THE ABORIGINAL TRIBES 141 



These they fill from the stream, seal up, and return to the 

 pilgrim, who then proceeds to make the tour of the holy 

 places on the Mahadeo hills. This takes him the whole 

 of the remainder of the day. At each place a cocoa-nut 

 is offered ; and little piles of stones, like children's card- 

 houses, are erected at some point of their peregrinations 

 to signify a desire for a mansion in Kailas — ^the heaven 

 of Siva. Many of the places which should in theory be 

 visited are very inaccessible, such as the top of the Chao- 

 radeo peak, and very few of the pilgrims make the whole 

 round. 



I sat for some hours in the ravine sketching the entrance 

 to the cave and the picturesque throng about it. A few 

 sulky looks from the professional religionists, and a draw- 

 ing closer of their garments by the ladies, when they saw 

 my occupation, were all the notice I met with. The 

 bright colouring which gives such a charm to congregations 

 of Hindiis was heightened by the general holiday attire of 

 the worshippers on this occasion ; and, in the mellowed 

 light from above, which percolated rather than shone 

 through the canopy of foliage, would have formed a subject 

 worthy of a much better artist than myself. It was hard 

 to believe that all this gay gathering had come in a day, 

 and would go in another, leaving the valley again to the 

 bison and the jungle-fowl. Unlike most shrines where 

 such pilgrimages occur, no one remains to look after the 

 god when the pilgrims are gone. The bell is unslung and 

 taken away, being evidently looked upon as the only 

 thing of value in the place. When I first visited the 

 cave I found that the Great God had been better attended 

 to by the wild beasts of the forest than by his human 

 worshippers — a panther or hyena having evidently been 

 in the daily habit of leaving the only offering he could 

 make before his shrine ! 



It is a common idea amongst Europeans that the worship 

 at these Sivite shrines includes rites or mysteries of an 

 obscene character. I believe this to be wholly groundless. 

 No such thing could take place, here at any rate, except in 

 public among a dense crowd ; and neither here nor at any 

 other of the many shrines that I have visited have I 



