Caste in India: The Facts and the System c8.s3.31

c8.s3.31

It is true that many castes render a kind of worship to the implements proper to their trade.¹ The fisherman sacrifices a goat to his new boat; the shepherd smears the tail and horns of his beasts with ochre; the ploughman pours an offering of sugar mixed with melted butter and a few grains of rice over his plough at the spot where it breaks up the first sod of earth; the artisan worships his tools; the warrior worships his weapons of war; the scribe does homage to his pen and inkstand. Interesting as these customs are, they only go to prove that people of a single caste, being engaged in a variety of occupations, may render this sort of respect to symbols of the most diverse kinds.