66 Wilber Theodore Elmore 



man, and the general nature of the disasters which came upon 

 them, would most certainly have created a village deity, had the 

 spirit been that of a woman. 



Gonti, a goddess of the Malas, had the more common outcome 

 of becoming a village goddess for this caste. The story runs that 

 there was once a young woman of Sudra birth who lived in the 

 north country. She had brothers but no sisters. She was dis- 

 covered in sin with a Madiga, and her brothers hearing of it tried 

 to kill her. Gonti fled and hid in the house of the man with 

 whom she had been in improper relations. Soon a young man 

 came to the house. He would have been her brother-in-law ac- 

 cording to the new relationship. She failed to arise and show 

 him the respect due a brother-in-law, and when she became aware 

 of her neglect, she fled to the fields, ashamed and also evidently 

 fearing the Madigas. 



Some Mala men saw Gonti as she was wandering in the field, 

 and she told them her story. They promised to protect her, and 

 concealed her during the day beneath a huge heap of straw. 

 When evening came they returned to the village, and taking Gonti 

 with them, they placed her on a beam in the roof of their house 

 in order to conceal her. At night they fastened the door on the 

 outside, but the next morning she was gone and the door had not 

 been opened. Now they were filled with fear, for they believed 

 her to be a goddess, and that they had offended her in some way. 



For some unexplained reason the worship of Gonti is connected 

 with the rains. A Mala woman is the pujari, and receives many 

 gifts at the time of the ceremonies. When there is famine for 

 lack of rain, an image of Gonti is made and deposited on the 

 boundaries in the usual way. In this respect she has become a 

 Sakti and her presence in the village is not considered desirable 



At the annual festival the ceremonies have a more joyful nature. 

 An image is made of earth and a pot placed over it to conceal 

 it from the Madigas from whom Gonti fled. Dried grass is placed 

 in a grain mortar, and meanwhile the clouds are watched. The 

 ceremony is arranged for a time when rain seems near. When it 

 begins to rain, they say that Gonti has come, and place a pot of 



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