Concerning the religion of the Koyis, the Rev.J. Cain writes that they say "that the following gods and goddesses were appointed to be worshipped by Sudras: —Muttelamma, Maridimahālakshmi, Poturāzu and Korrāzulu; and the following were to receive adoration from the Koyis: — Kommalamma, Kāturūdu, Adamarāzu. The goddess Māmili or Pēle must be propitiated early in the year, or else the crops will undoubtedly fail; and she is said to be very partial to human victims. There is stronof reason to think that two men were murdered in 1876 near a village not far from Dummagudem, as offerings to this dēvata, and there is no reason to doubt that every year strangers are quietly put out of the way in the Bastar country, to ensure the favour of this blood-thirsty goddess. All the Koyis seem to hold in great respect the Pāndava brothers, especially Arjuna and Bhīma. The wild dogs or dhols are regarded as the dutas or messengers of these brothers, and the long black beetles which appear in large numbers at the beginning of the hot weather are called the Pāndava flock of goats. Of course they would on no account attempt to kill a dhol, even though it should happen to attack their favourite calf, and they even regard it as imprudent to interfere with these dutas, when they wish to feast upon their cattle." The tradition among the Koyis is that, when the Pandava brothers were in exile,Bhīma, whom they call Bhīmador, went hunting in the jungle, and met a wild woman of the woods, whom he fell in love with and married. The fruit of this union was the Koyi people. The tradition further states that this wild woman was not a human being.*[1] "A Koi," the Rev. J. Cain continues, "whom Mr. Alexander met in a
- ↑ * Manual of the Godāvari district.
