Mr. Wilson quotes [78] an account, written by Lieutenant Prendergast
in 1820, in which he states that he had discovered a tribe of Gonds
who were cannibals, but ate only their own relations. The account
was as follows: "In May 1820 I visited the hills of Amarkantak, and
having heard that a particular tribe of Gonds who lived in the hills
were cannibals, I made the most particular inquiries assisted by my
clerk Mohan Singh, an intelligent and well-informed Kayasth. We learned
after much trouble that there was a tribe of Gonds who resided in the
hills of Amarkantak and to the south-east in the Gondwana country,
who held very little intercourse with the villagers and never went
among them except to barter or purchase provisions. This race live in
detached parties and seldom have more than eight or ten huts in one
place. They are cannibals in the real sense of the word, but never eat
the flesh of any person not belonging to their own family or tribe;
nor do they do this except on particular occasions. It is the custom of
this singular people to cut the throat of any person of their family
who is attacked by severe illness and who they think has no chance of
recovering, when they collect the whole of their relations and friends,
and feast upon the body. In like manner when a person arrives at a
great age and becomes feeble and weak, the Halalkhor operates upon him,
when the different members of the family assemble for the same purpose
as above stated. In other respects this is a simple race of people,
nor do they consider cutting the throats of their sick relations or
aged parents any sin; but on the contrary an act acceptable to Kali,
a blessing to their relatives, and a mercy to their whole race."
It may be noted that the account is based on hearsay only, and such
stories are often circulated about savage races. But if correct,
it would indicate probably only a ritual form of cannibalism. The
idea of the Gonds in eating the bodies of their relatives would be to
assimilate the lives of these as it were, and cause them to be reborn
as children in their own families. Possibly they ate the bodies of
their parents, as many races ate the bodies of animal gods, in order
to obtain their divine virtues and qualities. No corroboration of this
custom is known in respect of the Gonds, but Colonel Dalton records
[79] a somewhat similar story of the small Birhor tribe who live in
the Chota Nagpur hills not far from Amarkantak, and it has been seen
that the Bhunjias of Bilaspur eat small portions of the bodies of
their dead relatives. [80]