Dravidian Gods in Modern Hinduism 5 



systematic attempt being made to learn of these things they are 

 filled with superstitious fears, and it is almost im.possible to get 

 them to tell what they do know.* 



Again, the educated people of the land know little about these 

 local gods, and affect to know less. Any questions are met with 

 the reply that their worship belongs to outcastes and the lower 

 orders of society, and that they know nothing about it. The 

 Brahmans have a considerable interest in these gods, as will be 

 seen later, and no doubt know far more than they are willing to 

 admit. They are ashamed of their connection with this worship 

 and of their fears of the gods. Then, too, since this worship is 

 almost exclusively that of propitiation to avert some evil which a 

 local god may be perpetrating or intending, the Brahmans do not 

 wish to run the risk of incurring the displeasure of a god by 

 careless remarks about it, or even of attracting its attention by 

 allusions to it. They therefore pretend complete ignorance. 



For these reasons the difficulties of learning about the subject 

 are considerable. The material, while almost limitless, is very 

 fugitive. There is scarcely any other way to gain necessary in- 

 formation than by protracted residence in India, by securing one 

 point at a time, by coming into as close contact with the people as 

 possible, by observing their worship, by learning as much as pos- 

 sible about each local deity met with, and obtaining one story here 

 and another there. The reasons for the customs are quite com- 

 monly unknown to the people themselves, and it requires persistent 

 effort to discover what traditions, former practices, and sub- 

 conscious ideas are responsible for a great deal that takes place. 



Another reason for lack of investigation in regard to these 

 Dravidian gods is that the subject has not been considered an 

 attractive one. There is no historic leader or founder around 

 whose personality any interesting facts or legends may cluster. 

 It is not a worship that any one is proud of, or that any one of 

 ordinary enlightenment attempts to defend. In fact, it would not 

 be classed by most people as coming within the range of the 



* In my investigations I have found that the people often thought that I 

 was collecting facts for the Government, — an idea which filled them with 

 needless fright. 



