Sav[=a]ras. In the old
grouping of tribes these, together with the Gonds and Bhils,
were the "five children of the soil" between the Vindhya
mountains, the east chain of the Gh[=a]ts, and the mouth of
the God[=a]var[=i] to the centre of the valley of the
Nerbudda. The last mentioned tribe of Bhils (Bheels) is
almost devoid of native religion, but is particularly noted
for truth, honesty, and fidelity. JRAS. 1844, pp. 181, 189,
192; 1852, p. 216 ff. It is an ancient race, but its origin
is not certain.]

[Footnote 20: Trees are revered by the Brahmans also, as by
the American Indians. Schoolcraft, i. 368. The tree-spirit
is an advance on this (Brahmanic and Hinduistic).]

[Footnote 21: Thus the Bhils' wedding is simply a mutual
promise under the _sing[=a]_ tree. These savages, however,
live together only so long as they choose. When the family
separates, the father takes the elder children, and the
mother takes the younger ones. They are polygamous. It is
from this tribe that the worship of Aghor[=i], the Vindhya
fiend, accepted as a form of K[=a]l[=i], was introduced into
Civaite worship. At present their religion is a mixture of
Hindu and native superstition. Thus, like the Gonds, they
worship stone images of gods placed in a circle, but they
recognize among these gods several of the Hindu divinities.]

[Footnote 22: Rowney, _Wild Tribes_, p. 194. The goose-totem
of the Sunth[=a]ls is also Brahm[=a]'s sign. As Vishnu is
carried on an eagle, and Civa on a bull, so Brahm[=a] rides
a goose (or flamingo). The 'ten ancestors' demanded of the
Brahman priest were originally on the mother's side as well
as on the father's. Weber, _R[=a]jas[=u]ya_, p. 78. The
matriarchal theory is, however, southern. (Compare the
oblations to the ancestresses in Vishnu's law-book, 74.)]

[Footnote 23: The marriage-stone, as in the Hindu rite is
quite common. Of lesser superstitions the _tab[=u]_,
analogous to the avoidance of unlucky names among the
Hindus, may be mentioned. Friendship among girls is cemented
by a religious ceremony. After this, among the Or[=a]ons,
the two avoid each other's name, calling each other only 'my
flower' or 'my meet-to-smile' (Rowney). In this tribe
exogamy is 'more respectable,' but not necessary. The girls
ar