Chapter VIII: Healing Waters

Sanitary guardians of water—Balneotherapy and Hydrotherapy not
unknown in Talmudic times—Indian wells and tanks renowned for
medicinal properties—A milk-bestowing well in Lonavla—The
leper cured by the Lake of Immortality at Amritsar—Virtue of
the confervæ on the surface of the Lalitpur tank—Famous hot
springs—The Devki-Unai—The springs of Vajrabai or the Lady of the
Thunderbolt—The _Vali_ who makes the fire and keeps it burning
at the hot springs at Terka Main—The madness-curing pool at
Hamath—Mad men tumbled headlong in the Altarnum well—The virtues
of St. Tecla’s well—Holywell, the Lourdes of Wales—The Story of
St. Winefride—Recent Holywell cures—The calamity that befell
Holywell—Other healing wells of Great Britain—The dance round the
sacred springs of Enmore Green—St. Conan’s well—Bishop Hall’s
testimony—Sacred springs in Macedonia—Festival at Kaisariani—A
suppressed miracle—Pilgrimage described by Miss Hamilton—Scenes
in Emile Zola’s novel recalled 54-65

CHAPTER IX.

_PROCREATIVE POWERS OF WATER SPIRITS._

Water-spirits conferring the blessings of parenthood—Charms for
childless women—Bathing in the water of seven wells—The Dewali
bath in the Punjab—Fertilizing virtue ascribed to Scottish
springs—General explanation of the cult of the bath—Sterility
believed to be a disease due to demoniacal agency—Another
theory—Procreative power attributed to spirits—Testimony borne by
Professor Curtiss—Hot air vents in Syria—Belief of the Punjabis
that the fertilizing virtue of a well is abstracted by the women
bathing in it—The Jewish belief—Conception possible in a bath—The
theory in vogue among physicians of the twelfth century—A case
recorded by Averroes—Prevalence of the theory in Turkey—Supposed
ancestors of persons bearing the name of the Tweed—A Semong
tradition 66-70

CHAPTER X.

_WISHING AND CURSING WELLS._

Oracular wells inhabited by spirits gifted with powers of
divination—The Baladana _Kund_—Prospects of the harvest divined
by the holy well in Askot—Bread and pins as instruments of
divination—The Amorgos well—The presiding power of the well
of St. Michael—News of absent friends given by a Cornish
well—Two Wishing wells in Walsingham Chapel—The Fairy Well in
Cornwall—Ceremonial observances taught by the priestess of Gulval
Well—Cursing wells—Varied virtues of Holy wells—The Well of St.
Keyne—Strange traditions 71-75

CHAPTER XI.

_MALEFICENT WATER-GOBLINS._

Water-goblins infesting ill-omened streams and
wells—Water-spirits in India regarded as friendly dispensers of
life and fertility—Western folklore abounds in blood-thirsty
water-demons—Some mischievous water-spirits of India—Fallen
souls—A haunted vav in Vadhwan—The _Bhainsasura_ or
buffalo-demon—The _Jaté Buddi_ and _Jakh_ of Bengal—The “cups
of the fairies”—A wicked class of water-nymphs—The Greek
water-nymphs—The Sirens—The Nereids—The Black Giant and the
Drakos—Superstitions concerning drowning—Black’s explanation in
“Folk Medicine”—Prevalence of the superstition in Scotland—No
trace of it in India—Confusion of two distinct ideas 76-83

CHAPTER XII.

_RIVER WRAITHS._

The River of Death—Indian water-furies easily
propitiated—Continental water-deities demand human sacrifices—Peg
O’Nell—Peg Powler—Blood-thirsty Dee—The saying about St. John
the Baptist—Victims demanded by the German rivers on Midsummer
Day—Lord of the Wells—In the Australian theory of disease and
death none more prominent than the water-spirit—A Macedonian
ballad of a Haunted Well—Maleficent deities responsible for
floods—Various modes of pacifying the furies—The Nizam’s offering
to the Musi—Floods caused by offence given to patron saints of
water—The sea-spirits more powerful but less exacting that the
river-wraiths—The _Narali Purnima_ or Cocoanut Day 84-91

CHAPTER XIII.

_WHO WERE THE WATER-DEMONS?_

Race-origin of the _Devas_ or demons of old—Max Müller’s
theory—Myths of malignant spirits connected with traditions of
hostile races—Sir Laurence Gomme’s examination of the mythic
influence of a conquered race—Bombay beliefs—Other Indian
parallels—The Moondahs and the Kathodis—The origin of the
pixies—Examination of Parsi beliefs in Mahomedan guardian-spirits
of wells—A plea for local research 92-96

CHAPTER XIV.

_ANALYSIS OF THE BRITISH CULTS._

Gomme’s analysis—Table showing the effect of incoming
civilisations—Garland-dressing, pins and rag bushes—Variants
of one primitive form of rag-offering—Arguments in favour of a
megalithic date for well-worship and rag-offerings 97-100

PART III. VARIED RITUALS AND OFFERINGS.

CHAPTER XV.

_WATER-DIVINING AND WELL-OPENING CEREMONIES._

Jewish song of the well—Selection of suitable sites for
wells—Water-diviners—An extraordinary incident of the Gallipoli
campaign—Ceremonies connected with the digging of wells 102-108

CHAPTER XVI.

_DECORATIONS AND OFFERINGS._

Indian methods of venerating wells—Human sacrifices—Animal
sacrifices—Ceremonies demonstrably non-Aryan in India in
original non-Aryan in Europe—A Whitsuntide custom—Lamb, a votive
thank-offering—The Ram Feast at Holne—Substitutes for animal
victims—Curious explanation for offerings of coins 109-113

CHAPTER XVII.

_RAG WELLS AND PIN WELLS._

Rag wells and Pin wells of Great Britain—Their geographical
distribution—Henderson’s explanation of the cult—Theory put
forward by Sir John Rhys—Sir Laurence Gomme’s examination of
the theory—Other authorities—Use of wool in hanging up rags 114-120

CHAPTER XVIII.

_A MISUNDERSTOOD INDIAN CUSTOM._

Indian custom of hoisting flags near shrines and sacred
trees—A practice quite distinct from rag-offering—How European
folklorists are misled—Confusion of flags and rags—The flag
is offered only and solely as a thank-offering or as a mark
of respect—How the rag came to be regarded as a vehicle of
disease—An explanation of two conflicting theories 121-127

CHAPTER XIX.

_ANIMAL DEITIES OF WATER._

European belief in the presence of animals or fish as the
presiding spirits of water—These animal gods imperfectly
represented in the waters of the East—The Nags or semi-divine
beings, half men and half serpents—Frogs and trouts and worms and
flies as guardian-spirits of wells in Europe—A pair of enchanted
trout—A medicinal spring and its presiding worm—Another presiding
genius in the semblance of a fly—Divine life of water believed
to reside in the sacred fish—Foundation of the cult the same
everywhere—Difference only in forms and rituals 128-131

ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. Floating of lamps during the Kartik _Bath_.

2. Parsis on the sea-beach in Bombay.

3. Offerings to the Gunbow Well.

4. Ganga Mâi.

5. Marjan Vidhi: Washing away of sins with the changing of the
sacred thread.

6. Ocean-worship.

7. Narali Purnima.