Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 151

SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN BRAHMINS 111 I wonder whether the first Hindu lawgivers forbade the eating of meat and of all other substances containing the germ of life. Do the southern Brahmins observe a rule strictly laid down, and do the northern Brahmins therefore break a law common to the whole caste ? It is probable that the northern Brahmins, feeling the want of more substantial food, freed themselves from a custom which was not found irksome by their southern brethren in a hotter climate. them. CHAPTER IX The — — — different Hindu Sects. Vishnavites and Sivaites. The Exterior Marks and Customs peculiar to each. The Pavadam. The Mutual Hatreds and Differences between the Sects. Reason for the Dislike which ordinary Brahmins feel for Vishnavite Brahmins and those belonging to other Sects. Subdivisions of the two Principal Sects. — — — The Brahmins recognize six sects, which they designate by the generic name of Shat Mata (the Six Sects, or Six and each of these sects has a numerous follow- Schools) ing. They are composed entirely of Brahmins, and each ; its own particular doctrine of metempsychosis. How- ever, they do not carry these purely scholastic differences to the point of reciprocal hatred or persecution, and the has subjects under dispute are pretty much the same as those which provoke polemical discussions amongst scholars and dialecticians in other countries. I shall refer again to this matter elsewhere, and will now speak about the two great sects of the Sudras. It will be seen that they are far from being as calm and tolerant over points of doctrine as the Brahmins. As a general rule, Hindus profess to pay equal honour to the two great divinities of the country, Vishnu and Siva, without showing preference for either, though there are a great many sectarians who devote themselves exclusively to the worship of one or the other. The one sect is usually called Vishnu-bhaktas, which means votaries of Vishnu the other is called Siva-bhaktas, or votaries of Siva. The latter sect is also called Linga- daris, and the former Namadaris. These names are derived from the distinguishing marks which the sectarians wear \ ; 1 It is impossible to conceive anything more obscene than the meaning