In Mandla the Gonds still perform, or did till recently, various
magical or religious rites to obtain success in fishing and
hunting. The men of a village were accustomed to go out fishing
as a communal act. They arrived at the river before sunrise, and
at midday their women brought them pej or gruel. On returning the
women made a mound or platform before the house of the principal
man of the party. All the fish caught were afterwards laid on this
platform and the leader then divided them, leaving one piece on the
platform. Next morning this piece was taken away and placed on the
grave of the leader's ancestor. If no fish were caught on the first
day, then on the next day the women took the men no food. And if they
caught no fish for two or three days running, they went and dug up
the platform erected in front of the leader's house and levelled it
with the ground. Then the next morning early all the people of the
village went to another village and danced the Sela dance before the
tombs of the ancestors of that village. Sometimes they went on to a
third village and did the same. The headman of the village visited
levied a contribution from his people, and gave them food and drink
and a present of Rs. 1-4. With this they bought liquor, and coming
back to their own village, offered it in front of the platform which
they had levelled, and drank it. Next morning they went fishing
again, but said that they did not care whether they caught anything
or not, as they had pleased their god. Next year all the people of
the village they had visited would come and dance the Sela dance at
their village the whole day, and the hosts had to give the visitors
food and drink. This was said to be from gratitude to the headman
of the other village for placating their god with an offering of
Rs. 1-4. And the visit might even be repeated annually so long as the
headman of the other village was alive. Apparently in this elaborate
ritual the platform especially represented the forefathers of the
village, whose spirits were supposed to give success in fishing. If the
fishers were unsuccessful, they demolished the platform to show their
displeasure to the spirits, and went and danced before the ancestors
of another village to intimate the transfer of their allegiance from
their own ancestors to these latter. The ancestors would thus feel
themselves properly snubbed and discarded for their ill-nature in not
giving success to the fishing party. But when they had been in this
condition for a day or so the headman of the other village sent them
an offering of liquor, and it was thus intimated to them that, though
their own descendants had temporarily transferred their devotion,
they were not entirely abandoned. It would be hoped that the ancestors
would lay the lesson to heart, and, placated by the liquor, be more
careful in future of the welfare of their descendants. The season for
fishing was in Kunwar and Kartik, and it sometimes extended into Aghan
(September to November). During these months, from the time the new
kodon was cut at the beginning of the period, they danced the Sela,
and they did not dance this dance at any other time of the year. [74]
At other seasons they would dance the Karma. The Sela dance is danced
by men alone; they have sticks and form two circles, and walk in and
out in opposite directions, beating their sticks together as they
pass. Sometimes other men sit on the shoulders of the dancers and
beat their sticks. Sela is said to be the name of the stick. In the
Sela dance the singing is in the form of Dadaria, that is, one party
recites a line and the other party replies; this is not done in the
Karma dance, for which they have regular songs. It seems possible that
the Sela dance was originally a mimic combat, danced before they went
out to fight in order to give them success in the battle. Subsequently
it might be danced before they went out hunting and fishing with the
same object. If there was no stream to which they could go fishing
they would buy some fish and offer it to the god, and have a holiday
and eat it, or if they could not go fishing they might go hunting in
a party instead. When a single Gond intends to go out hunting in the
forest he first lights a lamp before his household god in the house,
or if he has no oil he will kindle a fire, and the lamp or fire must
be kept burning all the time he is out. If he returns successful he
offers a chicken to the god and extinguishes the lamp. But if he is
unsuccessful he keeps the lamp burning all night, and goes out again
early next morning. If he gets more game this time he will offer the
chicken, but if not he will extinguish the lamp, put his gun outside
and not touch it again for eight days. A Gond never takes food in the
morning before going out hunting, but goes out in a fasting condition
perhaps in order that the god, seeing his hunger, may send him some
game to eat. Nor will a Gond visit his wife the night before he goes
out hunting. When a Baiga goes out hunting he bangs his liquor-gourd
on the ground before his household god and vows that, if successful,
he will offer to the god the gourd full of liquor and a chicken. But
if he returns empty-handed, instead of doing this he fills the gourd
with earth and throws it over the god to show his wrath. Then if
he is successful on the next day, he will scrape off the earth and
offer the liquor and chicken as promised. A Baiga should worship his
god and go out hunting at the new moon, and then he will hunt the
whole month. But if he has not worshipped his god at the new moon,
and still goes out hunting and is unsuccessful, he will hunt no more
that month. Some Gonds before they go hunting draw an image of Mahabir
or Hanuman, the monkey god and the god of strength, on their guns,
and rub it out when they get home again.