The Gond Tribe of Madhya Pradesh


This article is all about Gond tribe. In this article origin of the name, its sub caste, main dance, main Gods, main festivals, methods of marriage, Physical appearance, social formation, occupation etc. has been discussed.

In Madhya Pradesh Gond tribe is found in majority. Gond population is in majority even in India. Gond tribe is considered to be culturally very rich and is more organized and effective when we compare it with other tribe. The word "Gond" has came from a Telgu word "Kode" which means mountain. Due to the reason that Gond tribe prefer to live in mountain areas that's why this name is given to them. Generally Gond tribe is found on the both banks of River Narmada in MP but it is also found in few other district like Baitul, Hoshangabad, Chhindwara, Balaghat, Shahdol, Mandla, Sagar, Damoh etc..

SUB CASTES:


Gond tribe has many sub castes and they are:
  • Pardhan
  • Agariya
  • Ojha
  • Nagarchi
  • Solhal
  • Koila Bhooti


PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:


Gond peoples are generally physically strong, have flat face, broad forehead, nose slightly flat and have broad nostrils.

SOCIAL FORMATION:


Gond tribe use to follow the father culture. They don't believe in joint families. Gond people are very strict regarding their social customs and do not like any change in it. Marriage within the same Gotriya is not acceptable in gond tribe but they use to marry among near relatives. There is several method of marriage in gond tribe and they are:
  • Dudh Lautana
  • Chad marriage
  • Pathoni Marriage
  • Lamsena Marriage


After death they sometime burn and sometime put in grave their dead casteman. Khehul Pata is the death song of gond tribe which they use to sing on the death of their casteman.
Ladies of gond tribe are very much found of ornaments and tatoo marks on their body.
The people of gond tribe use minimum cloth to hide their body. Male uses small piece of cloth in order to cover their waist and legs on the other hand females use saries to cover their waist up to knee, head and breasts.
The main person or we can say leader of this tribe is given a title of Mukddam or gautia. The most favorite food of gond tribe is Peja.

MAIN FESTIVALS:


Gond tribe celebrates many festivals but the most important among them are:
  • Vidri Pooja
  • Bak Panthi
  • Har dhili
  • Nawakhani
  • Jawara
  • Madhai
  • Cherta


MAIN DANCES:


Main dance of gond tribe are:
  • Karma
  • Saila
  • Bhadoni
  • Keherwa
  • Sajni
  • Sua Hardili
  • Deepawali


WORSHIPERS OF:


Gond tribe worship many gods but their main gods are:
  • Bada Dev
  • Kardev
  • Narayan Dev
  • Dhamsen Dev
  • Nageshwar dev
  • Lingo Dev
  • Kher Khutia mandia
  • Matabai
  • Dulha Dev
  • Ratmai
  • Sharda Mai
  • Khermata


OCCUPATION:


The people of Gond tribe earn their livelihood by agriculture or by hunting, they also use to collect roots and various other products of plant in order to sale them in the market. The main items in their food are Mango, Amla, Jamun, Mahua, Fishes, Rice and tree roots.
The stage art of Gond tribe are:
  • Gammat
  • Tanrshr


More articles: Madhya Pradesh

Comments

Guest Author: pramod09 Jun 2015

They have faith in nature as a supreme God and also sub gods, and they are not hindus, stated by s.court of india

Author: Swati Sharma29 May 2021 Member Level: Silver   Points : 3

Gonds are notified as Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution of India. Gonds are both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Their food generally includes coarse grains. Banana beverages are very popular in coarse grains In Gond, hospitality has special importance. Each house also has a clean and small room for the guest.

TOTEM - The totem has a very important place in the religious belief of the Gond tribe. The area worships its special totem, in addition to this, the practice of worshiping the ancient deities and the soul is also such as this.



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