(b) Some jewels were lost, and a mantrakara (dealer in magical spells) was called in to detect the thief
- Date of account
- Published 1912
- Source
- Omens and Superstitions of Southern India
- Reference
- Omens and Superstitions of Southern India · selected passage 84
- Rights
- public_domain
- Language
- English
- Record updated
- 2026-08-25
Record summary
(b) Some jewels were lost, and a mantrakara (dealer in magical spells) was called in to detect the thief
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 only(b) Some jewels were lost, and a mantrakara (dealer in magical spells) was called in to detect the thief. The magician erected a screen, behind which he lit a lamp, and did other things to impress the crowd with the importance of his mantrams. To the assembly he distributed betel-leaf patties containing a white powder, said to be holy ashes, and the effect of it on the suspected individuals, who formed part of the crowd, is said to have been instantaneous. So magical was the effect of this powder in detecting the thief, that the unfortunate man ultimately vomited blood. When the people remonstrated with the magician for the severity of his magic, he administered to the sufferer an antidote of solution of cow-dung and the juice of some leaf.
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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