There are 47 tribes in Maharashtra with the Gond being regarded as the principal tribe of Central India. It is, historically, the most significant tribe of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The Gonds were the 'Adivasi' or the original, indigenous inhabitants of this land, centuries before the Aryan invasions which came much later in around 2700 В.С.
Their origin goes back to ancient times as the Mahabharata has references to the Gonds. Although the word 'Gond' is uncertain, it is very likely given by the Hindus or Mohammedans, as the Gondi's own name for himself is 'Koitur' or 'Koi'. While this is what most writers and sociologists on Gondi culture believe, we find from the Gondi scholar, Dr. M. Kangali, that the word 'Gond' does have a very specific and definite meaning. In the Gondi language 'Gondola' means 'community', and those living in these communities came to be called 'Gonds'. 'Wen' means people or race, hence Gondiwen, and from this the words 'Gondwana' and the land of the Gondiwen i.e. Gondwanaland, are derived.
The Gond tribes inhabited a vast region in central India.
During the many centuries of their history, they had occupied several areas, which became their tribal habitat. Some of them, in unknown times, may have known defined boundaries. The name Gondwana is said to have been used by the Afghans in the eleventh or twelfth centuries. In fact, the teachings of the Gondi Guru, Pari Kupar Lingo, influenced the Indus Valley civilization, traveling through his disciples, right up to Kabul in the north-west. Gondwana is not merely an ancient name; this region has drawn the attention of geographers and explorers in more recent times too. A theory was propounded in 1885 by an Austrian scientist, Edward Suess, that "Antarctica, Australia, India, South Africa and South America once formed a single continental land mass which is now called Gondwanaland or the Gondwana region of India." It is stated that "possibly in early Mosozoic times, about 200 million years ago, Gondwanaland presumably broke into separate continents which drifted apart like giant terrestrial icebergs on the plaster mantle of earth."
The original groups constituting the Gonds may have existed as small clans in isolated forests and hilly regions as gatherers, fishermen and hunters. Due to the absence of roads and communication, the earliest migrations must have taken place due to compelling reasons of survival in times of disease, calamity, war, food-shortage and a search for females. The Gonds in different parts of the entire land began to call themselves by different names, for example, the Maria Gonds take their name from the Gondi word 'Maarh', meaning jungle. Since they lived in the dense jungle areas, they began to call themselves the Maria Gonds. The Abujmarhs took their name from the word 'Abuj', meaning Sal tree (Shorea robusta), hence the Gonds settled in the Sal tree region called themselves the Abujmarh Gonds (Sal jungle Gonds). Their lifestyles, though based on the common principles of their preceptor, Pahandi Pari Kupar Lingo, and lived accordingly, have shades they have taken on from their immediate environment as well as from modern life as it is lived today.
Perhaps there is no primitive group in India which has such interesting and important legends as different Gondi groups have left behind in different parts of India, but not many of the sociologists or writers, Indian or of foreign origin working on Gondi culture, have delved very deeply into the actual roots. The first Gondi legends that saw daylight were written down by Rev. Stephen Hislop of the Free Church of Scotland, the pioneer missionary who worked among the Gonds. He left behind many manuscripts, and Sir Richard Temple, one of the most prolific writers amongst British administrators in the early periods, gave credence and importance to some of the legends. Captain James Forsyth (mid 19th century) produced a fascinating piece of writing as he occupied the responsible position of Deputy Commissioner of Nimar (he was previously Asst. Conservator of Forests) in his, "The Lay of Lingo". In the 20th century, Verrier Elwin too has lived among the Gonds, studied and written about their culture.
This adaptation - The Gonds: Genesis, History & Culture -of Dr. Motiram Kangali's original book in Hindi, "Pari Kupar Lingo Gondi Punem Darshan", is about the genesis of the Gondi tribe and the philosophy of their Guru, Pahandi Pari Kupar Lingo, which formed the first part of the thesis of my research project, "Art & Culture of the Gonds", conducted single-handedly by me under a scheme funded by the Union Ministry of Culture on, "Promotion & Dissemination of Folk/Tribal Art and Culture". Punem is a combination of two words Puy = True, Nem = Path. In order to study the genesis and culture of the Gondis, it is essential to study Lingo's teachings which talk about the genesis and culture, the latter as formed by Lingo himself.
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