Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4.djvu/409

Rh two halves being placed on the ground about a yard apart. To these all the people do pūja (worship), and then take up the pots, and go home. The eight-anna piece is given to the potter, and the betel to the Chalavādhi. On the way to the potter's, and on the return thence, the procession is accompanied with music, and the women sing songs. Meanwhile, the groom, and those who have remained at home, have been worshipping the goddess Sunkalamma. The method of making this goddess, and its worship, are as follows. Rice and green gram are cooked together, and with this cooked food a cone is made minus the point. A little hollow is made on the top, and this is filled with ghī (clarified butter), onions, and dal. Four wicks are put into it, so forming a lamp. A nose jewel is stuck somewhere on the outside of the lump, two garlands are placed round it, and the whole is decorated with religious marks. This goddess is always placed in the north-east corner of the house, called the god's corner, which has been previously cleaned, and an image of Hanumān, or some other deity, is drawn with rice-powder on the floor. Upon this drawing the image of Sunkalamma is placed. Before her are put several little balls of rice, with which ghī has been mixed. The worship consists in making offerings of frankincense and camphor, and a cocoanut, which is broken in half, the halves being put in front of the goddess. A ram or a he-goat is now brought, nīm (Melia Azadirachta) leaves are tied round the horns, religious marks are made on the forehead, water is placed in its mouth, and it is then sacrificed. After the sacrifice has been made, those assembled prostrate themselves before the image for some time in silence, after which they go outside for a minute or two, and then, returning, divide the goddess,