The religious practices of the Gonds present much variety. The tribal
divisions into groups worshipping seven, six, five and four gods,
already referred to, are generally held to refer to the number of
gods which a man has in his house. But very few Gonds can name the
gods of their sect, and the prescribed numbers are seldom adhered
to. The worship of ancestors is an integral part of their religion
and is described in the section on funeral customs. Bura Deo, their
great god in most localities, was probably at first the saj tree,
[69] but afterwards the whole collection of gods were sometimes
called Bura Deo. He is further discussed subsequently. The other
Gond gods proper appear to be principally implements and weapons of
the chase, one or two animals, and deified human beings. A number of
Hindu deities have now also been admitted into the Gond pantheon. The
following account of the gods is largely taken from a note written
by Mr. J. A. Tawney. [70] The worship of the Gonds may be summarised
as that of the gods presiding over the village destinies, the crops,
and epidemic disease, the spirits of their forefathers and the weapons
and creatures of the chase. The village gods are generally common
to the Gonds and Hindus. They consist of stones, or mud platforms,
placed at a convenient distance from the village under the shade of
some appropriate tree, and often having a red or white flag, made
of a piece of cloth, tied to the end of a pole to indicate their
position. The principal village gods have been given in the article
on Kurmi. Besides these in Gond villages there is especially Bhimsen,
who is held to be Bhima, one of the five Pandava brothers, and is the
god of strength. Ghor Deo [71] is the horse god, and Holera, who is
represented by a wooden bullock's bell, is the god of cattle. Ghansiam
Deo is a god much worshipped in Mandla. He is said to have been a
prince who was killed by a tiger on his way to his wedding like Dulha
Deo. In northern Bastar the Gonds worship the spirit of a Muhammadan
doctor under the name of Doctor Deo. A Gond of the place where the
doctor died is occasionally possessed by his spirit, and on such
occasions he can talk fluent Urdu. This man's duty is to keep off
cholera, and when the epidemic breaks out he is ordered by the Raja
to drive it away. The local method of averting cholera is to make a
small litter covered with cloth, and in it to place a brass or silver
image of the cholera goddess, Marai Mata. When the goddess is thus
sent from one village to another it is supposed that the epidemic is
similarly transferred. The man possessed by Doctor Deo has the power
of preventing the approach of this litter to villages in Bastar, and
apparently also can drive away the epidemic, though his method of doing
this is not explained. The dealings of the Gonds with the Government
of India are mainly conducted through chuprassies or peons, who come to
collect their revenue, obtain supplies and so on. The peons have in the
past been accustomed to abuse their authority and practise numerous
petty extortions, which is a very easy business with the ignorant
Gonds of the wilder tracts. Regarding the peons as the visible emblem
of authority, the Gonds, like the Oraons, have similarly furnished the
gods with a peon, who is worshipped under the name of Kalha Deo with
offerings of liquor and fowls. Besides this if a tiger makes himself
troublesome a stone is set up in his honour and he receives a small
offering; and if a platform has been erected to the memory of the
founder of the village he is included with the others. The cholera
and smallpox deities are worshipped when an epidemic breaks out. The
worship of the village gods is communal, and in Chhindwara is performed
at the end of the hot weather before seed is sown, houses thatched,
or the new mahua oil eaten by the Gonds. All the villagers subscribe,
and the Bhumka or village priest conducts the rite. If in any year
the community cannot afford a public worship they hang up a little
grass over the god just to intimate that they have not forgotten him,
but that he will have to wait till next year.