In Betul the Gonds explain the totemistic names of their septs
by saying that some incident connected with the animal, tree
or other object occurred to the ancestor or priest of the sept
while they were worshipping at the Deo-khulla or god's place or
threshing-floor. Mr. Ganga Prasad Khatri has made an interesting
collection of these. The reason why these stories have been devised
may be that the totem animals or plants have ceased to be revered
on their own merits as ancestors or kinsmen of the sept, and it
was therefore felt necessary to explain the sept name or sanctity
attaching to the totem by associating it with the gods. If this were
correct the process would be analogous to that by which an animal or
plant is first held sacred of itself, and, when this feeling begins
to decay with some recognition of its true nature, it is associated
with an anthropomorphic god in order to preserve its sanctity. The
following are some examples recorded by Mr. Ganga Prasad Khatri. Some
of the examples are not associated with the gods.
Gajjami, subsept of Dhurwa sept. From gaj, an arrow. Their first
ancestor killed a tiger with an arrow.
Gouribans Dhurwa. Their first ancestor worshipped his gods in a
bamboo clump.
Kusadya Dhurwa. (Kosa, tasar silk cocoon.) The first ancestor found
a silk cocoon on the tree in which he worshipped his gods.
Kohkapath. Kohka is the fruit of the bhilawa [58] or marking-nut tree,
and path, a kid. The first ancestor worshipped his gods in a bhilawa
tree and offered a kid to them. Members of this sept do not eat the
fruit or flowers of the bhilawa tree.
Jaglya. One who keeps awake, or the awakener. The first ancestor stayed
awake the whole night in the Deo-khulla, or god's threshing-floor.
Sariyam. (Sarri, a path.) The first ancestor swept the path to the
Deo-khulla.
Guddam. Gudda is a place where a hen lays her eggs. The first
ancestor's hen laid eggs in the Deo-khulla.
Irpachi. The mahua tree. A mahua tree grew in the Deo-khulla or
worshipping-place of this sept.
Admachi. The dhaura tree. [59] The first ancestor worshipped his
gods under a dhaura tree. Members of the sept do not cut this tree
nor burn its wood.
Sarati Dhurwa. (Sarati, a whip.) The first ancestor whipped the priest
of the gods.
Suibadiwa. (Sui, a porcupine.) The first ancestor's wife had a
porcupine which went and ate the crop of an old man's field. He tried
to catch it, but it went back to her. He asked the name of her sept,
and not being able to find it out called it Suibadiwa.
Watka. (A stone.) Members of this sept worship five stones for their
gods. Some say that the first ancestors were young boys who forgot
where the Deo-khulla was and therefore set up five stones and offered
a chicken to them. As they did not offer the usual sacrifice of a goat,
members of this sept abstain from eating goats.
Tumrecha Uika. (The tendu tree. [60]) It is said that the original
ancestor of this sept was walking in the forest with his pregnant
wife. She saw some tendu fruit and longed for it and he gave it to
her to eat. Perhaps the original idea may have been that she conceived
through swallowing a tendu fruit. Members of this sept eat the fruit
of the tendu tree, but do not cut the tree nor make any use of its
leaves or branches.
Tumdan Uika. Tumdan is a kind of pumpkin or gourd. They say that this
plant grows in their Deo-khulla. The members drink water out of this
gourd in the house, but do not carry it out of the house.
Kadfa-chor Uika. (Stealer of the kadfa.) Kadfa is the sheaf of grain
left standing in the field for the gods when the crop is cut. The
first ancestor stole the kadfa and offered it to his gods.
Gadhamar Uika. (Donkey-slayer.) Some say that the gods of the sept
came to the Deo-khulla riding on donkeys, and others that the first
ancestor killed a donkey in the Deo-khulla.
Eti-kumra. Eti is a goat. The ancestors of the sept used to sacrifice
a Brahman boy to their gods. Once they were caught in the act by the
parents of the boy they had stolen, and they prayed to the gods to
save them, and the boy was turned into a goat. They do not kill a
goat nor eat its flesh, nor sacrifice it to the gods.
Ahke. This word means 'on the other side of a river.' They say that
a man of the Dhurwa sept abducted a girl of the Uika sept from the
other side of a river and founded this sept.
Tirgam. The word means fire. They say that their ancestor's hand was
burnt in the Deo-khulla while cooking the sacrifice.
Tekam. (The teak tree.) The ancestor of the sept had his gods in
this tree. Members of the sept will not eat food off teak leaves,
but they will use them for thatching, and also cut the tree.
Manapa. In Gondi mani is a son and apa a father. They say that their
ancestors sacrificed a Brahman father and son to their gods and were
saved by their being turned into goats like the Eti-kumra sept. Members
of the sept do not kill or eat a goat.
Korpachi. The droppings of a hen. The ancestors of the sept offered
these to his gods.
Mandani. The female organ of generation. The ancestor of the sept
slept with his wife in the Deo-khulla.
Paiyam. Paiya is a heifer which has not borne a calf, such as is
offered to the gods. Other Gonds say that the people of this sept have
no gods. They are said not only to marry a girl from any other subsept
of the Dhurwas and Uikas, but from their own sept and even their own
sisters, though this is probably no longer true. They are held to be
the lowest of the Gonds. Except in this instance, as already seen,
the subsepts of the Dhurwa and Uika septs do not intermarry with
each other.
(c) Marriage Customs