1840.] On the Creed, Cudoms and Literature of the Jangams. 163 



Considering that this creed arose in the west of India, in a country 

 bordering on that inhabited by the Syrian Christians, it has sometimes 

 occurred to me that very possibly some of the tales regarding Basava 

 may have been borrowed from legends current among the Syrian 

 churches. Both chronology and geography seem to strengthen this 

 suspicion : and it is worthy of notice that the name AUama, which re- 

 sembles the Syriac and Arabic name of God is attributed by them to 

 their deity. The word Allama seems to be foreign, and in their eager- 

 ness to account for it, the various poets, v/hether Sanscrit, Tekigu or 

 Canarese have adduced roots which will not bear enquiry. Indeed 

 the learned men who assisted me in the present investigation have 

 acknowledged that the etymologies adduced are strained and improba- 

 ble. They however, would by no means admit my suggestion that this 

 name originated in Allah : and particularly observed that no Jangam 

 had ever been known to embrace Christianity, or the Mahomedan faith. 



Yet when wq consider how determinately Basava did every thing 

 in his power to oppose the braminical opinions, I confess that his fol- 

 lowers thus borrowing a well known name of the deity from a neigh- 

 bouring country seems not improbable. He ordered all children to be 

 introduced into the religion when young. He abolished burning the 

 dead and sub^rtituted burial : he set aside the priestly descent, he per- 

 jnitted widows to marry again. In these and many other points equally- 

 opposed both to Bramins and to Jainas it appears to me that he at- 

 tempted to follow the customs of Christians. In particular it is obser- 

 vable that the Jangams reject the observance of new moons and full 

 moons but consider every Tuesday a sacred or blessed day. 



If it prove true, as just now mentioned, that there have been no con- 

 verts from this creed to Christianity, we may fairly attribute it to the 

 neglected state in which the English have left the Jangams. That 

 neglect seems to be the result of the disgusting slanders with which 

 the Jangam character has been blackened by Bramins : who usually 

 are an Englishman's informants on all subjects concerning Hinduism.* 



If the Jangams really were the depraved and vile race the Bramins 

 describe them to be, it surely might be expected that they would have 

 become notorious in our courts of justice. But there we do not hear 



• As one proof that the Jangams are not naore unwilling than other Hindus, to listen 

 to Christian doctrines I may mention a poem written in the Telugu dwipada metre, in- 

 tended to convey a version of the Gospels. This is the composition of a learned Jan- 

 gam poet, and having seen but a small part of the work, I can only state that it seems 

 to be well executed in a plain unpretending style. The title is Krista Charitra, and 

 in writing it the author appears to have been guided in his phrases by the Tamil version 

 of the Gospels written by Fabricius. 



