The Gonds populate the largest tribes of Madhya Pradesh. According to 1991 census, there are 534988 Gonds living in the state. The main districts in the state having Gond population are Bastar, Bilaspur, Sarguja, Seoni, Betul and Mandla. There are many Gond sub-groups, among these being the Arakh, Arrakh, Agaria, Asur, Badi Maria, Bada Maria, Bhuta, Bisonhorn Maria, Ojha, and Dane. The Gonds were traditionally shifting cultivators. In Bastar they are divided into two groups, the Maria Gonds and the Muria Gonds. The Marias are further subdivided into the Hill Marias of Abodhmar Mountains and the Bisonhorn Marias. They are excellent dancers and the Ghotul – the institution of the youth dormitory where the young stay together – is an important element of their social, religious and cultural life.

As with other tribes practically all over India, they believe in mother goddesses who can be malignant as well as protective deities. These goddesses can bring, cure, or prevent diseases and cause tragedies and accidents and there are several masked rituals to honour and pacify them.

Among the village functionaries who play significant roles in the worship of clan deities and the performance of rituals are ‘Phardangs,' who serve as bards and chroniclers. Some groups trace their descent from animals, plants and other objects and stories and legends are invented to strengthem totemic traditions; others trace their descent from gods, heroes, and titular ancestors. Some of the masks have scorpions, butterflies, cows, birds etc. carved on them.

Besides the Supreme Being Mahapurub, Baradeo (or Budhadeo), who lives in the sacred Saja tree, is an important deity. There are several local gods and every clan which had its own bhum or territory was presided over by a clan-god known as the Angadev, represented by an arrangement of three parallel poles of saja, bel or ira wood, over which are tied cross pieces of saja or bamboo. The Angadevas are closely related to everyday life, marriage, death, and offences against clan customs. Danteshwari, the tutelary goddess of the royal family of Bastar, is also worshipped. Among the Murias, masks of deities such as Raja Rao, Beema Devata, Mawali Mata are worshipped; others, like those representing Childaharin and Dokri with their tongues protruding out, are worn by a Siraha (Priest) in trance. Among the Murias and Abujh Maria, masks of the dead are sometimes installed and worshipped.

Masks are also worn in more secularly oriented dances and plays and also to provide comic relief. Horn and tiger masks are worn during Mandri wedding dances. Masks known as Nakata and Nakati (one with a chopped off nose) are worn during the Chherta festival during the bright half of Paush. The Nakata mask dancer collects paddy from house-to-house in the village for community feasts. In the Odia Nata of Bastar, a form influenced by the Oriya folk traditions of performaning the Ramayana and Mahabharata, a Ganesh mask is worshipped in the beginning of the performance. Other Ramaya related masks include those of Angad, Hanuman and various Rakshasa characters.

Masks are also used as scarecrows in the fields and worn for hunt dances, masks are generally made of Semal, Doomar, Tendu, Bel, Siwana, Sal, Ira, Sagon and other locally available wood.

Masks are of great importance to the Marias who believe that no malignant force can pass through the wooden mask into the body. They are used for prevention and cure of diseases and worn in weddings, festivals and dances such as Gaur, Dhol, Dandar (Kolang) and others. Earlier Marias used to dance the spectacular Gaur wearing wooden horned masks carved with Gonda flowers. Now only bison headgear with veils of beads and shells and cowrie necklaces are worn. The Banda Gond mask worn during dance is particularly important. Triangular in shape with a chechan bird which eats frogs and other small creatures, carved on it, the mask is connected with hunting. Some masks are worn by women while dancing.