The Hatkar arrange themselves into the Poli, Gnrdi, and Muski clans, all of whom eat with the Kunbi. They burn the dead who die in battle or in the chase, but inter those who die of disease, seating the body cross-legged, with a small piece of gold in its mouth.
Gaoli have been settled from time immemorial along the Satpura range, and once were dominant in the hill country around Baitul.
The Bhil of Berar occupy the eastern slopes of the Gawilgarh range to its western extremity, and stretch far westwards into Kandesh. They belong to the Turvi clan ; all now are Muham madans. Those who live along the outskirts of the Satpura have embraced Muhammadanism. All along ,the Gawilgarh skirts, the Kurku, the Gond, and the Bhil have settled down to agri culture wherever the country has been cleared, and are now honest, peaceful, and inoffensive.
Gharpagari, of the Amraoti district, profess to have power to prevent the fall of hailstones on a field.
Mailghat is a strip of country along the course of the Wardha river, occupied by the Raj Gond races, the Agarmunde, Bhoya, Pardhan or Bard, Ballai, and Nihal ; also by the Mugi, who are fishers and fowlers.
Gond occupy the Mailghat and the southern skirts of its hills, extend in the north-east into Sirguja ; they are found along with the Khand and Urya in Karat and Kalahandi or Kharond ; in the south they form the mass..of the popula tion in Bastar, form part of the population of Jpvnoro. and nerlimr +I,. hill.
of the Godavery about Nirmul, and on the west are intermingled with other inhabitants of Berar for 30 miles from the right bank of the Wardha. Gond' is spoken lay 1,079,565 of people :— ltengal, . . . 1,294 I Ilydembad, . . 38,224 Ducar, . . . . 72,344 N.W. Provinces, . . 201 Central Provinces, 967,502 /hulk along with the Gond, the Korku, and the Kobanb, inhabit the Mailghat and the southern skirts of the hills. These four tribes each speak a separate language, but resemble each other in their physical appearance, and all have features quite distinct from the inhabitants of the villages. They reside also in the Milker, Amraoti, and Wint districts, but in that last mentioned are a wild and uncivilised race. Andh are also called Pardhan, and are said to be helot Gond, but they are cultivators. They eat meat, but not the flesh of animals which have died of disease.
Bonjara have the three sections, Charan, La bhana, and Matturialt. They eat together, but do
not intermarry. Their war and love songs and their language are in a form of Hindi. They are illiterate.
Kaikari of the Maltratta country and Berar and Central Provinces are supposed to be the same as the Korcha of Bellary, the Korawa of N. Arcot, the Koragar of the Carrara jungles, and the Yer kuitla of all skilful thieves. They have 1272 divisions.
Kaikari, in Berar, are a migratory and preda tory race, ostensibly basket-makers, the midrib of the fronds of palms, also cotton stalks. In 1867 an effort in Berar was made to compel them to settle, but they preferred expatriation.
The Kolam extend along the Kandi Konda or Pindi Hills, on the south of the Wardha river, and along the table-land stretching east and north of Manikghar, and thence south to Dantanpalli, running parallel to the right bank of the Pranhita. They eat with the other Gond, but do not inter marry.
The twelve Gond clans are—Padal, also called Pathudi ; Pardhan, Raj Pardhan or Desa ; Dholi ; Ojhyal ; Thotyal ; Koilabhutal ; Madya, called Jhodia in Bastar ; Kolam ; Badiya Hullwa ; Gaiti Gond ; Morin Gond ; Knr or Munsi.
They are also said to arrange themselves into 13 sections, viz.— Manes. Kahilwar. Jaduwan. Khatulia.
Gowiu-i. Thotli. Kohalin. Thakur.
Raj Gond. Pardhan. Andh. Buchadi.
Dalwe.
The Madya are savages on the Beila Dila Hills and in the remoter parts of Chanda ; the sole covering of the women is a bunch of leaf twigs in front and behind, kept in position by a string round the waist.
The men and women of the Gond never asso ciate at work, but labour apart. A Gond desirous of having a wife, and having resolved on a par ticular girl, takes with him a band of his comrades to the field where the women are at work, and he suddenly, alone, runs towards and attempts to capture her. His comrades will not, however, aid him to carry off the girl unless he succeed in touching her hand before she reach the village shelter. By touching the girl's hand, the marriage contract is sealed and cannot be broken ; never theless the women often fight every inch of the ground, inflict the most serious hurt and some times shameful defeats, continuing the contest oven after the bridegroom has touched the bride's hand, and if the village skirts bo reached, the men turn out to aid the women, and pursue the attacking party back to their own village.