A ‘turum’ drum being beaten during a trance ritual in Sungapur.

Three ‘para’ drums and one ‘turum’ drum and a ‘bonga’ oboe being played by Pradhan minstrels while circumambulating the cremated ashes of the deceased headman of Narsapur.

Five 'para' drums and one 'turum' drum being played during a trance ritual at the Bhimalik shrine in Sungapur.

A young man playing the small ‘para’ drum in Ginnedhari during a Dandari dance.

A Pardhan minstrel playing his sacred three stringed fiddle, the ‘kinjiri’ while singing the 'Sana Patta', an epic myth of the creation of the universe.

A ‘kalikom’ trumpet and a ‘pepre’ oboe and a ‘bonga’ oboe being played at a cremation ceremony by three Pardhan minstrels.

A ‘bonga’ oboe and a ‘kalikom’ trumpet and a ‘para’ drum being played by three Pardhan minstrels while walking round a burned out cremation pyre at a funeral ceremony.

A ‘pepre’ oboe being played by a Pardhan minstrel at a cremation ceremony.

Two young men energetically playing the big base ‘dap’ drums in Ginnedhari during a Dandari festival.

A Thoti minstrel playing the ‘pepre’ oboe in Ginnedhari accompanied by two ‘bonga’ oboes.

A man happily playing the bamboo flute in the street in Ginnedhari while an elderly lady admires his skill.

A village elder in Ginnedhari playing the three gourd single stringed ‘karnat’ fiddle, the traditional instrument that the ancestral hero of the Raj Gonds, 'Pahandi Kupar Lingal', used to pacify the Gond deities that he discovered in an underworld cave.

Kolams from Sungapur playing the small ‘para’ drum, while another plays both the ‘ektar’ single stringed gourd drone fiddle, and also the clappers.

Pahandi Kupar Lingal’s ‘karnat’ three gourd fiddle being played for the admiration of Ada Jalpati Rao, my researcher and Gondi teacher, and the local school master in Ginnedhari.

Thoti Vedma Ramu’s son accompanies his rendition of the Sana Patta. By repeating the lines of this mythical tale of the creation of the universe, and, by playing the gumela drum, he emphasises its rhythmic quality.

A Kolam from Sungapur plays the one stringed, ‘ektar’, gourd fiddle drone.

Kolams from Sungapur playing four large base ‘dap’ drums and one small ‘wete’ kettle drum.

A Kolam man from Sungapur plays the bamboo flute ‘rutu’ during the Dandari festival.

Tightening the membrane of the ‘dap’ drums by warming it round a fire.

The Kolams of Sungapur tighten the skins of their team of ‘dap’ drums in preparation for their Dandari dancing by warming the membrane with a fire.

A collection of all the drums that are to be used in the Dandari festival in Ginnedhari village. They are all displayed before being blessed in the ‘Bogi’ ceremony. Behind are four ‘dap’ drums and one ‘turum’ drum. On the mat are two ‘para’ drums, two ‘gumela’ drums and three ‘wete’ small kettle drums.

A Thoti minstrel playing the single note drone oboe, the ‘bonga’.

Thoti minstrels playing the large brass ‘kalikom’ trumpet, the ‘pepre’ oboe, and the ‘bonga’ oboe single note drone at an important ceremony to ‘Persa Pen’.

Two Raj Gonds playing the sweet sounding and tuneful ‘gumela’ drums.

Thoti Vedma Ramu minstrel bard at a particularly important and dramatic moment while reciting the Sana Patta epic story of the creation of the Raj Gond universe. This was during a special performance that he gave me so that I could record and translate it.

A Pardhan minstrel bard playing the ‘pepre’ oboe during the Dandari ritual festival in Ginnedhari village.