In Abhuj Marias, when the settlement shifts to a new place, Ghotuls are the first building to come up and it is also the best.
The Abhuj Marias have the system of village dormitory and it is entirely different from those of the Ghotul Maria and Jhoria Marias who inhabit the northern and eastern boarders of Bastar.
Where as the Maria Ghotuls are combined one, i.e. both boys and girls admitted to them, the Abhuj Maria Ghotuls, except those in the Northern areas are open only to boys. This is because, Abhuj Maria villages are still uniclan ones and boys and girls of the same clan are considered to be brothers and sisters.
The skills of the badais (carpenter) can be seen in a Ghotul. Motifs such as combs, sun and moon. floral and geometric designs are found in Ghotuls. It is an autonomous body of youth. It is organized to serve an important functions of life.
The initiation to Ghotul marks real steps towards maturity in the muria community. The whole trend of life in the society is directed towards transfering the parent-child relation to the Ghotul relation. From an early age, the children start going to the Ghotul.
The young ones of the tribes are taught the ways of life from the early years. Among some tribals are taught the ways of life from the early years. Among some tribals, the male and female are not distinguished from each other in their upbringing and they grow up in their perfect harmony, for preparation of a perfect relationship. The social life of a Ghotul is both interesting and exotic.
In Ghotul, there exists no distinction between love and sex. A male number is known as “chelik” and girl “motairi”. Boy leader is known as sikidar and the Girl leader as “belosa”. The little boys and girls find the “sirdar” and “belosa” the male and female leaders of the community, who take the place of their parents. Though, there is no age fixed admission to Ghotul, children of 6-7 years start coming to the Ghotul.
There are traditionally defined routines for Ghoutul. Each Ghotul has a formal council to regulate its affairs. In the afternoon, the female members come and clean the compound of Ghotul. At sunset, they set a fire at the centre of compound and retire to their homes, After taking evening meal, the male members came to Ghotul with their musical instruments, sleeping mates and axes etc. The boys bring wood as fuel for the fire. The female members come little late, after finishing the household works. when all the members reach, they discuss matters of importance and this follows music and dance. The young boys and girls salute all their senior members and they retire. The disciplining of youth for better life, organizing work groups to serve the villages of different occasions, which demand collective effort, helping the clan of preists to organize clan festival, ceremonial fishing and haunting etc. are few of the activities of ghotul. With modernity, the age old Ghotul tradition is losing its seen. It is time to dave this ancient culture.
