Bestiary.us

The Kumbri Marathi community of the Karnataka coast speak a dialect that combines Marathi and Kannada. They are thought to be the descendants of troops in the service of the Maratha warrior king Sivaji during his invasion of Karnataka in the 1670s, who then left the army and settled in the hills.

In the Kumbri Marathis’ complex taxonomy of ghosts and spirits, a Balishtamaru (plural: Balishtamarava) is an extremely malignant spirit, even more evil than a Padosomaru. Possession by this type of demon causes serious illness. It sometimes happens that a person is afflicted by a Balishtamaru and a Padosomaru at the same time, and these cases are the most deadly of all.

Interestingly, a Balishtamaru is not the ghost of a single dead creature. Instead, the spirit is formed as a result of a rare and unlucky event when the deaths of several people or animals occur simultaneously.

There are different types of Balishtamaru listed below. Each one arises from a different set of circumstances.

Devati

A Devati comes into being when three cats die at exactly the same moment. This spirit causes fever, weakness, cough, cold, and vomiting in humans.

Rav

A Rav is created when seven tigers die all at the same moment.

This cruel demon causes its victims to vomit blood. A person afflicted by a Rav will die within 3 to 12 days unless a ritual is performed for them by a gadiga (diviner) assisted by a Yakshi spirit.

Akashmurchi

An Akashmurchi is created when seven buffaloes die all at the same moment. This demon, like the Rav, causes a person to vomit blood, which may result in death.

Murchi

When seven pregnant she-buffaloes die at the same moment, the spirit created is called a Murchi. A Murchi causes a raging fever, and is more difficult to ward off than an Akashmurchi. Even if cured, a person who has been afflicted by a Murchi is doomed to die within twelve years of the initial attack.

Hemmalati

When seven pregnant she-buffaloes AND seven pregnant human women all die at exactly the same moment, a Balishtamaru called Hemmalati comes into existence^*. This spirit takes the shape of a human woman with a single breast. She lives in dense jungles.

If a man should happen to encounter a Hemmalati in the forest, the Hemmalati will ask him for some betel-leaf and betel-nut to chew. When the man hands it to her, she pretends to accidentally drop it to the forest floor. As the man bends to retrieve it for her, she removes her huge breast from her blouse and flops it onto his head. At this moment the traveler gets struck with a frightful panic. He runs back home as fast as he can, but once he gets there, he is stricken with fever. At night he dreams horrifying nightmares, and soon he begins vomiting blood.

The intervention of a spiritual healer may save the afflicted person from a quick death. But it is said that no one who meets the Hemmalati will survive longer than three years, even with the best efforts of the most skilled doctors.

Nagadevati

When a mongoose kills a cobra, it cuts the snake into seven pieces. The head of the cobra then spreads out its hood, flaps it like a pair of wings, and flies away.

If the shadow cast by this serpent-head as it flies through the sky should fall upon a person, that person will be afflicted with the Nagadevati spirit. This causes instant paralysis. The person must seek out a skilled spiritual healer immediately, or else forfeit his life.

Holtandmaru

Holtandmarava are classed as a type of Balishtamaru, but unlike the other types, they are not brought into existence by simultaneous deaths. Instead, they are thought to be born to Holtandmarava parents, and to live in family structures much as humans do. They are meat-craving hunter-spirits who roam the forest in groups, casting magical nets to snare their prey. They prefer to hunt wild animals, but if there is not enough game to sustain them, they turn their attention towards domestic cattle, or even towards humans.

If a human gets trapped in one of the Holtandmarava’s magical nets, he will usually be devoured alive. Even if he manages a lucky escape, he will be stricken with fever and a sort of insanity.

A person afflicted by a Holtandmaru is especially susceptible to possession by other spirits as well, either Balishtamarava or Padosomarava. He is also likely to become violent in his mad ravings. The best way to restrain a person thus afflicted is to bind his limbs in shackles made from the wood of Nux vomica, the strychnine tree. (All types of Maru are said to avoid this wood.)

Certain areas of the forest along the Konkan Coast were once thought to be home to Holtandmarava, and people had to be very careful going to these places. The Kumbri Marathi practice a ritual hunt called a baundi to prevent the Holtandmarava from infesting a region of forest; this involves letting a little blood from the kill soak into the ground. These practices are said to have been successful, and today Holtandmarava have been driven out from most areas.

Ref: 32. Bhat, Suneel. (2004). Bangane, Karnataka: School Building Construction and Well-Being Study. Princeton1991 (pdf); 161. Kambale, Sadashiv S. (2003). A study of ethnomedicine in a Karnataka tribe [Doctoral dissertation, Karnatak University]. Shodhganga.