Note 33 — Chapter II · THE HEROIC AND VILLAGE GODLINGS.

There are, as might have been expected, many methods of identifying and establishing the local gods. Thus in North Oudh, when a village is founded the site is marked off by cross stakes of wood driven into the ground, which are solemnly worshipped on the day of the completion of the settlement, and then lapse into neglect unless some indication of the displeasure of the god again direct attention to them. These crosses, which are called Daharchandî, are particularly frequent and well-marked in the villages occupied by the aboriginal Thârus in the sub-Himâlayan Tarâî, where they may be found in groups of ten or more on the edge of the cultivated lands. So, among the Santâls, a piece of split bamboo, about three feet high, is placed in the ground in an inclined position and is called the Sipâhî or sentinel of the hamlet; among the Gonds two curved posts, one of which is much smaller than the other, represent the male and female tutelary gods.33