Chapter III: Part 3

Mr. Hislop took down from a Pardhan priest a Gond myth of the creation of the world and the origin of the Gonds, and their liberation from a cave, in which they had been shut up by Siva, through the divine hero Lingo. General Cunningham said that the exact position of the cave was not known, but it would seem to have been somewhere in the Himalayas, as the name Dhawalgiri, which means a white mountain, is mentioned. The cave, according to ordinary Gond tradition, was situated in Kachikopa Lohagarh or the Iron Valley in the Red Hill. It seems clear from the story itself that its author was desirous of connecting the Gonds with Hindu mythology, and as Siva's heaven is in the Himalayas, the name Dhawalgiri, where he located the cave, may refer to them. It is also said that the cave was at the source of the Jumna. But in Mr. Hislop's version the cave where all the Gonds except four were shut up is not in Kachikopa Lohagarh, as the Gonds commonly say; but only the four Gonds who escaped wandered to this latter place and dwelt there. And the story does not show that Kachikopa Lohagarh was on Mount Dhawalgiri or the Himalayas, where it places the cave in which the Gonds were shut up, or anywhere near them. On the contrary, it would be quite consonant with Mr. Hislop's version if Kachikopa Lohagarh were in the Central Provinces. It may be surmised that in the original Gond legend their ancestors really were shut up in Kachikopa Lohagarh, but not by the god Siva. Very possibly the story began with them in the cave in the Iron Valley in the Red Hill. But the Hindu who clearly composed Mr. Hislop's version wished to introduce the god Siva as a principal actor, and he therefore removed the site of the cave to the Himalayas. This appears probable from the story itself, in which, in its present form, Kachikopa Lohagarh plays no real part, and only appears because it was in the original tradition and has to be retained. [45] But the Gonds think that their ancestors were actually shut up in Kachikopa Lohagarh, and one tradition puts the site at Pachmarhi, whose striking hill scenery and red soil cleft by many deep and inaccessible ravines would render it a likely place for the incident. Another version locates Kachikopa Lohagarh at Darekasa in Bhandara, where there is a place known as Kachagarh or the iron fort. But Pachmarhi is perhaps the more probable, as it has some deep caves, which have always been looked upon as sacred places. The point is of some interest, because this legend of the cave being in the Himalayas is adduced as a Gond tradition that their ancestors came from the north, and hence as supporting the theory of the immigration of the Dravidians through the north-west of India. But if the view now suggested is correct, the story of the cave being in the Himalayas is not a genuine Gond tradition at all, but a Hindu interpolation. The only other ground known to the writer for asserting that the Gonds believed their ancestors to have come from the north is that they bury their dead with the feet to the north. There are other obvious Hindu accretions in the legend, as the saintly Brahmanic character of Lingo and his overcoming the gods through fasting and self-torture, and also the fact that Siva shut up the Gonds in the cave because he was offended by their dirty habits and bad smell. But the legend still contains a considerable quantity of true Gond tradition, and though somewhat tedious, it seems necessary to give an abridgment of Mr. Hislop's account, with reproduction of selected passages. Captain Forsyth also made a modernised poetical version, [46] from which one extract is taken. Certain variations from another form of the legend obtained in Bastar are included.

6. Legend of the creation.

In the beginning there was water everywhere, and God was born in a lotus-leaf and lived alone. One day he rubbed his arm and from the rubbing made a crow, which sat on his shoulder; he also made a crab, which swam out over the waters. God then ordered the crow to fly over the world and bring some earth. The crow flew about and could find no earth, but it saw the crab, which was supporting itself with one leg resting on the bottom of the sea. The crow was very tired and perched on the crab's back, which was soft so that the crow's feet made marks on it, which are still visible on the bodies of all crabs at present. The crow asked the crab where any earth could be found. The crab said that if God would make its body hard it would find some earth. God said he would make part of the crab's body hard, and he made its back hard, as it still remains. The crab then dived to the bottom of the sea, where it found Kenchna, the earth-worm. It caught hold of Kenchna by the neck with its claws and the mark thus made is still to be seen on the earth-worm's neck. Then the earth-worm brought up earth out of its mouth and the crab brought this to God, and God scattered it over the sea and patches of land appeared. God then walked over the earth and a boil came on his hand, and out of it Mahadeo and Parvati were born.

7. Creation of the Gonds and their imprisonment by Mahadeo.

From Mahadeo's urine numerous vegetables began to spring up. Parvati ate of these and became pregnant and gave birth to eighteen threshing-floors [47] of Brahman gods and twelve threshing-floors of Gond gods. All the Gonds were scattered over the jungle. They behaved like Gonds and not like good Hindus, with lamentable results, as follows: [48]

Hither and thither all the Gonds were scattered in the jungle.
Places, hills, and valleys were filled with these Gonds.
Even trees had their Gonds. How did the Gonds conduct themselves?
Whatever came across them they must needs kill and eat it;
They made no distinction. If they saw a jackal they killed
And ate it; no distinction was observed; they respected not
antelope, sambhar and the like.
They made no distinction in eating a sow, a quail, a pigeon,
A crow, a kite, an adjutant, a vulture,
A lizard, a frog, a beetle, a cow, a calf, a he- and she-buffalo,
Rats, bandicoots, squirrels--all these they killed and ate.
So began the Gonds to do. They devoured raw and ripe things;
They did not bathe for six months together;
They did not wash their faces properly, even on dunghills they
would fall down and remain.
Such were the Gonds born in the beginning. A smell was spread
over the jungle
When the Gonds were thus disorderly behaved; they became
disagreeable to Mahadeva,
Who said: "The caste of the Gonds is very bad;
I will not preserve them; they will ruin my hill Dhawalgiri."

Mahadeo then determined to get rid of the Gonds. With this view he invited them all to a meeting. When they sat down Mahadeo made a squirrel from the rubbings of his body and let it loose in the middle of the Gonds. All the Gonds at once got up and began to chase it, hoping for a meal. They seized sticks and stones and clods of earth, and their unkempt hair flew in the wind. The squirrel dodged about and ran away, and finally, directed by Mahadeo, ran into a large cave with all the Gonds after it. Mahadeo then rolled a large stone to the mouth of the cave and shut up all the Gonds in it. Only four remained outside, and they fled away to Kachikopa Lohagarh, or the Iron Cave in the Red Hill, and lived there. Meanwhile Parvati perceived that the smell of the Gonds, which had pleased her, had vanished from Dhawalgiri. She desired it to be restored and commenced a devotion. For six months she fasted and practised austerities. Bhagwan (God) was swinging in a swing. He was disturbed by Parvati's devotion. He sent Narayan (the sun) to see who was fasting. Narayan came and found Parvati and asked her what she wanted. She said that she missed her Gonds and wanted them back. Narayan told Bhagwan, who promised that they should be given back.

8. The birth and history of Lingo.

The yellow flowers of the tree Pahindi were growing on Dhawalgiri. Bhagwan sent thunder and lightning, and the flower conceived. First fell from it a heap of turmeric or saffron. In the morning the sun came out, the flower burst open, and Lingo was born. Lingo was a perfect child. He had a diamond on his navel and a sandalwood mark on his forehead. He fell from the flower into the heap of turmeric. He played in the turmeric and slept in a swing. He became nine years old. He said there was no one there like him, and he would go where he could find his fellows. He climbed a needle-like hill, [49] and from afar off he saw Kachikopa Lohagarh and the four Gonds. He came to them. They saw he was like them, and asked him to be their brother. They ate only animals. Lingo asked them to find for him an animal without a liver, and they searched all through the forest and could not. Then Lingo told them to cut down trees and make a field. They tried to cut down the anjan [50] trees, but their hands were blistered and they could not go on. Lingo had been asleep. He woke up and saw they had only cut down one or two trees. He took the axe and cut down many trees, and fenced a field and made a gate to it. Black soil appeared. It began to rain, and rained without ceasing for three days. All the rivers and streams were filled. The field became green with rice, and it grew up. There were sixteen score of nilgai or blue-bull. They had two leaders, an old bull and his nephew. The young bull saw the rice of Lingo's field and wished to eat it. The uncle told him not to eat of the field of Lingo or all the nilgai would be killed. But the young bull did not heed, and took off all the nilgai to eat the rice. When they got to the field they could find no entrance, so they jumped the fence, which was five cubits high. They ate all the rice from off the field and ran away. The young bull told them as they ran to put their feet on leaves and stones and boughs and grass, and not on the ground, so that they might not be tracked. Lingo woke up and went to see his field, and found all the rice eaten. He knew the nilgai had done it, and showed the brothers how to track them by the few marks which they had by accident made on the ground. They did so, and surrounded the nilgai and killed them all with their bows and arrows except the old uncle, from whom Lingo's arrow rebounded harmlessly on account of his innocence, and one young doe. From these two the nilgai race was preserved. Then Lingo told the Gonds to make fire and roast the deer as follows:

He said, I will show you something; see if anywhere in your
Waistbands there is a flint; if so, take it out and make fire.
But the matches did not ignite. As they were doing this, a watch
of the night passed.
They threw down the matches, and said to Lingo, Thou art a Saint;
Show us where our fire is, and why it does not come out.
Lingo said: Three koss (six miles) hence is Rikad Gawadi the giant.
There is fire in his field; where smoke shall appear, go there,
Come not back without bringing fire. Thus said Lingo.
They said, We have never seen the place, where shall we go?
Ye have never seen where this fire is? Lingo said;
I will discharge an arrow thither.
Go in the direction of the arrow; there you will get fire.
He applied the arrow, and having pulled the bow, he discharged one:
It crashed on, breaking twigs and making its passage clear.
Having cut through the high grass, it made its way and reached
the old man's place (above mentioned).
The arrow dropped close to the fire of the old man, who had
daughters.
The arrow was near the door. As soon as they saw it, the daughters
came and took it up,
And kept it. They asked their father: When will you give us
in marriage?
Thus said the seven sisters, the daughters of the old man.
I will marry you as I think best for you;
Remain as you are. So said the old man, the Rikad Gawadi.
Lingo said, Hear, O brethren! I shot an arrow, it made its way.
Go there, and you will see fire; bring thence the fire.
Each said to the other, I will not go; but (at last) the youngest
went.
He descried the fire, and went to it; then beheld he an old man
looking like the trunk of a tree.
He saw from afar the old man's field, around which a hedge
was made.
The old man kept only one way to it, and fastened a screen to
the entrance, and had a fire in the centre of the field.
He placed logs of the Mahua and Anjun and Saj trees on the fire,
Teak faggots he gathered, and enkindled flame.
The fire blazed up, and warmed by the heat of it, in deep sleep
lay the Rikad Gawadi.
Thus the old man like a giant did appear. When the young Gond
beheld him, he shivered;
His heart leaped; and he was much afraid in his mind, and said:
If the old man were to rise he will see me, and I shall be
eaten up;
I will steal away the fire and carry it off, then my life will
be safe.
He went near the fire secretly, and took a brand of tendu wood
tree.
When he was lifting it up a spark flew and fell on the hip of
the old man.
That spark was as large as a pot; the giant was blistered; he
awoke alarmed.
And said: I am hungry, and I cannot get food to eat anywhere;
I feel a desire for flesh;
Like a tender cucumber hast thou come to me. So said the old man
to the Gond,
Who began to fly. The old man followed him. The Gond then threw
away the brand which he had stolen.
He ran onward, and was not caught. Then the old man, being tired,
turned back.
Thence he returned to his field, and came near the fire and sat,
and said, What nonsense is this?
A tender prey had come within my reach;
I said I will cut it up as soon as I can, but it escaped from
my hand!
Let it go; it will come again, then I will catch it. It has
gone now.
Then what happened? the Gond returned and came to his brethren.
And said to them: Hear, O brethren, I went for fire, as you sent
me, to that field; I beheld an old man like a giant.
With hands stretched out and feet lifted up. I ran. I thus survived
with difficulty.
The brethren said to Lingo, We will not go. Lingo said, Sit
ye here.
O brethren, what sort of a person is this giant? I will go and
see him.
So saying, Lingo went away and reached a river.
He thence arose and went onward. As he looked, he saw in front
three gourds.
Then he saw a bamboo stick, which he took up.
When the river was flooded
It washed away a gourd tree, and its seed fell, and each stem
produced bottle-gourds.
He inserted a bamboo stick in the hollow of the gourd and made
a guitar.
He plucked two hairs from his head and strung it.
He held a bow and fixed eleven keys to that one stick, and played
on it.
Lingo was much pleased in his mind.
Holding it in his hand, he walked in the direction of the old
man's field.
He approached the fire where Rikad Gawadi was sleeping.
The giant seemed like a log lying close to the fire; his teeth
were hideously visible;
His mouth was gaping. Lingo looked at the old man while sleeping.
His eyes were shut. Lingo said, This is not a good time to carry
off the old man while he is asleep.
In front he looked, and turned round and saw a tree
Of the pipal sort standing erect; he beheld its branches with
wonder, and looked for a fit place to mount upon.
It appeared a very good tree; so he climbed it, and ascended to
the top of it to sit.
As he sat the cock crew. Lingo said, It is daybreak;
Meanwhile the old man must be rising. Therefore Lingo took the
guitar in his hand,
And held it; he gave a stroke, and it sounded well; from it he
drew one hundred tunes.
It sounded well, as if he was singing with his voice.
Thus (as it were) a song was heard.
Trees and hills were silent at its sound. The music loudly
entered into
The old man's ears; he rose in haste, and sat up quickly; lifted
up his eyes,
And desired to hear (more). He looked hither and thither, but
could not make out whence the sound came.
The old man said: Whence has a creature come here to-day to sing
like the maina bird?
He saw a tree, but nothing appeared to him as he looked underneath
it.
He did not look up; he looked at the thickets and ravines, but
Saw nothing. He came to the road, and near to the fire in the
midst of his field and stood.
Sometimes sitting, and sometimes standing, jumping, and rolling,
he began to dance.
The music sounded as the day dawned. His old woman came out in
the morning and began to look out.
She heard in the direction of the field a melodious music playing.
When she arrived near the edge of her field, she heard music in
her ears.
That old woman called her husband to her.
With stretched hands, and lifted feet, and with his neck bent down,
he danced.
Thus he danced. The old woman looked towards her husband, and said,
My old man, my husband,
Surely, that music is very melodious. I will dance, said the
old woman.
Having made the fold of her dress loose, she quickly began to
dance near the hedge.

9. Death and resurrection of Lingo.

Then Lingo disclosed himself to the giant and became friendly with him. The giant apologised for having tried to eat his brother, and called Lingo his nephew. Lingo invited him to come and feast on the flesh of the sixteen scores of nilgai. The giant called his seven daughters and offered them all to Lingo in marriage. The daughters produced the arrow which they had treasured up as portending a husband. Lingo said he was not marrying himself, but he would take them home as wives for his brothers. So they all went back to the cave and Lingo assigned two of the daughters each to the three elder brothers and one to the youngest. Then the brothers, to show their gratitude, said that they would go and hunt in the forest and bring meat and fruit and Lingo should lie in a swing and be rocked by their seven wives. But while the wives were swinging Lingo and his eyes were shut, they wished to sport with him as their husbands' younger brother. So saying they pulled his hands and feet till he woke up. Then he reproached them and called them his mothers and sisters, but they cared nothing and began to embrace him. Then Lingo was filled with wrath and leapt up, and seeing a rice-pestle near he seized it and beat them all with it soundly. Then the women went to their houses and wept and resolved to be revenged on Lingo. So when the brothers came home they told their husbands that while they were swinging Lingo he had tried to seduce them all from their virtue, and they were resolved to go home and stay no longer in Kachikopa with such a man about the place. Then the brothers were exceedingly angry with Lingo, who they thought had deceived them with a pretence of virtue in refusing a wife, and they resolved to kill him. So they enticed him into the forest with a story of a great animal which had put them to flight and asked him to kill it, and there they shot him to death with their arrows and gouged out his eyes and played ball with them.

But the god Bhagwan became aware that Lingo was not praying to him as usual, and sent the crow Kageshwar to look for him. The crow came and reported that Lingo was dead, and the god sent him back with nectar to sprinkle it over the body and bring it to life again, which was done.

10. He releases the Gonds shut up in the cave and constitutes the tribe.

Lingo then thought he had had enough of the four brothers, so he determined to go and find the other sixteen score Gonds who were imprisoned somewhere as the brothers had told him. The manner of his doing this may be told in Captain Forsyth's version: [51]

And our Lingo redivivus
Wandered on across the mountains,
Wandered sadly through the forest
Till the darkening of the evening,
Wandered on until the night fell.
Screamed the panther in the forest,
Growled the bear upon the mountain,
And our Lingo then bethought him
Of their cannibal propensities.
Saw at hand the tree Niruda,
Clambered up into its branches.
Darkness fell upon the forest,
Bears their heads wagged, yelled the jackal
Kolyal, the King of Jackals.
Sounded loud their dreadful voices
In the forest-shade primeval.
Then the Jungle-Cock Gugotee,
Mull the Peacock, Kurs the Wild Deer,
Terror-stricken, screeched and shuddered,
In that forest-shade primeval.
But the moon arose at midnight,
Poured her flood of silver radiance,
Lighted all the forest arches,
Through their gloomy branches slanting;
Fell on Lingo, pondering deeply
On his sixteen scores of Koiturs.
Then thought Lingo, I will ask her
For my sixteen scores of Koiturs.
'Tell me, O Moon!' said Lingo,
'Tell, O Brightener of the darkness!
Where my sixteen scores are hidden.'
But the Moon sailed onwards, upwards,
And her cold and glancing moonbeams
Said, 'Your Gonds, I have not seen them.'
And the Stars came forth and twinkled
Twinkling eyes above the forest.
Lingo said, "O Stars that twinkle!
Eyes that look into the darkness,
Tell me where my sixteen scores are."
But the cold Stars twinkling ever,
Said, 'Your Gonds, we have not seen them.'
Broke the morning, the sky reddened,
Faded out the star of morning,
Rose the Sun above the forest,
Brilliant Sun, the Lord of morning,
And our Lingo quick descended,
Quickly ran he to the eastward,
Fell before the Lord of Morning,
Gave the Great Sun salutation--
'Tell, O Sun!' he said, 'Discover
Where my sixteen scores of Gonds are.'
But the Lord of Day reply made--
"Hear, O Lingo, I a Pilgrim
Wander onwards, through four watches
Serving God, I have seen nothing
Of your sixteen scores of Koiturs."
Then our Lingo wandered onwards
Through the arches of the forest;
Wandered on until before him
Saw the grotto of a hermit,
Old and sage, the Black Kumait,
He the very wise and knowing,
He the greatest of Magicians,
Born in days that are forgotten,
In the unremembered ages,
Salutation gave and asked him--
'Tell, O Hermit! Great Kumait!
Where my sixteen scores of Gonds are.
Then replied the Black Magician,
Spake disdainfully in this wise--
"Lingo, hear, your Gonds are asses
Eating cats, and mice, and bandicoots,
Eating pigs, and cows, and buffaloes;
Filthy wretches! wherefore ask me?
If you wish it I will tell you.
Our great Mahadeva caught them,
And has shut them up securely
In a cave within the bowels
Of his mountain Dewalgiri,
With a stone of sixteen cubits,
And his bulldog fierce Basmasur;
Serve them right, too, I consider,
Filthy, casteless, stinking wretches!"
And the Hermit to his grotto
Back returned, and deeply pondered
On the days that are forgotten,
On the unremembered ages.
But our Lingo wandered onwards,
Fasting, praying, doing penance;
Laid him on a bed of prickles,
Thorns long and sharp and piercing.
Fasting lay he devotee-like,
Hand not lifting, foot not lifting,
Eye not opening, nothing seeing.
Twelve months long thus lay and fasted,
Till his flesh was dry and withered,
And the bones began to show through.
Then the great god Mahadeva
Felt his seat begin to tremble,
Felt his golden stool, all shaking
From the penance of our Lingo.
Felt, and wondered who on earth
This devotee was that was fasting
Till his golden stool was shaking.
Stepped he down from Dewalgiri,
Came and saw that bed of prickles
Where our Lingo lay unmoving.
Asked him what his little game was,
Why his golden stool was shaking.
Answered Lingo, "Mighty Ruler!
Nothing less will stop that shaking
Than my sixteen scores of Koiturs
Rendered up all safe and hurtless
From your cave in Dewalgiri."
Then the Great God, much disgusted,
Offered all he had to Lingo,
Offered kingdom, name, and riches,
Offered anything he wished for,
'Only leave your stinking Koiturs
Well shut up in Dewalgiri.'
But our Lingo all refusing
Would have nothing but his Koiturs;
Gave a turn to run the thorns a
Little deeper in his midriff.
Winced the Great God: "Very well, then,
Take your Gonds--but first a favour.
By the shore of the Black Water
Lives a bird they call Black Bindo,
Much I wish to see his young ones,
Little Bindos from the sea-shore;
For an offering bring these Bindos,
Then your Gonds take from my mountain."
Then our Lingo rose and wandered,
Wandered onwards through the forest,
Till he reached the sounding sea-shore,
Reached the brink of the Black Water,
Found the Bingo birds were absent
From their nest upon the sea-shore,
Absent hunting in the forest,
Hunting elephants prodigious,
Which they killed and took their brains out,
Cracked their skulls, and brought their brains to
Feed their callow little Bindos,
Wailing sadly by the sea-shore.
Seven times a fearful serpent,
Bhawarnag the horrid serpent,
Serpent born in ocean's caverns,
Coming forth from the Black Water,
Had devoured the little Bindos--
Broods of callow little Bindos
Wailing sadly by the sea-shore--
In the absence of their parents.
Eighth this brood was. Stood our Lingo,
Stood he pondering beside them--
"If I take these little wretches
In the absence of their parents
They will call me thief and robber.
No! I'll wait till they come back here."
Then he laid him down and slumbered
By the little wailing Bindos.
As he slept the dreadful serpent,
Rising, came from the Black Water,
Came to eat the callow Bindos,
In the absence of their parents.
Came he trunk-like from the waters,
Came with fearful jaws distended,
Huge and horrid, like a basket
For the winnowing of corn.
Rose a hood of vast dimensions
O'er his fierce and dreadful visage.
Shrieked the Bindos young and callow,
Gave a cry of lamentation;
Rose our Lingo; saw the monster;
Drew an arrow from his quiver,
Shot it swift into his stomach,
Sharp and cutting in the stomach,
Then another and another;
Cleft him into seven pieces,
Wriggled all the seven pieces,
Wriggled backward to the water.
But our Lingo, swift advancing,
Seized the headpiece in his arms,
Knocked the brains out on a boulder;
Laid it down beside the Bindos,
Callow, wailing, little Bindos.
On it laid him, like a pillow,
And began again to slumber.
Soon returned the parent Bindos
From their hunting in the forest;
Bringing brains and eyes of camels
And of elephants prodigious,
For their little callow Bindos
Wailing sadly by the sea-shore.
But the Bindos young and callow
Brains of camels would not swallow;
Said--"A pretty set of parents
You are truly! thus to leave us
Sadly wailing by the sea-shore
To be eaten by the serpent--
Bhawarnag the dreadful serpent--
Came he up from the Black Water,
Came to eat us little Bindos,
When this very valiant Lingo
Shot an arrow in his stomach,
Cut him into seven pieces--
Give to Lingo brains of camels,
Eyes of elephants prodigious."
Then the fond paternal Bindo
Saw the head-piece of the serpent
Under Lingo's head a pillow,
And he said, 'O valiant Lingo,
Ask whatever you may wish for.'
Then he asked the little Bindos
For an offering to the Great God,
And the fond paternal Bindo,
Much disgusted first refusing,
Soon consented; said he'd go too
With the fond maternal Bindo--
Take them all upon his shoulders,
And fly straight to Dewalgiri.
Then he spread his mighty pinions,
Took his Bindos up on one side
And our Lingo on the other.
Thus they soared away together
From the shores of the Black Water,
And the fond maternal Bindo,
O'er them hovering, spread an awning
With her broad and mighty pinions
O'er her offspring and our Lingo.
By the forests and the mountains
Six months' journey was it thither
To the mountain Dewalgiri.
Half the day was scarcely over
Ere this convoy from the sea-shore
Lighted safe on Dewalgiri;
Touched the knocker to the gateway
Of the Great God, Mahadeva.
And the messenger Narayan
Answering, went and told his master--
"Lo, this very valiant Lingo!
Here he is with all the Bindos,
The Black Bindos from the sea-shore."
Then the Great God, much disgusted,
Driven quite into a corner,
Took our Lingo to the cavern,
Sent Basmasur to his kennel,
Held his nose, and moved away the
Mighty stone of sixteen cubits;
Called those sixteen scores of Gonds out
Made them over to their Lingo.
And they said, "O Father Lingo!
What a bad time we've had of it,
Not a thing to fill our bellies
In this horrid gloomy dungeon."
But our Lingo gave them dinner,
Gave them rice and flour of millet,
And they went off to the river,
Had a drink, and cooked and ate it.

The next episode is taken from a slightly different local version:

And while they were cooking their food at the river a great flood came up, but all the Gonds crossed safely except the four gods, Tekam, Markam, Pusam and Telengam. [52] These were delayed because they had cooked their food with ghi which they had looted from the Hindu deities. Then they stood on the bank and cried out,

O God of the crossing,
O Boundary God!
Should you be here,
Come take us across.

Hearing this, the tortoise and crocodile came up to them, and offered to take them across the river. So Markam and Tekam sat on the back of the crocodile and Pusam and Telengam on the back of the tortoise, and before starting the gods made the crocodile and tortoise swear that they would not eat or drown them in the sea. But when they got to the middle of the river the tortoise and crocodile began to sink, with the idea that they would drown the Gonds and feed their young with them. Then the Gonds cried out, and the Raigidhni or vulture heard them. This bird appears to be the same as the Bindo, as it fed its young with elephants. The Raigidhni flew to the Gonds and took them up on its back and flew ashore with them. And in its anger it picked out the tongue of the crocodile and crushed the neck of the tortoise. And this is why the crocodile is still tongueless and the tortoise has a broken neck, which is sometimes inside and sometimes outside its shell. Both animals also have the marks of string on their backs where the Gond gods tied their necks together when they were ferried across. Thus all the Gonds were happily reunited and Lingo took them into the forest, and they founded a town there, which grew and prospered. And Lingo divided all the Gonds into clans and made the oldest man a Pardhan or priest and founded the rule of exogamy. He also made the Gond gods, subsequently described, [53] and worshipped them with offerings of a calf and liquor, and danced before them. He also prescribed the ceremonies of marriage which are still observed, and after all this was done Lingo went to the gods.

(b) Tribal Subdivisions

11. Subcastes.

Out of the Gond tribe, which, as it gave its name to a province, may be considered as almost a people, a number of separate castes have naturally developed. Among them are several occupational castes such as the Agarias or iron-workers, the Ojhas or soothsayers, Pardhans or priests and minstrels, Solahas or carpenters, and Koilabhutis or dancers or prostitutes. These are principally sprung from the Gonds, though no doubt with an admixture of other low tribes or castes. The Parjas of Bastar, now classed as a separate tribe, appear to represent the oldest Gond settlers, who were subdued by later immigrants of the race; while the Bhatras and Jhadi Telengas are of mixed descent from Gonds and Hindus. Similarly the Gowari caste of cattle-graziers originated from the alliances of Gond and Ahir graziers. The Mannewars and Kolams are other tribes allied to the Gonds. Many Hindu castes and also non-Aryan tribes living in contact with the Gonds have a large Gond element; of the former class the Ahirs, Basors, Barhais and Lohars, and of the latter the Baigas, Bhunjias and Khairwars are instances.

Among the Gonds proper there are two aristocratic subdivisions, the Raj-Gonds and Khatolas. According to Forsyth the Raj-Gonds are in many cases the descendants of alliances between Rajput adventurers and Gonds. But the term practically comprises the landholding subdivision of the Gonds, and any proprietor who was willing to pay for the privilege could probably get his family admitted into the Raj-Gond group. The Raj-Gonds rank with the Hindu cultivating castes, and Brahmans will take water from them. They sometimes wear the sacred thread. In the Telugu country the Raj-Gond is known as Durla or Durlasattam. In some localities Raj-Gonds will intermarry with ordinary Gonds, but not in others. The Khatola Gonds take their name from the Khatola state in Bundelkhand, which is said to have once been governed by a Gond ruler, but is no longer in existence. In Saugor they rank about equal with the Raj-Gonds and intermarry with them, but in Chhindwara it is said that ordinary Gonds despise them and will not marry with them or eat with them on account of their mixed descent from Gonds and Hindus. The ordinary Gonds in most Districts form one endogamous group, and are known as the Dhur or 'dust' Gonds, that is the common people. An alternative name conferred on them by the Hindus is Rawanvansi or of the race of Rawan, the demon king of Ceylon, who was the opponent of Rama. The inference from this name is that the Hindus consider the Gonds to have been among the people of southern India who opposed the Aryan expedition to Ceylon, which is preserved in the legend of Rama; and the name therefore favours the hypothesis that the Gonds came from the south and that their migration northward was sufficiently recent in date to permit of its being still remembered in tradition. There are several other small local subdivisions. The Koya Gonds live on the border of the Telugu country, and their name is apparently a corruption of Koi or Koitur, which the Gonds call themselves. The Gaita are another Chanda subcaste, the word Gaite or Gaita really meaning a village priest or headman. Gattu or Gotte is said to be a name given to the hill Gonds of Chanda, and is not a real subcaste. The Darwe or Naik Gonds of Chanda were formerly employed as soldiers, and hence obtained the name of Naik or leader. Other local groups are being formed such as the Larhia or those of Chhattisgarh, the Mandlaha of Mandla, the Lanjiha from Lanji and so on. These are probably in course of becoming endogamous. The Gonds of Bastar are divided into two groups, the Maria and the Muria. The Maria are the wilder, and are apparently named after the Mad, as the hilly country of Bastar is called. Mr. Hira Lal suggests the derivation of Muria from mur, the palas tree, which is common in the plains of Bastar, or from mur, a root. Both derivations must be considered as conjectural. The Murias are the Gonds who live in the plains and are more civilised than the Marias. The descendants of the Raja of Deogarh Bakht Buland, who turned Muhammadan, still profess that religion, but intermarry freely with the Hindu Gonds. The term Bhoi, which literally means a bearer in Telugu, is used as a synonym for the Gonds and also as an honorific title. In Chhindwara it is said that only a village proprietor is addressed as Bhoi. It appears that the Gonds were used as palanquin-bearers, and considered it an honour to belong to the Kahar or bearer caste, which has a fairly good status. [54]

12. Exogamy.

The Gond rules of exogamy appear to preserve traces of the system found in Australia, by which the whole tribe is split into two or four main divisions, and every man in one or two of them must marry a woman in the other one or two. This is considered by Sir J. G. Frazer to be the beginning of exogamy, by which marriage was prohibited, first, between brothers and sisters, and then between parents and children, by the arrangement of these main divisions. [55]

Among the Gonds, however, the subdivision into small exogamous septs has been also carried out, and the class system, if the surmise that it once existed be correct, remains only in the form of a survival, prohibiting marriage between agnates, like an ordinary sept. In one part of Bastar all the septs of the Maria Gonds are divided into two great classes. There are ninety septs in A Class and sixty-nine in B Class, though the list may be incomplete. All the septs of A Class say that they are Bhaiband or Dadabhai to each other, that is in the relation of brothers, or cousins being the sons of brothers. No man of Class A can marry a woman of any sept in Class A. The septs of Class A stand in relation of Mamabhai or Akomama to those of Class B. Mamabhai means a maternal uncle's son, and Akomama apparently signifies having the same maternal grandfather. Any man of a sept in Class A can marry any woman of a sept in Class B. It will thus be seen that the smaller septs seem to serve no purpose for regulating marriage, and are no more than family names. The tribe might just as well be divided into two great exogamous clans only. Marriage is prohibited between persons related only through males; but according to the exogamous arrangement there is no other prohibition, and a man could marry any maternal relative. Separate rules, however, prohibit his marriage with certain female relatives, and these will be given subsequently. [56] It is possible that the small septs may serve some purpose which has not been elicited, though the inquiry made by Rai Bahadur Panda Baijnath was most careful and painstaking.

In another part of Bastar there were found to be five classes, and each class had a small number of septs in it. The people who supplied this information could not give the names of many septs. Thus Class A had six septs, Class B five, Classes C and D one each, Class E four, and Class F two. A man could not marry a woman of any sept belonging to his own class.

The Muria Gonds of Bastar have a few large exogamous septs or clans named in Hindi after animals, and each of these clans contains several subsepts with Gondi names. Thus the Bakaravans or Goat race contains the Garde, Kunjami, Karrami and Vadde septs. The Kachhimvans or Tortoise race has the Netami, Kawachi, Usendi and Tekami septs; the Nagvans or Cobra race includes the Maravi, Potari, Karanga, Nurethi, Dhurwa and others. Other exogamous races are the Sodi (or tiger), Behainsa (buffalo), Netam (dog in Gondi), Chamchidai (bat) and one or two more. In this case the exogamous clans with Hindi names would appear to be a late division, and have perhaps been adopted because the meaning of the old Gondi names had been forgotten, or the septs were too numerous to be remembered.

In Chanda a classification according to the number of gods worshipped is found. There are four main groups worshipping seven, six, five and four gods respectively, and each group contains ten to fifteen septs. A man cannot marry a woman of any sept which worships the same number of gods as himself. Each group has a sacred animal which the members revere, that of the seven-god worshippers being a porcupine, of the six-god worshippers a tiger, of the five-god worshippers the saras crane, and of the four-god worshippers a tortoise. As a rule the members of the different groups do not know the names of their gods, and in practice it is doubtful whether they restrict themselves to the proper number of gods of their own group. Formerly there were three-, two- and one-god worshippers, but in each of these classes it is said that there were only one or two septs, and they found that they were much inconvenienced by the paucity of their numbers, perhaps for purposes of communal worship and feasting, and hence they got themselves enrolled in the larger groups. In reality it would appear that the classification according to the number of gods worshipped is being forgotten, and the three lowest groups have disappeared. This conjecture is borne out by the fact that in Chhindwara and other localities only two large classes remain who worship six and seven gods respectively, and marry with each other, the union of a man with a woman worshipping the same number of gods as himself being prohibited. Here, again, the small septs included in the groups appear to serve no purpose for regulating marriages. In Mandla the division according to the number of gods worshipped exists as in Chanda; but many Gonds have forgotten all particulars as to the gods, and say only that those septs which worship the same number of gods are bhaiband, or related to each other, and therefore cannot intermarry. In Betul the division by numbers of gods appears to be wholly in abeyance. Here certain large septs, especially the Uika and Dhurwa, are subdivided into a number of subsepts, within each of which marriage is prohibited.

13. Totemism.

Many of the septs are named after animals and plants. Among the commonest septs in all Districts are Markam, the mango tree; Tekam, the teak tree; Netam, the dog; Irpachi, the mahua tree; Tumrachi, the tendu tree; Warkara, the wild cat, and so on. Generally the members of a sept do not kill or injure their totem animals, but the rule is not always observed, and in some cases they now have some other object of veneration, possibly because they have forgotten the meaning of the sept name, or the object after which it is named has ceased to be sacred. Thus the Markam sept, though named after the mango, now venerate the tortoise, and this is also the case with the Netam sept in Bastar, though named after the dog. In Bastar a man revering the tortoise, though he will not catch the animal himself, will get one of his friends to catch it, and one revering the goat, if he wishes to kill a goat for a feast, will kill it not at his own house but at a friend's. The meaning of the important sept names Marabi, Dhurwa and Uika has not been ascertained, and the members of the sept do not know it. In Mandla the Marabi sept are divided into the Eti Marabi and Padi Marabi, named after the goat and pig. The Eti or goat Marabi will not touch a goat nor sacrifice one to Bura Deo. They say that once their ancestors stole a goat and were caught by the owner, when they put a basket over it and prayed Bura Deo to change it into a pig, which he did. Therefore they sacrifice only pigs to Bura Deo, but apparently the Padi Marabi also both sacrifice and eat pigs. The Dhurwa sept are divided into the Tumrachi and Nabalia Dhurwa, named after the tendu tree and the dwarf date-palm. The Nabalia Dhurwas will not cut a dwarf date-palm nor eat its fruit. They worship Bura Deo in this tree instead of in the saj tree, making an iron doll to represent him and covering it with palm-leaves. The Uika sept in Mandla say that they revere no animal or plant, and can eat any animal or cut down any plant except the saj tree, [57] the tree of Bura Deo; but in Betul they are divided into several subsepts, each of which has a totem. The Parteti sept revere the crocodile. When a marriage is finished they make a sacrifice to the crocodile, and if they see one lying dead they break their earthen pots in token of mourning. The Warkara sept revere the wild cat; they also will not touch a village cat nor keep one in their house, and if a cat comes in they drive it out at once. The Kunjam sept revere the rat and do not kill it.

14. Connection of totemism with the gods.

In Betul the Gonds explain the totemistic names of their septs by saying that some incident connected with the animal, tree or other object occurred to the ancestor or priest of the sept while they were worshipping at the Deo-khulla or god's place or threshing-floor. Mr. Ganga Prasad Khatri has made an interesting collection of these. The reason why these stories have been devised may be that the totem animals or plants have ceased to be revered on their own merits as ancestors or kinsmen of the sept, and it was therefore felt necessary to explain the sept name or sanctity attaching to the totem by associating it with the gods. If this were correct the process would be analogous to that by which an animal or plant is first held sacred of itself, and, when this feeling begins to decay with some recognition of its true nature, it is associated with an anthropomorphic god in order to preserve its sanctity. The following are some examples recorded by Mr. Ganga Prasad Khatri. Some of the examples are not associated with the gods.

Gajjami, subsept of Dhurwa sept. From gaj, an arrow. Their first ancestor killed a tiger with an arrow.

Gouribans Dhurwa. Their first ancestor worshipped his gods in a bamboo clump.

Kusadya Dhurwa. (Kosa, tasar silk cocoon.) The first ancestor found a silk cocoon on the tree in which he worshipped his gods.

Kohkapath. Kohka is the fruit of the bhilawa [58] or marking-nut tree, and path, a kid. The first ancestor worshipped his gods in a bhilawa tree and offered a kid to them. Members of this sept do not eat the fruit or flowers of the bhilawa tree.

Jaglya. One who keeps awake, or the awakener. The first ancestor stayed awake the whole night in the Deo-khulla, or god's threshing-floor.

Sariyam. (Sarri, a path.) The first ancestor swept the path to the Deo-khulla.

Guddam. Gudda is a place where a hen lays her eggs. The first ancestor's hen laid eggs in the Deo-khulla.

Irpachi. The mahua tree. A mahua tree grew in the Deo-khulla or worshipping-place of this sept.

Admachi. The dhaura tree. [59] The first ancestor worshipped his gods under a dhaura tree. Members of the sept do not cut this tree nor burn its wood.

Sarati Dhurwa. (Sarati, a whip.) The first ancestor whipped the priest of the gods.

Suibadiwa. (Sui, a porcupine.) The first ancestor's wife had a porcupine which went and ate the crop of an old man's field. He tried to catch it, but it went back to her. He asked the name of her sept, and not being able to find it out called it Suibadiwa.

Watka. (A stone.) Members of this sept worship five stones for their gods. Some say that the first ancestors were young boys who forgot where the Deo-khulla was and therefore set up five stones and offered a chicken to them. As they did not offer the usual sacrifice of a goat, members of this sept abstain from eating goats.

Tumrecha Uika. (The tendu tree. [60]) It is said that the original ancestor of this sept was walking in the forest with his pregnant wife. She saw some tendu fruit and longed for it and he gave it to her to eat. Perhaps the original idea may have been that she conceived through swallowing a tendu fruit. Members of this sept eat the fruit of the tendu tree, but do not cut the tree nor make any use of its leaves or branches.

Tumdan Uika. Tumdan is a kind of pumpkin or gourd. They say that this plant grows in their Deo-khulla. The members drink water out of this gourd in the house, but do not carry it out of the house.

Kadfa-chor Uika. (Stealer of the kadfa.) Kadfa is the sheaf of grain left standing in the field for the gods when the crop is cut. The first ancestor stole the kadfa and offered it to his gods.

Gadhamar Uika. (Donkey-slayer.) Some say that the gods of the sept came to the Deo-khulla riding on donkeys, and others that the first ancestor killed a donkey in the Deo-khulla.

Eti-kumra. Eti is a goat. The ancestors of the sept used to sacrifice a Brahman boy to their gods. Once they were caught in the act by the parents of the boy they had stolen, and they prayed to the gods to save them, and the boy was turned into a goat. They do not kill a goat nor eat its flesh, nor sacrifice it to the gods.

Ahke. This word means 'on the other side of a river.' They say that a man of the Dhurwa sept abducted a girl of the Uika sept from the other side of a river and founded this sept.

Tirgam. The word means fire. They say that their ancestor's hand was burnt in the Deo-khulla while cooking the sacrifice.

Tekam. (The teak tree.) The ancestor of the sept had his gods in this tree. Members of the sept will not eat food off teak leaves, but they will use them for thatching, and also cut the tree.

Manapa. In Gondi mani is a son and apa a father. They say that their ancestors sacrificed a Brahman father and son to their gods and were saved by their being turned into goats like the Eti-kumra sept. Members of the sept do not kill or eat a goat.

Korpachi. The droppings of a hen. The ancestors of the sept offered these to his gods.

Mandani. The female organ of generation. The ancestor of the sept slept with his wife in the Deo-khulla.

Paiyam. Paiya is a heifer which has not borne a calf, such as is offered to the gods. Other Gonds say that the people of this sept have no gods. They are said not only to marry a girl from any other subsept of the Dhurwas and Uikas, but from their own sept and even their own sisters, though this is probably no longer true. They are held to be the lowest of the Gonds. Except in this instance, as already seen, the subsepts of the Dhurwa and Uika septs do not intermarry with each other.

(c) Marriage Customs

15. Prohibitions on intermarriage, and unions of relations.