At the head of the Munda pantheon, Sir H. Risley states, [549] stands
Sing-Bonga or the sun, a beneficent but ineffective deity who concerns
himself but little with human affairs. But he may be invoked to avert
sickness or calamity, and to this end sacrifices of white goats or
white cocks are offered to him. Next to him comes Marang Buru, the
mountain god, who resides on the summit of the most prominent hill
in the neighbourhood. Animals are sacrificed to him here, and the
heads left and appropriated by the priest. He controls the rainfall,
and is appealed to in time of drought and when epidemic sickness is
abroad. Other deities preside over rivers, tanks, wells and springs,
and it is believed that when offended they cause people who bathe
in the water to be attacked by leprosy and skin diseases. Even the
low swampy rice-fields are haunted by separate spirits. Deswali is
the god of the village, and he lives with his wife in the Sarna or
sacred grove, a patch of the primeval forest left intact to afford
a refuge for the forest gods. Every village has its own Deswali,
who is held responsible for the crops, and receives an offering of a
buffalo at the agricultural festival. The Jubbulpore Kols have entirely
abandoned their tribal gods and now worship Hindu deities. Devi is
their favourite goddess, and they carry her iron tridents about with
them wherever they go. Twice in the year, when the baskets of wheat
or Gardens of Adonis are sown in the name of Devi, she descends on
some of her worshippers, and they become possessed and pierce their
cheeks with the trident, sometimes leaving it in the face for hours,
with one or two men standing beside to support it. When the trident
is taken out a quid of betel is given to the wounded man, and the
part is believed to heal up at once. These Kols also employ Brahmans
for their ceremonies. Before sowing their fields they say--
Thuiya, Bhuiya, [550] Dharti Mata, Thakur Deo, Bhainsa Sur;
khub paida kariye Maharaj;
that is, they invoke Mother Earth, Thakur Deo, the corn-god, and
Bhainsasur, the buffalo demon, to give them good crops; and as they say
this they throw a handful of grain in the air in the name of each god.