Gond

Member of a heterogenous people of central India, about half of whom speak unwritten languages belonging to the Dravidian family. The rest speak Indo-European languages such as Hindi. There are over 4 million Gonds, most of whom live in Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra, and northern Andra Pradesh, although some live in Orissa. Traditionally, the Gonds practised shifting cultivation; cereal farming and cattle remain the basis of the economy.

The upper classes intermarried freely with their Hindu neighbours and Gondi beliefs now embrace Hinduism as well as a range of more ancient gods and spirits. The Gondi do not have castes, although a limited number of clans coexist within a defined set of social and ritual relationships.

They ruled a large portion of the area, Gondwana, from the 15th to the mid-18th century, when the Marathas expanded from the west. The dynasties of one group, the Raj Gonds, rivalled those of neighbouring Hindus until the Muslim conquests of the 16th century.