During Bhadon (August), in the rains, the Gonds bring a branch of the
kalmi or of the haldu tree from the forest and wrap it up in new cloth
and keep it in their houses. They have a feast and the musicians play,
and men and women dance round the branch singing songs, of which the
theme is often sexual. The dance is called Karma and is the principal
dance of the Gonds, and they repeat it at intervals all through the
cold weather, considering it as their great amusement. A further
notice of it is given in the section on social customs. The dance
is apparently named after the tree, though it is not known whether
the same tree is always selected. Many deciduous trees in India shed
their leaves in the hot weather and renew them in the rains, so that
this season is partly one of the renewal of vegetation as well as of
the growth of crops.
In Kunwar (September) the Gond girls take an earthen pot, pierce
it with holes, and put a lamp inside and also the image of a dove,
and go round from house to house singing and dancing, led by a girl
carrying the pot on her head. They collect contributions and have a
feast. In Chhattisgarh among the Gonds and Rawats (Ahirs) there is
from time to time a kind of feminist movement, which is called the
Stiria-Raj or kingdom of women. The women pretend to be soldiers,
seize all the weapons, axes and spears that they can get hold of, and
march in a body from village to village. At each village they kill
a goat and send its head to another village, and then the women of
that village come and join them. During this time they leave their
hair unbound and think that they are establishing the kingdom of
women. After some months the movement subsides, and it is said to
occur at irregular intervals with a number of years between each. The
women are commonly considered to be out of their senses.
(g) Appearance and Character, and Social Rules and Customs