CHARMS.
Talaim, Tawiz, . ARAB. Ism, . . IImNn., PERS.
Hegnb, . . . . EGYPT. Incanto, Allettamento, IT. Charm° ; enchantement,F, Encanto, Embeleso, SP.
Nazr•band, . insp. Mantra, . . . .BANSK.
Charms are in general use amongst all races ; and amulets are worn and used both to work for good and to work for evil. The custom of inscrib ing mystic characters upon the person as a safe guard, or having them engraved in the form of an amulet or charm, is of the most remote antiquity. Cain had a mark set upon him, which denoted the bearer to be placed under the immediate pro .tection of Ifeaven, so that no man might slay him. frhe blood sprinkled on the door-posts of Israel in Egypt was a sign that the destroying angel was not to enter, the inmates being under the divine protection. A similar preserving token is referred to in Ezekiel ix. 2, where the man ' clothed in linen,' having a writing inkhorn by his side, was commanded by God to set a mark upon the fore heads of those who grieved for the abominations of Jerusalem. Behold my sign I' says Job xxxi. 35, according to the marginal reading; or, ' Be hold, here is my Than' (a mystic mark), as Calumet renders it. Paul, probably alluding to some ac knowledged sacred sign, observes, Henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.' Portions of St. John's Gospel were worn by the early Christians, and verses of Scripture were even placed upon horses. Among the Anglo-Saxons, amulet gems were much esteemed. King John had a l'irgo col lection ; and, in the 1Gth century, amulets were warehoused in England in large quantities, and usually worn round the neck, as a pro tection from pestilence (Gage's Hengrave, p. 155). A ms. poem on the virtues of gems, written by Pierre de Boniface in the 14th century, says: "The diamond renders a man invincible ; the agate of India or Crete, eloquent and prudent ; the amethyst resists intoxication ; the carnelian appeases anger ; the hyacinth provokes sleep' (Milner's Seven Churches of Asia, p. 127). The six descriptions of charms or mantra known in Gujerat, are described in the Mantra Shutra. Marlin Mantra. has the power of taking away life ; Mohun Mantra produces ocular or auricular illusions ; Sthambhun Mantra stops what is in motion ; Akurshun Mantra calls or makes present anything; Wusheekurun Mantra has the power of enthralling; and (Mantua Mantra of causing bodily injury short of death (Rasamala, Hindu Animals, ii. p. 403). Charms, amulets, talis mans, and phylacteries all belong to the list of articles which produce imaginative cures, seeing that the persons who trust to them believe in some good obtainable from them, in purse or iu person, in health or in welfare. The amulets, hung in a little bag around the neck, are very widely credited with the power of warding off disease. One peculiar kind of amulet is the phylactery, a bit of parchment on which a few sacred words have been written ; if worn on the person, it is a safeguard against disease and cala mity. The Jews in the East used to carry such an amulet written with a Hebrew verse from the Bible ; and some of the Mahomedans with an Arabic sentence from the Koran. The Burmese
insert lumps of gold beneath the skin, to procure invulnerability, and Burmese are said to conceal gold in that manner. Many of the charms worn by Hindus and Mahomedans are merely to distract or avert the evil eye. A not unfrequent one, in sickness, is a string formed of hair of the head, to which is attached apiece of the Acores calamus root, a cowrie shell, a marking lint, and the eye of a peacock's feather. In the Illahi Namah (section 12), it is mentioned that women, during parturition, derive considerable benefit from wear ing a charm composed of certain ingredients made into a little ball, which must be perforated with a hog's bristle (Ouseley's Travels, i. p. 227). Most of the Mahomedan pilgrims, when moving towards Mecca, have a charm or tawiz suspended around their necks; and almost all Mahomedans, when setting out on a journey, bind a piece of money on their arm, as a votive offering to the Imam Zamin. In Arabia, the instant a foal is born, a charm is tied round its neck in a bag of black cloth, and sometimes in this the pedigree is placed. Many of the Mahomedans of Turkey and Asia carry talismans about with them, especially in war, consisting of verses of the Koran, to which they attach extraordinary influence ; and with one Mahomedan soldier, who had fallen in battle, a whole Koran was found wrapped in the rolls of his turban. The Mahomedans put up charms over the lintels of the doors, on the walls of their houses, and almost constantly use them on their arms as amulets, for the cure of ailments, to cast out devils, to ward off demons, fairies, enchanters, and to cleanse a haunted. house. In exorcism, cer tain names (Ism, sing.; Isma, pl. ) are used by Maho medans. The ism-jallali, orfieryor terrible attribute, is used ; also the ism-jamali, the watery or air attribute ; and with these they cast out devils, and command the presence of genii and demons. Amongst Mahomedan women love-philters are in frequent use ; and engraved amulets, and leaves and roots of plants, are worn by them to retain or win affection. The Rev. Mr. Ward saw a Mahomedan woman dropping slips of paper into the river, and upon inquiry found that they con tained some sacred words, and that the woman was presenting those papers to the river-saint, Khaja Khizr, in hopes of obtaining relief. Per sians consider the number thirteen so unlucky, that, in general, they will not even name it. When they have occasion to allude to this number, instead of mentioning sezdeh (thirteen), they say ziyad (much more) or heck (nothing). In ancient Rome, the ladies wore the phallic emblem to over come their sterility. It was a mango-fruit, given by a rishi to Jarasindha's father, and eaten by his mother, which begot that famous Maghadaprince of old. To this day, very often do barren Hindu women, and those who lose their children in the cradle, repair to the most reputed shrine of Siva in their neighbourhood, and by fasts and vigils ensure his blessings for progeny.