Bura Deo, the great god of the Gonds, is sometimes, as seen, a name
for all the gods in the Deo-khulla. But he is usually considered
as a single god, and often consists of a number of brass or iron
balls suspended to a ring and hung on a saj tree. Again, he may
be represented by a few links of a roughly forged iron chain also
hung on the tree, and the divine power of the chain is shown by
the fact that it can move of itself, and occasionally descends to
rest on a stone under the tree or migrates to a neighbouring nullah
(stream). Nowadays in Mandla Bura Deo is found as an iron doll made
by a neighbouring blacksmith instead of a chain. It would appear,
however, that he was originally the saj tree (Boswellia serrata), an
important forest tree growing to a considerable height, which is much
revered by the Gonds. They do not cut this tree, nor its branches,
except for ceremonial purposes, and their most sacred form of oath
is to swear by the name of Bura Deo, holding a branch of the saj tree
above the head. If Bura Deo was first the saj tree, then we may surmise
that when the Gonds discovered iron they held it more sacred than the
tree because it was more important, as the material from which their
axes and spears were made. And therefore Bura Deo became an iron chain
hanging on the saj tree. The axe is a Gond's most valuable implement,
as with it he cut down the forest to clear a space for his shifting
cultivation, and also provided himself with wood for hutting, fuel and
other purposes. The axe and spear were also his weapons of war. Hence
the discovery of iron was an enormous step forward in civilisation,
and this may account for the reverence in which it is held by the
Gonds. The metamorphosis of Bura Deo from an iron chain to an iron
doll may perhaps be considered to mark the arrival of the Gonds at the
stage of religion when anthropomorphic gods are worshipped. Bura Deo
is sometimes represented with Mahadeo or Siva and Parvati, two of the
greatest Hindu deities, in attendance on him on each side. Communal
sacrifices of pigs and also of goats are made to him at intervals
of one or two years; the animals are stretched out on their backs
and killed by driving a stake of saj or tendu [72] wood through
the belly. Sometimes a goat is dedicated to him a year beforehand,
and allowed to wander loose in the village in the name of Bura Deo,
and given good food, and even called by the name of the god. It would
appear that the original sacrificial animal was the pig, and the goat
was afterwards added or substituted. Bura Deo is also worshipped on
special occasions, as when a man has got vermin in a wound, or, as
the people of the country say, when god has remembered him. In this
case the sufferer must pay all the expenses of the ceremony which is
necessary for his purification. The dead are also mingled in Bura Deo,
as described in the section on funeral rites. Bura Deo is believed
to protect the Gonds from wild animals; and if members of a family
meet a tiger, snake or other dangerous animal several times within
a fairly short period, they think that Bura Deo is displeased with
them and have a special sacrifice in his honour. Ordinarily when
the Panda or priest sacrifices an animal he severs its head with an
axe and holds the head over the image or symbol of the god to allow
the blood to drop on it. Before sacrificing a chicken he places some
grain before it and says, 'If I have committed no fault, eat,' and
if the chicken does not eat of itself he usually forces it to pick
a grain. Then he says that the sacrifice is acceptable to the god.