After Death
: Part V.: Folklore Of The Santal Parganas
When grown-up people die they become ancestral bongas and sacrifices
are offered to them at the Flower and Sohrai festivals; and when
children die they become bhuts. When a pregnant woman dies, they
drive long thorns into the soles of the feet before the body is
burned for such women become churins. The reason of this is that
when the churin pursues any one the thorns may hurt her and prevent
her from running fast: and
if the churin catches him she will lick all the flesh off his bones;
they especially attack the belly and their tongues are very rough.
There was once a man who had been to get his ploughshare sharpened by
the blacksmith and as he was on his way home it came on to rain, so he
took shelter in a hollow tree. While he was waiting for the weather
to clear he saw a churin coming along singing and she also came to
take shelter in the same tree. Fortunately she pushed in backwards
and the man took the ploughshare which was still nearly red hot and
pressed it against her back; so she ran away screaming and he made
good his escape in the other direction; otherwise he would assuredly
have been licked to death.
More
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A Succinct Account
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