Alush was the name of a clay man who guarded an Indian field with crops, scared away thieves and also made fun of passers-by. One day a peasant decided to build an alush to protect his crops. Having mixed wet clay with honey, the Indian sculpted a small man. From the remains they made a sling and a dog. Then the peasant thirteen times made an offering to the gods in the form of a drink called saka. This is how life was breathed into the alush.
Then the alush was brought to the very middle of the field and covered with a stone. Then the Indian spent a long time rubbing nine drops of his blood into the Alush’s mouth and into the muzzle of his dog.
He did this so that they could protect his harvest.
It must be said that Alush and his dog regularly guarded the peasant crops. When someone tried to climb onto the field and steal, a hail of stones immediately flew at him. In addition, a dog could still be heard barking in the field, although it was not visible. It is clear that the thief literally lost his mind from fear and ran as fast as he could.
After the harvest was harvested, the alush had to be killed by breaking it against a stone. Otherwise, this area with alush began to become impoverished. Alush simply scared or threw stones at anyone who could harm him: break him, cut off an arm or leg.
And it was also supposed to bring the Alush drink saka to appease him. This had to be done several times so that he could fully enjoy this drink.
If the peasant decided to finally free himself from his protector of the crops, then he needed to find the place where the alush was hiding and break his clay figurine. But this should have been done only at noon, while Alush was sleeping.
...Currently, few peasants use alushes to guard their milpas. Most of them don’t even know who Alush is and how to use him on the field. They say that old people should remember this; this knowledge was passed on to them by the ah-men. Young people do not have this knowledge. Old people are dying, and there are fewer and fewer peasants who use alush in their fields.
In modern times, ax-men can no longer properly teach peasants how to use alush, since they themselves do not have the knowledge that the ancient Mayan priests had. If people knew more, they would not think that alushis only know how to frighten and bring illness to those who meet them.
We often hear stories about how Alushi scares people with his antics and does other dirty tricks, but this is not his main occupation, but the fact that he protects the harvest. After all, anyone who climbs onto someone else’s property, guarded by an alush, is so frightened that he runs away headlong and no longer encroaches on the neighbor’s property.
They also say that someone who sees an alushi may get sick if he does not immediately start singing. Alush does not like singing and irritates him.
Therefore, if someone meets an alush in the house or in the forest, let them not rush to tell the first person they meet about it. It’s better to wait a few days and then you can do it without any fear. Otherwise, you will definitely be punished with a terrible disease.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru