The caste especially venerate the goddess Devi. They apparently
identify Devi with Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, and they have a
story to the effect that once Brahma wished to ravish his daughter
Saraswati. She fled from him and went to all the gods, but none of
them would protect her for fear of Brahma. At last in despair she
came to a Mang's house, and the Mang stood in the door and kept off
Brahma with a wooden club. In return for this Saraswati blessed him
and said that he and his descendants should never lack for food. They
also revere Mahadeo, and on every Monday they worship the cow, placing
vermilion on her forehead and washing her feet. The cat is regarded as
a sacred animal, and a Mang's most solemn oath is sworn on a cat. A
house is defiled if a cat or a dog dies or a cat has kittens in it,
and all the earthen pots must be broken. If a man accidentally kills
a cat or a dog a heavy penance is exacted, and two feasts must be
given to the caste. To kill an ass or a monkey is a sin only less
heinous. A man is also put out of caste if kicked or beaten with a
shoe by any one of another caste, even a Brahman, or if he is struck
with the _kathri_ or mattress made of rags which the villagers put
on their sleeping-cots. Mr. Gayer remarks [185] that "The Mangs show
great respect for the bamboo; and at a marriage the bridal couple
are made to stand in a bamboo basket. They also reverence the _nim_
tree, and the Mangs of Sholapur spread _hariali_ [186] grass and _nim_
leaves on the spot where one of their caste dies." The social status
of the Mangs is of the lowest. They usually live in a separate quarter
of the village and have a well for their own use. They may not enter
temples. It is recorded that under native rule the Mahars and Mangs
were not allowed within the gates of Poona between 3 P.M. and 9 A.M.,
because before nine and after three their bodies cast too long a
shadow; and whenever their shadow fell upon a Brahman it polluted him,
so that he dare not taste food or water until he had bathed and washed
the impurity away. So also no low-caste man was allowed to live in
a walled town; cattle and dogs could freely enter and remain but not
the Mahar or Mang. [187] The caste will eat the flesh of pigs, rats,
crocodiles and jackals and the leavings of others, and some of them
will eat beef. Men may be distinguished by the _senai_ flute which they
carry and by a large ring of gold or brass worn in the lobe of the
ear. A Mang's sign-manual is a representation of his _bhall-singara_
or castration-knife. Women are tattooed before marriage, with dots on
the forehead, nose, cheeks and chin, and with figures of a date-palm
on the forearm, a scorpion on the palm of the hand, and flies on the
fingers. The caste do not bear a good character, and it is said of
a cruel man, '_Mang-Nirdayi_,' or 'Hardhearted as a Mang.'