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Madhya Pradesh is home to
almost 40% of India’s tribal population who, in most cases, live
apart from mainstream India.
Madhya Pradesh was once
ruled over by a people known as the Gonds, whose descendants today
inhabit the jungles south of Jabalpur. As successive waves of Aryans
defeated the Gonds, they gradually retreated into increasingly
inaccessible hills and forests. The Gonds gave their name to the
central region of the State which is called Gondwana.
Two branches of this
tribe, the Muria Gonds and the Madias both live in the Bastar
district. This is one of the largest districts in the country,
covering a massive 40,000 square kilometres, and in its remote
forests and valleys live many of the State’s tribal people. The
Gonds are goods cultivators, owning landed property. Their economic
status has made them dominant. They have tribal courts, and the worst
punishment is banishment from the tribe. Their society is
patriarchal. Sex before matrimony is not considered a sin, and if an
unmarried woman conceives, the man concerned is simply told to marry
her. Monogamy is the rule but polygamy is not uncommon, and child
marriage is rare. Killing cattle for food is a crime, although
beef-eating is allowed. One of the most distinctive forms of tribal
art comes from the Bastar region, and is a form of metal casting done
by the “lost wax” method.
To the western side of
Madhya Pradesh lives another tribal group, the Bhils, whilst the
Oraons inhabit the eastern part of the state. The Bhils get their
name from a Dravidian word for bow, which is the hallmark of the
tribe. Believing themselves to be descendants of Shiva, the Bhils
practice witchcraft. Another group, the Baigas, are forest dwellers,
skilled in the varied facets of jungle life.
Despite the encroaching
influence of 20th century urban life, the tribals have
largely managed to retain their own way of life, relatively untouched
by modernization
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