Maria [1] is a Dravidian language of the Gondi group spoken by the Maria Gond people in Bastar district, Chhattisgarh, India. The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore, documents Maria as a South-Central Dravidian language closely related to Gondi proper and to Muria (spoken by the Muria Gond of the same region). Maria is written in the Devanagari script and is part of the rich tribal linguistic heritage of the Bastar region.

Maria [2] is documented by the Endangered Languages Project as a language at risk. Like many tribal languages of Central India, Maria faces pressure from dominant regional languages including Hindi and Chhattisgarhi. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs [3] supports tribal communities in the Bastar region, including the Maria Gond, through development programmes. The CIIL [1] conducts documentation work on Indian minority languages including Maria to preserve their linguistic heritage.

The Maria Alphabet — Gondi Dravidian Language of Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India

Q: What is the difference between Maria and Muria?

Maria [1] and Muria are two distinct but closely related Gondi Dravidian languages of the Bastar region in Chhattisgarh. The CIIL documents them as separate varieties within the Gondi subgroup, associated with distinct communities — the Maria Gond (hill Maria) and the Muria Gond. Both languages are written in Devanagari and share significant Gondi vocabulary and grammar. See the Muria alphabet page for documentation of the related Muria Gondi language.

Q: Where do the Maria Gond people live?

The Maria Gond people [3] live primarily in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, India — one of the most densely forested areas of Central India. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, documents the Bastar region as home to one of the largest concentrations of scheduled tribe communities in India, including the Maria Gond and Muria Gond. The Maria Gond communities live in the deep forest areas of Bastar, traditionally maintaining close ties with the forest ecosystem.

Q: Is Maria related to Gondi?

Maria [1] belongs to the Gondi subgroup of South-Central Dravidian languages and is closely related to Gondi proper. The CIIL documents both languages as part of the same linguistic cluster. Maria and Gondi share significant core vocabulary, grammatical morphology and phonological features reflecting their common South-Central Dravidian origin. The Endangered Languages Project [2] records Maria as a distinct variety within the Gondi group with its own community identity in Bastar.

Q: What script is used for Maria?

Maria [1] is written in the Devanagari script — an abugida shared with Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit and other South Asian languages. Each Devanagari consonant carries an inherent vowel "a" that is modified by diacritic marks called matras, or suppressed by the halant (्). The CIIL documents Devanagari as the standard script for Maria literacy and language documentation in Bastar, Chhattisgarh.

Q: What is the cultural significance of the Maria Gond?

The Maria Gond people [3] of Bastar are one of India's most culturally significant scheduled tribe communities, known for their elaborate tribal art (particularly the Bastar art tradition), their unique social organisations including the ghotul dormitory system, and their rich oral tradition. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs documents the Maria Gond as among the most traditionally distinct tribal communities in India. The Endangered Languages Project [2] records Maria as the linguistic medium of this cultural heritage, making its documentation vital for the preservation of Maria Gond identity and tradition.

Maria Alphabet at a Glance

Maria ^[1] is a Dravidian language of the Gondi group spoken by the Maria Gond people in Bastar district, Chhattisgarh, India. The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore, documents Maria as a South-Central Dravidian language closely related to Gondi proper. It is written in the Devanagari script — the writing system shared with Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit
The Maria Gond people ^[2] are an indigenous tribal community of the Bastar region in Chhattisgarh — one of the most densely forested and ecologically rich areas of Central India. The Endangered Languages Project records Maria as a language of the Gondi group with communities in the deep forest areas of Bastar, known for their distinctive cultural traditions, art and social organisation
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs ^[3], Government of India, documents the Bastar region's tribal communities, including the Maria Gond, as among the most significant scheduled tribe communities in Chhattisgarh. The Ministry supports tribal language documentation and the welfare of Gondi-speaking communities across Central India through development programmes
Maria belongs to the Gondi subgroup ^[1] of South-Central Dravidian languages, which also includes Muria, Pradhan, Nagarchal and Gondi proper. The CIIL documents the Maria variety as distinct from Muria (spoken by the Muria Gond) while sharing the same Gondi genetic heritage and the Devanagari script for written representation
The Devanagari script ^[1] used for Maria is an abugida — each consonant carries an inherent vowel "a" modified by diacritic marks (matras) or suppressed using the halant. Devanagari is written left-to-right and provides a widely accessible writing system for Maria within the Indian subcontinent
CIIL Mysore ^[1], the Endangered Languages Project ^[2] and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs ^[3] together document the Maria Gond language and community of Bastar as part of India's rich tribal linguistic heritage

Maria is a Dravidian language of the Gondi group spoken by the Maria Gond people in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India. The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) ^[1] documents Maria as a South-Central Dravidian language. The Endangered Languages Project ^[2] and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs ^[3] support documentation of this Devanagari-script language of Bastar.

Maria Consonants

Maria uses the 33 Devanagari consonants ^[1], including four series of stops (dental, retroflex, palatal, velar) each with voiced and voiceless aspirated and unaspirated variants. The retroflex series (ट, ठ, ड, ढ) is characteristic of the Gondi Dravidian languages of Central India.

The CIIL ^[1] and the Endangered Languages Project ^[2] document Maria consonants as reflecting the South-Central Dravidian phonological heritage shared across the Gondi language group of Bastar.

क

[ka]

ख

[kha]

ग

[ga]

घ

[gha]

ङ

[nga]

च

[cha]

छ

[chha]

ज

[ja]

झ

[jha]

ञ

[nya]

ट

[tta]

ठ

[ttha]

ड

[dda]

ढ

[ddha]

ण

[nna]

त

[ta]

थ

[tha]

द

[da]

ध

[dha]

न

[na]

प

[pa]

फ

[pha]

ब

[ba]

भ

[bha]

म

[ma]

य

[ya]

र

[ra]

ल

[la]

व

[va]

श

[sha]

ष

[ssha]

स

[sa]

ह

[ha]

अ

[a]

आ

[aa]

इ

[i]

ई

[ii]

उ

[u]

ऊ

[uu]

ऋ

[ri]

ए

[e]

ऐ

[ai]

ओ

[o]

औ

[au]

अं

[an]

अः

[ah]

अ

[a]

Short vowel a, the inherent vowel of Devanagari consonants

आ

[aa]

Long vowel aa, like the a in "father"

इ

[i]

Short vowel i, like the i in "bit"

ई

[ii]

Long vowel ii, like the ee in "see"

उ

[u]

Short vowel u, like the u in "put"

ऊ

[uu]

Long vowel uu, like the oo in "food"

ऋ

[ri]

Vocalic r, a syllabic consonant unique to Brahmic scripts

ए

[e]

Vowel e, like the a in "late"

ऐ

[ai]

Diphthong ai, like the i in "kite"

ओ

[o]

Vowel o, like the o in "go"

औ

[au]

Diphthong au, like the ow in "cow"

अं

[an]

Anusvara form — nasalised vowel

अः

[ah]

Visarga form — aspirated vowel with final h-sound

Maria Vowel Signs (Matras)

Devanagari vowel signs (matras) modify consonants in Maria writing. The halant (्) suppresses the inherent "a" vowel entirely ^[1], enabling the consonant clusters characteristic of Maria Gondi phonology in Bastar, Chhattisgarh.

CIIL Mysore ^[1] and the Endangered Languages Project ^[2] document matras as foundational to the Devanagari writing system used for Maria and related Gondi languages of the Bastar region.

ा

[aa]

ि

[i]

ी

[ii]

ु

[u]

ू

[uu]

ृ

[ri]

े

[e]

ै

[ai]

ो

[o]

ौ

[au]

ं

[an]

ः

[ah]

्

[halant]

ा

[aa]

Matra for long vowel aa

ि

[i]

Matra for short vowel i, written before the consonant

ी

[ii]

Matra for long vowel ii

ु

[u]

Matra for short vowel u, written below

ू

[uu]

Matra for long vowel uu, written below

ृ

[ri]

Matra for vocalic r, written below

े

[e]

Matra for vowel e, written above

ै

[ai]

Matra for diphthong ai, written above

ो

[o]

Matra for vowel o, written around consonant

ौ

[au]

Matra for diphthong au, written around consonant

ं

[an]

Anusvara — nasalisation dot above

ः

[ah]

Visarga — aspiration mark after the vowel

्

[halant]

Halant (virama) — suppresses the inherent a vowel

०

[sunna]

१

[ek]

२

[do]

३

[teen]

४

[chaar]

५

[paanch]

६

[chhah]

७

[saat]

८

[aath]

९

[nau]

०

[sunna]

Devanagari digit zero

१

[ek]

Devanagari digit one

२

[do]

Devanagari digit two

३

[teen]

Devanagari digit three

४

[chaar]

Devanagari digit four

५

[paanch]

Devanagari digit five

६

[chhah]

Devanagari digit six

७

[saat]

Devanagari digit seven

८

[aath]

Devanagari digit eight

९

[nau]

Devanagari digit nine

Complete Maria Alphabet

The complete Maria Devanagari alphabet in standard Brahmic order — vowels followed by consonants. Devanagari is an abugida where each consonant carries the inherent vowel "a", modified by matras in Maria writing across Bastar, Chhattisgarh.

CIIL Mysore ^[1], the Endangered Languages Project ^[2] and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs ^[3] document Maria as a Gondi Dravidian language of the Maria Gond people of Bastar, Chhattisgarh.

अ

[a]

आ

[aa]

इ

[i]

ई

[ii]

उ

[u]

ऊ

[uu]

ऋ

[ri]

ए

[e]

ऐ

[ai]

ओ

[o]

औ

[au]

क

[ka]

ख

[kha]

ग

[ga]

घ

[gha]

ङ

[nga]

च

[cha]

छ

[chha]

ज

[ja]

झ

[jha]

ञ

[nya]

ट

[tta]

ठ

[ttha]

ड

[dda]

ढ

[ddha]

ण

[nna]

त

[ta]

थ

[tha]

द

[da]

ध

[dha]

न

[na]

प

[pa]

फ

[pha]

ब

[ba]

भ

[bha]

म

[ma]

य

[ya]

र

[ra]

ल

[la]

व

[va]

श

[sha]

ष

[ssha]

स

[sa]

ह

[ha]

Expand All Collapse All

What is Maria?

What is the difference between Maria and Muria?

Where do the Maria Gond people live?

Is Maria related to Gondi?

What script is used for Maria?

Is Maria endangered?

What is the cultural significance of the Maria Gond?

References:

[1] Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysuru, India (Ministry of Education, Government of India). "Maria Gondi Language" — CIIL documents Maria (ISO 639-3: mrr), a Gondi-branch Dravidian language spoken by the Maria Gond tribal community of Bastar district, Chhattisgarh, and adjacent parts of Telangana, India. The Maria are a Scheduled Tribe of India known for their distinctive culture in the forested Bastar region. Retrieved from Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL)
[2] Endangered Languages Project, Google.org. "Maria (Gondi) Language" — the Endangered Languages Project documents Maria (ISO 639-3: mrr), a Gondi-branch Dravidian language of Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India. Maria is one of the Gondi dialect varieties, part of the Central Dravidian subgroup, spoken in the forested regions of southern Chhattisgarh. Retrieved from Endangered Languages Project
[3] Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi. "Gond Tribes of Bastar" — the Ministry of Tribal Affairs recognises and supports the Gond people and their Gondi-branch language cluster of the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, including Maria and Muria communities (both Scheduled Tribes of India). The ministry oversees tribal welfare, cultural preservation and education for these communities. Retrieved from Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India