48 Wilber Theodore Elmore 



blood of more fowls. It is very important that she be absolutely 

 alone and that no one see the ceremonies. 



Women who have worshiped this Sakti may be recognized by 

 their kokas. Kateri appears to be a kind of house-name for a 

 group of Saktis. For Panta Kateri a white koka with a black 

 border is worn. For Rakta Kateri, it is a plaid of red and blue, 

 and for Chensu Kateri it is a white koka with blue stripes. A 

 woman who vows to this latter one usually takes the name Chen- 

 samma. 



CHAPTER VI 



Demon Possession 



Every Dravidian god has something of the demon element in 

 it, and the Saktis are pure dem.ons.^ In close connection with 

 this propitiation of demons is the belief in demon possession.^ 



1 Brahmanic Hinduism is not lacking in demons. The Rakshasas of 

 the Rigveda are demons, and the Asuras in the later use of the word are 

 also demons. There is, however, a marked distinction between the demons 

 of Hinduism and the Dravidian demons. For proofs of the origin of 

 Dravidian demon worship prior to and independent of Brahmanism see 

 Manual of Administration of the Madras Presidency, I, p. 71. The State 

 Manual of Traveucore, H, p. 55, also says that demon worship as found 

 among the Dravidians is absolutely unconnected with the higher orders 

 of Hinduism. The most persistent distinction is that the Rakshasas and 

 Hindu demorjs have a divine origin, while the Dravidian demons usually 

 are the spirits of dead people. This will be treated more fully later. 

 There is considerable confusion concerning these two classes of demons, 

 not only in books on Hinduism, but also in the minds of the people. One 

 reason for this is that the Brahmans in their effort to absorb the Dravidian 

 people and religion, have to some extent identified Dravidian demons with 

 their own Rakshasas. It is common for writers on Hinduism to treat the 

 Dravidian gods under the heading of Demons or Demonology. More 

 can be learned about them under these headings than under any other 

 given in indexes. On the whole matter see Monier-Williams, Brahmanism 

 and Hinduism, London, 1891, Ch. IX ; Crooke, Things Indian, New York, 

 1906, pp. 131 sq. ; Dubois, Hindu Manners and Customs, Oxford, 1899, 

 p. 650; Fausb^ll, Indian Mythology, pp. 1-41. 



2 The Telugu word for demon is dayyamu, for the Sanskrit daivamu. 

 The first meaning is a deity or divine being. It has then come to mean 

 spirit of any sort, and as it is the evil spirits which are to be feared and 

 propitiated, in common use dayyamu means an evil spirit, or devil. On the 



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