Budhadeo

Budhadeo or Baradeo of the Gond is a real intertribal god. Though his origin is Gondid, he receives recognition from almost all the tribes in the province as well as by some tribes outside the province also.

The Gond and allied tribes have a very peculiar system of the clan-gods. They are also called “little gods” or household gods. The Gond are divided into septs according to ‘‘the number of the gods”. These gods, the same as the number of the gods to which the clan belongs, are kept in an earthen pot called “gadwa”，and kept inside the house of the head of the family. Each clan is supposed to have a special spot in some part of the forest where the family Saj tree stands.

The spot is called “gadha” or “pen-kara”，the circle of the gods. High up in the branches, is kept a bundle of grass in which in bambu cases are kept the set of the godlings (in the form of stones, iron bits, chain, copper pieces etc.)，the same in number as the domestic godlings. In reality, however, the bundle is called the Bara-deo，or the great god of the clan. Every three years in the normal course, or when there is a marriage or death in the family the dan people worship first the gods in the home and then those in the forest. Though each clan is thus supposed to have its special place of worship, in reality it is so far removed from the actual godlings of the family that they seldom have the satisfaction of going to the “ancient” place and offering worship. Mostly they pick out a Saj tree from the forest nearby and perform the rites underneath it.