OF BHAHATAVAESA OB INDIA. 
143 
The Kodagas are very superstitious, worshipping demons and 
evil spirits. 
On the whole the Kodaga is a very worthy represen- 
tative of the Gauda-Dravidian race, and has no need to raise 
himself in the esteem of others by claiming to be an Aryan 
Ksatriya.^i 
the bloody sacrifices offered to their Bhutas, an oflBce which generally the 
head of the f amilj' perforins. Yet their name, Amma Kodagas, denotes that 
they were devotees to ' Mother Kaveri,' a river deity which is identical with 
Parvati, the wife of Siva. . It may be conjectured that the Brahmans coming 
in contact with the rude Coorg mountaineers and seeing in the dominant race 
a promising field to further their own interests, imposed upon them their own 
puranic superstition and peopled the high mountains with celebrated rishia 
or hermits, chief among them Agastia Bliini, and brought the source of the 
Kaveri in relationship with the principal Brahmiinical deities, Siva and 
Parvati, and to give divine authority to their proceedings they foisted upoa 
the Coorgs the Kaveri Purana, a feat which may have overawed a rude and 
superstitious race, but which by modern criticism is discovered as a frau- 
dulent imposition of recent date. To conciliate and win over the indigenous 
Bhuta pujaris they were admitted as a sort of inferior priests of Kaveri 
Amma, hence their name Amma Kodagai. In the course of time disputes 
must have arisen between them and the more crafty and learned Bramamcal 
priests whose interests necessitated a monopoly and as legend has it, the 
former fell under KaverVs curse and decreased, whilst the Coorgs who 
sided with Agastia Muni, were promised increased prosperity. But however 
obscure the history of the Amma Coorgs may be, the fact is that from time 
immemorial they perform no priestly functions whatever, and being un- 
lettered and ignorant they exercise no spiritual influence upon the rest of 
the Coorgs from whom they are only distinguished by wearing the Brah- 
manical cord and by abstaining from animal food ; nd fermented liquor. 
They do therefore not eat with Coorgs nor intermarry with them ; but the 
Brahmans do in no wise acknowledge them as of equal standing or even 
resembling them in priestly dignity. Their number does not exceed 400, 
and the next census will likely confirm the opinion of their steady decrease. 
They live on agriculture only. It is said that a class of people like the 
Amma Kodagas live in the W3maad, with whom they claim relationship, but 
have now no intercourse." The legend of ParaSurama elevating fishermen 
on the Tuluva shore to Brahmans by destroying the nets and forming Brah- 
manical strings out of their meshes, is also contained in a Kanarese Bhugola. 
Parasurama became incensed against them in consequence of their attempt- 
ing to try the truth of his word. 
*i See Coorg Amah, pp. 27, fi : " There can be no doubt, that the Coorga 
have an origin distinct from the population both of the Western coast 
(Canara and Malayalam), and of the Mysore tableland. Their very ap- 
pearance proves this. They are a tall, muscular, broad-chested, well-favored 
race. Many of them do not exceed the neighbouring tribes in height of 
