THE ACTUAL INVESTITURE 165
again to fetch some mould from ant-heaps raised by kar *
raiyan \ With this they fill five small pots. These again are sown with nine kinds of seed, which are well sprinkled with milk and water, to make them sprout quickly. The purohita approaches the five pots, and by virtue of his
mantrams, or incantations, turns them also into divinities.
The women then perform the customary acts of puja before
them, and after prostrating themselves place them close to the tutelary deity. Then comes the invocation of gods,
planets, and ancestors. I shall give full particulars of this ceremony when describing a marriage.
During the invocation to the gods a piece of saffroncoloured thread is attached to the right wrist of the neophyte. A barber then cuts the nails of his fingers and toes and shaves his head, to the sound of instrumental music
and the songs of the women.
The young Brahmin next proceeds to bathe, in order to
purify himself after having been defiled by the barber ' s
touch. After his ablutions the women again dress him in pure new cloths.
He is then purified by the purohita ' s incantations from all the sins committed through youthful ignorance since the day of his birth. The purohita also makes him a girdle of plaited darbha, or sacred grass( Poa cynosuroides), and
winds it three times round his body, reciting mayxtrams all the time. At this juncture some small coins are distributed to all the Brahmins present. A muduga 2 stick, three cubits long, is then produced, and also ten pieces of rag such as are used by men in the East to cover their private
parts 3. These are dyed yellow in saffron water, and are hung in a row on the muduga stick, which the candidate
puts over his shoulders. The purohita then recites the
' neck mantram and ' invests the youth with the triple cord, which constitutes him a Brahmin. During this solemn performance the women sing, the musicians play, bells are rung, and to add to the uproar all present make
1
These are the white ants so common in India, and so destructive. Dubois.
2
Butca frondosa. In Sanskrit palasa.— Ed.
8
Many natives only wear this diminutive covering. It is as small as is compatible with any regard to modesty. Dubois.