Deified Robbers.
Even the thieving and nomadic tribes have as their godlings deified bandits. Such is Gandak, the patron of the Magahiya Doms, and Salhes, who is worshipped by the Doms and Dusâdhs of Behâr. He was a great hero and the first watchman. He fought a famous battle with Chûhar Mâî of Mohâma, and is the subject of a popular epic in Tirhût. With his worship is associated that of his brother Motirâm, another worthy of the same kind.[43] At Sherpur near Patna is the shrine of Goraiya or Gauraiya, a Dusâdh bandit chief, to which members of all castes resort, the higher castes making offerings of meal, the outcastes sacrificing a hog or several young pigs and pouring out libations of spirits on the ground. But even here the primitive local cultus is in a state of transition, as in the case of Salhes, who, according to some, was the porter of Bhîm Sen.[44] Doubtless he and his comrades will some day blossom forth as manifestations of one or other of the higher gods.
Another bandit godling is Mitthu Bhûkhiya, a freebooter, worshipped by the Banjâras or wandering carriers. He has a special hut, in which no one may drink or sleep, and which is marked with a white flag. The tribe always worship him before committing a crime. They assemble together and an image of the famous tribal Satî is produced. Butter is put into a saucer, and in this a light is placed, very broad at the bottom and tapering upwards. The wick, standing erect, is lit, an appeal is made to the Satî for an omen, and those worshipping mention in a low tone to the godling where they are going, and what they propose to do. The wick is then carefully watched, and should it drop at all, the omen is propitious. All then salute the flag and start on their marauding expedition.[45]
Vindhya-bâsinî Devî, the personification of the Vindhyan range, is, as we have seen, the goddess of the Thags, and the Dhânuks, a thieving tribe in Behâr, worship one of their chiefs who was killed in a skirmish with the Muhammadans six hundred years ago, and whose ghost has since been troublesome. He is worshipped in a shrine of brick, and one of the members of the tribe acts as his priest.[46]