Vetāla at D I 6 (in the lists of forbidden crafts) refers to some magic article The proper meaning of the word was already unknown when Buddhaghosa at Sv I 84 explained it as "ghana-tāḷaṃ" (cymbal beating) with remark "mantena mata-sarīr'uṭṭhāpanan ti eke" (some take it to be raising the dead by magic charms). Rh.D. at D.B. I 8 translates "chanting of bards" (cf. vetālika). It is of dialectical origin.