File:Natives of northern India (1907) (14742112166).jpg

Identifier: nativesofnorther00croo (find matches)
Title: Natives of northern India
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Crooke, William, 1848-1923
Subjects: Ethnology -- India India -- Social conditions India -- Description and travel
Publisher: London : A. Constable and Company, ltd.
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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cism of dis-ease. The village witch. It is difficult to realise the extent to which the peopleof Northern India are in bondage to the various modesof belief grouped together under the head of Magic.As Mr. E. S. Hartland has recently shown, it dependson the qualities which the savage believes to be associ-ated with every personality. There is no exact Indianterm for what the Melanesians call Mana, the potenti-ality and atmosphere which everything, human andmaterial, is supposed to possess. The successful warrioror hunter, and even less important and successful men,all possess it. Every one, Mr. Hartland writes, isconscious of powers of some sort, and every one wouldattribute to others capabilities larger or smaller. Somewould possess in their own consciousness and in theeyes of their fellows a very small modicum of powerfor good or evil. The mere glance or voice of otherswould inspire terror or confidence. This potentiality,this atmosphere, would often cling with greater in- 246 No. 30
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Bathing in the Ganges, Hardwar (p. 227) MAGIC, SHAMANISM, WITCHCRAFT 247 tensity to non-human beings, objective or imaginary.The snake, the bird, the elephant, the sun, the invisiblewind, the unknown wielder of the lightning, would berichly endowed. None, human or non-human, would,in theory at least, be wholly without it. These considerations bring us to the explanationof beliefs such as Magic, Shamanism, Witchcraft, theEvil Eye, and Omens. Certain people, certain thingsare believed not only to possess this mysterious influ-ence, but to be able to project their potentiality soas to affect the lives of others. It is obvious thatsuch beliefs are very closely allied to Animism. Magicand religion among savage and semi-savage racesspring from the same root and develop on parallellines. Among the forest tribes, for instance, it is im-possible to draw the line between Magic and Religion,and the practitioner, Baiga, Pahan, or Ojha, is at oncepriest and medicine-man. At a later period, of cour

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