Certain Kumhars as well as the Dhimars make the breeding of pigs a
means of subsistence, and they sell these pigs for sacrifices at prices
varying from eight annas (8d.) to a rupee. The pigs are sacrificed by
the Gonds to their god Bura Deo and by Hindus to the deity Bhainsasur,
or the buffalo demon, for the protection of the crops. Bhainsasur is
represented by a stone in the fields, and when crops are beaten down
at night by the wind it is supposed that Bhainsasur has passed over
them and trampled them down. Hindus, usually of the lower castes, offer
pigs to Bhainsasur to propitiate him and preserve their crops from his
ravages, but they cannot touch the impure pig themselves. What they
have to do, therefore, is to pay the Kumhar the price of the pig and
get him to offer it to Bhainsasur on their behalf. The Kumhar goes
to the god and sacrifices the pig and then takes the body home and
eats it, so that his trade is a profitable one, while conversely to
sacrifice a pig without partaking of its flesh must necessarily be
bitter to the frugal Hindu mind, and this indicates the importance
of the deity who is to be propitiated by the offering. The first
question which arises in connection with this curious custom is
why pigs should be sacrificed for the preservation of the crops;
and the reason appears to be that the wild pig is the animal which,
at present, mainly damages the crops.