Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 155

THE PA V AD AM SACRIFICE
115
begin by arresting the person who is the cause of the assem-
and then they erect at a short distance from the
blage
house a small tent, which is quickly surrounded by many
rows of Vishnavites. The chiefs select some member of
the sect who is willing to be sacrificed, and he is exhibited
to the crowd who have come to witness the spectacle.
They make a slight incision in his arm from which blood
flows, and the victim then appears to grow weaker and
weaker, until he falls fainting to the ground, where he
remains motionless. The victim, who of course is only
feigning death, is then carried to the tent which has been
erected for the purpose, and around which the Vishnu-
bhaktas group themselves, taking great care that no one
shall approach who does not belong to their sect.
Others
watch the house of him who has been the cause of the
ceremony. All this time the whole multitude are shouting
and screaming at the top of their voices, which, added to
the banging of the gongs and the harsh and lugubrious
notes of the sangus, produces a din and confusion of sounds
as indescribable as they are unbearable.
This fearful
hubbub continues until the offending party has paid the
fine imposed on him, which is generally far beyond his
means. However, the inhabitants of the village and neigh-
bourhood, exasperated beyond all measure, usually try and
make some agreement with the leader of the fanatics,
and, paying them part of the stipulated sum, entreat them
to bring the ceremony of the pavadam to a speedy termina-
tion, and to return to their homes.
When their demands
have been satisfied the headmen retire to the tent, and
restore the dead man to life.
To bring about this miracle
an incision is made in the thigh of somebody amongst them.
The blood which flows from it is collected in a vessel, and
then sprinkled over the body of the victim. By virtue of
this simple ceremony the pretended dead man comes back
to life, in the best possible health.
He is then again shown
to the spectators, who appear thoroughly convinced of the
reality of this marvellous resurrection \
In order to consummate the expiation of the crime or
;
1
The pavadam
is
of ferocious temper.
part of the country.
probably called after Pavadammai, a minor deity
The ceremony is not observed nowadays in any
Ed.