Handbook of History of Religions

SR No.: 007634
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Edward Washburn
Publisher: Sanmati Tirth Prakashan Pune
Total Pages: 678
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 2 MB

Page 548

[Footnote 19: In the ninth century Orissa was formed of the territories of Khonds, Koles, and Sav[=a)ras. In the old grouping of tribes these, together with the Gonds and Bhils, were the "five children of the soil" between the Vindhya mountains, the east chain of the Gh[=a]ts, and the mouth of the Gods=a]var[=i) to the centre of the valley of the Nerbudda. The last mentioned tribe of Bhils (Bheels) is almost devoid of native religion, but is particularly noted for truth, honesty, and fidelity. JRAS. 1844, pp. 181, 189, 192; 1852, p. 216 ff. It is an ancient race, but its origin is not certain.]
[Footnote 20: Trees are revered by the Brahmans also, as by the American Indians. Schoolcraft, i. 368. The tree-spirit is an advance on this (Brahmanic and Hinduistic).]
[Footnote 21: Thus the Bhils' wedding is simply a mutual promise under the sing[=a) tree. These savages, however, live together only so long as they choose. When the family separates, the father takes the elder children, and the mother takes the younger ones. They are polygamous. It is from this tribe that the worship of Aghor[=i], the Vindhya fiend, accepted as a form of K[=a]][=i), was introduced into Çivaite worship. At present their religion is a mixture of Hindu and native superstition. Thus, like the Gonds, they worship stone images of gods placed in a circle, but they recognize among these gods several of the Hindu divinities.]
[Footnote 22: Rowney, Wild Tribes, p. 194. The goose-totem of the Sunth[=a]ls is also Brahm[=a)'s sign. As Vishnu is carried on an eagle, and Civa on a bull, so Brahm[=a) rides a goose (or flamingo). The 'ten ancestors' demanded of the Brahman priest were originally on the mother's side as well as on the father's. Weber, R[=a]jas[=ulya, p. 78. The matriarchal theory is, however, southern. (Compare the oblations to the ancestresses in Vishnu's law-book, 74.)]