Dravidian Gods in Modern Hinduism 105 



CHAPTER XI 



Influence of Dravidian Deities upon Hinduism 



How has Hinduism been affected by the impact of this great 

 mass of aboriginal belief which it has attempted to incorporate 

 within itself? Perhaps the most surprising fact is that Hindu- 

 ism has been influenced so little, Hinduism is composite, and 

 while it contains two great cults, the Brahmanic and the Dra- 

 vidian, there has been but little change in the ceremonies of either 

 cult. The most marked change is in the attitude of the original 

 Hindus, who at first despising the Dravidian gods, have now 

 come to have a very wholesome fear of them, and to join to 

 some extent in their propitiation.^ 



The ritual of Hinduism, however, has been almost unaffected 

 by the Dravidian gods.^ The Brahman pujari still continues to 

 offer incense to the Brahmanic gods, and the common people care 

 but little whether he attends to his duties or not. Meanwhile, 

 the great mass of the people are paying their devotions to their 

 aboriginal gods with practically no change in the ritual from time 



1 Census of India, 1891, I, p. 59. " The devils and tutelary deities that 

 have been described above are believed in by all classes of Hindus, from 

 Brahmans downward. A Brahman, it is true, will not attend the festivals 

 of the village goddess, but if misfortune befall him he will send an offering 

 of grain and fruit, though not any animal sacrifice. . . . The Hindu re- 

 ligion is, in fact, a mixture of Brahman and aboriginal beliefs, and the 

 position which either holds in the religion of any particular caste varies 

 with the position of the caste. Thus among the lowest castes the devils 

 and village deities are almost everything, but even pariahs profess some 

 allegiance to Brahmanism. As we rise in the scale we find Brahmanic 

 influence becoming more and more powerful, but the number of Hindus 

 who are altogether free from demonolatry and put no trust in the village 

 goddesses, must be very small indeed." 



The Gazetteer of South Arcot District, I, 95, remarks to the same effect, 

 "Individual Brahmans are not above sharing in the festivals of the 

 meanest of the village goddesses, and making vows at their shrines." 



2 Such exceptions as bloody sacrifices at Kalighat are so unusual as to 

 be conspicuous. These exceptions are no doubt not the result of Dravid- 

 ian influence on Brahmanic rites, but rather the result of Brahmans com- 

 ing into possession of important Dravidian places of worship. 



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