The Gadbas worship Burhi Mata or Thakurani Mata, who is the goddess
of smallpox and rinderpest. They offer to her flowers and incense when
these diseases are prevalent among men or cattle, but if the epidemic
does not abate after a time, they abuse the goddess and tell her to do
her worst, suspending the offerings. They offer a white cock to the sun
and a red one to the moon, and various other deities exercise special
functions, Bhandarin being the goddess of agriculture and Dharni of
good health, while Bharwan is the protector of cattle and Dand Devi
of men from the attacks of wild beasts. They have vague notions
of a heaven and hell where the sinful will be punished, and also
believe in re-birth. But these ideas appear to be borrowed from their
Hindu neighbours. When the new rice crop is ripe, the first-fruits
are cooked and served to the cattle in new bamboo baskets, and are
then partaken of by men. The ripening of the mango crop is also an
important festival. In the bright fortnight of Chait (March) the men
go out hunting, and on their return cook the game before Matideo,
the god of hunting, who lives in a tree. In Madras the whole male
population turn out to hunt, and if they come back without success
the women pelt them with cowdung on their return. If successful,
however, they have their revenge on the women in another way. [9]
On festival days men and women dance together to the music of a pipe
and drum. Sometimes they form a circle, holding long poles, and jump
backwards and forwards to and from the centre by means of the pole; or
the women dance singly or in pairs, their hands resting on each other's
waists. A man and woman will then step out of the crowd and sing at
each other, the woman reflecting on the man's ungainly appearance and
want of skill as a cultivator or huntsman, while the man retorts by
reproaching her with her ugliness and slatternly habits. [10]