ase of a buffalo,
as respectable Hindus do not eat the flesh of this animal, it is given
to the low-caste musicians employed for the occasion. Wine is also
offered to the goddess, and after being consecrated is sprinkled on
every kind of uncooked food brought before her. But the worshipper
and his family often drink only a few drops. The Saktas are divided
into the Dakshinacharis and Bamacharis, or followers of the right-
and left-handed paths respectively. The Dakshinacharis have largely
abandoned animal sacrifices, and many of them substitute red flowers
or red sandalwood as offerings, to represent blood. An account of
those Bamacharis who carry sexual practices to extreme lengths, has
been given in the article on Vam-Margi. The sect-mark of the Saktas is
three horizontal lines on the forehead made with a mixture of charcoal
and butter. Some of them have a single vertical line of charcoal or
sandalwood. In the Central Provinces Sakta is a general term for a
Hindu who eats meat, as opposed to the Vaishnavas and Kabirpanthis,
who abjure it. The animals eaten are goats and chickens, and they
are usually sacrificed to the goddess Devi prior to being consumed
by the worshippers.

Satnami

List of Paragraphs

1. _Origin of the sect_.
2. _Ghasi Das, founder of the Satnami sect_.
3. _The message of Ghasi Das_.
4. _Subsequent history of the Satnamis_.
5. _Social profligacy_.
6. _Divisions of the Satnamis_.
7. _Customs of the Satnamis_.
8. _Character of the Satnami movement_.

1. Origin of the sect.

_Satnami Sect_ [381] (A worshipper of the true name of God).--A
dissenting sect founded by a Chamar reformer in the Chhattisgarh
country of the Central Provinces. It is practically confined to members
of the Chamar caste, about half of whom belong to it. In 1901 nearly
400,000 persons returned themselves as adherents of the Satnami sect,
of whom all but 2000 were Chamars. The Satnami sect of the Central
Provinces, which is here described, is practically confined to the
Chhattisgarh plain, and the handful of persons who returned themselves
as Satnamis from the northern Districts are believed to be adherents of
the older persuasion of the same name in Northern India. The Satnami
movement in Chhattisgarh was originated by one Ghasi Das, a native of
the Bilaspur District, between A.D. 1820 and 1830. But it is probable
that Ghasi Das, as suggested by Mr. Hira Lal, got his ins