Dravidian Gods in Modern Hinduism 59 



ilar to those relating to the other Dravidian gods, have become so 

 much connected with Hindu legends that they will be noticed in 

 Chapter IX in connection with the stories given there. The 

 Perantalu goddesses are always local, and each one has her own 

 story. 



The legend of Buchamma^ is that she was a virtuous woman, the 

 daughter of a man of the Kamma branch of the Sudra caste. At 

 one time her husband went to another village on business, and soon 

 a messenger came bringing the tidings that he had died. It was too 

 terrible to believe, so she sent another messenger who returned 

 with the same report. She hurried to her dead husband, and 

 found that the funeral pyre had already been erected. She forbade 

 them burn the body, and then constructed a fire-pit with a struc- 

 ture above it such as the watchers sit on in the fields. On this she 

 placed the body of her husband, and then mounted it herself. She 

 then besought the bystanders to set the wood on fire in the fire-pit. 

 With some protestations they at last consented, and she was con- 

 sumed with her husband. 



Four days later a Mala was passing the fire-pit, and seeing a bit 

 of Buchamma's cloth which had not been burned, he turned it over 

 with the stick in his hand. That night the spirit of Buchamma 

 appeared to her father saying that she had been defiled by this 

 touch and needed to be purified. Her father went to the fire-pit 

 and after searching in the ashes, found her jewels and tali botu or 

 wedding symbol. He purified them and kept them in a pot. Soon 

 these relics were thought to have magical powers, and many began 

 to worship them. The worship rapidly expanded; a temple was 

 built; a stone image was made, and Buchamma became a regular 

 village deity. 



It is quite probable that this story of the origin of the worship 

 of Buchamma is true. The tendency to deify widows who have 

 performed sati is always strong. Her marked devotion to her 

 husband appears to be the characteristic which placed Buchamma 

 in the list of Perantalus. 



The story of Lingamma^ runs as follows. In Mupparazuvari- 



1 See page 32. 



2 See page 32. 



59 



