“Have you ever wondered how we are able to walk so freely in the jungle,” the medicinal healer asked, “Under whose care? Patai! We call the big wildcat, Patai. The whole area, from here, belongs to them. This is their home,” he gestured to a boundary barely perceptible to non-adivasi eyes.
Giggling and muttering as they continued walking, the non-adivasi tongues asked with furrowed brows the next moment, “How are their houses? Have you seen them?” The healer nodded, “Yes, I have seen their house. Can you feel the breeze here at this point? Up there, you see,” pointing to a slightly higher elevation, “there is more breeze. It is rocky with sparse vegetation. The mud on the ground in their house is similar to dry mud that you will usually see during summer. Stones are stacked one above the other around mud, which don’t let water seep inside and make the ground mushy. Wild cats like to live in dry areas, you see.”
“I was telling you about Patai,” the healer continued, “The big wild cat looks after everyone in the jungle. You see, what happens is, many-a-time the forest people find and catch leopards, cheetahs or other animals, and uncage them here in the jungle. Then Patai handles them. It won't allow newcomers to enter the pada. It will drive them off. So it helps Waghoba, whom we also worship, and who won’t let them live here in the pada. So, in recognition of this care, “During festivals, we worship it by offering hens or coconuts. That's how it is able to take care of the whole pada.”
