Out of the Gond tribe, which, as it gave its name to a province, may
be considered as almost a people, a number of separate castes have
naturally developed. Among them are several occupational castes such
as the Agarias or iron-workers, the Ojhas or soothsayers, Pardhans
or priests and minstrels, Solahas or carpenters, and Koilabhutis or
dancers or prostitutes. These are principally sprung from the Gonds,
though no doubt with an admixture of other low tribes or castes. The
Parjas of Bastar, now classed as a separate tribe, appear to represent
the oldest Gond settlers, who were subdued by later immigrants of
the race; while the Bhatras and Jhadi Telengas are of mixed descent
from Gonds and Hindus. Similarly the Gowari caste of cattle-graziers
originated from the alliances of Gond and Ahir graziers. The Mannewars
and Kolams are other tribes allied to the Gonds. Many Hindu castes
and also non-Aryan tribes living in contact with the Gonds have a
large Gond element; of the former class the Ahirs, Basors, Barhais
and Lohars, and of the latter the Baigas, Bhunjias and Khairwars
are instances.
Among the Gonds proper there are two aristocratic subdivisions, the
Raj-Gonds and Khatolas. According to Forsyth the Raj-Gonds are in
many cases the descendants of alliances between Rajput adventurers
and Gonds. But the term practically comprises the landholding
subdivision of the Gonds, and any proprietor who was willing to pay
for the privilege could probably get his family admitted into the
Raj-Gond group. The Raj-Gonds rank with the Hindu cultivating castes,
and Brahmans will take water from them. They sometimes wear the
sacred thread. In the Telugu country the Raj-Gond is known as Durla
or Durlasattam. In some localities Raj-Gonds will intermarry with
ordinary Gonds, but not in others. The Khatola Gonds take their name
from the Khatola state in Bundelkhand, which is said to have once been
governed by a Gond ruler, but is no longer in existence. In Saugor
they rank about equal with the Raj-Gonds and intermarry with them,
but in Chhindwara it is said that ordinary Gonds despise them and
will not marry with them or eat with them on account of their mixed
descent from Gonds and Hindus. The ordinary Gonds in most Districts
form one endogamous group, and are known as the Dhur or 'dust' Gonds,
that is the common people. An alternative name conferred on them by the
Hindus is Rawanvansi or of the race of Rawan, the demon king of Ceylon,
who was the opponent of Rama. The inference from this name is that the
Hindus consider the Gonds to have been among the people of southern
India who opposed the Aryan expedition to Ceylon, which is preserved in
the legend of Rama; and the name therefore favours the hypothesis that
the Gonds came from the south and that their migration northward was
sufficiently recent in date to permit of its being still remembered
in tradition. There are several other small local subdivisions. The
Koya Gonds live on the border of the Telugu country, and their name
is apparently a corruption of Koi or Koitur, which the Gonds call
themselves. The Gaita are another Chanda subcaste, the word Gaite or
Gaita really meaning a village priest or headman. Gattu or Gotte is
said to be a name given to the hill Gonds of Chanda, and is not a real
subcaste. The Darwe or Naik Gonds of Chanda were formerly employed as
soldiers, and hence obtained the name of Naik or leader. Other local
groups are being formed such as the Larhia or those of Chhattisgarh,
the Mandlaha of Mandla, the Lanjiha from Lanji and so on. These are
probably in course of becoming endogamous. The Gonds of Bastar are
divided into two groups, the Maria and the Muria. The Maria are the
wilder, and are apparently named after the Mad, as the hilly country of
Bastar is called. Mr. Hira Lal suggests the derivation of Muria from
mur, the palas tree, which is common in the plains of Bastar, or from
mur, a root. Both derivations must be considered as conjectural. The
Murias are the Gonds who live in the plains and are more civilised
than the Marias. The descendants of the Raja of Deogarh Bakht Buland,
who turned Muhammadan, still profess that religion, but intermarry
freely with the Hindu Gonds. The term Bhoi, which literally means
a bearer in Telugu, is used as a synonym for the Gonds and also as
an honorific title. In Chhindwara it is said that only a village
proprietor is addressed as Bhoi. It appears that the Gonds were used
as palanquin-bearers, and considered it an honour to belong to the
Kahar or bearer caste, which has a fairly good status. [54]