He piles them together, and offers a sacrifice to
them, consisting of flowers, fruit, rice, and other articles. After
this, he prostrates himself before them at full length, and then returns
them to their places.
The mason offers the same adoration and sacrifice to his trowel, rule,
and other instruments The carpenter adores his hatchet, adze, and plane.
The barber collects his razors together and worships them with similar
rites.
The writing-master sacrifices to the iron pen or style, with which he
writes upon the palm-leaf the tailor to his needles, the weaver to his
loom, the butcher to his cleaver.
The women, on this day, collect into a heap their baskets, rice-mill,
rice-pounder, and other household utensils, and, after having offered
sacrifices to them, fall down in adoration before them. Every person, in
short, in this solemnity sanctifies and adores the instrument or tool by
which he gains a living. The tools are considered as so many gods, to
whom they present their prayers that they will continue to furnish them
still with the means of getting a livelihood.
This least is concluded by making an idol to represent Parvathe. It is
made of the paste of grain, and being placed under a sort of canopy, is
carried through the streets with great pomp, and receives the worship of
the people.
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