Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/385

Rh were put aside for them. Then came another long chant, calling on the Kulbas of all ancestors to come, and receive the deceased and not to be angry with him." It is stated* that, in the east of Gunupur, the Savaras commit much cattle theft, partly, it is said, because custom enjoins big periodical sacrifices of cattle to their deceased ancestors. In connection with the Guar festival, Mr. Ramamurti Pantulu writes that well-to-do individuals offer each one or two animals, while, among the poorer members of the community, four or five subscribe small sums for the purchase of a buffalo, and a goat. "There are," he continues, "special portions of the sacrificed animals, which should, according to custom, be presented to those that carried the dead bodies to the grave, as well as to the Bōya and Gōmong. If a man is hanged, a string is suspended in the house on the occasion of the Guar, so that the spirit may descend along it. If a man dies of wounds caused by a knife or iron weapon, a piece of iron or an arrow is thrust into a rice-pot to represent the deceased." I gather further that, when a Savara dies after a protracted illness, a pot is suspended by a string from the roof of the house. On the ground is placed a pot, supported on three stones. The pots are smeared with turmeric paste, and contain a brass box, chillies, rice, onions, and salt. They are regarded as very sacred, and it is believed that the ancestors sometimes visit them.

Concerning the religion of the Savaras, Mr. Fawcett notes that their name for deity is Sonnum or Sunnam, and describes the following: —


 * (1) Jalia. In some places thought to be male, and in others female. The most widely known, very