Narayan Deo, the Sun-God of the Pig Sacrifice
Gondi · deity · perennial · Recorded classification
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 PenStephen Fuchs, The Gond and Bhumia of Eastern Mandla (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1960). (secondary)
Relations
- subordinate to: Great Clan-GodRanked below the supreme clan-god Bara Deo (Persa Pen) within the Gond hierarchy of deities.R. V. Russell & Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Vol. III (London: Macmillan, 1916), article 'Gond'. (secondary)
Sources
- Narayan Deo is a Gond sun-god and household protector to whom families periodically offer a pig in the Laru Kaj ceremony to secure health and prosperity.: R. V. Russell & Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Vol. III (London: Macmillan, 1916), article 'Gond'. (secondary); Stephen Fuchs, The Gond and Bhumia of Eastern Mandla (Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1960). (secondary)