The Holi : a Venial Festival of the Hindus. 83
affected by orthodox Hinduism. But in India the intermingling of the race types and the insidious but effective influences of Brahmanisni have from a very early period been so continuous that it is difficult to sort out those observances which are really primitive and discard what is due to the orthodox priestly body.
On the whole, there seems to be some reason to believe that the intention to promote the fertility of men, animals, and crops supplies the basis of the rites. The object is, in essence, magical; but it is difficult to disentangle the varied forms of this magic, which operates either as directly promoting fertility, or as an agency for the removal of the forces which impede fertility, while in some cases we may suspect a more special intention, for instance, rain-making, the control of the seasons, or the fertilization of some particular crop.
The best chance of arriving at a solution of these questions lies in the hope that this review of an interesting and complex group of rites may suggest the need of further investigation, particularly in those Districts and among those tribes which have been least exposed to the influence of Brahmanical Hinduism,
