The South Central Gond live in the forests and hills of India in Maharashatra and Andhra Pradesh, north of the Godavari River. They are essentially concentrated in the Chandrapur, Adilabad, and Garhichiroli districts. The Southeast Gond, covers the forests and hills of southern India. They are primarily concentrates in the state of Andhra Pradesh, south of the Godavari River and in bordering districts north of the river.
The South Central Gond speaks a Central Dravidian language called Adilabad Gondi. Today, The Southeast Gond are bilingual, speaking both their native language, Koi Gondi, and the Telugu language. The Telugu, their bygone rulers and present neighbors, immovably influenced both the South Central and Southeast Gond.
The Gond were the most significant group of original Indian tribes. In the 1500's, several Gond dynasties were firmly incorporated by the Gond rajas, or kings. They ruled like Hindu princes until Muslim armies overthrew them in 1592. In the 1700's, the Gond lost all power to the Maratha kings who forced their culture to retreat to the hills.
Sixty percent of the Gond are Hindus, worshipping hundreds of gods and goddesses. The remaining forty percent are animists. The Animist Gond believe that the wood is the dwelling place of the gods and hereditary spirits. They habitually pray to the ancestral spirits for guardianship and blessings.
Both the South Central and the Southeast Gond were semi-nomadic framers, who used swidden or "slash and burn" agriculture to survive. Most of the South Central Gond survived by farming, hunting, and eating the fruits of the grove, but they also trade and sell cattle. Others hold wage-earning jobs. They do not make their own clothing or jewels but buy them from neighboring groups.
Gond villages are intended to be communal, territorial units. A chief heads the tribe, and a committee of elders leads each village. The chief serves as the judge of all tribal desputes, while the elders have legal authority over their villages. Gond kindship is patriarchal and line of descent is traced patrilineally. The tribe is divided into clans, each of which stands for the offspring of a common male ancestor. The Gond do not marry within their own clans and cross-cousin marriages are preferred as are multiple spouses. A strong lineal connection exists between all members of the tribe. Although individuals are personally free, they are bound to defend each other's freedom. Livery, equality, and brotherhood are the main principles of the tribe.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on Gond culture.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL.
If you are Gond, your feedback is much appreciated.
Resources
http://www.bethany.com/profiles/p_code5/629.html
http://www.bethany.com/profiles/p_code3/725.html
http://www.shakti.clara.net/sari/gond.html
http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/countries/inda.html
http://www.bethany.com/profiles/p_code5/617.html
Written by: Tomoki Kato