Note 10 — Chapter II · THE HEROIC AND VILLAGE GODLINGS.

Hanumân is a favourite deity of the semi-Hinduized Drâvidian races of the Vindhya-Kaimûr plateau. “The most awe-inspiring of their tremendous rocks are his fanes; the most lovely of their pools are sacred by virtue of the tradition of his having bathed in them.” He was known as Pawan-kâ-pût, or “son of the wind,” which corresponds to his older title of Marutputra, or “son of the wind god.” And the Bhuiyas of Sinhbhûm, who are, as Colonel Dalton gravely remarks, “without doubt the apes of the Râmâyana,” call themselves Pawan-bans, or “sons of the wind,” to this day.10 But in the plains his chief function is as a warden or guardian against demoniacal influence, and at the Hanumângarhi shrine at Ajudhya he is provided with a regular priesthood consisting of Khâki ascetics.