Modern Horse-worship.
Of modern horse-worship there are many examples. The Palliwâl Brâhmans of Jaysalmer worship the bridle of a horse, which Colonel Tod supposes to prove the Scythic origin of the early colonists, who were equestrian as well as nomadic.19 Horse-worship is still mixed up with the creed of the Buddhists of Yunân, who doubtless derived it from India.20
In Western India this form of worship is common. It is the chief object of reverence at the Dasahra festival. Some Râjput Bhîls worship a deity called Ghorâdeva or a stone horse; the Bhâtiyas worship a clay horse at the Dasahra, and the Ojha Kumhârs erect a clay horse on the sixth day after birth, and make the child worship it. Rag horses are offered at the tombs of saints at Gujarât. The Kunbis wash their horses on the day of the Dasahra, decorate them with flowers, sacrifice a sheep to them, and sprinkle the blood on them.21 The custom among the Drâvidian races of offering clay horses to the local gods has been already noticed. The Gonds have a horse godling in Kodapen, and at the opening of the rainy season they worship a stone in his honour outside the village. A Gond priest offers a pottery image of the animal and a heifer, saying, “Thou art our guardian! Protect our oxen and cows! Let us live in safety!”22 The heifer is then sacrificed and the meat eaten by the worshippers. The Devak or marriage guardian of some of the Dakkhin tribes is a horse.