The caste worship the goddess Ramchandi, whose principal shrine is
at Sarsara in Baud State. In order to establish a local Ramchandi,
a handful of earth must be brought from her shrine at Sarsara and made
into a representation of the goddess. Some consider that Ramchandi is
the personification of Mother Earth, and the Koltas will not swear by
the earth. They worship the plough in the month of Shrawan, washing
it with water and milk, and applying sandal-paste with offerings
of flowers and food. The Puajiuntia festival is observed in Kunwar
for the well-being of a son. On this occasion barren women try to
ascertain whether they will get a son. A hole is made in the ground
and filled with water, and a living fish is placed in it. The woman
sits by the hole holding her cloth spread out, and if the fish in
struggling jumps into her cloth, it is held to prognosticate the
birth of a son. The caste worship their family gods and totems on the
10th day of Asarh, Bhadon, Kartik and Magh, which are called the pure
months. They employ Brahmans for religious ceremonies. Every man has
a guru who is a Bairagi, and he must be initiated by his guru before
he is allowed to marry. The caste both burn and bury the dead. They
eat flesh and fish, but generally abstain from liquor and the flesh
of unclean animals, though in some places they are known to eat rats
and crocodiles, and also the leavings of Brahmans. Brahmans will take
water from Koltas, and their social standing is equal to that of the
good agricultural castes.