The following example of a Kondh oath is given by Mr. J. A. R. Stevenson. “The subject of the circumstance is first repeated by the swearing party, and a basket containing the following things is held before him:—

He proceeds with his oath, touching each object in the basket at that part of the oath which refers to that object. ‘Oh! father (god), I swear, and, if I swear falsely, then, Oh! father, may I become shrivelled and dry like a blood-sucker, and thus die. May I be killed by a tiger. May I crumble to dust like this white-ant’s hill. May I be blown about like this feather. May I be extinguished like this lamp.’ In saying the last words, he puts a few grains of rice in his mouth, and blows out the lamp, and the basket with its contents is made to touch the top of his head.”

In 1904, a case illustrating the prevailing belief in witchcraft occurred in the Vizagapatam hill tracts. The youngest of three brothers died of fever, and, when the body was cremated, the fire failed to consume the upper portion. The brothers concluded that death must have been caused by the witchcraft of a certain Kondh. They accordingly attacked him, and killed him. After death, the brothers cut the body in half, and dragged the upper half to their own village, where they attempted to nail it up on the spot where their deceased brother’s body failed to burn. The accused were arrested on the spot, with the fragment of the Kondh’s corpse. They were sentenced to death, and the sentence was confirmed by the High Court.[180]

In 1906, a Kondh, suspecting a Pāno girl of having stolen some cloths and a silver ornament from him, went to the dhengada house in Sollagodo, where the girl slept with other unmarried girls, and took her to his village, where he confined her in his house. On the following day, he took her to an Oriya trader, who thrashed her, in order to make her confess to the theft. Subsequently, some of the villagers collected to see her undergo the ordeal of boiling water. A pot nearly full of water was boiled, some cow-dung and sacred rice added, and a rupee placed in the pot. The girl was ordered to take out the rupee. This she did three times, but, on the fourth occasion, the water scalded her hand and forearm. She was then ordered to pay as a fine her ear-ring, which was worth one rupee. This she did, as it was the custom for an unsuccessful person to hand over some property. Her right hand was practically destroyed as the result of the scalding. An elderly Pātro (headman) deposed that the ordinary practice in trials of this sort is to place two pots of water, one boiling and the other cold. In the boiling water a rupee and some rice are placed, and the suspected person has to take out the rupee once, and should then dip his hand in the cold water. If the hand is then scalded, the person is considered guilty, and has to pay a fine to the caste.

In trial by immersion in water, the disputants dive into a pool, and he who can keep under water the longest is considered to be in the right. On one occasion, some years ago, when two villages were disputing the right of possession of a certain piece of land, the Magistrate resorted to a novel method to settle the dispute. He instituted a tug-of-water between an equal number of representatives of the contending parties. The side which won took possession of the disputed property, to the satisfaction of all.[181]

In connection with sacred rice, which has been referred to above, reference may be made to the custom of Mahaprasād Songatho. “It is prevalent among the Khonds and other hill tribes of Ganjam and Orissa, and is found among the Oriyas. Sangatho means union or friendship. Mahaprasād Songatho is friendship sworn by mahaprasād, i.e., cooked rice consecrated to god Jagannath of Puri. The remains of the offering are dried and preserved. All pilgrims visiting Puri invariably get a quantity of this mahaprasād, and freely distribute it to those who ask for it. It is regarded as a sacred thing, endowed with supreme powers of forgiving the sins and wrongs of men by mere touch. It is not only holy itself, but also sanctifies everything done in its presence. It is believed that one dare not commit a foul deed, utter a falsehood, or even entertain an evil thought, when it is held in the hands. On account of such beliefs, witnesses in law suits (especially Oriyas) are asked to swear by it when giving evidence. Mahaprasād Songatho is sworn friendship between two individuals of the same sex. Instances are on record of friendship contracted between a wealthy and cultured townsman and a poor village rustic, or between a Brāhmin woman of high family and a Sūdra servant. Songatho is solemnised with some ceremonies. On an auspicious day fixed for the purpose, the parties to the Songatho, with their relatives, friends and well-wishers, go to a temple in procession to the festive music of flutes and drum. There, in that consecrated place, the would-be friends take a solemn oath, with the god before them, mahaprasād in their hands, and the assemblage to witness that they will be lifelong friends, in spite of any changes that might come over them or their families. The ceremony closing, there will be dinners, gifts and presents on both sides, and the day is all mirth and merriment. Thus bound by inseparable ties of friendship, they live to the end of their lives on terms of extreme intimacy and affection. They seize every opportunity of meeting, and living in each other’s company. They allow no festival to pass without an exchange of new cloths, and other valuable presents. No important ceremony is gone through in any one’s house without the other being invited. Throughout the year, they will send each other the various fruits and vegetables in their respective seasons. If one dies, his or her family does not consider the bond as having been snapped, but continues to look upon the other more or less in the same manner as did the deceased. The survivor, if in need of help, is sure to receive assistance and sympathy from the family of the deceased friend. This is how the institution is maintained by the less civilised Oriyas of the rural parts. The romance of the Songatho increases with the barbarity of the tribe. The Khonds, and other hill tribes, furnish us with an example of Songatho, which retains all its primitive simplicity. Among them, Songatho is ideal friendship, and examples of Damon and Pythias are not rare. A Khond has been known to ruin himself for the sake of his friend. He willingly sacrifices all that he has, and even his life, to protect the interests of his friend. The friends have nothing but affection for each other.”[182]

It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district, that “the Khonds steal cattle, especially those belonging to Brinjāri gangs, in an open manner, for the sake of their flesh. In 1898, at Veppiguda near Gudāri a party of them attacked four constables who were patrolling the country to check these thefts, thrashed them, and carried off all their property and uniforms. Efforts to arrest these men resulted in the inhabitants of their village fleeing to the hills, and, for a time, it looked as if there was danger of others joining them, and of the Khonds going out. In 1882, the Khonds of Kālahandi State rose against the Uriyas, and murdered some hundreds of them. Luckily the invitation to join them, conveyed by the circulation of the head, fingers, hair, etc., of an early victim, was not accepted by the Khonds of this district.” The news of the rising was conveyed to Mr. H. G. Prendergast, Assistant Superintendent of Police, by a Domb disguised as a fakir, who carried the report concealed in his languti (cloth). He was rewarded with a silver bangle. At a meeting held at the village of Balwarpur, it was decided that the Kultas should all be killed and swept out of the country. As a sign of this, the Kondhs carried brooms about. At Asurgarh the police found four headless corpses, and learnt from the widows all that they had to say about the atrocities. The murders had been committed in the most brutal way. All the victims were scalped while still alive, and one had an arm and a leg cut off before being scalped. As each victim died, his death was announced by three taps on a drum given slowly, followed by shouting and dancing. The unfortunate men were dragged out of their houses, and killed before their women and children. Neither here nor anywhere else were the women outraged, though they were threatened with death to make them give up buried treasure. One woman was in this way made to dig up a thousand rupees. On a tamarind tree near the village of Billat, affixed to it as a trophy, there was the scalped head of a Kulta, hacked about in the most horrible way.[183]

The fact is noted by Mr. Jayaram Moodaliar that the Kondh system of notation is duodecimal. Thirteen is twelve and one, forty three twelves and four, and so forth.

Kondh Bibliography.