Among the special deities of the Ahirs is Kharak Deo, who is always
located at the _khirkha_, or place of assembly of the cattle, on
going to and returning from pasture. He appears to be the spirit or
god of the _khirkha_. He is represented by a platform with an image
of a horse on it, and when cattle fall ill the owners offer flour
and butter to him. These are taken by the Ahirs in charge, and it is
thought that the cattle will get well. Matar Deo is the god of the
pen or enclosure for cattle made in the jungle. Three days after the
Diwali festival the Rawats sacrifice one or more goats to him, cutting
off their heads. They throw the heads into the air, and the cattle,
smelling the blood, run together and toss them with their horns as
they do when they scent a tiger. The men then say that the animals
are possessed by Matar Deo. Guraya Deo is a deity who lives in the
cattle-stalls in the village and is worshipped once a year. A man
holds an egg in his hand, and walks round the stall pouring liquid
over the egg all the way, so as to make a line round it. The egg is
then buried beneath the shrine of the god, the rite being probably
meant to ensure his aid for the protection of the cattle from disease
in their stalls. A favourite saint of the Ahirs is Haridas Baba. He
was a Jogi, and could separate his soul from his body at pleasure. On
one occasion he had gone in spirit to Benares, leaving his body
in the house of one of his disciples, who was an Ahir. When he did
not return, and the people heard that a dead body was lying there,
they came and insisted that it should be burnt. When he came back
and found that his body was burnt, he entered into a man and spoke
through him, telling the people what had happened. In atonement for
their unfortunate mistake they promised to worship him.