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ETHNOLOGY OF THE TRIBAL PEOPLE

CHAPTER - IV

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4.1. Gondu Tribes:

The Gonds are the tribal community mostly found in the Gond forests of the central

India. They are widely spread in the Chhindwara District of Madhya Pradesh, Bastar district

of Chhattisgarh and also in the parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The name

by which the Gonds call themselves is Koi or Koitur which means unclear. Gonds are one of

the largest tribal group in the world. Among the tribal populations of India the Gonds stand

out by their numbers, the vast expanse of their habitat, and their historical importance. There

is no exact figures for the present size of the group of Gond tribes in the census of 1961 was

the last in which all individual tribes were enumerated, at that time 3,992,905 persons were

numbered as Gond, the number now a days might have reached to a million people further,

the language is still being published, and in 1971, 1,548,070 Gondi-speakers were recorded.

But this does not give an indication of the present strength of the ethnic group embracing the

various Gond tribes.

Author with Gond tribe women Author with Gond tribe men

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4.2. Origin and affinities:

The majority of Gonds are found today in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Their main

concentrations are the Satpura Plateau, The states of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh also

contain substantial Gond populations, and the majority of these have traditionally been

described as Raj Gonds, though in their own language they call themselves Koitur , a word

common to most Gondi dialects. The term Raj Gonds , which in the 1940s was still widely

used, It has now become almost obsolete, probably because of the political eclipse of the

Gond rajas. The rulers of Chanda were powerful princes situated now in Maharashtra, were

until 1749, whose dominion included a large part of the Adilabad District of Andhra Pradesh.

The rule of the Gond rajas of several princely states in Chhattisgarh were until 1947, when

the British withdrew from India and the Gond states were merged with Madhya Pradesh in

1947.

There is a little accurate information available on the early history of the Gonds, and it

was not until Mughal times that Gond states were figured in contemporary chronicles. But the

ruins of forts ascribed to Gond rajas suggest that in past centuries the Raj Gonds did not live

in the isolation typical of many other tribal communities but entertained manifold relations

with other populations whose style of living were imitated their rulers. Until comparatively

recent times, a feudal system prevailed in the highlands of Adilabad. And myths and epics

depict the life of Gond chieftains who were not subject to any outside power. The Gonds

were then already settled farmers who cultivated their landwith ploughs and bullocks. Land

was plentiful, and individuals could freely move from one settlement to another .

4.3. Organization and Leadership:

Gonds history is found in all in almost the historical books of India. Gonds settled in

the Gondawa in the ninth and thirteenth century AD. In the fourteen century they ruled

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several parts of the central India. They built number of forts, palaces, temples, tanks and

lakes during the rule of the Gonds dynasty. The Gondwana kingdom survived till late 16th

century. Gond dynasties ruled in four kingdoms - Garha-Mandla, Deogarh, Chanda, and

Kherla in the central India. Gonds have been the warriors since the British period. During the

British regime in India, Gonds challenged the Britishers in several battles. They also gained

control over the Malwa after the decline of the Mughals followed by the Marathas in the year

1690.

Gond society has both its vertical stratification and its horizontal divisions, and

while with the decline of the raja families the stratification based on hereditary rank, has been

reduced in relevance, the division of society into exogamous patrilineal units has retained its

importance. The basis of the social structure is a system of four phratries, each subdivided

into clans, and the origin of this system is attributed to a divine culture hero. The members of

each clan worship a deity described as persa pen (―great God‖), and in some cases the shrine

of this deity lies within the ancestral clan land. Today the clans are widely dispersed, but they

still form a permanent framework which regulates marriage and many ritual relations,

however, closely linked with each individual Gond clan is a lineage of Pardhans, bards and

chroniclers, who play a vital role in the worship of the clan deity and many other ritual

activities. The Pardhans, though themselves not Gonds and of a social status lower than that

of their Gond patrons, are nevertheless the guardians of Gond tradition and religious lore. The

recent deflection of their interests and energy to other enterprises will undoubtedly have an

adverse effect on the preservation of Gond traditions.

A role similar to that of Pardhans is being played by another and much less numerous

group of bards and ministrels known as Toti. These too have hereditary ritual relations with

individual Gond lineage and act as musicians and story-tellers.

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The Koyas, a tribal population largely, though not exclusively, concentrated in

Andhra Pradesh, are the southernmost section of the great Gond race. Known also as Dorla

Koitur, they merge on the southern border of Bastar with the Bisonhorn Marias, and some

groups of Koyas, notably those in the lower Godavari regions, also possess bisonhorn head-

dresses. In that area Koyas still speak a Gondi dialect, but the majority of Koyas have lost

their own language and now speak the Telugu of their Hindu neighborus. In the districts of

Khammam and Warangal, Koyas make up the majority of the tribal population. There they

have suffered a fate similar to that of the Gonds of Adilabad District, in the sense that they

have lost much of their best land, which they used to cultivate with ploughs and bullocks, and

are largely reduced to the role of tenants and agricultural labourers. The process of

detribalization has progressed further among Koyas than among any other Gond tribes.

4.4. Language and Identification:

Gond tribes speak Gondi language which is related to the Telugu and the other

Dravidian languages. In the northern parts Gonds are often seen speaking the local Hindi and

Marathi. Some of the Gonds in the southern parts also speak Parsi or Persian. Gonds are

mainly divided into four tribes namely - Raj Gonds, Madia Gonds, Dhurve Gonds, Khatulwar

Gonds. Gonds men wear Dhoti, which is the lonf piece of cotton cloth wrapped around the

waist passing through the legs. Women wear soft cotton saris along with the Choli or blouse.

The staple food of Gonds are the two millets known as Kodo or Kutki. Rice is the ceremonial

feast of the Gonds, which they prefer eating during the time of festivals. Most of the Gonds

are the meat consumers.

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4.5. Religion:

Gonds have been largely influenced by the Hindus and for the long time have been

practicing the Hindus culture and traditions. Gonds are the worshipers of Janani or the mother

of creator. They use the title Thakur. Gonds mainly worship Pharsa Pen, who is worshiped

under the form of the nail and sometimes a

piece of iron chain. Besides Pharsa Pen, they

also believe in several other Gods namely

Mariai – the Goddess of plague and other

diseases, and Bhimsen – the Hindu God. Apart

from these God and Goddess, their exist in

great number of deities and spirits in the beliefs

of Gonds. According to them every hill, river, lake, tree is also inhabited by a spirit. They say

that the earth, water and air are ruled by the great number of deities which must be appeased

by sacrifices. They have priests (devari) who perform all the religious formalities on all the

occasions. Gonds also pay homage to the Gods of household, Gods of Cattle, Gods of fields.

Animal sacrifice on the religious occasions is the common practice among the Gonds.

4.6. Customs and Festivals :

Gonds fair and festivals are influenced

from the Hindu traditions. Keslapur Jathra is the

important festival of the Gonds. In this festival

they worship the snake deity called Nagoba, whose

temple is found in the Keslapur village of

Indervelly mandal of Adilabad district. Gusadi

dance is the most famous dance perfomed by the Gonds. It is performed by wearing head

gears decorated with the peacock feathers. They wear cotton cloth around their waist. They

A traditional tribal worship place

Gussadi – a traditional tribal dance

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smear ash all over their body and beards made of animal hair is also important part of the

dance costumes. Madai is the another major festival celebrated among the Gonds. It is the

festival when Gonds meet their relatives settled in various parts of the country. During this

festival they also sacrifice goat beneath the sacred village tree to appease the tribal Goddess.

In the night they enjoy liquor and dance along with the tribal music. Apart from this they also

celebrate Hindu festival called Dusshera.