[Religion.] 16. They call themselves Hindus. Their tribal god is called Sewanriya and appears originally to be a deity of boundaries (sewâna). Some worship Dharti or Mother-earth, and some Mahâdeva. They have a vague idea of a place of torment after death, a pit full of snakes and scorpions known as kîragarh or the “worm pit;” but it is doubtful how far this may not be some vague reminiscence of missionary teaching. [104] In the month of Aghan, when they worship the sainted dead, they offer to these deities liquor, fowls, and goats. They believe that this worship protects children and cattle from disease, and prevents the latter from straying. This worship is not shared in by the women and children, and is done by the headman of the family, if a Baiga. They have nothing to say to Brâhmans, for whom they entertain contempt. [105] The Brâhmans, they say, were the drummers of Râma’s army in his campaign against Râwana. As they were crossing the sea their drums (mândar) which, like the aboriginal drums of the present time, were made of baked earth, melted away in the water, and the strings which supported them became the Brâhmans’ sacred cord (janeû). They do not keep priests of any other tribe; and have no regular temple. As already stated, the ancestor worship is done by the head of the family, who if, as is usually the case, he is a Baiga, does the worship to Sewanriya, Dharti, and Mahâdeva. Most Bhuiyârs are Baigas, and officiate in their own as well as allied tribes; in fact, as already stated, one general name for the tribe is Baiga. The tribal gods are usually worshipped under a pîpal tree, where a piece of stone represents all the deities collectively. The flesh of the offerings is eaten by the worshippers, except the head, which is the perquisite of the Baiga. [Festivals.] 17. They have two special holidays on the tenth of the light half of Kuâr, and the Phagua or Holi at the full moon of Phâlgun, but they do not burn the Holi fire, although they will attend if Hindus in the neighbourhood celebrate the festival. On both these festivals they offer a fire sacrifice (hom), and worship the sainted dead with an offering of fowls and liquor, which they drink freely on these occasions. In order to provide for the dead in the next world they throw on the pyre with the corpse some iron implement, usually an axe, and when they bury the dead, they throw it into the grave. It is not broken; with women they place a sickle (hansua) and when they collect the ashes they throw some kodo and sâwân millet over the place as food for the dead. They so far follow Hindu practice as to have a ceremony (barsi) on the anniversary of a death. In the house worship a mud platform or stone is the dwelling place of the ghosts of the dead. Sewanriya is regarded as a jungle deity, and abides in any tree which is selected for the purpose. They never go on pilgrimages to Gaya, and have nothing analogous to the Hindu srâddha.