Papers Relating to the Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provinces
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Transcript of Papers Relating to the Aboriginal Tribes of the Central Provinces
m u ms RELATING'
TO m a
RBOBIGINKL TRIBESOFTHE CENTBRLPROV INCES;
LEFT IN MSS
BY THE LATE REV D. STEPHEN HISLOP.
MI SSIONARY OF THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND
x
A T N A G P O R Eu
E D I T E D,
WITH NOTES AND PREFACE,
R . TEMPLE,
CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF THE CENTRAL PROV INCES.C
“ [fl a g v.9 3"
;v
I N D E X .
PREFACE .
PART I . -Essay by Mr. H islop ;with note by Editor.
PART II. —V ocabulary by Mr. H islop ; with note by Editor.Supplement to the V ocabulary as respects the G ondi dialect
only With note by Editor .Comparativ e V ocabulary of the Muasi or K uri dialect ;with note by Editor.
PART I l l — SongsN ote and Abstract English v ersion by the Editor.The Songs reduced to writing with English equ ivalents
by Mr. H islop and examined or supplemented by Mr.
Pandurang.
PART IV .—Appendices, consisting of miscellaneous memoranda with
note by the Editor.
PREFACE.
IT js but“too wel l known to ‘ all persons interested in the
N agpore Country that the Rev . S tephen His lop,M is s ionary of
the Free Church of Scot land at N agporer—fa gentleman dis tin
guished ,
for all ;the v i rtues and qual it ies becoming his sacredprofess ion, and for attainmen ts ,
in s cholarship and in practicalscience.,
-died by accidental drowning on the 4th September1 853. During n ineteen years o f labour in the s ervice o f theM is s ion,he had dil igent ly and perseveringly enquired,n o t onlyinto the phys ical resources of the country, bu t als o in to thelanguages , the manners, the rel igions, the his tor i es,and thean tiqui t i es o f the people . In the pursuit of thes e enqu i r ies ,be inves t igated much regard ing the aboriginal tribes inhabi t ingthe territories now known as the Central Provinces,and e speci
ally regard ing the G ond people . The result s of this inves tigat ion w ere embodied in s eve ral elaborate papers , which wereintended for publ ication u l timately in a comple te fo rm, bu t
which were inevitably left sca ttered and incomple te at the t imeof his sudden and lamen ted death.
I t was naturally cons idered by the late Mr . Hislop’
s relationsand friends , tha t the s e valuable and impo rtan t paper s sho uldno t be lo s t to the publ ic, bu t should be examined,co llated,a ndprepared for publ ica tion, in a manner which ( though fall ing farshdr t of w hat the au thor hims elf w ould have produc ed had hel ived) might ye t present the w o rk in a sufficien tly int ell igibleshape. At firs t there was hope that s ome gentlemen p os ses s ingmore o r loss of l itera ry l eisu re m ight be found to fulfi l the taskof edi ting thes e papers . B u t it is d ifficul t to s ecu re suchas sis tance in these P rovinces . And at length,at the requ es tof M r . l-l is‘
10p’
s fr iend s,I undertook to h ave the pape rs brough to u t under my own su pervis ion and di rection. The w o rk isnow done. imperfectly no doubt,but as w el l as t ime and m ean s
perm i tted ; and if no t ac tually good,it is perhap s be t ter thannothing at all.Mr . H islop had con siderable opportunit ies and facil iti es for
ob taining rel iable and de tailed information regarding,what arecommonly called, the aboriginal tribes of this part of India.
I n the cold s eason of each year,ha°made tou rs bymarching int he interior of the districts,and thu s sawmuch of, and heard
ii
much from, the pepole in their homes,their vi llages,their fieldsand their fores ts . He was generally accompanied by educatednat ives connected w ith the M iss ion,who helped him in securingfull and correct answers to all queries . These were nat ivec atechi sts and preachers, either stat ioned in, or moving about,the count ry and especially in Chindwara, the heart of theG ond region, —who recorded and t ransmitted facts t o him. Hew as acquainted w ith various European officers and gentlemenwho res ided among, or otherw ise came in contact w ith,theset ribes , and who supplied him w ith information . He madeu se o f all these several advan tages w ith pat ience , as s iduity,and research . H e t es ted and verified the informat ion thu s
accumulated, by extensiv e study o f the works o f other authorson the aboriginal races of India and of othe r countries .
These t ribes w ill, from their numbers, their position, andtheir anteceden ts,be found worthy o f the erudition and studywhich M r. H is lop bes towed on all that belonged to them .
Though much imbued w ith H induism, they are yet quited is t inct in race and language from the H indus . Again,they aren o t all of one tribe,perhaps not even of one nat ionality,for s omeo f their dialects differ altogether from others . By themse lves,in the aggregate,they form an important s ect ion o f the popu
lation . They are spread, thinly perhap s, bu t broadly, all overthe large t erri tories now known as the Central Provinces-7from our extreme limit s in one direction t o ou r furthes t front ierin another ; from B undlecund in the nor th t o the
‘ Te loogooc oas t districts in the south ; from Malwa and Candeish in the
w es t t o the confines o f Oris sa in the east and right through thevery centre o f the country, among the V indhya Mountainsw h ich ove rlook the val ley o f the N erbu dda and the Sau tpoora
R anges w hich bound the plains of Nagpore and the cottonthe Wu rda .
Among these tribes one, namely the G onds, have formed
pol i tical annals of their own,have w i elded dynast ic power inm os t par ts o f thes e P rovinces, and have left architectural remains in a ttes tat ion of former greatness. O n this subj ect itmay be w ell to t ranscribe some brief passages frommyfirs tAdminis trat ion R eport ( for the year 1862 )
The earl ies t dynasties in this part of India of which any.
thing is now either recorded or remembered are those of the
G ond-Rajpoots . Bu t prior to these, and superior to them incivilization, there must have been several H indu dynast ies,which are onlynow known by architectural remains some at
i i i
Jubbulpore on the banks of the Nerbudda ; some in the hillypart of Chu tteesgurh
°
and some at Rustar in the heart of the
w ilderness .
T he ancient G ondwana, or country of th e G onds, compr isesmost of the countries now included in the Central Provinces,both below and above the Sau tpoora Range . The earl iests ettlers in the w oods and hills and the oldest dynast ies w ere G ond.
T he G onds seem,w ithout doub t, to have been one of the mostpow erful and impor tant o f the aboriginal races of India. Existingprior to the advent of the H indus,they possessed their own formso f heathenism,which often are preserved entire and intact to thisday,and wh ich have alw ays, and under all changes, impressedtheir mark on the character of the tribe . B ut some G onds,Whileretaining their external and distinct ive characteristics, adoptedthe Hindu, and some few the Mahomedan, religion. Thusthere are seen in the present age,as respects fai th and custom,
three kinds of G onds,namely t he aboriginal G onds, the H induG onds,and the few Mussulman G onds . I n physique and moraleall three seem much alike . The H indu conquerors o f the
Cl ouds w ere principally R ajpoots . These intermarried w i th theconquered,and their descendents are called Rajpoots,and pridethemselves on their descent . M ost of the indigenous Rajpootsso called are
'
really G ond Raj poots . These m ixed races,bscoming accl imatised to countries
“
that w ould have proved deadly to
many civili zed nat ions, Spread themselves over w ide domains,and in arms and p olicy emulated the ach ievements of superiortribes . Their original boundary in the south mayperhaps havebeen the G odav ery If it w as, they must have crossed thatriver and extended far into the Dakhan .
They formed from firs t to last four kingdoms w ith in the ll
present l imi ts of these provinces. T he no rthern k ingdom hadits capi tal atMundla,and at G urra ( near the modern ci ty of Juhbulpore) and dominated the greater part of the Nerbudda V alley .
O f the two m idland kingdoms, one had its cap ital at Deogurh on the southern face or slopes of the Sau tpoora Range,over-look ing and commanding the plains which now belong toNagpore . Deogurh is now ruined and utterly desolate ; bu t itwas a city before N agpore w as even a village . T he o ther midland kingdom has its capital at Kherla,a hill commanding the
rich valley o f B aitool,in the heart of the Sau tpoora H ills . To thisalso belonged the celebrated for ts of G aw ilgurh and N urnalla,both in the same range . T he sou thern k ingdom had its capitalat Chanda on theWurda,and comprised a v as t,hu tWi ld,territory :it streached far up to to the north-easft,.and again, commanding
i v
the G odav ery,stretched far down to the sou th . These four dynasties existed at least some t ime before the formation o f theMoghu l Empire . They w ere brave and independent, but theycou ld never have been rich or powerful . S till, each of themmus t have possessed an annual revenue o f some lakhs o frupees . They w ere quite infer ior in ar t and civilizat ion to theH indu and Mahomedan dynasties known in other parts of India ;but st il l they each left archi tectural remains and monuments o f
great interest ;at Mundla,at G urra near Jubbulpore,at Chouragurh near N ursingpo re, at Deogurh near Chindw ara,at Kherlanear B aitool,and at Chanda . These ruins,surrounded by,or adjacent to,the w aste,or the rocks,or the forest,fill the modern enqu ir
s r w ith surprise, and attest the former energies o f half-civili zedraces contending w ith the w ildness o f N ature . As the Mahomedan rule absorbed the different parts o f Central India, it attackedthese G ond Kingdoms in turn . T he northern k ingdom,however,in some struggles w el l known to local tradit ion,maintainedsomething of its independence, though it mayhave lost manyof its richer provinces. T he sou thern k ingdom also does no tappear to have been entirely subdued, though it w as renderedtribu tary ;bu t its branches across the G odav ery w ere carriedaw ay and added to the Mahomedan k ingdoms in the Dakhan .
That dominion indeed spread over bo th banks of the G odav ery;and up to a recent period the s trip o f territory on the left,orNagpore side of the r iver,belonged to the Nizam . T he midlandkingdom w as at all events rendered tributary,and its Princesw ere,by force or influence,converted to Islam.
B esides these four k ingdoms there w as aG ond Rajpoot dynastyat Wu rungal in the Dakhan. When that place fell to the
Mahomedan, the R aja fled northward across the G odav ery, and
establ ished himself in w ild independence among the inaccess ibleforests .
”
B ut besides forts, palaces, and tombs, they have in someparts of the country left traces o f w orks w isely designed formaterial improvement . O n this point,it maybe proper to insertthe follow ing passages from my official report on the riverVVyngunga
Th is t ract,as already s een, lies between a low range of hi llsand a river having an average breadth of thirtym iles . Though
partly champaign,it is yet much broken up and d ivers ified byh ills and jungles . Advantage has been taken of the undulationsin the ground and the s tream s permeat ing it,to cons t ruct a regular tank sys tem. Thes e are no t s o large as the lakes mentionedin the upper basin of the Wyngunga ; but are second to them
alone. This tract belonged to the G ond dynasty of Chanda,who, probably es tab l ished at a later period, w ere c omparativ elymo re civi lized ; and thes e have left behind them a noblemark on the land . I n 1 8 65,after vis iting thes e tanks, I caus eda l etter to be written to the local authorit i es, w hich, as it
conveyed impress ions on the s pot, may furnish a few extractsto make up th e description, as fol low s
‘ The number and. s ize of these tanks is cer tainly remarkable. In some
parts they ev en clu s ter thick round the feet of the hills. From the summi tof the hill,called
“ Pérzagurh”by the G onds, and “ The Sev en Sisters ”
bythe H indus, no less than thirty-sev en tanks were counted as d ist inctlyv isible.
‘ These tanks are indeed the pr ide and ornament of the d istr ict Theyare, as the people themselv es told the Chief C omm iss ioner,the v ery life of the
place. They are the object to which mu ch of the industry and capi tal of
the people are dev oted ; and are the main sou rce of agr icu lt u ral wealth,The two staples are r ice and sugarcane
- and both are ent irely dependent on'
the water supply for irr igat ion from the tanks . N ot only hav e large, indeedsomet imes v ery extens iv e, sheets of water been formed by damm ing upstreams by heav y ear thwork dykes, bu t masonry escapes and slu ices and
channels hav e been const ru cted . Some of the slu ices,as head works fo r irr igat ionchannels,present an
' almost elaborate apparatu s, creditable to the skill andingenu ity of the people.
‘With many, perhaps w ith most,of the largest tanks, the works were in
good,ev en cap ital repair.’
Thus it is that some know ledge o f these tribes must be u seful,indeed almost essential, to the various Officers engaged in the
Civi l Adminis tration o f these Provinces .
Though these people have in bygone ages lorded it over theplains cul tivated w ith regular husbandry, they l ive in recentt imes,for the most part, in the hilly and w ooded tracts . Theseare the tracts wh ich yield those vast suppl ies of t imber w oodand fuel ; those extensive seams o i coal ; those iron ores ; thosemineral riches ; that lac dye,and many other jungle products,w hich const itute in the mass so large a part of the resourceso f these Provinces . In all efforts that are being,or may yet bemade to u tilize these resources,an acquaintance w i th the peoplewho dw ell in these often desolate and inaccessible tracts,isreally requis ite .
I t behoves especially those who are employed in the conservat ion and management o f the forests— a department of fastgrow ing importance- to learn all about the hi ll tribes whoseco operation is necessary to departmental success,and overwhominfluence can be w on only by conciliation . R egarding theimportant posit ion occup ied by these people in the hi ll districts,the follow ing psssage may be extracted from my second A dministration Report,for 1863: 0
.
v i
O ne great cause of w astage and destruction of the fores tsis what is called “Dhya
” cultivat ion. This “Dhya“ cultivat ion
is prac tically a substitu te fo r ploughing,and a dev ice for savingthe trouble o f that operation . I t is resorted to by hill people,w ho are averse to labor,and have l it tle or no agricultural capital .T he me thod is in this w ise : A piece of ground on a moderate slopeis selected,clothed w ith trees , brushw ood and grass ; the treesare cut down in N ovember,the brushw ood and grass are set fire toin May, the charred ground is left co v ered w ith ashes ; in thebeginning of June quantit ies of seed are placed at the upperend o f the slope ; the rains descending w ash, the seed over and
into the prepared ground ; no ploughing or any other operationis resorted to . There s prings up a plentiful’ crep, which hasto be w atched all day and night,t il l it is cu t . I fno t so w atched,it w ould be eaten u p by w ild animals . In this manner all the
pulses are raised . B esides this cul ture, there w ill be a few
fields around the homesteads,regularly ploughed, and grow ingsuperio r produc ts . T he pulses,how ever, form the s taple food
o f the h il l people in four distric tsfi“ and‘Mundla .
Seonee.in many parts of dis tricts adj acent to
Chmdwm ‘
them . T he population dependen t mainlyon Dhya cultivation may be a m illion
or more . U nfortunately the best ground for this pecul iarcul tivat ion is precisely t hat where the finest timber trees l iketo grow . I t may be hoped that by degrees these hill peoplew ill learn a be t ter mode o f cult ivation B u t to prohibit the
Dhya cul tivatio n,w ould be to drive th is w idelyr cattered pepulation to despair. Though rude and ignorant, they are not
destitute o f Spirit and endurance . They have clans and Chiefs ;they are alw ays predatory ; and they have on occasions shownthemselves capable o f armed resis tance I f by a prohibit ion of
their favorite culture they w ere reduced to any distress, theywou ld resort to plunder,and especial ly to cattle -stealing. And
it is to be remembered that the great pasturage whi ther the
cattle from the plain dis ti ic ts resort,is situated in their country .
And if they w ere no t in the country,the last state of the forestsw ou ld be w orse than the first . Fo r then the traces o f humanhabitation, set tlement, and clearance, w ould disappear. The
foresters and the w oodmen could no longer l ive in, or evenenter into, the w ilderness, rank and malarious w ith unclearedjungle,and overrun w ith w ild beas ts . These animals are alreadyso des tructive as to constitut e a real difficul ty . T he only checkupon their becomingmasters of the forests is the presence of the
hil l tribes .
”
There is much in the character of thes e tr ibes to attract
vii
B rit ish sympathies. Theyare honest and truth-tel l ing; theyare simple -minded ; though superstitious; they are yet ,
freefrom fanat icism ; they have great phy s ical endurance . Theircourage is remarkable : the instance is freshly remembered in
the Chindwara Dis trict,w here an E ngl ish o fficer was sav’
é‘
d
from‘ ins tant ' death in the grip of a pan ther by the bravery of
a G ond hunter : and st il l more recently, a w ounded offi cer on
the G odav eryw as res cued from the w ild beas ts by his nativehunter
”
.
In former days, the bane of all these tribe’
s has been the“
drinking of ardent sp irits, and even w ilful and del iberatedrunkenness. B u t of late years radical changes in the management of the excise have removed many temptat ions fromtheir w ay. And it is the concurrent tes timony of all pers on s,E uropean and N ative,mos t competent to judge,that a markedreform in the habi ts of thes e people has : been s e tting in of late .
While a know ledge o f these aborig inal tribes is thus s eento subserve so many practical uses , it w i ll n o t be w ithou t itss cientific and ethnological valu e . For it is the op inion o f the
bes t informed persons, that in their languages and rel ig ions,thes e peopl e have much in common w ith the w ild races of o therparts,both
‘
of the Indian peninsula and of the Asiatic cont inent;and that numerous po ints of interes ting comparison suggestthemselves .
Such, then,very briefly, are the tribes for the elucidation o f
whose characterMr .H is lop devoted somuch o f his heavily-taxedtime and thought. From the inevitably incomplete aridfragmentafy papers which he left, those which fol low havebeen
g
s‘
elected for publ ication in the order as be low
I . E ssay .
I I . V ocabulary .
III . Songs and descripti ve p reez’
e.
I V . Appendixes, cons ist ing of m iscel laneous memoranda.
To each paper have been appended such notes or other ex
planation as seemed to be requ ired.
The w ords in the G ondi, the Muas i, and o ther d ialects, are
written in the Roman character ; all thes e languages be ingdestitute of any w ritten character of thei r own. B u t it issupposed by some w ell able to judge, that the Oriental Devanagri character w ould afford mu ch better means of conveying the sounds of the w ords of these dialects as real ly pro
nounced by the p eople. This point may"7 deserve cons ideration,
as a miss ion to the Gonds has recently been commenced bythe Free Church of Scotland at Chindwara ; and as hereafters chools for secular instruct ion in Gondi may be establ ishedthere .
Though the preparation of thes e papers may be imperfect,s til l the labour of several gentlemen has been g iven to it,whose as s istance I '
have pleasure in acknow ledg ing. They are,
Mr . G . B arclay Superintendent of the Chief Comm is s ioner ’sOffice the R ev . Mr . B aba Pandurang {of the Free Churcho f Scotland M is s ion ) , and Syud Noor ( the M eer M oonsheeo f the Secre tariat
And though this work mus t neces sarily be al together inferiort o w hat it w ould have been had it been comple ted and broughtou t by its author hims elf, yet the publ ishing o f it, even in
this broken shape, s eems des irable, in just ice to the subj ect,and from regard to M r . His10p
’
s memory, —a memory w hichis rev ered and beloved by all who knew him ; is respected byall sc i ent ific persons interested in the practical advancemento f thes e Provinces ; and is cherished by the natives, for whosemoral and lasting w e lfare he laboured so long .
N A G P o R E
O ctober 1 866 . R . TEMPLE ,
PART L— Essar
Ta ts Essay,by M r. H islop, o n the abor iginal tribes of the
C entral Provinces w as no t left by its au thor in exactly the shapein which it is now presented . I t appears from the au tographmanuscript that he first composed an Essay on the aboriginaltribes o f the Nagpore country b efo re the incorporation of thatterritory in the present Central Pro v inces . Afterwards he en
larged his design so as to em b race the whole o f th ese Provinces ;and he obtain :d mo re spec ific info rmation regarding the sub
divis ions o f the G m il tribe in partic ular. t his induce 'l him to
amplify that po rt io n o f the es say w hich related to the G an ls,and
to include amonor the G en is proper tw o t ribes ( the Ma'l ias and
the K olams w h ich he had reckoned among the o ther aborigine s.For these, o r fo r some such reasons, he began to rew rite hisessay. B ut at the t ime o f his death,he had proceeded only so
far as the specification o f ten o u t o f the twelve subd ivisions of
the G onds. Thus there are two manuscripts— the firs t,being theoriginal,carried to its conclusion; the second,being the rew ritten,or revised essay,carried only a short way into the subject.
I t seemed, therefo re, desirable, e v en necessary,to make upone new essay o ut o f these two manuscripts ; following the re
w ri tten essay,so far as it go es, and taking the rest from the
originaly-prepared manuscript . O n examinat ion o fthe papers,I
have found that this adaptation is quite fea sible, and is the bes tmeans o f carrying o ut the intention o f the author to the u tmostthat is now possible . Thus, al though the essay which follow s
has something o fcompi latio n and re arrangement,ye t‘
it containsnoth ing that is ‘
no t to be fo und in o ne o r o ther o f M r. H is lop’
e
two manuscripts abo v e described ; and it comprises every th ingessent ial that is to be gathered fr om them.
T o the essay, as now publ ished, are appended as foot ne tesv arious annotations taken from Mr. H islp n
’
s manuscr ip t. Some
hesitation w as felt in ord e ring the publ icatio n o f t he se no tes .fo r they were incomple te at the t ime o f the author’s death ; itWas often very difficul t to decyphe r them and sometimes theycontain references to au thorit ies no t now ob tainable at Nagpo re,and,therefore,are no t alw ays capable of being verified . B ut sofar as verification has been pract icable,it has been made . Andthough the notes are no t by anymeans what they wou ld havebeen had they been. finished, s till they have been pu t into a
readable shape and,even w i th thei r unavoidabl e imperfe ctions,they may be u seful,and may,at least, give some idea of M r.
Hislop’
e minute and extensive research.
R . T .
E S SAY on the Hill Tr ibes of the Central P rov inces .
B s smns the general population o f the Central Provinces,cons isting o f a great preponderance of H indus and a small minorityo fMahomedans,there are various tribes residing in the hillyand jungly districts, of whom comparatively l it t le is know n .
Though among these there are div ersnies of dialect,and in one
instance a complete difference in language, ye t there are somefeatures wh ich are possessed by all in common.
Physical app earance— All are a l ittle below the averag e size
o f Europeans,and in complexion darker than the general i ty of
H indus. Their b odies are w ell preportioned,bu t their featuresare rather ugly. They have a roundish head,distended nostrils ,w ide mou th,thickish lips,straigh t black hair, and scanty beardand moustache . It has been supposed that some of the abori
gines of Central India have w ool ly hair ; bu t this is a mistake.Among the thousands that I have seen I have no t found one
w ith hair like a N egro . A. few indeed hav e cu rly locks,as a fewB ritons have : bu t I have no t me t w ith one inhabi tant o f thefores t who exhibited any marked resemblance to the A fric anrace. O n the contrary,bo th thei r hair and their features are
decidedly Mango lian .
Dr ess — All are scantily attired ;but what they want in clothing they make up fo r by the abundance o f their ornaments and
beads,of which they are passionately fond .
a
Clzam cter .—All are endow ed w ith. an av erage share o f intel
ligence and a more than ordina ry degree o f observat ion. Shyin their intercourse w ith s trangers , they are no t . w an ting
, in
courage,w hen there is an understood object to call it . forth.
Truthfu l in. their statements, faithfu l to their promises, and
ob servant of the rights of property among themselves , theynevertheless, do not scruple to plunder those tn whom. they are
under no obligation to -fidelity B u t the great blot on their moralcharac ter is the ir habitual intemperance . Bes ides the ir daily
po tationsg a large quant ity o f liquo r is . an es sent ia l element“ in.
their religous rites. N :o fest ival can. be held in the . for es t or
village in honour o f their de ities ;.no birth,marriage,or death canc
take place in their families,w ithou t an excessive indulgencein ardent spirits. Their. ac ts of. wo rship invariably end inintoxication.
2
L itera tur e — Among none of our jungle tribes can the slightestapproach to learning be said to exis t. All are dest itute of anyw ritten character of their own and,w i th the except ion of a veryfew individuals w ho have come in contact w ith H indus, theyare en tirely uneducated in any other language.Tillage.
— T he sys tem of cultivation,w hich all prefer, is migratory, like that of the ancient G ermans,and many forest tri besin A sia at the present day. Here it is called Dah i or Dahya,and is essentially the same with the pract ice o f the Torus, of theTerai,of the hill C acharis,the B odos, the Mikirs,the Kukis,theRajmahalis,the Kols,&c . O n the“T
estern G hats, near Sattara,it is known as Dale o r Kumari, and in the mountainous districtso f B urmah it goes by the name o f T oungya. In the ho t w ea
ther they select some spot on a plateau or declivi ty of a hill,onwhich they cu t dow n the brushw ood and lop off the boughs of
the larger trees,and place them in layers to dry. B efore the
beginning of the rains in June they set the‘
whole‘
on fire, and
spread the ashes over the cleared space . O n these, after theyhave been slightly mingled w ith the soil by the first show ers,they scatter a variety of inferior grains, chiefly millet, alongw ith one or two species o f cucurbitaceae. In sow ing the castoroi l plant, and different k inds of pu lse, they u se a tool in someplaces somewhat resembling a hoe. T he crops are no t veryproduct ive the first season ; bu t the follow ing year,w ithout anyfu rther sow ing,they are more abundant. The third year theland is comparatively unremunerative,yielding little but grass ;bu t the houses that had been erected at the place are stillallow ed to stand there until the cultivators have burnt down thejungle on another spot, when they remove th ither w ith theirfamilies and property. They do no t return to an old piece of
ground till after the lapse of about 1 2 years,when they find‘
it
again covered w ith jungle, and requ iring the same process of
burning and cu ltivation as before . This rude system of farmingis doubtless unfavourable to the grow th of valuable timber. I t
is only on superior soil that Teak thrives, and, of course, theseare the very soils chosen for Dahi t illage.
” A s a necessary con
sequence,Teak falls a sacrifice. This tree, as Captain F . G .
S tuart,late Superintendent of Nagpore Forests,suggests,yieldsa large amount of ash,and our jungle cultivators are speciallyanxious to secure it for manur ing their temporary fields ; or,asthey themselves . allege, its large, broad leaves, catching and
re taining the rain, cause a heavy drip, wh ich Washes ou t the
grain- and hence they rest not t ill it is either cu t down or
deprived of its crown and branches . From such mo tives many
parts of the country have been stripped of the finest forest
4
Moghul geographers seem t o have included w ith the G onds o fN agpore the Kols on their eas t frontier,and to have been ignorant o f the relationship between them and the inhabitants o f
Bustar . In the nor th,G onds are met with about Saugor and nearthe sou rce o f the H asdo on the eas t, they cross that r iver intoSarguja,where
'
they border on the Kols, and are found w ithK ondsand Uriyas in N owagudda,K areal,and Kharond or Kalahandi in thes outh,they fo rm the mass of the popu lation ofB ustar and a portion o f the inhabitants o f Jeypur ( in the Mad rasPresidency), while they occupy the hills along the left bank ofthe G odav ery,about N irmu l and on the w est,they are intermingled w ith the
'
H indus ofB erar for 30miles from the right bankof
‘
the Wurdah, and, along the K'
firs,extend along the hillsboth north and south o f the N arbadda to the meridian of
Hindia,wher e -they give place'
to the B hils -
and Nahals .
In such a large extent o f country,as might be expect ed,theyare divided into various branches,and dis tinguished by specificnames . T he classificat ion adopted by themse l v es is into . twe lveand a half castes or classes,in imitat ion o f the H indus. These areRaj iG ond, ltaghuwal,Dadav e, K atulya, Padal ,Dholi,t yal,Tho tyal,K o ilabhu tal,K oikopal,K olétm,Madyal,and an inferiorsort of Padal as the half cas te . T he firs t 'four,w ith the addition,according to some o f the Kol‘am, are comprehended under thename ofKoitor—e the,G Qnd,pa r aggrellence. T his term,in its radicalform o fKoi,occurs o‘fer a wide being the name,given to
the M erla-sacrificing aborigines of Orissa and to the jungle tribessk irting the east bank of the G odav ery, from the apex of the
delta as far u p nearly as the mouth of the . Indrawati. I ts meaning is ev idently as sociated w ith,
the idea of a hill; the Persianname ofWhich§ ,q L,approaches it mo re closely than ev en, the
goo,Kandd, Iu sed scarcely, therefore,add that it has nocongestionwith the, interrogative K ai
. as some have supposed.
n by that name resent ,of b elonging t o anysacred thread.
o ffl the
ambition, is to them .
The Raj,G ouda are s o, called b ecau se t hey hav e furnished,
from themnumbersmost Q1: t he families that; have attained to .
royal power . TheyareWidely spread ov er the plains and mounmine of: the p rov ince o f?N agpore,and are found in B erar a nd
5
the jungles south of the Wurdah, as w ell as those nor thof the N arbudda . T he Raghuwal and Dadav e are more limitedin their range, being confined chiefly to the district o f
Chindw a'
ra. These three classes generally devote themselvesto agriculture . They eat w ith each other, but do no t intermarry. The K atu lya, though no t a very numerous class in
regard to individuals, is extens ively scat tered . I t unc ludes
all those who, originally belonging to one or other of the
preceding Koitor classes, have begun to conform to the H indureligion and to ape H indu manne rs . Pro fi ss in fr to be K sha
triyas, they have invested themsel v es w i th a sacred thread,and make great eflb rts to have their claim allow ed, by contracting marriage w ith needy Rajpoot brides . With scrupulousexact itude,they perform the prescribed ablutions of their adopted faith,and carry their passion for purification so far as to
have their faggots duly sprinkled w ith w ater before they are
u sed for cook ing. At the t ime of dinner,if a stranger or a,crow
come near them, the whole food is ‘
thrown aw ay as polu ted .
These practices, which o ther K oitors regard w ith profoundcontempt,are gaining ground among the rich . I t w as only one
or tw o generations ago that the Zem indar, or petty Raja of
K heiragad,—the present bearer of which t i tle still carries in his
features unmistakeab‘ le trades of his G ond origin,—~w as receivedwithin the pale of H induism ;and simi lar t ransformations,thoughat a more distant date, seem to have been undergone by the
royal dynasties of Enstar, Mundla, and various smaller principalities. This tendency to claim connection w ith Rajpoots isnot peculiar to ambit iou s G onds : it prevails among the B h ilsof Malw a,and is no t unknown to the w andering K eikadis of
the Dakhan,,bo th of whom boast of being Yadaw as,or Powars,or some other equally high born section of the Kshatriyas . O n
the other hand, there w as a temptation in the days of Au rangzib,when Mahomedanism w as rampant,to adopt that religion. In
comparison w ith the B hils,how ever,flaw o f the G onds actuallymade the change . The only instance that has come to myknow ledge is that of B akht B uland, the Rajah ofDewagad,w howas c onverted to Islam when on a visit to A urangzib at DelbSt ill his descendants, though adhering to this change of creed,have not ceased to marry into G ond fam i lies ; and hence the pre~sent representative of that regal house is no t only acknow ledgedby the who le race abou t Nagpore as their head and judge, bu tis physically regarded a pure Raj G ouda
T he’
Padal, also named Pathadi, Par’
dhan, and Desai,' is
‘
atnumerous class found in the same ‘ localities as the Raj
"G onds,
t o whom’
its'
ine’
mbers act as religious counsellors
6
They are,in fact,the bhats of the upper classes, — repeating theirgenealogies and the exploits of their ancestors, explaining theirreligious system,and assisting at festivals, on which occasionsthey play on tw o sorts of stringed instruments, named Kingriand Jantur (yantra) . For their servic es they rece ive presentsof
bcow s or bullocks, cloth, food, and money. The birth or
death either of a cat or dog in their fami ly defiles them ; andfrom this uncleanness they cannot be free t ill they have shavedoff their moustache, purchased new household vessels, andregaled their caste fellows w i th a plentiful al lowance of arrack .
These have assumed the name of Raj Pardhans, to distinguishthemselves from a subdivision of the same class, which is
degraded to the rank o f a half-caste ; consisting of those who inthe vicinity o f Nagpore Speak Marath i,play on w ind instrumentsof brass,and sp in cotton-thread,like the outcast H indus .
The Dholis are so styled from the kind of drum ( dhola ) wh ichthey are in the habi t of beating. They also play on a kind of
w ooden clarionet,named Surnai and at marriages, where theyexercise their musical pow ers, they prompt the w omen whenthey hesitate in their songs . The N agarchis are a subdivisionof this class, whose instrument is the kettle-drum ( nakara ) .These are also known by the name of Chherkya in the morejungly districts ,where they are employed as goatherds . The
w ives of both Dholis and Nagarchis ac t the part of accoucheursin H indu as w el l as G ond families.
The t yal follow tw o occupati that of bards, as theirname implies,and that of fow lers . a re the tw o classes to benext mentioned,they lead a wandering life ; and in the vi llageswhich they pass through, they sing from house to house the
praises of their heroes, dancing w ith castanets in their hands,bells at their ankles, and long feathers o f jungle b irds in theirturbans. They sell l ive quails,the sk ins of a Species of Buceros,named Dhanchidiya,which are used for mak ing caps, and for
hanging up in hou ses in order to secure w ealth ( dhan) and goodluck,and the thigh bones of the same bird,which fastened aroundthe w aists of ch ildren, are deemed an infallible preservativeagainst the assaults of devils and other such calamities . Theirw ives tattoo the arms of H indu w omen. O f this class thereis a subdivis ion, who are called Mana t yal . Laying claimto unusual sanct ity, they refu se to eat w ith any one— G ond,R ajpoot,or even B rahmin and devote themselves to the manufacture of rings and bells,which are in request among their ownrace,and even L ingas and Nandis,which they sell to all ranksof the H indu community. Their w ives are distingu ished by
7
w earing the cloth of the upper part of the body over themright shoulder,whereas those of the common t yal,and of all
the o ther G onds,w ear it on their left.
The Tho tyal, z'
. e. the maimed, or inferior class, are alsoknown by the more honorable appellat ion of Pendabarya, o r
m instrels of G od . Their songs are in honor of their deities ;bu t the divinity whose service they find most profitable is theG oddess of smal lp ox— the pow er ofMatabeing equally dreadedby H indus and G onds . Hence they are frequently cal ledMatyal,though among H indus they w ish rather to be styledThakurs . They may be seen trav ell ing abou t w i th a kawadover their shou lder, from one end of w h ich is suspended a
bambu box, containing an image of their favourite goddess,andfrom the other a basket, designed to be the receptacle o f grainand o ther gifts . A tambourine ( daph ) is their usual mus icalinstrument . To their sacred occupat ion they add the trade of
basket-making ; while their w oman acquire a knowledge of
simples,and pract ise the art of physio in rural districts .
The K oilabhu tal are the th ird class of itinerants. Their oc
cupation, how ever, is neither of a rehgiou s nor secular k ind,bu t consists in making a profit of vice. Their w omen are dancing girls, in both senses of the w ord. They follow theirprofession chiefly among the H indu s,it being reckoned disreputable by the people of their own race . The Bhima, no t in
cluded in our list,are found in the north-east o f the B undaraDistrict . Though they resemble the K oilabhutal in their habitof dancing in the villages through which they pass, they are
believed to abstain from their open depravity.
U nlike the three preceding,the K oikopal are a settled class,devoted ent irely to the employment of cow -keep ing— Kopalbeing the G ondi corruption of G opal . They have the ep ithetof K oi , i. e. G ondi, prefixed to distingu ish them from otherAhirs living in the prov ince of N agpore, of w hom three sub
divis ions,the Kanojiya G walwanshi, and Malha, speak zH indi,whi le the Dudh G ow ars use Marathi .
O f the remaining tw o classes on the l ist, v iz . the Madyasand K olams . some account shal l now be given.
The name o f the Madya subdivision of G onds* seems to bederived from Mara,the G ondi term for a tree. In B ustar theyare also called Jhorias,probably from Jhodi,a brook . E very
* Inhabitant s of Soonehoor Talook generallyG onds ,'
th a few Holiers . Most of theQonds,i. e. Medias,subsist on roots and flow er of Mho dried in sun, of which latter
8
where they are w ilder than the G onds commonly so called ;bu t on the B eila Dila H i lls, which r un south-east paralle l tothe G odav ery, and w here they are known by the name o fMadians,they are perfectly savage.
O n the east of Chanda District the men w ear no coveringfor their head or for the upper part of their bodies, and con
stantlygo about w ith a bat tleaxe in their hands . The w omendeck themselves w ith 30or 40 s trings of beads, to which someadd a neck lace of pendant bel ls . Bangles o t zinc adorn theirw r ists, and a chain of the same metal is suspended from thehair,and attached to a large boss stuck in the ear . B ut thegreatest peculiarity connected w ith their costume,is the practice,which prevails in the more remote districts,o f the w omen w earing no clothes at all ; instead of which they fasten, w ith a s tringpassing round their w aists,a bunch o f leafy tw igs to cover thenibefore and behind . The R ev . M r . De Rodt says that thispractice w as repor ted to exist south of the K 61 countryd
’
whichhe v isi ted about 1 840or 184 1 . His allus ion may refer to t ne
Juangas, who fel l under the personal notice o f M r . Sami e l ’
in 1854 . This custom w as observed by Mr . Samu ells t o exi s talso in Orissa. In his notes on them in the B engal As iaticJo urnal,V olume XXV ,page 295,M r . Samuells states the somewhat interesting fact,that the prac tice is traced up, to the com
mand c f one of their ' deit ies when reproving’
the w omen for
the ir pride . A similar cus tom is said to obtain among theC henchawas that inhabit the jungles betw een the Madians and
Masu lipatam and it did exist till about 30years ago among theH e liers in the vicinity ofMangalur.
In their villages bothies for bachelors are universal . Everywhere they are extremely shy in their intercourse w i th stangers :
bu t on the Beila Dila H ills they flee at the approach of
anynat ive no t of their own tribe . Their tribute to the Rajaof Rustar,which is paid in k ind,is collected once a year by an
officer who beats a tom-tom outside the village,and forthw ithhides himself,whereupon the inhabitants bring ou t whatever
eat 4 seers for ev ery seer of rice . All armed w ith bows and arrow s, and good marksmenGonds and Holiers liv e long abou t Soonchoor . E v en when old they cu t wood, make mat s,and bu ild hou ses — Take.
A thief is beaten ou t , according t o Tuke . The Gonds ar e honest among them selv efl see
Macpherson). Dr. Walker’s fu git iv es robbed.
In B ugs. and Chikhilnada Talook chiefly Gonds .
Dr. Walker’s men said : N ear Bu ster t own dress of Gond s simply a bit of cloth 1s cubit s ‘
long,and 7 or 8 inches broad,called in Hidust ani a. langot i their heads and b odms barefood— rice,and dal of green gram. C oarse cloth brou ght by Mus su lman merchants fromMadras and N agpore to Mar unkah,where blind Bhopal Deo liv ed .
1‘ The B hils hav e bows with bambu st ring,like Medias — Tod,p . 34.
9
they have to gi ve,and depos it it on a nappointe d spot.
R eligz'
on.—They have one great festival in the jungles,at the
beginning of the monsoon, before they sow their cre ps, fo r
w hich a pries t ( Sendi Manj i) go es round and co llec ts c ontribu tions . The ceremony consists in sett ing up stones in a row,
to represent their gods, daubing them w ith V ermilion, and
presen ting the accustomed offerings . O n gathering in theirc rops,they have a dayo f rejoicing in their respective abodes .
B ir th — The separatio n of a mother lasts for a month,duringw hich no one touches he r,and unless there are grown-u p daughters, she is obliged t o cook for herself.Marriage
— Ou the east of Chanda D is trict the ch ief partof the nupt ial ceremonies is confined to one day. In the morning,about 7,a bow er having been erected near the bridegro om’
s
h ouse, the tw o young people are led into it and made to s tandu p together,w hen a vessel o f w ater is dashed upon thei r headsfrom above. They then pu t on dry clo thes ,and sit dow n in the‘
m ids t of their friehds,w ho lay on their heads some grains of
r ice . The marriage is completed by an exhortation from the
parents . O n the eas t o f Arpeili Zemindary, w h ich is farthersou th, the ceremony commences in the morning by setting u pat the door of the cow -house a row of carefully washed stones,w i th one in the middle, to represent the
“
great go d .
”Round
all a thread is passed,and each is honoured w ith a black mark,made w ith a m ix ture o f charcoal and o il. A brass drinkingvessel is placed in front of the ch ief de ity, into w hich eachmarried w oman drops'
four cow ries,w hich become the property of
the principal man o f the vil lage . T hey then present the ir o fferings, burn incense,and spr inkle w ater three t imes before t heirgods, w hereupon they re tire to the h o use fo r refreshments .
A t noon the nuptials are solemnized,commencing w i th the pouring o f Water o n the heads of the young people as before . Theirclothes being changed,and the b ridegroom having received fromt he head man a dagger,which he is to he ld d ur ing the
“ remaind er o f the ceremony,he and his partner are both seated a t the
d oo r w ith the c o rners o f their garments kno tted together ; anda w hi te mark having been applied to the fo rehead of e ach,w ater in w hich safl ron and lime ha v e been mix ed,so as to forma red liquid,is carried round them thrice,as an honorary gift,and thrown aw ay .
‘
T he e lde r people are seated ne ar,and musicand dancing a re kept up for tw o or three hours among the u n
married youth of bo th sexes . I n the evening, at the sound ofthe tom-tom, the people again assemble, and ‘
s imilar rites are“
repea ted,as also on three occasions t he follow ing day. With
10
the customs in the w ildest parts o f the country I am not
acquainted.
Dea th — When a Mediadies, the relati v es k ill and offer before his corpse a fow l . They then place the body on a bambumat,and four young men l ift it on their shoulders. A ll theneighbours,cal ling to mind their own deceased fathers,pour o ut,on the ground,a handful of rice in their honor ; then turning to
the corpse, they pu t a lit tle on it, remarking that the recentlydeparted had now become a god, and adjure him, if death hadcome by G od ’
s w il l to accuse no one,bu t if it had been causedby sorcery to point o u t the guilty party . Sometimes, it is said,there is such a pressure exerted on the shoulders o f the bearers,that they are pushed f orward and guided to a particular house.T he inmate is no t seized at once ; bu t if three t imes the
c o rpse, a fter being taken some distance back, re turns in the
same directio n,and indicates the same individual, he is appre
hended and expelled from the village. Frequently, also, hishouse shares the same fate . T he body is then carr ied to a tree,to which it is t ied upright and burned amid the w ailing o f the
Spectato rs . Funeral r i tes are per formed a year or eighteenmonths after the cremation,when a fl ag is t ied to the tree w hereit took p lace . After sacrificing a fow l the friends return and
eat, drink . and dance at the expense o f the deceased man’
s
fam ily f or one o r more days,according to their abil i ty. T he
dancmg is performed by men and w omen in oppo site row s,al ternately approaching to,and receding from,each o ther . O n o ccas ion o f these funeral fest ivit ies it is reckoned no sin for a v irgin to
be guil ty of fornicat ion, though such conduct is strictly fo rbidden at other t imes ; and unfai thfulness in a w ife is punished bythe husband w ith death .
Names o f men : B ursu,K u tmanj i,Mahingu, New ara, Tiya,and We
‘t rlu . Women : Ledi,Mabingi, Masi,Semi,and Tomi .
T he K olams extend all along the Kandi Kondaor Pindi H ills,on the south of the Wu rda R iver, and along the table-lands tretching east and north of Manikgad, and thence sou th to
Dantanpalli,running parallel to the w estern bank of the Pranhita.
T he K o lams and the common G onds do not intermarry, bu tthey are present at each others nuptials,and eat from each othershands. Their dress is similar ; bu t the Kolam w omen w earfew er ornaments,being generally content w ith a few black beadsof glass round their neck . Among their deities,wh ich are the
usual objects of G ond adoration, B himsen is chiefly honoured .
In the celebration of their marriages they fo llow a custom,which
31 2
F ood —« They make two meals a day: their breakfast ,Cons is ting g ener al ly o f g rue l,and their s upper o f s ome boiled c oars e
g ra in,w i th pu ls e and v e getables . Occas ional ly this ro u tine isvaried ,when the chas e or a r eligious fes ti val has pro v ided themw ith the flesh of d ear, hog, go at, or fow lsfi
‘
Socia l pos ition- In the plains, w here they are mingled w ith
Hindus, the G onds take rank above Mahars and other outcas ts .
In this honor they are partly indebted to the po li tical influencewhich s ome o f their race have retained up to the pres ent day.
Indignity cannot be heaped on thos e w hos e k indred are knownto be at no great dis tance the owners o f property on w hicheven respec table H indus are content to B ut it mus the confes s ed that the G onds have acqu i red the ir honorablepos ition. in a cons ide rable degree, by yie lding to the prejudiceso f the Hindus . Tho ugh their own princip les admit o f the
s laughter of cow s , ye t, in deference t o the feel ings o f the irmore power fu l neighbours , they abs tain from the p ractice, and,if I m is take no t, do no t partake o f the carr ion, w hich Mahars
are ready to de v ou r . In many cas es the w ish t o s tand w e llw ith the fo ll owers o f the dominant fai th has led them in a
great. measure to emb race it and s urr ender their own ; and
some o f their Thakars o r Zemindars, o r,as they are s ome timescal led,Rafias , hav e u s ed their u tmos t e ndeav ours to be recognis ed as Ks hatryas , by contrac t ing marriages W ith needy Raipu t br ides -gt The family a t K heiragad has s ucceeded in thisat tempt O n the o ther hand, there w as a temptat ion in the
days o f Au ran‘
gz ib, w hen Mahomedanism w as rampant, toado pt that rel igion : and we find that this change was actual lymade by B akht xB uland,t he ances to r o f the R aj a o f Dewaga d .
Stil l the pres ent rep res entati v e o f that regal hous e, thoughadhering t o the change o f creed, has no t ceased to marry intoG ond families— and h enc e is acknow ledged by the whole raceahou t Nagpo r e as thei r head andy
’
udge. and is,p hys ic ally,a pureRaj G ond . In thei r hil l re treats the G onds a re left to thei r owns tandard o f re spec tabil i ty; bu t when they hav e there ano t her
A t N agpore w omen at 95, a m e at millet ,b read, and d id. Men eat at up on wh en r eleas edfrom w ork , and su p at 9; p m . on v egetables . Husband and w ife don’
t dine t ogether.At Kamptee same hou rs, only early part gruel,made of rice flour b oiled in much wat er. At
night ‘
they eat rice and pu lse .
at I na s a tr anc s w After death o f father family r emain t ogether,or if the sons Wish to
separat e they div ide th e property equally. They may giv e their s is ters s ome o nnamexrt s or
cloth,b ut -t he lat ter hav e n o -share.23: The tendency of the Gond Rajas t o claim c onne ction w ith Rajput s .
p .34 ; and te v en K o oroose— rDr . l fou r . In Aur angziib’
s t ime we find t hese Gond P rincesin M andala,Deoghu r,and Q handa ; and,according t o K atee Khan,the tr ibu te in c ash,Jewels,and elephants taken from t he t wo latter was v eryigrea t ,
—Jenkiu ,p . 4 1 .
13
j ungle race l iving among them,as on the range of hil ls northo f Ellichpo or, they general ly are the p a téls, or head men of
their v illages ;and their neighbours occupy an inferior pos ition .
Houses and V zllages .
* — When res iding in the m idst o f a
H indu populat ion, the G onds inhabit mud hous es, l ike the inferior sort common in the Dakhan . B u t in the jungles thehous es are of Wattle and daub,w ith thatched roofs . T he internalarrangements are of the s implest k ind, compris ing tw o apartments,s eparated from each other by a row o f tal l baske ts, inw hich they s tore u p the ir grain . Adjoining the hous e is a
shed for buffaloes ; and both hous e and shed are pr otectedfrom w ild beas ts by a bambu fence . T he vil lages are s i tuatedon table-lands, or on s l ight el evat ions above the generall evel of the country, and they s eldom number more than 10
hous es,and more frequently contain only 3or B ut,how eversmall the vi llage may be, one house in it is sure to be the abodeof a distiller of arrack .
O ccupa tions— In the immed iate vicinity of the city of N ag
pore,and of all Brit ish s tat ions throughout the province, theG onds hav e entered into the s erv ice of Europeans as g rasscutters . In rural districts they are employed as as s is tants infarm labor by H indu culti vators, or sometimes plough a few
fields for thems e l v es in the u sual w ay. I n the jungl es, as w e
have s een,they dispens e w ith the plough,and adopt the nomadicsys tem of ti l lage . I n places of mixed population, some of
their w omen add to the ir husband ’
s gains by tattooing the
forehead and arms of H indu females . In the ir own w ilds themen increas e the means of the ir family’
s subs is tence by hunting, in w h ich their chief rel iance is on thei r matchlocks,though in some of the more remote parts they k il l the ir gamew ith arrows,which mos t shoot in the common mode,but o thersin a s itting pos ture,their feet bending the bow , and both handspul l ing the s tring . When they go out on such expeditions,and frequently at o ther times , t hey carry a smal l axe and knifefor lopping off the branches that might obs truct the ir path.
Religion— Though the G ond pantheon includes somewhere
K hond hou ses are of boards plastered inside thatched ; in two rows — Calcu ttaRwiew,V ol . V .,p . 46 . At Hu t ta, in the Bundara Dist rict, the G ond houses are of bambutatt i,daubed with mu d thatched with v eranda ; 2 doors, one front and the other behindno windows div ided by tat t i or by basket s of grain— larger half w ith fl oor,in which theycook and eat ; other dark, in which they keep goods, v essels, &c . Around s ingle hous esis a compound. B ut in the jungle houses are in two row w ith compound beh ind. Theykeep cows, sows, bu ffaloes, fowls,but no horses,excep those who are rich . Gows are
yoked to the plough,where the plough is u sed .0
1 4
abou t fifteen gods,yet I have never obtained from one individualthe names o f mo re than seven deities . T hese were BaduDew a ( the great god l, w ho in o ther districts is called B udhalPen ( the old god ),Matiya ( devil o r w hirlw ind ),Sale,G angara( little bells ), o r more properly G agara, Palo, G adawa, andK ham ; o r, as enumerated by ano ther, B adii, Matiya, Salei,G angaro Mal,Palo, Chaw ar,and K ank. T he above lists w erefurnished to me byw orshippers o f seven gods near the Mahadeva Hills. To the “
great”
god, common to all the sec ts,the
adherents o f these deities join K uriyaand K atharpar . B esidesthese, 1 have heard at various times the names of K odo Pen,Pharsi Pen, and Bangaram ; and the R ev . J. Phillips, whov isited the G onds at Amarkantak, mentions Hardal as the
principal object of veneration there .
*
What are the characters o r offices of these deities, whose
very names are so imperfectly known by their w orshippers,itis vain to inquire from any N ative au thority .
.
I have been lefttherefore merely to conjec tu re, and w ould w ish my remarkson the subject to be received simply as sugges tions . I t ap
pears to me that Budhal Pen is the same as B u raPen,Tthechief god among the K honds . Perhaps Hardal may be the
synonym near the sou rce o f the N arbadda. Matiyai I w ould
suppo se is a name for the god of small-pox,w ho is also one of
the K hond divinities, and may be identical w ith B angaram,
afterw ards to be mentioned . Sale may probably be the god
w ho presides over cattle-pens ( Salo ) . K u riya’
. maydenote the
deity who takes care of the tribe ( K fil), o r,as it is frequentlymispronounced, ( K fir) . K attarpar may co rrespond w ith the
K atti Pen of the K honds, i. e. the god o f ravines . K odo
Pen is considered by the R ev . J . G . Driberg,in his“ Repor t
on the N arbadda Mission,1 849, to preside over a village,and
Jungco (war or Wild ). Royata is also giv en, t o whom they pray on eighth day of
the B u sara ; make a circle of a pu st i,and in midd le fill j aggery, and make with their hand;
rays like the Sun ’
s,and so make a half moon w ith B humu k, and fry both in oil.
1“ Sun god and Moon god —Ca lcu tta Rev iew, V ol. V ., p. 55 . The B humuk of the
Dew alwada said his god s w ere B himsen and Matad ewa, who,he said,was same as Sun .
B o orapennee, god of light , Supreme in other districts . B ellapennee, Sun god— Chu rch
M ission I nteléigencer .
According t o Lieu t . Hill, the great sacrifices among Khonds take place at fu ll moon of
Pooshum and Maghum .
At Dali3times : on 8th of B u sara,when new rice comes ; 9th of Cheitum,when Mbowa.flowers in Jhiet,before rice s owing.
Among Khonds,to Pattooripennee a hog is sacrificed before sowing.
B oorapennee among dit to is worshipped at rice harv est .
Hill god (Soropennee),i. e. Durgudeo .—0a lcu tta Rev iew,V ol . V .,p . 57.
B urs. Pen is wors hipped once a year,at rice harv est the w orship lasts 5 days : a hogsacrificed .
fMatiya is not known by the thr ee G ond w omen belonging to Nagpore whom I qu est ioned, bu t is considered by Pahad Singh and G adi B awaji t o mean a de v il. I t is the
name giv en t o a whirlw ind,against which Hindu s lift u p their shoe and u tter threatenings .
w ould thus be the counterpart o f the N adzu* Pen of the
K honds . B u t mayit no t signify rather the god who is believed
to bless crops of grain, of which K odo ( paspa lum frumenta:ceum ) among G onds is one
of the chief? The name of Pharsr
Pen,who is represented bya small iron spear-head,may possiblybe formed from B archi, which in Hindi denotes a spear,on
which hypo thesis this deity w ou ld be the equivalent of the
Khond L ohaTPen,the iron god,or god of w ar .
In the south of B undara Distric t the traveller frequentlymeets w ith squared pieces of w ood, each w ith a rude figure
carved in front, set up somewhat close to each o ther. T hese
represent Rangeram B ungarai B ai, o r Devi, w ho is said to
have one sister and fiv e bro thers— the sister being styled Dan
teshwari a name of Kali,and four ou t o f the fiv e bro thers beingknown as G antaram, Champaram and Naikaram,and Po tlinga.
These are all deemed to possess the power o f sending diseaseand death . upon men, and under these or different names seem
to be generally feared in the region east of N agpore City. I
find the name of B ungara to occur among the K ols of Chybasa,
where he is regarded as the god of fe v er,and is associated withG ohem,
Chondu,N egra,and Dichali,who are considered,respectiv ely, the gods of cholera,the itch,indigestion,and death. I t
has always appeared to me a ques tion deserving more at tention
than it has yet received, how far the deities w ho preside overdisease,o r are held to be malevolent,are to be looked on as belonging to the Hindu s or aborigines . Kali in her terrible aspect iscer tainly much more Wo rshipped in G ondwana and the foresttracts to the east and sou th of it,than in any o ther part of India .
As the goddess of small-pox she has at tribu ted to her the cha
racterist ics of variou s aboriginal deities,and it is w orthy of re
mark, that the par ties who condu ct the Wo rship at her shrines,even on behalf of Hindu s, may be either G onds, fishermen,ormembers of certain Other low castes. The sacrifices, too,inwhich she delights would w ell agree with the hypothesis ofthe aboriginal derivation of the main featu res of her charac ter .
A t Chanda and Lanji in the province of N agpore, there are
temples dedicated to her honour, in which human victims havebeen offered almo st w ithin the memory of the present genera
In worshipping Pidzu Pen and B ura Pen Khonds call on B ura'
and Tari and the
other gods .
’l‘ Loha Pen, a piece of iron or an iron weapon is buried ; fowl, rice,and arrack are
ofi'
ered in grov e. V illage god,N udzu Pen. B oratin K 0 ( Tickell,p . 800) are spirits of the
forefathers of a new lymarried womanw worshipped on the road,inv oked in sickness .
I B ungara,or ram, maybe a deity named tr om Sontai and Ho,—generic word for god .
V . 1 2 . There is a goddess‘
named Pangam - See Tickell,IX .,,p .p. 799, 800. Bhungara~a t ribe among the Waralis.
1 6
ion. The victim was taken to the temple after sunset andshu t up w ithin its dismal w alls. In the morning, when thedoor was Opened,he w as found dead,much to the glory of the
great goddess,who had shown her power by coming during thenight and sucking his blood . N o doubt there must have beensome of her servants hid in the fane,whose business it w as to
prepare for her the horrid banquet. At Dantewada in Enstar,situated abou t 60miles sou th-west o f Jagdalpur,near the junction of the Sankani and Dankeni, tribu taries of the Indraw atiin Enstar,there is a famous shrine o f Kali,under the name o f
7K Danteshwari. Here many a human head has been presented
on her altar . Abou t 30years ago,it is said that upw ards of 25
full-grow n men w ere immolated on a single o ccasion by a late
Raja o f B ustar . Since then numerous complaints have reachedthe au thorities at N agpore of the prac tice having been continued,though it is to be hoped that, w ith the annexation o f the
country,it has entirely and for ever ceased . T he same bloodyrite in the w orship of Kali,as w e learn from Majo r MacPherson,prevailed among the immediate predecessors o f the present hillR ajas of Orissa,including those of B oad,G umsur,&c .
*
Whether B himajLwho byHindu s is esteemed one of their
greatest heroes,is to be regarded as borrowed from that nation,or lent to them,it is difficult to say. O ne thing is certain, that,under the name of Bhim Pen, or B himsen, his w orship is
spread over all par ts of the country,from B erar to the ex tremeeast of B ustar, and that no t merely among the Hinduizedaborigines,who have begun to honour K handoba,Hanuman,G unpati,&c .,but among the rudest and most savage of the tribe .
H e is generally adored under the form of an unshapely stone
covered with vermilion, or o f tw o pieces of w ood standingfrom 3to 4« feet in length above the ground, like those set upin connection with B angaram
’
s worship.B ut,in addition to the deities generally acknowledged, there
are many o thers who receive reverence in par ticular local
Regarding Manko, compare Indian Rev iew ; where“
it is said that in Jeypnr there isManiksoro— god of war ;bu t afterward s it is remarked that Hindu chiefs before any great
enterpris e u sed to propitiate goddess Maniksoro .
Tooahmool are Meria-sacrificing G onds .The Sontal Marung B ura and his elder brother Maniko maybe our B udhal,or B oyeta
17
itie s . I t is the cu stom o f the G onds to propitiate,for at least one
year,the spirits o f their depar ted friends,even though theyhav ebeen men of no no te. B u t when an individual has been in anyw aydist inguished,
— if, fo r example,.he has founded a village, or
been its headman o r pries t,— then he is treated as a god for years,
o r it may be generations,and a small shrine o f earth ( Thépana,o r,more properly, is erected to his memo ry,at whichsacrifices are annu ally o ffered .
I t has been stated that the G onds have no ido ls . I t is truethey have no images in their dw ellings,but at the scene o f theirreligiou s ceremonies in the jungle there are for the mo st partsome objects set up, either iron rods, stones,pieces o f w ood, o r
little knobs of mud, to represent their deities . Among these,when there is a number together, the representation of the“great god
"u sually occupies the chief plape .
Though one of their deities is styled the “great g
‘
od,”
yet, if
I may judge o f the w ho le race by w hat I heard in one of their’
dis tric ts,they ho ld that this chief'
of their divinities is to be
distinguished from the Invisible Creator and Preserver of the"
World,o f whom myinformant stated they had a distinct conception,and to w hom,in imitation of the Hindu agricultural po
'
o
pu lation,they give the name of B hagawan . Ac cording to ' this’
v iew their “
great god is only the firs t of their inferior god'
s,
Who are all looked on as a sort of media of communication inv arious departments betw een G od and man, though,as is the.
"
case in every fo rm of polytheism, the near, or visible inferior;receives more attention than the unseen Supreme .
Worship .-T he Creator,as I w as to ld bya G ond in the neigh
bourhood of the Mahadeva Hills,is o ccasionally adored in their
hou ses by offering prayers, and by bu rning sugar ( gul ) and'
clarified bu tter in the fire.
Thep ublic w orship of these forest tribes seems to be con
nec ted w ith their crops. In places,where r icc is produ ced,thereare three great days,when they leave their villages and proceedto . w o rship under the shade o f a Saj or Ein trec ( Pen tap terqt ' rru entosa j r - l st, the day when rice begins to be sew n ; fi nd,w hen the new rice is ready ; and 3rd, w hen the Mhowa treecomes into flow er . T he great festivals among the B odos, ofw hich there are four,appear,in like manner, to be associatedw ith their crOps .
In the w ilder villages, near the Mahadeva Hills, K odo Pen,as w e learn from Mr . Driberg, is w orshiped at a small heap ofs tones by every new c omer, through the oldes t resident,w ithfow ls,eggs,grain, and a
ttfew copper co‘insAwhich become the-f
18
property of the ofiiciating pries t . B himsen, who is there re
garded as the god of rain, has a fes tival o f fou r o r fiv e days ’
du ration held inhis honou r at the end o f the monso o n, w hen
tw o . poles abo u t 20feet high,and 5 feet apar t, are set u p w ith
a rope attached to the top,bymeans o f Whl t th the boys o f the
village climb up and then slide do wn the mo le . The same. o tte r
ings are . presented to this: god as to K odo Pen, w ith the exception of the money.
Cer emonies connected with B z'
rt/zs .— A w oman remains apart
for thirteen days after her delivery. O n the fifth day afte r the :
o ccu rrence of a bir th, the female» neighbou rs are feas ted : o n the
twelth the male friends are similarly enter tained : and o n the
thir teenth the purific ation is ended by giv ing a dinner t o bo th
parties . T he child is named a month o r tw o laterfi‘
Mar riage— The e
'
xpediency. o f a marriage is occasionally .
determined byomens . A v essel is filled w ith ,w ater,into whic h
is —
gently dro p ped a grain o f r ice , o r w heat,,in . the name o f the .
respective parties,at. Oppo site sides of the I f these . ap
proache ach~o ther t he union w ill be a happy one,and the mar
riage day;is fixed., Ano ther :
way o f settlmg the qu es tion,is to
consult somemamwith a repu tation fo r sanc tity,. who . sits and.
rolls .his .head;till he appears furio us,when, under su pposed in
spiration,he gives the; answ er . B u t frequently the mat ter. is .
determined by personal. negociation. between the fathers, w ho .
call,in some neu tral parties t o name the sum that should be '
paid .
fo r the bride . This obligation is discharged on the . day o f the.
betro thal,,along w ith a present o f su ch things as are necessaryforh
feasting,the friends assembled at the bride
’
s father'
s ho use o n .
that occasi
on. O n the day fixed fer the c ommencement . of the .
marriage ceremonies the bridegroom and his father go to the
father-in-law’
s hou se w ith presents . w hich contribu te againto the
en ter tainment o f the guests . N ex t day f
an arbo u r is construc ted
at the bridegroom’
s hou se , to w hich the bride is taken, and"andinner is provided . The ‘ day fo llo w ing , the two young peo ple.after runninground
'the pole seven times,retire to the arbou r and
have their fee t w ashed . Pice (j . e.
-copper coins ) are w a v ed round
the ir heads,and given to the music ians, when the ceremonies
ar e concluded ‘by a feast .
‘ Among G onds of ,Kolit the child is named on 9th day; among the Hind us on 12 th day.
‘
l' This omen is resort ed to among the Khonds to d et ermine a child '
s name— only it.
is “ if grain swim fl at a -particu lar a ncesto r ’
s ' name — Ca lcu tta Rev iew,p . 31,.
V O 1‘ V A few 05
ev eryp las s f —l ou t of. 1 ,000- become celebites,and rare receiv ed among G osains .
Theypu t t u rmeric and then ghee o v er whole body,and on a w oman theypu t Ku ku '
( rod
20
so rcery,“ which is greatly dreaded,and,like the gi'
ps ies in this
c o un try, they are consulted by their more civilized neighbo u rs
on the fortunes o f the fu tu re, w hich they read in the lines o f
their applicant’
s hand . At Mandanpur, abou t 100miles no rthw es t of the c ity o f N agpo re, there is a G ond,named Sonsei,w ho
boas ts o f the po ssession o f miraculou s pow ers . He and‘
his
sons are engaged in quarrying red o chre, the pro per ty o f a G ond
Rani,who liv es at G andei,s tiil far ther to the no r th-w est . N ear.
his quarry he has erec te da sacred mound to the m ane-s of his
father, w ho w as similarly gifted ; and he u ses the aw e w hich
at taches to this spo t as a means o f exto r ting money from the
deluded Queen. B esides 5-16 ths of the proceeds o f the quar ry,w hich he recei v es fo r the labou r o f himself and family in w ork
ing it, he induces his superio r to send him R s . LO everytw o years,on the pretence that his deified ances to r in the neigh
bou rhood is angry,has turned the o chre m to material o f very,
indifferent quality,and w ill no t be appeased until the s um named
is spent in offerings . T he sum is sen t : a part-
o f it is expendedon, fow ls, a goat, hog, w hich go to the enter tain
ment o f the cunning quarryman, and the remaining rupees gointo his pocket .
N ames of males among the G onds : Bhadu,C hina, Dhanu,G ouda. Jilu,K okarra,Mahingu,Panda,Phaga,Ramman, Riga,Runa,Woja.
O f females : B irjo , B u to ,Jamo, Jango,Mabingi,Mirgo,Peto,R enu , Siikaro , Souaki, Polai,and T umki.
Tribes connected with the Gond s .— B arh
'
yafs and Halwa’
s .
T he B adiyas are found in the Chindwara Dis tric t,scattered .
from the, tow n o f that name to the Mahadeva Hills . T heyseem to be G onds,w ho retain much o f the ir o riginal cu s tom s,
but have conformed to the Hindu s in language and some. o f.
their religiou s Observances . T hey w o rship the gods o f the ir
ances to rs under the shadow of the Saj tree ; bu t they hav e
ado pted,
the -use of idols of stone and brass, w hich they keepin their hou ses,and carry ou t only on the recurrence of the ir
fes tivals,which are the same as those of the G onds. Exceptin rare. cases,they burn the bodies of their deceased relatives,and throw the ashes into an adjo ining river . They observe
Sorcery— See also the B eiges of Phillips, though s ome reckon them simply a d ist inct
race . The t as are bird cat chers and exorcis t s . G oj Raj omens compared yn th Rhonda -jC'a lcu tta Rev iew, p V ol . V . Numbers of u nfo rt unat e persons fall V l ct ims t o bell ef m
w itchcraft .- Tuke,p .p . and 807. (Ragapar). Div iner.— T uke,p p. 802 and 803. Sicknes s be
liev ed t o come from su pernatu ral c ou rse — Calcu tta,Rev iew,V ol. V .,p . 50. In Pondacole m amcians are bu rned : three w ere so treated at Pip ulpanka in 1834
-35 .— 0alcu tta Ren ew, V ol. V .,
p 53.
“2 1
more of the Hindu feasts than is done by the great majorityo f the G onds .
T he Halwas* form a pretty numerous body in the districts ofB undara and Raepore and the dependancy of Bustar. In
these parts of the country they seem to occupsimilar to that of the B adiyas to the no rth-w est ofthey have perhaps still more imitated the mannerdus . They wish to hold a respectable place in their village;and eagerly covet the distinction of w earing a sacred threado ver their shoulder. This privilege, till recently, w as sold to
those in B ustar by the Raja o f that principality, and such mayhave been the beginning of the practice among those in the
more civilized parts of the country . B u t even there they still
retain the custom of offering w orship to their deceased ances
tors,and presenting at their tombs the usual number of earthenware horses .
Admitting the identity o f their origin with that of the G onds,among whom they at present dwell, it is difficult to explainthe abandonment by these B adiyas and Halwas of their mothertongue . Their case, how ever,is no t singular, for the G onds of
Amarkantak have also laid it aside, although it is generallyspoken in the distric t to the w est of them as far as Jubbu lpore.
B u t in this instance w e can see the reason of the change.
Lying in the highway between the plains of Chu tteesgurh and
Sohagpore,they have constant intercourse w ith the Hindu merchants,who pass by that route,and have thus come to be morefamiliar w ith their language than their own.
Gditz‘
Gonds .
These call themselves also K oitars,and are as much Goudain language and everything else as those who are known no
other name. Their chief peculiarity,which I have not
among common G onds,though it may exist even among them,is to have in each v illage a separate tenement set apart forthe occupancy of unmarried men during the night. This theycall agotalghar ( empty bed house) and answers to the dékfia chungof the hill C acharis and the N agas,and to morang amongAbot sor Padans . In some villages there is a. like provision madefor the unmarried Gaiti women. Mr . Samuells,who has givenus some interesting information regarding the Jnangas of Orissa,doubts the report he had heard of similar establishments existing among them but I have been assured by my friendDr . Shortt,that he found them in the villages which he visited
Halwas Won ’
t kill bisonpr buffalo . In Soonchoor they are mixedWith a preponderanceof Gonds (Marrees). Halwas are mixed in Jeypur ( Tuke)with Uriyanand Gonds .
22
in Keonjur. When the Gaitis have returned in the ev eningfrom their w ork in the jungle,where they are very industriousin cultivation and cu tting timber, all the families go to theirrespective houses for their supper ;after which the young menretire to their common dwelling, where, around a blazing fire,they dance for an hou r or two, each having a small drumsuspended in front from his waist,Which he beats as he movesabout,while the young women sit at no great distance aecom
panying the performance w ith a song .
Religion— The worshippers of six deities could enumerate
Budhal Pen,Saleng,Gagaral, R ayetal, and Pu rjal : bu t those,who are devoted to seven,could no t mention more than K odiya,Supari Dewa, Sakra Bai, and Dewa Dula,without having re
course to Hindu divinities.
Their great festival seems to be after the ingathering of the riceharvest,when they proceed to a dense part of the jungle,whichno w oman is permitted to enter, and where,_
to represent the“great god,
”a pice has been hung up enclosed in a piece of
bambu . Arrived at the spo t,they take down the Copper B udhalin his case,and selecting a small area abou t a foot square undera tree,to be cleaned,they layon it the pice,before which theyarrange as many small heaps or handsful of uncooked rice . as
there are deities worshipped by them. The chickens brou htfor sacrifice are loosed and permitted to feed on the rice, aherwhich they are killed and their blood sprinkled between the
pice and the rice. G oats are also offered,and their blood pre
sented in the same manner. Until~
prohibited by the Hindus,sacrifices of cows were also common. O n the blood,arrack is
poured as a libation to their deities . The pice is now lifted
and put in its bambu case,which is shut up w ith leav es, w raptin grass,and returned t o its place in the tree,to remain there till itis required on the following year.
N ames of males : K anbu,K oksha,K opa,Maharu,Pundi,and
Sen.
O f females : G ursi,K onj i,K onsi,Mahari,Masi,Milo,Minku,Silo,and Tursa.
These are more civilized than the Mat ias. Theyform the
the agricul tural population in the n orth and centre of
the Bustar dependency. B eyond the east frontier,howev er,wherethey mix with the K honds in Patna,K harond,and Jeypur, theyare somewhat Wilder,and devoted to the chase. With their
28
long hair tied in a knot behind,and their spare arrows hangingdown from it by the barb between their shoulders, they pursuethe deer of their fores ts,and at short distances (according to
Lieutenant Hill) seldom miss in their aim. In these districtsthey are evidently immigrants, having come from the plainson the w es t,where they are separated from the Khonds by the
physical character of the country,which w ould allow peculiarities of manner and language to spring up betw een the neigh
bouring tribes , E ven now . however, the two are not muchmore distinct from each other, than are the Gaitis from theadjacent Marias . In B ustar the Moria villages generally C OD-1
tain individuals of a different race, as w e find to be the.
caseamong the K honds . And here we meet w ith the distillersof the Eas tern Ghats,under the identical name ofSundis ;and the,
Gahindas of the same district are represented by the Ganda’
s,
’
who act as K otwals and weavers for their villages .
Religion-I do not possess detailed information regarding,
the mythology of the Morias bu t from the names,Gagaru andK odal,bo rne bytheir males,I would infer that they have somew hat the same gods as are recognised in the vicinity of N agpore30ity. Maj or Charles E lliot s tates that their most commondeities are the earth goddess, the hill god, and B him Pen.
O f the firs t two there are no images in use : but a small hut,s imilar to those erected for the accommodation of the tiger
god in the jungly dis tric ts of the Dakhan, is s et apart for thepeople o ffering arrack and sacrifices in their honou r. B eforethe tw o pieces of w ood, representing the third, w o rship isregularly performed previous to the period of s owing. . O f
cours e,in every village,as in the other parts of the province,B hawani comes in for her . share of supers titious reverenceunder the two forms of the small-pox goddess ,and Match or
Danteshwari the counterpart of the great Kali at Dantewada.
Marriage— The marriage ceremony combines certain cus
toms that w e have already had to notice. As in the northw es t of Chindwara, the expediency of a match is decided bywhat may be called the attraction omen. At the time appointed for the union oil and saffron, which have been em
ployed in the w orship of B him and the small pox goddess, are
brought from their shrines,and used to anoint'
the bride and
bridegroom ; who are then attired in the u sual coarse c loth o f
the country,and have a yellow thread tied round their w ris t ;water descends on their heads in the bower ; their clothes areknotted together ; and sometimes they run round
‘the marriage
pole. o
Qét'
N ames of males : B adal,B uka l, B ayal,Dhola,Dhod1Gagaru ,G edi, Higal, Judahal, K od
’
al, M alal, Mulai, M I,M u
gsial, O dhi, Pichke, Samar u,Surka. Suv aL
Females . G agari,Hinge, Jlidahi,K odo, Kani, Sukali.
A tt it ude Gonds .
These have more than any o thei section o f their race con
formed to Hinduism . They inhabit the jungles on the nor th
and sou th banks of the Pain G anga, bu t especially abound in
the tract betw een Dign1 as and m arkhed . They are found
abou t Aparawa Pe t,and as Far as N irmul, from whence,intermingled with Hindus,they are scat tered westwa1 d nearly to
B idar. O f all the subdivisions of the Gond race, with the
exception of the Halwas and p erhaps,the B adiyas, they havethe mo st been influenced byHinduism . They dress l1ke Hindus,and will no t eat beef. Some partly suppm t them selves by thep roduce of the chase,which provides them w ith the flesh of
"
the antelope, elk,and wild hog, and partly bycolle c ting honey,wax, and lak fo r sale .
'
I he po o rer classes earn a bare subsis
tence by c utting w ood and grass . In the more considerable
villages they cultivate land, and are employed by patels o r
headmen as sipahis . N one of them have abandoned their
aboriginal love fo r liqu o r. They are a terror to their neigh
bou rho od by their dep reciations .
Religion- Anc es to r-w o rship forms an impo rtant part of
their religion. They also acknowledge as deit ies B himsen and
R ajuba, no t to mention those dreaded by the Hindu s as well‘
as the forest tribes of'
their part o f India —Waghoba, thetig er god, and Marai, the cholera goddess . In the month of
C heitra these G onds go on a pilgrimage to Sasarkund, a poo lin the Mahu r j ungle, in w hich the Pain G anga is said to be
engulphed . Here in a go 1ge thei c 1s a huge stone rising ou t
of the ground and cov e i ed with vermilion,which goes by the
name of B himsen. In front of this, N aiku de G onds mingle
with Raj G ond s and Kolams in acts of ado ration . The order
of the religious service s eems to be the fo llowing : at 5 p .m .,
having c ooked a lit tle ric e,the worshippers place i t before the
god, and add a little sugar . T hey then besmear the stone
with vermilion,and bu rno
l esin as incense in its honou r ; afte r
w hich all the parties o ffer their vic tims, consisting of sheep,hogs,and fowls,with the u sual lib ations of arrack . The god 18
now suppo sed to inspi1 e the Puj ari, who rolls abou t his head,leaps frantically round and round, and finally falls down in a
t 1 ance,when he declares whether Bhimsen has ac cepted the service 01 no t. At night all j oin in drinking,dancing,and beating
95
their tom-toms. Early in the m orning they partake of a meal
and depart fo r their own hou ses . Tho se who are no t able to
go to the place of pilgrimage repair to the shade of a Mbowa
tree, where they go through similar rites . Rajuba is wo rshipped in the month of Kartik, with ceremonies somewhat
like the above . The tiger god is ho noured with a jatra, o r
gathering ,of two days at the Village of Pipalgaum, sou th o f
M ahur, w here Hindus, as w ell as G onds, take part . O n the
5 th day of Shraw un a feast, named Jambatas, is celebrated bythe latter in their own dwellings ; bu t to what god I am un
able to say.
0
T he services of a B rahmin are c alled in to name their
child ren and to celebrate their marriages, which always take
place b efo re the par ties have come to years of discretion .
T he infl uence of Hinduism is also seen in the p rohibitionag ainst the remarriage o f their w idows .
The dead ar e either burned o r buried . T he relatives are
unclean for two days . O n the third day, the manes are w o r
shipped in the usual G ond manner ; and on every Satu rday,and feast day thereafter,they are treated to incense and some
of the family food .
N ames of males : B heisi, B hu tiya, G ontiya, G unaj i, Jha
diya, Manaj i, Raji, Sambhu, Satwa, and Weighee
Females : Ebimi, Ghimmi,Eiti,G adin,G angi,Housi, Jaggi,M ukhi, N o usi, Rukhma,Satai, and Yemnai.
Abor iginal tribes sep a r a te f rom the Gonds .— Kara.
We come now to a race, in language at least, qu ite distinctfrom any that have engaged ou r at tentio n, — a race in that re
spec t not allied to the Dravidian sto ck, bu t to the familywhich numbers among its members the K 61 nation . Withthe name o f this last mentioned nation, the w ord Kfir,or K ai
as it ought properly t o be pronounced, is ew dently identical,the hand 0 being frequently interchanged,as in G ond or G und
'
,
Oriya o r U riya. T he Kurs are found on the Mahadeva Hills,and,westw ard in the fo rests on the Tapti and N arbadda, until
they come into contact with the B hils , O n the MahadevaHills, where they have been much influenced by the Hindus,they prefer the name o f M uasi, the o rigin o f which I haveno t been ab le to ascertain : unless it b e that the word is
derived from the Mbowa tree . Their food is o f the most
meagre kind . T hough they bave no o bje c tion to animal food,
yet a c onsiderable po rtion o f their diet consis ts o f a g ruel
mad e from the pounded kernels of mango es and flowers of
the”
Mbowa tree.
QB
Religion— The chief objects of their adoration are the sun
and moon,rude representations of which they carve on woodenpillarsfi
“ After reaping their crops, they sacrifice to SultanSakada,whom they suppose to have been some king amongthem in fo rmer times .
A feas t . is generally prov ided on the dtb or 5 th day aft er a
birth, and :
withou t any further ceremony the father, in the
cour se of a month o r two,gives a name to his child .
As among the B odo s,or, to quote amore illu st riou s example;like Jacob of old, a K ur bridegroom, in the absence of the
money demanded for his bride, comes under an obligation to
serve his father-in-law for a cer tain number of year s . The
marriage ceremonial,which, like that of the Gonds, includesthe tying of garment s together and the running round a poleor Mbowa tr ee, concludes on the third day with a feast and
dance ; du ring which the newly married pair are carried about
for some time on the backs of two of the company.
In some cases the dead are bu rned ; bu t, fer the most part,they are interred with their head towards the sou th. N eartheir villages they have a place appointed for bu rials,where,after having offered a goat to the manes of the deceased, theyset up a rude representation of him in wood about 2 feet abovethe ground . There worship continues to be paid for at least
a ear .
{V ames of males : B endu, B onga, Dhokol, N aru, Sukali,Surprai, and Tuta.
Females : B atro,Badam, Irma,Jaso,Manj 1bakan, Pundiya,
Conclusion.
In looking over the v ocabularies, which I have collectedfrom the dialects of the above tribes, I find that among the
words used by the different subdivisions of the G ond race thereis the utmost similarity, and that these,with the exception of.
the,
vocables of the K o lam and N aikude G ond dialects, agreemore with the distant Tamil than the neighbouring Teloogootype of Dravidian Speech. The dialects excepted,while exhibiting proofs of the modifying influence of Teloogoo,retain enoughof their original structure to show that they also were once
more closely allied to the Tamil. In the additional list of wordsderiv ed from a wandering tribe,named K eikadis,whose, rou te
39According to Mr . B u llock,wooden pillars,with horse,sun,and moon,set up before houseoi married people. N ahals are not allowed music at their weddings. N ahals on nor th east
of“
K hand eish .
The Scythian origin of,K o.rs and of Gonds might perhaps be inferred from K odo Pen,and
earthen horses, which are ofl’
ered instead of liv ing sacrifice. G onds don'
t use ho rses or
ponies much .
From a let ter from the Ac ting P rincipa l A s sis tan tC o llec to r,t o the Act ing C o l lec to r at G anj am, d a tedl et ult imo,“
i t appears that the weapons used by the
Sowrahs are mad e by a par t icular cas te ca lled lA r isi Paid iv a llu.
’O rnament s worn by Sow rah
'
women are pu rchased in the fa rm below the ghau ts .
Theyare obiedymad e of brass and t in. They wear
white and red bead s on their n ecks . The seb read s a re pu rchas ed in the fairs below the ghau ts,and are wo rn bo th by males and female s .
Theyd o no t make u s e of iron o r brass v es sels ”
fo r ;cooking and o ther purpos es . They us e common
ear then po ts. Some of the Sow‘
rahs buy? cloths iin the farm below. C lo ths manufac turned
f
in the
hills are of a v ery c oarse k l lld . A woman’s c l o th 18
genera lly3 cub its long and I t cubits broad . A '
m au’
s c lo th is 6 t o 7 cu b l ts in leng th : and half a
cubism bread th . E ach cos ts a bou t hav
lf a Rupee”I n the hills, c lo ths are manu fac tuied by
‘
. « the
Paid les .
’The faces of t hes e c lo ths a re made
of red coloured co t ton. Sow rahs mak e their own
agr icul tu ra l imp lemen t s,s uch as plo ughs,yok es,650.All these th ings u sed by Sowrahs ( t he n mnage r
'
p erhaps mean s s pec imens of them) wil l cos t abo ut6 38 4 and theycan be mad e into a , pack ag e and
sen t by s teamer. Sow rabs bu rn the'
ir dead t oge ther .
w ith a ll the th ings tha t ha v e been in their use, v r: lo rnamen ts, weapons, c lo chs, and aftenv ard s l
bury the ashes and the remains o f the bu rnt weapons,(t o. O v er t his bur ing place they raise a ho use .
which remains for a ou t a year o r so. I t is no t"known whe ther anyth ing will be found if any o f theo ld burial places a re new O pened. E v en if anythingw e re to he found; it w il l be qu ite ou t of s hape, as i t
Will ha v e undergo ne the proce ss o f b eing fi rs t bu rn t
and then bu ried in the eart h for a long t ime.
Sowrahs also wear brass and o ther kinds o f r ings in
the ears t he ir women w ear brass K od iyahi,’ l
Andelu,’ &c ., on the legs and b rass bracele t s on lt he arms . A ll these will be abo u t 4
“
Rupees and 12KAnnas in v alu e .
”
PAR T II .—V O CAB U L AR Y.
N ote by the Editor .
THE follow ing V ocabulary of the unw ritten dialects of theaboriginal tribes is in all essential particu lars the same as that
left by Mr . Hislop, bu t has been re-arranged for this publication. In his manu script, the alphabetical order of the w o rds
w as not follow ed, though doubtless this w ou ld have been donehad he lived to complete his w o rk .
‘
He classified the E nglish
w ords according to subjec ts,beginning With nouns,w hich supplied the names of the primary obj ec ts of observation ; su ch as
the elements,the prominent features in the face of N ature,theminerals, and so on ; then the relations in the human com
munity, the members of the human body, the bru te creation,
the vegetable w orld . N ext came numerals and adverbs . Thencame a fairly large selection of adjectives, and,lastly,of verbs .T he English words having been thu s classified,the design
was to ascertain and record in the Roman character theequivalents in eleven unw ritten dialects, namely G ondi,G ayeti,Entluk,N aikude . K olamiMadior Maria,Madia,K uri o rMuasi, K eikadi, Bhatrain, and Parja. Also in juxtapos itionwere to be entered the equ ivalents in the Teloogoo and
'
l amil
languages . I t w ill have been seen from the E ssay that M r .
Hislop considered that some affinity w as discernible betw een
some of these aboriginal dialects and the T am1l.
B u t this classification by subjects, however conv enient forthe rough draft of a v ocabu lary, in which the w o rds w ou ld be
entered as they w ere ascer tained from these w ild people in the
sequence of ideas, w ou ld not be suited for publication,w henthe objec t is to facilitate reference . I t has, there fore, been
necessary to re arrange all the w ords stric tly in alphabe ticalorder.In several par ts o f the manuscript V ocabu lary, there are
breaks and blanks where the w ork w as left unfinished . Andfor the v erbs, the equ iv alents are only given in the K u ri o r
Muasi, and no t at all in the ( r O Hdl and the o ther dialec ts .
All the break s and blanks in the G ondi have been fi lled upfrom information obtained at Nagpore, which can probablybe relied on. But it has no t been possible to supp ly satisfactorily the deficiencies in the o ther dialects. This much,therefore,is u navoidably left wanting.
T he V o cabulary thus made up com rises some 36? w ords.Though perhaps tolerably full for s isunw ritten dialect, it
ii
probably does no t contain a ll the w ords actually .n use, or
o therw ise ascer tainable. Indeed there are o ther and additional w o rds u sed by, o r known to, the G onds o f N agpore .
These have been recorded ; bu t they have no t been insertedin this V o cabu lary, as it seemed better no t to enia rge M r.
Hislop’
s plan, bu t to leave it in its originality as much as
possible .
T he Telo ogo o and Tamil w ords hav e also been entered as
given by M r . H islop. Se v eral o f the coincidences w ith theT amil w ill be fou nd to be m teres ting and impor tant . In addi
tion to w hat is said on this po int in M r . Hislop’
e E ssay,I w ou ld addiice the fo llowing passage from the preface to H. H.
VVilson’
s Sanskrit G rammar
"In the sou th o f India cultiv ated languages of local origin
are me t w ith, largely supplied w ith w o rds which are no t of
Sansk rit o rigin . T here, how ever, as in the nor th, the intro
duc tion o f Sansk rit w as the precursor o f j civ ilization, and .
deeply impressed it w ith its ow n peculiarities . T he spoken
languages w ere cu ltiva ted in imitation and rivalry, and bu t
par t ially aspired to an independent literature . T he principalc ompo sitio ns in T eloogoo, Tamil, C anara,and Malayalam,aret ransla tions o r paraphrases from Sanskrit w orks .
In this p assage, Telo ogo o and Tamil are clearly recognisedas abo riginal languages .
In this V o cabulary, also, many w ords appeared to“
be bor-frow ed from the Sanskrit,and w here this is seemingly theCase,I ha v e no ted it in the column o f rema rks .
Some wo rds, also, nownatu ralized in the G ondi,such as the
names o f the su p erior so r ts o f w eapons, are taken from the
H indo o s tanee, and w ere probably learnt by the G onds fromthe Mahomedans .
Among Mr . H islop’
e papers w as found a printed copy Of
the narrativ e o f a second visit to the G onds of the N erbudda‘
territo ry by the R e v . J . G . Dr iberg and the Rev . H . J.
Har rison in 1 849, to w hich w as appended a grammar
v o cabu lary o f their language. Doub tless Mr. Hislop 1n
tended to compare, or mayhave ac tually compared,that vocabulary w ith his manu scripts . B ut there is no record of suchcomparison to be found . The comparisonhas now been made,and may po ssess some interest, inasmuch as the G onds whom
M r. Driberg met w ere those inhabiting the outskir ts of the,
N erbudda V alley to.the nor th o f, or on the northe
rn face o f
the Sau tpoora, or Puchmurree,or Mahadeva 111118 5
.
whereas
the G oods whomMr. Hislo‘p met were those dw elling to the
iii
sou th of the range, and sep arated by mountain barriers fromtheir northern brethren. Some w ords given in one vocabularyare no t found in the o ther,and v ice v ersé ; bu t,on the who le,that byMr . Hislop is much the more complete and copious ofthe tw o . In many instances there is full agreement ; in some,
partial resemblance ; and'
in some,difference . In every instanceI have « no ted the result of the comparison in the column of
remarks .
In reference to the short grammar given byMr . Driberg,itmay be added that M r. Hislop do es not appear to have c ommenced the preparation of anygrammar,though doubtless hewou ld have done so had he survived.
Also among Mr . H islop’
s papers was found a printed copyof the transac tions of the B ombay G eographical Society ofthe year 1 846, w hich contained an account of the G onds ofthe G awil hills on
,the nor th o f B erar, by Ass istant Surgeon
B radley, then of the N izam’
s Infantry . T o this account wasappended a vocabulary o f the dialec t of the t ribes inhabitingthose hills . This, no doubt, w as intended byM r. Hislop forpurposes of comparison, though no reco rd o f such has beenleft . I find, how ever, on comparison that the w ords do not
generally agree w ith the G ondi properly so called, nor withthe G ondi w ords as given by Mr . Himp and M r. Driberg.
B ut they do agree to a considerable extent w ith the K uri orMuasi w ords as given by M r . Hislop, and w ith the w ordsgiven by o ther au tho rities, as spok en by the K oork
‘
us,and bythe tribes inhabiting the hills to the sou th of Ho shungabad .
T he result of this latter comparison has no t been given inthe column o f remarks in the H iISOp V ocabulary now underconsideration ; but has been treated of in another part of thispublication.
S UPPZW EA/T TO THE HYSLOP V OOAB ULARK,AS RM PE CTS
TE E GON DI DI ALE CT O N L Y.
Au tumn
Abuse Rangana Awake
K arawullana
Activ e
Jumma
Adopted son K oratai aitoor chhav a Bard Pataree
Adore Poonjakiana
Afternoon
B arren Wanj ooli
Agree (V ) ayana B athe
Aimd?) wai kim
B att leaxe
Annual B eads
Another
Appear
Armpit B eauty
Ascend
B — continued. Catt le
B eliev e (v ) Man tatana Cease
Change
N aree dohta Chaste
Chastise (v )
B etroth Chirp ( v )
Paror C lear (v )
B loom Poongaroayana. Targana
B osom Chhati K utka
Kharo Cocoanut
B rav e Colour
B read C onquer
B reast
B reath o o Waree,N aiskana Count ry Dess,Dehar
i,
Yaina (Mother’s bro :t ther
’
e son)Jhalka manta Gunem {
LTammo (Father’s
[doB rother-in-law Sairndo K oko (wife’
s Creepbrother)
B rown B hurka C ripple
Jhoorpuree
G ondi.
D .— cont inued . En ter Wasi handana
Aptikiyana. E rr (v ) B hu lai matana
Daughter-ia -law K orinl E scape '
Soddaisihundana ‘
Dawn Pehto E v enm
D earth Ankro B u rte
Kho le
u Ku rs
Destroy B urtai kiana Faithfu l Sooda
Katana.
n G aday Family Ku tum
Distant ‘
Luk Famine Mahang
Umana Father-in-law Mu riel
Dread V aritana Teehtana
Dream K anchkana Pundana
Dress (v ) Pendana Fev er Y“
erki
Driv e Hakle kiana Tarotana
N eihetam
Drown Muru tana Puttana.
VV attal Pehlo
Dwell Mandana Flint Garee
Pohaymayana
Mes Flow (v ) Pong-in-tana
Elephant Paritana
N ehna
Enemyr Dandi Khotal
English . G ondi.
P .- con tin«ued Hasten Lahki kiyana
Forenoon Hatchet
Forest Kaira,Dongur B u rte kiana.
Bhu le mayana Hav e E rana
Dam tindane Neben ayana
Hear t o o B oka
u Kahlaimat
Fragrant o Moorw ing
Friend 0 Asrokiana
Fruit 0 To le
Mat te.
G irdle Nuri dohta Jeana
Biana
N ehna Phukey
Dawning Hunger
G randfather Tado Hunt Shikar
G raze Mehtana Hu rt K hosre
G rov e C urbs.Hu sband M uido
Hand
Hang (v )Jackal Kolial
Misre mayana
Harv est Dyana,Dehkana
Kind le
Kneel
Lamb
Leeeh
Like (v )
Load
G ondi.
o o I rrana
Massiana
Ku ral
B urra-na.
Tongurotek kiana
Su rie
Gat teo
u Patru
Diwa
u Pujjat
lrsiyana.
Siso
Ju roo
o Lu tkowamkana
o o Jiwa
Tahtana
Dilte wayana
Silv i
0 Pissana
Hurana
Khowakiana
Khoe mat
Madness
Maize
Make
Midday
Moist
Morning
Mo ther
Mo ther-in-law
Mount (v )
Mou se
Mu scle
Mu sic
Naked
Name
G ondi.
o Pise
Makaik,Making
0 o K id /fl at
Marmingkiana
K handk
Dopuhri
Milaykiana
Pahna
Unde
Sukkare
Porar
Tu rgana
Yelle Mesa}
B ujanaikana
Ku ttake‘Pallo,Parol
Au ra
Gondi pu llo
Panther
Par rot »
Pastu re
Perspire
Pursue
Ple i-gh
Powder
Parobaso
Quiv er
Reside
0 0 Jora
Cheetal
Handana
Akur,G ohtaaa
Lokoork
Aipurepasitana
0 o Wit tana
0 o PU ddy
o o Patari
0 o B u rko
Gadu stana
o Tarotana
Jhapua
K hurro
Koele
Mandana.
Restore
Roast
Rotten
Sacrifi ce
Sav age (adj
Scream
Season
Seldom
Serv e
G ondi .
Malochiana
Gb okote,O ojo
B orsana
o o K aliaua
Tonging
c o G urbare mayana
o o K aritana.
0 o Karita
0 olhfaiaikiam
Soritana
Tamihsiana.
VVar oo
Warwat
K e i e matal
Pisutana
Indana
o K ilit ana
Ghalumb
B apore
R ohtana.
Agrokiana
T .— contv
'
nucd.
Town
Wander
Waste (v
Watch
Wedded
Wheat
Wind
Winter
o Possua Wither
Chaitomandwna
Wonder
Work
K astal World
0 B oortai kiana Worm
e Kaipana Worship
Marming kiana Wres tle
G ondi.
o Marmina
Pahna
Pieni Ghalumb
00 Landgal
N ote by the Editor regarding the Mudsz’
, or K ar i,dialect.
I 'r w ill have been seen that Mr . Hislop in the E ssay pointsou t that the K fi rs,or Muas is, are dis tinct from the G onds, at
leas t in language ;and that K uri,or Muasi,is no t,as may havebeen supposed by s ome, a dialect of G ondi. ~ M r . Himp indicates that the error may have arisen from expres sions u sed byDr. V oys eywhen,many years ago . he supplied a brief v ocabu
lary of the language spoken by the tribes o f the hills lyingbetw een Ho shungabad and B erar . This region is believed tobe the real home of the Kurs,or Muasis .
The vocabulary which Dr . V oysey gave in 182 1 is to befound in V ol. XI I I , Par t I ., of the Jou rnal o f the AsiaticSo ciety . Several of the w ords agree w ith the K uri, o r Muasi,as given byMr. Hislop .
Dr . B radley ’
s lis t has been adv erted to in this publication ina p rev io us N o te ( s ee Preface
' to the His lop V o cabu lary ) . Manyof tho se words also ag ree w ith the Muasi in Mr . Hislop
’
s V ocabulary.
In 1 863, Maj or Pearson ( the Cons ervator of Fo res ts in
the Central Provinces) furnished to Mr . His lop a few words
spoken by the K o orku s,whom he c onsiders to be the s ame as
theMuas is and that memo randum is found among Mr . His lo p’
e
papers . A few o f the K oorku words agree wit h those in Dr .
B radley ’
s lis t.
In 1 865 Mr . C.A. Ellio tt, Settlement O ffi cer of Ho shunga
bad, transmitted a Memo . on the K oorku s o f K alibhee t ( in thehills sou th-wes t of Hoshangabad), to w hich a short vo cabu laryis attached . O f these w ords,many agree w ith those given byMr . His lop and the o ther offi cers above mentioned .
For many of the K uri w o rds then, there are data obtained
byvariou s pers ons at variou s times and places,and I have causeda comparison to be entered o f the points of agreement .
P A R T II I . S O N G S .
N ote by the E ditor on the Gond Songs .
THESE Song s w ere reduced to w riting in the G ondi
language byM r. H islo p in his own handw riting. He ob tained
them from a Pardhan pries t o f the Gronds at N agpo re . Havingmade a very comp le te and accu rate co py in G ondi, in the
Roman charac ter o f cou rse, he began to transla te by enteringover each G ondi w o rd the counterpart in English . B ut at his
death he had proceeded o nly a sho rt w ay w ith the las t named
par t of the task . I I is t rans la t io n d id no t c ompris e a fou r th
o f the whole— and e v en then it w as only in de tached fragments ;
and in no place w as it consecu t iv e . B u t,inasmuch as he had
redu ced to w riting these lengthy Songs w ith s o mu ch care,itSeemed very des irable to b ring into an a v ailab le and intelligible
shape,
an unfinished w o rk, w hich he regarded as o f much
impor tance, as evidenced by the admirable indu s t ry which hemu st have dev o te d to it. Moreo ve r it w as fo und qu ite possibleto do this,inasmuch as the very Pardhan w ho rec ited the Songs
to Mr . Hislo p w as s till at N agpo re ; and being versed bo th inHindi and Mahrattee,w as able to interp re t the G ondi w o rd forw ord,into those languages from which the rende r ing into English
w as easy. M o reover, assis tance w as obtainable from the Rev .
B aba Pandurang ( of the Free Chu rch o f Sco dand Mission),whow as M r . H is lo p
’
e na tiv e assis tant, and his companion in severaltou rs,and w ho frequently w as employed byM r. Hislo p in obtain
ing info rmatio n. I, the refo re, en t ru s ted to Mr. I’and urang,as
being specially qualified, the task o f comparing M r . H is lc p’
s
manusc ript w ith the rec ita tions o f the l’ard han, and o f asc er
taining the English equiv alent fo r every w o rd .
Thu s is repro inced M r. l l il p’
s manu scrip t o f the G ondi,w ith M r. Pandurang
’
s equivalent in E nglish en tered over eachiv ord.
From this detached verbal translation I have myselfpreparedthe follow ing co ns ecu tive Englis h ver s ion, adhering as nearlyto the original as may c ons is t w ith the easy u nders tanding o f
the sense, and p res e rving the p recise o rder of the lines . And
I have supplied no tes explaining the pas sages which s eemed
to need explanation .
The Songs form a sort of rude epic, full of .episodes and
digres sions,butpreserving a thread of narrativ e connect io n frombeginning to end . I have div ided them into fi v e par ts,acco rdingas the s ens e o f the piece indicated the proprie ty o t such divis ion .
They are inde ed recited o r sung in par ts , o r in w hole ; buts u ch p ar ts w ould no t neces sarily co r res pond w ith the partsinto w hich I have ventu red to s ubdiv ide the pieces .
B ut, as already m entioned,thes e Songs w ere very lengthyin the o i iginal. t ile, on the o ne hand, many pas sages are
c u riou s , o thers v ividly illus tra tiv e o f G ond life and reality,and o ther s remarkable in their w ay; ye t, as might be expected, many pas sag e s w ere r edundant, o thers friv olou s, others
improper o r o bje c tionable . A ll pas sages clearly belongingto any o f the la t ter categor 1es have been cu t ou t . And the
o riginal who le has been thus pared down to abou t one half.
And it has been found prac ticable to do this, w ithou t at all
impairing the sense or breaking the s equence o f the s tory.
E v en m this abridged shape the Songs a re long,being s ome
997 line s 1n the G o nd i.
The Songs and the No tes w ill speak for thems elves I ti
w ill
be s een the refi om . tha t they a re to s ome extent wo 1 thy of
being s elec ted fo r the labo riou s tr ea tment w hich Mr . Hislopbes tow ed upo n them . I o r they are the bes t G ond pieces
extant ; and they c omp1 is e a s o rt o f compendium o f Gondi thoug lits and no t ions .
'
l bo u o h ab ounding in things bor rowed
from the Hind us , they m e v e t po s s es s ed o f much,
o riginality,and 1 11 many pas sage s they a re,s o to s peak,r edo lent of G dndism.
They have nev er be fo re been re duced'
to w riting, bu t haveb een fo r many g enerations s u ng
'o r s aid by the Pardhan-prie s ts,tO
’
circ les '
o f lis tening G onds , a t marriages , and « on o therfes tive occas ions . They are fo r the m o s t par t o ld, p erhaps
ev en ancient, tho u gh mu ch o bs cu red by“
m’
ode rn interpo lations
and additions . And though thef 'fi rs t o rig inal
-mu s t b e o lder
than the Hindus,ye t the framew o rk o f -the ‘S tory, as it n ow
exis ts,mu s t ha v e been c ompo sed s ubs equently to the ar rivalo f the A1 yan Hindus among the abo rigine s o f C entral India.
B e t o nd this mo s t vague e s timate, it is impo ss ible to s ay how
o ld o r how new thes e pieces m ay be. Fo r the G ondi beingu nw rit ten, and the Pa rdhans be ing u nle ttered, nene o f these
men can explain the his tory o f the Songs . A G ond Will referthe enquire r to the Pardhan .
"I‘beno
o ne Pardhan will saythat he learnt the piece by hear t from the i nou th o f ano ther,perhaps aged,Pardhan, who will say that he learnt it fromano the r Pardhan betm e him,and so on. This ts all that can
be ascertained at N agpore at all events .
a s
2
10. T here ( the god ) Mahadewa w as ruling from the upper sea
to the lower sea.
1 1 . What w as that Mahadewa doing He w as swimming likea ro ller stone : he had no hand s no feet :
I 2 . He remained like the trunk ( of a tree) .
13 G ow ara Parwatee (his w ife having s tood, began to askN arayan
14. Who ar t thou He said, I‘
am B hagawan’
s ( god’
s) Subadar( depu ty ) .
1 5 . She said, Why hast thou come so far I came to see
N abadew a
G ow ara Parw atee came . N arayan having gone to thebanks of the N arbadda,stood. there .
T he Raja Mahadew a w as sw imming and came up .
Then Parwatee, w ith joined hands, stood, and so didN arayan.
Then said Mahadew a, For what has thou come? where are
the gods o f the tw elve threshingfl o ors o f the G onds ?
What did he say, K urtao Subal ? what did he say to ,
Mahadew a?
Perfo rm devotion ( tap \ fo r tw elv e months, and then you
w ill come to know the names of them.
Fiv e and six months passed ;at the end of it, the devo tionw as finished.
Then came Bhagawan and stood close to Mahadew a, and
called to him
Thydevo tion is finished,emerge ou t of the water. He said,how shall I
Eme rge‘
B I have no hands,no feet,no t eyes .
LO . And the sub sequ ent lines c ompris e disto rt ed v ersions in G’
ondi phrase of po rtions of
the Hind u mythology.
£4 The Mahomedan word Subad '
ar is know n t o the Mahra/tt asx as w ell' as t o the G onds .
The G onds mayhav e borrow ed . it straight from the Mahomedans .
Twelv e is probab ly a number of mys tic significance,though sixteen is the number
u sed in th e . subs equ ent : p assages . Perhaps here allu sion is made to the tw elv e tribes of the
G rind s .
2 11. The tap ,"or dev otion,is a regular Hind u ceremony.
8
Then Mahadewareceived man’
s form.
T hus man’
s form complete was made in the luminous w'
orl’
d .
He raised his eyes and saw B hagaw i’
m ( godl i bu t he
( B hagawan'
,immediately disappeared.
Mahadewa said, I t is no t Well that G od shou ld no t be seen
( ac tually v isible) . Hear,O G od,mystory.
Mydevotion is fruitless ; I received a man’
s form,which
is not w ell.
Then he began to establish a ( tap) devo tion.
At the end o f nine months and nine days his boil moved
and burst
Kalia Adao was born. Then Mahadewa what did he say?
Said Mahadewa to him,Establish a tap ( defio tidn) .
He ( the K alia Adao ) began a devotion ; one month, tw o
months passed,wh en“
a boil arose in his hand.
Th
e boil burst and Sixteen daughters were born out o f it.
Then said he,
What"whyare these daughters bo rnI sbell have cause to cas t my head down. Whence shall
I bring husbands fo r them
He took hold o f them and threw them in the water. Afterthe throw ing
The water was dried up,and sixteen Sorts of earth w ere
produced.
(He said ) I shall perform"
devotion,and then I sha ll be
at peace.
He then established a'
devo tion,and abdil'
arose in his hand :
Twelve threshingfloors of G ondigods Were born.
Hither and thither all the"
G onds were scattered in the Jungle;
33. K alia lAdao is believ ed to be the same personage as Iiiirtao Su tiz'
il.
These sixt een daughters may perhaps be in allu sion to the sixt een ‘
G ond goddesss
gientw ned mPert u l I line 253; and this v iew is borne‘ out by t lie P
ardhan who'
recites'
the
ong.
41 . Whether the sixt een kinds o f earth hav e any special purport, is doubt fu l . -The
Pardhan who recites t he song,says that the phrase merely r efers t o‘
the‘ sev '
eral sorts of soil
known t o the—“people ; such as black loam,reddish learth,
"grtsirel,
tand the like
0
4
45 . Places,hills,and v alleys were filled with these G onds .
4 6 . Even trees had their G onds. How did the G onds conductthemselves
Whatever came across them they must needs kill and eat it ;
Theymade no dis tinction. I f they saw a Jackal they killed
And eat it ; no distinc tion w as observed : they respec tednot antelope,sainbur,and the like .
They made no distinction in eating a sow,a quail, a pigeon,
A crow, a kite,an adju tant, a vulture,
A lizard,a frog,a beetle, a cow,a calf,a he and she-bafl'
alo,
Rats,bandicoots,squ irrels— all these they killed and ate.
So began the G onds to do . They devoured raw and ripethings ;
They did no t bathe for six months together ;
They did no t w ash their faces properly, even on dung hills
they w ould fall down and remain.
Such w ere the G onds born in the beginning. A smell was
spread over the j ungle
When the G onds w ere thu s disorderly behaved ; they hecame disagreeable to Mahadewa,
Who said,T he caste of the G onds is very bad ;
I w ill no t preser v e them ; they w ill ruin myhill Dhawalagm ;
I perceive here and there smells. So said Mahadewa . Callthe G onds
Said he to N arayan : H e went,and called them,
And brought them into the presence of Mahadew a.
When they w ere s tanding, Mahadewa arose and looked,and saw all the G onds come.
H e spoke withinhimself,and took them away into his valley.
He made them to sit in a line, and he sat at the head of
them.
This somewhat“sarcas tic description, which follows,of the habits of the Gond ,is
probablyof Hindu suggestion.
6
90. Mahadewa arose and placed a stone sixteen cubits longat the entrance of the cave,and thus shu t in the G onds .
91 . He s tationed Bhasmasfir ( a giant ) to guard it . StillParwatee remained asking ( after them) .
92 . Then said Mahadewa,Dhawalagiribegan to be odorous,andI fell into a rage thereat ;
93. B u t four Gonds have survived,and they are fl ed . So said he .
Then Parwatee thought in her mind,My G onds are los t.
95 . The four G onds who fl ed travelled onward over hills .
96 . Thence they w ent and saw a tree rising upright, as a Date
tree,which they climbed,and looked abou t them) .
97. They said there 18 no hiding place visible for us.
98. But one of them looked and saw a place. named.K achikopaLahugad
‘
.
99. They went by the jungly road and reached. that place .
100. There the four b rothe rs remained.
1013. When the G onds w ere‘
no t to be found,Parwatee began
to feel regret for them.
102 . She then commenced a devo tion ( tap)
Six months passed
104. Parwatee ended her tap. Bhagawan ( god ) meanwhilewas swinging ( in a swing) .
He said, What devotee at' my res ting
’
time has ; begun- a
devo tion ; N arayan,go and see to it.
106 . N arayan w ent to see ;ascending a hill,he came to Parwatee,
107 . And s tood while Parwatee w as performing her tap, and
saying,My threshingfloor G ond‘
s do no t: appear ;
91 . This B hasmasur seems t o be one of the giant s o f Hindu mythology.
99. The nam e Kachikopa Lahu gad appears frequ en tly in »the S tory,but there is no knownplace par ticu larly—of that name . The meaning in G ond i is the“ Iron Valleys —the Red Hills a
nomenclatu re v ery applicable t o the mineral products and external aspect . of. many hills inthe G ond country.
104. The name; G od Bhagawan occu rs . frequ ent ly in: all'
the tPartb. l t t is borroWed , of
cou rse,from Hinduism . I t is remarkable,howev er,that this name sh ou ld he need e s pecially,ne ther G ondsshav e amidea of their own for" the one great G od ; Supreme ov er all ‘ the : gods,
yho is named B ara Dem. B ut-
the name Bara Dec ismot used m y.wherein“
thesmSongzzl
7
Therefore I commenced my devotion. When N arayanheard this, he ran ; resting and running, he came to
B hagawan and said
Parwatee is performing a devotion and says my threshingfloor G onds do no t appear where have they gone
B hagawan said,G o and tell her I will make her G ondsvisible .
’
P A.R 1‘
I I .
The B irth, s e,and Death of Lingo .
L. Then care. fell to Bhagawan ( god ) . There was, a tree
2 . I t w as blossoming. Then,said he,O ne o f its flow ers shallconceive.
3. B y G od’
s doing,clouds and w inds w ere loosed . A cloudlike
A fan arose : thunder roared,and lightning flashed ;
The flower burst,clouds opened,and darkness fell ; the dayw as hid .
A heap of turmeric fell at the fourth watch o f the night .
In the morning,when clouds resounded w ith thunder, the
flow er opened
8 . And burst,and Lingo was born,and he sprang and fell intothe heap of turmeric.
9. Then the clouds cleared, and at the dawn Lingo beganto cry.
Thereat,care fell u pon G od : the ( face o f Lingo ) began to
dryamidst the powder.
B ut by G od’
s doing, there w as a Ficus tree,on which
w as honey
The honey bu rst,and a small drop fell into his mou th .
Thu s the juice continued to fall, and his mou th began to
su ck .
14, I t was noon,and wind blew,when Lingo began t o grow .
1 5 . B e leapt into a swing,and began to sw ing,w hen daywas se t
1 6 .Lingo aro se with haste,and sat in a cradle sw inging.
1 7.Lingo Was a perfect man : w ater maybe s tained,bu t
he had
no stain whatever .
8 . Lingo, or Lingal,is a sor t of prophet among the G onds . Though h e appears throughou tthis Story in the charact er o f a dev out Hindu,yet the name is of blond o rigin . Sometimes
B han (G ondi for dev otee) is affixed to his name,and sometimes Pariur (G ondi for Saint .)
10
Lingo said, I am Saint Lingo ; I have a kno t of hair on myhead .
The four bro thers said, Come to our house .
T hey took him home. While some game was lying there,
Lingo said, What is this Phey said ) it is game that w ehave bro ught .
What kind of game is this Lingo asked . They said,I t isa pig.
He said, G iv e tr e its liver. There w as no liver there.
Then they said,
Hear,O bro ther,we have killed an animal Withou t liver l
43. Then Lingo said,L et me see an animal w ithou t liver.
Then care fell upon them. Where shall w e show him an
animal w ithou t a liver?said they .
O ne said,Hear myw ord"He is a litt le (fellow ),w e are bigmen ;w e w ill take him to the jungle among large s tones .
Among thorns in thickets and caves we w ill roam ; hew ill get tired,and w ill sit down ;
He will be thirsty and hungry, then he will propose toreturn.
With Lingo, they, w ith how and arrow in their hands,w ent by the jungle road .
Onw ard they went, and saw an antelope. Lingo said,K ill it"I t had a liv er. Then came a sambur,kill ye it"I t had a liver. A hare came,and he said,kill ye it
I t had a liver.
Thus the devout Lingo did not tire. These four brothersw ere tired.
For water they thirsted. On a steep they ascended to
look for water ;
36. Again a Hindu mark in contradis tinction to Gonds .
1 1
B ut no water appeared,so they descended from the hill.s
Thu s th ey came to a th ick j ungle o f Anj un t rees,wheretho rny plants blockaded the road .
They came and stoo d . A 'little water appeared . Theyplucked l ’alas ( B utia) leaves, and made them into a
t rough ;
They drank w ater w ith it, and w ere mu ch refreshed .
Lingo said,t at are yo u doing Sitting there ( Theysaid ) w e c anno t find an annu al w itho u t a liv‘e r.
It We do n’
t find it w e w ill leav e oii mentioninor the name
( o f such a crea tu re ) . T his is a g o o d place ;
After scraping the gibund,and cu tting down trees,w e w ill
sow rice .
( Lingo said) I s ilt sleep a little ;”
you make afield ready .
The fou r b ro thers bro ugh t hat'
che ts,and they all four began
to canthe A rgus“
trees .
( Lingo ) fell asleep,and he dreamed a dream. In his dream
H e saw the twelve threshinglloo rs o f G onds, and he w as
afraid .
I l e aw oke,and retu rned while the fou r bro thers
C u t dow n the tree : their hand s w ere blis tered, and each
blis ter w as as large as an A w a la fr u it .
They threw down their hatchets and came to Lingo ,
( And said ) o u r ham 3are blis tered, therefo re w e throw
down o u r ha tche ts .
70. They w ent aside, and'
s at down. Then arose (Lingo a ndhe ld a hatche t m his hand,
71 . And w ent n cu tting trees ; the t rees fell, their roo tsw ere dug u p.
72 .
r
I hu s he began”
to cut down j ungle. In an hou r hemade agood field .
5 6 The Anj un t ree ( Har clwickia bina ta.) was probably more abun dant at former
p cmods . I t st ill is found,bu t it is no longer plent ifu l in the G u ild count ry.
uQ5 . See the prev ious not e explaining the term threshingfl oor . Allusion seems here to
‘be made t o the twelv e t ribe's .
P "Q N
G i ‘
o
t0‘ v o 0
70 t o 1 0. Lompris es regu lar descriptlon of the cgltiv at ion so well known 111 recedt
t imes as Dhya .
1 2
73. (They said) ou r hands are blistered and not one tree havew e cu t down,
B u t Lingo in one ,hour has cu t down several trees ;
H e has made the black soil ( appear) , and has sown riceand hedged it round ;
He has made a do or to it, and has made a shu tter ( forthe door) .
Then they arose and took their homeward road,and came
to the ir own hou ses .
O n the fi rs t day o f the rainy season a little black cloud
appeared
Wind blew violently ; it was cloudy all'
day; rain beganto fall;
Rills in the Open places w ere filled knee deep ; all the holesw ere filled w ith w anzr) .
When the rain had poured for three days,the weather became fair : rice began to spring ;
All the fie lds appeared green. In one day the rice grewa finger
’
s bread th high ;
In a month it rose U p to a man'
s knee.
There w ere six teen scores o f N ilgais ( deer) , among whomt wo bucks ( uncle and nephew ) w ere chie fs .
'
When the scent o f rice Spread around,they came to knowit ; thither they went to graze .
A t the head o f the herd was the uncle,and the nephew
was at the rear .
With cracking j oints the nephew arose ;he leaped upwards.
W'
ith two ears upright,andwith cheerful heart,he boundedtowards his uncle,
( And said) some one has a beau tiful field‘
of rice : it mustbe green tender fodder .
_To _u s little ones giv e thatfi eld,the sixteen scores of deer
w ill go there ;
84. Th e term sixteenscores"is"
frequ ent ly u sed for instance, sixt een scores of G ondsare Sp okfln o f. N o part icular significance is as certainable pet rps the t erm may only be an
idiom for a large number.
it
re v "
1 12. B eing old,he w as unab le to isap the door of the field of'
rice .
1 13. They i cu t from that cee and leape 1 back over the hedge,w hen the uncle said to them
1 14. Hear,O s ix teen sc‘
ores o f deer,you hav e eaten this field 1
Fa ther L ingo when he comes to it
1 1 5 . What measu res W i ll he adopt? Then the nephew,whow as behind,came in front,
1 1 6. And said,Hear, 0 friends and brethren"fieé from this
place,bu t hear my w ord .
1 17. As you flee keep you r feet on leaves,and stones,and boughs,and grass,bu t don
’
t pu t your feet on the’ “
sod . 80 said
the nephew .
118 . As hetold them,so“
they did -all thesis teénscar-és‘
o f deerbegan to run,
1 19. And left nomarksnor traces .
120. Then thev stopped : some remained standing, someslept .
1 2 1 . In the mids t o f the fio‘
w er fragrance w as Lingo sleeping,w hile hall
'
o f the nig ht w as passed .
his d ream he saw a field catch bydeer,arid all the rice
becoming spoil
1 23. Then I o depar ted, and took his road to Kachikopa
Hence he depar ted,and w ent to the brothers and Said,0bro thers"ou t of your house come ye ;
1 253. Hear one w o rd : the deer have eaten our field o f r ice.
1 26. T he four bro thers said w e need rice to ofier ou r firs tf'
ruits
( to th ei i
127. Then L ing o said,Hear, O brethren"ou r r ice has beeneaten up
t I
spoilt ;we havenofirs tfrnits . L 1ngo sa1d,We
the liver Of these deer as firstfruits,t i
l
) 1 i , l
1 29. Then I w ill remain as a devo tee, p therwise my powerwill vanish .
15
130. I fi ll my s tomach by the smelling of flower s
131 . B u t how w ill the G onds fill their bellies, there is nothingfo r their eatin
g
132 . T he rice has been spo ilt by the deer. 80 said Lingo .
133. T he fo u r bro thers said w e will take in our arms,bow and
arrow .
134. With anger against the deer they came to the field, and
entered in the midst of it.
135 . When they came in the centre they saw only black soil .
136. O nly rice stubble appeared,and Lingo saw.nothing.
137. Then his anger aro se from the heel to the head,and he bit
his finger on the spo t ;
138. His eye s became red. Where are the deer ? said he ,lookfor them?
139. They looked,bu t did n o t see anywhere the footprints of
deer.
140. N ear a tree they beheld s ome foot marks ; they looked at it .
1 41 . As they w ent they beheld a jungle trodden down ; thensome traces appeared.
1 42 . Onw ard they w ent,bu t did no t see the deer,they behelda peepu l tree .
1 43. Lingo said,I will climb the tree,you stand below .
144. From the top he looked,and the deer were visible. He said,
The deer a re in sight,some are s eated,s ome are s leeping,some are leaping abou t.
146. You four bro thers separate yourselves on four sides withyour arrow s,
147. And allow no t one of the deer to escape.
148 . I w ill shoo t them from the tree and you zshoo t'
from below .
1 6
149. Having heard this,the four bro thers went and ambuscadedon four sides .
1 50. They shot their arrows from four corners,while Lingo sho tfrom the tree .
1 5 1 . The uncle ( the buck ) and one deer alone survived ;they hadaimed at them also,bu t the arrow fell from Lingo
’
s hand .
1 52 . He said to himself,when the arrow fell ou t of myhand,That mu st have been a good omen.
1 53. That uncle 1s a devou t follower of the servant of god,andhas no t eaten anything.
1 54. B u t the tw o survivors began to run then these f ou r
bro thers went after them in pursuit,saying,We will catch
them here or there.
1 55 . B u t the tw o could no t be found ;then the bro thers turned
and looked around .
1 56 . The eldest bro ther said,Hear,O brethren These tw o haveescaped,and L ingo
1 57. Has remained behind at a distance from us . Let us return,said the eldest bro ther .
1 58 . When they returned,Lingo asked them,Where have youbeen
1 59. They said,The tw o su rvivors have fl ed and canno t Le
found,so w e hav e retu rned to you .
1 60. He said,I will show you something ; see if anywhere inyour
16 1 . Waistbands there is a flint ; if so,take it ou t and make fire .
1 62 . Then they took ou t pieces of flint and began to make fire,
1 63. B ut the matches did not ignite. As they were domg this,aw atch of the night passed .
1 64. They threw down the matches,ar. d said to Lingo , Thouart a
'
Saint ;
1 8
1 85 . He descried the fire,and w ent to it ; then beheld he an o ldman looking like the trunk of a tree .
1 86. He saw from afar the old man’
s field, around which a
hedge w as made.
1 87. T he old man kept only one w ay to it,and fastened a sc re e n
to the entrance,and had a fire in the centre o f the field.
1 88 . He p laced logs o f the Mohw a and Anjun and Saj treeson the fire .
1 89. Teak faggots he gathered,and enkindled flame.
190. The fire blazed u p,and,w armed by the heat of it,in deepsleep lay the E ike d
‘G awadi.
191 . Thus the old man like a giant did appear. When the
young G ond beheld h im,he shivered;
192 . His heart leaped ; and he was much afraid in his mind,andsaid
193. I f the o ld man were to, rise he w ill see me , and I shall be
eaten up ;
194. I will steal away the fire and carry it o ff, then my life w illbe safe .
195 . He w ent near the fire secretly,and took ab rand of Tembhurw ood tree.
196 . When he was lifting it up a spark flew and fell on the hipo f the o ld man .
197. That spark w as as large as a po t : the giant w as blistered
he awoke alarmed,
198. And said ,I am hungry, and I cannot get food to eat anyw here ; I feel a desire for flesh
199. Like a tender cucumber hast thou come to me. So said the
old man to the G ond,
187. The Mohwa is the tree from the flower of w hich the G onds obtain their fav ou riteliqu o r .
18 8 . The Teak t ree is still found,though somewhat dwarfed,in most parts of the G ond
country.
19
200. Who began to fly. T he old man followed him. TheG ond then threw away the brand whi h he had stolen.
201 . He ran onward and was not caught . Then the old man,being tired,turned back .
202 . Thence he returned to his field,and came near the fire andsat,and said,What nonsense is this
”
I
203. A tender prey had come m thia my reach ;
204. I said I w ill cut it up as soon as I can, but it escaped frommyhand I
205. Let it go : it will come again, then I will catch it. I t is
gone now .
206. Then what happened ? the G ond returned and came tohis brethren,
207. And said to them,Hear,O brethren l I went forfire,as yousent me,to that field ; I beheld an old man like a giant.
208. “Tith hands stretched ou t and feet lifted up,I ran. I thus
survived with difliculty.
209. The brethren said to Lingo,We‘
will not go . Lingo said,Sit ye here .
2 10. O brethren,what sort of a person is this giant. I will goand see him.
2 1 1 . So saying,Lingo went away and reached a river.
2 12 . He thence arose and went onward. As he looked,he sawin front three gourds.
2 13. Then he saw a bamboo stick,which he took up.
2 14. When the river was flooded
2 15. I t washed aw ay a gourd tree, and its seed fell, and eachstem produced bottle gourds.
2 1 6. He inserted a bamboo stick in the hollow of the gourd andmade a guitar.
so
2 1 7. He plucked two hairs from his head and strung it .
2 1 8. He held a bow and fixed eleven keys to that one stick,andplayed on it.
2 19. Lingo was much pleased in his mind.
220. Holding it in his hand,he wal {ed ii: the direction of theold man
’
s field .
22 1 . He approached the fire where I tikad G aWadiw as sle eping.
222. The giant seemed i ike aleg lying close to the fire : his teeth
w ere hideously v isible ;
223. His mou th w as gaping. Lingo looked at the old man
while sleeping.
224. His eyes w ere shu t. Lingo said This is not go r d time tocarry the old man off while he is asleep .
225. In front he looked, and turned round and saw a tree
226. O f the peepul sort standing erect ; he beheld its brancheswith wonder,and looked for a fit place to mount upon .
227. I t appeared a very good tree ;so he climbed it,and ascendedto the top of it to sit.
228 . As he sat,the cock crew . Lingo said,I t is daybreak ;
229. Meanwhile the old man must be rising. Therefore Lingotook the guitar in his hand,
230. And held it ; he gave a stroke, and it sounded well : fromit he drew one hundred tunes .
231 . I t sounded w ell, as if he was s1ng1ng with his voice.
T hus ( as it were) a song was heard .
m ‘.
232 . Trees and bills were silent at its sound . 21 as mu sic loudlyentered into
233. The old man ears ; he rose in haste,and sat up quickly ;lifted up his eyes,
817. This two stringed guitar (jantar) is a fav ourite ins tmment with the Gonds.
22
249. I ( wear) my dhotee ( clo th round the loins) down to myheels,and ( keep) a kno t ( of hair ) on my head,and on
the navel a diamond,and on myforehead a sacred mark .
250. Water may possess a stain,bu t I have none. I am Lingo .
I will make the old man and old w oman
2 5 1. T o dance the G ond dance. I w ill sing a song,and cau se
them to dance,if I be Lingo .
Lingo w orshipped his god,and invoked B udhal Penta,Ad 111Penta,
253. The sixteen satike ( goddesses) and eighteen flags,Manko
B aytal,Jano e B aytal,and Pharsa Penda,
And said,Salu tation ( to you G ods)"He,holding his guitar
in his hands,sung variou s tunes.
I s my guitar an allurement to them So said Lingo . He
stopped the guitar.
From on high he salu ted the uncle,B ikad G awadi,the oldman ;
2 57. Who looked towards the top of the tree,and said,Saluta
tion to you,O nephew"2 58 . Well hast
.
thou deceiv ed and cau sed u s to danceWhither hast thou come,nephew
259. ( Let u s embrace each other. Lingo descended from the
tree,
2 60.And'
o'
omg to the old'
man,held his hand,and said,Uncle;Salu tation to you"They met together : nephew became known to the uncle,$and the uncle to the nephew.
262 r After the -meeting was over, the nephew held the uncle'
s
hand.
2263: They both came near the fire,and eat. 0nephew,Whence“
hast then come? asked the uncle.
249. These ar e Hindu marks in contradistinction t o G onds.263. These names belong to Gond gods and
'
goddesses;
2 8
I‘ha'
v e killed six teen scores o f deer ;we want to roast theirliver to eat .
235 . We w ere trying to make fire fall from the flint, but fi'
re
fell not.
266. You possess fire in you r field, therefore I discharged an
arrow .
2 67. I t came near you r fire . I t arose and fell at the door of you rdaughters .
T he daughters have lifted it up and carried it away .
Have yo u no sense,uncle?
2 69. I sent mybro ther to fetch fire, and you ran to eat him.
2 70. I f you had caught him, you w ould have eaten him u p ;and where shou ld I have seen him again?
2 71 . The uncle said,I made a mistake ;O nephew ,the thing thatI did is past .
2 72 . He replied, O uncle,I have killed sixteen scores of deer"G o and eat their flesh as much as you like.
2 73. Thus said Lingo . Then the old man said,Hear,O nephew,myw ord . T here are seven sisters,my daughters ;
I have them here. Take them away . Having first bound
their eyes,
Lingo thence arose,and stood before the uncle and said, Iam going uncle,
Receive my salu tation . Lingo thence w ent by the way to
the house where the old man’
s daughters w ere.
2 77. Hav ing arrived, he stood at the door. Lingo appeared a
you th of tw elve years
278. Or as sixteen years old ; in front he looked foppish,likea young man ;
2 79. From behind he looked like a devout B rahmin. H e
appeared as a good man.
1
273: This is not supposed to conv ey any allusion to the sev en sister goddesses of the .
Gonds and the lower classes of Hindus.
24
2 80. The seven sisters from within the house came to Lingo,and regarded him
2 8 1 . As a young man. They came out and stood before~Lingo .
2 82 . Tell us,said the seven sisters,who art thou? tell u s.
2 83. He said,Thyfather is myuncle, and thymother is myaunt.
2 84. I am devou t Lingo,the servant of G od . I am Lingo .
2 85 . Hear,0 sisters my arrow came to your house and fell ; Ihave been in search of it for a long time.
2 86. My four brothers are sitting in the jungle ,and I have killedsixteen scores of deer ;
2 87. They are also 1n the jungle,and my bro thers are sittingnear them.
2 88. I have come here for fire : it is very late.
2 89. My brothers must be expecting fire ; they must hav e felthunger,
290. And. thirsty they must hav e become; where will they getbread ?
291 . Thus said Lingo . T e n the seven sisters,what did theybegin to say.
292 . Hear,O bro ther,our w o rd . Thou art a son to uncle,and weare daughters to aunt .
293. There is a good relationship between you and us ; how
can you leave u s ?
294. We w ill come along with you ; therefore,don’
t say N o .
295 . I f you like to come,be ready soon,and' take the onward
road,said Lingo.
296 . They took the bedding for their beds,and their clothes,and gave the arrow to Lingo .
2 6
They replied,and said, H ear, O Lingo"Thou who art
called good,mayw e call you bad
315 . We w ill not go, w e w ill s tay . Whither thou shalt go,thither We w ill follow thee .
316 . The brethren s aid, Hear, O Lingo, these seven s isterss ayWell 1
317. Say thou yes to them,0 brother, w e will marry them.
31 8 . We will make them ou r w iv es . Hear, O Lingo, sueh is
o u r w ord .
319. He said ,Take these as wives in marriage, and I shall be
g reatly p leased .
320. Take them here in mar riage, I w ill g1 v e you leave tomake them your w ives .
32 1 . They said,If you see any one of them to be good-looking,
yo u take her.
I f any he inferior,we will take her .
323. He s aid,Hear my w ord,0bro thers I do not need this .
324 . I promised to give them to you ;they are of no use to me .
325 . So,said Lingo,ifyou marry'
them they will serve me.
326 . They w ill be my sisters-in-law . You are older,and I amyo unger .
327. They can give me water and bread, and spread a bed
for me
328. I w ill sleep on it. They can give me a bath ;myclothesthey w ill wash.
329. They w ill be my sisters -ia-law, and like my mothersthey shall be .
330. So said Lingo . When Lingo said they will be mymothers, the suspicion of the four vanished.
331 . They w ent to Lingo,and asked him : 0 Lingo,marry us
quickly 1
27
332 . Ifyou marry us,then they are seven sisters,and we arefour brothers .
333. Distribute to each of us a wife,0 Lingo .
334. He said the three elder should marry two each,and theyounges t,one only.
335 . Then said Lingo,Hear,myword,0brethren In this jungle
336 . And in this plain how can we make preparation ;we hav eour town,namely K achikopa Lahugad
337. We will go there and make preparations for the marriage.
338 . So said Lingo . When they heard this,they departed.
339. They walked in front, and the (w omen) walked behind.
340. They came to their v illage Kachikopa Lahugad, and
began to make
341 . Preparations . There were no men or women ; then Lingobrought water .
342 . He bathed them, boiled turmeric and gave them, and
pounded safi'
ron .
343. He erected a bower,and tied garlands of leaves round it.
344 . He called the fou r brothers to sprinkle turmeric roundabou t .
345 . He applied turmeric to the four brothers and the sevensisters .
346 . He said w e canno t marry all at once. Hear,0brothers.
347. Let u s marry one set only at firs t,and the res t shall w orkw ith u s ( for that occasion).
348 . Then shall the marriage of the second set take place
349. Those who have been already married shall now help us( in this marriage ceremony),and so on.
350. Thus said Lingo and the’
four consented to it .
2 8
351 . Thus ended the marriage. When some days passed,theeldest brother said,Hear myw ord,0 brethren .
35 2 . Lingo has done good to u s, and brought w ives to ou r
houses.
353. B u t Lingo is withou t a w ife : he thought of our good,but not of his own,
354 . So we will reckon him as our father .
355 . We will kill game,and bring flowers for Lingo . Let himsit in a swing .
356 . So said the four brothers .
357. Lingo sat in a swing,and the seven sisters swung thesw ing .
358 . The four brothers took their bows and arrows,and repairedto the jungle .
359. After that,what happened ? The seven sisters said withinthemselves,Hear,0 sisters . This Lingo
360. Is our husbands’ younger bro ther,and w e are his sisters
in-law ;w e are at liberty to laugh w ith him;
36 1 . We can pull him by the hand, and we can make him tospeak w ith u s .
362 . Lingo does no t laugh with us ; be neither speaks norlooks towards us ; he has closed his eyes
363. But he shall laugh,and we w ill play w ith him. So saying,
364. Some held his hand, and some his feet, and pulled him,bu t Lingo moved not his eyes
365 . He did not speak or laugh with them.
366 . Then Lingo said to them,Hear,0sisters . You have heldmyhands
854. This marriage bower is characteristic of the Gonds : but is not unknown to the
Hindus .
30
383. Some a quail ; some brought fl ow ers .~
384 . They came into their house and set their burdens down,and said,L et u s go to ou r Lingo ;
385 . IV e w ill give him flowers ; he maybe expec ting u s . Theyentered the house .
386 . They came near Lingo and s tood, and saw him sleeping .
387. They said,There is no one here . Lingo is sleeping ; ourw 1v es do no t appear.
388 . Then w e will come and awake Lingo . Thence theyreturned
389. To their houses ,and going to their rooms, they began tolook .
They ( the w omen l w ere feigning s leep, and panting, asif fear had come upon them . Then the husbands asked
them,
Why are you s leeping? and why don’
t you sw ing Lingo ?T hey replied,Hear our words
How Lingo, your bro ther, dealt w ith us . How long shall
w e hide this dn race
393. He allow s you to go to the j ungle,and behind your backhe shamefully maltreats us .
394 . Such is the conduct of this Lingo . We have kept quiettill tod ay ;
395 . N ow w e w ill not stop qu iet We w ill go back to ou r
father’
s place .
396 . We w ill no t s tay here . Can one w oman have two
hu sbands ?'
397. The brethren said,We told Lingo at the firs t
398 . That there w ere seven sis ters, and that he might chooseon e from amongs t them,
399. And that we w ould marry the rest. B ut he said,
400.
r
I hey are my sisters , they are mymothers .
401 . Thus s aid that sinner, w icked and ill-conducted, thatLingo .
31.
While w e w ere cut hunting,he deceived us . We w ill take
Him to the jungle, and, having killed him, w e w ill pullo u t his eyes .
Up to this day w e have killed antelope and hares ;
B ut to-dayw e go to hunt Lingo , and after killing him w e
will take ou t his eyes ,
406 . And w e w ill play w ith them as w ith marbles ; and then
w e w ill eat fo od and drink w ater .
407. Then they came to Lingo . and s tood befo re him and said,
Rise,O Lingo , ou r younges t bro ther"408 . Lingo said,Why, brethren.
— why'
hav e you no t brought
the game and the fl owe rs to me ? and w hy have youcome s o s o on ?
409. They s aid . There is a large animal ; w e hunted it hard.bu t it did no t fall
4 10. I t does no t fl ee, it s tands s till only ; we are tired of dis
charging ou r arrow s at it.
4 1 1 . Lingo aro s e from the sw ing and s at,and looked towardshis bro thers .
4 12 . I w ill kill that animal. So said Lingo .
4 13. Ling o thence aro s e and came ou t o f the house, and s aid,Come,0bro thers . Where is the animal ?
4 14. In front Lingo, and in rear the four brothers walkedtowards the jungle .
4 1 5 . I t is a v e ry large animal, said they ;and saying thu s,theys earched fo r it among trees and gras s .
4 1 6 . Lingo said, If it has gone, let it go .
4 17. Lingo w ent under a Char tree and sat. Then they said,O
D
brother"41 8 . Sit hére, and w e will bring water. So saying,yonder they
went
4 19. B eing, amongs t the trees,they said amongthemselves,
G ood Lingo is s eated in the shade,
32
420. This is the right time to effect our desire . T he four to okfou r arrow s and sho t
One arrow hit the head, an d the head split open
42 2 . O ne hit the neck, and it bowed down ; one hit the liv e r,and it was cleft.
423. Thus Lingo breathed his las t"424. The fou r bro thers came up to Lingo and s tood,
42 5 . And s aid,Draw a knife, and w e will take ou t his eyes .
They d rew ou t a knife and
T o ok ou t his two eyes, and said,Cover him .
So they took some tw igs and covered Lingo,
Then they said,We have killed Lingo ,who w as w icked .
They plucked some green leaves of the trees and made a
c up o f them,
And placed in it the two eyes of Lingo,and one t ied it to
his w ais tband .
431 . They w alked tow ards their house, and at evening time
they arrived ho rne .~
432 . O ne said,Hear, O w ives"K indle fire quickly,And light a lamp . They drew the s talks of fl ax from
the eaves of the hou se roof and enkindled fi re.
434 . O ne said,I t is a fine light,let us play at marbles .
435 . They took ou t bo th the eyes, and said. 0 s even sis ters
you also j o in in play .
436 . They brought the eyes. and placed one on the eas t s ide,and the o ther on the w es t ;
437. And the brethren, s itting c lo se, held the marbles betw een
the j oints of their fingers .
438 . Then began to play at marbles w ith the tw o eyes ; and
the ir game las ted an hou r .
34
1 6. When it came to the jungle of K achikopa Lahugad, itsearched in the valleys there.
1 7. I ts sight fell on the twigs, it came to them and sat, andsearched the twigs .
18. I t saw Lingo lying there looking as if smashed, and
19. This the crow observ ed, and fl ew away and came to theupper w orld.
20. Perching on god’
s hand, it sat . G od asked it,Where haveyou seen him?
2 1 . I t said [ came to the jungle of K achikopa Lahugad, I saw
a man there in a cave.
When god heard this he became silent, and understoodthe tru th of it ;
And then said,I t w as in that very jungle that Lingo was
born from a flower o f the tree .
And has nev er been there since. He took nectar
From ou t of his fingers and called K urtao Subal, and said
to him
Take this and sprinkle on the liver, belly,and head of the
body .
Thu s, the crow in front,and Kurtao Subal behind,went toK achikopa L ahugad.
K urtao Subal said,Hear,O crow. Here is myLingal.
Ambrosia w as brough t, and drOppe l into his mou th . and
sprinkled over his head and body: then L ingal’
s head
began to unite,
And his flesh became warm.
Lingo rose
And sat up. Looking towards the crow,he said,I was fastasleep ;
Where are mybrothers
I see only a man and a crew,and I don’
t see mybrothers.
35 . Kut tao Subal replied,Where are your brothers ?
35
You w ere dead, your body was lying here; we came andrestored you to life ;
The bro thers you enquire abou t have killed you, and goneaw ay.
Then said K urtao Subal,what do you sayto going? Lingal,addressing the crow ,said
I w ill go to my sixteen scores of G onds .
I w ill go and see them. and speak to them.
The crow and K urtao Subal started in one direction,
And Lingo took ano ther road .
Lingo, while crossing the mountains and jungle,benighted.
Then Lingo said,I w ill s tay here alone ;
Tigers and bears maydevou r me.
He Went te a large N iroor tree .
When he climbed to the top,the night came on
“Wild. cocks crowed,peacocks cried,antelopes were afraid,
And bears wagged their heads, jackals yelled, and the
jungle resounded .
At midnight Lingo saw the moon,and said to himself
The dayis approaching,and while the s tars are still V isible,I w ill ask them about my G onds.
At the third watch of the night,the cock crowed
The morning star appeared,the skybecame red.
Lingo,descending from the tree, ran towards the sun and
saluted him
And said,1 want to know where mysixteen scores of G ondsare?
5 5. The sun said,I am engaged in the service of G od duringthe four watches of the day,
39. The number of sixteen scores of G onds,which frequentlyrecurs,is doubt less int endedfor some original t ribal sub-div ision of the people,although the numbermay not be reconcil
able with the tribes as new declared to exis t. See for further specificatiozi,Parts IV . andV .
36
And have not seen your G onds .
Lingo w ent to the moon,
Salu ted and asked her if she knew any thingAbout his sixteen scores of G onds . The moon replied
I travel all night, and during the day am engaged in theservice of G od ;
Therefore I know not.
Lingo then went to black K umayat,
Saluted him,and asked him,where are my sixteen scores o fG onds.
65 . He replied : Hear,L ingo : Mention abou t anyone but G onds .
66 . The G onds are foolish like the ass .
67. They cat cats,mice, and bandicoo ts ;
68 . They also eat pigs and buffaloes ; they are of such a badcas te.
69. Why do you ask me about them ?
70. At the s ource of the Jumna river, on the Dhawalagirimountain,
71 . Mahadewa has caught the G onds,
And has confined them in a cave, and shut its mou th witha s tone of sixteen cubits
’
long .
73. B asmasur the giant has been appionted to guard it andwatch the place .
74. After hearing this,Lingo set out, and walked night andday,
75, Making devo tion . After tw elv e months had expired, theterm of his devo tion was comple te,
76 . When the golden s eat o f‘
Mahadew a began to shake ( fromthe effects of L ingo
’
s devo tion) .
63. This name— b lack K umayat— is obs cure. I t is believ ed to refer t o some Hindu saint,
especially if t aken in connexion with the remark that follow s .
67. This sev ere remark upon the Gond people is doub tless of Hindu d eriv ation.
38
97. They w ill alight here and there ; smells w ill arise,bonesw ill be scattered,and make the earth look very bad.
98 . T he respec t for mount Dhawalagiri will be lost .
99. M ahadew a, hearing this, replied : Hear, N arayan,I havepassed my w o rd .
100. I have erred,bu t Will no t change myword .
101 . N arayan then addressed L ingo :
102 . H ear, L ing o . B ring me the young ones of the black birdB indo fo r an offering ;
103. After that you may take the G onds aw ay.
104. L ingo w ent and reached the ' sea,where there was nothingbu t w ater visible ;
105 . And on the shore he saw the young ones of the black
bird . T he parent bird
106 . H ad gone to the j ungle . This bird was such,that
107. For fo od it killed the elephant, and ate its eyes ; andbreaking its head, brought the brains for the youngones to eat.
108. There had been seven broods,at seven different times ;
B u t they had been devoured by a. sea-serpent, called theB howrnag_
. Lingo . w ent near.
A fter see ing the young ones,he said to himself: If I takethem in the
Absence o f their parents,I shall be called a thief; I w ill
therefore
Take them in the presence of the parents, and will be
true to myname.
He slept near the young ones w ith comfort.
A large snake, as thick as the trunk of the I tumna tree,appeared
105 . Th e episode abou t the bird B indo,and the sea-serpent,and the shore of‘
the ocean,
cannot be of G ond o rigination . The id eas and the imagery are qu ite beyend the G onds .
The fable mu st be d eriv ed from the Hindu s,though I am not s ure that the nam e B indo
occurs in their books . Howev er, there is a great bird in Hindu myt hology, d escribedas
“the king of the feathered t ribe and the remorseless enemy of the serpent race.
"B u t
39
With a hood as large as a basket for winnowing corn.
This serpent, ca lled the B howrnag, came out of the
w ater to eat the young ones .
The young ones were terrified on seeing the serpent,andbegan to cry.
Lingo ,taking an arrow ,and fixing it in his bow,
Sho t the serpent, and then cu t it into seven pieces,whichhe immediately
B ro ugh t and laid at the head o f his bed, and Coveredthem up.
Then the male and female of the black bird returned fromthe j ungle .
They brought the carcase o f some camels and some
elephants, together w ith some eyes and lips o f elephants,
As food fo r their you ng ones .
B u t the young ones refused to eat ;
When the female said . to the male ;
N o tw ithstanding myhaving had young seven times‘
,
I am like a barren she-bufl'
alo ; if these young”ones are
sp ared
I shall be like a mo ther o f children . What evil eye hasbeen cast on
Myyoung ones,that they do not eat l’
The male bird, aligh ting from the tree, saw a whiteobj ect ly ing below,w h e re w as Lingo .
He then exclaimed : Here is a man,and that is whyour
young ones do no t eat.
Let u s kill him and ex tract his brains ;
O u r young ones w ill then take their fo od .
Hearing this,the young ones said
You hav e brought food for us,bu t how shall we eat it?
You are ou r parents,
You leave u s alone,and go away to the jungle
Who is there to protect us?
40,
137. The serpent came to eat us.
138. This man whom you see,has saved ou r lives .
139. G ive him firs t to eat,w e w ill then take our food ; unlesshe eats,w e w ill no t eat.
1 40 After hearing what the young ones said,
14 1 . The mo ther fl ew down from the tree, and coming nearLingo,
1 42 . And lifting up the clo th w ith w hich he had coveredh imselt
‘
, saw the sev en pie ces of the B how rnag serpent.
143. Seeing this she began to exclaim
144. T his I s the serpent tha t has always eaten my young ones,
and rendered me child less
Had this man no t been here it w ould have devoured thesealso .
A ddressing Lingo, she said : Rise father,— rise bro ther ;who are you , and
Where have you come from ? You have saved the lives ofou r young ones, and you have become ou r grandfather .
1 48 . Whatever you say,w e w ill lis ten to it.
1 49. He said
1 50. O bird, I am a devotee, a worshipper of the Deity .
15 1 . Tell us, the bird said,w hat has brought you here .
152 Lingo replied, I want you r young ones .
1 53. O n hearing this the bird began to cry bitterly,
And,opening her eyes, she said
I would give you anything
Except my young ones .
Lingo said
I w ill take your young ones merelyMahadewa.
In reply to this, the black B indo said
42
180. Mahadewax
gav e wheat 2to of imill‘
dtto o thers,
1 8 1 . And rice to others .
182 . The G onds went ito -the riv er =and lbegan~preparing their
food.
Some of the G onds said that they been confined a nd
punished severely .
1 84. On hearing this,tLingo s aid
You are now sat the iriv er,-cook and reatyandt hen commain.
P A R T I V .
The subdiv is ion by Lingo of the G er da into tribes, and the
ins titution of the worship of the G ond gods .
1 .Lingo kneaded the flou r and made it into a thick cake,
and cooked pulse,and satisfied all the G onds.
Then clouds arose,and it began to rain.
When the rivers flooded and the flood began to roll, all
the G onds spoke :
4 .O Lingo,much rain has come up and is falling.
Then all these G onds began to w alk in the middle of the
river .
6 . From among all these G onds, four persons w ith Linggremained .
7.Lingo,having seen this,began to say: Hear,O brethren
This river is flooded,how shall w e cross it
M ore clouds came up,and darkness fell,
When those four persons and Lingo began to speak
Hear , O brethren,w hat shall w e do,and how shall we go
on ? the day is depar ting.
N ow Dame the tortoise,and Pusi the alligator,w ere playingin the w ater.
They came to them ou t of the water,and begag tg speak
Hear,O brethren,whydo you Silently stand and cry
They said : O ur sixteen scores of G onds have all gong,and
w e only have r emained ;
O brethren,how shall w e go They said Sit on us,and
We w ill take you across .
6. The fou r pers ons who r emained with Lingo when the rest crossed the riyer seem to
be the same as th e fou r who remained b ehind when all the rest entered the cav e — See
Part I .,line 79.1 2 . The episode of the tortoise and the alligator is of G ond origin. The G onds are said
t o hold the t ort o ise sacred ev en now,and nev er t o catch it themselv es, apd ev en'
t o'
prodiir‘
éits release if caught by others .
444
I f you keep your oath w e w ill take you across the river.
They replied : Hear, 0 sisters . You are Pusi the alligator,and you are Dame the tort oise.
These fo u r persons who ar e before you w ill keep their
oath first of all.
I f any beat you w e w ill not allow it or if any ( try to )catch you w e w ill prevent it .
You shall be the eldest sister of us four persons,said they.
Dame the tortoise, and Pu si the alligator,came before the
face ( of the G onds ),and those persons sat on the alligator’
s
back,leav ing Lingo alone to sit on the back of the tor toise.
T he alligator w ent first,and then fo llow ed the tortoise in
the flood .
The w icked alligator,having taken them into the midst of
the w ater,began to drown them .
They began‘
to cry. T hen the tor toise spoke : Hear,O Lingo.
Stretch thyhand and drag them off, and make them sit o n
my back
Lingo,having stretched his hand,caught them and dragged
them away,and made them sit on the tortoise’
s back .
Then the tortoise took the four men on his back and went
across the river ;
29. And they fell at its feet,and said : Hear,O tortoise,we willno t become faithless to you .
30. T hen those four w ent by a jungly path, and ascendedone hill,
31 . And descended another . Thus they went forward .
32 . They began to cu t trees and build houses,and they remained( not together ),but here and there.
33. Fields and hou ses w ere formed by the G onds, and thattown became large.
33. lf’
rom this line to line 37 is a d escription of the scat tered settlement s made by theGonds m the forests. The name N er Bhumi is the Gondi term for a city;,it ,has no further
45
A bazaar ( periodical market ) Was held in Nar B humi ( thename of the tow n ) .
T hen Lingo began to say: Hear,O brethren. If you w ill
sow millet,it w ill spring u p.
Thus tw elve months passed, and N ar Bhumi began to
appear excellent .
Those who had no bullo cks received them .
T hose who had no carts received carts thus all the houses
o f the city became pro sperou s .
All the G onds came to Lingo,and sat clo se to each o therin row s,
While Lingo s to od in the midst o f them,and began to
speak
Hear,O brethren. Allyou G o nds unders tand no thing.
Yo u do no t know whom to call bro ther,and w hom father,
O r o ther relativ e ; from whom to ask a daughter, and to
w hom to give you r daughter ;
With w hom to laugh . Then those G onds began to say
0 Lingo,you possess great and go od unders tanding ; do
as you
Hav e said w ith all you r might,and make tribes o f us .
Then Lingo, ou t o f the six teen sco res o f the G onds, separated four sco res, and told them to rise .
48 . He caught one o f them by the hand,and said : 0 friend,become Manawaja .
34 This bazaar is an exact allusion t o the periodical market s (on s ome fixed d ay of the
week),which are to this d ay held bythe hill people,e v en amongst the wilds of the mountains .
35 . The command of Lingo t o the G ends t o sow millet (j owaree) is in ad v er tence to their
progress in agricu ltu re . Their practice is fi rs t t o s ow rice,which is easily produced . Astheir reso urces increase, they begin t o raise a lit tle millet,which requ ires more care andresou rce.
37 and 38 . Though the w ord s are simple,— merely that the G onds r eceiv ed bu llocks,and then carts,
—yet they are pregnant with actual meaning, which is this . In the earliest
stages the G onds liv ed first on fru it and gam e, as d esc ribed in Part I . Then, as specifiedin Part 1 1, line 63, ci p assim, they cu t down t rees,and burn them for ashes,which fertilizesthe ground, and makes it yield, f rom seedjnown w ithou t ploughing or other agricu ltu raloperation . As they ad v ance theyb egin t o cu ltiv at e w ith b u llo cks and ploughs; and then,lastly,as th eir v illages improv e,they u se car ts t o car ry grain t o market,and especially toc onv ey the wild fru its and o ther produ ce of the j ungles . These sev eral stages of progressare V isible t o this day among the th e G ond s .
47. Though this and the sub sequ ent lines r efer to some tribal ’d istribu tion, yet thediv ision mu st n ot be r egarded as at all complet e ; and it only part iallycorresponds with thebest receiv ed specificat ion of the tw elv e G ond t ribes .
457
63. Two years old ; and call two of the
64. M anozas ( bards) . Then they named one god Ghagara Pen
( the B ell god) .
65 . Lingo said : B ringa chou ri ( fan) made from the tail of the
w ild cow .
66 . Then,said Lingo, open the shop ( of the ironsmith ),andmake the go d Parsapot of s teel.
67. G o to the jungle and cu t a bamboo stick,and bring it.
68 . K eep their god in Dhanegaon,and the seven sisters, goddesses ( satike ),in Anegaon .
69. In the morning,Lingo aro se and w ent to a river and bathed,and w o re a dho te ( clo th round the lo ins ),
70. And applied the tika ( sacredmark ) to his forehead . What Isays he . Hear,O brethren,to the O zas ( bards) .
Call tw o Dahaking drummers ; and they called them, and
brought the Stick god . Then
72 . Lingo bound the Chain god to the s tick, and placedano ther stick 1n the god Pharsapo t ; and the G ungawan
C haw or ( the cow tailed fan w as waved over it ;
and w ith joined hands then said : Hail l Phal sa ( Pen).
73. H e lifted the stick, and the gods Manko Rayetal, JangoRaye tal,
74. And Pharsa Pen came and stood ( there) ; and Lingo w as
possessed of them .
75 . Then Lingo became a man devo ted to god,and moved and
jumped mu ch
76. Lingo (w as ) in front, and behind were goats,cocks,a calf.And all the G onds
64. Manoza,or O za,are r egu lar names for the bards or m instrels, so common amongst
the G onds . The Ghagara Pen, or B ell god,is one of the G ond go ds,formed by stringingtoge
t her a set of small tink ling bells .
65 . This sacred fan (G ungawan Chou r, or Chow ri) is well known among the G onds ; but
the id ea is believ ed t o b e borrowe d from the Hindu s .
66 . The god Pharsapot,or Phares Pen, is represented by a spear,and is one of the regu larG ond gods . Pharsa also means a t rident in G ondi. Iron-ore is obtained in most parts of
the G ond country.
67. This is the Stick god,w ell known among the G onds,and i epresented by a bamboo.
The bamboo is plentifu l generally 1n the G ond count iy.
68. Dhanegaon and Anegaon are names of v illages withou t anypar ticu la r meaning. Thesev en sisters are goddesses,well known t o the common Hindu s as well as to the G ond s .
72 . The Chain god is represent ed simply by an iron chain, and 13 worshipped by theG onds under the name of sakla Pen .
73. Manko Rayetal and Jane o Rayetal are known to be members of the G ond pantheon.
The Pardhém who recites this Song declares them to be theyv iv es o f the god Pharsa Pen.
Assembled in one place: Hav ing left the t illage Dh‘
anegaon,
They came,and began to saythis is a thick jungle.
Then the G onds ( called on the gods ) «to stand s till.
They fell at the feet of the gods,and asked where theysho uld make seats for the gods o f each band .
Then all the G onds came in front and, w ith joined hands,stood,
8 2 . And began to ask Pharsa Pen ; who replied : Hear, Obrethren.
83. B etween tw elve glens and seven dales go, and make placefo r ( u s gods ) .
84. Then in front w ent the S tick god,and behind follow ed all
the G onds.
8 5 . They arrived, and after alighting they began to pick Up
grass and lift s tones.
Then said B ingo,
Hear,O b'
reth'
ren. Doyou see yonder a
B ij’
esal t'
ree ? Go and cut it,and make a kettle-drum from
its w ood . They,taking an axe,w ent and ou t it.
Some held a pitcher, and brought a pitcherful of water ;
some digged earth;and
Made a platform,and placed on it the Stick god . Some said
O ur drum is no t ready,
B urn this fire in front and light the lamp :
79. The Gonds calling on the gods t o stand still has a particu lar meaning, which is this .
The people ar e marching in a sor t of r ude proce ssion int o the hear t of the forest ; and theirgod s, consist ing of a sacred string of bells,a sacred spear,a sacred chain,
‘
a sacred bamboo
st ick,and a sacred fan,being wav ed ab ou t,are being car r ied byp riests and bear ers along with
the mu ltitud e. Then the bearers of these consecrated emblem s are ord ered t o stop ; andth u s it is phrased that 'the gods are made t o etand still .81 . This standing on on one leg and with j oined hands is a G ond practice, probably learnt
byth ein from Hindu dev otees .
88. The tw elv e hills and the sev eh dales arethe s ame as those mentioned in the operriilgline of Par t I . I t is an established phrase among the G ond s .
84. The Stick god leading the way,means that thesacred bamboo was carried in front .
108. And began to p lay a good» tune on the K ingree ( ones tringed guitar) and the drum .
109. The god derived pleasure therefrom. Then two feet of
1 10. A calf were washed,and so) was its mouth ; vermilionwas applied to its forehead .
1 1 1 , ( Then) they threw them ( the other animals ) down,andkilled them too .
1 12 . The head of the calf w as placed before the god . Thensaid Lingo : Hear,O brethren ;
1 18 . Remove quickly the skin of the c alf and roast its liver .
1 14 . They brought s tones and made an oven, and placed a
pitcher on it .
1 1 5 . The pitcher w as filled w ith water,and flesh was put in it.
1 1 6 . T he leaf o f the Eyn tree (was ) cu t and brought,and madein to plate s .
1 1 7. And in a bras s plate they placed cooked rice, liv‘er,flesh,
and they lighted four lamps ,and took and placed thembefo re the gods .
Some made an ofi'
ering of silver pieces as a present tothe god .
T hus a heap o f silver up to the knee ( of a man) was
ga the red before the god .
T hen Lingo spoke : Hear,O brethren : The offerings are
go od in the cou rts o f the god .
( T here is ) no one t o receive these offerings .
Hear,O brethren From the midst of all ( these Gonds )some one should become a Pardhan,
1 23. And we will give ( this offering ) to him.
1 24 . Then Lingo looked well among the companyand ( saw) anold,hoary haired man firs t of all
1 29. The introduction of the Pardhan,a sort of priest among the Gonds, is here madeby the Pardhan who recites this v ery Song, for the glorification of himself and 1118 class .
The~Pardhans are well known in this capacity,
5 1
1 2 5 . And hav ing looked on him,‘
held his hand and said
1 26 . B ecome a Pardhan, and we will give you much wealth and
clothes ;
1 2 7. We w ill give you a horse,and whatever you ask u s we
w illn ot refuse.
1 28. Well,bro ther,( said the) old man,I am ( fit for nothing but)to sit and eat .
129. All salu ted him ; and some gave clo thes, some gav e silverpieces,
130. Some gave him a pipe.
131 . As they w ere rising,Lingo said : Hear,Obrethrenand friends.
132 . Then ( said they) what shallwe do,0brethren He rose,and made
133. Seven persons ou t of them to stand aside,and said to them,You become a family of seven.
134. He thenmade six persons to stand aside,
135 . (And said ) You become a family of six. He took fiv emore aside,
136 . And made them to stand,and breaking surface of theearth,a family of fiv e w ere formed .
137. T o the remaining four he said : B e div ided into families offou r and fi v e .
138 . After saying this,he reminded them to keep their promisew ith the tortoise.
1 27. The present of a horse is amark of high honou r . Th e god KodaPen,or horse-god,iswmetimes worshipped by the G onds, and sometimes there are sacred images of this animal1 28 . The man here giv es a true description of the character of the Pardhans, who are
av erse to any sort of indust ry.
133t o 137. This arrangement of some of the people into families of sev en,of six, o f
fi v e,and of four,might at first appear obscure,bu t it refers to the div ision of the peopleint o sect s,who worship— some,sev en gods; some,six; some,fiv e; some,four. I t is w ell knownthat some G onds are sev en-
god-worshippers, others six-
god worshippers,and so on.
138 . The cov enant with the tortoise refers to the epis ode mentioned in the precedingline 12 of this Part .
52
Then all made salutation . Lingo said : O brethren,look yonder towards the gods .
All persons looked behind, but Lingo vanished and went’
to the gods.
While they were looking behind,they said : Where is our
Lingo gone?
5 4
1 6 . Hearing Lingo 3 words, the Pardhan departed, and began
to go on the waytowards K achikopa L ahugad .
17. Hav ing reached it,he stood before the house and saluted
the head man,
1 8 . And said I am your Pardhan, I was made Pardhan
byLingo you r lord .
19. Lingo has sent me to you,because he know s that you po s
sess daughters ; to ask them in marriage he has sent
me to you .
I f I see a fit person I w ill j oin her in marriage.
2 1. Then the fou r bro thers said : G ive o ur salu tation to Lingo ,and tell him that we w ill no t rej ec t his proposals .
22 . Then went the Pardhan ( back) to his town, and came to
Lingo
And said to Lingo : They told me to tell you that whateverLingo do es,to that w e w ill consent .
24. L et him give our daughters to anyone ( he likes}, said the
four bro thers
2 5 . So the Pardhan went to ask them fo r their daughters .
2 6. When he reached the place, he salu ted the landlo rd, and
called for a pitcherful o f water,and perfo rmed the omen.
27. Then the fo ur bro thers salu ted the ( new ) son-in~law .
2 8 . After w ashing the feet o f the Pa rdhan,they 111 1 13him to
sit in their house.
The Pardhan said : To make su re o f this, ( let u s) go to theliquor shop .
Wh atev er Ling ) told the Pardhai abou t marriage cere
menics,S ) the Pa r dhai s naw te ll the G onds to d ) .
Assemble fi v e daughters and grind tu rmeric .
Make an ofiering to the domes tic gods firs t ;
Then ( offer ) saffron to all o ther'
gods by theirnames .
29. This refers to the fatal habit among the G 33f13of ratifying ev erything with a drinkingbou t . Th e liqu or is made from the flower o t the Moha t ree,so abundant 1 11 the G ond forests .30 The d escription of the m i rr iage c e remm 1es,wn 1c n follows,is said t o b e c orr ect and
31 . Turmeric / is grown in the Gond -country.
55
Drink,w ash -the zfeet, pres ent) s alutations,joinyour hands
Spread the blanket and make all the G onds sit on it . B ringa pitcherfu l o f liqnor to the s ide o f the bridegroom,
and half a pitcher to that of the bride .
T hen make all the w omen, both small and great,'
s it down.
K eep the fu ll pitcher of liquor on the right side, and the
half-fu ll pitcher on the left .
38 . C all ( for) tw o more pitchersfu l of liquor,and drink acco rdingto cus tom.
89. K eep in a brass plate a lampi'. s ome grain s of ric e, tw o p ice,
s ome betelnu t, and a box of kuku ( red pow der ) , with
gulal powder ( red o chre ) . Apply a tika ( sacred mark ) to
the front of the pitcher,
40. Then apply the mark to the pitcher-man, then to all the
res t .
41 . B reak the pitcher,and let the w omen on the bride ’
s side
sing
42 .
“ A pair of blankets having been spread : O father, youhave lo s t you r deares t daughter .
43. O father for the love of liquor you have los t your deardaughte r.
”
44. Then distribu te liquor cups, fi rst to the pitcher~man,
45 . And after he has drunk , then to all the res t of the company .
46 . Salute ( one ano ther ) and thu s observe the custom .
( Then shou ld } follow eating and drinking .
N ext ,at t he time bf departure, only those on
groom’
s s ide mus t fo llow with the departing,them .
Embrace, and then return to yourhouse ; and when thebrldegr oom reaches his hou s e,
35 . The spr eading of‘
thes e rough woollen blankets (sheep abound in the G ond count ry) laan int egra l .part of the c eremonies .
The frequ ent mention in this and in “following lines of diqu or and drinking,are ihdi catwe o f the c u stoms _ of t he Gonds ; and on these occ asions the women drink as much
0
5 6
50. Then his feet s hou ld be washed,and let all the gues ts onthe bridegroom
’
s side drink .
5 1. What happens next? Women should grind turmeric .
Then what song is to be sung?
5 2 . The B haw ajai ( bro ther’
s w ife ) shou ld say,Sing the bride
groom’
s song ; and the bridegroom may say, Sing theB hawaj al s s ong .
53. After this, le t all ( the w omen ) sing— let them g rind saffron,
and after making pow der of it,
5 4 . Let the B hawaj ai s ing, and say, B ro ther , s ing a s ong.
55 . After grinding saffron,w ave a lamp ; and in a brass platekeep s affron, and the preparation of betel-leaf with a
who le nu t .
5 6 . L et there be a box o f kuku ( red powder ), s ome grains ofrice,and a w aving lamp .
5 7. B ring in a po t of w ater, and hold liquor in a bottle named
Lauguyal .
58 . Then depar t from the hou se . L et mus 1c 1ans be in front,and let the bridegroom fo llow them
59. With s inging of s ongs . The saffron should be carried tothe god B himsen ;
60. Then to Mata, the goddes s of the town ; then to Matamai;fourthly,to the boundary gods .
6 1 . Fifthly, to the god Hanuman ; s ixthly to the Pandhari god ;s eventhly, t o the manes o f the dead ; then sing a s ongto Bhims en .
52 . B hawajai,the elder brother ’
s w ife, is alw ays an import ant personage on these occasions .
If there be no su ch person act ually, then some female r ela tiv e is chosen t o take the part .
5 7. Lauguyal is the common G ondi name for an earthen w ine bott le.
59. B himsen is, of couré ,a Hindu mythological personage ; bu t he is v enerat ed as a god
by the G onds .
60. Mata and Matamei represent the small-pox : the names are d oubt less borrow ed fromthe Hindu s . Mata is also one of the sev en sist ers allu ded t o in the preced ing hne273,Part I I . The fact of Mata b eing al so the goddess of the t own,indicat es that the d 1se
ase
is frequ ent lypresent and permanently dreaded, part ly ow ing-t o the dirty and unwashed
c ondition of the G ond s . The boundary god s merely allude t o an imaginary d emarcat ion
among the hills ; t he G onds d o not pu t up land -marks .
6 1 . Hanuman,‘
th e monkey god,is-of cou rse ad opted from the Hind us . The Pandhari,the
god of the land, is a Mahrat t a name . The shad es of the dead (Sanyal Pen) are much
v enerated by the G onds .
58
8 1 . L et four w omen cause the bridegroom to be sent for.
After this
82 . Take the bridegroom into the house, and make him s it
there.
83. Place around him four pots fas tened together w ith thread,and
84a Surround the whole by one‘
thread connecting all.
85 O n the bridegroom’
s head. hold cakes plac ed on. an ironspoon,
86 . And let fi v e women hold their hands su spended over hishead .
87. Then pour oil on the cakes,and then on his head
88 . Pour Water ; then bath'
e him w ith water.
89. Then what cu stom follow s ? When the brother’s Wife
covers a ves sel on her lap, then the bridegroom should
put a copper pice in it .
90. Then let him throw w ater till her body is w etted.
91 . B bawajai ( bro ther’
s wife ) w ill throw water also,and then
let him bathe.
92 . After bathing, what is to be done ? Apply kuku ( redpowder ). What song shou ld
‘
be sung P
98 . Women,holding betelnu t to his mouth,and holding kuku
( red powder) to his forehead, shall sing :“What Raj a’
s
son is this 2
94. Then what fo llow s ? Apply rice, then sing as follow s
95 . T he B hawaj ai ( brother’
s w ife) has not put oil in the
lamp .
”She w ill say, in front is the bridegroom, and
behind is the bride.
96. Then at the same time the drum should be sounded ;
97. And w ith pipes ; then should follow all the musiciansw ith cheerful hearts .
98. Let ( bo th) young and old men be merry, and raise up the
bridegroom w ith force .
59,
99. And make him sit on a heap of cowdung,and dance gladlyaround him.
100. One w oman. having lifted up the seat on which the bride
groom bathed, should dance also .
101 . O ne having taken a waving lamp, let her dance also .
109. Then let all dance and sing ; first one may ( lead), thenlet all follow him.
103. Thus ends the bathing— the bathing ceremony of the
bridegroom.
104. What then fo llows Make the bridegroom to be seated,and let four w omen lift him.
After raising him, let him be taken home, and havingseated him,
bring the Wedding cakes.
The cakes having been eaten,all begin smglng.
As they move round ( turn in the dance ), let him wipehis hand on the garment o f B hawajai ( bro ther
’
s w ife) .
What then happens ? What is the eating and drinking tobe ?
109. B ring a pitcher full of liquor to the house, and keep it
there; and call the gu ests into the house, and make
them sit down. Call w omen,bo th young and old,andlikewise make them sit down .
1 10. Apply first a tika, sacred mark, to the pitcher ( of liquor) ,and then to the pitcher-man,
1 1 1 . Then to all ( the company ) .
1 1 2. After applying the tika (mark) to the lid of the pitcher,open it and dis tribu te the liquor .
1 13. Serve on the plates millet, and peas,and chillies,
A little salt, and serve as god ( blessed you) .
99. This sitting on a heap of cowdung is a G ond cu stom. B u t the idea of cowdungbeing particularly desirable,must hav e b een learnt from the Hindus .
60
1 1 5 3. After'
eating-‘ is -ended,t hen
*cause the *hands to
‘
be w ashed
in a bras s plate. This is the eating cus tom— s o do .
1 16. After ris ing,what follows-next ?5 L et t he preparation be
made for going to t he bridegroom’
s house .
1 17. Call one w oman,and place on her head a pitcher, and on
it a burning lamp, and around it let a betel-leaf be
fastened.
1 1 8 . Then let all the women in process ion pass.
1 19: When i all is ready, let s the: bridegroom with all the '
company depar t from the house .
1 20. First,take the names sof the {
godsaand s o i letu them depart .
1 2 1 . After their depar tu re, let‘them‘
ofier preparation o f betel
to the god Maroti, and let the bridegro om fall at its feet .
1 22 . With the musicians beating: theirfdrums,let all itak‘
e theirhomeward way.
121 . The god Mm ti is the same as Hanuman,or the monkey-god of the Hindu»
F I N I S .
62
Gowra Parhatal wasi niltu N aarayantun pu si kiya latuG owra Parbati hav ing come stood to N arayan to ask begun
141. Ime boni andi ana Bhagawantana Subadar andariThou who art I of Bhagawan Subadar I am
15. Aske ime bartua wati Mahadewa baga mantor honuAnd then why hast come Mahadewa where is he
16. Ma mnnne ata pa] aye N arayan N arbaddat Gangs. adina thaditShe first came after N arayan N arbadda G unga of
~bank
paro hanj l nila latorkon hav ing gone to s tand began
17. Pope masike Raja Mahadewa waya latu r Parhatal keik j odiSwimming Raja Mahadewa to come he began Parbati hands j oinedkiai nila latahav ing to stand began
1 8. Pajadal N arayan hom nde keik j odi keya latnrkB ehind her N arayan he also hm ds t o join began
19. Aske Mahadewa bang inta ime bartun w atal parin kadane'
Then Mahad ewa wh it says thou ( for) what hast c om a twelv e threshingfl aorsK nia penk awn baga mandaof Gond gods they Where are
20. U sade hang indn r‘
bor K artao Subal veru bang-1. indur imeThen what he says who K artao Subal he what says to
MahndewaMahadewa
2 1 . B ars. mahinana tapu kim munne mikun idenamalum aialFor twelv e months dev o tion d o bere 'ifter t o v ou t heir news kn'
1wg‘(wfl l be)
22 . Seiynng mahinang atung sarung mahinang a tnng paro tapsha atuFiv e m onths pas sed six ‘mou ths became dev o tion fi nished
23. Aske B hagawantal w asi_
n,ilt 11 r N abadewa itke
‘
l1akaThen B hagawan hav ing come stp od—clo se to Mahad ewa so a callingsitu r horu
gav e"him
29. N iwa tapu atu inga ime yeta babero pasiya ana I nli maThy dev otion is finish ed now thou Minter o ut gf emerge 1 how shall
rpasika.
£5 . IN akun hallekeiku naknn halle ykalku naknn halle gkanknZl
‘o zme W e V tOJne no feet to me
«no e yes
26. Asks v eru Mahadewaun tala , ,at u tala to n ohu tingatung
Then to him (that is) to Mahadewa head became t o head hair becamoo
kanku T andu te pasitim g
eyes two‘
became
63
2 7. Sabe mauyana mu rat bane matu r jagu e v edachi atu
All man’
s form w as made (in) world (of) light become
28 . Ahu r1e kanku tahachi hud lu r v eru Bhagawau tal ma tkasiThus eyes hav ing raise he saw him B hagawan hav ing seen
hatu rwent away
29. Bhalo a ta halle dista halle ichor batu”
Well has not become god appeared no t so mu ch story
kenja pentihear O G od
30. N awa tapu waya hatu nakun manyana mu rat siti idu bl1a loMy d ev ot ion in V ain has gone t o me of m an
’
s form gav e. t his w ellhalle El ia»
has not happened
31. Uncle v e r u t apu mandi kitu rAnd he dev otion established
2 . N e w s nowodinku atung poda wo r tuN ine mon ths nine days became boil bu rst
33. K ali Adaw peida atu r horn K ali Adaw peida atu r askeK alia Adao . born Was that Kalia Adao born then
Mahadewa bang ituMahadewa what said
341. Aske honu Mahadewa bang itar ime tapu k ime
Then to him Mahadewa what said thou d ev ot ion d o
35 . B orn K ali Adaw tapu kitu r undi mahina atu raudu mahinangWho K alia Adan dev ot ion did one m onth become two months
atung hana kalkeidun poda wa turbecame to his hand boil came
36 . Hadu podha we rtu sola tudik jalme matung aske v eru itu rThat boil burst sixteen daughters born were then he said
37. Iwu tudik bartun peida atungThese daughters wherefore were born
38 . N awa sir tala aial iv eruku ans. bagador mangal talkaMy h ead below will be t o these I of what place h u sband s shou ld bringihun itu r
39. Ashe tu dikun bisi yetrapo‘
wadei situ r aske watnekeThen daught ers hav ing caught in water he threw after throwing them in
Soke matu so la bhar dhartari peida atuDry it bec ome sixteen kind s of ear th produ ced were
64
h ana u ncle tapu kika aske nawa j iwate shanti wayarI mo re dev otion will do then my mind (at ) peace w il1 be
Aske v e 1 l 1 K a 1 taw Subal tapu mandi kitu r v ena heide podhaThen he d ev o t ion e s tablished in his hand bo il
43. Pa1 in kadang kora peuk jalme matungTw elv e tl1 1 eshingfioors of G ond god s w ere bom
44. K oitork pagare matu rk belze bakeG onds spread ov er hither thither
45 . K oitork s tu rk jagang jagang matang matang gonding ghodingG ond s becam e from place to place on h ill t o hil l
o
1 11 v alley t o v alley
46 . Madak madak K oitu rk atu rk ho rkna karar batal mandanaTree to tree G ond s became their honor how mu s t be
47. B ati dis tn adan J iana tan tindauaIf any thing appeai ed t o mus t kill it and eat
48 . Halls samj e maiwa kolyai bhalyal adan31 1 1111 tan tindanaNo d ist inction m us t know jackal tho se killed t o it theymust eat
49. Halle samj e maiwa ku rshu mawkuNo d istinction must be ant elope (d eer) sambur
50. Halle samj e maiwa tan t izidana halle samj e maiwa u ti puralN o t knew d istinction sow m u st eat no t knew distinction quail pigeon
5 1 . B alls samj e maiwa kawal gidal tan tindana dokum bajN o t knew dis tinction crow kit e mu s t eat ad ju tant v u ltu re
5 2 . Dokke p aune kida kituk muda piya yermi belyalLizard frog beetle cow calf she and he-buffalo
53. Yalk ghu sing warche11g ihun tinda latu rRats bandicoot s squ 1rrels
o
so t o eat beg in
54. 1 tork horku K oiturk peids s tu rk bange kooho bange pakkoSuch these G ond s b01 n w ere some 1 aw some n pe
Sark m ahinang yer kiwa halle dbad gatna todiSix months bathing mu st not be d one nicely face mu s t not
56 . Gagara gu tate kudsi mandana iturln dunghill hav ing fallen mu s t remain
66
74: I hun'
indu rk borku K oit ork bore him k'
atka bore him tongiSo said they who G onds some seized a s tick some s zizzed a stone
75 . B ore him dhakala penda ti langoti burbu r nair tudi latangSome s eized a clod of hips clo th was shaking sending t o fly began
76 . B eke mandot rapo penyade bhuyar trapo ade rapo soditurI t into a ho le (god ’
s pris on) on the ea1 th into it did en ter
77. Warchi tanpaja K oit ork sedita latu rkThe squirrel after G onds to
'
run began
78 . Parin kadang K oitu rk somtar latu rk bado bhuy ai trapoTwelv e threshingfl oors (of) G onds t o run began where in the cav e
79. Aske sab K oiturk sodituik towha nalu rk pistu rThus all G ond s ran when four remained
80. Parbatin nind lagsi achalateThey came to Parwati she sleeping was in the meantime
8 1. N ind ngade towha Parbatin chinta lagtuS leep opened when to Parwati care fell
Iehong diyang mawa K oitork m atork disorkMany days my G onds were no t seen
83. Dhowlagiaite kalla anduO n myDhawalagim noise was going on
841. N cnd kameke a s ichong diyang deing gundTo-day silence has become so many days smell was
85. N cnd deingo ihun ituTo-day smell is not so said
86 . Bangena bangeSome where
87. Mawor Mahadewa disor K oitorkun beke atu r itke ahu n
My Mahadew a not t o be seen G ond s wheth er has he led so
itu Parbatalsaid Parwati
88 . Towha Doulagiriparo tarksi hudtur bagane K oitu rk
Dhawalagiri hav ing ascended saw where (no) G onds
disork ihun ituappear so said she
89. Mahadewtun pu se kitu mawark K oitu rk disork ihunMahadewa asked my G onds appear no t so
K oitork sodinake hudtu r
G ond s(entering I saw not
67
90. Mahadewa tetur sola ku tang tingi darwaj ate kechiMahadewa arose sixteen cubit s long a s tone on th e door he laidsitu rad tongi jake kitu K oiturk
(with) that st one he shu t in G onds
91 . B asmasur deituna pahara nilochi situ r Parbatal pu se kituB asmasur the d emon t o guard he stationed Parwati t o ask began
bade ihun kiti nawawhy so is done
92 . Dhawalagiri karab kitu rk nakun songu watur anahun kitanDhawalagiri bad made t o me anger came I thus did
ihun itu rso said
93. Tanrapo nalu rk pis tu rk hork soditu rk ihun itur boruFrom them fou r hav e su rv iv ed they fl ed so said who
MabadewaN aba dewa
94. Parbatal tanwa mante itar K oiturk mure maturkParwati in her mind said G ond s los t are
95 . N alurk K oitu rk agatal soditu rk undi mata tarksiFour G onds thence fl ed one bill ascending
96 . Munne mada latu sanaghanysenda tanparo latu rkA little forward a t ree was straight gone like (a date t ree) on it they climbedagatal hadturkthence they looked
97. Makun makh al jaga disoTo u s a hiding place is not v isible
98 . Waru r hudtur undi jaga dista inda latur bagateO ne looked a place appears to say began on one side
dista K achikopa Lahugadappeared
99. Ad donguda saribitu rk aga haturkOf that jungle the road they t ook there theywent
100. Age. malurk tamork hurku mandaThere the four brothers they remained
101 . Aske bagane K oitor halle Parbatin chinta lagteeThen anywhere Gonds were not t o Parwati care become
102 . Tapshya mandi kituDev otion she did
103. Sarung mahinang atungSix months became
104 Parbatana tapu nintu B’
hagawantana delhera hale matuParwati
’s d ev otion fu lfilled B hagawan in a swing to swing began
105. B orbhak tajan nawa kalite bor tap kitu r hon tandatWhat dev otee my resting t ime who d ev ot ion did who (it is) see
hukum N arayant’
un k itu rorder t o Narayan he made
106. V eru budale positur wasi Dhou lagiri parbatneHe t o see went ou t hav ing come t o Dhawalagiri mountain
107. wasi Parbatanige nila latur ime badia Jiwate tapshya’
. kitiC oming near Parwati to stand began thou in the mind dev otion did
nawang paring kodang K oid pink d isongmy threshingfl oor Gond god appear not
108 . I tke ana t ap shya kit ang ihun indal hanu ime malsikunTherefore I d ev o tion did s o she said go thou back again
v eha Bhagawan v eru mata latu r v ichike tak sike haturt ell B hagaw c
/m he t o return b egan running walking he went
hanykun nila latu r v eru N arayan B hagawantige ehatahav ing gone to stand he began that N arayan to god t o telllaturbegan
109. Purbatal tapu kitu idu paran kadang K oitang tanworParwati
'
dev o tion d id'
these tw elv e threshingfl oorsa Gonds where
pusi kiu ta sabe dongude hud tu r halle bagane disorkare asking in all jungle seen (they are) not anywhere not seen
1 10. Hanu pajane ime v eha amot niwak K oitorkun hudsi sikomGo back thou say w e thy Gonds . will make v isibleihun indur boru B hagawanoso said who Bhagewan
70
1 5 . Agatal deisi ukade hanji atur aga J'
huleThence hav ing leapt a swing hav ing gone he fell in a swing
maia latu r abun kinake din muletto swing began so doing day set
16 . Lingal parkane t echi hatur ukedo kadangi latu rwith haste arose and sat in a swing t o swing began
17. Her Lingal ye tun dag malke lingandag halleThat (was such that ) t o water might be a st ain bu t to Lingo there was no stain
18 . B omli hira kapadi tira pen pariyorOn his nav el was a diamond on his forehead a sandle wood mark a div ine saint
Lingal salmetor atu r rand salknor atur
of a year’
s full became of two years became
19. Gundate khumka garsawa ukade narrnana ihun bangeIn turmeric powder he played in the sw ing he slept so some
diyang atungdays (passed)
20. Puro naw warshang atung her t oddati bange tinwaFu ll nine years became in his mou th anything must not eat
donguda mada gu ta tangof the jungle t ree (or) of thickets
2 1 . Linga aske tanwa dilte itu r ige bore disor manyalkthen in his mind said here no one is seen
disor bade janwar diso
appears not some animal appears not
2 2 . N aleha batiyo diso l 1aleha bagamatke aga hankan
Me like some appear not me like somewhere will be there will I go
23. 1hun itar agatal undi diya pasi u r munne sigar hatta
So said thence one day he rose before straight he went
24. Suyalmata tan pare tark tu r aga Mundita kumbita madak
(Like s uced le) hill on as cended there Mundita kumbita t rees
matang
25 . Tan khalwa K irsadita mada mata tan punggak wasi adena
Below them Kirsadita t ree was to it flower had come
2 6. Hike hatur pungakun hudsi kusi tanwa l ate atur
Thither he w ent flowers hav ing seen (in his) mind came
pungakana wasu yetur
of the flower the smell t o t ake
27. Agatal habade hatur sugal mundi
Hence beyond he went on a.precipitou s needle hill up a tree
mada tark tur
71
2 8 . Agatal hudi latu r zhona baju te K achikopa Lahugadta dhuaThence t o l ook began on the side (of)
ata dhua hudsiarose hav ing seen
29. I d bati andu itke itu r aga ,hanj 1 hundana itur
This what is so said he there hav ing gone must see
30. Agatal raktur dhua hudsi handi latu r herku nalurkThence he ascended smoke hav ing seen to go began these four
tamurk matark verk matkise sikar tachi matuk tan
b rothers were they quickly prey b rought had it
borsandurk bange v etal bange pahana tindurktheywere roasting some cooked s ome raw theyWere eating
Achlate her hatu r boru Lingal hen lindaa horkuMeanwhile (at that time) h e w ent w ho him hav ing seen they
netu rk horku netu rk herkun budsa her n itu r warona
stood up seeing them he st ood them hav ing s een he stood still with eaizh
32 . Wadkork nalurk aske aga tamwa dilts inda laturkThey did not speak the fou r then there in the ir minds to say began
33. Aplo nalu rk manda dada abun boru seiwark tamarkWe fou r are 0 brothers this is be , fi v e b rothers
aikat r odada hon koyatw e w ill be 0 b rothers call him
34. Handakat hon talkat aske handa laturkWe will go him w e w ill bring then t o go ( they) b egan
35. H onige hatu rk ima bo r . andi ihun itu rk bon LinganWhere he was theywent t hou who art so said t o whom L ing?)
36 . Lingal inda latur ana ~ satodhar Lingana andu matateto say b egan I am a s siu t (named) L‘ ingo I hav e on head
kupar ihun itu bork unthe kno t of hair so said t o whom
37. N alu rk tamu rkun herku inda laturk mawa ronu da dadaFour brothers they t o say b egan ( t o) ou r hou se come O
,brother
38. H on ari watu rk aske j agate sikar arsi mataHim hav ing taken (they came) then in
‘
that place“
game had fallen
39. Lingal inda latur idu bati andu herk'
‘
indalatu rk amott o say began this what is they ~tosaybegan we
sikar tat orm dada
game brought 0brother
72
B ate andu inda latur Lingal padi andu'
What (kind of sikar) is it t o say b egan Lingo a pig it is
41 . Tena tadaki nakun simtu aga tatlaki halwake aske inda latnrkI ts liv er to me giv e there liv er was not then t o say b egan
Q2 . K enja dada bintadakita amot janwar j itoromHear O brother withou t liv er we animal hav e killed
43. Aske inda latur bintadakita janwar baduro andoThen Lingo t o say began without liv er animal what is
madun had simtto me see allow
44. Aske herkun artu sankat v eninga bagata hudurskomThen them fell the thought to him now of what place we shall show
bintadakita
45. Janwar ihun i turk waror bang intor nawa bat kenjaAn animal so said one what says my word hear
mandachi alpo manda pedhork hen dongudeis a litt le we are great him in j ungle
warkat padhang tonginrapowe shall carry large (among) stones
46 . sakunrapo sanding waluhat aske daranar udanu rAmong thorns in thickets we shall roam then h e will be tired he will sit down
47. Yer watkanu r harosanu r aske tanaiye malada‘
indanurFor water he will thir st he will be hungry then back t u in he W111 say
418. Lingan donguda sare tantu i k tirkam tang k eide“
bitar
(With) Lingo jungles road selected bow and arrow h e hand held
49. Munne kurs dist tan jaka iturOnward antelope appeared it kill said n o
50. Tan tadak'
e manta munne maw disal tan jakaTo it liv er is before a sambur will be seen 1t k ill ye
51 . Aden tadaki manda munne malol disal t an jakatTo it liv er is b efore a hare will appear it kill ye
52 . Tan tadaki mandaTo it liv er is
53. Lingal daror hirk r nalurk tam urk darturk
t ires not these four brothers were t ir ed
54a. Yer . watkturk pare mata sareg hata tan pare
For water they thirsted abov e the hill steep was on
tarktu rk yeta kojhudi laturkthey ascended for water to search began
74
68. U sade v erka marsu neli madturk wadei siturk hanJ1kunThen they the hatchet down threw (hav ing) th rown away gone
Lingat o Lingo
69. Mawang k eikun phodk watung v erk marek wadu situ rkTo ou r hands blisters come they hatchet hav e thrown down
Hatu rk hanJ1 watur neede Lingal tetur marsTheywent (aside) hav ing gone they sat down then rose t he hatchet
keide bitu rin hand he took
71 . N atka latur madakun paro neadak aruta tanag sirk kataTo cu t began trees t he t rees fell then roots to dig
N etematur ihun dongan natka undi gatkate baloparka iturHe app lied himself thus j ungle t o cut (in) one hour a good field made
v erkuhe
73. Mawang keikun pbodk watung u ndi mada mawa wastneTo ou r hands blis ters came one tree by u s
halle iwata halle v er
not (is) cu t d own that
743. Lingal u ndi gatkate bachole madak warktu rLingo (in) one hou r s ev eral t rees has cu t down
75 . Cariyal t e di k itu r tanrapo wanj ing ya tar bheke nakeB lack s oil he has made on it rice (dhan) he has sown here and there
walum kitu ra hedge he has made
76 . U ndiye darwaja d ohotu r askeO ne only d oo r a tatty ( s ha tter) he has bound
77. V erku agatal t etu rk anwa natena sariya handa laturkThey thence arose t o their own v illage by the road t o go began
tamwa ron waturkto their own hou s e they came
78 . Pahilo mirag lagtu chidore abhadun kariyal disa latuFirs t d ay (of) rainy s eas on began a lit tle ‘
c lou d b lack t o seem
79. Hainal wade sute matu abhar sabbe din yake mathWith great force the wind was loosed sky all day cloudy was
piru barse maturain to fall began
75
80. Sawan j agate tongron handa nete matu sebbe gardorangIn open place up t o knees rills t o go began all the ho lesbuJe mat tingt o fill began
Pir snte kio mu nd diyang aneke pir ngade baganeRain c eas ed not for three days hav ing became (rain) fair all
wanj ing parsiya lat ungrice to spring b egan
8 2 . Sabbe‘
nel hirwal disa latu u ndi diyak nalung botangAll field green t o appear began (in) one day fou r fingers breadth
83. Undi mahina at u tougrou wanJing( In) one month became up to knee rice
84. Sola kandiyang mawk mandung hav enrapo mamalSixteen scores of dee r were among them unclebhasiyalnephew
85 . I d wanj ing was su te mata av en kare m ata aske menakeThis u s e smell spread was to them known it became then t o graze
hake handathither w ent
86. Pars ing selate mamal padtu r kalwa selate bhasiyal padturO n the u pper end uncle sat on low er end nephew sat
87 . Eliasiyal katku t tetur deitu r paroNephew with cracking his joints arose leaped u pwards
88 . Randok kauk nilu tung . phedate ku shite watur de isikeTwo ears upright it made great ly in to pleasu re it came leaped
89. N e l manda e1waka wanjing hé rwalk distang kowaro charoField is b eau t ifu l (of) rice green appear s t ender foddermanda ihun itu rit is so said he
90. Makun chider hukum siani amot sola kandiang maukTo u s the lit t le one please giv e it w e sixteen scores (of) robis
haneromW l ll go
91 . WanJlng tanji waeron nawa bat kenja bhasaThe rice hav ing eat en we wil l come
‘
my w ord hear O nephew
76
92 . Sabbet a paror mata Lingana padkata paror yenma ihunOf all the names t ake Lingo ’
s field ’
s name take no t s o
itu r boruhoru imate so la kanding mauk mant rit mikunsaid though you sixt een s cores (or) d eer are to you
v ij atun undi irnal hallefor seed one keep will not
93. U sade bhasiyal intor ima mantani sedal mantorom riyarkThen nephew said thou ar t old w e are you ng
94. Amot hanykun tindok om bore hudanu r te deik omWe hav ing gone will eat any one will see then w e will leap away
95 . Teik ku tang deikom ima seda mamyal sapadeFiv e cubits We Will leap thou art an old man will be cau gh t
96. Maiki itke warintant ori niwa kenj om ima wama
To go thu s thou art afraid thy w ord [ hear not you C ome not
97,B or bhasiyal ihu n itur s arke tokar kitu r kasuk kaukWho nephew s o said s traight tail d id ere c t its
kitar paja maltu rear s d id back t u rned
98 . Maman lagtu doka u sade tetu r paj aya handalaturUncle fe lt grief then rose aft er them t o go began
99. Maman wale laku wa tsi situ rk mawku padka t
Uncle v ery far t hrown theygav e (left behind) rohis the fieldkachu l hatunear w ent
100. B hasiyal mawken paja kitu agatal s ari hudi la tu r sariNephew (the) robis behind pu t thence way to look began a way
bagane pu t oanywhere was not obtained
101 . Mawk intang marapo mamal shahanal mator amo t bon
The robis said among us uncle wis e was we whom
pu se k ikomshall we ask
102 . H onpaja irtit makun ima karhhari mat ini
Him behind (you ) left to u s you chief are
103. V ehatu r bhasiyal au a karbhar kintone nawa hudsekun imat kinitSaid nephew I w ork d o my hav ing s een you do
104. Tana m unne atur bang inta undi maw
He in front became when says one d eer
105 . Munne mama v ehandu r Lingal padki andu ima kenchta
At firs t uncle has said Lingo field it is you d id not hear
munne huda ihun itu r
befo re look so he said (be prudent)
78
1 19. H alls bagane koyng dis ong iv ena bagane mohojba IagoN o where marks of feet appeared their no where t races appeared
120. B ade pad te bide nilta bade narumtaSome sat d own s ome s t ood some slept
1 2 1 . Fangak mu sk undur narumsi Lingo mandu r adho rat ne
(Of) flowers in the smelling s leeping Lingo was (at) half of the night
1 22 . B 3ru kanchk tu r hadu padka mawku titungHe was d reaming saw a field by rohis eat en
u shto wanj ingspo ilt rice
123. Lingal agatal posit ur K achikopa Lahungadota sari bitu rLingo thence depart ed Kachikopa Lahugad
’
s road to look
124 . 1‘gatal pasitu r horkunige watu r dada itu r ro talThence w ent to them c ome brother he said of the hou se
bahero pasiyatoutside come ye
125 . Undi batu kenjat apalota padka tang wanjing mawku t itangO ne word hear o u r field of rice rohis ate
1 26 . N awo apalo bapi watkat halle ihun itu rk ho rkuFirst fr uit t o u s t o offer is not s o said who
nalu rkte tamm kfou r brothers
1 27. U sade Lingal intor kenj atro dadaThen Lingo said bear 0 brother
tit lingthey ate
1 28 . Ushto atung av ena naw o ha lle mawkna tadakita naw o
Spoilt hav e they firs tfru it w e hav e not o f the rohis liv er a firs tfru it
w atkanI will offer
1 29. Lingo‘nan pariyona ailran hallete nawa sato handa
Lingo a dev ot ee I will be otherwise my pow er will go
130. And. pugak mu skintona nawa pirI with the flower of smell my stomach
131 . K oitork mantork horkna parbapi nindal ho rkna tindaneG onds are their bellies w ith what will theyfill their eating
Wanj ing u shto kitung baw u mawku ihun itu r born LingalRice (Spoil) d id what rohis so said who Lingo
133. Ahun itu r nalu rk tamu rk hatiyar biturk tirkamtangSo said fou r bro ther
’
s weapons held bow and arrow
79
134 Mawkna parode ris watur padkate hanJr hadturk kiturkOf rohis on account anger came in field going fell into
rapo sodita latu rkmidst t o enter began
135 . N adam hanj i hudturk kariyat todi disi latuIn centre going fell black soil to appear began
136. Warning phanku disi latung hudturk LingalRice st ubble to ppear began saw (nothing) Lingo
Dakata r isu matate tark tu agane batatunFrom of the heels the anger to the head ascended on the Spotkaskturhe bit
138. Lal kank atung bagatung mawku manda ihun itur hudaturRed eyes became where rohis are so said see yo
139. Horku hudi latu rk mawkna koyng bagane disongThey t o see began of rohis foot marks anywhere appeared not
1 40. Munne kakeda distn kop te aga hudturB efore a bough appeared his fo o t marks there looked
141 . Unde munne taktur jhadi distu jhadi rounde masiAnd before w ent jungle appeared j ungle trodden down
mata oga koji distu r
was there trace appeared
1 42 . Hatu rk teri disong munne ali meda. mataTheywent still not seen (226,r obis) a little forward peepul tree was
143. Lingal atu ana mada tarj intona imat khalwa nilatLingo said I tree w ill climb you below stand
144. Agatal hudtu r munne mawk distungThence looked before rohis appeared
145. Mawak dist nng bade u t ta bade naramta bade deimtaRohis appear some are seated some are s leeping some leaping about
146 . N alung khak imat amt miwang tirk womt ichon‘
g( On) four sides you be you r arrows take with you
147. Mawkun rapodal unde teri panda simat( So) rohia among so many one eV en to go allow not
148. Ana madatal j intona imat khalwadal J imtaI from a t ree will strike you from below strike
149. Acho kenshturk nalung khak s tu rk makseke haturkSo much they heard (on) four sides
80 ~
1 50. N alung kongtane aturk tirk jhodekiturk av anp a(On) four corners hav ing become arrow applied to them to beat
laturk parodal Lingal 31a laturbegan from on high Lingo to strike began
1 51 . Mamal pistu r undi mawa pistu tansistu bitur tir khalwa artuUncle seemed one rohi seemed at it aim he took arrow below (fell)
1 52 . Lingal tanwa dilt i itar nawa keida tiru airtu id batal sat
Lingo in his mind said ou t of my hand arrow fell that how omen
1 53. Tanwa bhaktal japo matur honu mamal distur apalotaThy serv ant w orships thee that uncle appears of mine
bange t ita halleanything has not eat en
154. M adee sodit a latu tan toda mamal sodite latu r nalurkFemale (rohe) to run began w ith it uncle t o run b egan fou r
tamu rk tan paja lagtu rk ige biyakat aya j ibatbrother them behind pu rs ued here w e W111 catch them w e W111 cat ch
1 55. Ihun iturk sapade mata halle baw u mawku paja masi
So said found theyw ere not who rohis (behind) t urning
1 56. Pador kenj atro dado mawku batung disong halle mawarEldest said here 0 brother rohis hav e gone appear not our
Lingal paja mandaLingo behind is
Tak aploto malsidat ihun itar bora
At the distance let u s r etu rn so said who
pedhartamu itu r
eldest brother said
1 58 . B arkun pu se k itur imat baga hanl r ihun itu r boru LingalTo ,them asked you where gone so said who Lingo
1 59. Amat hanp matoram dada mawun paja matorom maw
We gone had O brethren rohis after
sodisihatu diso halle amot maltom nihiga
fl ed appear not we returned near you.
1 60. Mikun v ehatantona begane hudat miwa
82
175. B ange jhadi koitur sari artu hanj ikun tiru artu ngatelSome grass it cut a road fell after going arrow fell thence
sedanaat the old man
’
s
176 . K isunparodal. tir t etu hanji yedang sedanang miyakFrom ofi‘
the fire arrow arose hav ing gone (to) sev en (of) the old man’
s daughters
177. Hav ena darwajate artu tiru hawa hudtung v ichikeIn their d oor fell arrow they
watung hadu tiru p ehaksi watungtheycame hav ing lift ed they took away
178 . Tirt un irtu ug babon pu se kindung dawaThey kept (i t) their fath er they asked 0 fathermadming baske indangin marriage when will yo u giv e
1 79. Haun yedung selak sedal indur
(Thus) who seV en sis ters of old man’
s said
180. N awa diltor pu tanur bonku’
sikun mikun ballleteAccording to mymihd will be t o him I Will g1 v e you (or) no .
1 81 . Abune mandakit ihun indu r sedal boru B ikad G awdiAs you are yo u W111 remain s o sa1d old man who R 1kad G awadi
1 82 . K enja ro dada nawa palo ana 31tona tirHear O b rethren my w ord I d ischarged arrow
183. Ad sariya bantu munne kis u disal agatal kisu talkitBy this ro ad go befo re fire will appear th ence fire bring
1 84. Hor int or home ima hanu intor ana hanor
(Thus) he said t o them they t o ( one to an other) said I will not go
chidor tamu hat ur
youngest brother went
1 85 . K isu distu kisu kachu t hatu r agatal hudtur phedayeFire he saw fire near w ent thence saw a large
kodt leha sedaltrunk like the old man
Lakanal hudtu'
r sedana padka ,bhowatal walum kisi
F rom afar he saw old man'
s field around it hedge was made
1 87. Undi sari irshi tan tate dohachi nadum padkateOne road he kept t o it a shu t ter he had tied in the middle of the fieldkis kisi
1 88. I rukna kodku mangita yachi mator mad sajnangOf a Mohwa the trunks of Anjun were pu t in trees of Saj
1 89. Tekatang katyang iama kisi kisu patu si mator
Teak faggots fire was kindled
83
190. Kisniru si mata kisna shehane Rikad GawadiFire was blazed at the fire by the heat B ikad G awadi
hainake narumsi mator
(in) deep ( sleep) slept was
191 . Rakasun leka disandu r v er nar umsi v er Ahke sa ral walsike
Giant like he appeared he was sleeping the ‘ Ahkesaral st ealthilyka
’
chum hatur sedan hudtu r sedan kodanekenear went the old man saw the old man (while) b eh olding
mendodun pinakatang watungto (his) body cold bu st les came
192 . Tadake deia latur Jiwate waditu r manda ihun itu rHis liv er t o leap began in his mind much afraid he was then h e said
193. V eru sedal sedanur nakun hu dsi t indanu r nana arkateIf the old man r 1ses me he will see (and) eat en I will be
194. K isu kalsikun woyaka aske nawa jiwa pisarFire hav ing stolen I W111 carry then my life will s u rv iv e ( safe)
195. V er wat siko kisunige hatu r undi v isku r bitu r hadu v isku rHe secretly near fir e went one brand t ook that brand
tamadita anduof Tembhu r was
196 . Tahuneke tana sidange mirtu sedana kulatun hanJ1kunWhen hav ing lifted it a spark leaped away on old man
’
s hip it hav ing gone
tunatu
fell on him
197. Thaliatsor v e nu phoda watu v eru sedal daska masiAs large as a lota the blister had come that old man alarmed became
tetur v en
he arose
198 . N akun karoo wasta bagane tindale pu ta k'
hanknaTo me hunger is felt anywhere t o eat I get not of fleshnawhari asithe desire is
199. K owan kakade leka bhalo wati
(A) tender cucumber lik e well (hast thou) come
v eru Ahkesaralto that Ahkesaral
200. Sadita latur pajaye sedal vita latur kis wadsiTo run he began behind old man to run began fire (brand) he threw
situ r munnetaaway in front
201 . Munne sodita latur pa'
aye sedal vita latur 1ge bika nag'
a
Onward to run he began be ind old man to run began here I will seize
said he
84
202 . Hagatal maltur tanwa padkate watu r kisunige han31kutur bangThence turned to his field came near fire going
randenonsense (is this )
203. K awaro ina sikar wasi mataTender lik e prey Was come
204. Tinka itan pasisi hu tur nawa keideI wou ld hav e eaten it he Said it is escaped from my hand
baskane wayarsomet ime I will get it
206 . Munne bang atu Ahkesaral hatu r malsikunB efore what happened Ahk esaral Went hav ing retu rned thence
t amu rkunto his brothers
207. I tur kenj atro dada ana kismun hatan imat rohtitSaid h ear O brethren I t o fire was gone yo u sent
padkate padhoree sedalin field a giant only old man
208. K eik wadseke kalk tacheke v itu r ana pissi watorHands throwing feet lift ing ran I hav ing surv iv ed
watan
I came
209. Amot banom ihun iturk horku nalurk tamu rk Lingal iturkWe will not go so said who four brothers Lingo said
igene ndat ro
here sit ye
2 10. Dadalknit bator sedal mantor ana budei wayak‘
a
0 brothers what sort of person he is I hav ing seen will come
2 1 1 . Agatal pasitu r munne tak ta r jbodi lagtu agaThence he w ent onward he walked riv er happened to be there
21 2. Mund tumang distung munne hu turThree bot t le gourd s appeared in front he saw them
Waduda kati distn aden tahturB amboo stick appeared he lift ed it
214. Jhoditun u sa aga
The riv er was flooded there
Faras pade tana arsi v eli v elitun tumang( I t washed away) the bott le gourd t ree its seed fell to each twinner bottle gourdlagsi
216. Wadu ta kati pongsi wasi adena kiturA bamboo stick in its hollow he pushed its made
86“
230. Ritur tana tokar ytar bekono nektu tanrapodal wajaH e he ld it a st roke he gav e well sounded from th e midst of it music
tantar nu rak tinghe drew of hundred tunes
231 . B akota neki latu leng Todde wartapWell to sound began (sound) (Was) with mouth as if sung
pata kenyle wantaa song can be heard
232 . Tana agajne mada mata kam ekene atangAt it s s ound t ree hill silent became
233. Sedala nehanage konde saran sodita harkane tichi
( In) old man’
s b udly ears the s ound ent ered in haste hav ing risen
u tu r j akane sedal kanku t ahata laturhe sat up quickly old man his eyes t o lift began
234. N ehahnaye kenyl latur hake hakehudi bagane disoHe desired to hear began here there to look anywhere appeared
235 . Pite bagatal wata nendu wadki lata bakota kogadlekaA bird whence has t come t o-day t o sing began good maina like
236. Madak hudi latur bagane bange diso khalwa hudsi mator
Tree to see began anywhere nothing appeared below looked
237. Paro halle budta sandi gondi hud tu rUp did not look in thickets rav ine he looked
Hallo bange diso sedal waya latur sardige wator
N o t anything appeared old man to com“ began near road he came
rapo soditor kisunigeinto midst of field he entered near fire
u chi u chi techi t echi deisi deisi kude
(Sometimes sit ting sit ting s tanding standing jumping jumping rolling
kudsi yendi laturrolling t o dance he began
240. Pata wari latur din pasit hona sedo sakadeneA song to sing began day dawned his old woman in themorning
konj 1 laturto hear began
2 41 K enstu mawa padkat heke oiwake waya nekintaShe heard her towards fields a fine music
87
242 . Tanwa padkata walumunige han31 niltu tanwa kowdeO f her fields near the hedge hav ing come with her ears music
243. 1du sedo bang kita tanwar sedan hike muedon nikeThat old woman what did to her old man her husband
244. K eik sahachi yenda latur kalk tahachi yenda latur wadelHands stretching ou t to dance began feet t o dance began nook
wadsi yenda latur
245. Sedan hike sedo huda latu sedal nawar
The old man towards the old woman to see began old man my
246. V enku idu waja bakota lagta v enleka ana yendaka idnaTo him that mu sic melodiou s was like him I will dance ( said) that
247. K u skane soga tandta dhangunkita
Quickly the folded end of her dress drew ou t (and) hav ing mad e free
walumunigetalnear the hedge
248. V eru Lingal tanwa pite bang wadkintor ana satodhariThat Lingo in his belly what speaks (as) I am dev out
Lingal aika penpariyor Lingana aikaLingo I will be God
’
s serv ant Lingo will be
249. Dakate dhangun matate kupan nikun manduI wear down to heel the fo ld of dhote on head a knot t ome is
bomali hira kupade tira yetun dagon the nav el diamond on forehead tika water stain
2 50. N akun dag halle ana Lingana aika sedal sedo‘
n diwaditaTo me stain not I Lingo will be old man to old woman Diwali;
dandhardance in dandar
2 51 . K oitona sar bisuka pata warneka v erkun yenchuskaOf Gonds in rows will held song I will cau se to sing them I will cau se to danceana LinganaI Lingo
88
252 . Weru Lingal sewakintor tanwa pendan B udhal pentas parorThat Lingo worshipped his god B u dhal god’
s name
mudtur Adal pentas parorbe inv oked Adal god ’
s name
2 53. Sola satikna paror mudtur attara'
khankna paror madbu rSixteen satis name inv oked eighteen fl ags name inv oked
Manko Rayetal Jungo Rayetal Pharsipenda paror mudtu rManko Rayetal Jungo Rayetal Pharsipenda
'
s name inv oked
2 54. Sewa sewa itur idu jantu r ta parin paharana keide bitu rSalu tation said that guitar (of) v ariou s tunes in hands held
255. N awu jant arta iv en mohani ar tu ihun indur bornMy guitar this is an allurement that has fallen so said who
Lingal bade jantartun kameke kiya laturLingo that guitar silent to make began
256. Laknal parodal mama sewa itu r v eru B ikad GawadiFrom afar from on high uncle salu tation said to that B ikad Gawadi
2 57. Madata sendatparo huda latu r sewa bhasa
(Of) trees (on) top t o see b egan salutation nephew
258. Ihun itu r bhalo makun ime darasti bhasha yendu stiSo said well me thou hast deceiv ed 0nephew thou hast cau sed to dance
bhasha bendal beke wati0nephew whence to whither has t thou come
2 59. Bhasha ime wada bheting yetkat horn Lingal maditalO nephew thou hast come (let u s ) embrace each other that Lingo from the tree
ragi latert o d escend began
2 60. Sedena hanJikun keiye bitu r mama sewa u tu r horknaO ld man
’
s after going hand caught 0 uncle salutation said their
bheting atungmeeting took place
261 . Bhashal werke mamal warke matu r
Nephew known uncle known became
bhashan
(to ) nephew
2 62 . V erkna randate jankna bheting atung mamana kie bhashalThose two persons meeting took place uncle's hand nephew
90.
274. Hav en wo rn hav enige kandku dohachi Sike v eru
Them take away their eyes hav ing tied tho u shalt giv e them
2 75 . Lingal itur agatal lattur munne niltur hantorom m’
ama
thence arose before stood I am going uncle
2 76 . Ihun nawa sewa yena mama itur agatal Lingal pasitarSo my salu tation receiv e thou uncle said he thence Lingo went
sedanang . miyakna rota sariye handa lat urold man
’
s daughters house Way t o go began
277. HanJ1kun hav ena darwajate niltu r v eru Lingal bara warshanaHav ing gone in their door st ood that Lingo of twelv e years
jani disi latua you th to seem began
278. Sola warshana umbar dista munnetal hudneke marathaSixteen years (of) age he appeared in front when seen foppish
riyon leka distor
young man like appeared
279. Fajatal hudneke bamna riyon leka oiwake riyor distorB ehind hav ing seen B rahmin dev ou t like good serv ant appeared
280. Rot rapodal selak yod ung bahero pasitung v enku maniThe hou se from within d et ers sev en ou t came those regarded
281 . Riyanleha awn watung baharo Lingal munne nitungAs a young man they came ou t Lingo before stood
2 82 . MakunU s
selak puse kindung ime boni andisisters to ask began thou who art
2 83. Horu bangu wadka latur niwor babo nawor
He what to say began thy father (is)my
miwa awal mawa ato
thy mother my aunt
2841. Ana satodhari Lingana andan pen pariyor Lingana andanI am dev out Lingo am G od
’
s ser v ant Lingo I
285. N awang palong konjat ho bai nawa tiru miwa rot igeMy words 0 sister my arrow t oyour hou se
wasi arta ana nanegatal hudintonacame and fell 1 am from a long time searching it
91
286 . N aw ork nalu rk tamnrk dongu de attork ana
My fou r brothers in j ungle sat Ikhanding mawaku j ak tonah
s cores of rohia hav e kil led
287. Anu de donguda artang hav enege nawor tamurk u t torkThey also in jungle fell near them my brothers are sat
288. Ana kisunsate watona hikene nakun walle u shir atu
I for fire hav e come here t o me much d elay b ecame
289. Hake nawork tamu rk sari hudseke mandanu rk horkunThere my brothers way expecting maybe to them
karu wasi mandalhunger felt may be
290. Yer watksi bagada yer hagoda sodi horkunFor wat er theymaybe thirsty of what place water where bread they will
291 . 1hun wadki lator Lingal v enku bangu wadki latangSo to Speak began Lingo t o him What to speak began
yed nng selaksev en sisters
292 . K enja mawa palo dada ime marine amot
Hear ou r word 0 brother thou son thou art and we
miyaknem andomdaughters w e are
293. N iwa m awa eiwake nato manda niku bagaYou r and o ur good relationship is you how
294. Amot niwatoda naiakom imet watoke ana badtun halleWe along with you will come you come thou wherefore not
295. Payana matkete lakon saware mamtu munne amtuC ome (if) you come (then) qu ickly ready be forward be
saribimtu ihun itu r boru Lingalway take so said who Lingo
296. Iwu tamwa toranang gindang muchanang dikringThese of their beds the clothes for cov ering heads (and) garments
bitung Lingana tir hona hon-kun sisit ook Lingo ’
s arrow they to him gav e
297. Munne munne Lingal pa aye pajaya riyang hauda latungB efore before Lingo e ind behind young women t o go began
298 . Tamu rk matork uchimatork hakens hudundurk baske wanurWhere brothers were seated there theyWer
.e looking when will he come
92
299. Lingan waneke laknal hudturk kenjatro dada maworLingo coming from afar they beheld hear O brother our
Lingan leka distorLingo like appears
300. Techi'
nilfu rk huda laturk munne Lingal pajaye yedang j am/k
Hav ing risen to see began before Lingo behind sev en persons
301 . K enjatro dada bonangte miyak bonangte kodiyak maworHear O brother whose daughters whose daughters-in-law our
Lingal artiLingo hav ing taken
302 . W'
antor hudat dada eiwake distang riyang mandangI s coming look 0 brothers of good appearance young women are
Siyur Lingal amo t baikok kiyerat dada ihun(If) Lingo wou ld giv e ( then) we wiv es wou ld make of them 0brothers so
indur horku na lurk tamu rksaid who four brothers
304. V er Lingal kachu l watu r yiltur mawa palo kenJ'
atro dadaThat Lingo near came s to od my w ord hear O bro ther
305 . Yedung janik mamana miyak iw u watangSev en persons uncles daught ers these hav e come
306. 1winsati surmg
"
tandat iwu mawkna tadaking simtTo them kniv es bring ou t of these robis liv ers giv e
307. V erku su ring tand turk mawknang pir w ohatu rk tadakingThey kniv es took ou t of rohis belly ripped (split ) liv ers
tantu rk bore tatu r kachara kisu pa tu s tu rktook ou t some brought faggots fire enkind led
808. K itu rk tana ubara khandk hav en bods tu rk tamu rk ne liO n it s blaze flesh they roas t ed took ou t (and) down
309. Idu tadaki per ta parode idurkateThis Iiv er in G od
’
s nam e offer
310. 1hun itu rk horku nalurk tamurk Lingal te tt ur
So said who fou r brothers Lingo arose
31 1 . Tinda latu rk sabe tintork LingalTo eat theybegan all ate Lingo
312 . Lokor handa sim t hav en bav en yedang selak un a v enor babo
Qu ickly to go allow them the s ev en sis ters their father
ranganu r wallenean abus e will giv e
94
Ihu n itu r born Lingal imet nawa kamneSo Sd ld who Lingo ( if) you t o my , u se they
wayanungW 111 c ome
326 . B adeka nawang tangek aianung imet padhork manturit anaWho t o me a sis cei -iu -law W IH be you eldes t are I amchidu r
younger
N akun yer sianung yetkan sade nakun tarsi sianungMe wat er they W111 giv e I will take bread for m e bed they w ill spread
328 . Ana narmika nakun yer mihatanungkikan dhadotang sukan l1ugI will sleep me water they will giv e t o bathe clothes theywill wash
329. N akun tangek wanung awakunleka disanungTo me sis ters -in-law theywill be like mo ther theyW111 appear
330. Ihun itu r Lingal ahun awak inake nalu rkna tamu rknaSo said Lingo when mother he called them from fou r brothers
dilta pappasisi hatumind sin d eparted
331 . H onige handa lat u rk hon pu si kiyalaturk kenja ro LingalTo him t o go they began to him ask began hear O Lingolokor mawang madmingquickly ou r marriage d o
332 . K intoni sim yedang janik mantang amot nalurk mantoram
( lf) thou Wish (then) giv e sev en persons they are we four are
333. Apalo s palo baikokki sim Lingal(To) each one their Wiv es dis t ribute O Lingo
3343. Lingal bang intor imat padhork reball rehaku k im tuLingo what says you are elder one two two marry (he who)youngest
manton hon unde simtuis him one giv e
335 . I turk Lingal unde nawa palo kej at ro dada igeSaid Lingo the my word hear O brother in t his
dongudejungle
336. Chipadite baga kintirit apalota K achikopa LahugadIn the plain how can you d o it our K achikopa Lahugad
337. N ar manda aga iv en wokat aga madming kikal igeTown is there to them we will take there marriage Will do here
halle k iwanot do
95
Ihun itur Lingal hona kenchikun abune kitu rk agatal positurkSo said Lingo they hav ing heard so did thence d eparted
339. B orku seiu 1 kte tamu rk awa yednngte selak agatal pasitungThe s e the fi v e bro thers thos e sev en sis ters thence d epar tedw aya latung herk unde
.
mu nne t ak into rk paj ayet o go b egan they and in front theywalked (the Wom en) behind
awuw antangfollowed
340. A-hune tanw a nate watu rk K achikopa Lahugad rapoSo t o their v illage they cam e Kach ikopa Lahugad of
madmina sama kiya la tu rkmarriage preparation to make began
341 . Ige halle manyalk halle baikok Lingal yerHere there are no men no w omen Lingo wat er
342 . Tat intor hore yerkasu sint or ho re pichi watiekintorB rings he bathes hav ing boiled he t urmeric pounded
343. Manda dasint or toren doh tintonB ower h e erect ed leaf garland he t ied
344. N alu rk tamu rkun koitur hike hake pichiThe four bro thers he called here t here turmeric powder
345 . N alu rk tamu rknn yedungte selaknn pichi soktungTo fou r bro thers t o sev en s is t ers t u rmeric he applied
346 . Madming latu ng nawa palo kenj at ro dada warsan
Marriage canno t be my word bear. 0 brothers all at once
347. Undi madming kikat waye janik mandnung dhandoO ne mar riage we W111 d o the rest remaining work
k lyanungW111 d o
348. U sade av enang madm ing ayamm g t ehawn dhando kiyanungThen their marriage W111 be those ( remaining) w ork 11 ill d o
349. B arenang munene madming ayanang awn u sado dhando
(Th ose) w ho se at first marriages shal l be th ey then w ork
k iyanu ngW 111 d o
350. 1hu n itu r boru Lingal il ende nalu rk te tamu rk itu rk ingeSo said Who Lingo then four b ro ti ers said yes
dada abune kikatO b rother so do
35 1 .
‘
Ahun kinake madming atung bange diyang at ung padhorSo doing marriage finished som e d ays passed eldes t
tamu intor nawa palo kenj at dada o
brother says my word hear O bro ther
96 '
352 . Apalot or Lingal apalotor eiwake kito r ‘ madminf
g kisitu rO ur Lingo ou r good did marriage did
apalotang baikok apalo tige
ou r Wi v es t o our place
353. Linga1 b in baikonor Lingal v en haiko halle kenjat ro
Lingo With ou t a wiEe ( is) Lingo t o him wife not hear 0
dada apalota bhalo k itu r t anwa, halle kitab rother ou r good d 1d his no t did
354. Tenka bagane watawa apalotor babon leka v eru atu r boruHim
.anywhere throw no t ou r father like he became who
LingalLingo
355 . Dongude daikat sikar J ikat pu ngak tatakat Lingal akade
(To) j ungle w e W 111 g’
o game will kill flowers w e will bring Lingo in a swing
udar dadawill sit O brother
356. Ihun indu rk nalu rk t amu rkSo said four brothers
357. U kade u ttu r Lingal yedung selak ukad uhtintaIn a swing sat Lingo sev en sisters the swing swung
358 . N alu rk tamu rk tawang tir kamtang bisikun dongudeFou r brothers their arrow and bow s hav ing held in j unglehatu rkwent
359. Paja bang uata yedang selak tamwa pite' bang wadkintang
After What happened sev en sist er s in their belly What said
kinj at hobai v er Lingalhear 0 sisters this Lingo
360. Mawor sherandu andur v ena amot tangek , andomO ur hu sband
’
s young brother is to him we sis t eu nlaws are
v enu kawale awJintawith him spor t can be
36 1 . K ei bise imale aWJm ta wadkale . aWJinta .
His hand byholding pu ll w e can to speak he can
362 . Yer Lingal m atoda kawor matoda wadkor mahake hudorThat Lingo W i th u s ch es not laugh d oes no t speak t oward us look no t
kank pchachi s 1 to r
eyes he has clos ed
363. K awanu r m aw atoda garsanu r ihun :
(Bu t ) he must laugh with u s m us t play so
364. Bade bita kei bade bita kal bisik’
un umalatang v er' Lingal
'
Some held hand som e held feet hav mg caught pulled him that Lingo
adike kanka pihachisitormore eyes closed
98
380. Yedung j anike yedo ng j agangneh hanJikunSev en sis ters in sev en plac es hav ing gone
Lingal u kadeLingo in a swing
381 . 1hun kinake du pardin tark ta wayana v elo ait a nalu rkSo doing it was noon the coming time it was (of) fou rtamu rknabrothers
382 . B ore jakt or kursu bore j aktor malor bore jakt orSome k illed she ant elope some killed a boar s ome killed
383. B ore heitor u rum bore pungar kweitorSome held quail some flower had plu cked
Hagatal handa laturk rota sari bitu rk t amwa rachadeThence to go began house road to ok t o their compoundwaturk talanang waj enk rehachi ir t urk da v itro dadacame o f head bu rdens d own kept let u s go 0 brothers
intorksaid they
385. Pungak sikat sari hudsike mandanur v erku nalu rkteFlower we will giv e way b e expecting may be those fourtamu rk r ot rapo soditu rkb rothers in the h ou se ent ered
386 . U kadige hangi niltu rk Lingaa h udt u rk Lingal narumtorN ear a swing going stood t o Lingo saw Lingo was sleeping
387. B ade diso k enjatro dada Lingal m antor naru in tor apalo tangNone appears hear O brother Lingal is slept ou r
baik ok halle d isongwiv es do not appear
388 . H av ekun hu ndakat u sado Lingal tehakat agatal poj paThem w e Will s ear ch then Lingo we W i ll awake thenc e th ey retu rned
389. Apalo apalo k on tana handa latu rk hanj ikun hada
To their own ro om : t o go b egan ha v ing gone t o see
lat urkbegan
narum tang yadki w atap ku the mantangare slept as if fear had c ome panting
pusikiya lat urkt o ask began
391 . B adi‘
narumt orit Lingana ukad uhav it mawa palo kenj atWhy hast thou slept Lingo are not swinging our word ,
hear
99
392 . Hor Lingal miwor tamu bachojel amot makuskomThat Lingo your brother
’
s (acts) how long '
we mayhide
393.Imet donguda sirkartum hantorit paja Lingal mawangYou to jungle for hunting t o go (allows) behind Lingo our
yat ye tintorshame takes
394. Bachaj el pite daskom ital buddhi vena LinganaHow long in belly shall we keep such the conduct of this Lingomanta nendom daskomis till to day we hav e kept
395. Inga amot halle kenjanal amot mawor babona nateN ow we will not hear we to our fathers
’
town
handakom
396 . Amot halle rehemayom undi baikon rehall muedorkWe no t will remain for one wife two husbands
baitun pahij iwhy should be
397. Tamu rk wadki latork v er Lingan munnene indalB rethren to Speak began that Lingo formerly told us
398. Aga ycdung selak manda e v enrapodal aclnkun imeThere sev en sisters are amongst them hav ing chosen one you
mnnnene baiko kimbefore us wife make
399. Pissanung hon hav en amot kikom v er Lingal indurThose who shall remain them we willmarry that Lingo said
400. N awang selak andung nawang~awak andung
Uur sis ters theyare our mothers theyare
401 . Indur papi Lingal dushte Lingal karam chandali LingallSaid sinner Lingo wicked Lingo of bad conduct
Sikarita parode nade k ikatOf hunting in the name deceiv ed us
403. Dongude woikal v enku j aksi walkatIn jungle we will take away him hav ing killed we will throwkadku tandakateyes will pu ll ou t
N end dom kursana sikar 31ndom maloda sikar JindomTo-day till antelope we h i v e killed of bare a prey killed
405 . Lingana sikar Jikom honang kadka tansikumLingo
'
s hunting will do his eyes hav ing taken out
406. G oling garsakom aske sodi tinkom yeru undakomwill play then bread will e
at water we will drink
100
Hanfhknn Linganige nilturk itendaro Lingaitedaro cdada tB owing gone t o Lingo theystood ris e b rother
chidot et he youngest
408. B adi dada tata halev it punga xmalsi watitW’
hy b rother you hav e not b ought flower whyh av eyou come back
achor te dinu handaso great a part~of the day is set
409. B ate Janwar andu badeuk h ainake Jintorom hadu are
Whatev er animal it migh t be t o it howev er we s trike it d oes no t fall
410. Halle sodigo hagane amo t Jlneke dorsi batomN ot fl ee there we byst riking
41 1 . Lingal ukadal tettu r u ttur tamu rkun h ike hudturLingo from a swing arose (and) sat brothers th ere look
H adu janwartun Jnakan ihun‘
i'
tar L ingalThat animal 1 will kill so said L ingo
413. Aga'
;al tit turk rotal pasitu rk dav itro dada baga mantaThence arose from home w ent come 0brothers where is it
414. Mnnne Lingal pajay‘
e‘nalurk dongude lat u rk fdongnde
B efore Lingo behind four to j ung le to go began the junglesari ‘bitu rk
415 . Pedha j at mata korite hatu rk mada hudintorkLarge kind was it ( v iz. the animal) as theywent trees theysearched
jadi lbudintovk
grass searched
416 . Lingal b angu wadkintor kenjatro dada nawangLingo w hat s ays hear 0 brothers myhat u te hani hatteif ‘it h as gone let it g o
L ingal sarekata madat sid hanykunLing .) the Char t ree below hav ing gone
nalurkte dada iturkfou r brothers said
U da Lingo yer‘tatin
'
terom habadi a turkSit O Lingo water we will bring yonder went
419. Madakun adam‘
aturk U kesaral bangu wadki lator kenjatro'
O i t ree t o the side came what t o ’ssy began
dada eiwake Lingal dhadm'
ite u tor
0brother good Lingo in shade sat
420. 1de wakht manta nalurk te tamu rk nalung as; tandat su
‘
tiThis the time is four brothers four
o
arrows t ook and
kiturk
102
V’
é rku"k fidk
” i
ta'
ntu rk undi kad kha lwa irtnrk undiTh e s e eyes brought ou t one eye side kep t on one
km] paringone eye on another (side)
437. Tamu rk u chi hork onigi situr k eida. bo tateThe b ro the rs sat down near them gav e (in) hands fingerlllt ll l'ktheyhe ld
Hagat al golitleka Ji tur Jineke v erk un hikekhalwaThence marble like (w ill) s t rike while st riking to their
wa tu golina garsmud v c rkna laghu undi gatkacame the marble game their lasted one hour
P A R T I I I .
The reviv al of L ingo,and his deliv eryof the G onds from bondage.
l . B ang pendun kimadWhat god did (now)
‘2 . Rayetan kimad Pharsipentun kimad bang atu parodipnedid did what happened in the upper worlds‘
3. Sebbe penkna u chu kacheri Sn I sranaAll minor div init ies hav ing sat in the court of god
’
s
Horn bangu wadki lator kenjatro gadyalknit kenj atro baduThey what began t o say h ear 0 friendsDipne mu rda ar ta
World (has this) dead body fallen
5 . Hona koju kimtu bor andu rHis t race will d o who mayhe be
6 . Seiyung akina V ida kitu r rishirk munne wadturFiv e . leav es bida he made of rushis in front h e threw
7. Hud’
atu hudi ikun nahaga wadata nabaga v eha ihun iturHav ing seen him near me come (and) me t ell so said he
8 . V ida rishi halle tahatorkB ida the rishis not lifted
CD Usado siri isral hainake risne wator ranga latorThen to god mu ch anger came to reproach began
10. Siri I sral '
tet tur thalite yer keyu stu r kei kal nortu
God arose in a po t water called hands and fee t washed
l l . Mendoda machu tantu r t ana kawal kitu r tanrapo amrit(From his ) body dirt he t ook (of) it crow he made on him ambr osia
wad tu rsprmkled
1 2 . Sajj iv kitur K agesu r paror irtu'
r heide bitur tankuMad e it aliv e the name of K agesu r he kept in hand he held it
13. Wadkintor Siri I sral bandaki dongude matan rupo karitrap oSays G od go in Jungle between hills glens
samtinrapo j oditrupo yetrapo hududiv alleys in riv ers in wat er shalt thou look
1 4. Agatal kawal handn latu parodipne walita latuThence crow to go began in the upper world to roam began
15. Halle bagane diso hagatal sidtadipne watu haga huda latuDid not anywhere see thence in the lower worl
qd came there
‘
to look began
104
16. K achikopa Lohugad“
adena dongude wasikum hudu latuof its jungle hav ing come to look began
matane koritein
'
the hilly v alleys
17. N aju r batu kakadang distn agatal kawal tet tuSight fell twigs appeared thence crow arose
hanj ikun kakadanige u ttu kakadanrapo hudu la’
ttuhav ing gone near twigs sat under twigs to search b egan
1 8. Lingal ar tor'
burotaye dis tu r houku kadk halle honuLingo was fallen bad he appeared t o him eyes were not his
talla wo t ta distn p l rn w orta dis tn paduk pasitanghead burst appeared belly int estines come ou t
distu
K awal hudtu agatal kawal tettu tuda latu waya latuCrow looked thence crow went t o fly began to c ome began
parodipnein the u pper Wor ld
20. Siri I srana keitparo wasikun u t tu v eru Siri I sral pu si kiturG od
’
s on hands hav ing come sat‘that G od to ask began
baga manta kharoue v ehawhere (and) what is t ru ly tell
2 1. U sade Kachikopa Lahugad hadena dongude watan hagaThen in its j ungle I came there
hudtan waror manyal korit rapo artor
I searched one man in a cav e is fallen
22. Siri I sral tanwa pite kemekena atur samje matur
G od in his belly became silent (and ) unders tood
23. Hade dongude pahindi pungar mada mata LingaiI n that j ungle Pahindi fl ower
’
s tree was (where) LingalJomne masiw as born
24. Askedal wata halleSince t hen came not
25. B otu tal amrit tantui” keitnr K urtao Subal honku v ehaturO ut of his finger ambrosia t ook ou t he called to hlm said
26 . Ime idu honu am rit woma todakeparo pitparo watak inYou this t o him ambrosia t ake on his liv er on the belly sprinkletallatparo watakinon the head sprinkle
27. Munne kawal paja K u t tao Subal handa laturk K achikopa
In fr ont 1 crow behind t o go began to
Lahugadta
42 . Lingo. handa laturk d u sara saryeLinga t o go began another way
43. Linga hatu r u ndi mata wau ntu u nd i mata turgintonLinga w ent one mountain passing one mountain as cending
dongu de handu lator haneke din mu lituin j ungle to go began then day was set
V ern Lingo bangu wadktur inga dinu'
hatu ige reheThat Lingo what sald now day is set here stay
mayka waronayeI will alone
B enke chital wayah nakun tindal benkeFrom s omewhere t iger will come me fr om somewhere
yadj al wayal nak tindalb ear will come m e will eat
46. V ern pedhajat niru ra mada aden hudtu rThat large niro or t ree t o it he w en t
47. Tanparo tu rktu r shendu te aga din mulitThereupon he climbed t o the t op then day set
48. Dongur gogo ting ku sintang m ulk tahosintang ku rskWild cocks crowed peacocks cried
chamrke mantangwere
49. Yedsku gume mantang kolyalk kolla k intang dongu rB ears wag ged their heads jackals a yell made jungle
rat a ta Lingo bangu wadkintornight pas sed Lingo what
j ango mamal pasitormoon is up
sukkuk pasitang v erkh n pu si kiku nawa
star s appearing t o them ask I Will about
52. Mund pabark atu gogoti ku ste eAt the third watch of night cock crowed
sukkum pasitor lal abhar atu din pasitustar appeared red sky became day appeared
54. V ern Lingo madatal rutur v ichike handu laturThat L ingo from t ree came down running to
‘
go began
dintunige hunj ikun sewa kitu rtowards the sun hav ing gone salu tation made
1197
55. V ebatu nawa s cla 5kadang koitnrk 1haga inantorkTell my sixteen gscores “
of G onds where are
56 . K enja L inga .hanate .siri israna chakari kiritona nailingHear Lingo I of god
'
3 serv ice four
pahark tak 111 tonawatches I vtrav el on
57. Distn halleI saw ( them) not
58 . Agatal L ingo Jango maman ige watwiThence rLingo
‘
moon runele it o came
£9.
f Sewa 1kit11r 1 11 an ..pu sirkitur imama n awangSalutation amade
60 Sola 1kadang 1koitorkun budei 1kenja jango mandakiSixteen s cores 0moon if you hav e
nakun v ehatato me : t ell
61 . K enJa Lingo anate takint ona(Hear Lingo
pasinta aske udintona siri israna chakariUntil t hen I sit ( in) god
’
s serv ice
62. N akun malum halleTo me known not
63. Agatal handa lator v er Lingo karyal kumaitunigeFrom then to go began that Lingo t o black
64. Hanj ikun sewa itor pusikitor nawang sola kadang koitorkAfter going salut ation made asked my“
a
sixteen scores of Gond:
baga mantorkwhere are
65. K enja sabbena paror mu ta koitorkna paror mutmaHear of all the names mention of G onds
’
names do not mentio
6 6. Gadhana jat koitona barabar mandaTo asses
’
caste ~Gonds equal
67. B ilal uncle tintork yalli unde t intork ghu si uncle tintorkCats also theyeat mice also they eat bandicoots also they eat
68. Padi 11nde tintork mudatang yedmitang . .tintork italPigs also they eat cow
’
s flesh buffaloes theyeat Buck
buratai mantorkhad t heyare
69. Horkunigerk nakun barkur pusiAbout them me why you
1
70. Dh'
awalagiri Parwat Jumnagiri tirith
71 . Haga Mahadewa manda hom Sabbe kottorkun bisikunThere Mahadeo is be all Gonds canght (hav ing)
72 . Yaditrapo muchi sitor sola ku tang tongi tana todtparoIn a cav e
.
shu t did sixteen cubits stone on its mouth
darwaj ate much1 s 1 tu
doo r cov ered
73. B asmasu r Deituna pahara irtu deitur kepintar
74. Lingo agatal 1positur taka latur amte unde takintu narkaLingo from there star ted to walk began day and he walked night
75. Tap kitar bara mahinang atung vena tapu nintuDev otion made twelv e months passed when d ev otion was completed
76. Mahadewa undana sonota chowrang dagmage mu ta
Mahadeo’
s sit ting golden stool t o shake began
Mahadewa indur nawa Dhawalagirat paro born Ristu wator
Mahadeo said my Dh;m at-agiri on what Dev otee has come
ige tap kitu nawa parohere dev otion made me upon
78. Waje kitu ihun itar MahadewaLoad he pu t thus said Mahadeo
79. Handa latur huda latu r maka laturTo go began to see began to wonder began
80. L ingan kachul hatu rk lake nilturk hagatal hudturkLingo towards went after stood from there new
verte Lingahe was Lingo
Halle kei maluyor halle kal tahator kadkne hudor
Do not hand shake d o not feet lift up with eye do not see
flesh was dry bones remaining thus Lingo thorns
nasumtuwas asleep
83. Mahadewa bangu wadkilatur
84. Ime t aluka bang talukiya bang indaki haile sika
You ask what ask what you wishlthat
"I will giv e
85. V er Linga bang int erThis Lingo what say
98. M awa Dhawalagirita s atwo bude mayalfMy Dhawalagiri
’
s purity ‘lost will be
99. Hona kenj tur Mahadewa kenja N arayan undi paloteHis (Word) heard Mahadeo h r ar 0 N arayan gwy word
ana sisiI hav e giv en
100. Chuktam nawaipe dusaro halle[I e rred mear me {another 1here is not
101 . N arayan bang intorN arayan what said
102. K enja Linga mawa punj atun kaéml Bindo (pitetapfg“
Hear iLingo foamychiwak ime arikun
yo ung ones for me bring
Usado nawork okoitorkun womuAfter that ‘ from me the G onds take away
104. Lingo yontur daryawun kachu l hatu r aga hfi
udintor bekeiLingo r eached the sea near i
‘went there . he saw
heke yer distaand there water was v isible
105 . I na kudkate karyal'
. B indo pitetung chiwakuOf that sea-shore black .B indo the lbircls young ones
admanasalkmale and female
106 . Randute dongude batung
B oth to j ungle had gone
107. Aada pite batal mandu yenin j akund tanangThat bird how Was elephant killing of that (elephant)kadun t indu talla -wobtund t ana .maddurthe eyes theyate the head breaking of that brain
108. Chiwakun ta tund piteta yedung khopka yetrapodaFor young ones they brought of this bird sev en bro ods
109.
dBbowarnag~manda “tarasu v idu ~tinJ1 mata
B howarnag was snake he eaten g‘hdd
kachul haturnear went
1 10. Chiwakuu hudtnr bang wedkintorThe young ones seeing what (he) said
1 1 1 . Paja woyakan nakun kalie indanurk
al th absence,if
_I take (the young ones me a thief theywill pail
1 12 . Horkuu munne woyakan ana L ingana ailgan
In their presence if I take them away I Linga will ’be
1 1 1
1 13. Chiwakun kachul narumtur hainakiTheyoung ones near he slept with comfort
1 14. I tumna kodtleka tarasa t osu ro distnN ame t runk like snake thick appeared
Setitichor tana phadi kitu idu BhowarnagLike basket (for winnowing corn) his hood was this Bhowarnag
tarasu yetropodal chiwak tendale waya latursnake fi om water the young ones t o eat t o come began
1 16. Iwu chiwak torasun hudtung hainake wuritung adaThese young ones the snake seeing much . were t errified t e ety
latungbegan
1 17 Lingubhan parekatal tit tantur kamtatun jodi kuturLingo from his back arrow took fixedtiru
the arrow
1 18. Jitu r t il rasna yedang khandang kitu rShot the snake sev en pieces he made
yedungte khandangall sev en pieces
1 19. Mahachi tuttur talla wada v itur aden paraCarried and brought (of) his head on the side he kept at
muchi siturcov ered
120. U sade "
dongudal kuryal B indo radu te admunsaolkThen from the jungle black B indo both male and female
12 1 . B ade j akta bu tum bange jak tork yening hadena konkuSome theykil led camels some theykilled elephant some eyes
bitork yenotanggot of elephant
12 2 . lhun chiwakan sati ebaro arikan waya latungThese young ones for food taking coniing began
Iwu cbiwaku charo t inongThese young ones food will not eat
124. Usado bangu wadku latung bodu ku riyal B indo pitte tauwor
Then what t o sea, b egan female black B indo
'
s bird to her
mu edon bangu int ahe .oues what said
12 5. Yedung yeiku atungSeven times I got
1 1 2
126. Ana tongu wangu yedmilekaI am now withou t (young ones) buffalo like
127. Ana chawa wale disuka ihun itan u sado nawang chiwanglike mother of child will look thus s l id again (on).my young om
hatita diti lagtawhat ev il eye has fallen
Iwu timung halleThese eat do not
129. Tanor muns ur neli hudtur pandri distu Linga narnmsiHer he one aligh ted (and) looked white appear ed Lingo sleepinghonthis
Hudin kenja ho mawang chiwak tenal halle neli hu daSaw hear these our young ones eat do not below
131 . Mantor hontu j aksi wata hona tullada madur tansiThere is him kill of his head brain take out
132 . mawang chiwaka charo tindanungO ur young ones food for eating (W111 be)
133. Chiwaka kenchikun bangu w’
adkintangThe young ones hearing what they said
134. Makun ime charo tatan amot bahun tindakom imetFor us you food hav e brought we how eat 0 you father
ime awal mawor andit
you mother of us are
135. Makun wadsikun dongude banditUs leav ing to jungle you go
boru rehe mandurwho remains
136 . Makun boru kepandurU s who will guard
137. Idu yetrapodal Bhowarnag makun tindale wanduThis aquatic Bhowarnag t o eat was coming
138 . Horu manwal mator mawa j iv a pistu met hudtitThat man was here our life was sav ed you saw
139. Ponko tindale dosat horu tindanur u sado amot tindakomHim to eat giv e he eats after
1 14
156. N awang chiwakna paror halle matniMy young ones name do not mention
157. Usado bangu wadki latur LingalThen what t o say began Lingo
1 58. Haga Mahadewa mantor hona najade hudansatiThere Mahadeo is for him with eyes to lookchiwakun wontons
young ones I will take
159. Usada bangu wadkinta kuryal B indo pitteThen what said black Bindo
160. K enja Linga Mahadewa keitor amot wayakomHear Lingo ( if) Mahadeo calls we will go
161 . Undo khato pakal paro tanwa randute chiwakun upustaO ne side of wing on their both young ones
undi khaku Linga upustaon one side Lingo made to sit
162. Usado karyal B indo pittetor mansur wadkintorThen black B indo bird
’
s
kenja Lingaheal" Lingo
163. Ana bartun mandaka mikun hainake yaddi lagalI for what will remain you much sun will feel
164. Ihun itur noli modi tudintu paroThu s said from below the female fl ew up
1 65. Tanor mansur dhadim kitur'
daryawan igetal tudashelter making towards the sea thence to fly
166. Sarung mehinana sarimata iwu pitteng sakadene pasitangSix month s
’
road was this bird earlyin the morning started
1 67. Dupar ayo te wasikun Mahadewata rachede reitung
Mid -day t ill they fl ew of Mahadeo in the cou rt theyalighted
168. Duadal hudtur N arayan v ichike hanykun MabadewatigeFrom door seeing N arain ran and going Mahadeov ehata laturt o show began
169. K enja N abadewa v er Lingo karyal B indo pet ten ariHear Mahadeo this Lingo black B indo bird has brought
1 70. U sade Mahadewa bangu wadki lator kenja N arayan
Then Mahadeo what t o say began hear N arain
171 . Anate wadkandan anate v ehandan ime ha lle v erhorte Lingo1
.
1 15
172 . Tatanur suti kinar halle
Will bring leav e will not
173. U sade mahadewa wadktur kenja Lingo niwang sola kadangThen mahadeo said hear Lingo your sixteen scores
koitorkunof Gond s
174. Womu sitan hanu LingalTake I hav e giv en and go Lingo
175 . Mahadewatun sewa kitur yadit karun hatur PhursipendaTo mahadeo salutation he made near the he went
1 76 . Mutatur Rayetana p aror mu tatur basmasur deituro habadiHe t ook of Rayetan god
’
s name he took basmasur
kiturmade to go
1 77. Sola katang tangi chira tachikun hahadi irtur tamv angSixteen cubits of stone piece kept his
178. K oitu rkuro bahers tantur horku koiturkun hudtur v erkuGonds those Gonds saw him these
koitork bange wadkintorGonds what said
179. K enja Lingo mawor bore halle makun veru mahad ewaHear Lingo we hav e one to us this
180. Gahokna pindi bone situr janana. pindiOf wheat flour to some gave of millet flour
1 81 . B ou‘
e situr paryokTo some he gav e rice
182. Yadite aturk atu laturk bonakoTo riv er went to cook began some
1 83. K ondi ku si mator muwa Jiwata hotal solu kiturWhat he had kept them our
184. U sade Linga bangu wadkintor .
Then Linga what
1 85. 1met yadite datu imet atatu tintu u sade wadkakel '
You in riv er come you cook and eat than
P AR T I V .
subdivision of the Gonds into tribes, and the institutton of the worship0] the Gond gods .
rotang kitur kusari(hav ing) kneeded thick cake made cooked
koitorkna atmad atu
Gond’
s sou ls satisfied
abhal tettu piru ara laturain to fall began
3. Joditun u sa waya lata sebbe koitorkTo a riv er flood to come began all G onds
bangu Wadki
4. Linga hainake pio
r tet ta palang p irurintaO Lingo mu ch rain rose up
5. V erku koitork handa laturk sabbe koitork joditrapo handaThose Go nds
I
to go began all Gonds in middle of,riv er to go
6. B orkuh rapadork nalung koitork Lingan toda rahe matu rkThem amongst fou r G onds Lingo with remained
7. Hotu Lingal hudtur bangu wadki later kinjafs~
dadaThat Lingo saw what to speak began hear O brother
8. Joditur u sa wata apalo had khak bahur handakatTo riv er flood came w e that side how we shall go
9. Adhike abha‘
l watu andhar atuMore clouds came darkness became
10. V erka nalurkte jank Lingal bang wadkintor
(To) those four persons Lingo what speaks
1 1 . K injat dada bahun kikat bahun handakat din hantaHear brother how we will do how we will go day is going
12 . Dame kasuwal Puse magral yetrupo garsiki
13. Waya latung v irkunkachul yetropodal wadka latungTo come they began to them
1 1 8
25.
- V erku '
ada laturk’
usado ikaswal bangu wadkint a‘
kinjaSpoke hear
26. 1me kai simu borkun nawa parikat paro umsi yenaYou hand giv e to them my back on
27. Lingal' kei situr "'
nalurkunte bitur umsi yetur kas’
v
'
vanaLingo hand gav e to the hint caught dragged from water tortoise
parikate upu sturon back caused to sit
28. 1du kaso rechachi situ . tana parekate nu lurkte jankto four persons
29. K al kara laturk kenj tin .kaswa amot nikun halleO n feet to, fall they,began not
beimaw analfaithless become
30. U sade , . v erk,u handa denguda ’
sariye undiThen those to go one
Torgentorkascended
31. Undi mata : runtork handa latork munniOne hill descended to go began forward
32. V erku madak nadktur rohk dohaturk munda laturk ' bekehakeThose trees cut hou se built to remain began here there
33. N etka kiturk achorte rohku koitorkna kiturk pedhojat naru
Fields made all house for G onds made large city
atu
became
34. 1Agane . batum nehaturk pedha nar Bhumi atu
There a bazaar held large Bhumi became
Wadki lator dada imet netku yadakit jah angTo say theybegan 0brother you fields sow j awari
86 . Usado v erkun bara mahinang atung aiwake Bhumi saharThen to them twelv e months became a good Bhumi
i
city
disa ‘
f.’ latu
37. B one kondang halv eke houku kondang atungWho bullocks hav e not those bullocks became
38. B on godang halv eki hon gadang atung sabbe wadangThose who hav e not to them became all bnclosures
naru nande matu
1 19
39. Lingal achorte koitork watnrk manditel'
w’
oriya
To Lingo all G onds came c lose to thigh in rows
40. U tturk nadum Lingal niltur u sado Lingal wadka latur
Sat inmids t Lingo stood then Lingo to speak began
41. K enjatro koitorkHear O G onds
Achorte koitnrk nit imet bange samje mav it nit bonAll you G onds t o you anything understanding not to whom
indana dada bon indana babato call brother whom to call father
43. B en indana -
pari bona myad talokana bon sianaWhom t o call a relativ e whom a daughter to ask whom to giv e
Rontoda kawana u sado v erku koitork bangu wadkintorkWith whom t o laugh then those G onds what said
45 . Lingo imete pedhar buddhitone oiwake wadkt eT o you great understanding (is) good spoke
4G. B ahun wadlr te alum Linga niwa keide khamk kimuHow spoke so L ingo you with hands that do
47. Lingal sola kodang koitork miatork korkun repodalLingo six teen companies (of) G onds that w ere of them from am idst
nalnng kodang undi khak tehatu rfou r bands one side raised
48. Warona kei bitur bon intor ime ro gadiga manawayaO no
’
s hand caught whom said he you 0 friend manawajia .
atungbecome
Aske horn manaw aj ia atur u sado dnsarona kei bitur
Then he manawajia became Then another’
s hand
'
ro gadiya mete dahakiwah0 friend you dahakwale
50. Horn dahakiwale ojal atu rThat dahakiwale bards became
5 1 . Unde dnsroni kei bitar hon ime gadiyaAnd another
’
s hand caught him you
koilabu tal aiyaki horn koj labu tal atnrkofl abutal be he koilabutal became
52 . U sade dnsrona kei bito r honku bang iturThen other
’
s hand caught to him what said
gadiya koikopal aiyakewild koikopal be
1 20
Horn koikopal atur ihun kineke nalung kodang martungh e koikopal became thu s he made them four
:
scores
O
becameo
B ara k odang pis tung u sade Lingal nalung kodang tanturTwelv e bands remained then Lingo four bands separated
50. Mimeta kadu tan korku kitur dusaro kadatun bhil(U i) first band korkn became (of) another band bhil
kiturbecame
56. Tisaro kadatun kolami kitur chou totun kotoleyal kitur
(Of) third band kolami made (of) four th kotoleyal
at k0dangeight bands
57. Mor tung at rehe matung u sade bangu atu t lj u
(Finished) ended eight remained then what became third
weishakna mahinaor Weishak month
5 8. Watu u sade Lingal wadkintor dav itro dada makun
(Came) arriv ed then Lingo said come 0 bro thers to us
hallenot
59. Pen bagane diso apalo penu kikat punjaG od anywhere appears we god will make and worship
60. Achonti jank undiya paloAll persons one word
K itu rk seiyung warshana bakralSpoke fi v e years
’
old goat
62. Salmeta ku sac a ghogoti mund worshana kuwarik padnagA year old crowing cock thr ee years v irgin
63. G ai randu t aratu
Cow two bring
64. Manaojan keyat pen ghagarangManaojan call god chain
65. Dongur mudana tok'
ada gangawan chawur tarat ihun
Wild cow tailed cow tailed fan bring thus
itur LiDgalsaid Lingo
66 . Dukan mande imtu poladna Phars1 pot banekimtu
Shop spread (keep) of steel Pharsi pot
1 22
82 . U sade pus kiturk Pharsipen bang wadkinta kenj atreg dadsThen t o ask began Pharsipen what says hear O fa ther
83. Parin matan gondite yedang sandite imet datu hig iB etween twelv e hills in cav es in sev en hilly d ales you go
higa nawa pen kada himtathere my gods place make
84. Mu rine pen kate pajaye sabbete keitork handa laturkI n front god st ick behind all G ond s t o go b egan
85 . Ime t datu higa reitu rk j idi tera latu rk tonging wo r siThey went there aligh ted grass t o pick began s tones threw
86 . B zing11 wadkintor LingalThen Spoke Lingo
87. K enj atre dada mu nne dista biwalata mada tan narkatHear O bro ther yonder appears bij asal t r ee that cu t
88. Tana dliolc kintu mars bitu rk medet ige haturk madaI t s (drum) dhol make axe caught near t ree Wen t t ree
nad tu rkdid cut
89. B one sola biturk scramend yer tattu rk todi katnrkSome pit cher held pitcherful water brough t earth d ug
90. Tana wadata kitu rk adenparo penkate irturkI t s chabut ra made on it god st ick placedkinjatro dada niwa dhol atu halle atu
Hear O brother you r dhol became not ready
Munne kis patu sturk diyeng dos turkIn front fire bum lamp light
92. Seyung torang palnide shendur nahalerk seiyung torangFiv e t olas in gbi v ermilion wet fiv e tolasraru tantu rk kisan pare viadturk
ral (resin) take fire on threw
93. Munne Lingal u t tur keids pen GhagarangB efore Lingo sat hand joined god Ghagara
94. Ghagarang nekusta latur v ena mendode pen Rayetal watuGa
‘
ngara (bell god) play began that (in) his body god Rayetal came
Pharsipen garsa laturl’arsapen t o play began
95. Jorat badakmend phulB ring goglet full of dam
96. K athi pare wadtur sewa Pharsipen iturThe s tick on Sprinkled it salam Pharsipen spoke
193
97. Randute'
keik joda kiturk kal kara latu rk kal karanekeTwo hands j oin ed did at feet t o fall began feet falling t im e
98 . Pen Rayetal mendode watu v eru Lingal deiya lat urG od Rayetal in body came he Lingo to j ump begm
hainake hale matu r yenda latu rmuch to mov e began dance (to) began
99. Usado bangu wadki latu Pharsipen ari nawa seij arangThen'what to speak began Pharsipen bu ng to me V l ctims
100. V erku seiyung salkna bakrai munne tachikun nilu tu rkThese fi v e years goats before hav ing brought made t o stand
101, Adenang kalk norturk tona taladunTheir feet washed his head
tanang kowdrapo phul wadturk
(in) his darn poured
102 . B akranku bisikun kal kara laturkGoat hav ing caught feet t o threw began
103. B akrana mindody Rayetal watu hoinuke ka sunga latu( In) goats body Rayetal came much t o shake began
tala hale kitu kowku gode kitu r mendodum j adtehead to mov e began ear to shake began t o the body shake
situ
gav e
104. V erku ran nalungcha jank v iturk"bakran betu r tan
Then two four persons ran caught it
105. Pentparo aske laturk achorte natu r beke hakeG od before t o cu t began all blood here and there
106. Atark taladun munne iturk bakranku taha chikunB egan the head before to keep to the goat hav ing
undi khak irtu rkone side kept
107. U sade sa1 meta pandu gegute tan latu rk haden askeThen a year old white cock brought to it (they) cu t
108. Jantur neku sta laturk dhobi neku sta laturk eiwakeKingri to play b egan dhol to play began goo d
pendawaja neku sta latnrk
god music t o play began
109. B iwaks penu ku site wa tu garsa lataG ood god in pleasu re came to play began o
1 24
1 10. U sade randu fe padana kalk norturk toddi worturkThen two (of) calf ’s feet washed mouth washed
av ena talade sendu r sokturktheir head v erm ilion applied
1 1 1 . Av en neli aru tu rk aska latu rkThen down threw t o cu t began
1 1 2 . Randu padanang talang munne irturk usade Lingal bangu(O f) two ,the calv es heads before kept then Lingo“ w hat
Wadke lat ur kenj at ro dadat o say began bear 0 b rother
1 13. Lako re ireina Dadana tolk tandat bore tadaking bursatQuickly these calv es skins flay some liv er
1 14 . Roun tongmg taturk sodek kitu rk sodekun pu ro atkangSome s tones brought an ov en mad e on o v en on pitcher (for cooking
1 1 5 . Atkan rapo yer wad turk yetraro khandk wadtu rkPicther m water pu t in w at er flesh put
1 16 . Mardnang akung kweisikun tatu rk hadenang kuding kitu rkYen (tree) leaf hav ing cu t brought their
1 17. Dhadiate ghato biturku toda kitang khandku biturkIn brass plate cooked rice t ook liv er took flesh took
nalung div eng patu stu rk pent munne arifou r lamps lighted god before placed
1 1 8 . Puja kinturk bore irintor rupya pahud pendunAn offering made s ome were keeping (as ) r upee present (before) god
1 19. 1hun pendun munne ru pyana tongronmend rasi ar tu
So god before of '
rupees up t o knee a heap fell
1 20. Lingo wadki latu rk kenjatro dada eiwake mawa pengadaLingo t o speak began bear 0brother good (in) my god
’
s court
12 1 . Hanku sikatWhom shall we giv e
1 22. i at ro dada ichorkun rapodal bore waror Padal amtuHear 0 brothers (of) all from midst some one Pardhan (shal l) becomo
123. Horku amot sikunTo him we will giv e
1 26
138. Ihun itur imet kason pari kikit
you tort oise promise
139. Sabburkun sewa kitur habadi hudut ro dada mawAll salam made yonder looked O brother my
hanI go
1 40. Achonte jank .paja malsi hudturk hike Lin’
gal mayad laturAll persons behind . turned and looked here Lingo to hide began
Lingal turtur seri I srana saba ti hanj r niltur
go (to) gods cour ts in going stood
141 . Achonte koitork mahaka latu rk beke hatur mawor LingalAll Gonds to look began Where (is) gone our Lingo
P A R T V
l c institution byLingo of the rites of Marriage among the Gonds.
1 . Munne Padal atur joda hudile bandaka ihun itur Padal
B efore .Pardh an became spouse to look I will go thu s said Pardhan
2 .Ihun itur Lingal nalurkte upalotork chidurk padorkThu s said Lingo t o four you r small and great (ones )
mandauerk temile ma’
mt undi jaga unat undi paloremaining join (gather) become (in) one place sit one council
8.Achode koitork nsadi Lingal inter mawa pale kenjatro(To) all G onds then Lingo says our word hear
dada Padan rohkat adena bichar kikat
O brother Pardhan I will send his consideration t ake (do)
Aske rohkat paryak yet rapo . watkat paryatunThen they sent for rice water put rice
5 . Parya tundal u sade r ohkat te halle rebanal
( If) rice sticks then we will send if not we will not send
6 . K oitork usade walork Lingan paja munne nilturk
Gonds then t ame Lingo’s behind before stood
7. Paryak yetrap o watat rand paryat u sade yetrapo waturkR 100 in water cast two rice then in water they east
8 . Paryaku unditun undi j udematungRice t o one to one joined
9. Usado Lingal hudtu r tanwa kankne hudtur tanwa manteThen Lingo looked with his own eyes looked his (in) mind
intor bahun itan abune atu mawa madmina sagunsaid how said so become our marriages omen
bakota distn kenj atro dada
good seems hear O brother
10. Apalotor Padau misati velak hudile handaO ur Pardhan for you wiv es t o see let go
1 1. Usado Padan saware kiturThen Pardhan ready made (himself)
12 . Lingal inter Padan pale ima bandakiLingo says 0 Pardhan words you go
K achikopa Lahugad
koitork mantork horkunige bandakiG onds are t o
‘
then'
i
14. Hanj lkun ima nitki sewa‘
dharnirknitAfter going you s tand salam (make) to the head man
Nar a jahar mikun yavv i ihun indaki‘
iun ~v ehtur
My salutation t oyou mayreach this t ell thus
Hona palo'
kinj tur bor Padal agatal pasitur K achikopaHis word heard that Pardhan thenc
‘
e d eparted KachikopaLahugadta sariya handa laturLahugad way t o go began
17. B or Padal horkna hatur niltu r bor PadalThat Pardhan their went stood that
sewa dhanirknitsalam (made) to the landlord
1 8. Ana miwar andan dada nakun Padal'
kitur1 your Pardhan am brother I Pardhan was mad e
maw'
oi' Lingal mikun nhanirk kitu rour Lingo you 10rd made
19. Lingal mihigi tu’
dik bade mantangLingo me daughters possess therefore
mawor Lingan miwang tudikunou
'
r Lingo
madming
20. War hudsikun amot kikomB ride hav ing seen we will join them
.
21 . N alurk te tamurk inda laturk Lingan mawa sewajaharThe four brothers t o tell began (t o) Lingo our salutation.
v éhakun srkemt ell we will giv e
Padal sewa kitur tanara natenda sari bitar Lin anigab ardhan salutation made t o (his) town way took t o ingo
23. 1hun itur bor Padal‘
Liiigaiiige mawor Lingal kintorteThu s said that Pardhan to Lingo our
180
38. Ghagading indana kaluhtana more.Pitcherfu l (of liquor) call giv e to drink (according to) custom
”
39. Dadiyaite diwai
paryaknang danang irana rand peisangIn brassplate a lamp rice grains keep two pice
irana akita V ida kuku ta d abba irana g‘
i lyada , pudikeep bet el rolls kuku box keep gu lal powderr
irana gbagaditun munne tikakeep (of) pitcher t o the front tika (sacred mark)
40. Ghatiyan mitustana tanpaja sabbetun mitustana(Then) t o pitcherman apply after ( 1t) to all
41 . Tanpaj a ghat wahatana u sade ask pata tandana nawarinAfter it pitcher break then women s ong sing on bride
’
s
hindang
42 . Joda gamoding tartil babare bain hare matil surwa rr
Pair of blanke ts spread 0 father daughther is lost (in) promise dearest
parematitwho was brought up
43. B abare chaka'
lobhi bainor surwanor hare
Q father ( for) liqu or ’s lov e daughter dearest is lost
44. K ada chaka ghatiyan siana
(O f) liquor drinking cup pitcherman giv e
45. Tanpaja ghatiyal chaka undana paja'
sabbe pangeturzAft er this (let) pitcherman the cup drink aft er all to company
46. Usado sewa kiana ihun kaluhtanaThen salutation do thu s custom
47. Jawayer undana
Sakado mowran hindorkn a
( In) themorning way sending (or despatching timo) bridegroom’
s side
kisiana sewa jahar kianado follow salutation do
49. Mela bheting ye stana apalo ron bandana nawran hindork
Embracing take t o your hou se go bridegroom’
5 side
nawaran ron
(at), pridegxnom’
s house
50. K alk norana nawarauork wartalk knlbht un
131
5 1 . Munne bang‘
anta ask pichi nawrintang aga bat pataB efore what women saffron g rinding when
Ange indanur angewo kural indanur
(Bhowjai) elder bro ther 's wife will speak 0 Bhowjaee bridegroom
angeowona pata ask waranungB howjai
’
s song women will sing
53. Tanpaja sabbe patang warana pichi nor
After this all songs may sing (of) saffron ground
kamkang kohkanasaffron make powder
54. B awajai indanu r dadal ihun pataBhowajai will say brother so sing
55. Saffron kahk sikun arti kiana dadiyatiSafi
'
ron hav ing ground wav e lamp in brass plate
v ida irana seigo supari iranabida (roll) keep whole nu t keep
K uku ta dabba irana paryaknang danangK uku
’
s (red powder) box keep rice
57. Thalite yer trana Laguyal badukne kel bianaIn a pot water bring (in) Laguyal bott le liquor keep
58. R otal pasitana lagnal munne aiana hon munne
Hou se from depart '
one whomarries in front maybecome him before
59. Pata warana bada pichi , walutuna pahile pichiSongs sing loudly saffron (in) procession (take) first saffron
nat ebhiman
(to) town Bhimsen (giv e)
60. B usaro pichi nate maram tisat egecond saffron (to) town Mata (god) third
pichi Siwarya boharyakunsafi
'
ron t o boundary and surrounding gods
61 . Pachawo pichi nate s Hanumantun sahawo pichiFifthly saffron (to) t own Hanuman sixthlyPanderitang penkun satwe pichi sanadumalkun tenpaj a(to) Pandhari god sev enth saffron ( to) (departed manes) after thisid pata warana bhiman
‘
igethis song sing t o Bhimsen
62 . N il taru tana pata waranaOil offering song sang
k .
63. Usada ron bandana nau ran
Then ( to) hou se go on bridegro om
akari dastanachain pu t
64. K ieda paryaknang danang siana
( In) hand of rice grains giv e
6 5. Undi ask munne aiyal paj aye walle asku nitanangO ne w oman before become behind many women
nau ran
of the bridegroom
66 . Gamade mu chu stanung mitu staleB lanket cau se to wear apply tika ( sacred mark)
67. B at pata waramungThen song sing
6 8. Dada kowsi paryak mitu sa hori aiyanur tamu dadaB rother with smile rice apply he will be father 0 brother
69. K ow si paryak mitu sa ade alyale awwale dadaLaughing rice apply that will be mother 0 brother
70. K owsi paryak mitusa adi aiyale selade dadarice apply that will be sis ter 0 brother
71 . K owsi paryak mitusa hore aiyanur akoye dadarice apply that will be grand father O brother
72. K owsi paryak mitusa dada ade s iyale
K owsi Paryak mitusa selak tangekLaughing apply to sister bhowajai
74. Rontatana nou ran ku t tulwatana honang kalknoranaHome bring br1degroom (make) s eat spread his feet wash
75. Hike hake pichi nauran pichi sakanaHere there saffron bridegroom safi
'
ron apply
76 . B ati pata warana hona bidhita kotkator pattadinWhat song weW111 sing ou r household priest O Pardhan
77. Kayat babare bidhi chawadi v ehtanurTell 0 father hou sehold story tell
78. Yer kineke bad pata warana
At bathing what song will sing
gaba mendul dadana kumakore masori dadana
134
Todde v ida kapade kuku bore B ajamar kuwaral ihunIn mou th bida on forehead kuku what . Raja’
s son is than
943. U sade bad mura anta paryak mitustantang u sade pataThen what cust om happens rice then song
warintangsing
95. I ndanu re dadal angede tawrite wailemi dosima augedeWill say brother 0bhawjaai in lamp mu ch (oil) is not pu t bhawajai
iudanure dadal munneye . taw ri paj aye nowriwill say brother (in front ) bridegroom (is) lamp after (behind) (is) bride
96 . Dboli neku staDrum b eat
97. U sade surnaite dhobrk nehanayeThen in pipes musicians gladly (sing)
98. Riyang asku sadoku tanvva J1wateni phu rkeYoung women old (women) in their minds glad
maiyanung undi jani padkne techikan nawran
one person forcibly hav ing risen the bridegroom
99. Podi paro upastanta nouran yedinta nehanayeDung hill on make sit bridegroom and dance gladly
100. Tanpaj a u ndi jani ku ttul ari nant ana yerkitalThereaft er one person seat (wooden) hav ing taken of bridegroom
'
s
101 . Tanpaj a arti bisi undi jani yedintaThereafter a
’
wav ing lamp hav ing taken one person maydance
102. Av en paja baren ku shi aw yedintang \ av en page. subheThen aft er who wish those maydance then after all
patang waristingsongs sing
103. Morang nawrana mantang yerkiana atu
Cust om bridegroom’
s is bathing ended
104. Aske bang kiana unde nauran kuttudi upu stana nalnngThen what do and the bridegroom on the seat make sit four
aski tahtana nawran
women make to rise the bridegroom.
135
105 . Tachikun ron woyana usikun ; uppetana p pusikond J~N
A fter rising home take hav ing taken make sit after sit ting
gawanang talanacakes bring
106 . Hav e gawanang sabbe tintang pata bada'
ro warintangThose cakes all eat and song With lo ud v 01ce sing
107. Saru tan waktne babina gawanatun j im,‘ dada
(At ) turning time to Bhowajayi s garment beat 0broth er
108 . Tanpaja bate anta t indana undana mora . bang m anilaThereafter what happens (of) eating drinking cust om what is
109. Ghagadi mend kal tatana raehade irana manyalkun keyanaPitcher fu ll liquor bring in compound keep (to) men call
wartalkun keyana rachade upu sikna upu sikun sabbe askun
(to) gu ests call in conpound make sit a fter sitting all ,women
chidak padhanung k eyana sabbe rachadecall all in compound
1 10. Ghagaditun tika paryak'
na mitustana ghatyanTo pitcher tika of rice apply to pitcherman
1 1 1 . Mitu stana u sada sabbotun mitus tanaApply then - to all
1 12 . Mitusikun kada uklekim chakaAfter applying to (the) lid of the cov er open it cup
1 13. Jawadi kudingporo wade tan paro ku sari watana tanparoSoji of jawari plates on serv e it on dal pu t it on
undi mircha watanaone chilly put
'
N uka sawor irana kudinparo watsikun bahun pensitaLitt le salt keep plates on after serv ing how god giv e
acho w adeBO serv e
11 5 . Tinj lkun atu u sade keikun dhatiyate noru stana ihunAfter eating (is) ended then hand s in a bras s plate ( cause to) wash so
kiana mandita morado eating custom
1 16. Techikun bang kiana nawranige rator bandana manyalkAfter rising what do bridegroom house t o go (let ) men
sawari kiana
136
1 17. K eyana undi 3811 11 talada ‘
sianaCall one woman (on) her head ghat (with a lamp) -
of pot giv e
tanparo patal tawari irana thau tparo tansirmu l ak ingon it a burning lamp keep on the pot around it betel of
nagweltang dohaehikunbe fastened
1 18. Sebbe manditork ane asku hamdanaAll iu company those women l et go
1 19. Sabbe saware mayana nawran toda paring dos tale rotal(Ev ery) preparation being made from home
pasitanamay depart
1 20. Apalota penta paror yétana yechikun rotal pusitalOf their god name taken hav ing from house let them depart
12 1. Pasisikun Marotiu v ida chade‘
nawral kal karanaAfter departure to Maroci bida offer bridegroom (or) feet fall
1 22. N awrina rota sari biana munne
B rides hou se way take before (in front)
N era — The word v ida,or bida,occurs frequent ly in the abov e song. I t means an
offering of betel-nut made to the gods .
F I N I S .
A P P E N D I X l .
The foldowing N ote is ascer tained to hav e been taken byM r . Hislop at N agpore.
Three G ondi women, named respectiv elyMangali, Tami,and Mohani,came to me tod ay
( 25th Ju ly186 1 ) w ith Paharsingh . They are nativ es o f this d ist rict (Nagpur ). Mangaliwo r
shipped six god s,and the two others se v en . All say taat there is one C reat or,whom the Hind u scall B hagawan,and they call simply Pen,73. e. god . Among the sixgods the great est is PharsiPen,so cal led from Pharsi,a bat t leaxe, in the form of a B ar chi, eight inches long,becau se heis said to hav e b een born in the hou se of a Lohar . ‘3.
-Khode, or K hodial,so named frombeing made of the t runk of a tree,called in their language mundi,bu t in Marathi,Karam,of this form6;the spherical part being ab ou t three inches in diameter, and the projectinghead ,which is made of the same piece, abou t 35 inch es . When it is w orshipped on Akhadi,Jiwati,Shimga,and Diwali, it is placed,as abo v e,on a chabu t ra at other t imes it is k ept in a
ghagwr, or earthen pot . 3.—Sant
’tlk, from Sat u r, t o die, or a d ead man ; in the Marathi V
expressed as U t ranche dewa, i. e. the god or gods who d escend (u tarane) t o the earth againafter they hav e left it by death . O n a d ay dev oted t o the worship of the manesj for whichno time is fixed, the relat iv es of the d eceased assemble and go through the prescribed cere
monies at the hou se aft er which they go to an open place,where int o the hand s of the Pujaric ome down,as is imagined , tw o or thr ee m orsels of a whit e thing like qu artz,of the size of arice grain . The ceremonies include the sacrifice of a goat,when theymake a chabu tra,and placeon it fou r or fiv e pebb les,and at the four corners new gbager e encircled with thread ; an d rice,poli,and wada, according t o the number of the d ec eased
’
s gods, are placed around the
chabu tra. They throw a lit t le of each on the pebbles with daru ; the relativ es saying,“Acceptit and willingly descend .
”
The w omen sing?"6 the m usicians make a no ise, and int o the t
hands of the Pu jari comes Sainalk . 4.—Munjal,which means an u nmarri e dman (kuwara). I t
rises like a prot ubera nce,abou t one and a half inches high,of shendur ( red lead ), spontaneously on a chabu tra in the hou se at night, when no per son can see . This is to commemorate dead unmarried men and the supposed mirac le does not take place so oftenas in the case of the Senalk . 5 .
— Du rga ( is a god, and not t o be confounded with the
Hindu goddess). His form is like K hodial,and is made of the same wo od,and is kept in a
earthen pot ,except when he is worshipped onAkhadi,Jiwat i,Shimga,or Holi and Diwali. Whens ick theyma ke v ow s t o him,and if they get bet t er they fu lfil their v ow s on the days men
t ioned . R hodiel t heyw orship also, on Jiwati,Holi,&c .,bu t not in consequence of a v ow
they simplyremember him when theyare feasting,and payhim the at tention of a finger full ofv ermilion and a hen . Pharsi Pen is w orshipped at fu ll m oon of Weishak,ev ery third year.He was worshipped last in 1860, T o him they offer a white cook, a whit e he-goat,and a
white young cow . G.— Chu da Pen,chuda being the Hindi for the Marathi yer, or kada,— a
man’s bracelet . He is worshipped und er the form of a bracelet of iron, along w ith K hodial /
and Durga, on the four feast s . The two worshippers of sev en god s said that the abo v e
named were theirs also,and theyadded a sev enth,i. e. Sakali Pen,equal t o the chain god,whichis spread ou t on the household chabu t ra in the form of a circle,abo v e one foo t in diamet er,w orshipped along with the others that are ad ored on the four feast s . PharsiPen is not
w orshipped with these,though a litt le honor is paid him on Akhadi when,going ou t into
their compound,the men offer him there a few Mohwa fru it s, throw a litt le rice,which theyallow a chicken to eat after which, the chicken is killed, cooked ou t side, and eaten, w omen r
not being allowed t o be present . So when Pharsi Pen’
s great feast takes place ev ery third,’
fou r th,or fifth year,and people assemb le from a distance, the ceremonies are c ondu ct ed with
great secrecy; no Hindu,or ev en G ond w omen being allow ed t o be present . O n that day,if aG ond w oman in black comes to the door of a G ond hou se,she is not admit ted . N0 fire is
giv en from the hou se.
The Sat -dewala can intermarrywith the Saha-dewala,or fiv e and fou r-god worshippersbu t the six,fiv e,and fou r-god w orshippers might not intermarry, theybeing reckoned one .
The Kuls ( sect s) among Sat-dewala are -Maskola (t o which mytw o informant s belonged),Madav i
B halav i,Masaram,Dhu rwal,l rpochi,K u rsangal,K ou ratti,Sarotal,Sariyam,G ajyam,Seryam,
Donders madadolka nike lata.
under ) B auhz'
nia tree ( when) the d rum to beat has begun .
Nago endi lator .
0N ago ( anydead man’
s name to dance thou hast begin.
O .
1 1
K andatal,B umnsha,K arpat irk,K okodyal or K okotta,Jugnakal,Yunati,Pandaram,with oneor two others . These Kuls are t he Adnaw of the Sat-dewala, as Sirkia, «Et c . are among theMahrat tas . Maskola mu st not marry a Maskola woman,theymu st look ou t beyond the se v ent o the six Dewala . The Kuls among the six Dewala,are Kumral ( informant Wikal,Wat ti,Marapal,Ghodam,K odapal, Pendam,Malgam, Mandhari,N arpachi,Salanik, Sedam, G adam,N amurt al, Puranik, Tedanganik,YV arkadalk, Adalk, Neitamk, Kowalk,Markamk, Tekamk .
The Kuls of the fiv e or fo un god w orshippers are reckoned among those . The sev en and fourare the most num erou s . K hu sram,Tadam,Kot iam,and K o tlam are six Dew allas ; others,mentioned by C olonel B almain, as at Raepore,are no t known here, 6 . g. Seduram, Pando ti,Jagret . Sakkam,and sou th ofWu rdah,Su rpam
— fiv e,and Atram,K u lmnt ta,Yerma- six.
My informant s,whether sev en o r six-god wo rshippers, call themselv es K oitors,and say thatalthough the Pardhans* follow the same religion, and are sub -div ided, according t o thenumber of their god s,yet t he cas te is d ifferent , and th ey neither eat nor int ermarry witht hem . The Pardhans will eat from the hands o f the K oitor s, and are reckoned inferior .
Mohani,one of the sev en-god wo rshippers,is a Pardhan,and goes t o the hou se of Tami,where she may eat ;bu t if Tami goes t o Mohani
’
s house,she may not eat . The Pardhans,likeMohani
’
s hu sband ,who,how ev er, is employed in secu lar serv ice, d ischarge the func tions of
B hate,i. e. sing songs and giv e information on genealogical mat ters . B u t these are few .
They also think it no indignity t o playon st ringed inst r uments they call themselv es Raj?
Pardhan,as Tami is a Raj G ond . B eneath them there is a sub —di v ision”
whose w omen tatt oo
G onds and Hindu s . B eneath them again is a sub -div ision who play on wind instru
ments of w ood,while there is s till a low er class who speak m ore Marathi than G ondi,and playon w ind instrument s o f b rass, and spin t hread like the Mbare. All these,how ev er,w orship the sam e god s, and are su b-div id ed accordingly. The B humuks in the v illages areeither G onds or Pardhans . They profes s t o keep the boundaries of the v illage free fromw ild beast s and cholera,and are ent it led, on that sing le account,t o a field and some mango
and other trees from the Pat el,and t o an allowance of rice and other grains from each cu ltiyator,Hindu or G ond . G awaris profess th e G ond religion,but speak Marathi. They ac t as
s erv ants in k eeping the cow s and buffaloes of others bu t in general hav e none of their own,
except in the j ungly district s,w here they loosen a heifer for sacrifice.FE STIVALS— AK HAD I , JIWAT I ,PO LA,Drwx m,AND SH IMGA.
O n Akhadi,which this year,1 86 1 ,happened on 23rd Ju ly,the men go ou t to their w ork
bu t the w omen clean t he hou s e and v essels, bring w ater, b athe, grind, and breakfastabou t noon, when the men hav e r et urned from th eir w ork . These now bathe,and,with
ou t eating, prepare for c elebrating Phar si Pen’
s worship,which takes place in the compoundo f each abou t 3p m . There the head of the hou se prepares a spot w1th cowdung, and
lays on it a small heap of rice (tandu l),and abov e that again he besmears a lit t le d ry\v ermilion, set s before the heap a wh ole su pari on fi v e b et el leav es . Then he ki lls a youngco ck,and sprinkles it s blood on the heap, on which h e su bsequ ent ly pou rs libations of ar rack .
Aft er this he throw s into the fire,which is'
bu rning before t he heap, a fru it of the Mohwat ree (B assia -la tifolia ); and then proceed s t o b o 1 ] the fow l fo r his own entert ainment,which he
“
eats,after hav ing d runk off a bot t le of arrack . There is no image or representation of Pharsr
Pen,except the rice ; and at the t ime of offering the v ermilion and young cock,he simplysays,I am a poor man,and giv e you this v ermihon and fowl ; accept it at myhand . Keep u s safe
b less ou r fields and if I su rv iv e,I shall worship thee next year . T hen abou t fou r o ’
clock heent ers the hou se,and all the family j oin in drinking daru . The male memb ers then go ou t
and drink more at the liqu or -shop,and d on ’
t ret urn till abou t eight . At 10 the hou seholdfea s t commences,which consist s of small cakes of u did, and or wheat fried in Mohwa 011,
(which is forbidden to be eaten new from the tree t ill that dat e), ric e,pu lse,fowl,and v egeta
ble. B efore the company commences t o eat there is a copiou s allowance of ar rack d rank .
Then when t he w omen hav e s erv ed up the eatab les to the m ales, they th emselv es srt down at
a short dist ance t o par tak e,though sometimes theywait till the others hav e finished . Abou t1 1 at night al l go to s leep.
Jiwati,which is in the month of Shrav an.- In the morning,hav ing attended t o household
du ties, as before,the mother abou t 12 giv es the childr en their br eakfast . Abou t 3p m . she
begins the cooking for the feast . Abou t 8 p m . the ceremonies commence, till Wt h t ime
both the parents hav e been fasting. The wife brings forward the articles, and the hu sband
places th em in order . O n each side of the chabu t ra in the hou se are placed small cakes( as ab ov e) —two of u did, two of wheat flou r cov ered with ga l sugar). O n the chabu tra are placed3,4,5,6 small h eaps of rice,according t o the number of gods professedlyworshipped by thefamily,w ant ing one for Phar si Pen . O n the rice heaps is pou red dry
c
v ermih on . Aft er
which on the chabu t ra in fr ont o f the heaps is laid a cook or a young p ig,whi ch may be
bought at‘
4 annas . Then joining hands ,and pronou ncmg the names of his the
exception of Pharsi Pen,e. g.,R hodiel, saursk ,Munja,Durga,Chuda Pen,and Sakah Pen,heasks them to receiv e the offerings t o keep the hand s and feet of the fam ily safe, to bles s
*Hindu name equal to Pradhan (Prime Minister),but among themselv es,Pathadi.
I V
falls ofi'
the child,they shav e its head,and clean the floor and walls of the housee Then thechild,who had been washed daily from the day of birth,with the mother,are bat hed for thelast t ime,and the w omen of the neighbou rhood are called in,to whom is dist ribut ed a brassplate fu ll of tu rmeric flou r to apply to their bodies . Then these w omen bathe and receiv ea.port ion of a dish composed of fried sesamum s eeds,gul,and cocoanu t . Arrack is brought ina pot and pou red ov er the now filled pit dug in the floor for the water u sed in bathing thebaby and mother ; th e nurse w orships Chhat i, who is supposed by Hindu s on that day t ow rit e on th e sku ll of each ch ild it s fu tu re dest iny . The w orship consists in offering pans upari . and one pice , and kuku,and a little lamp black,w hich is applied with the finger t othe ground,and a lit tle t ooth powder. After this, they lay down on the same spot a port ionof the sesamum, gu l (su gar ) and cocoanu t mixed together ; then daru is sprinkled ; then an
unboiled fi sh named tepari (small ),like minim, which is some times liv ing, somet imes dead ,kichari,and dal bhat . After this, all the w omen dine and drink t ogether : from that day thefamily are free from ceremonial defilement . O n 7th day is Barsa,so called by Hindu s becauseit is observ ed on 1 2th day among them . O n this day the family inv ite friends and relat iv esfrom a dis tance, who come w ith present s of cloth for the mother and child, and banglesfor the lat ter. Aft er all the w omen,both of the v illage and other v illages , are assembledin the house,and the men in the compound,a chatty fu ll of arrack is brou ght to the lat t er,the women sing
Héroré boro deu ral bainorT edaro shend ukoko jhela nadi dohdPhu lkata chhakawalhuya
Targnaké chidung chadungBe inahe ghat ung t e jhelapeiyaka d eu rmoré .
Of this lady,who ( is the brother-in-law ( husband ’s younger brother )O brother-in-law dads , ris e 0 l w ith du pata bind ( you r ) wais t .The arrack div iding go round.To as cend 1 am pregnant .
To descend ov er the hills w ithou t cloth a child will be born,0my brother-ln-law .
And after hav ing partaken liberally of the liqu or,all dine . O n 9th daythe name is gi v en .
They firs t dist ribu te boiled wheat and gram ;and w omen in a cloth rock the child to s leep,atwhich t ime the name is giv en by all the w omen presentMarr iage.
—The ‘bet rothal takes place generally abou t tw o years before the marriage . Thefather of the youngman goes to the hou se of th e young woman and asks’her father if he is Wllling to giv e . Before gi v ing his consent omens mu st be consu lt ed . Into a brass plat e they pou rw at er,and pu t one grain of rice for the lad ,and another for the lass . If they adh ere,thenthe bet rothal proceeds . The father of the former promis es t o giv e the father of the lat terRs . 1 6 (apparen tly a cons tant amount R s. 14,t o which other 2 are ad ded on the plate, see
below) and WM lugade . The rupees ar e giv en about one month before the marriage,and theyoung man ,hav ing his body anoint ed w ith oily t u rmeric,w ith a ret inu e goes t o hi s fu tur efather-in-law
’
s V illage,ou t side of which h e is met by the father-in—law, w ith a number offriends also, and he is lodged in the hou se of a neighbou r (wanos '
a of Mahrattas). There all
remain during the night, receiv ing from the father-in -law something to eat . N es t day the
bridegroom ’
s father,&c go to the bride ’
s hou se, where they are seated out side of thethreshhold,the father-in -law being in the ins ide . The bridegroom’
s father present s t o the
bride ’
s father on a bras s plat e kuku, rice, a lamp,and Rs . 2, and the latter present s to
the former in a bras s plat e kuku , rice,a lamn 2 pice,and red powder,which is thrown by eachfather on the other and the rest of the company. Then they giv e each other daru t o drinkin a bras s cup . Then the bridegroom’
s father brings two chat t ies of da m,and the bride’
s
father one,when all join in drinking. The bride ’
s relat iv es take the br 1degroom ’
s father,850.
to a riv er or tank,co v er them w ith turmeric,and bathe them, when they ret u rn to the hou se .
The bride'
s father prov ides a pig (with the 2 ru p ees) for the entertainment of the company.He also brings one chat ty of dam , and the other father two chat t ies . Meanwhile,the bridehas left her own hou se and hid herself among the rafters of some neighbouring t enementand the women, taking a kamli (blanket),go in search of her, s inging-0
Teda kamlo awar aia lataSai awar ai teri kamlo tedon .
Ris e lady,delay is happening.
Go delay is, st ill,0ladies, I rise not .Then they climb u p towards her she leaps down they seize her,and cov ering her up with
t he kamh, she all the t ime stru ggling in v ain, they bring her to the house,where she
grasps her parents and all her relat iv es, and hangs on their necks w eeping. Then the
entertainment proceeds . This is the great Sagai inMarathi (in Gondi,paring) or betrothal . N ext
morning the bridegroom and his relat iv es leav e for their homes . At parting,the bride ’
s
female relat iv es,hav ing made a garland of the pig’s feet,a small cake of u did,onion,and redp epper,the br ide
’
s father throws it ov er the neck of the other father,and on his moustache
V
and face,the seed of some plant (called, in Marathi, ashta) like tu ls i . whose seeds areAt first black,but by st eeping in water become whit e. The bridegro oni
’s relativ es cont ribu te
Among themselv es pice, cow ries,red thread, pieces of cocoanu t ; and giv e the bride - and so
depart . O n tha t same day the bridegroom’
s relat i v es,aft er reaching their home, commencet o build the marriage bower. (From t he day that the R s . 14 w ere giv en the bride had
begun t o go weeping,along w ith other tw o, also w eeping, t o neighbou ring V illages, and theyare ent ert ained by relat i v es for a day here and there,and receiv e a cow ,goat ,pice cloth,850acco rding t o the ability of the gi v ers). That ev ening in the hou se a lota is filled w ith wat erand a pice thrown int o it,and a Cov e r is placed on the t op of it and set before the bridegroom,who is seated, arrayed in a new cloth and in t his pos it ion he is obliged t o remain t ill thebride and her party arr iv e —
abou t 2 o ’clock next morning. At their arriv al they salut e the
bridegroom ’
s relat iv es w ith opprobriou s songs and beat Wooden cymbals ; friends are receiv ed inthe same mann e r by the lat t er. Quart ers ar e app oint ed t o them in a neighbouring house.Then abo ut 5 o ’clock they retu rn t o the house ;bu t before entering,the bridegroom goes ou tand meet s the bride in the plain. The friends of both hold up betw een them tw o dupat tasas v eils,w ith a s light int erv al between them . A w oman who had taken up the lota at tendsthe bridegroom w ith it on her head, and s o a w oman,s im ilarly fu rnished,at tends the bride .
And now the bridegroom creeps und er the v eil in t o the intermediate space, and so does thebride . Then,when both are m et,the v eil is Withdrawn,and they ar e left facing each otherwhen the bridegroom pu t s his foot on that of the brid e t o prev ent any res istance,and an ironring on the lit t le finger o f the bride ’
s right hand, and fixes his left li t t le finger in her rightlitt le finger . Then an old man,not necessarily a relat iv e,knocks their foreheads together and
while they are remaining in this pos it ion h e kills a chicken,and places it s body under the
compressed foot of the bride, adding in a whisper an exhortat ion t o them t o be faithful toeach other . Lifting. two balls, one of rice and another of cowdung, he w av es them roundtheir heads and throw s them away Again, taking a fow l he w rings it s neck and wav esit s body round them and throws it away, and so w ith a cu p 0: dar n. Then fromone s ide and the other w omen throw on the tw o jh ondale colored w ith saffron Ifthe bridegroom is six or sev en Dewala, then, according t o the number of his gods, cakeso f wheat, and udid fried in oil ( poli and wada),along w ith rice, are brought in a new
basket and giv en by him,t ogether with the fow l and any daru that remains, t o the old man,
who had remained about tw o days fast ing, f
il e. from the t ime of erect ing the b ower. Then t hebridegroom leads the bride t o the bow er. Here in the centre a pole has been erected,‘ roundwhich,holding st ill her finger, they walk fi v e t imes, the bridegroom ’
s female att endant beingbefore him all the t ime With the lota on her head and pou ring wat er on the ground by a
spou t ou t of an earthen pot like a teapot ; the bride ’
s female at tendant follow ingher w ith the lot s.on her head,bu t pou ring no wat er. The bridegroom is no t only linked to the bride behindhim,but t o the at tendant before him . Then u nder the shade of the bow er a chabu t ra isconstruct ed,on which the tw o young people sit in a line, the bridegroom With his lota at hiss ide, and the bride w ith hers ,and hav e the skirts of their respec tiv e garment s knot t ed t ogether by the bridegroom ’
s elder brother ’s Wife or byhis s ister. After this the bride anointsher spou se w ith saffron and bathes him . Then b oth hav ing filled their mou ths w ith watersqu irt it on each other,and holding each other by the lit tle finger they go t o his hou se, at thedoor of which they are met by his s ist er,who asks something befo re she will perm it them t o
’
enter . The bridegroom gi v es a bracelet , and p romises a cow,whereupon they are permit ted toent er. Here they sit on a kamli s ide by s ide,w ith the bridegroom ’
s thigh rest ing on that ofthe bride . Then the bridegoom giv es a handfu l of rice int o the hand of the bride, whoput s it int o a small ear then v essel, and her eyes being cov ered by the bridegroom’
s sist er shespills it on the fl oor, and v ice v er sa she giv es him,the bride ’
s s ist er blindfolding the bridegroom,and he spilling the rice . Then before each of the two, 2 leafy p lates of rice,poli,and wada are set ,which they snat ch from each other ;these remaining w ith the st ronger partybu t u lt imat ely all are div ided among the company. Instead of their dal bhat, some rice cakesare
oplaced before them,when the bridegroom endeav ou rs to feed the bride by force. After
whi ch,abou t 8 e .m .,the w ife leav es him and goes w ith some girls t o the separate hou se ap
pomt ed for her recept ion. There tw o oppos ite row s of w omen strike up abu s iv e songs,f’
eé’
péfiding t o p
each other,and drinking an abundance of daru , which cont inu es t ill 2 p in . Then,a
p ig is prepared for the coming entertainment ,which takes place at 10p .m .,and consists of thepol k,rice,poli-wad i, and daru . At the end the bride retu rns t o t he s eparate house as before,bu t next morning she is brought t o her hu sband ’
s hou se and left w ith him,when her relat iv estake their departu re the bride ’
s father being now the wearer of ‘ the pig’s foot’
garlandthe br ide crying, and all throwing red powder on each o ther. In nine days after the bride’
s” ,
father pays them a V is it,and takes away t he bride t o the home of her yout h,and re tu rns héi’t o her hu sband on
,Jiwati. There is no specified month for marriages among the Gonds, bu t
she mu st retu rn on Jiwati. I n some places a marriage necklace ( in Marathi,— garsolim Hind i,PO13;l is bound bu t this is learned from Hindus .
i
Death.— If the deceased had been rich, theypurchase a new cloth ; if poor, an old one in
u sed for the pu rpo se . They firs t bring the body but of the hou se, bathe it, and a'
noint itWi th turmeric,and then w ith ghee, and cov er the icins wfth a langoti. Then they layit on
a bamboo bier,and cov er it with the bloth,and tie it with cords Then the men carry it té
V I
the plac e of interment, on a riv er’s bank O r in the jungle,and bu ry it, after hav ing st rippedit of ev ery piece of cloth and laid a leaf of Palas or R ui (Ca lotmp is gigantea). The face iskept upwards, head t o south, the feet t o north. Then they go t o the riv er, bathe,andrepair to a liqu or shop and drink. The w omen hav e meanwhile cleaned the hou se ; theneighbou ring w omen bring bread, rice, &c . t o it ; and all the m en who had gone t othe funeral sit down t o eat O n the spot where the deceased expired a basket is
placed w ith rice, two root s of hu ldi,and one chicken . and a little flou r is scat teredon the grou nd,and all is cov ered u p Wi th a large basket all night . Next morningthey open it u p,and place the contents in an earthen v es sel, along w ith bu tt er, t urmeric,and red lead, and one carries the whole ov er his shou lder w ith a hat chet . All themen of the v illage form th e process ion,and at the riv er anoint themselv es w ith thetu rmeric and bu t t er,and under a t ree make a mama,and on it offer a lit tle heap of rice andr ed lead,asking the dead man,now deemed a god, t o accept them. They then saC iifice a
chicken . There the men remain, cook and eat . Men bring darn ; and the w omenwho had been cooking at home carry some of the v ict uals t oward the same spot,and on theway,on a branch of C alo t i Opis placed for the pu rpose,they throw some dal bhat and dam and
water, and ask the dead man t o receiv e them aft er which they retu rn home, A messengerfrom the t ‘iapna now comes and carries off the prov isions and dam ,and t he m en feas t at thet ree While t he w omen do the same at the hou se . When the men retu rn,they dine again.
Then the cc -religio iiists of the deceas ed bring darn,and dipping in it a branch of Nim tree,sprinkle the heads of t he members of the family, and serv e the whole male and femalepresent w ith as many cups of dam as the deceased w orshipped gods .
H its N ote is ascer tained to ha v e been taken by M r . H islop at N agpore.
GON DS : 27TH SE PTEMBER, 1 862 .
Mange Pardhan S edam (4-god-w orshipper) and DubaliDholi,Maskola(7 god),from theMotibag .
The G awali dynas ty ruled ov er this cou ntry. At Deogad and N andbesu r,near Girad,Chimnajia
'
nd G ondaji, t w o brothers,w ere the repres entat iv es when Bade (great) Row,originally of theKangali t i ibe,and a
ft erw ards, for the reason aft erward s giv en,made the head of a new t ribe,
w as his Bhumu k H is great god PharsiPen w as set up at Janib,35. kos s abov e Deogad. on the
Dew a Riv er. I n ltfirgeshw ar ( t'
6 . beginning of th emonsoon ) this riv erwas flooded and broughtdown i i. any Kheir t rees all the inhabitant s of Deogad w ent ou t t o s ecu re the spoils,andamong o thers w ent the B humuk . Others t ook the small t ru nks, bu t not s o h e. A large one
came and immed iat ely be leaped upon it, b u t it eluded his grasp and float ed up th e riv er,hesw imming a
ft er it . I t s topped not t ill it came t o Jam b, and there he brought it out t o the
bank, wh en it appeared v ery beau t iful . At the sight the captor was o v erjoyed, saying,in his m ind, that I Will make ou t of it a splendid baton . At last,w ith a promise of Rs . 5
t o a carpent er,he had made ou t of it a w ooden sword ( khanda ). Going t o a Jingar he
made a s imilar pr omise for a Scabbard, bu t fulfilled neither, as he Was bu t a poor man.
Then off h e w ent w ith th e w e apon u nder his arm t o th e Kachari of the Gawali king, and,aft er making salam i,stated that he came for s erv ice . O n being asked h ow mu ch salary hew anted,he replied M Ku dus of ru pees a month ( 1 Ku du = 10seers, or 8 pailies What willyou do for su ch a large salary ? st av at home,and come when occas ion requ ires . The Rajsconsent ed, and the rupees w ere duly gi v en for six months, du ring which Bade R ow bu iltfor himself a hou se B u t one of the Raj ah’
s s erv ants,who profess ed great friendship, discov ered,on on e occas ion,when the sword w as inadv ertent ly laid on the ground ou t of itsaccu st omed armpi t, that it was of w ood,and commu nicat ed his discov ery t o His Highness,Th e Raja said w e w ill soon s ee ;in 10days is the B usara L et a fiv e year old male buffaloe beprov ided for the occa s ion, and let the Gond b e appointed t o cu t ofi
’
it s head w ith his khanda.
The poor man w as sorely perplexed . H ow could he w ith his w ooden sw ord accomphsh su ch afeat . H e could neither eat nor drink . The god Pharsi Pen, and Manko Rayetal his wife,appeared to him in a dream,t old h im t o be of good cheer, t o take his w eapon at the same
t ime w ith the others t o the riv er,bu t t o go higher u p the s tream to Wash it, then to car
it home and w orship it . The preliminaries o v er, he smeared a spot in his hou se witcowdung
— set up on the chabutra the khanda. While engaged in the w orship a shoutfrom tw o m en at the door of the angan reached him, calling him t o come,as the bu ffalowas ready. He t old them t o tell th e Raja h e was in the middle of the ceremonies,and wou ldcome when they were finished. The Raja sent three more. The same reply. Then four,whowere ordered t o bring him by force . N ow he called on his gods not t o allow him to be dishonored O Adhalpen,Bu dhal Pen O Pharsi Pen,Manko Rayet al 016 Satis"(who ofi
’
ered‘
t hemselv es on the funeral pile,when PharsiPen killed his three brothers ,Subhadra,K ubhadra,and Lingobhan Pariyor,
— the 1 6 being the mot her of all, three w iv es of three, and the 1?
daught ers of Subhadra ) be fav orable t o me .
” The answer was, Whydo you fear. B u t
what sign do you giv e of you r fav or 2” “Draw you r sword and you w ill see .
”He drew the
sw ord and it flashed like lightning,at which he was blinded and prostrat ed on the ground.Th e god s,moreov er,t old him t o inform the Raja that when he shou ld lift his sword to killthe buffalo,the K ing shou ld set 750 men w ith their mat chl ocks ready turned on him and
discharge their bullets,otherwise Pharsi Pen would render all thewomen of the city barren.
iriii
danced and sang ; bu t the demon allowed him to sleep near the wheat. At the expirationof the ninth day,the demon suggested that a lime shou ld be fixed on the end of a sword,which the man had in his hand . The women pu t earthen pots of water andwheat u pon theirheads,and,dancing and singing,all went to the river and threw in the offering of the firs tfru its . Whether this was an u nu su al possession, or whether it always accompanies theoffering of the firstfruits, I cannot exactly find out .
A P P E N D I X I I I.
N ote made by M r . H islop ,from“
information obtained through Seraj ooddcen, a
N a tiv e Christian, I nsp ector of P olice.
GONDS or THE SEO N EE DISTRICT : 2GTH N O V EMB ER 1 861 .
His informant was a seven-god worshipper— Bada dewa, Matiya, Sale, Palo, Sakal dewa,Gadawa,and Kham Khatar Pen, and K hawariyal (K odiyal). Three others were mentioned,as Dhanbai,Dhan-takoor, and Dhan Gopal. Khatar Pen and K hawariyal are representedby balls of wood
,and Dhanbai and the other two by balls of iron . When Gonds die they
are committed to Gadawa, who is the god of the dead, and takes care of them . Khamdewa is worshipped u nder a Saj tree. Chhota dewa, is represented by a little stool,W 1th
short legs,abou t 10by 8 inches, of one piece of wood . There is offered t o him a. chl cken,
pig, shendu r (red powder) and dar u ( spirit s) bu t no sheep or goat ; bukra (sheep) 1 s offeredonly to the great god . Matiya dewa remains with the great god, and is llkGO
hl s‘Kotwoal.They offer him a young pig. Sale is nearly equ al w ith the great god, and s1ts vn th h 1m
on the same gaddi (cu shion or throne). He is offered a she-goat. Gangara and Palo areoffered a cow.
The Gond informant said O ur gods eat cow ’s fl esh,and why should we not } Gadawadwells in our hou ses. After performing the funeral ceremonies of the dead, in h 1 s namewecommit them to his protection, He is represented by a chatty (earthen p0t ) w1th a littlevermilion in it,and a lid, like a lamp,covering its mo u th it is hung up to the 1ns1de of theroof,and taken down by a man aft er bathing,when it is to be worshipped . Kham dewa isworshipped under a Saj tree, and sim ilar offerings are made to Chhota dewa. Phark1 Pen isnot a dewa ;he is pat or saint. V ows are made to him and those who have them fu lfilled,worship him : bu t all do not . Along with Chhota dewa there are two gods of wood, calledK hawariyal and Khatar Pen,and three of iron,i. e. Dhanbai, Dhan-takoor,and Dan-gopal .Besides these, is a chain of iron,which is called Sakai dewa. On the day of Amawashya,
I p ut it on after worshipping ; then take it through the bazaar, which .
1s‘
held on Monday,with the sound of drums ; and on the eleventh day, after w orsh1pp1ng it agam, I W1 11place it ins ide of Gadawa, which is su spended from the roof. Chuda Pen 1s the same asSakal Pen ; the sym bol in some cases being a chain, in others an iron bangle . HoleRay (Ray= K ing)is represented by (3of wood he is worshipped only by those who havecows. Bag dewa is a person killed by a tiger, and he is worshipped under that name byhis family in the jungly districts arou nd . Sana is a dead woman, and Doma 1s a deadman . They are al so worshipped. We Worship Marimataas well . We dont worship Mu t ual 2we commit him,like a dead body,to Gadawa. Durga remains near Khod1 dewa.
We worship the great god twice a year— when the new rice comes in,and when 011 1 8
extracted from the Moha . Till worship is performed on these two occas 1ons, we cannot eatthe rice or u se the oil. On these two o ccas1ons it is u su al to fall at the feet of the Pardhan.
Sale-C hangara is the sign of the great god, The great god is represented by an 1ron
spear,and those Gonds who do not possess this sign. worship h1m u nder 3. 8a] tree . We
mu st especially worship the great god, for if we do not, we shall su ffer great calamities .B humka (B h umuk ) is the person who draws r
a line of prot ect 1on round the V illage withcharms, shu ts the mou ths of tigers. ‘ He is intell igent, acts as a physl c1an,and castsou t r dev ils .” There are twelve and a half castes -Raj Gond, Pardhan, K hOPOWQY?s Janwelwal'a
,Thakur,Ku rri Gond, G ondhera,Thathiya,Dubarya,Panka, N agarchl, 031m ,B harra.
Payam ; which last is the half-caste. These do not intermarry,except the Ra] G onds andPardhans .
“In marriage we do not worship any . but the great god, to whom W6 05 6 ? a
fowl or goat. The B humuk officiates . Any clothes,&c ., that had been worn by the dead,we do not keep in ou r house, bu t give to the Pardhans . We do not reverence B rahmms
éWe acknowledge the difference between sin and righteousness,andwe behev e that we mus
giv e an account of our sins after death.
A P P E N D I X IV
Account of the Gonds of Hu tta, in the B ha ndara District,giv en to Mr . Hislopby Gajmj Sing,Zemindar .
GO NDS OF THE BHUNDARA DISTRICT : DECEMBER, 1861 .In the village of Hiri,part of Gajrag’
s Zemindar ee, there are three or fou r G ond hou ses .
One Gond,named Dasaru , is of the Tekam tribe,and a worshipper of fou r gods ; i. e. B udha,who is also called Gagara dewa ; 2,Du la dewa ; 3. Mahad ewa ; 4, Parbati. h e says he doesnot know any Gonds who worship one,two, three, or eight gods, bu t he is acqu ainted withsome who worship fou r,five,six, seven, and n ine. Another G ond of H iri, named Holee,.
is of the Seiyam tribe, and worships seven gods : 1, Budha, or G agara 2,Du la dewa ;3, Sakaliya dewa,4,N irra; 5,Parbat ti ;6,Mahadewa ; and
'
7,Kalha, in whose name Hinduparents, in performance of a vow made when childless, u sed to p recipitate their eldest son,when he was abou t ten years of age, from the top of the Mahadewa hills. He worshipssix of his gods every year, either on the Dewali in the month of Kartik,when rice is new,or if no t then,on T ij or Akatij (i. e. the3rd) in the month Weishak,when the crop of Mchafl owers is ripe. From this latter date, they begin to extract oil from these fl owers . Theseare u sed as articles of diet by L odhees, Ahirs (i. e. G ow ars), and Gonds, &c .; bu t theyare not so considered by Rajpoots,who s imply bu rn the oil in their lamps. To Mahadewa,Holee offers a he-goat— to Parbati, a she one ; to Du la dewa, as to Mahad ewa ; to N irra,a pig . B udha
,or the great god, is worshipped once in abou t three years. The ceremonies,
including the offering of a cow, are performed at night, while feasting goes on duringthe day. If, in the interval between these triennial feasts, any u nmarried man dies,heis reckoned among the gods, and on that occasion Budha is worshipped . A third Gondin H iri is Kesari Pu j ari,a worshipper of fou r gods, which were enumerated as above, andof the Kumara tribe. There are two kinds of Kumara : one,that offers goats as Well ascows ; the other, to whom goats are an abomination ; and if one shou ld stray into theiryards or compou nds they throw away every chatty ( earthen water pot) . They offer onlyfowls,pigs,and cows.hl arr iage
— is celebrated in any month. In a fl at dish, fu ll of water, they pu t two grainsof r ice,and,naming a day for the marriage, see whether it is su itable by their sinkingor going together. Then t he bride goes about ciying among her relatives, attended by sixto twenty women singing songs this lasts from e1ght to fifteen days,according as relativesare numerou s and distant. Relatives give a l ittle to the bride after this she is annoint edwith haldi,and goes to the village of t he br idegroom with parents, &c . Ou tside of thevillage they stop,and one sets u p a spear in the V 1llage dunghi ll . They are now j oined bythe bridegroom and his party and the you ng couple,standing on the du nghill, the lad takesan iron ring off his own right little finger and puts it on the lass ’,and strikes her on theback with his fist three times. All then proceed to bridegroom’s father’s hou se, wherethe wom en of both sid es, standing in opposite rows, address each other in abu sive songs .
At night they feast in the morning,the bride’s relatives retu rn home, leaving her,The dead are buried at a distance from the village,bu t thapanas (shrines) are erected,
many together fou r stones forming the sides of the thapanas .
A P P E N D I X V .
N ote made byM r,Hislop in October 1862,from information obtained throughSeraj ooddeen N a tiv e Christian.
GONDS or THE CHANDA DISTR ICT.
Gonds bu ry their dead with their faces up . The head may be placed towards any qu arter4o f the heavens,but the wes t. Sons equ ally inherit and if there b e u nmarried daughtersthey receive a share . If without offspring the nephews su cceed. They swear by Bu daDewa by sons, &c . He repeated a part of a song taken at Moharle, abou t Daka DariKesal,Sonlat Kesal,and K atiku ti Kesal. Mention is made of a Shuku rwar tank.
.
A B hagat is one into.
who se body the B uda Dewa comes ;in this state of inspiration hechmbs the trees and bnngs down B uda Dewa,who near Chanda is called Pharsapen.
s
vo s
At N agbhid mam age arrioh g the R aj Gonds is celebrated, aft er going round in the lanetimes,by the bridegroom taking an iron r ing from a finger of his right hand and pu tting
the bride’s . With the great toe of his left foot, he presses her foot . At Nawargaum,4 coss sou th sou th-west of Chimur, it was related by a Raj Gond Bhumak,that theday before marriage the relatives worship the village god s as Marai
, Bhangarai or BhangaraB ai (female) &c there is a B hangaram (male) also. The Wife comes from one side and thehusband from another and they both stand together in the akad a (place of assembly). Thebridegroom shu ts his hand firmly on an iron ring. The b ride shu ts her hand equ allyfirmly. Then he opens hers by force and pu ts the iron ring on the little finger of her righthand, after which they go to his hou se and dr ink together.
\4
When a person at N ewergaum is killed by a tiger,he gives the relatives no rest,u nlessthey appeas e him with offerings : they go to a creeper named Phasi— present to it,by a Weidh,or pu j ari, (priest) dheep,vermilion,and kill a chicken,male or female ,according to the sex ofthe‘ person that had been' killed, and bu ry it there, after w hich they go round the tree 5times The pu j ari then dismisses them, telling them not to look back (does he take ou tthe chicken After all are gone,he repeats a mantra, ( incantation) and with one blow of hishand breaks the creeper,and leaves,him self not looking back. For the protection of cattleK olasu r is worshipped by Marathas with vermilion only ; bu t by Gonds who reckon himtheir d eity,with a young cock and daru (spirits). At N agbhid,according to Katu ,a Raj Gondof 7 gods,there is a chain with 7 bells (gagari) of bell metal, according to the number ofgods. This is kept in an earthen vessel and hung u p by a rope round the neck or mou thto the bough of a tree . It is taken down once in one or t wo years, by the Bhagat,whenw orship is to be pe rformed, and a goat or fowl offe red. A ku tha,or song, the beginning ofwhich was taken down by Serajoodeen at Moharle 18 miles north of Chanda, is abou tChohan Raja, whose father w as Jado Malhari, Jado Malhari
’
s wife was Naga Moti. Chohan.Raja’s wife was Maia Motl. Their daughter was Padmawanti. The Mohamedan Emperor ofDelhi first sent a Bhat,who took the young lady ’s portrait,and on showing it to the Emperor,ih e latter was so smitten that he sent an army of Pathan s like a cloud, to take her byerce .
A P P E N D I X V L
N ote taken by M r . H islop in Jnlg 1856,f rom information obtained throughAppaga N a tiv e Chr istian.
THE KURKU S .
fi ppayatma‘
de his enqu iries near Asirgad and B ait u l on the noth-west of Nagpore . The .
Ku rku s acknowledge that there is one inv isible Su preme Being whom they call B hagawanj ee z— perhaps having borrowed this opinion from t he Hindu s . B u t aft er reaping their.crops of rice they sacrifice a goat, fowl&c ., to Su ltan Sakada who is supposed to hav e beensome King among them in former times . These at As1rgad say that the Zemindars or Thaku rsat the Mahad ewa hills worship Shiwa for ‘ them, as well as themselves. When a mandies,his family,if in the rains,bu ry him,if at other seas ons they bu rn his body and aft erwardsoffer a goat,when they set up a. rude wooden image,of the deceased near the v illage at aplace appointed for the reception of all su ch representations. The image is abou t 2 feet.abov e the ground of this shape Ll
I
The deceased seems to be worshipped onlythe first year for protection .
For marriage days are requ ired . On the first day the relatives of the bridegroom go.to the bride’s hou se and bring her to her in tend ed hu sband’s house. On the 2ud day theytie together the garments of the two and cau se them to j oin hands and to run seven t 1mes
ro und a mohwa tree after wh ich they are condu cted to the bower (mandap) prepared at thehu sbands hou se. Then they ai e reminded of their having been knotted together and thathenceforth they mu st not be separated, after which all feast and drink,and one hav mglifted the hu sband and another the w ife on their backs they dance .
Their employment is to cu t down the jungle with a bamboo stick to . sow Ku tki (pu lse)on the hills and with a plough to sow rice on the planes and make tatties of bamboos .
Before marriage a man is sent to enqu ir e abou t a bride. The parents of the bridegroomgive for the bride,to her parents Rs . 10or Rs . 20. The marriage which takes place betweenparties of the age of 16 to 20is consumated in a day. In the morning abou t 7 a bowerhaving been erected near the hou se of the bridegroom the two young people are led into itand made to stand up together,and from the top of the bower,dash on their heads a chatty(pitcher) of water. A fter which they pu t on dry clothes when having been seated all thepeople pu t rice on their heads, and the marriage is completed by an exhortation from theparents. The whole day and night,they eat,drink and dance .After aman is dead they kil l and offer to the body a fowl. The corpse is then pu t on atatty and placed on the shou lders of fou r young strong men . All the neighbou rs placingon the ground a handfu l of r ice,call to mind their own dead forefathers, and tu rning tothe corpse place on it some rice,remarking that now he has become god and adjure him, ifdeath had came o f god’s will to accu s e no one,bu t if death had been caused by witchcraft,t o point ou t the gu ilty party. Sometimes it is said,there is su ch a pressu re exerted on theshou lders of the bearers,that they are pu shed forward and gu ided by the corpse to somehou se. The inmate is not seized at once,bu t if other three times the corpse retu rns afterbeing taken some distance back, he is apprehended and expelled from the village. Thecorpse is then carried to a tree to wh ich it is tied u pright and bu rned. (Apaya does notknow about burying) Then they begin to collect money for a funeral feast which is celebratedin a year or 1 8 months, from the time of the cremation. Repairing to the spot where thebody was bu rned,they and the neighbou rhood surr ound it with a tatty, (grass screen) inwhich they stick wooden spears,while a flag is fixed to the tree,and at a chupper (thatchedroof) bu ilt for the pu rpose, they sacrifice a fowl. Thereafter they retu rn to the hou seof the deceased,and having killed a goat,&c .,make a feast, and if the deceased was poorthey continu e for a day, if rich for three days with mu sic and dancing. The dancing isperfo rmed by a string of men on one side and of women on the other, approaching andreced ing. On that occasion, it is no sin for a v irgin to be guilty of fo rnication, though it iscarefu lly forbidden at other times Six or sever. years aft er they carry a stone or anyremaining bones of the deceas ed t o his original v illage,and set up the one and bu ry theother. Then they offer and sacrifice,and feast the V illagers when they conclud e that thedeceas ed has been j oined to or absorbed in the great god.In m aking salu tation the Mades say juwar and seem to live at peace among themselves
.
They are hospitable to strangers,and honest,and never go into a man ’s hou se in his absence.In the hot weather they remain in V i llages,bu t at the commencement of the monsoon,theyseparate to their variou s patches of cu lt ivation,where they live night and day. If a married woman is convicted of adu ltery,she is kill ed by her hu sband. Both hu sband and wifemay marry again.
Names of men,Mang u,Bheia,Karya,Bh u riya,L alu ,Somiya, B iriya, K u tmanj l,Tengama,L ebu du,N awalu,Des aro , Tiya, Pakaru,Warlu,Bursu,Newaru,Sonu .
Names of women,Rukmi, L ingi, Lidi Kali, Tomi,Mangi,Sukali,Mas i. Langadi,Dumi,Semi.
Names of Marias on eas t frontier of Ru star supplied by Captain C . E lliot,from Enstar
June 1857.Men, O dhi, Gasiya, Magadu , Wakaru , Chirke,Mugu l, Ramah, Gade, Boyal, B odka,
K u tha, Chirka, Surka, Ju dahal, Padaru , Sum aru, Dusmi, Sunal, Kadi, Dhod i, Higal,Adharu, Jaliyal, Madhal, Badal,K acharu, Lakhmal,Gagaru,Bakal, Pichke, Dehla, B upu,Malal,G edi,Bikal, G ubada,Bira, Jhitku,Masial,Dorge,Mu lal,Kodal,Chatu,Miral.Women— H inge,Judahi,Dukari,Rame, Gagad e, Kani, B eishaki, Koeli, Ratnal, Rage,
Sukadi,Kado.The following information,regarding the marriage of the same B ustar people, was fur
nished with the above names . When they are going to celebrate a mar riage, they sprinkle(asayet) on the goddess Mata, and the god Bhima and anoint them with oil and saffronwhich two last are carried from their deities to anoint the bride and bridegroom,who are
then dressed in the u su al coarse cloth of the country,and a yellow thread is tied round theirWrist. Goats are killed and arrack is drunk,u ntil the company are intoxicated. The brideand bridegroom also share in the liqu or, Gondi songs are sung, accompanied with mu src .
Arbou rs are constru cted at the hous es of both bride and bridegroom ; and ou t of a vesselfu ll of water hung up in the bride’s arbour,water is sprink led on the two and their clothesare tied together ; and seven times they run rou nd a pole erected in the mandawa (bower).
Description of the cu stoms of the Made’s as obtained by V irapa V enkatachalam,January1 858 from the Pate l of Waigaum 4; coss north of Adupalli (Arperlli) who is a Made,thoughhis people liv e more to the east.
rriii
Marriage among them does not take place till the age of maturity . The bridegroom is
expected to give dowry to the parents of the bride,amounting sometimes to Rupees At
the marriage feast which lasts for fou r days,fou r pigs,two goat s,rice,j owari,and daru (spirits)are consumed. There is mu ch dancing among the boys and girls, to the sound of the tom-tom
(drum). There is no bower,bu t the bridegroom ‘
and bride sit in the open air,near the bridegroom’s father’s door, surrounded by the spectators. Females, till their marriage, wear nocovering over the 11 1per part of their body.As soon as a person expires, his eyes are closed and his body washed,which is then carried
to the jungle and fastened u pright by three ropes to the trunk of a tree . Firewood isbrought and the body is bu rned amid the weeping of the . relatives and loud wailing of theothers.Some worship 7, some 6, some 5, some 4 gods . They have one great festival at the be
ginning of the monsoon before they sow their crops,when they repair to a hill on the top ofwhich they set u p stones in a row to represent the number of their gods,— dau b them withvermilion and present to them cakes, (pu ria) of ricefiou r, ghu l (su gar) and ghi (clarified bu tter)on teak leaves, rice pu lse and darn . They then kill a pig, a goat or shee p,and a cock,whoseblood they sprinkle before their deities,and their bodies they take hom e along with the otherofferings . to make merry at their homes. They then sow millet and maize .W
'orship is performed before the marriage ceremony . In the morning at the do or of the cowhou se,they set up a 1 ow of stones,which had been carefu lly washed,each abou t 4 inches highbu t one in the middle, t o represent the great god being somewhat larger, They pass athread round all,and pu t a sectarial mark (black.)made of charcoal and oil, (Their own marksare of a white colou r formed from a whit e stone r ubbed down ). A lota (brass p o t) is placedin front of the big god into which each married woman drops four cowries They offer bade(cakes of black mung, onion, ghi and salt,) rice,kill a hen,bu rn incense,and sprinkle waterthree times,when they retire to the hou se,the cowries being the chief property of the chiefman am ong them and the fowl being divided. At noon the marriage commences . Charcoalis mixed with a qu antity of water and pou red with a brass pot on the heads and bodies of thebride and bridegroom,after which they are dried and clean clothes being pu t on them, andthe bridegroom having received from head man a dagger (katar) which he holds in his handall the time from day to day,th ey are seated at the bridegroom ’s door with the corner oftheir garments knotted to each other and each receives a white mark on the forehead . Next,turmeric and water are mixed with lime in a brass plate,which is tu rned red by the limeand carried to the bride’s three times as a present and thrown away on the road. Theelder people are seated near,and mu sic and dancing among the u nmarried youths of boths exes are kept up beyond two or three hou rs. In the evening at the sound of the drumthe people again assemble and a similar ceremony is gone through for a like period of time.E arly next morn ing they assemble for similar pu rposes and before they part they have a mealtogether on pigs,&c .,and daru (sp irits) . At noon when they assemble there is no repast orpresent ; bu t in the evening and du ring the continu ance of the marriage,all the people live atthe expense of the bride’s and bridegroom’s parents.The Mades have good features They eat anything inclu ding beef. They reckon themselves higher than Gonds and w ill not allow Mahars to tou ch them as the Gonds do . Madesand Gonds dont eat from each others hands,the G onds and Kolamis at Manikgad will do so.E ight coss to north of Weiragad is a hill call ed Sonsari. The Zemindar of the district
(Janu ary 1853when we visitedWeiragad) was Ku j a B apoo of the Halba tribe . The inhabitantsare Mades,from whose hands Raj Gonds will not eat In the Made villages east of Weiragad there are generally less than five hou ses i one sometimes being a. G owali’s . They Wearcloth round the loins,and a roomal or kerchief.
(av / ax fi f ax/ A
ffi rm “ 54“ 1
?
We glean some in teresting particulars fromC olonél‘Haig
’s narrat ive o f a j ourney in sceich of a p racticawlble l in e of road from t he G odav ery to Jugd ulpo or,the"head quar ters of the E aste r country. JHe found in
su rmountable obstacles t o sthe constru ction of a goodtraffi c road, as the country was one v as t fores t, long"reache s of which were absolutely deserted by e v eryl ivmg thing . N o t a beast,s carce even a bird was to be
s een, and the path once m issed the t raveller mightwander for d ays and‘ev en‘
perish before a humanhabitation c ou ld be ' reached. Approaching the capital,bu t at some d is tance from it,a t the foot of an ext ens rv e tract o f elevated country, he came u pon the s i te 7of the l ong des erted hamlet of K ondasail i and saw i
in i ts vicini ty a double r ow of . large s labs of s toneplaced v ertical ]y in the ground, and mark ing the lastrest ing-places of the dead belonging t o a tu be or race 5of whom the traveller in the G o dav ery
' districts hasas yet no knowledge. These s t riking memorials ind icate t h e cl ose proxim ity of a tribe which,is olatedfor centuries in the hilly country abov e, has by suc l
cess iv e emigration peopled the low lands,and retained cus toms unaltered which change of place and con-f .tact with other races ha v e oblitera t ed in it s d esc endants. Ascending the hi l l ranges from tofee t abov e s ea level, th is is olated tu be, the KoiThor,is met W i th. I t 18 probably descended fromthos e hordes of Indo-Scyth ians, the T akshak s,whoover-ran the country ages befor e the consolidat ion ofthe solar and lunar dynasties in N orthern l ndia,or themore recent immigrat ions of the same race prev iousto th e in v as ion o f Alexander. - Only in the immen i
diate v icin ity of Jugd u lpcor do the women wear anything more than a s trip of cloth round the middle.The cold in Winter is s ev ere,and the people habitually s leep be tween two fires s cars on the
breas t, stomach and b ack of both men
and women being cau sed by cont ac t W iththe hot embers during s leep. Still, compared .
with t he degenarate population of the low lands,theK ol-Thors are and hard ies t of the race.Th ey -are larger,more ' muscular,and more h ealthy.
look ing ‘than the inhabitan ts of f the plains . Theyare even s aid to be more cleanly in the ir habits butone circumstance is noted, which shows that the
s t ruggle for l ife is perhaps more difficult in a savagethan in a ci v ilis ed community. They univ ersallyweara tight c ord or rather rope round the be lly,whichcompresses the intestines in a most unsight lymanner.l t
'
c onSis t s"
of eleven strands u ntwist ed of s trong l
cord like whip cord . A t one end is a loop,and at'
the other' three knots . I t is fastened by s implypassing the loop o v er one of these kno ts . Thefas tening i s made to the end k noc at mea ls, at other ]t imes on the midd le kno t,and du ring a. j ou rney on
the highes t kno t . Th e leng th from the loop to the
m iddle kno t is abou t 25 inches,so tha t the whole ofthe lower intest ines of a large and powerful man are
hab itu ally compressed W ithin ( a circle 8 inches indiameter 1 The hab it arises from the support orpart ial relief wh ich tight compression gives to
t hat" part of the body during p eriods of pro 1longed hunger to wh ich this unhappy peop le Jare much subj ect. 1
E h