Narayan Deo, the Sun-God of the Pig Sacrifice

Narayan Deo is a distinct and widely worshipped deity of the Gond and neighbouring Bhumia peoples, identified as a sun-god and household protector. Although his name is drawn from the Hindu Narayana, in Gond practice he is an independent object of cult worshipped under the Gondi title Pen. His characteristic observance is the Laru Kaj, the 'pig's wedding', in which a family that has vowed to him ceremonially weds and then sacrifices a pig to the god once in every nine or twelve years, seeking prosperity, health and freedom from misfortune. Within the layered Gond pantheon he stands below the supreme clan-god Bara Deo.

Domains

• sun
• sacrifice

Powers

• to grant health and prosperity in return for the pig offering

Epithets

• Narayan Pen

Relations

• subordinate to: Great Clan-God

Sources

• R. V. Russell & Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Vol. III (London: Macmillan, 1916), article 'Gond'.
• Stephen Fuchs, The Gond and Bhumia of Eastern Mandla (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1960).