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The Evil Eye, and Allied Notions 149
dancing, and comic performances are, I am told, forbidden in
the Khanate, the licentious Khan having seen the error of his
ways, and having put on, for his people at least, the sem-
blance of virtue. Of praying there was very little : occasion-
ally in the afternoon or at sunset some few pious individuals
would spread out a rug and make their supplications to
Allah. One poor old man, however, I noticed, who seemed
constantly engaged in prayer. On calling attention to him,
I was told that he was an iskachi, a person who makes his
living by taking upon himself the sins of the dead, and
thenceforward devoting his life to prayer for their souls. He
corresponds to the sin-eater of the Welsh border."
On Plate XVII are figured several forms of an amulet
still in use at Naples. In all of these we find the tree, the
serpent, an arm, a hand holding a horn (the horn of plenty?)
within which is a half moon, the emblem of Janara or the
Moon, also a key, the emblem of Janus or the Sun, who
was fabled to have taught men to build houses and to
close them with doors. (Janua) being also the Sun, it was
considered suitable that he should have the keys of the
doors of heaven, in order that he might open them at dawn
and close them at sunset. Neapolitan women of the lower
class are in the habit of making use of this word Janara
(the Moon, the wife of Janus) as an epithet of reproach ;
if angry with one of their own se.x they will call her a
Janara—a witch. It was only after some searching and
many enquiries in the quarter of the town called Old Naples
that these various forms of this talisman were obtained. At
first, the people seemed ashamed to own that they held
such a superstition, but after several visits and much ques-