OF BHARATAVARSA OR IXDIA. 
211 
On their rkltgion, manners and customs. 
According to the most tmstworthy native authorities, the 
Knrumbas had originally no special god, nor idols, nor any 
peculiar religious belief of their own. This state of things 
was eventually changed with the rise of proselytizing reli- 
gions, such as Buddhism, Jainism, and with the desire of the 
majority to conform to Hindu or Brahmanic customs. 
Their earliest objects of reKgious worship, however, appear 
to have been rough rounded stones, which somehow inspired 
them with a belief as representing the great superhuman 
powers. The weird aspect of the imposing immovable stone- 
hills, which braved the strongest storms amidst torrents of 
rain and flashes of lightning impressed most probably these 
children of nature to such an extent, that mountains, rocks 
and even smaller pieces of stones appeared to them the most 
appropriate representation of the deity. It may be perhaps 
added, that such kind of material is most easily set up and 
does not require any art to adjust it. This stone- worship 
has survived among the Knrumbas to the present day. A 
stone to which worship is paid stands often in caves or in 
the middle of circles, likewise formed of stone, but it 
must not be regarded as a Lihga. The stone circle with 
its centre-piece is known among natives as a Kurumbo Kovil 
or temple of the Knrumbas. This stone is in the Nilagiri 
district remembered as the Hiriadeva or Grreat God. The 
Knrumbas of the Nilagiris offer presents of plantains to the 
I'ujari of the Malesvara idol on a high cliff which overlooks 
the Bhavani valley, while those of Malabar worship simi- 
larly their hill god Malayadeva."^ Occasionally we meet with 
a stone-block under a tree, which is revered as Gurunatha. 
the same word aa EurambA, the name of Nilgiri hill-trihe ? The latter, I 
believe, is a race of dwarfs ; the shepherds here are a fine breed of men ; 
yet the difference can hardly be greater than that which exists among the 
Bhills." 
I'^See pp. 201 n. 105, 205 n. 116, Breeks' Trlles, pp. 52 and 56, and 
Dr. Buchanan's Travels, vol. II, p. 165. 
