Gond

Etymology: The term Gond is derived from the Dravidian word 'Kond', which translates to green mountains.

Origin: The Gond tribe originates from the culturally rich state of Madhya Pradesh. They live in the dense forests of the Vindhyas, Satpura, and Mandla in the Narmada region of the Amarkantak range.

Location: Although the roots of Gond originate mainly from Madhya Pradesh, the roots further branch out to some of the states of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh.

Community: The Gonds decorate their walls and floors with geometric motifs, which are known as 'digna'. Besides, they also paint flora and fauna on walls, which are called Bhittichitra. They believe that painting these traditional motifs during auspicious occasions and festivities will bring them good luck.

Relevance: Gond paintings have a strong resemblance to the Aboriginal art of Australia as they share the same artistic formations and have stories to express in their art which is a medium of visual storytelling.

Historical Background: Gond paintings are an example of simplicity with wonderful use of colours and aesthetic use of dots, dashes lines, etc. Gond art depicts historical and mythological narratives and beliefs with different aspects of art forms. The festivities, traditions, and one's relationship with nature are expressed in Gond paintings. According to Gonds and their art form, everything possesses special energy and is considered to be sacred. The Pradhan Gonds are renowned for their songs and stories depicted in their paintings. They still practice the art form and are passing their culture from generation to generation.

Culture and Societies: Gond communities are animists and ascribe souls to nature's phenomena; they worship plants, animals, birds, earth, and mountains. They also believe that spirits or supernatural powers are guarding their village and tribe. Some dances recreate events from Gond mythology and with the Dandari dancers. The Gond culture includes floor paintings, body tattoos, basket weaving, and pottery manufacturing.

Religious Significance: In the Gond community, there is a dominance of oral tradition. Gond paintings often depict myths, tales, rituals, festivals, and other elements of daily life. Hindu deities like Lord Ganesha, Lord Krishna, and Lord Shiva are referred to as Bada Dev in Gondi paintings. Similarly, minor deities, including Marahi Devi, Phulvari Devi, Jalharin Devi, and Goddess Kali Phulvari, are also common subjects of Gond art. The Mahua tree is an important aspect of the Gond tribe, the women worship this tree, and the tribe considers it as the 'Tree of Life'. Therefore, a prevalence of the Mahua tree can be seen in Gond art.

Legends or Myths: Gond legends include the popular love story of Jhitku Mitki, oral literature from Gondwana, Gondwani (Gond king legends), Ramyani (Ram Katha), and Pandvani (Pandava Katha), among others.

Central Motifs and their Significance: The Mahua tree, often known as the 'Tree of Life', is worshipped in the Gond culture, and many of the Gond paintings include Mahua. The important motifs in Gond paintings include peacocks, birds, crabs, mythological creatures, lizards, lions, tigers, deer, snakes, wild boars, cows, monkeys, elephants, horses, fish, etc. Furthermore, the daily life of the tribe as well as the festivities and gods and goddesses, are also used as subjects of Gond painting along with legends and folktales.

Medium Used: The preparation of colours for Gond paintings involves gathering natural materials to obtain pigments from them. Yellow pigment is obtained from ramraj soil, which is found around the banks of the Narmada River. The other sources of colours include black paint from coal, white paint from limestone or Chui soil, an earthy red from the dust called geru, and light green from cow dung. 'Koochi' is a natural brush that aids in painting the walls. The brush is made out of the fiber of beaten bark.

Style: The Gond paintings feature lines, dashes, dots, fish scales, drops of water, seed shapes, geometrical shapes, etc. These shapes and lines are made with great care and concentration to have exactly the perfect painting for the viewer to see. These lines are drawn in such a manner that the paintings convey a sense of movement in them. Another interesting style of Gond paintings is that they use vivid colours as the base and brighter colours for patterns.

Process: The artwork begins with cleaning the walls and floor, which prepares the external panels and the ground for a layer of cow dung. The artist starts by creating four-dimensional geometric decorations on the walls of their houses. Once flattened and dried, a coat of white soil called 'pidor' is applied, providing a smooth layer like primed canvas. With the help of a malleable, muddy mixture of 'laal mitti', 'kaali mitti', and white clay, the geometric motifs are created. They would paint the outer walls with little dots that are similar to triangles. These patterns have symbolic significance and are the source of positive energy in the Gond community.

This art form has seen a drastic change in the expression of themes. Gond art saw a shift from primitive abstract geometrical dots to new patterns depicting folklore and is now being seen as the most contemporary folk art style by depicting modern-day socio-political issues and themes of popular culture.

Jangarh Singh Shyam, an artist, migrated from his village of Patangarh in the Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh to Bhopal after being discovered by the contemporary artist Jagdish Swaminathan. Training under J. Swaminathan led him to aid the shift from a simplistic three-dimensional dotting technique to incorporating folklore, sentient beings, gods and goddesses, and modern-day issues ranging from social radicalization and political issues in their visual storytelling. He started producing art in modern mediums like acrylics, Rotring pens, and ink to create Gond art perverse to the rudimentary methods he was familiar with.

Artist Venkat Raman Singh Shyam has written the book Ganja-Mahua Chronicles, where he illustrates the folklore of an inter-caste love story which is also a superb socio-political commentary on contemporary India. He also drew a series of sketches on the infamous Mumbai terrorist attack, called the 'Mumbai Series'. Bhajju Shyam, in collaboration with Gita Wolf-Sampath and Sirish Rao, has written a couple of books on Gond mythology and drew a parallel with the modern world.

Gond art also reaches the masses by being painted on home decor items, graphic novels, and wall paintings, which all add to its accessibility and exposure.

1. Nair, S. (2018) Indigenous Artists India. Mumbai: Sunita Nair.

2. Shyam, V.R.S, and Anand, S. (2016) Ganja-Mahua Chronicles. New Delhi: Navayana Publishing Pvt. Ltd.

3. Deogaonkar, S.G. (2007) The Gonds of Vidarbha. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.