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split a Reed, and applied it, with certain precautions, to the
wounded part, accompanying the operation with a rustic incantation,
such as the following :—
“ Huat, hanat huat,
Jsta pista sista, '
Damiabo damziausti'a!
A Devonshire charm for the thrush is :—Take three Reeds from
any running stream, and pass them separately through the mouth
of the infant] then plunge the Reeds again into the stream, and as
the current Bears them away, so will the thrush depart from the
child. From the Reed {Calamus) the first pen was invented, and
of Reeds arrows were made. The root of Calamus aromaticus was
highly esteemed in eastern countries: thus we read in Gerarde’s
‘ Herbal, that “ the Turks at Constantinople take it fasting, in the
morning, against the contagion of the corrupt aire ; and the Tartars
have it in such esteeme, that they will not drinke water unlesse
they have first steeped some of the root therein.” In the
Ukraine, is current a version of the tradition alluded to under the
head of O a t s . In this version, the Reed belongs to the Devil, and
has, in fadt, been his habitation since the days of Jesus Christ.
One day, having met the Saviour, he prayed Him to give to him as
his portion the Oats and Buckwheat, because, after having assisted
the Almighty to create the world, he had never received for himself
any consideration. The Saviour consented, and the Devil was so
delighted, that he skipped off without even thanking his benefacffor.
The wolf niet him, and seeing him so elated, asked him why he
was jumping and skipping about ? This question confused the
Devil, who, instead of replying “ because God has given me the
Oats and Buckwheat,” said : “ I am skipping because God has
given me the Reed and the Sow-thistle.” From that time, it is
said, the Devil never could recollecff the present that God had
made him, but always imagined that it was the Reed and the Sowthistle.
According to English dream oracles, for the slumberer
to see Reeds betokens mischief between him and his friends.
R E E D -M A C E .—The Bulrush, or Cat’s-Tail [Typha latifolia),
has acquired the name of Reed-Mace from the fadt that Rubens
and the early Italian painters, in their Ecce Homo pictures, depidt
the Saviour as holding in His hands this Reed as a mace or sceptre.
The Reed-Mace is, on certain days, put by Catholics into the
hands of statues of Christ.
R e s u r r e c t i o n - F l o w e r ,—See Rose of Jericho.
R H A M N U S .—The Rhamnus Spina Christi, or Syrian Christ’s
Thorn, has acquired that name because it is supposed by many to
have^ supplied the crown of Thorns at our Saviour’s crucifixion.
An English species, Rhamnus Paliurus, is also called by Miller Spina
Christi. (See T h o r n and B u c k t h o r n .)
R IC E .—Among Orientals, Rice is esteemed the symbol of
life, generation, and abundance. The Dyaks of Borneo and the
Karens of Burmah look upon it as a divinity, and address prayers to
it to ensure a good harvest. In Siam, Rice and honey are offered
to trees before they are felled. Rice plays an important part in
the marriage ceremonies of India. At the altar, the bride is three
times approached by her friends, who on each occasion place Rice
in her hands. They also scatter Rice on the head of the bridegroom.
On the last day of the nuptial ceremonies, the bride and
bridegroom together offer the sacrifice of Soma, during which they
throw in the fire Rice moistened with butter. The Brahmans,
when performing the marriage rites, after having recited a variety
of prayers, consecrate the union of the couple by throwing a handful
of Saffron mixed with the flour of Rice on their shoulders.
Offerings of Rice and Saffron are made by married women in India
to obtain healthy children, and to procure from the divinity exemption
from the maladies of their sex. On the birth of a son, the
Brahman father, after having banished the females from the apartment,
takes the infant and places on its head Rice coloured red :
this is done in order to avert the E v il Eye. Another method is to
envelope small portions of Rice in cloths marked with the names
of women suspecited of being witches, and to place the whole in a
nest of white ants. Should the ants devour the Rice in any of
these mystic bundles, the charge of sorcery is thereby established
against’ the woman whose name it bears. Young girls desirous of
husbands offer dressed Rice to the gods. At the consecration of
a Brahmanic disciple, the father of the candidate carries in his
hands a cup filled with Rice, and the assistants, after the bath,
cover the candidate with Rice. Rice is employed in many of the
Hindu sacrifices and religious ceremonies, and is regarded as
sacred : no one would touch it without having first made his ablutions.
At the time of sowing it, certain ceremonies are solemnly
observed. In China, during the Spring Festival of the Fire,
the priests of Tao march round the brasier, earring a basket filled
with Rice and salt, of which from time to time they cast a handful
into the fire, to conjure the flame and to obtain an abundant
harvest. A Japanese legend relates that in ancient times the
Bonzes (priests) of Nikko, like the other natives, lived solely
on herbs and roots, not knowing any other kind of nourishment.
One day, however, a Bonze observed a mouse hiding some Rice and
other grains in a corner. He could not understand where the mouse
could have obtained it, so he set a trap, and having caught the
little creature, he tied to one of its hind legs a silken thread; and
then, holding the other end of the thread m his hand, he set the
mouse free, and determined to follow wherever it should run. The
mouse led the priest into a remote and unknown land, where Rice
grew in abundance. The Bonze learnt how to cultivate it, and
speedily introduced it into his own country, where it proved such
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