This in Out-Of-The-Way Spots. The Women Are Skilful in Tattooing

RELIGION AND SECT 45
Korava, but this is not certain. The dead are buried at night
in out-of-the-way spots. The women are skilful in tattooing.
The lruliga are the remaining wild tribe, and include the Iruligu.
ShoIaga, who live in the south-east in the Biligiri-rangan hills.
They are very dark, and are keen-sighted and skilful in track-
ing game. They cultivate small patches of jungle clearing1l
with the boe, on the Ilumri or shifting system. Polygamy is
the rule among them, and adultery is unknown. When a girl
consents to marriage, the man runs away with her to some
other place till the honeymoon is over, when they return bome
and give a f • .as~ They live in hamboo huts thatched with'
plantain leaves.
The percentage of the followers of each religion to the R<lIeWn
whole population in the Census of 1901 was, in order ofud ICCt..
strength: Himius, 92-1; Musaln1ins, 5'2 i Animis~ 1·6 j
Ch~tians, 0'9; Jains, 0'2. There remained ISS persons who
were P1rsls, Sikhs, Jews, Brahmos, or Buddhists; 101 were
PmIs and 34 Jews. The percentage of increase in each since
1891 was : Christians, 31'3; Musalmans, 14'5 j Hindus, II-S j
Jains,3·
or Hindu religious sects in Mysore, Linglyats are hy fitr the IJnciyals.
strongest in numbers; and if, in addition to those returned as
such, the Nonaba, Banajiga, and others belonging to the sect
be taken into account, they cannot be much below 800,000.
Their own name for themselves is Sivabhakta or Sivlchir, and
Vlra Saiva. Their distinctive mark is the wearing of a jangama
(or portahle) /ingam on the person, hence the name Linglyata
or Lingavanta. The lingam is a small stone;) about the size of
an acorn, enshrined in a silver casket of peculiar shape, wom
suspended from the neck or bound to the arm. They also
mark the forehead with a round white spot:. The clerics smear
their faces and bodies with ashes, and wear garments of the
calou.r of red ochre, with a rosary of ruaraksna beads round
the neck.
Phallic worship is no doubt one of the most ancient and
widely diffused forms of religion in the world, and the Lingl-
yats of late have made douhtful pretensions to date as far hacIr.
as the time of Buddha. Among the Saiva sects mentioned hy
the reformer Sanlr.arachlrya as existing in India in the eighth
century were the Jangamas, who he says wore the trident on
the bead and carried a /i"Kam made of stone on their pel'SOrOat
and whom he denounces as unorthodox. Of this sect the
Linglyats claim to he the representatives. Whether this he so
or not, it is undouhted that the Linglyat faith hao been the
RELIGION AND SECT 47
MYSORE STATE
death, or by 1228, it was embraced from .~vi, neaf. Goa, to
popular creed of the Kanarese-speaking countries from the Shol~pur. and from Balehalli (in Kadur ~:hstnct) to SIVaganga
twelfth century. (Bangalore District). It was a State relIgIOn of Mysore from
Linglyalll reject the authorify of the BrAhmans and the 135 0 to 16]0, and- especially of the Keladi, ~kken, ,or ~QC
inspiration of the Vedas, and deny the efficacy of sacrifices and kingdom from 1550 to ] 763, as well as of va~lOus nelgh~unng
s,QJdhas. They profess the Saiva faith in its idealistic form principalities. Since the decline of the Jams, the Lmglyats
accepting as their principal authority a Saiva commentary o~ have been preservers and cultivators of the Kanarese language.
the VedAnta Sutras. They contend that the goal of karma The sect was originally recruited from all castes, and ~bserv
or performance of ceremonies is twofold-the attainment of ances of caste, pilgrimage, fasts, and pens:nce were rejected.
smrga or ete~al heavenly bliss, and the attainment of jnan{l Basava taught that all holiness consist~ In r~rd for three
or heavenly Wlsdom. ~e former is the aim of BrAhman things,gurU, lingam, and ja1lgam-the gUIde, the Im~e, ~nd t~e
observances j the latter, resulting in union with the deity) is fellow religionist. But caste distinctions are mamtam~ 10
the summum bonum of the Lingayats. regard to social matters, such as intermarriage. The Imgam
The LingAyat sect in its present form dates from about is tied to an infant at birth, must always be worn to the end of
1160, a little more than forty Years after the establishment of life and is huried with the dead body. At a reasonahle age
the Vaishnava faith and the ousting of the Jains in Mysore by th: child is initiated by the gurU into the doctrines of the faIth.
R~1nuj.l~harya. Its institution is attributed to Basava, All are rigid vegetarians. Girls are married befor~ puberty.
pnme numster of the Kalachuri king Bijjala, who succeeded \Vidows do not marry again. The dead are buned. The
the CMIukyas and ruled at KalyAni (in the Nizam's D0- daily ritual consists of Saiva rites, and ~t may be stated that
minions) from 1155 to II67. Basava (a vernacular form of lingam worship, in both act and sytpbol, 15 absolutely free from
the Sanskrit vn'shabha, 'bull') was supposed to be an u;,cama- anything indecorous. Five spiritual thrones ~r sim~a,,~
tion of Siva's bull Nandi, sent to the earth to revive the Saiva were originally established: namely, at Balehalll (Kadur DIS-
religion. He was the son of an Ar3.dhya Brahman, a native of trict), Ujjain, Kiisi (Benares), Srlsailam (Kurnool Dist~ct), and
BlgevAdi in Bijapur District. He refused to be invested with Kediirmth (in the Him~layas). Maths still exISt m tjlese
~he sacred threa~" or to acknowledge any gurU but,Siva, and places and exercise jurisdiction over thei,~ res~ctive spheres:
mcurred the hostility of the Brilhmans. He retired for some The Lingilyats are a peaceful and rntelhgent community,
time to Sangamesvara, where he was instructed in the tenets of chiefly engaged in trade and agriculturt;. In ,commerce t~ey
the Vlra Saiva faith: Eventually he went to Kalylini where occupy a very prominent place, and ma~y are now ~g
the king Bijjala, who was a Jain, married his beautiful sister advantage of the facilities for higher educatlon and qualif)'lng
and made him prime minister. This position of influence for the professions.
enabled' him tq propagate his religious system. Meanwhile The Brlhmans (]90,o50) are divided among four sects: Brihmanl.
a sister who was one of his first disciples had given birth t~ namely, Smartas, who form 63 per cent.; Madhvas, 23 -per
Channa Basava, supposed to be an incarnation of Siva's son cent. Srivaishnavas, 10 per cent. ; and Bhlgavatas, 4 per ce~t.
Shanmultha, and he an~ his uncle are regarded as joint Sm~ are followers of the smn'h', and hold the Advalta
founders of the sect. The Basava Purma and Channa Basava doctrine. Their chief deity is Siva, and the sect was founded
Purina, written in Rala Kannada, though not of the oldest hy Sankarlcharya in the eighth c~ntury. Thei~ gurU is the
(orm, containing miraculous stories of Saiva gurUs and saints head of the math established by hIm at SrIngen (Kadur DIS-
are among thdr chief sacred books. Basava's liberal use or trict). who is styled the Jagad Guru. They are distinguished
the public funds. for the support of Jangam~ priests aroused hy three parallel horizontal lines of sandal paste or cow.<Jung
th.e klOg's SUSPICIO~S, and he. thoughtlessly ordered two pious ashes on the forehead, with a round red spot In the centre.
Lmglyats to be hlmded, whIch led to his own assassination. The Mldhvas are named after their founder Madhvlchlrya,
Basava and Channa Basava fled from the vengeance of his son who lived in South Kanara in the thirteenth century. They
and are said to have been absorbed into the god. T~ specially worship Vishnu, and hold the Dvaita doctrine. Their
reformed faith spread rapidly, superseding that of the Jains' gurUs are at Nanjangiid, Hole-Nacslpuc, and Sosile. They wear
and according to traditionJ within sixty years of Basava'~

This in Out-Of-The-Way Spots. The Women Are Skilful in Tattooing

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

This in Out-Of-The-Way Spots. The Women Are Skilful in Tattooing

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

This in Out-Of-The-Way Spots. The Women Are Skilful in Tattooing

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

RELIGION AND SECT 45

You might also like