Omens and Superstitions of Southern India Part 8

V

VOWS, VOTIVE AND OTHER OFFERINGS

In addition to the observance of penances and fasting, Hindus of all castes, high and low, make vows and offerings to the G.o.ds, with the object of securing their good-will or appeasing their anger. By the lower castes, offerings of animals--fowls, sheep, goats, or buffaloes--are made, and the G.o.ds whom they seek to propitiate are minor deities, e.g., Ellamma or Muneswara, to whom animal sacrifices are acceptable. [159] The higher castes usually perform vows to Venkateswara of Tirupati, Subramanya of Palni, Viraraghava of Tiruvallur, Tirunarayana of Melkote, and other celebrated G.o.ds. But they may, if afflicted with serious illness, at times, as at the leaf festival at Periyapalayam (p. 148), seek the good offices of minor deities.

"A shrine," Mr F. Fawcett writes, [160] "to which the Malayalis (inhabitants of Malabar), Nayars included, resort is that of Subramaniya at Palni in the north-west of the Madura district. Not only are vows paid to this shrine, but men, letting their hair grow for a year after their father's death, proceed to have it cut there. The plate shows an ordinary Palni pilgrim. The arrangement which he is carrying is called a kavadi (portable shrine). There are two kinds of kavadi, a milk kavadi containing milk, and a fish kavadi containing fish. The vow may be made in respect of either, each being appropriate to certain circ.u.mstances. [Miniature silver kavadis, and miniature crowns, are sometimes offered by pilgrims to the G.o.d.] When the time comes near for the pilgrim to start for Palni, he dresses in reddish-orange clothes, shoulders his kavadi, and starts out. Together with a man ringing a bell, and perhaps one with a tom-tom, with ashes on his face, he a.s.sumes the role of a beggar. The well-to-do are inclined to reduce the beggar period to the minimum, but a beggar every votary must be, and as a beggar he goes to Palni in all humbleness and humiliation, and there he fulfils his vow, leaves his kavadi and his hair, and a small sum of money. Though the individuals about to be noticed were not Nayars, their cases ill.u.s.trate very well the religious idea of the Nayar as expressed under certain circ.u.mstances. It was at Guruvayur (in Malabar) in November 1895. On a high raised platform under a peepul tree were a number of people under vows, bound for Palni. A boy of fourteen had suffered as a child from epilepsy, and seven years ago his father vowed on his behalf that, if he was cured, he would make his pilgrimage to Palni. He wore a string of beads round his neck, and a like string on his right arm. These were in some way connected with the vow. His head was bent, and he sat motionless under his kavadi, leaning on the bar, which, when he carried it, rested on his shoulder. He could not go to Palni until it was revealed to him in a dream when he was to start. He had waited for his dream seven years, subsisting on roots (yams, etc.), and milk--no rice. Now he had had the longed-for dream, and was about to start. Another pilgrim was a man wearing an oval band of silver over the lower portion of the forehead, almost covering his eyes; his tongue protruding beyond the mouth, and kept in position by a silver skewer through it. The skewer was put in the day before, and was to be left in for forty days. He had been fasting for two years. He was much under the influence of the G.o.d, and whacking incessantly at a drum in delicious excitement. Several of the pilgrims had a handkerchief tied over the mouth, they being under a vow of silence. [At k.u.mbakonam in the Tanjore district, 'there is a math in honour of a recently deceased saint named Paradesi, who attained wide fame in the district some years ago. He never spoke, and was welcomed and feasted everywhere, and was the subject of many vows. People used to promise to break cocoanuts in his presence, or clothe him with fine garments, if they obtained their desire, and such vows were believed to be very efficacious.' [161]

At the Manjeshwar Temple in South Canara, there is a Darsana, (man who gets inspired) called the dumb Darsana, as he gives signs instead of speaking. Bishop Whitehead records [162] the case of a Brahman, who had taken a vow of silence for twenty-one years, because people make so much mischief by talking. He conversed by means of signs and writing in the dust]. One poor man wore the regular instrument of silence, the mouth-lock [163]--a wide silver band over the mouth, and a skewer piercing both cheeks. He sat patiently in a tent-like affair. People fed him with milk, etc. The use of the mouth-lock is common with the Nayars, when they a.s.sume the pilgrim's robes and set out for Palni. Pilgrims generally go in crowds under charge of a priestly guide, one who, having made a certain number of journeys to the shrine, wears a peculiar sash and other gear."

In connection with kavadis, it may be noted that, at the time of the annual migration of the sacred herd of cattle belonging to the Kappiliyans (Canarese farmers in the Madura district) to the hills, the driver is said to carry a pot of fresh-drawn milk within a kavadi. On the day on which the return journey to the Kambam valley is commenced, the pot is opened, and the milk is said to be found in a hardened state. A slice thereof is cut off, and given to each person who accompanied the herd to the hills. It is believed that the milk would not remain in good condition, if the sacred herd had been in any way injuriously affected during its sojourn there. The usual vow performed at the shrine of Dandayudhapani or Subramanya near Settikulam in the Trichinopoly district is to carry milk, sugar, flour, etc., in a kavadi, and offer it to the G.o.d. [164] A case is recorded [165]

from Ceylon, in which a man who was about to proceed with a kavadi to a shrine was held by several men, while a blow with the palm of the hand caught him in the middle of the back, to numb the pain created by the forcing of sharp iron hooks into the fleshy part of the back.

Reference has been made (p. 137) to the offering of hair by devotees at the Palni shrine. When people are prevented from going to a temple at the proper time, hair is sometimes removed from their children's head, sealed up in a vessel, and put into the receptacle for offerings when the visit to the temple is paid. In cases of dangerous sickness, the hair is sometimes cut off, and offered to a deity.

"The sacrifice of locks," Mr A. Srinivasan writes, "is meant to propitiate deceased relations, and the deity which presides over life's little joys and sorrows. It is a similar intention that has dictated the ugly disfigurement of widows. We meet with the identical fact and purpose in the habit of Telugu Brahmans and non-Brahmans in general, sacrificing their whole locks of hair to the G.o.ddess Ganga of Prayaga, to the G.o.d Venkatesa of Tirupati, and other local G.o.ds. The Brahman ladies of the south have more recently managed to please Ganga and other G.o.ds with just one or two locks of hair."

Sometimes, in performance of a vow, Patnulkaran (Madura weaver) boys are taken to the shrine at Tirupati for the tonsure ceremony. [166]

Married couples desirous of offspring make a vow that, if a child be granted to them, they will perform the ceremony of the first shaving of its head at the temple of the G.o.d who fulfils their desire. [167]

It is said [168] that Alagarkovil in the Madura district is such a favourite place for carrying out the first shaving of the heads of children, that the right to the locks presented to the shrine is annually sold by auction.

Writing in 1872, Mr Breeks remarked [169] that "about Ootacamund, a few Todas have latterly begun to imitate the religious practices of their native neighbours, and my particular friend Kinniaven, after an absence of some days, returned with a shaven head from a visit to the temple of Siva at Nanjengudi" (in Mysore).

A Toda who came to see me had his hair hanging down in long tails reaching below the shoulders. He had, he said, let it grow long because his wife, though married five years, had borne no child. A child had, however, recently been born, and he was going to sacrifice his locks as a thank-offering at the NanjenG.o.d temple. By the Badagas of the Nilgiris, the fire-walking ceremony is celebrated to propitiate the deity Jeddayaswami, to whom vows are made. In token thereof, they grow one twist or plait of hair, which is finally cut off as an offering to Jeddayaswami.

By some Gavaras (a cultivating caste) of Vizagapatam, special reverence is paid to the deity Jagganathaswami of Orissa, whose shrine at Puri is visited by some, while others take vows in the name of the G.o.d. On the day of the car festival at Puri, local car festivals are held in Gavara villages, and women carry out the performance of their vows. A woman, for example, who is under a vow, in order that she may be cured of illness or bear children, takes a big pot of water, and, placing it on her head, dances frantically before the G.o.d, through whose influence the water which rises out of the pot falls back into it, instead of being spilt. The cla.s.s of Vaishnavite mendicants called Dasari claims descent from a wealthy Sudra, [170] who, having no offspring, vowed that, if he was blessed with children, he would devote one to the service of the deity. He subsequently had many sons, one of whom he named Dasan, and placed entirely at the service of the G.o.d. Dasan forfeited all claim to his father's estate, and his descendants are therefore all beggars. [171] In a note on the Dasaris of Mysore, [172] it is stated that "they become Dasas or servants dedicated to the G.o.d at Tirupati by virtue of a peculiar vow, made either by themselves or their relatives at some moment of anxiety or danger, and live by begging in his name. Among certain castes (e.g., Banajiga, Tigala, and Vakkaliga), the custom of taking a vow to become a Dasari prevails. In fulfilment of that vow, the person becomes a Dasari, and his eldest son is bound to follow suit."

It may be noted that, in the Canarese country, a custom obtains among the Bedars and some other castes, under which a family which has no male issue must dedicate one of its daughters as a Basavi. [173]

The girl is taken to the temple, and married to the G.o.d, a tali (marriage badge) and toe-rings being put on her. Thenceforward she becomes a public woman, except that she should not consort with any one of lower caste than herself. It may be added that a Basavi usually lives faithfully with one man, and she works for her family as hard as any other woman.

Married couples, to whom offspring is born after the performance of a vow, sometimes name it after the deity whose aid has been invoked, such as Srinivasa at Tirupati, Lakshminarasimha at Sholingur, or some other local G.o.d or G.o.ddess. At Negapatam, some Hindus make vows to the Miran (Muhammadan saint) of Nagur, and name their child after him. The name thus given is not, however, used in every-day life, but abandoned like the ceremonial name given prior to the Hindu upanayana ceremony. In the Telugu country, the poorer cla.s.ses of Hindus sometimes promise that, if a son is born to them, they will call him after a Muhammadan Fakir, and, consequently, it is far from uncommon to find a Hindu named Fakirgadu or Fakirappa, with a Hindu termination to a Muhammadan commencement. [174]

It has been noted (p. 138) that some pilgrims to the shrine at Palni have a skewer piercing both cheeks. It is recorded by Bishop Whitehead [175] that "devotees go to the shrine of Durgamma at Bellary with silver pins about six inches long thrust through their cheeks, and with a lighted lamp in a bra.s.s dish on their head. On arriving before the shrine, they place the lamp on the ground, and the pin is removed, and offered to the G.o.ddess."

The Bishop was told that the object of this ceremony is to enable the devotee to come to the shrine with a concentrated mind.

A common form of vow made to Mariamman at Pappakkalpatti in the Trichinopoly district is a promise to stick little iron skewers into the body. In performance of vows, the Sedans and Kaikolans (weaver castes) pierce some part of the body with a spear. The latter thrust a spear through the muscles of the abdomen in honour of their G.o.d Saha-nayanar at Ratnagiri.

At the annual festival of the G.o.ddess Gangamma at Tirupati, a Kaikolan devotee dances before the G.o.ddess, and, when he is worked up to the proper pitch of frenzy, a metal wire is pa.s.sed through the middle of his tongue. It is believed that the operation causes no pain or bleeding, and the only remedy adopted is the chewing of margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves and some kunk.u.mam (red powder) of the G.o.ddess. If, during a temple car procession, the car refuses to move, the Viramushtis (Lingayat mendicants), who are guardians of the idol, cut themselves with their swords until it is set in motion. There is a proverb that the Siva Brahman (temple priest) eats well, whereas the Viramushti hurts himself with the sword, and suffers much. The Viramushtis are said, in former days, to have performed a ceremony called pavadam. When an orthodox Lingayat was insulted, he would swallow his lingam, and lie flat on the ground in front of the house of the offender, who had to collect some Lingayats, and send for a Viramushti. He had to arrive accompanied by a pregnant Viramushti woman, priests of Draupadi, Pachaiamman, and Pothuraja temples, some individuals from the nearest Lingayat mutt, and others. Arrived at the house, the pregnant woman would sit down in front of the person lying on the ground. With his sword the Viramushti man then made cuts in his scalp and chest, and sprinkled the rec.u.mbent man with the blood. He would then rise, and the lingam would come out of his mouth. Mondi mendicants, when engaged in begging, cut the skin of the thighs with a knife, lie down and beat their chest with a stone, vomit, roll in the dust or mud, and throw ordure into the houses of those who will not contribute alms. It was noted, in a recent report of the Banganapalle State, that an inam (grant of rent-free land) was held on condition of the holder "ripping open his stomach" at a certain festival.

A vow performed in honour of the village G.o.ddess at Settikulam in the Trichinopoly district is for the votaries, male and female, to fling themselves on heaps of thorns before her. This vow is generally fulfilled by those cured of disease. It is called mullu padagalam, or bed of thorns. [176] At the annual fire-walking festival at NuvaG.o.de in Ganjam, the officiating priest sits on a seat of sharp thorns. It is noticed [177] by the missionary Gloyer that, on special occasions, some Dombs in Vizagapatam fall into a frenzied state, in which they cut their flesh with sharp instruments, or pa.s.s long, thin iron bars through the tongue and cheeks, during which operation no blood must flow. For this purpose, the instruments are rubbed over with some blood-congealing material. They also affect sitting on a sacred swing, armed with long iron nails. Mr G. F. Paddison informs me that he once saw a villager in the Vizagapatam district sitting outside the house, while groans proceeded from within. He explained that he was ill, and his wife was swinging on nails with their points upwards, to cure him.

In the Tanjore district, persons afflicted with disease promise that, if they are cured, they will brand their bodies, go round a temple a certain number of times by rolling over and over in the dust, and offer a pregnant goat by stabbing it through the womb. Sometimes vows of self-mortification are taken in antic.i.p.ation of relief. Such are undertaking to go without salt in one's food, or to eat without using the hands, until a cure is effected. [178] At Palni in the Madura district, there is an annual feast at the Mariamman temple, at which people, in performance of a vow, carry in their bare hands earthen pots with a bright fire blazing inside them. They are said to escape burns by the favour of the G.o.ddess, but it is whispered that immunity is sometimes rendered doubly sure by putting sand or rice-husk at the bottom of the pot. [179] Some Dasaris (religious mendicants) go through a performance called Panda Servai, which consists in beating themselves with a flaming torch all over the body. I am informed by Mr Paddison that some Dombs are reputed to be able to pour blazing oil all over their bodies, without suffering any hurt; and one man is said to have had a miraculous power of hardening his skin, so that any one could have a free shot at him without hurting him.

In the Melur taluk of the Madura district, it is stated that women who are anxious for offspring vow that, if they attain their wish, they will go and have a cocoanut broken on their head by a priest at the temple of Sendurai. [180] At an annual festival in honour of the G.o.d Servarayan on the Shevaroy hills in the Salem district, those Malayalis who wish to take a vow to be faithful to their G.o.d have to receive fifteen lashes on the bare back with a stout leather thong, administered by the chief priest.

The annual festival at the temple of Karamadai in the Coimbatore district is visited by about forty or fifty thousand pilgrims, belonging for the most part to the lower cla.s.ses. In case of sickness or other calamity, they take a vow to perform one of the following:--

(1) To pour water at the feet of the idol inside the temple. Each devotee is provided with a goat-skin bag, or a new earthen pot. He goes to the tank, and, after bathing, fills the receptacle with water, carries it to the temple, and empties it before the idol. This is repeated a number of times according to the nature of the vow. If the vow is a life-long one, it has to be performed every year until death.

(2) To give kavalam to Dasaris (religious mendicants). Kavalam consists of plantain fruits cut up into small slices, and mixed with sugar, jaggery (crude sugar), fried grain, or beaten rice. The Dasaris are attached to the temple, and wear short drawers, with strings of small bra.s.s bells tied to their wrists and ankles. They appear to be possessed, and move wildly about to the beating of drums. As they go about, the devotees put some of the kavalam into their mouths. The Dasaris eat a little, and spit out the remainder into the hands of the devotees, who eat it. This is believed to cure all disease, and to give children to those who partake of it. In addition to kavalam, some put betel leaves in the mouths of the Dasaris, who, after chewing them, spit them into the mouths of the devotees. At night the Dasaris carry torches made of rags, on which the devotees pour ghi (clarified b.u.t.ter). Some people say that, many years ago, barren women used to take a vow to visit the temple at the time of the festival, and, after offering kavalam, have s.e.xual intercourse with the Dasaris. The temple authorities, however, profess ignorance of this practice.

On the last day of the Gangajatra festival at Tirupati, a figure is made of clay and straw, and placed in the tope (grove), where crowds of all cla.s.ses, including Paraiyans, present food to it. Buffaloes, goats, sheep, and fowls are sacrificed, and it is said that Brahmans, though they will not be present, send animals to be slaughtered. At the conclusion of the festivities, the image is burnt during the feast, which last over ten days, the lower orders of the people paint themselves, and indulge in much boisterous merriment. Those who have made a vow to Ganga fast for some days before the festival begins. They wear a structure made of bamboo in the form of a car, which is decorated with paper of different colours, and supported by iron nails pressed into the belly and back. They go about with this structure on their heads. Those who have been attacked by cholera, or other serious disease, make a vow to Ganga, and perform this ceremonial.

A festival, which is attended by huge crowds of Hindus of all cla.s.ses, takes place annually in the month of Audi (July-August) at the village of Periyapalayam, about sixteen miles from Madras, where the G.o.ddess Mariamma is wors.h.i.+pped under the name of Periyapalayaththamman. According to the legend, as narrated by the Rev. A. C. Clayton, [181]

"there was once a Ris.h.i.+ (sage), who lived on the banks of the Periyapalayam river with his wife Bavani. Every morning she used to bathe in the river, and bring back water for the use of the household. But she never took any vessel with her in which to bring the water home, for she was so chaste that she had acquired power to form a water-pot out of the dry river sand, and carry the water home in it. One day, while bathing, she saw the reflection of the face of the sky-G.o.d, Indra, in the water, and could not help admiring it. When she returned to the bank of the river, and tried to form her water-pot out of sand as usual, she could not do so, for her admiration of Indra had ruined her power, and she went home sadly to fetch a bra.s.s water-vessel. Her husband saw her carrying this to the river, and at once suspected her of unchast.i.ty, and, calling his son, ordered him to strike off her head with a sword. It was in vain that the son tried to avoid matricide. He had to obey, but he was so agitated by his feelings that, when at last he struck at his mother, he cut off not only her head, but that of a leather-dresser's wife who was standing near. The two bodies lay side by side. The ris.h.i.+ was so pleased with his son's obedience that he promised him any favour that he should ask, but he was very angry when the son at once begged that his mother might be restored to life. Being compelled to keep his word, he told the son that, if he put his mother's head on her trunk, she would again live. The son tried to do so, but in his haste took up the head of the leather-dresser's wife by mistake, and put it on Bavani's body. Leather-dressers are flesh-eaters, and so it comes about that, on days when her festival is celebrated, Bavani--now a G.o.ddess--longs for meat, and thousands of sheep, goats, and fowls, must be slain at her shrine. This legend bears marks of Brahmanic influence. Curiously enough, the priest of this Paraiya shrine is himself a Brahman."

The vows, which are performed at the festival at Periyapalayam, are as follows:--

(1) Wearing a garment of margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaves, or wearing an ordinary garment, and carrying a lighted lamp made of rice-flour on the head.

(2) Carrying a pot decorated with flowers and margosa leaves round the temple.

(3) Going round the temple, rolling on the ground.

(4) Throwing a live fowl on to the top of the temple.

(5) Throwing a cocoanut in front, prostrating on the ground in salutation, going forward several paces and again throwing the cocoanut, and repeating the procedure till three circuits of the temple have been made.

(6) Giving offerings to the idol Parasurama, cradle with baby made of clay or wood, etc., to bring offspring to the childless, success in a lawsuit or business transaction, and other good luck. In addition, pongal (boiled rice) has to be offered, and by some a sheep or goat is sacrificed. If a vow has been made on behalf of a sick cow, the animal is bathed in the river, clad in margosa leaves, and led round the temple. The leaf-wearing vow is resorted to by the large majority of the devotees, and performed by men, women and children. Those belonging to the more respectable cla.s.ses go through it in the early morning, before the crowd has collected in its tens of thousands. The leafy garments are purchased from hawkers, who do a brisk trade in the sale thereof. The devotees have to pay a modest fee for admission to the temple precincts, and go round the shrine three or more times. Concerning the Periyapalayam festival, a recent writer observes that, "the distinctive feature is that the wors.h.i.+ppers are clad in leaves. The devotees are bound to wear a garment made of fresh margosa twigs with their leaves. This garment is called vepansilai. It consists of a string three or four yards long, from which depend, at intervals of two to three inches apart, twigs measuring about two feet in length, and forming a fringe of foliage. This string being wound several times round the waist, the fringe of leaves forms a kilt or short petticoat. Men are content to wear the kilt, but women also wear round their neck a similar garment, which forms a short cloak reaching to the waist. To impress on devotees the imperative obligation imposed on them to wear the leaf garment in wors.h.i.+pping the G.o.ddess, it is said that a young married woman, being without children, made a vow to the G.o.ddess that, on obtaining a son, she would go on a pilgrimage to Periyapalayam, and wors.h.i.+p her in accordance with the ancient rite. Her prayer having been answered, she gave birth to a son, and went to Periyapalayam to fulfil her vow. When, however, it was time to undress and put on the vepansilai, her modesty revolted. Un.o.bserved by her party, she secretly tied a cloth round her waist before putting on the vepansilai. So attired, she went to the temple to wors.h.i.+p. On seeing her coming, the G.o.ddess detected her deceit, and, waxing wroth, set the woman's dress all ablaze, and burnt her so severely that she died."

It is noted by Bishop Whitehead [182] that it was formerly the custom for women to come to the shrine of Durgamma at Bellary clad in twigs of the margosa tree. But this is now only done by children, the grown-up women putting the margosa twigs over a cloth wrapped round the loins. At a festival of the village G.o.ddess at Kudligi in the Bellary district, the procession is said by Mr F. Fawcett to be headed by a Madiga (Telugu Pariah) naked save for a few margosa leaves. The wearing of these leaves on the occasion of festivals in honour of Mariamma is a very general custom throughout Southern India. Garments made of leaves are still worn by the females of some tribes on the west coast, e.g., the Thanda Pulayans, Vettuvans, and Koragas. Concerning the Koragas, Mr Walhouse writes [183] that they "wear an ap.r.o.n of twigs and leaves over the b.u.t.tocks. Once this was the only covering allowed them, and a mark of their deep degradation. But now, when no longer compulsory, and of no use, as it is worn over the clothes, the women still retain it, believing its disuse would be unlucky."

"Kuvvakkam in the South Arcot district is known for its festival to Aravan (more correctly Iravan) or Kuttandar, which is one of the most popular feasts with Sudras in the whole district. Aravan was the son of Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers. Local traditions says that, when the great war which is described in the Mahabharata was about to begin, the Kauravas, the opponents of the Pandavas, to bring them success, sacrificed a white elephant. The Pandavas were in despair of being able to find any such uncommon object with which to propitiate the G.o.ds, until Arjuna suggested that they should offer up his son Aravan. Aravan agreed to yield his life for the good of the cause, and, when eventually the Pandavas were victorious, he was deified for the self-abnegation which had thus brought his side success. Since he died in his youth, before he had been married, it is held to please him if men, even though grown up and already wedded, come now and offer to espouse him, and men who are afflicted with serious diseases take a vow to marry him at his annual festival in the hope of thereby being cured. The festival occurs in May, and for eighteen nights the Mahabharata is recited by a Palli (Tamil agriculturist), [184]

large numbers of people, especially of that caste, a.s.sembling to hear it read. On the eighteenth night, a wooden image of Kuttandar is taken to a tope (grove) and seated there. This is the signal for the sacrifice of an enormous number of fowls. Every one who comes brings one or two, and the number killed runs literally into thousands. While this is going on, all the men who have taken vows to be married to the deity appear before his image dressed like women, make obeisance, offer to the priest (who is a Palli by caste) a few annas, and give into his hands the talis (marriage badge worn by women) which they have brought with them. These the priest, as representing the G.o.d, ties round their necks. The G.o.d is brought back to his shrine that night, and, when in front of the building, he is hidden by a cloth held before him. This symbolises the sacrifice of Aravan, and the men who have just been married to him set up loud lamentations at the death of their husband. Similar vows are taken and ceremonies performed, it is said, at the shrines of Kuttandar, two miles north-west of Porto Novo, and Adivarahanattum (five miles north-west of Chidambaram), and, in recent years, at Tiruvarkkulam (one mile east of the latter place); other cases probably occur." [185]

I am informed by Mr R. F. Stoney that, in the Madura district, iron chains are hung on babul (Acacia arabica) trees, and dedicated to the rustic deity Karuppan. At Melur Mr Stoney saw large ma.s.ses of such chains, which are made by the village blacksmiths. They are very rough, and are furnished at one end with what is said to be a sickle, and also a spear-head. I gather further [186] that, in the Melur taluk, the shrine of Karuppan may usually be known by the hundreds of chains hung outside it, which have been presented to the G.o.d in performance of vows. The deity is said to be fond of bedecking himself with chains, and these offerings are usually suspended from a kind of horizontal bar made of two stone uprights supporting a slab of stone placed horizontally upon the top of them. The G.o.d is also fond of presents of clubs and swords.

"Sometimes," a recent writer states, "a big chain hangs suspended from a tree, and the village panchayats (tribunals) are held in the Aiyanar (or Sangali Karuppan) temple. The accused is made to submit to an ordeal in proof of innocence. The ordeal consists in his swearing on the chain, which he is made to touch. He has such a dread of this procedure, that, as soon as he touches the chain, he comes out with the truth, failure to speak the truth being punished by some calamity, which he believes will overtake him within a week. These chains are also suspended to the trees near the temples of village G.o.ddesses, and used by village panchayats to swear the accused in any trial before them."

It is narrated [187] by Moor that he "pa.s.sed a tree, on which were hanging several hundred bells. This was a superst.i.tious sacrifice by the Bandjanahs, [188] who, pa.s.sing this tree, are in the habit of hanging a bell or bells upon it, which they take from the necks of their sick cattle, expecting to leave behind them the complaint also. Our servants particularly cautioned us against touching these diabolical bells; but, as a few were taken for our own cattle, several accidents that happened were imputed to the anger of the deity to whom these offerings were made, who, they say, inflicts the same disorder on the unhappy bullock who carries a bell from this tree as he relieved the donor from."

At Diguvemetta in the Kurnool district, I came across a number of bells, both large and small, tied to the branches of a tamarind tree, beneath which were an image of the deity Malalamma, and a stone bull (Nandi). Suspended from a branch of the same tree was a thick rope, to which were attached heads, skulls, mandibles, thigh-bones, and feet of fowls, and the foot of a goat.