The tribe have several endogamous divisions, of which the principal are
the Raj Pardhans, the Ganda Pardhans and the Thothia Pardhans. The
Raj Pardhans appear to be the descendants of alliances between
Raj Gonds and Pardhan women. They say that formerly the priests of
Bura Deo lived a celibate life, and both men and women attended to
worship the god; but on one occasion the priests ran away with some
women and after this the Gonds did not know who should be appointed
to serve the deity. While they were thus perplexed, a _kingri_ (or
rude wooden lyre) fell from heaven on to the lap of one of them,
and, in accordance with this plain indication of the divine will,
he became the priest, and was the ancestor of the Raj Pardhans; and
since this _contretemps_ the priests are permitted to marry, while
women are no longer allowed to attend the worship of Bura Deo. The
Thothia subtribe are said to be the descendants of illicit unions,
the word Thothia meaning 'maimed'; while the Gandas are the offspring
of intermarriages between the Pardhans and members of that degraded
caste. Other groups are the Mades or those of the Mad country in
Chanda and Bastar, the Khalotias or those of the Chhattisgarh plain,
and the Deogarhias of Deogarh in Chhindwara; and there are also some
occupational divisions, as the Kandres or bamboo-workers, the Gaitas
who act as priests in Chhattisgarh, and the Arakhs who engage in
service and sell old clothes. A curious grouping is found in Chanda,
where the tribe are divided into the Gond Patharis and Chor or
'Thief' Patharis. The latter have obtained their name from their
criminal propensities, but they are said to be proud of it and to
refuse to intermarry with any families not having the designation of
Chor Pathari. In Raipur the Patharis are said to be the offspring of
Gonds by women of other castes, and the descendants of such unions. The
exogamous divisions of the Pardhans are the same as those of the Gonds,
and like them they are split up into groups worshipping different
numbers of gods whose members may not marry with one another.