Chap. vi FAKIRS
155
Franks
call it the tree of the Banians, because, in places where there are any
of these trees, the idolaters sit under them and cook their food there.
They reverence them specially, and generally build their pagodas either
under or close to one of these great trees. The one which the reader
will see depicted further on is at Surat,1 and in its trunk,
which is hollow, a monster is represented like the head of a deformed
woman, which is said to be the representation of the first woman, whom
they call Mamaniva.2 Every day a large number of idolaters
assemble there to adore this monster, near whose shrine there is
constantly some Brahman detailed for its service, and to receive the
offerings of rice, millet, and other grains made to it. On all those
who have prayed in the pagoda, both men and women, the Brahman makes a
mark on the middle of the forehead with a kind of vermilion, with which
the idol is also painted. With this mark on them they do not fear that
the devil will injure them, because they are, as they say, under the
protection of their God.
I give here the explanation of the figures represented under the tree of the Banians, marked by the numbers 1, 2, 3, etc.3
Another
example with its numerous stems is the famous Kabîr bar on an island in
the Narbadä 12 miles above Broach. At one time it covered an area of
2,000 feet in circumference, and had upwards of 3,250 separate stems.
It has afforded shelter to 7,000 men at a time, but is now much reduced
in size (Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 277). The particular tree at
Gombroon referred to by our author is also mentioned by Mandelslo,
Valentijn, and della Valle. The Persian name for the tree is lui. This
is a species distinct from the famous Bo tree {F. religiosa) of Ceylon, one of which, having a known history, recorded in full detail by Sir Emerson Tennent {Ceylon, ii. 613), was planted 288 B.c.
1 The tree at Surat has frequently been described ; Fryer, i. 265 ; Mundy, ii. 34 ; and see Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 65 ff.
2
It has been suggested that this word is a corruption of Märiamma, the '
death mother ', who, in Southern India, controls epidemic disease (B.
Ziegenbalg, Genealogy of the South Indian Gods, 138 ff. ; G. Oppert, Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsa or India, 471 ff. ; B. L. Rice, Mysore, 2nd
ed. i. 456). But, as the reference is to a goddess at Surat, the term
probably represents Mahâmâi, or Mâmâ Devi, the mother of the gods. But
Tavernier, working through an interpreter, confuses names of this kind,
not connected with his business. For Marna Devi see Tod, Annals of Rajasthan, ii. 781.
* This plate is not reproduced here or in Ball's edition, being rudely drawn and of no great interest or importance.
