In the course of a lament over the change which has come over the Kondhs who live in the range of hills near Berhampore, Mr. S. P. Rice writes as follows.[158] “Here they live in seclusion and in freedom, but also in the lowest depths of squalor and poverty. Once they loved gay colours. True Khond dresses, both male and female, are full of stripes and patterns, in blue, yellow, and red. Where has gone the love of colour? Instead of the long waistcloth ending in tails of blue and red, the man binds about him a wretched rag that can hardly be called a garment. Once the women took a delight in decking themselves with flowers, and a pride in the silver ornaments that jangled on their naked breasts. Where are now the grasses that adorned them, and the innocence that allowed them to go clothed only to the waist? Gone! withered by the blast of the breath of a ‘superior civilization.’ Gone are the hairpins of sāmbur bone—an inestimable treasure in the eyes of the true hill Khond. Gone are the floral decorations, and the fantastic head-dresses, which are the pride of the mountain tribes. In dull, unromantic squalor our Khond lives, moves, and has his being; arid, ever as he moves, is heard the clanking upon his wrists of the fetters of his debt. Yet for all that he is happy.” The hairpins referred to above are made from sāmbur (deer: Cervus unicolor) bones, and stuck in the hair of male Kondhs. Porcupine quills are sometimes used by them as hairpins.
The following brief, but interesting summary of the Kondhs of Ganjam is given by Mr. C. F. MacCartie.[159] “The staple food of the Oriyas is rice, and of the Khond also during the two or three months that succeed the harvest. In February, they gather the crop of hill dholl, which, eked out with dry mohwa (Bassia) fruit, fresh mangoes, and mango stones ground to a sort of flour, pull them through the hot weather, with the help of various yams and edible roots that are plentiful in the jungles. When the south-west monsoon sets in, dry crops, consisting of millets, hill paddy, and Indian corn, are sown, which ripen from August on, and thus afford plentiful means of subsistence. The hot weather is generally called the sukki kalo, or hungry season, as the people are rather pinched just then. Turmeric is perhaps the most valuable crop which the Khonds raise, as it is the most laborious, in consequence of the time it takes to mature—two full years, and the constant field-work thus entailed, first in sheltering the young plants from the sun by artificial shade, and afterwards in digging, boiling, and burnishing the root for market. Tobacco is raised much as in the low country. It is generally grown in back-yards, as elsewhere, and a good deal of care is devoted to its cultivation, as the Khonds are inveterate smokers. Among the products of the jungles may be included myrabolams (Terminalia fruits), tassar silk, cocoons, and dammar, all of which are bartered by the finders to trading Pānos in small quantities, generally for salt. [Honey and wax are said to be collected by the Kondhs and Benias, who are expert climbers of precipitous rocks and lofty trees. The Kondhs recognise four different kinds of bees, known by the following Oriya names:—(a) bhaga mohu, a large-sized bee (Apis dorsata); (b) sattapuri mohu, building its comb in seven layers (Apis indica); (c) binchina mohu, with a comb like a fan; (d) nikiti mohu, a very small bee.][160] Wet paddy is, of course, grown in the valleys and low-lying bottoms, where water is available, and much ingenuity is exercised in the formation of bunds (embankments) to retain the natural supply of moisture. The Khond has a dead eye for a natural level; it is surprising how speedily a seemingly impracticable tract of jungle will be converted into paddy fields by a laborious process of levelling by means of a flat board attached to a pair of buffaloes. The chief feature of the dry cultivation is the destructive practice of kumeri. A strip of forest, primeval, if possible, as being more fertile, is burnt, cultivated, and then deserted for a term of years, which may vary from three to thirty, according to the density or otherwise of the population. The Kutiah Khonds are the chief offenders in respect of kumeri, to which they confine themselves, as they have no ploughs or agricultural cattle. In the rare instances when they grow a little rice, the fields are prepared by manual and pedal labour, as men, women, and children, assemble in the field, and puddle the mud and water until it assumes the desired consistency for the reception of the seed.
“The hair is worn long during childhood, but tied into a club when maturity is reached, and turbans are seldom worn. A narrow cloth is bound round the loins, with Tartan ends which hang down in front and behind, and a coarse long-cloth is wrapped round the figure when the weather is cold. The war dress of the Khonds is elaborate, and consists of a leather cuirass in front, and a flowing red cloak, which, with an arrangement of ‘bison’ horns and peacock’s feathers, is supposed to strike awe into the beholder’s mind. Khond women wear a red or parti-coloured skirt reaching the knee, the neck and bosom being left bare. Pāno females generally wear an upper cloth. All tattoo their faces. [Tattooing is said to be performed, concurrently with ear-boring, when girls are about ten years old. The tattoo marks are said to represent the implement used in tilling the soil for cultivation, moustache, beard, etc.] Ornaments of beads and brass bangles are worn, but the usage of diverse muttas (settlements) varies very much. In some parts of the Goomsur Māliahs, the use of glass and brass beads is confined to married women, virgins being restricted to decorations composed of plaited grass. Matrons wear ten or twelve ear-rings of different patterns, but, in many parts, young girls substitute pieces of broom, which are worn till the wedding day, and then discarded for brazen rings. Anklets are indispensable in the dance on account of the jingling noise they make, and gold or silver noserings are very commonly worn. [The Kondh of the Ganjam Māliahs has been described as follows.[161] “He centres his great love of decoration in his hair. This he tends, combs and oils, with infinite care, and twists into a large loose knot, which is caught with curiously shaped pins of sambur bone, gaily coloured combs and bronze hairpins with curiously ornamented designs, and it is then gracefully pinned over the left eyebrow. This knot he decorates according to his fancy with the blue feathers of the jay (Indian roller, Coracias indica), or the white feathers of the crane and stork, or the feathers of the more gorgeous peacock. Two feathers generally wave in front, while many more float behind. This knot, in the simple economy of his life, also does duty as a pocket or pincushion, for into it he stuffs his knife, his half-smoked cigarette of home-grown tobacco rolled in a sāl (Shorea robusta) leaf, or even his snuff wrapped in another leaf pinned together with a thorn. Round his waist he wraps a white cloth, bordered with a curious design in blue and red, of excellent home manufacture, and over his shoulder is borne his almost inseparable companion, the tanghi, of many curious shapes, consisting of an iron blade with a long wooden handle ornamented with brass wire. In certain places, he very frequently carries a bow and arrows, the former made of bent bamboo, the string of a long strip of bark, and the handle ornamented with stripes of the white quills of the peacock.]
“The Khonds are very keen in the pursuit of game, for which the hot weather is the appointed time, and, during this period, a sambar or ‘bison’ has but little chance of escape if once wounded by an arrow, as they stick to the trail like sleuth hounds, and appear insensible to distance or fatigue. The arms they carry are the bow, arrows, and tangi, a species of light battle-axe that inflicts a serious wound. The women are not addicted to drink, but the males are universally attached to liquor, especially during the hot weather, when the sago palm (solopo: Caryota urens) is in full flow. They often run up sheds in the jungle, near especially good trees, and drink for days together. A great many deaths occur at this season by falls from trees when tapping the liquor. Feasts and sacrifices are occasions for drinking to excess, and the latter especially are often scenes of wild intoxication, the liquor used being either mohwa, or a species of strong beer brewed from rice or koeri. Khond women, when once married, appear to keep pretty straight, but there is a good deal of quiet immorality among the young men and girls, especially during the commencement of the hot weather, when parties are made up for fishing or the collection of mohwa fruit and other jungle berries. At the same time, a certain sense of shame exists, as instances are not at all uncommon of double suicide, when a pair of too ardent lovers are blown upon, and their liaison is discovered.
“The generality of Khond and Pâno houses are constructed of broad sâl logs hewn out with the axe, and thatched with jungle grass, which is impervious to white-ants. In bamboo jungles, bamboo is substituted for sâl. The Khond houses are substantially built but very low, the pitch of the roof never exceeding 8 feet, and the eaves being only about 4 feet from the ground, the object being to ensure resistance to the violent storms that prevail during the monsoons.
“Intermarriage between Khonds, Pânos, and Uriyas is not recognised, but cases do occur when a Pâno induces a Khond woman to go off with him. She may live with him as his wife, but no ceremony takes place. If a Pâno commits adultery with a Khond married woman, he has to pay a paronjo, or a fine of a buffalo, to the husband who retains his wife, and in addition a goat, a pig, a basket of paddy, a rupee, and a cavady (shoulder-pole) load of pots. If the adulterer is a Khond, he gets off with payment of the buffalo, which is slaughtered for the entertainment of the village. The husband retains his wife in this case, as also if he finds her pregnant when first she comes to him; this is not an uncommon incident. Divorce of the wife on the husband’s part is thus very rare, if it occurs at all, but cases are not unknown where the wife divorces her husband, and adopts a fresh alliance. When this takes place, her father has to return the whole of the gifts known as gontis, which the bridegroom paid for his wife when the marriage was originally arranged.”
In a note on the tribes of the Agency tracts of the Vizagapatam district, Mr. W. Francis writes as follows.[162] “Of these, by far the most numerous are the Khonds, who are about 150,000 strong. An overwhelming majority of this number, however, are not the wild barbarous Khonds regarding whom there is such a considerable literature, and who are so prominent in Ganjam, but a series of communities descended from them, which exhibit infinite degrees of difference from their more interesting progenitors, according to the grade of civilisation to which they have attained. The only really primitive Khonds in Vizagapatam are the Dongria (jungle) Khonds of the north of Bissamkatak tāluk, the Dēsya Khonds who live just south-west of them in and around the Nimgiris, and the Kuttiya (hill) Khonds of the hills in the north-east of the Gunupur tāluk. The Kuttiya Khond men wear ample necklets of white beads and prominent brass earrings, but otherwise they dress like any other hill people. Their women, however, have a distinctive garb, putting on a kind of turban on state occasions, wearing nothing above the waist except masses of white bead necklaces which almost cover their breasts, and carrying a series of heavy brass bracelets half way up their forearms. The dhangadi basa system (separate hut for unmarried girls to sleep in) prevails among them in its simplest form, and girls have opportunities for the most intimate acquaintance before they need inform their parents they wish to marry. Special ceremonies are practiced to prevent the spirits of the dead (especially of those killed by tigers) from returning to molest the living. Except totemistic septs, they have apparently no sub-divisions.[163] The dress of the civilised Khonds of both sexes is ordinary and uninteresting. These civilised Khonds worship all degrees of deities, from their own tribal Jākara down to the orthodox Hindu gods; follow every gradation of marriage and funeral customs from those of their primitive forefathers to those of the low-country Telugu; speak dialects which range from good Khond through bastard patois down to corrupt Telugu; and allow their totemistic septs to be degraded down to, or divided into, the intipērulu of the plains.”
There is a tradition that, in olden days, four Kondhs, named Kasi, Mendora, Bolti, and Bolo, with eyes the size of brass pots, teeth like axe-heads, and ears like elephant’s ears, brought their ancestor Mandia Pātro from Jorasingi in Boad, and gave him and his children authority all over the country now comprised in Mahasingi, and in Kurtilli Barakhumma, Bodogodo, Balliguda, and Pussangia, on condition of settling their disputes, and aiding them in their rights. The following legendary account of the origin of the Kondhs is given by Mr. A. B. Jayaram Moodaliar. Once upon a time, the ground was all wet, and there were only two females on the earth, named Karaboodi and Tharthaboodi, each of whom was blessed with a single male child. The names of the children were Kasarodi and Singarodi. All these individuals sprang from the interior of the earth, together with two small plants called nangakoocha and badokoocha, on which they depended for subsistence. One day, when Karaboodi was cutting these plants for cooking, she accidentally cut the little finger of her left hand, and the blood dropped on the ground. Instantly, the wet soft earth on which it fell became dry and hard. The woman then cooked the food, and gave some of it to her son, who asked her why it tasted so much sweeter than usual. She replied that she might have a dream that night, and, if so, would let him know. Next morning, the woman told him that, if he would act on her advice, he would prosper in this world, that he was not to think of her as his mother, and was to cut away the flesh of her back, dig several holes in the ground, bury the flesh, and cover the holes with stones. This her son did, and the rest of the body was cremated. The wet soil dried up and became hard, and all kinds of animals and trees came into existence. A partridge scratched the ground with its feet, and rāgi (millet), maize, dhāl (pea), and rice sprung forth from it. The two brothers argued that, as the sacrifice of their mother brought forth such abundance, they must sacrifice their brothers, sisters, and others, once a year in future.A god, by name Boora Panoo, came, with his wife and children, to Tharthaboodi and the two young men, to whom Boora Panoo’s daughters were married. They begat children, who were divided equally between Boora Panoo the grandfather and their fathers. Tharthaboodi objected to this division on the grounds that Boora Panoo’s son would stand in the relation of Mamoo to the children of Kasarodi and Singarodi; that, if the child was a female, when she got married, she would have to give a rupee to her Mamoo; and that, if it was a male that Boora Panoo’s daughter brought forth, the boy when he grew up would have to give the head of any animal he shot to Mamoo (Boora Panoo’s son). Then Boora Panoo built a house, and Kasarodi and Singarodi built two houses. All lived happily for two years. Then Karaboodi appeared in a dream, and told Kasarodi and Singarodi that, if they offered another human victim, their lands would be very fertile, and their cattle could flourish. In the absence of a suitable being, they sacrificed a monkey. Then Karaboodi appeared once more, and said that she was not pleased with the substitution of the monkey, and that a human being must be sacrificed. The two men, with their eight children, sought for a victim for twelve years. At the end of that time, they found a poor man, who had a son four years old, and found him, his wife and child good food, clothing, and shelter for a year. They then asked permission to sacrifice the son in return for their kindness, and the father gave his assent. The boy was fettered and handcuffed to prevent his running away, and taken good care of. Liquor was prepared from grains, and a bamboo, with a flag hoisted on it, planted in the ground. Next day, a pig was sacrificed near this post, and a feast was held. It was proclaimed that the boy would be tied to a post on the following day, and sacrificed on the third day. On the night previous to the sacrifice, the Janni (priest) took a reed, and poked it into the ground in several places. When it entered to a depth of about eight inches, it was believed that the god and goddess Tadapanoo and Dasapanoo were there. Round this spot, seven pieces of wood were arranged lengthways and crossways, and an egg was placed in the centre of the structure. The Khonds arrived from the various villages, and indulged in drink. The boy was teased, and told that he had been sold to them, that his sorrow would affect his parents only, and that he was to be sacrificed for the prosperity of the people. He was conducted to the spot where the god and goddess had been found, tied with ropes, and held fast by the Khonds. He was made to lie on his stomach on the wooden structure, and held there. Pieces of flesh were removed from his back, arms and legs, and portions thereof buried at the Khond’s place of worship. Portions were also set up near a well of drinking water, and placed around the villages. The remainder of the sacrificed corpse was cremated on a pyre set alight with fire produced by the friction of two pieces of wood. On the following day, a buffalo was sacrificed, and a feast partaken of. Next day, the bamboo post was removed outside the village, and a fowl and eggs were offered to the deity. The following stanza is still recited by the Janni at the buffalo sacrifice, which has been substituted for that of a human victim:—Oh! come, male slave; come, female slave. What do you say? What do you call out for? You have been brought, ensnared by the Haddi. You have been called, ensnared by the Domba. What can I do, even if you are my child? You are sold for a pot of food.
The ethnological section of the Madras Museum received a few years ago a very interesting relic in the shape of a human (Meriah) sacrifice post from Baligudu in Ganjam. This post, which was fast being reduced to a mere shell by white-ants, is, I believe, the only one now in existence. It was brought by Colonel Pickance, who was Assistant Superintendent of Police, and set up in the ground near the gate of the reserve Police barracks. The veteran members of a party of Kondhs, who were brought to Madras for the purpose of performing before the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1906, became wildly excited when they came across this relic of their former barbarous custom.
“The best known case,” Mr. Frazer writes,[164] “of human sacrifices systematically offered to ensure good crops is supplied by the Khonds or Kandhs. Our knowledge of them is derived from the accounts written by British officers, who, forty or fifty years ago, were engaged in putting them down. The sacrifices were offered to the earth goddess, Tari Pennu or Bera Pennu, and were believed to ensure good crops, and immunity from all diseases and accidents. In particular, they were considered necessary in the cultivation of turmeric, the Khonds arguing that the turmeric could not have a deep red colour without the shedding of blood. The victim, a Meriah, was acceptable to the goddess only if he had been purchased, or had been born a victim, that is the son of a victim father, or had been devoted as a child by his father or guardian.”