| Chapter.Page | Keeziak |
|---|---|
42 Beelzebub in America |
|
42.1025 |
“Every family of these gypsies has also what is called a ‘Tandoor,’ that is, a special kind of earth pit, such as is found in the houses almost everywhere on the continent of Asia and which serves as a hearth on which they usually bake bread and prepare food. |
42.1025 |
“In these Tandoors in Asia they burn chiefly what is called ‘Keeziak’—a fuel composed of the dung of quadruped animals. |
42.1025 |
“The rite itself consists in this, that when the family of these gypsies returns home in the evening they first remove all their clothing and shake them in this Tandoor. |
42.1025 |
“It is almost always hot in this Tandoor because the dung burns very slowly and the ashes formed around the Keeziak keep the fire burning for a very long time. |
42.1027 |
“Each family of this tribe has its own what is called ‘hut,’ which serves as a dwelling and for the reception of guests—as the custom of visiting one another is highly developed among the separate families of this tribe. |
42.1027 |
“In each hut it is customary for them to have, in the corner of the front section, what is called a ‘sacred Mungull,’ that is a hearth on which a fire of smoldering charcoal or of the said Keeziak is constantly kept, and near each such sacred Mungull there hangs a small wooden box called ‘Ktulnotz’ which is always kept supplied with the roots of a certain plant. |
42.1027 |
“The ‘rite of self-fumigation’ consists in this, that every member of the family and every guest of either sex, before going into the principal section of the hut, is obliged to enter this sacred Mungull in order as they say to purify himself from the influence of those evil spirits by which man is surrounded when he is busy with honest work. |