Q- Give a brief account of people of Bastar.
Answer- Bastar is located in the southernmost part of Chhattisgarh and borders of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra. The central main part of Bastar is in plateau. To the north of this plateau is the Chhattisgarh plain and to its south is the Godavari plain. The river Indrawati winds across Bastar east to west.
Different communities lives in Bastar such as Maria and Muria Gonds, Dhurwas, Bhatras, e.t.c. . They speaks different language but perform or follow same traditions and belief. They believed that each village was given its land by the Earth and in return, They look after the Earth by making offering during the festivals. Since, each villager know its boundaries, they look after their natural resource within the boundaries.
If they want to take some wood from another village, they pay fee that was called ‘Devsari’ at ancient time.
Some villagers of Bastar protect their forests by keeping watchmen and each house contributes grains to pay them.
The all community’s people meet once in a year to discuss issues of concern, including forests.