Gonds

Gonds, a Dravidian people, the most important of the non-Aryan or 'aboriginal' hill-races of the Central Provinces (q.v.) of India. They probably entered the country at an early period from the north, and gave their name to Gondwana, which comprised the greater part of the Central Provinces; but it was only from the 16th century to the Mahratia invasion in 1741-81 that they ruled the central tableland. To-day they number about a million and a half, and, while the wilder tribes cling to the forest, the rest have made some advances in civilisation. Most of the upper classes are of mixed blood, and many of the race have embraced Hinduism; but, while they carry ceremonial refinements to the extremest limit, they secretly retain many of their old superstitions, with which they have even inoculated their Aryan co-religionists in the territory. The plebeian Gonds are of purer blood, and, as among the other hill-tribes, both sexes limit their necessary attire to a cloth wound about the waist, although the younger people often eke this out with earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Each village worships the three or four deities it knows best, while admitting the existence of an indefinite number of others. Cholera and smallpox are worshipped everywhere, and the Gonds people the forest, the rivers, and every rock with evil spirits. The name Gondwana is still applied to the tract which they principally inhabit.