Buchanan’s journey through

63a

the only one in ufe, and is varying continually, none of the farmers, without con-fulting the panchanga, know the feafon for performing the operations of agri-culture.

Thefe panchangas are poor ignorant Brahmans, who get almanacs from fome one{killed in aftronomy. This perfon marks the days, which correfpond with the timesin the folar year, that ufually produce changes in the weather, and Hates them tobe under the influence of fuch and fuch conjunctions of liars, male, female, andneuter; and every one knows the tendency of thefe conjunctions to produce certainchanges in the weather. The poor panchangas are as much in the dark as theirneighbours, and actually believe that the year confifts of 360 days, fix of which areloft, nobody can tell how. As for the fkill in aftrology by which the learned are fup-pofed to be able to foretel the feafons, I have never met with even a Vaidika Brahman,that doubted its exiftence. It is, however, looked upon as a common fcience, as nothaving any thing miraculous in it, nor being communicated to its profeflors bydivine favour.

The office of panchanga in every part of this country is hereditary, and is alwaysheld by a Brahman, who, afts as purohita, or family prieft, to all the perfons ofpure defcent in the town or village. In Bengal, Brahmans who have loft caft aft aspurohitas for the low or impure calls; but both here, and in the Lower Carnatic,fuch an office would be confidered as too degrading for even the raoft reprobate ofthe facred order. The office of purohita confifts in reading at certain ceremonies,fuch as marriages, births, funerals, the building of a new houfe, or the like, what arecalled mantrams, amd faftrams. Ivlantrams are certain fixed forms of prayer, orinvocations of the deity; and the high dignity of the Brahmans arifes from the powerwhich certain mantrams, pronounced by them, are believed to poflefs. For inftance,by a proper mantram, the deity may be removed from any infpired image into a potof holy water, and the image having been ornamented by profane hands, the deitymay be again transferred back from the pot of water. Saftrams are portions ofthe writings efteemed facred ; and of which certain parts are appointed to be read onparticular occafions, fuch as I have above mentioned.

I affembled at different times the chief perfons of fome of the moft confpicuous callsat Bangalore , and procured from them the following account of their cuftoms.

The Banijigas, or Banijigaru, are in this country a very numerous clafs, and areof three kinds, the Pancham, the Jaina , and the Telinga Banijigaru.

The Pancham Banijigaru are by the Muffulmans called Lingait, as being the chiefperfons of the feft, who wear, round their necks, a filver box containing an imageof Siva in fhape of the Linga, under which form only he is ever worlhipped. Fromthis circumftance they are alfo called Sivabhaftaru, and Lingabuntaru ; but in thiscountry there are many other lower calls, who wear the fame badge of religion.The Pancham Banijigaru are alfo the heads of the right hand fide. They admit ofno diftinftion of caft among themfelves, except that arifing from a dedication to thefervice of God; but they do not admit of any profelytes from other Hindu races;nor do they intermarry with any of the lower calts that wear the Linga. The Brah-mans allege, that they are Sudras ; but this, in general, they eameltly deny. Themanner in which the Brahmans real'on with them is this : you are, fay they, neitherBrahman, Klhatri, nor Vaifya. If therefore you are not Sudras, you mull belongto one of the low, or impure calls. Many of the Lingait, rather than endure fuch aterrible degradation, are induced to acknowledge themfelves of the Sudra caft.mult however be obferved, that Vffiiija, from which their name is probably derived*

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