The Village Gods of South India. By the Right Rev.
H. Whitehead, Bishop of Madras. (H. Milford. 2s. 6d. net.)—In this little volume, the first of a series on " The Religious Life of India," the Bishop of Madras describes from his own wide experience a neglected aspect of Hinduism, which is far older and more primitive than Brahminism. Each village has its set of local deities, some old and some new ; at one place where a boy was murdered a few years ago, the victim's spirit has now a shrine and a local cult. Most of these deities are female ; they symbolize the facts of village life, such as cholera or cattle-plague ; they are worshipped with animal sacrifices, and therefore their mlniatrants are rarely Brahmins and may belong to any caste. The Bishop gives details of the rites in various districts and some curious examples of the confused folk-tales of the villagers. To Christian workers in India the book should afford feed for thought.
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