Home> Archive> 2016> Volume 6 Number 4 (Apr. 2016)
IJSSH 2016 Vol.6(4): 288-292 ISSN: 2010-3646
DOI: 10.7763/IJSSH.2016.V6.659

Socio-Cultural History of the Gond Tribes of Middle India

Shamrao Koreti

Abstract—This Paper highlights the socio-cultural History of the Gonds of Middle India (Gondwana) since 17th to mid 20th century. The four major Gond kingdoms which ruled over Middle India were i.e. Garha Mandla (1300 AD. to 1789AD), Deogarh (1590 AD to 1796AD), Chanda (1200 AD to 1751 AD) and Kherla (1500 AD to 1600 AD). The Garha-Mandla Kingdom in the north extended control over present Chhattisgarh & Madhya Pradesh. The Deogarh-Nagpur kingdom dominated over Nagpur plains. While Chanda-Sirpur covered parts of old Chandrapur & Bhandara District. Kherla lies in Satpura terrains. They maintained a relatively independent existence until the middle of the eighteenth century. The Gonds were the major tribes in Middle India. Gonds were subdivided into Raj-Gonds, Khatola-Gonds, Madia Gonds, Dhur Gonds, Dadve Gonds, Mokasi Gonds, Gaita Gonds, and Koyas etc. The ruling class among the Gonds was known as Raj Gonds. The Raj Gonds were the direct descendants of those dynasties which ruled over Middle India. The above mentioned kingdoms developed their social, religious, and cultural history during those long years. Each of these Gond Raja kingdoms separately passed through three successive stages: the first one of comparatively peaceful expansion and consolidation; the second of contact with Mughal emperors or their subordinates and nominal allegiance to the Mughal Empire; and the third of internal dynastic struggles which eventually resulted in Maratha intervention. This intervention defiles the ethnic and cultural identity of the Gonds in middle India. With the advent of new rulers and changed circumstances the Gond rulers could not hold the kingdoms, but socio-cultural history remains unchanged till the date.

Index Terms—Animism, Gondwana, Gotul institution, Raj-Gonds

Shamrao Koreti is with the Post Graduate Teaching Department of History, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur Maharashtra, India (e-mail: shyamkoreti@gmail.com).

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Cite: Shamrao Koreti, " Socio-Cultural History of the Gond Tribes of Middle India," International Journal of Social Science and Humanity vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 288-292, 2016.

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