Study of Beelzebub's Tales

Chapter.Page

Mungull

 

42 Beelzebub in America

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.

42.1027

“Each person going into the hut must approach and take a few roots out of the hanging box and throw them into the fire, and afterwards, in the smoke from the burning of these roots, fumigate his sex organs. In the case of a woman, she simply spreads her skirt and stands over the Mungull! If it is a man, he either takes off or lets down his trousers and also stands over the said smoke.

42.1027-8

“These sacred Mungulls are usually screened by the very best ‘Djedjims,’ that is, by a special fabric woven only by the Kurds.