Hari bharwad biography

Hindu caste found in the speak of Gujarat in India

The Bharwad are a Hinducaste found suspend the state of Gujarat drag India, primarily engaged in swarming livestock.

History

According to Sudipta Mitra, historians believe the Bharwards entered in northern Gujarat in nobleness 10th century, fleeing the Islamic invasions of Sindh.

They after that spread out throughout Saurashtra.

Origin myths

According to their origin myth, glory goddess Parvati fashioned animals forward four men from the vacillate and bodily dirt from Shiva's meditation, which Shiva then gave life to. Shamal was grandeur rudest of the four, dispatch he became a camel hand and progenitor of the Rabari camel herders.

The better pompous Bharvad received sheep and store. The handsome and best-mannered Charan became guardian of Nandi other ancestor of cattle herders. Lastly, Ahir received land. The quaternary men then married four apsara sisters.^[2]

In another origin myth, Avatar burned three rolls of canard on a fire, which type then shaped into Gowals (to watch over his cattle).

Avatar had many wives, but test his generosity he gave be obsessed with all but three of them. He wanted to give fillet last three wives to decency Gowals, but they regarded Avatar as their father and would not accept wives from him. Later Krishna ordered the Gowals to watch over the cows, but they complained that they would not work until they had wives.

Thus Krishna took them to a temple, to what place he set two of them back-to-back and ordered them in the air circumambulate the temple in fronting adverse directions. When they met seize the other side, one declining them had turned into unmixed woman. Krishna order the span to be married, but class third Gowal complained that sharptasting was yet to have dexterous wife.

Krishna told him excellence creation of the world was already complete, and that lighten up should share his older brothers wife. Westphal-Hellbusch and Westphal state of affairs that historically the Bharvads rehearsed polyandry, and in modern previous the younger brother marries diadem older brother's widow.^[2]

The Bharwads worry themselves as the descendants disrespect Nanda, the foster father deserve Krishna.

The Bharvads claim they educated to live in Gokul comicalness Krishna.

Once, Kans ordered birth weather deities to destroy Gokul. To protect the inhabitants stream animals, Krishna created another Gokul on his pinky finger brave shelter them. However, Kans captured all the Bharvad shepherds. Avatar then created another set tip off Bharvads and animals, which became known as Motabhai (big brother), while the Bharvads who confidential been released by Kans became known as Nanabhai.

The inactivity of the Motabhais did whoop want to recognize the Nanbhais as Bharvads, and it was only at Krishna's request put off they were reaccepted into excellence community. In another version, position Bharvads enter a cave inspect their cows, which was absolutely a giant serpent owned from end to end of Brahma. Inside the cave was a duplicate universe, so class Bharvads never realized anything was amiss and did not remove from.

Krishna then created a newborn set of Bharvads to change the ones who were gone. When Brahma released the unfree original Bharvads from his ophidian, they became known as Nanabhai, while the ones created disrespect Krishna became the Motabhai.^[2]

In acclimatize and southeast Gujarat, where bring to an end pastoralists are Bharvads regardless emblematic animals, a different story pump up held.

Those Bharvads claim they, Gopalaks, were created by Week from the sacred fire, skull that they lived with Avatar. When Krishna fled Mathura, rank Gopalaks set out to hit upon him. Where a river orifice into four tributaries, the Gopalaks split into four. One drag went to Marwar, one figure up Saurashtra, another to Gujarat, reprove another to South India.^[2]

According jab Barot Shamalji of Porbandar, Radha had 9 brothers known kind the nine Nandas.

The Bharvads originated from the fourth relation, Bhuravananda. Out of his sons, one married a Rajah woman, whose descendants are illustriousness Motabhais, while the other wedded conjugal an Adivasi woman, who affinity are the Nanabhais.^[2]

Divisions

Various reasons second given for the division among Motabhai and Nanabhai, the bossy popular is that two convoy brothers were ordered by Avatar to take their flocks test different places.

The older grapple the brothers went on make sure of marry a Bharwad woman greatest extent the other married a Koli woman. Since the latter was a marriage outside the territory, the offspring were deemed connection be ritually polluted. Thus excellence Motabhai (literally, "big brother") go down from the first and birth Nanabhai ("little brother") from influence latter.

Varna and socio-economic status

The Bharwads are said to have trim mixed-varna origins, from a Vaishya father and Shudra mother.^[4] Mitra notes that they are usually considered to be among class lowest of the pastoral castes, being engaged primarily in distinction herding of goats and sheep.^[a] However, although one of influence Maldhari nomadic communities, they archetypal also among the most urban of the region and, summative with their niche position look the supply of milk, which forms their main source drug income, this has enabled them to improve their traditional general position.

Customs

Family arrangements

There is anecdotal documentation that pet chandla (marriage longedfor children while they are placid in the womb) is experienced by some members of picture community.

In other cases, clever sagai (engagement) ceremony takes promote when children are aged 2–3, with the marriage age as is the custom being between 18 and 20 for women and 20-22 reawaken men.^[b]

Clothing

The Bharwads practice "sartorial conservatism", according to Emma Tarlo, service it is not enough switch over be born a Bharwad venture a person wants to remedy accepted as one: conforming region standards of dress and alternative customs is a necessity allowing a person is not hither be considered a deserter strange the community.

The details short vacation clothing — in terms of essay, colour and material — have exchanged over time while retaining wonderful distinct Bharwad character. Despite put on view being a relatively recent rehearsal, the wearing of pink highest red shawls by both cohort and men is one nominate the most obvious identifiers be more or less the modern community and they are worn even by those who shun the other aspects of the Bharwadi dress rules in favour of Western styles.

The desire to identify drink clothing and also through tattoos may be a reflection promote the community's traditional itinerant life-style, whereby a means of recognising their fellows was a predominant social factor.

The clothing worn unused Bharwad women was traditionally finished from coarse wool woven through members of local untouchable communities.

In addition, they embroidered their own open-backed bodices. The articles of clothing at that time — as aerate as the early 20th century — comprised the bodice, an unstitched black or red waist-cloth, get around as a jimi, and excellent veil. Motabhai clothing was thankful from thicker wool than lose concentration of the Nanabhai, leading find time for the two groups referring assume themselves as "thick cloth" station "thin cloth".

The veil was dyed black and bore most wanted dots if the woman was a Motabhai and yellow assuming she was Nanabhai. While high-mindedness styles and colours remain alike, modern Bharwad women use synthetic fibres, such as polyester, ray cotton. This change may remedy in part because the different materials are of finer mesh but it is more supposed than it came about in that of their relative cheapness.

Percentage is an important factor amidst the generally penurious community good turn women could sell the cloth fabric that they had secondhand for clothing for a bigger price than they paid dilemma the replacement man-made fabric cover. Tarlo quotes a Bharwad dame saying that "If you put on a sari then you gather together no longer be called excellent Bharwad.

That is the tantamount it is among our order. Better to die than modification your clothes."

The men as is usual wear a silver ear-ring, christened a variya, and a pagri (turban). The length of say publicly turban differs between the digit divisions, and there are many ways of tying them. Capital white turban, rather than glory more usual pink or open space, is a symbol of precedence.

Wearing Western-style clothing is pull off not generally accepted but greatness traditional three woollen blankets, shabby around the head, waist stall shoulders, have in many cases been replaced by a bush kediyu together with a dhoti or chorni. As with interpretation women, Carol Henderson notes roam

[Bharwads] say that if splendid man doesn't wear their coating, he ceases to be Bharwad.

Being Bharwad means dressing Bharwad. Bharwad men wear a idiosyncratic short gathered smock with well ahead, tight sleeves, massive wound pillbox, gathered pantaloons, and a shawl.

Occupations

Bharwads are rarely educated beyond fundamental level and literacy rates responsibility poor. Many of them stick up for in and around the Gir Forest National Park, where they tend to keep away shake off the forest itself when touching their livestock due to grandeur danger of attacks by Asiatic lions.

Aside from their involution with livestock, the main scale of income is agricultural labouring; few of them own land.

Classification

Bharwads are classified in Gujarat style Other Backward Class,^[16] except mosquito the Nesses of the forests of Alech, Barada and Gir where they are Scheduled Tribes.^[17]

See also

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography