Dumal or Dumala is a
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
found in
Orissa
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...
, their occupation is palanquin bearing and agriculture, similar to
Kahar
The Kahars are a community of palanquin bearers originating from the Gangatic region.
Kahars are present in most parts of India, but are concentrated in North India. They are found mainly in West Uttar Pradesh, in Sarsawa, Saharanpur, Farrukh ...
s of Uttar Pradesh and
Dules of West Bengal.
they call themselves as ''Dumala'' and claim to be a sect of Gauda caste. They are distributed through the
Boudh
Boudh is a town and a Notified Area Council in Boudh district in the state of Odisha, India. It is the district headquarters of Boudh district. It is located on the bank of Mahanadi, the largest river of the state of Odisha.
Geography
Boudh ...
,
Phulbani
Phulbani is a municipality and administrative headquarters of Kandhamal district in the state of Odisha in India.
History
It is named after the lady 'Phulardei' who was sacrificed by the local inhabitants as an act of religious ritual to Mother ...
,
Balangir
Balangir also known as Bolangir, is a city and municipality, the headquarters of Balangir district in the state of Odisha, India. Balangir has one of the best cultural heritage in India. It is also known as one of the finest places for tourists ...
,
Sonepur,
Bargarh
Bargarh is a city and municipality in Bargarh district in the state of odisha in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bargarh District. Bargarh is popularly known for intensive cultivation of 'paddy', therefore called "Bhata Handi" o ...
,
Sambalpur
Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Samb ...
,
Nayagarh
Nayagarh is both a town and the municipality headquarters of the Nayagarh district in the Indian state of Odisha.
Geography
Nayagarh is located at with an average elevation of 178 metres (584 feet).
It was the Rukhi mountain to the south a ...
,
Cuttack
Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...
,
Angul
Angul (also known as Anugul) is a town and a municipality and the headquarters of Angul district in the state of Odisha, India. Angul has an average elevation of above sea level.
The total geographical area of the district is 6232 km2. ...
and
Debgarh districts.
This caste is categorised as an Other Backward Class (OBC) according to
Reservation system of India.
Origin
The caste originally came from Orissa. Its name was derived from the village of Dumba Hadap in the former Athmallik state.
[Archived Eboo]
"The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II Archived "
/ref>
Another explanation of its origin is that Dumal is derived from Duma, the name of the gateway in Baudh town, which they lived near. Sir H. Risley wrote, “The Dumals or Jadupuria seems to be a group of local formation. They cherish the tradition that their ancestors came to Orissa from Jadupur, but this appears to be nothing more than the name of Yadavs/Jadavas, the mythological progenitors of the Yaduvanshi caste transformed into the name of an imaginary town."
Another legend states that when Lord Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...
was wandering in the forests of Sambalpur, he met three brothers and asked each one to bring him a cup of water. The first brother brought water in a clean brass pot, his name was Sudh (well-mannered). The second brother made a cup out of leaves and drew water from a well using a rope, his name was Dumal, from dori-mal (a coil of rope). The third brother brought water in a hollow gourd, and his name was Kolta, from ku-rita (ill-mannered). This shows Kulta, Dumal, and Sudh have some connections.
References
Sources
*Paper submitted by Mr Parmanada Tiwari, Extra assistant commissioner and Assistant settlement officer, Sambalpur
*Paper drawn up by Mr. Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, Extra Assistant Commissioner
*The Tribes And Castes of the Central Provinces of India By R. V. Russell
*The tribes and castes of the central provinces of India, Volume 1 - Page 538 By R.V. Russell, R.B.H. Lai
*
*
*{{cite book, title=Sociological Bulletin, url={{google books , plainurl=y , id=6pHZAAAAMAAJ, year=2000, publisher=Indian Sociological Society.
Social groups of Odisha