DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.636#0232
220 Worship of Hanuman.
five toy-like terra-cotta horses, some as large as life, were
ranged on each side of the shrine. Several of these fictile
animals had grotesque images upon them representing riders,
and some of them were so badly formed that it was difficult
to say whether they were intended for lions or horses. In
the front of the shrine was a rude stone altar for sacrifices
and oblations, but I saw no signs of any recent offerings, nor
was a single worshipper of the god to be seen anywhere. I
noticed indeed that all the shrines of Ayenar had a deserted
appearance, the fact being that he is never worshipped in our
sense of the word. He is only propitiated in emergencies.
Every year after harvest-time a festival is kept in his honour,
when numerous animals are sacrificed, and images of the god
are decorated with ornaments and drawn about through the
village streets on the rude clay horses I have described.
Worship of Hanuman.
In connexion with the subject of local tutelary deities it
ought to be mentioned that a very common village-god in the
Dekhan, Central and Upper India, is Hanuman (nom. case
of Hanumat, a name meaning 'possessing large jaws'). Th's
god derives his popularity from the part he took in assisting
Rama to recover his wife Sita after she had been carried
away to Ceylon by the demon Ravana. He is one of the
chiefs of a host of semi-divine monkey-like beings who, ac-
cording to the Ramayana (I. 16), were created to become
Ramacandra's allies. In point of fact, there can be little
doubt that Hanuman was originally a mere poetical deifi-
cation of some well-known leader of the wild aboriginal
tribes, whose appearance resembled that of apes, and who
really rendered effective assistance to Rama in his battles with
Ravana. There were several of these powerful aboriginal
chiefs, who, from their accomplishing apparently supernatural
feats of strength, were held to be the progeny of various
five toy-like terra-cotta horses, some as large as life, were
ranged on each side of the shrine. Several of these fictile
animals had grotesque images upon them representing riders,
and some of them were so badly formed that it was difficult
to say whether they were intended for lions or horses. In
the front of the shrine was a rude stone altar for sacrifices
and oblations, but I saw no signs of any recent offerings, nor
was a single worshipper of the god to be seen anywhere. I
noticed indeed that all the shrines of Ayenar had a deserted
appearance, the fact being that he is never worshipped in our
sense of the word. He is only propitiated in emergencies.
Every year after harvest-time a festival is kept in his honour,
when numerous animals are sacrificed, and images of the god
are decorated with ornaments and drawn about through the
village streets on the rude clay horses I have described.
Worship of Hanuman.
In connexion with the subject of local tutelary deities it
ought to be mentioned that a very common village-god in the
Dekhan, Central and Upper India, is Hanuman (nom. case
of Hanumat, a name meaning 'possessing large jaws'). Th's
god derives his popularity from the part he took in assisting
Rama to recover his wife Sita after she had been carried
away to Ceylon by the demon Ravana. He is one of the
chiefs of a host of semi-divine monkey-like beings who, ac-
cording to the Ramayana (I. 16), were created to become
Ramacandra's allies. In point of fact, there can be little
doubt that Hanuman was originally a mere poetical deifi-
cation of some well-known leader of the wild aboriginal
tribes, whose appearance resembled that of apes, and who
really rendered effective assistance to Rama in his battles with
Ravana. There were several of these powerful aboriginal
chiefs, who, from their accomplishing apparently supernatural
feats of strength, were held to be the progeny of various