Thakur Deo
Baiga · numen · Baiga traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Thakur Deo, 'the Lord God', is the tutelary deity and divine headman of the Baiga village, the supreme good spirit that watches over each habitation and its lands. Every settlement has its Thakur Deo, propitiated for the safety of the community and its fields; in the creation myth the first Baiga offered him a white cock as he bound the powers of the new-made earth. Together with Dharti Mata he ranks among the highest of the deities the Baiga worship in daily practice, below the remote creator Bhagavan.
Domains
- village guardianship
- land and boundaries
Powers
- lords over and protects the village and its lands
Epithets
- Thakur Deo — the Lord God of the villageVerrier Elwin, The Baiga (1939). (primary)
Sources
- Thakur Deo is the tutelary lord and headman-god of each Baiga village, its supreme local guardian, to whom a white cock was offered at the founding of the earth.: Verrier Elwin, The Baiga (London: John Murray, 1939). (primary); Stephen Fuchs, 'Baiga', Encyclopedia of World Cultures, vol. III (1992). (secondary)