esented by a stone at the
place of worship and the people had ceased to eat raw flesh and drink
blood, the blood was poured out over the stone as an offering to the
god. This practice still obtains among the lower castes of Hindus and
the primitive tribes, the blood of animals offered to Devi and other
village deities being allowed to drop on to the stones representing
them. But the higher castes of Hindus have abandoned animal sacrifices,
and hence cannot make the blood-offering. In place of it they smear the
stone with vermilion, which seems obviously a substitute for blood,
since it is used to colour the stones representing the deities in
exactly the same manner. Even vermilion, however, is not offered to
the highest deities of Neo-Hinduism, Siva or Mahadeo and Vishnu, to
whom animal sacrifices would be abhorrent. It is offered to Hanuman,
whose image is covered with it, and to Devi and Bhairon and to the
many local and village deities. In past times animal sacrifices were
offered to Bhairon, as they still are to Devi, and though it is not
known that they were made to Hanuman, this is highly probable, as he
is the god of strength and a mighty warrior. The Manbhao mendicants,
who abhor all forms of bloodshed like the Jains, never pass one of
these stones painted with vermilion if they can avoid doing so, and
if they are aware that there is one on their road will make a circuit
so as not to see it. [87] There seems, therefore, every reason to
suppose that vermilion is a substitute for blood in offerings and
hence probably on other occasions. As the places of the gods were
thus always coloured red with blood, red would come to be the divine
and therefore the propitious colour among the Hindus and other races.

6. Vermilion and spangles

Among the constituents of the Sohag or lucky _trousseau_ without
which no Hindu girl of good caste can be married are _sendur_ or
vermilion, _kunku_ or red powder or a spangle (_tikli_), and _mahawar_
or red balls of cotton-wool. In Chhattisgarh and Bengal the principal
marriage rite is usually the smearing of vermilion by the bridegroom
on the parting of the bride's hair, and elsewhere this is commonly
done as a subsidiary ceremony. Here also there is little reason to
doubt that vermilion is a substitute for blood; indeed, in some castes
in Bengal, as noted by Sir H. Risley, the blood of the parties is
actually mixed. [88] This marking of the bride with blood is a result
of the