Identifier: popularreligionf01croo (find matches)
Title: The popular religion and folk-lore of northern India
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Crooke, William, 1848-1923
Subjects: Folklore -- India Religion, Primitive Mythology, Hindu India -- Religion
Publisher: (London) A. Constable & co.
Contributing Library: Princeton Theological Seminary Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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mada valley when theybegin winnowing, and some repeat it every night while thewinnowing goes on. * The same custom prevails among the Kols and kindredraces in Mirzapur, who make the bride and bridegroomcarry it out as an omen of their success or failure in life. Bycarefully packing and pressing down the grain, any chanceof an evil augury is easily avoided. We shall see later onthat measuring the grain is a favourite device intended tosave it from the depredations of evil-minded ghosts. Worship of Dwara GusaIn. A typical case of the worship of a local godling is foundamong the Malers of Chota Nagpur. His name is DwaraGusain, or Lord of the house door. Whenever from somecalamity falling upon the household, it is considered neces-sary to propitiate him, the head of the family cleans a placein front of his door, and sets up a branch of the tree calledMukmum, which is held very sacred ; an egg is placed nearthe branch, then a hog is killed and friends feasted; and I Settlement Report, 257.
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The Heroic and Village Codlings. 105 when the ceremony is over the egg is broken and the branchplaced on the supphants house. Dwara Gusain is nowcalled Barahdvari, because he is supposed to live in a templewith twelve doors and is worshipped by the whole village inthe month of Magh.- The egg is apparently supposed tohold the deity, and this, it may be remarked, is not anuncommon folk-lore incident.^ Worship of BntfMiYA. One of the most characteristic of the benevolent villagegodlings is Bhumiya— the godling of the land or soil (bhiuni). He is very commonly known as Khetpal orKshetrapala, the protector of the fields; Khera or thehomestead mound; Zamindar or the landowner; andin the hills Saim or Sayam, the black one (Sanskritsydmd). In the neighbourhood of Delhi he is a malegodling; in Oudh Bhumiya is a goddess and is calledBhumiya Rani or soil queen. She is worshipped byspreading flat cakes and sweetmeats on the ground, whichhaving been exposed some time to the sun, are eventuallyco

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