Dravidian Gods in Modern Hinduism 13 



forms. As Kali^* she is a bloodthirsty goddess, wearing a neck- 

 lace of skulls, and dancing on the bodies of her fallen enemies. 

 Another name commonly given her is Durga.^^ Tlie goddesses of 

 the Dravidians are commonly said to be incarnations of Kali or 

 Durga, and so the wives of Siva. 



Ganesa, the elephant headed god, and Hanuman, the monkey 

 god, are said to be the sons of Siva,^^ and in this way are connected 

 with the Hindu pantheon. It is possible that they were totems 

 or tribal animal gods of some branch of the aborigines, and have 

 been adopted into Hinduism. 



It appears that this adoption of aboriginal gods under the guise 

 of Siva worship has never fully satisfied either Brahmans or 

 Dravidians. There is evidence in the Nellore District that Siva 

 worship was once far stronger than at present. On every hand 

 fallen temples may be found, and these are almost invariably Siva 

 temples. They are usually found in the fields at some little dis- 

 tance from the villages, and appear to have been deserted for a 

 long time, perhaps for centuries. There are no local traditions of 

 any value concerning these temples. The architecture is not to be 

 compared with that of the temples in the towns, yet they are usu- 

 ally built with massive stones. Tliey are far better buildings than 

 the shrines of the Dravidian deities, but the style of architecture 

 is somewhat the same. 



1* Kali is the tutelary goddess of Kalighat, from which place the city 

 of Calcutta takes its name. Large numbers of goats and sometimes 

 bufifalos are beheaded here daily. The temple is owned by Brahmans 

 who have become immensely wealthy through the large number of offerings 

 made by pilgrims. For a description of the worship at Kalighat see Shib 

 Chundar Bose, The Hindus as They Are, Calcutta, 1883, pp. 133 sq. 



^5 Gustav Oppert, The Original Inhabitants of India, Westminster, 1893, 

 p. 495. Kali as Durga sometimes receives the buffalo sacrifice in South 

 India. She has every mark of an aboriginal deity. 



1^ Hanuman is also claimed by the Vaishnavas. For the legend of his 

 double parentage see Moor, The Hindu Pantheon,, Madras, 1864, pp. 250 

 sq. The Manual of Administration of the Madras Presidency, I, p. 72, 

 says that monkeys were always worshiped in India, and when Siva worship 

 came, the old monkey god, Hanuman, was called an incarnation of Siva. 

 The Travencore State Manual, II, p. 51, classifies these gods as tutelary 

 deities. 



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