ABSTRACT
TO the Kāťkarī the ground is the source and reservoir of all jīva or life. When any living thing, a tree, animal or man, dies its life force returns to the ground, and from that again issues in another form. To the Hindu the earth is bū mātā, ‘the mother of all things’; it is dhantari mātā, ‘mother of the crops’; it is rasa, ‘full of essence’; sarvasaha, ‘bearing all things’; vasumati, υasimdharā, ‘bearing wealth’. It is one of the five primary elements of creation. According to the Koran, man was made from earth and so earth is the mother of man; it is with water, air and fire one of the four elements of creation recognized by the Muhammadan.
