While I was conducting linguistic and ethnographic field research among the Pālu Kuṟumbas of the Nilgiri Hills, South India, in the spring of 1976, I managed – but not without some difficulty – to obtain a single mantra from one of my main informants. In general, the manduraga:ra-s or “black magicians”, the only persons in the tribe who know mantras and use them ritually, are extremely reluctant to reveal even a particle of their secret knowledge to outsiders. They fear that a magic formula or ritual loses its potency as soon as it is divulged to another person. Nevertheless, I pressed my informant Gïḍḍanu (born c. 1946), son of the headman of Toḍiki, who held the office of black magician, to communicate at least one mantra to me. It was only after long deliberation and hesitation that he finally consented to comply with my request.