Buchanan's journey through

636

Saktis, or minifters of Siva . They never offer facrifices at the temples of thefe deities,and much lefs ever ad as their pujaris. Influenced, however, by fuperftition, althoughthey condemn the pradice, they in ficknefs occafionally fend a fmall offering of fruitor money to thefe deities; but, being afhamed to do it publickly, the prefent is gene-rally conveyed by fome child, who may be fuppofed to have made the offering bymiftake. The fmall temples of thefe deities are very numerous, and the pujar.’s arain general of the impure cafts.' I am inclined indeed to believe, that they are the originalgods of the country; and that thefe impure cafts are the remains of the rude tribesthat occupied the country before the origin of the Brahmans, or other feds, that in-troduced forms of worfhip more complicated, and more favourable to the priefthood.

Many of the people who burn lime are a kind of low Teliga Banijigaru, as theycan eat in the houfes of that clafs; but their native language is the Karnataka , orCanarefe; and the two tribes do not intermarry. They are divided into feveral fa-milies, and no man marries ou t of his own; but they can all eat together. Theyhave hereditary chiefs, who fettle difputes relating to call; but in civil affairs they arefubjed to the chiefs of the Pancham Banijigaru. They do nof wear the linga, yetthey confider as their Guru the Nidamavudy Swamalu, who is a Mahantina Einaru,and lives in the Bala-pura diftrid. They never eat with the fed of Siva ; and ufeanimal food, and bang ; but are not allowed to drink fpirituous liquors. They burythe dead. They are allowed a plurality of wives, who are not confined, and are foinduftrious that they are looked upon as a fupport to their hufbands. They are neverdivorced, except for adultery; and if their infidelity has not been with a man of avery low caft, the parties are frequently reconciled by the Swamalu, who makes them,eat together fome confecrated viduals, which, with fome holy water, puts an end tqall differences. None of them can either read or write. They never, become Daferi.The god of their caft is Vencaty Ramana, or the Tripathi Vilhnu: but they pray alfoto Dharma Raja , and offer facrifices to Marima, and other deftrudive fpirits.

Another inferior kind of Teliga Banijigas are the Goni makers. They will willinglyeat in the houfes of that caft; but thefe will not return the compliment. They willalfo eat the meat prepared by a Pancham Banijiga. They have their own hereditarychiefs, who are as ignorant as their followers, none of them being able either to reador write. Some of them are farmers, and feme are fmall traders, which does not effedany difference in caft. They do not wear the Linga, and Guru is one of the heredi-tary chiefs of the Sri Vaifhnavam Brahmans, whofe family title is Tata Acharya. Theprefent Guru, named Rama Acharlu, lives here. Thofe who are natives of thiscountry bury their dead, and the Goni makers of the Lower Carnatic burn theirs;but this does not prevent the two from intermarrying. They are allowed a plurality ofwives. Without danger of lofing caft they can eat hogs, fowls, mutton, and filh, andcan drink fpirituous liquors.

The Devangas are a fet of weavers, confiding of two nations, Karnata, andTelinga.

The Karnata or Canara Devangas in this country all wear the linga, but are adiftind caft from the Pancham Banijigas, with whom they neither eat nor intermarry.The fame is the cafe between them and the Teliga Devangas. Their Guru is CariBafwa-uppa, who from the place of his refidence, is commonly called the NidamavudySwamalu. The Devangas pretend that he is totally independent of the Gurus of theLinga Banijigaru ; but I have reafon to think that this is a vain piece of pride, andthat he is one of the Mahantina before mentioned. The Guru fends Jangamas to allthe villages where Devangas refide, and receives contributions under the name of

charity.