カ・タロ†Ka Taro
地域・文化：アッサム・シュンテン 富と財産についての女悪霊。また、熱病における精神錯乱を引き起こす。 関連項目†参考資料 - 資料/426:411; 資料/536:107-8 In the Jaintia Hills, there is a peculiar superstition regarding a she devil, called " ka Taroh" which is supposed to cause delirium in cases of fever. When such cases occur, it is believed that " ka Taroh " has caused them, and inquiries are made by means of breaking eggs to find out in whose person the demon has obtained a lodgment ; or sometimes the sick person is asked to reveal this. When in either of these ways the name of the person possessed by " ka Taroh " is known, the sick person is taken to the house of the possessed, and ashes and bits of broken pots are cast into the enclosure, after which, if the sick person recovers, the party indicated is denounced as possessed by the demon ; but if the patient dies, it is concluded that the person possessed has not been properly ascertained. If people are satisfied that some one is really possessed, they denounce the person, who is then out-casted. The only way for him to regain his position is to exorcise the demon by divesting himself of all his property. He pulls down his house, burns the materials, his clothes, and all his other worldly goods. Lands, flocks, and herds are sold, the money realised by the sale being thrown away: No one dares touch this money, for fear he should become possessed by ka Taroh. It will be observed that, as in the case of the Men, the demon is believed to follow the property. Mr. Jenkins, in his interesting little work on "Life and Work in Khasia," gives a slightly different account of the superstition, in that he states that it is the sick person who is possessed by lea Taroh. The above belief is perhaps a Synteng development of the Khasi Men superstition. In the Jaintia Hills " the small-pox " is believed to be a goddess, and is reverenced accordingly. |
