Aspects of Gond Astronomy

TL;DR

This paper explores the Gond community's unique astronomical traditions, mythology, genetics, and script, highlighting their distinct worldview and providing insights into their ancient and isolated cultural heritage across several Indian states.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive survey of Gond astronomical beliefs and traditions, revealing their unique perspectives and contributing to understanding India's diverse cultural history.

Findings

Gond astronomy differs significantly from mainstream Indian astronomy.

The community's mythology and traditions reflect ancient and isolated cultural development.

Distinct views of the sky are documented across multiple Gond villages.

Abstract

The Gond community is considered to be one of the most ancient tribes of India with a continuing history of several thousand years. They are also known for their largely isolated history which they have retained through the millennia. Several of their intellectual traditions therefore are a record of parallel aspects of human intellectual growth, and still preserve their original flavour and have not been homogenised by the later traditions of India. In view of this, the Gonds provide a special window to the different currents that constitute contemporary India. In the present study, we summarise their mythology, genetics and script. We then investigate their astronomical traditions and try to understand this community through a survey of 15 Gond villages spread over Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. We show that they have a distinctly different view of the sky from the conventional astronomical ideas encountered elsewhere in India, which is both interesting and informative. We briefly comment on other aspects of their life as culled from our encounters with different members of the Gond community.