32 Wilber Theodore Elmore 



There is a yearly festival for these goddesses, and as in this 

 village there is no famine because of the good tank, the wor- 

 ship takes the form of making votive offerings rather than of 

 propitiation. One peculiar feature is that new clothes are tied 

 upon the idols. These clothes are later appropriated by the pujari. 

 Probably because these deities were once human women, this 

 desire for new garments is attributed to them. Many people give 

 these clothes in fulfillment of vows. There is the usual feasting 

 and drawing of decorated carts around the temple. Toward 

 the close of the worship many of the common features of a jatara 

 appear. There are blood offerings, but they are not so repellent 

 as in many other cases. A buffalo is beheaded, but the legs are 

 not placed in its mouth, and the head with a light burning on it is 

 simply left as an offering. 



The object of this worship appears to be somewhat confused in 

 the minds of the people. It is difficult to see how these benevo- 

 lent women could have become deities who desire blood offerings. 

 It is probable that the originally simple worship has been added 

 to, and that, without much thought of the nature of these god- 

 desses, the usual exercises for the malevolent deities are per- 

 formed. 



Buchamma is the name of another Perantalu. She enjoys 

 an annual festival lasting three days. Here again we may see a 

 combination of saint-worship and demon-worship. In this case 

 the buffalo sacrifice is omitted, but on the last day of the festival 

 a sheep is killed in front of the image so that it may see the 

 blood flow. This may be from fear that Buchamma, like other 

 village goddesses, has some evil propensities, and so needs pro- 

 pitiation. More probably, as in the case of the worship noted 

 above, this is simply an accretion from the usual Dravidian 

 worship. 



In Muppararazuvarepalem, in the Darsi Taluq of the Nellore 

 District, there is a Perantalu called Lingamma, the worship of 

 whom appears to be altogether joyous. There are no blood 

 offerings, even though all castes worship her. The chief object 

 of the worship is to secure offspring, and a marriage ceremony is 



32 



