instances may be cited from Crooke’s _Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India_. “Among the Mirzapur Korwas the Baiga hangs rags on the trees which shade the village shrine, as a charm to bring health and good luck. These rag shrines are to be found all over the country, and are generally known as _Chithariya_ or _Chithraiya Bhavani_, ‘Our Lady of Tatters.’ So in the Punjab the trees on which rags are hung are named after Lingri Pir or the rag saint. The same custom prevails at various Himalayan shrines and at the Vastra Harana or sacred tree at Bindraban near Mathura which is now invested with a special legend, as commemorating the place where Krishna carried off the clothes of the milkmaids when they were bathing, an incident which constantly appears in both European and Indian folklore. In Berar a heap of stones daubed with red and placed under a tree fluttering with rag represents Chindiya Deo or ‘the Lord of Tatters,’ where, if you present a rag in due season, you may chance to get new clothes.”

Crooke’s authority for this last instance is the _Gazetteer_, but as indicated above these authorities have all missed the point that the original conception was to honour the tree-spirit and that these flags are hoisted either as a mark of reverence or as a thank-offering for cures from diseases and other boons and further that these are regular flags and not scraps of shirts and petticoats fixed on bushes or hung on trees, as in Europe. During my recent journey from Rawalpindi to Kashmir I saw several trees the boughs of which were decked with flags of white and red cloth. In Baluchistan also I saw a good many trees similarly decked with flags. In each case I found that there was a grave of a saint underneath or close by the tree and that the flags were hoisted in honour of the saint. There was no suggestion of disease-transference, although the villagers admitted that it was customary to offer these flags if, in response to a prayer to the saint or a vow, any ailment was cured. Everywhere the explanation given was the same. The flag was presented to the saint only and solely as a thank-offering for a wish fulfilled.

The cult of rag offering is believed to extend throughout Africa from west to east. Park in his _Travels in the Interior of Africa_ says: “The company advanced as far as a large tree called by the natives Neema Toba. It had a very singular appearance, being covered with innumerable rags or scraps of cloth, which persons travelling across the wilderness had at different times tied to its branches, a custom so generally followed that no one passes it without hanging up something.” Park adds that he also followed the example, and suspended a handsome piece of cloth on one of the boughs. Burton found the custom prevailing in Arabia and Sir William Ouseley saw a tree close to a large monolith covered with rags. Ferrier in his _Caravan Journeys_ says that these rags are fixed on bushes in Persia in the name of Imam Raza. It is believed that the eye of the Imam being always on the top of the mountain, the shreds which are left there by those who hold him in reverence remind him of what he ought to do in their behalf with Muhammad, Ali and the other holy personages, who are able to propitiate the Almighty in their favour. Hannay regarded these rags as charms for disease-transference. In his _Travels in Persia_ he says: “After ten days’ journey we arrived at a caravanserai, where we found nothing but water. I observed a tree with a number of rags tied to the branches: these were so many charms which passengers coming from Ghilan, a province remarkable for agues, had left there, in a fond expectation of leaving their disease also on the same spot.”

This evidence, however, needs corroboration. Meanwhile, considering how dangerous it is to generalise on the strength of stray statements and observations of foreigners, considering how these statements reveal only half-truths in the case of many Indian customs, we may take this evidence with caution. If, however, what Hannay says is based on the actual practices and beliefs of the Persian Mahomedans, we are led to infer that not only in several places in Europe but also in many parts of Asia the rag came to be regarded as a vehicle of disease, whatever may have been the original ideas underlying the offering. When we have evidence to show that in Europe pins and rags were used at wells for purposes of divination, it is not difficult to conceive the process of reasoning by which these articles came to be regarded as appropriate offerings to the indwelling spirits, no matter how insignificant their intrinsic value. These instruments of divination, having done their duty, must have been consigned to the waters as being the best place for depositing them. Then, probably, they were looked upon as indispensable offerings to the water goblins and then, although the practice of divination disappeared, these articles still came to be regarded as appropriate offerings for the well-spirits, and the rustic mind, ignorant of the genealogy of the custom, interpreted the survival of the ancient usages according to its own conception of sympathetic magic and either looked upon the rag-offering as a charm for disease-transference, or as a connecting link with the deity. This theory of the origin of the custom, which is here put forward with some diffidence, also explains the growth of the two conflicting theories (1) that the rags are vehicles of disease or charms for disease-transference, and (2) that they are simple offerings to propitiate the deity.

We have rambled far in our survey of the cult of rag offerings, because it represents a peculiarly interesting phase of water-worship. Of the rituals practised in the worship of water divinities it is the most rude and primitive. While the ceremonies of well-worship in the west correspond in several details, notably the offerings of flowers and coins, to the rituals with which we are familiar in this country, they contain some distinctive elements, the most remarkable of which is this practice of rag-offerings. We have cited numerous instances to show how common the practice was in Great Britain and Ireland and how it survives even to this day in certain parts, but while it was and still is a general feature of water-worship in those parts, it was and is unknown in India, although some folklorists have erroneously identified it with the entirely different, though seemingly analogous, practice of hoisting flags or _dhajas_ at shrines and sacred trees. Perhaps the best explanation for the practice of rag-offering is that it may be a degenerate form of flag-offering.