on all points regarding his own
family, his connections, worldly goods, and what gods he worshipped,
ask who was the witch, who taught her sorcery, and how and why she
practised it in this particular instance. But the witch-doctor, having
taken care to be well coached, would answer everything correctly and
fix the guilt on to the witch. A goat would be sacrificed and eaten
with liquor, and the deputation would return. The punishment for
being proclaimed a Dakun or witch was formerly death to the woman
and a fine to be paid by her relatives to the bewitched person's
family. The woman's husband or her sons would be directed to kill
her, and if they refused, other men were deputed to murder her, and
bury the body at once with all the clothing and ornaments then on
her person, while a further fine would be exacted from the family
for not doing away with her themselves. But murder for witchcraft
has been almost entirely stopped, and nowadays the husband, after
being fined a few head of cattle, which are given to the sick man,
is turned out of the village with his wife. It is quite possible,
however, that an obnoxious old hag would even now not escape death,
especially if the money fine were not forthcoming, and an instance
is known in recent times of a mother being murdered by her three
sons. The whole village combined to screen these amiable young men,
and eventually they made the Janta the scapegoat, and he got seven
years, while the murderers could not be touched. Colonel Mackenzie
writes that, "Curious to relate, the Jantas, known locally as Bhagats,
in order to become possessed of their alleged powers of divination and
prophecy, require to travel to Kazhe, beyond Surat, there to learn and
be instructed by low-caste Koli impostors." This is interesting as an
instance of the powers of witchcraft being attributed by the Hindus or
higher race to the indigenous primitive tribes, a rule which Dr. Tylor
and Dr. Jevons consider to hold good generally in the history of magic.

16. Human sacrifice.

Several instances are known also of the Banjaras having practised
human sacrifice. Mr. Thurston states: [213] "In former times the
Lambadis, before setting out on a journey, used to procure a little
child and bury it in the ground up to the shoulders, and then drive
their loaded bullocks over the unfortunate victim. In proportion to
the bullocks thoroughly trampling the child to death, so their belief
in a successful journey i