Note 70 — C

Religion. 13. Their chief deities are Sairi, a vague female form sometimes known as Devi, Sîtala, the goddess of small pox, and the Dih, or aggregate of village gods, which are worshipped both by men and women. Fowls, goats, and pigs are sacrificed to the Manes, the victim being fed on some rice and marked on the head with red lead in the name of the sainted dead before being sacrificed. During the period of mourning they do worship to the disembodied spirit (pret) with an offering of a young pig. For their special worship in the Hindu form they employ a low body of Sarwariya Brâhmans. The worship of the village gods is done by a Baiga of their own tribe, and this local priest is generally the president of the village tribal council. The Baiga pretends to great personal purity, and is supposed to fast on the day he makes the offering. They have apparently quite abandoned the system of triennial sacrifices which prevails among the Eastern branch of the tribe;70 but their tribal traditions show that their discontinuance is comparatively recent. The site of the Chero shrine (deohâr) is usually under a nîm tree where rude earthenware images of horses are collected. The offering very often takes the form of what is called newaj, balls of sweetened flour fried in butter. These after being offered are eaten by the family of the worshipper and the Baiga. All their sacrifices are done in public, except those to Dulhadeo, the godling of marriages, who is little more than a household deity, and whose worship is in the hands of the women.