130 
ON THli; ORIGINAL INHABITANTS 
atrocity. Yet, as an excuse for them, it ought not to be 
forgotten that their peculiar ideas about right and "m-ong 
made them believe that they had acquired a right of dispos- 
ing of their Meriah victims, as they had bought and paid 
for them. The great goddess of the Earth, their principal 
divinity, could only be propitiated by human blood, to grant 
good pastures for their flocks and rich crops for their own 
support. The buffalo was by some Khonds sacrificed instead 
of the haman being. These tribes depend for their living 
mainly on the produce of the earth which they till, for 
besides hunting they do not follow any other pui-suit. 
Trading, for instance, is unknown to them, 
■worship Dunteshwaree, or, as she is sometimes called, ' Maolee,' with ' IMatha 
Devee,' ' Bhungarma,' or ' Dholla De%'ee,' ' Gram Devee,' Dongur Deo,' and 
Bheem. The higher castes worship ' Dunteshwaree ' and ' Matha Devee ' with 
the other well-known deities of the Hindoo Pantheon . . . She is the same 
as Bhowanee or ' Kelee' . . . Temples to Dunteshwaree or llaolee exist all 
over the vicinity of Jugdulpore and Diintewara. The temples to ' Matha 
Devee ' are, perhaps, as numerous, if not more so. They are easily 
recognised hy swings in front of the shed erected over the semblance of the 
goddess, which is genei'allj'- a stone daubed with red, although I have more 
than once seen her represented by a grotesquely-carved figure di-essed as a 
female, with a female attend;int on each side . . . When small-pox appears 
this person (her Poojaree") becomes of great importance. . . Bhung-amia, or 
Dholla Devee is said to be the sister of Matha Devee. She also has a swing 
put up before her temple, and is worshipped when cholera appe;»rs ; but as 
small-pox is much more frequent in its visits, her worship is much neglected 
. . . . The Jhoorias, Mooreas, and Marias do worship the above-mentioni-d 
gods, especially towards Xarayenpoor, L'bujmard, Kootroo, &c. The 
peculiar deity of the Jhoorias is ' Ung;i Deo ;' he is represented by a piece of 
•wood fastened to a framework made of four sticks. . . It has been the 
custom tor the Bustar Rajahs to have a duplicate of the Jhooria ' Ung-a Deo ' 
kept at Bustar. Whenever any epidemic appears, the Ungti Doc at Xara- 
yenpoor is called for, and the duplicate sent in its stead. S;)crifices are 
made to the new arrival, and he is requested to state whether the choloi-a or 
the small-pox, as the cjise may be, will soon disappear . . . The Maroes of 
' Ubujmard ' call their god ' Pen :' this word literally mcanS god. They 
have several gods, which resemble the ' Unga Deo " of the Jhoorias. The 
most noted of those in the ^[aree country under Kootroo are ' Deda Maida ' 
at Kolnar and ' Koolung Mora ' at the village of Dewaloor ; they are both 
represented by logs of wood. . . The ' Deda Maida ' at Kolnar is the favo- 
rite deity of these wild people, and in the month of May there is a festival 
at Koluar, at which all the Marees from far and near congregtite and spend 
three days in dancing, and drinking, .ind singing. Throughotit the Depen- 
dency the grossest ignorance and superstition prevail, and hold the minds of 
