of Sociology and Folklore. 135
behind a temple of Vishnu ; a site between two such temples is preferred.-^
The shape of the house is also carefully regulated. According to the Agni Purana, the ground-plan of every building should have four equal sides ; ^ but modern practice varies, and in Bengal the oblong shape, with a rectangular courtyard in the centre, is preferred. The Meitheis say that the number of bamboos forming the thatch-frame should not be equal on the north and south ; luck lies in odd numbers, and if they were equal trouble would befall the owner.^ In the Panjab a house with the front narrower than the back is called gaumukha or " cow- faced," and is lucky ; one with the front wider than the back is sherdahdn, or " tiger-mouthed," and is unlucky ; the number of the stairs should be uneven, and when you go upstairs you should place the left fqot on the lowest step.^ In parts of Bengal there is a prejudice against square houses ; they should be oblong, and the two longer sides should run north and south. ^
Omens naturally play a part in such beliefs. The Ghasiyas of Mirzapur abandon a new house if on the first night of occupation they hear the bark of a female jackal.^ In the Central Provinces, if the main beam cracks it is a very bad omen, and if a vulture or a kite perches seven days running on the roof sickness or other misfortune is sure to follow.' In Madras if a goat climb on the roof of a house trouble is sure to follow. One way to avoid this danger is to cut off the ear of the animal and throw rice soaked in the blood on the roof ; another way is to drag the beast round the house and kill it with a club ; others burn a handful of the thatch as a mode of expiation.^ A
^ Padfield, op. cit. 5. - Rajendralala Mitra, op. cit. i. 53 et seq.
■* llodson, The Meitheis, 122. •* Panjab Notes ami Queries, i. 3.
'"Census Report, 19U, i. 46. North Indian Notes and Queries, ii. 28
■^ K. V. Russell, op. cit. iv. 89.
- F. R. Hemingway, Gazetteer of Tanjore, i. 66.
