File:Ohio archæological and historical quarterly (1887) (14776314084).jpg

Identifier: ohioarchologic30ohio (find matches)
Title: Ohio archæological and historical quarterly
Year: 1887 (1880s)
Authors: Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society
Subjects: History Archaeology
Publisher: Columbus : Published for the Society by A.H. Smythe
Contributing Library: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
Digitizing Sponsor: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center

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y from the same aboriginal source as Nagaworship, and of equal antiquity and sanctity, is the wor-ship of the lingam, the deification of the reproductiveorgans, usually of the male but sometimes of the femalealso. Max Mueller euphemistically speaks of this asthe veneration of creative power in nature. Here tooHindu art uses a purely conventional form. Millions of followers of this cult keep their god with them nightand day, in a small metal box, worn suspended from theneck by a string. In the box is a small disc of stone,with a slightly rounded elevation on one of its fiat sur-faces. The figures in the shrines, however, are usuallymore elaborate. At one of the most holy places in SouthIndia, is a shrine, which is visited annually by hundredsof thousands of worshippers. And there we find thatthe lingam, represented by a short column of stone, issheltered and protected by the widespread hood of ahuge Naga, and the hood is bordered by five heads.This is well shown in the sixth photograph.
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Figures Cut in Face of Cliff. (See page 84) (85) 86 Ohio Arch, and Hist. Society Publications. Much has been done to estabHsh a common originfor the American Indians and the Dravidians of SouthIndia. There are said to be many striking languagesimilarities; but that the strongest resemblance is in theconstitution of the family group. I believe that in themonuments left by the Mound Builders in Ohio we haveanother very strong link in this chain of evidence. Itis hard to conceive of the two great serpent moundsfound respectively in Adams and Warren Counties ashaving been constructed from other than religious mo-tives. It is impossible to think of them as works of de-fense, or constructed for any utilitarian purpose. Themound in Adams County is particularly striking. Ofit the Encyclopedia Brittanica says, It is a giganticserpent made in earth. Across the widely-opened jaws itmeasures seventy-five feet; the body just behind thehead measures thirty feet across and is five feet high;and, fol

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