The objection which a high caste Brahman has to being seen by a low caste man when he is eating his food is…
- Date of account
- Published 1912
- Source
- Omens and Superstitions of Southern India
- Reference
- Omens and Superstitions of Southern India · selected passage 21
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English
- Record updated
- 2026-08-25
Record summary
The objection which a high caste Brahman has to being seen by a low caste man when he is eating his food is based on a belief allied to that of the evil eye
Published source text
Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.
Source passage
Source text · mention onlyThe objection which a high caste Brahman has to being seen by a low caste man when he is eating his food is based on a belief allied to that of the evil eye. The Brahmanical theory of vision, as propounded in the sacred writings, and understood by orthodox pandits, corresponds with the old corpuscular theory. The low caste man being in every respect inferior to the Brahman, the matter or subtle substance proceeding from his eye, and mixing with the objects seen by him, must of necessity be inferior and bad. So food, which is seen by a low caste man, in virtue of the radii perniciosi which it has received, will contaminate the Brahman. This, it has been pointed out, [121] is "a good illustration of the theory propounded by Mr E. S.
Historical context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyThis material belongs to a folklore tradition. Story type, collector, community, transmission and literary editing matter when comparing it with other sources.
Modern context
Contextual commentary · mention onlyLattice compares motifs and reported features without assuming that a traditional being is a biological species or that similar stories document one external cause.
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