Research source

"Among the troubles which the witch or magician brings upon his enemies, the following are said to be the most…

Date of account: Second edition published 1896
Source: The Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India, Vol. 2 (of 2)
Reference: The Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India, Vol. 2 (of 2) · selected passage 143
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-25

Record summary

"Among the troubles which the witch or magician brings upon his enemies, the following are said to be the most common in the Dakkhin as well as in the Konkan

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

"Among the troubles which the witch or magician brings upon his enemies, the following are said to be the most common in the Dakkhin as well as in the Konkan. The witch causes star-shaped or cross-like marks of marking-nuts on the body of the person she has a grudge against. The peculiarity of these marks is that they appear in numbers in different parts of the body, and as suddenly disappear. The other troubles are the drying-up of the milk of milch cattle, or turning the milk into blood; stopping or retarding the growth of the foetus in cattle, and turning them into moles; stealing grain or other field produce from the farm-yards of the victim; letting loose wolves, jackals, or rats into the victim's field; pricking needles or thorns into the victim's eyes or body; applying turmeric to the eyes of a female victim, or putting lampblack into her eyes; or tearing the open end of her robe; and causing death to an enemy by means of a method of the Black Art, called Mûth, literally 'a handful.'

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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