Religion
Yerukalas worship Hindu benevolent Gods i.e. Lord Venteswara, Narasimhaswamy, Narayanaswamy and Rama, who are common Gods in Hindu pantheon and appease malevolent deities such as Ankamma, Kollapuramma, Sunkulamma, Poleramma and Ellamma. The Yerukalas celebrate Hindu festivals such as Sankranthi, Sivarathri, Sreeramanavami, Dasara, Ugadi (Telugu New Year’s Day).
Yerukalas also worship natural objects such as the sun, the moon and the fire. During the old times in some places the Yerukalas are not permitted to enter Hindu temples; hence they keep stones or mud idols under trees and give them offerings.
Largest religion is Hinduism in this community. But Christianity is on the rise because of the work of the various Christian missionaries.
• Hinduism (95%)
• Nonreligious (3.6%)
• Christians (1.3%)
Salvation Army
The sinister design of the British Rulers to spread christianity among this community, one among a lot of motives, can be found in Colonial Construction of a ‘Criminal’ Tribe by Meena Radhakrishna.