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