her earthly home; secondly, the Churel rises from her grave at nightfall and seeks to return to her friends but when she sees the minute grains of the mustard scattered abroad and stoops to pick it up, and while she is engaged, the sun rises and she is unable to visit her home. This story also tells us that the Churel usually only comes out during the night. Some sources say she can only be stopped by a Baiga (someone who gets rid of evil spirits) after a goat has been sacrificed. In one story, a boy described his visits from the Churel. Medicine men (men who were in charge of concocting herbal medicines and reciting incantations to get rid of evil) were called in and they helped get rid of the Churel which led to the survival of the boy. Burial techniques for prevention The forming of a Churel is prevented by burying the corpse of any woman who is likely to become one, instead of the usual Hindu cremation. Rites and rituals of her burial should be performed with utmost care. The woman should be remembered in songs and prayers. Many methods, which differ according to different regions, exist to stop a woman from turning into a Churel. One way is to bury the body and fill the grave with thorns and pile heavy stones on top to stop the evil spirit from getting out. If a woman dies during pregnancy, her body is cut open to take the child out and both mother and child are buried in the same grave. The Majhwar of Mizapur bury their corpses with thorns and pile heavy stones on top to stop Churels from getting out. In the hilly regions of India, the dead woman is anointed with five products of a cow and texts are recited. Her coffin is then burned and then either buried or thrown in the river. Other techniques include nailing the four fingers and toes and roping together all the thumbs and big toes with iron rings and planting mustard in the soil in which she died. According to the Oraon, the most evil Churels have their eyes sewn up with thorns and their hands and legs are broken. They are then laid down in the grave with their faces downwards while a spirit doctor follows the body all the way to the graveyard scattering mustard