| Maldhari માલધારી | |
|---|---|
| Term, or title of Pastoralist and animal husbandry castes in Gujarat | |
 Maldhari grazing buffaloes | |
| Ethnicity | |
| Location | |
| Population | 8,400 (2007) |
| Language | |
| Religion | |
| Surnames | |
The Maldhari is a occupational term or title used by several herdsmen or animal husbandry castes such as Koli, [1] Kathi, Charan, Rabari and Bharwad in Kutch district of Gujarat, India. [2] The Gir Forest National Park is home to around 8,400 Maldharis as of 2007. [3]
The literal meaning of Maldhari is keeper (dhari) of the animal stock (mal). They are notable as the traditional dairymen of the region, and once supplied milk and cheese to the palaces of rajas. [4]
Maldharis are descendants of nomads who periodically came from Pakistan, Rajasthan and other parts of Gujarat, and finally settled in the Banni grasslands. [5]
These semi-nomadic herders spend eight months of the year criss-crossing sparse pasturelands with their livestock including sheep, goats, cows, buffalo, and camels in a continual quest for fodder. During the monsoon season, the Maldhari generally return to their home villages as more new grass grows closer to home during the rains.[ citation needed ]
Some girls in some regions are kept from going to school and expected to spend the early years of their life stitching elaborate garments for their wedding day, or, if they have been married off as children, as many are, for the ceremony performed when each moves in with her husband, normally when she is in her early twenties.[ citation needed ]
The pastoral Maldhari community live a simple life. They live in small mud houses deep in the forests, with no electricity, running water, schools or access to healthcare.[ citation needed ]
They grow vegetables and collect wild honey. Their main sources of cash income are sale of high quality ghee, milk, wool, animals and handicrafts. [5] They trade their produce in the local market for essential items like food grains. Most are unable to count or use money and are illiterate. [3]
Their jewelry and clothing portray the Maldharis' sense of identity and tradition. It symbolizes their beliefs and ideals. Men wear gold hoops and buttons in their ears. On their milking hands, many wear silver rings embossed. The milk that dribbles over the ring is an offering to the god, replacing the need to make oblations at a temple.[ citation needed ]
Maldhari women's ears are folded and stretched with a large amount of hanging silver. Their wrists are sheathed in heavy, hourglass-shaped bracelets, carved from elephant tusks. However, many wear plastic replicas for everyday use. They keep the more precious ivory originals stored in cans filled with vegetable oil. The oil keeps them from cracking and makes them easier to slip on. Such ornamentation disguises the poverty in which they live. It is worn as a status symbol to impart an impression of wealth upon which their family honor depends.[ citation needed ]
The Great Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India. It is about 7500 km2 in area and is reputed to be one of the largest salt deserts in the world. This area has been inhabited by the Kutchi people.
Kathiawar is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about 61,000 km2 (23,500 sq mi) bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat in the east. In the northeast, it is connected to the rest of Gujarat and borders on the low, fertile hinterland of Ahmedabad. It is crossed by two belts of hill country and is drained radially by nine rivers which have little natural flow aside from in monsoon months, thus dams have been built on some of these. Kathiawar ports have been flourishing centres of trade and commerce since at least the 16th century.
Kutch district, officially spelled Kachchh, is a district of Gujarat state in western India, with its headquarters (capital) at Bhuj. Covering an area of 45,674 km2, it is the largest district of India. The area of Kutch is larger than the entire area of other Indian states like Haryana (44,212 km2) and Kerala (38,863 km2). The population of Kutch is about 2,092,371. It has 10 talukas, 939 villages and 6 municipalities. The Kutch district is home to the Kutchi people who speak the Kutchi language.
The Khathiar–Gir dry deciduous forests is a mostly arid ecoregion in northwestern India that stretches over 103,100 sq mi (267,000 km2) across Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The dry deciduous forests in the region are dominated by teak, and thorny trees and scrub in drier areas.
Patan district is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state in western India. Its main city is Patan. This district is located in northern Gujarat and bounded by Banaskantha district in the north and northeast, Mehsana district in the east and southeast, Surendranagar district in the south and Kutch District and the Kutch nu Nanu Ran in the west. The district occupies an area of 5792 km2.
The Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, or Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary, is located in the Little Rann of Kutch in the state of Gujarat, India, spread over an area of 4954 km².
Nomads are known as a group of communities who travel from place to place for their livelihood. Some are salt traders, fortune-tellers, conjurers, ayurvedic healers, jugglers, acrobats, actors, storytellers, snake charmers, animal doctors, tattooists, grindstone makers, or basketmakers. Some anthropologists have identified about 8 nomadic groups in India, numbering perhaps 1 million people—around 1.2 percent of the country's billion-plus population. Aparna Rao and Michael Casimir estimated that nomads make up around 7% of the population of India.
The Indian wild ass, also called the Indian onager or, in the local Gujarati language, Ghudkhur and Khur, is a subspecies of the onager native to South Asia.
The Bharwad, also known as Gadaria, are a Hindu caste found in the state of Gujarat in India, primarily engaged in herding livestock.
The Bhadala are an ethnic group found in Pakistan and India. They are found mainly in the Kutch District of Gujarat. In Pakistan, they are found mainly in Karachi. The Bhadala are an ethnic group found in Pakistan and India. They are found mainly in the Kutch District of Gujarat. In Pakistan, they are found mainly in Karachi.
Banni Grasslands Reserve or Banni grasslands form a belt of arid grassland ecosystem on the outer southern edge of the desert of the marshy salt flats of Rann of Kutch in Kutch District, Gujarat State, India. They are known for rich wildlife and biodiversity and are spread across an area of 3,847 square kilometres. They are currently legally protected under the status as a protected or reserve forest in India. Though declared a protected forest more than half a century ago Gujarat state's forest department has recently proposed a special plan to restore and manage this ecosystem in the most efficient way. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has identified this grassland reserve as one of the last remaining habitats of the cheetah in India and a possible reintroduction site for the species.
The Mutwa are a Muslim community found in the state of Gujarat in India and a province of Sindh in Pakistan. They are one of a number of communities of Maldhari pastoral nomads found in the Banni region of Kutch.
The Me Koli also known as Vadha Koli, or Wadha Koli are a partly Muslim Koli and partly Hindu Koli caste found in the state of Daman and Diu and Gujarat in India. They are also known as Maldhari Kolis in the Banni region of Kutch district of Gujarat.
The Bafan are a Muslim community found in the state of Gujarat in India and a province of Sindh in Pakistan. They are one of a number of communities of Maldhari pastoral nomads found in the Banni region of Kutch.
The Koli is an Indian caste found in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir states in India. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they also work as fishermen along with agriculture. In the beginning of 20th century, the Koli caste was recognised as a denotified tribe under Criminal Tribes Act by the Indian Government because of their anti-social activities during World War I.
A pastoral society is a social group of pastoralists, whose way of life is based on pastoralism, and is typically nomadic. Daily life is centered upon the tending of herds or flocks.
Mer, Maher or Mehar is a caste from the Saurashtra region of Gujarat in India. They are largely based in the Porbandar district, comprising the low-lying, wetland Ghēḍ and highland Barḍā areas, and they speak a dialect of the Gujarati language. The Mers of the Ghēḍ and Barḍā form two groups of the jāti and together they are the main cultivators in the Porbandar District. Historically, the men served the Porbandar State as a feudal militia, led by Mer leaders. In the 1881 Gazette of the Bombay Presidency, the Mers were recorded numbering at 23,850. The 1951 Indian Census recorded 50,000 Mers. As of 1980 there were estimated to be around 250,000 Mers.
The Kutch Embroidery is a handicraft and textile signature art tradition of the tribal community of Kutch District in Gujarat, India. This embroidery with its rich designs has made a notable contribution to the Indian embroidery traditions. The embroidery, practiced normally by women is generally done on fabrics of cotton, in the form of a net using cotton or silk threads. In certain patterns, it is also crafted over silk and satin. The types of stitches adopted are “square chain, double buttonhole, pattern darning, running stitch, satin and straight stitches”. The signature effect of the colorful embroidery sparkles when small mirrors called abhla are sewn over the geometrically shaped designs. Depending on the tribal sub groups of Rabari, Garasia Jat, and Mutava involved with this craft work many hand embroidered ethnic styles have evolved. These six styles: Suf, khaarek, paako, Rabari, Garasia Jat, and Mutava.
Banni buffalo, which are also known as "Kutchi" or "Kundi", is a breed of buffalo found primarily in the Kutch district of Gujarat, India. The word 'Banni' is specific to not only the buffaloes but as well as the pasture grass species which are native to this region. This breed of buffaloes is usually bred and preserved by a local community found in Kutch, called the 'Maldharis'. An average Banni buffalo yields around 12 to 18 litres of milk each day.