Khambesvari puujaa with Buffalo sacrifice

[Jogesh Panda]

Stephen Hodge wrote:
>

> Can this also be connected with the Kondh Meriah sacrifices in Orissa
> which once involved human sacrifice until the 1850s when the British
> (interfering as usual) outlawed the practice and encouraged the
> substitution of the buffalo which is still used...

Could as well be. The word 'meriah' is from *mer as in SBP [Sambalpuri]
'merkhamb', the central pillar on the rice paddy thrashing floor.
The DumAls/DumbAls are, however, not related to the Dombs, but instead, are related to another farming tribe by the name of 'kulutA' or 'kulitA, thought to have descended from the kulUtas of Vedic/Classical times [at least so held by a famous kulitA, Professor Prahlad Pradhan, the Pali scholar].

Best wishes,
Jogesh Panda
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