Question

How did the peasants try to paralyse the evil one?

Answer 1

This is a typical example of free verse and as such it requires deeper study to follow the meanings and intentions of the poet.
However such study shows what a good writer he was.
In this poem he begins “I remember” thus indicating that he is providing a personal reminiscence. As such the poem may or may not be a representation of an actual event but it is written as if it was real and as if the event was observed by the poet. For the sake of simplicity I will assume it is a real memory .

“I remember the night my mother was stung by a scorpion.
Ten hours of steady rain had driven him to crawl beneath a sack of rice.”
Here the poet is setting the scene and introducing one of the characters. There is no attempt to demonise the scorpion it is simply a creature like any other seeking shelter from the awful weather.

Answer 2

Answer:

The peasants came like swarms of flies And buzzed the Name of God a hundred Time to paralyse the Evil one. With candles and with lanterns Throwing giant scorpion shadows On the mud-baked walls They searched for him; he was not found They clicked their tongues.