Gonds

PRONUNCIATION: GAHNDS
ALTERNATE NAMES: Koi; Koitur
LOCATION: India
POPULATION: About 14 million
LANGUAGE: Gondi
RELIGION: Cult of the Persa Pen (clan deities); ancestor spirit worship
RELATED ARTICLES: Vol. 4: People of India

INTRODUCTION

The Gonds are numerically the most important tribe in South Asia. Strictly speaking, the term Gond is a generic one that refers to numerous tribal peoples who are found over wide areas of the interior of the Deccan peninsula of India. While they are by no means all alike, there is a limited measure of cultural uniformity among these groups. Most significantly, they all describe themselves as Gonds or, in the local Gondi dialects, as Koi or Koitur. The meaning of the latter names is uncertain. It was the Mughals who first used the name "Gond" (hill people) to describe the peoples of the area. Gonds have lent their name to Gondwana ("the Land of the Gonds"), the part of India in which they live. They are found over almost all of India except the northwestern states (Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir) and the extreme south, but have their greatest concentrations in the rugged hill country of central India.

Little is known about the origins of the Gonds. They belong to the strata of aboriginal peoples of India who pre-date the Aryan and Dravidian speakers of the country. They are usually classified as Proto-Australoids by race. As their language is Dravidian, the Gonds may have passed through lands to the south where the Dravidian languages are found. DNA evidence suggests they might have branched off from early Proto-Australoids who apparently traveled from Africa to Australia along the coastal margins of India. But Gond migrations before they reached their present homeland remain shrouded in the mists of time. Scholars believe that the Gonds settled in Gondwana between the 9th and 13th centuries AD. The core region of Gondwana can be considered to be the eastern part of the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, the parts of Madhya Pradesh immediately to the north of it, and parts of the west of Chhattisgar. From the 14th century onwards, Gond history comes into focus with Muslim writers describing the rise of Gond states in the region. Between the 16th and mid-18th centuries, when Gonds were at the height of their power, Gond dynasties ruled in four kingdoms (Garha-Mandla, Deogarh, Chanda, and Kherla) in central India.

Following the 1740s, the rising tide of Maratha power swept over the Gonds. The Gond rajas were overthrown and their territory annexed, except for some of the more remote hill areas that held out against the invaders. Local Gond zamindaris or estates survived in the region until relatively recent times.

The recent creation of two new states in central India, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, has increased the relative proportions of Gonds, who are classified as Scheduled Tribes in both states, in the population. Thus, in Chhattisgarh, which was formed in 2000 from sixteen Chhattisgarhi-speaking districts in southeastern Madhya Pradesh, Gonds number over 4 million people, of the current estimated state total population of c. 24 million people. They are concentrated in the south, especially in Bastar district, where they account for more than 20% of the district's total population. Jharkhand, created in 2000 from the southern areas of Bihar largely to fulfill the aspirations of its tribal populations (c. 89% of the total state's population), also contains a considerable number of Gonds among its estimated 40 million people.

LOCATION AND HOMELAND

The Gonds form the largest tribal group in the Indian sub-continent and perhaps even in the entire world. The Census of India 2001 did not enumerate caste, so the population figure should be regarded as approximate, since many Gond communities have become Hinduized and are no longer counted as Gonds. Nonetheless, even using conservative estimates of growth rates, the Gond population in India must exceed14 million today.

Gonds are found over a wide area of central India. Gondwana, their traditional homeland, lies in the eastern part of the state of Madhya Pradesh and western Chhattisgarh, though large Gond populations are also found in Maharashtra and Orissa States. Gond territory lies south and east of the upper reaches of the Narmada and Son rivers and extends to the Godavari River and the Madhya Pradesh–Orissa border. Within this area, there are numerous tribal communities who are designated as Gonds. Madhya Pradesh classifies over 50 Gond groups as belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (communities in India identified as needing special social and economic assistance). A similar number of Gond groups in Maharashtra are designated as Scheduled Tribes. By contrast, there are Gond groups such as the Raj Gonds and the Katholias who claim high social standing and have substantial land holdings. The Dhur Gond, Bisonhorn Maria (so-called because of their distinctive horned headdress worn for dancing), the Muria Gond, and the Paharia Gonds are some of the Gond groups found in the region.

As might be expected with Gond tribes dispersed over so wide an area, the environmental setting in which they live varies greatly. Yet their characterization as "hill people" identifies one of their underlying traits, namely their traditional association with the hills and uplands of the Peninsula's interior. The densest concentrations of Gonds are found in the eastern ranges of the Satpura Hills, the Maikala Range, and the Son-Deogarh uplands. South of this line of hills, the Gond population thins out in the Waiganga Valley and the Chhattisgarh plain. As one continues south, however, the highly dissected plateau of Bastar forms another stronghold of the Gond tribes. A distinct cluster of Gond tribes, somewhat isolated from the main Gond distributions, occurs in the Garhjat Hills of northern Orissa. The upland areas generally lie between 600 and 900 m (roughly 2,000-3,000 ft), with isolated peaks occasionally exceeding 1,200 m (approximately 4,000 ft). The region is drained by the headwaters of many of India's major rivers (e.g., the Narmada, Tapti, Son, Mahanadi, and Godavari). Forest cover is dense in places, and communications are generally difficult. The climate is typical of the northern interior Deccan. February sees the start of the hot season, with temperatures rising to over 40°c (104°f) in early June. The summer brings the monsoon rains, with precipitation amounts varying from 120 cm (47 in) to over 160 cm (63 in) in the more southeasterly locations. Late September marks the return of the cool, dry weather of winter.

LANGUAGE

Gondi is the mother tongue of the Gonds. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is closely related to Tamil and Kannada. Clearly, the Gonds are not physically related to the Dravidian-speaking peoples of India, thus at some time they must have abandoned an earlier language in favor of Gondi. There is, however, no evidence of what this language might have been. It is the Gondi language, as much as anything else, that lends a sense of cultural uniformity to the diverse tribal groups that make up the Gonds. Even so, many Gonds are bilingual or trilingual, speaking Hindi, Marathi, or Telegu as well as their mother tongue. Some Gond groups have totally abandoned Gondi and speak the language or dialect common in their locality.

FOLKLORE

Gond myths and legends are preserved by hereditary bards and professional storytellers called Pardhans. All Gond traditions are oral and, consequently, numerous variations of the same tales are recounted. Yet it is in mythology and the deeds of Gond heroes that the social norms of Gond society are rooted.

According to the Gond creation myth, when the Gond gods were born they were abandoned by their mother. The goddess Parvati rescued them, but her consort Sri Shambhu Mahadeo (Shiva) imprisoned them in a primeval cave. They were rescued from the cave by the Gond culture hero Pahandi Kapar Lingal, with the assistance of the goddess Jangu Bai. When released from captivity, they came out of the cave in four groups, thus laying the foundations of the basic fourfold division of Gond society. Lingal is also held to be responsible for the creation of the Gond kinship system, as well as the establishment of the great gods (Persa Pen) who were to be worshiped by the Gonds.

RELIGION

The most distinctive feature of Gond religion is the cult of the Persa Pen, or the clan deities. Like many other tribes in the region, Gonds worship a high god known as Baradeo, or Bhagavan, or Sri Shambu Mahadeo (known sometimes, rather confusingly, as Persa Pen). Baradeo is the Supreme Being, creator of the universe and giver of life and death, but he is rather remote. He over3s the activities of the lesser gods and he is to be respected and worshiped, but he does not receive the fervent devotion reserved for the clan deities. Each Gond clan has its Persa Pen, who extends its protection to all clan members in return for their ritual offerings and worship. The Persa Pen is essentially good but can be dangerous and violent. Many Gonds believe that the play of the Pardhan bard on his fiddle is necessary to control the deity's fierce powers.

In addition to Baradeo and the clan deities, the Gond world is populated by numerous other deities and spirits that are to be worshiped at the appropriate time. Each village has its Village-Guardian and Village-Mother who must be worshiped whenever the village community embarks on ritual activities, such as a seasonal celebration or a sacrifice. There are family gods and household gods to be propitiated. Gods of the field and gods of cattle must receive their offerings to ensure a productive harvest. Disease must be warded off by appeasing deities such as Shitala Mata, Goddess of Smallpox. Every hill, every river, every lake, every tree is inhabited by a spirit who may be benevolent but may also be unpredictable and harmful. The ancestor spirits, who reside with the clan deities, are also to be worshiped.

Gond relations with the gods and the spirits lie mainly in the hands of priests and individuals with special supernatural powers. The village priest (devari), whose office is usually a hereditary one, performs the sacrifices and rituals for village festivals. Family ceremonies and sacrifices are carried out by the head of the household. The clan priest (katora) has the responsibility of tending the shrine and ritual objects of the clan's Persa Pen. He is the guardian of the sacred spear point, which is never kept in the shrine but rather is hidden in a location known only to himself and a few close kinsmen. He also organizes and officiates at the annual clan festivals.

Virtually all aspects of Gond ritual life, from the greatest festivals to the building of a new cattle shed, are accompanied by sacrifice. The offering depends on the particular deity involved. Certain deities, especially female ones, demand blood-sacrifice. Chickens, goats, and sometimes male buffaloes (and reputedly in the past, humans) are the sacrificial victims. Periodically (every 9 or 12 years), the Gonds sacrifice a pig to the god Narayan Deo in an important ceremony known as the Laru Kaj ("Pig's Wedding"). Not all Gond ritual requires animal sacrifice; offerings sometimes include fruits, coconuts, flowers, colored powder, and strings.

While the village and clan priests perform sacrifices, diviners and magicians deal with the supernatural in another way. Gonds believe that most diseases and misfortunes in life are caused by evil spirits and the displeasure of the gods. They turn to soothsayers and diviners to find out the cause of their problems and the appropriate remedies to be taken. If these practitioners cannot help, the services of magicians and shamans must be sought. Magicians believe that through magic formulas they can control the actions of the deity or spirit who is the cause of a particular affliction. Shamans are individuals who fall into a trance and give voice to the demands of the offended god or spirit. Like many tribes in the area, Gonds believe in the evil eye, black magic, and witchcraft. Witches, usually women, are held to bring sickness and misfortune to the community. They are widely feared and, when discovered, are driven from the village or even killed.

MAJOR HOLIDAYS

The details of the Gond festival calendar varies from region to region but, as might be expected of agricultural peoples, many of the important celebrations are connected with the agricultural seasons. Some Hindu festivals, such as Holi, Dasahara, and Divali, are celebrated, though often the Gonds have no real understanding of the significance of these feasts. The Gonds, however, have their own explanation for their observance and celebrate the feasts in the Gond manner, complete with sacrifices. Pola, a cattle festival, and Nagpanchami, the snake festival, are celebrated by the Gonds along with the other peoples of the area.

Some festivals, such as the feasts of village or clan deities, are specifically Gond celebrations. One particular custom is the Dandari stick dancing undertaken by young people in the two or three weeks following Dasahara. Bands of young people, dressed in their newest and best attire, travel from village to village entertaining the inhabitants with dancing, music, and singing. In doing so, they are perpetuating a custom initiated by the legendary heroes of the Gond epics. The dancing is seen as a religious duty as much as an occasion for fun and entertainment.

RITES OF PASSAGE

Pregnant women are subject to certain taboos as a protection against magic spells and evil influences. Various rituals, including sacrifice to the household gods, are performed after birth. The baby is named after three to four weeks, with the name-giver usually being the mother's brother for a boy, or the father's sister for a girl. Although sons are preferred, daughters are equally welcomed. There is little to mark the passage from childhood to maturity. Children grow up as part of a family, clan, phratry (one of the four main divisions of Gond society), and village community and gradually learn the ways of their people. At a certain age, they begin to assume some responsibility for household and agricultural chores. Both boys and girls help guard their family's crops from birds and monkeys. Males undergo a ritual shaving of the beard, mustache, and eyebrows as a sign of adulthood, although many boys undergo the rite long before they reach puberty. There is no comparable rite for girls, but a girl is considered full-grown at her first menstruation. Only the Muria Gonds of Bastar have youth dormitories (ghotul) that are used for the education of youth in married and civic life.

Gonds cremate or bury their dead, depending on status and the circumstance of death. Children, unmarried persons, and individuals dying an inauspicious death (e.g., in an epidemic) are buried without much ceremony. Elaborate and costly ceremonies, including sacrifice, are performed at funerals by those who can afford it. The Gonds believe that a human being has a life-force and a spirit. On death, the life-force is reincarnated into another earthly existence, but the spirit remains in the other world. All Gond death rituals are undertaken for the welfare of the spirit, performed to ensure its smooth passage through the spirit world and its acceptance by the ancestral spirits of the clan. In times of economic stress, the important karun rite may be postponed for up to three years but it has to be completed in order for an heir's obligation to the deceased to be fulfilled. Memorial pillars are erected to honor the dead. Gonds believe the ancestral spirits watch over the moral behavior of the living and punish offenders of tribal law. In this sense, they are the guardians of the Gond community.

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

Visiting customs vary throughout the region, though Gonds are normally a hospitable people. The visitor is welcomed and presented with small gifts, perhaps some dried tobacco leaves or fruits from the forest. Many villages and homesteads have guest huts where the visitor may stay with some degree of privacy.

LIVING CONDITIONS

Gonds live in villages scattered throughout central India. Each village has a headman (known by local names such as mukhia, mahji, or patel) and a village council (panchayat) chosen by the villagers. The council, made up of the headman, the priest, the village watchman, and four or five elders, is responsible for the smooth running of the village and upholding Gond customs and traditions. More important affairs are discussed and decided upon by all the men of the community. In addition to its Gond inhabitants, a village has its service castes such as the Ahir (cowherds), Agaria (blacksmiths), Dhulia (drummers), and Pardhan (bards and singers).

A typical Gond village is made up of several hamlets, each consisting of the homesteads of a group of closely related kinfolk. The homestead (which contains dwellings, stables, and sheds) houses a family, often a joint family, consisting of the parents, married sons, and their families. Houses are usually rectangular, built of mud and thatch. They consist of a living room, a kitchen, a veranda, and a special room to which women retire while they are menstruating. Among many South Asian societies, women in this condition are regarded as ritually polluted and are segregated from the rest of the family. In one corner of the house is the shrine to the clan gods.

Standards of living among the Gonds reflect socioeconomic status. Many Gonds are relatively poor farmers or agricultural laborers, and this is seen in their lack of material possessions. Gond houses contain little furniture, perhaps some cots and a few wooden stools, with mats used for sitting and sleeping. The kitchen contains an assortment of cooking utensils, brass and earthenware pots, and baskets for storage. Today, wealthier Gonds build their houses out of stone and furnish them more lavishly.

FAMILY LIFE

Gond society is divided into four exogamous, patrilineal descent groups known in anthropological terminology as phratries. Each phratry (saga in Gondi) traces its descent to one of the four groups of gods who emerged from the primeval cave after their release by the hero Lingal. The phratry is divided into a number of exogamous clans (pari). A clan consists of a group of people who believe that they are descended in the male line from a common ancestor. Thus, no one can marry a partner belonging to the same phratry or clan. Violation of the rule of exogamy is considered to be incest. Not only would offenders expect to be punished by the gods, but they are also excluded from the tribal community. Many of the Gond clans bear the names of animals or plants, which suggests a totemic origin. Some Gond clans still observe totemic taboos and avoid eating the flesh of certain animals.

Kinship and marriage customs among the Gonds reflect broader regional patterns. The norm is the cross-cousin marriage (e.g., marriage with one's mother's brother's daughter) so typical of South Indian society. Groups that have been influenced by northern peoples such as the Marathas, however, follow northern customs in determining marriage partners. Similarly, northern Gonds allow what are called "levirate" marriages, that is, a widow remarries a brother of the deceased husband. This is not allowed in southern India, and the southern Gonds conform to this prohibition.

Gonds traditionally married on reaching physical maturity, with the selection of mates based on mutual choice, subject to the approval of the tribal council. Nowadays the Gonds increasingly follow the Hindu custom of arranged marriages when the children are still young. A bride-price is paid by the father of the groom. A Gond wedding is accompanied by many significant ceremonies, although, in general, rites conform to the marriage customs of the locality. The central rite of the Gond wedding consists of the groom walking with his bride seven times around a wedding post erected in the center of the wedding booth. Gond society is patrilocal and the newlyweds reside with the groom's family until such time as they move into a house of their own. Although the extended family is traditional among the Gonds, the nuclear family is becoming more common. Inheritance passes down the male line, with all sons receiving equal shares.

In addition to the negotiated marriage, other forms of marriage among the Gonds include elopement of an unmarried girl with a boy, or the capture of a girl and her forced marriage to her captor. Such marriages must later be legalized by the relatives and village councils of the partners. Similarly, divorce is permissible among the Gonds and is relatively easily obtained, but it must be obtained from the panchayat.

CLOTHING

Gonds differ little from the other cultivating castes of their locality in the area of dress. Men typically wore a small loincloth, but many have now adopted the dhoti. This is a long piece of white cotton cloth that is wrapped around the body, with its end drawn between the legs and tucked into the waistband at the back. In the past, the torso remained bare, but today cotton shirts are worn with the dhoti. White or colored turbans complete the outfit. In winter, waistcoats or woolen pullovers are worn for warmth, and sometimes a coarse woolen blanket is used for extra protection. Women and girls wear the cotton sari. This is wrapped around the waist, with one end drawn between the legs and tucked in at the back and the other thrown over the right shoulder covering the breasts and stomach, which are left bare. More and more Gonds are wearing the bodice (choli) along with the sari, in the manner of Hindu women.

Both men and women wear heavy silver ornaments bought from professional silversmiths. Women also wear colored glass bangles, as well as several types of beads, including their marriage necklaces made of small black beads. They often tattoo their bodies.

FOOD

The staples of the Gond diet are two millets known locally as kodo and kutki. These are prepared either boiled to a broth or cooked until all the water has evaporated. Sometimes it is ground and baked into a flat cake. Millet is eaten three times a day, with the broth being preferred for the first two meals and the dry cereal taken with some vegetables in the evening. Vegetables are either grown in the garden or collected from the forest along with roots and tubers. Honey is also gathered from the forest.

Rice is preferred by many Gonds, but for most it is too expensive to purchase and their land is too poor to cultivate it. Rice remains a dish reserved for feasts or festival days. Most Gonds, except for those who have adopted Hindu dietary taboos, like meat. Animals sacrificed at ceremonies are eagerly consumed, and the diet is supplemented by animals hunted in the forest. Gonds must abstain from the flesh of certain animals, e.g., the tortoise, that are their clan totems.

Gonds are passionate smokers and grow tobacco for their own consumption. They also consume large amounts of liquor distilled from the mahua tree (Bassia latifolia) as a part of both religious and social celebrations.

EDUCATION

Education and literacy levels among the Gonds vary but are generally low. Literacy varies from 62.5% in Maharashtra to 50.3% in Madhya Pradesh. Among females in Madhya Pradesh, it drops to only 30.4%. Few children attend school regularly, and girls rarely continue past primary school. Only 1.5% of the population, mainly males, continues on to graduate level studies.

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Music, song, and dance play an important role in Gond society. Gonds are ardent dancers and all festive occasions are celebrated by song and dance. In some instances, such as with the Dandari dancers, dances celebrate the dramatic retelling of events from Gond mythology. However, dances are not necessarily associated with any particular event or festival and may be performed just for enjoyment. Many of the songs that accompany dances tend to be of a suggestive nature. The Dhulia is the professional musician caste serving the Gonds. Pardhan bards preserve the legends, myths, and history of the Gonds, passing these traditions on from generation to generation. Among the numerous myths of the Gonds, perhaps the most important is the great epic that celebrates the origins and exploits of the culture hero Pahandi Kapar Lingal.

WORK

The Gonds' ties with the forest suggest that, in the past, they were nomadic hunters or food gatherers who took up shifting cultivation. Today they are mainly plough-cultivators whose agriculture differs little from other farming castes in their region. Although some Gond communities have risen to the status of landowners, increasing pressure on land is reflected in large numbers of landless laborers among the Gonds.

SPORTS

There are no sporting activities associated with traditional Gond society.

ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION

Leisure time is passed with the family or visiting friends and neighbors. Gonds like to assemble on feast days or full-moon nights to sing and dance. Cock-fighting is a favorite pastime of some Gond groups.

FOLK ART, CRAFTS, AND HOBBIES

Gonds have a rich tradition of tribal arts and crafts that includes pottery, basket-making, body-tattooing, and floor-painting. They are artistically gifted, painting designs on their house walls in red and black on a white background. The drawings are often done to celebrate festivals and include animals and birds, human figures, the hunt, and the dance. The Gonds make musical instruments, and they carve memorial pillars in wood and stone for their dead. They often carve doors and panels to decorate their houses.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

The Gonds face problems typical of tribal peoples throughout South Asia. As a less sophisticated group, they have faced exploitation and discrimination from their culturally more advanced neighbors. They occupy less productive lands in some of the more remote areas of the country. They are experiencing increasing pressure on their land, a rise in the number of landless laborers, and high levels of poverty. Lack of education and low levels of literacy further reduce economic opportunity.

Beyond this, the very nature of the Gond community is in itself a problem. Despite their numbers, the Gonds are an assemblage of diverse tribal groups. Although they all see themselves as Gonds, there is little to unite them into a cohesive political force. Their wide geographical distribution and degree of tribal fragmentation works against the creation of a Gond political identity. Even if this were not so, the leadership to achieve this is sorely lacking. This places the Gond community at a major disadvantage in India today, where access to resources for socioeconomic advancement is often subject to political patronage.

For instance, some non-tribals, through political jockeying, have managed to gain legal tribal status, that is, to be listed as a Scheduled Tribe. The Gonds of Andhra Pradesh effectively lost their only advantage in trying to protect their lands when the Banjaras, a group that had been settling in Gond territory, managed to get classified in the state as a Scheduled Tribe in 1977. Their newly acquired tribal status made the Banjaras eligible to acquire Gond land "legally" and to compete with Gonds for reserved political seats, places in education institutions, and other benefits reserved for Scheduled Tribes. Because the Banjaras are not scheduled in neighboring Maharashtra, there has been an influx of Banjara emigrants from that state into Andhra Pradesh in search of better opportunities.

GENDER ISSUES

The status of women is markedly better among Gonds than in Hindu caste society. Women play an important role in the domestic economy of Gond societies, they are usually allowed to move freely, and have the right to choose their marriage partners or at least have a large say in this (it is always, at the very least, a family affair). Divorce is possible and much easier to obtain than in Hindu societies, and tribal widows—unlike their Hindu sisters—have no problem in remarrying. But, again, these are generalizations and there are indigenous societies in which child and forced marriages are common. In many tribal societies, paying a bride price is part of the marriage arrangement. This stands in contrast to the dowry practice in Hindu society, which means that the birth of a baby girl represents a heavy economic burden for poorer Hindu families, with enormous repercussions on the status of women, and on the sex ratio in the population. Studies have shown that baby girls are less well-looked after than boys in Hindu society, leading to a higher infant mortality rate among Hindu children. The possibility of pre-natal sex identification has led to a rapid drop in the births of baby girls. But the sex ratio of Gonds is higher than the national average, suggesting that discrimination against female children is totally lacking, or at least less than in other groups.

In hardly any indigenous society do women participate in formal political decision-making and this, too, is true of the Gonds, though women are often consulted, by their husbands or in community meetings. But they are not members of village councils and cannot become the village chief. Women also hardly ever play an important role in religion, although they may be spirit mediums or healers. Generally, Gond women are valued mostly for their productive and reproductive functions.

With the exception of a few matrilineal societies (such as the Garo and Khasi of Meghalaya in the north-east of India), women in the country do not inherit land. And even among the matrilineal societies, the land is in reality managed and controlled by men. But it is very important for unmarried women and widows. Ownership normally rests with their fathers, brothers or husbands. Men therefore tend to have greater control over agricultural production and products. However, Gond women do enjoy spheres in which they retain some control. In India, in particular, the gathering of forest products—which has been very much a female activity—is crucial for women to maintain at least some degree of autonomy since they have control over these products, i.e. they sell them themselves. However, poverty and lack of access to educational and health facilities remain major stumbling blocks in the way of Gond women bettering themselves.

Some Gond women have banded together to help alleviate poverty and promote female empowerment. For instance, in Orissa's Kalahandi and Nuapada districts, life is an endless nightmare of deprivation and hunger for Gonds. The men leave their homes in search of employment, often ending up as bonded labor in distant places. Left to fend for themselves, the women, the elderly and children have to eke out an existence or starve. Now, thousands of tribal women have, quite literally, spun themselves out of the web of despair in which they were trapped, thanks largely to a local livelihood initiative that employs Gond women to make handmade cotton fabric. Aptly called "Nuakala," which means "new craft," the name also incorporates the first two syllables of the districts Nuapada and Kalahandi where the program is based.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Banerjee, B. G., and Kiran Bhatia. Tribal Demography of Gonds. Delhi: Gian Pub. House, 1988.

Elwin, Verrier. Leaves from the Jungle: Life in a Gond Village. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Fuchs, Stephen. The Gond and Bhumia of Eastern Mandla. Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 1960.

Fürer-Haimendorf, Christoph von, and Elizabeth von Fürer-Haimendorf. The Gonds of Andhra Pradesh: Tradition and Change in an Indian Tribe. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1979.

Grigson, Wilfred. The Maria Gonds of Bastar. London: Oxford University Press, 1949.

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Singh, K. S., ed. "Gond." In People of India. Vol.3: The Scheduled Tribes. Delhi and Oxford: Oxford University Press with the Anthropological Survey of India, 1994.

—by D. O. Lodrick