The Mahli are a community in the Indian states of
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
,
Odisha
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 ...
and
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
.
Basketry
Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...
was main occupation of mahlis. Mahli speak
Sadri
Sadri is a municipality in the Pali district of Rajasthan, India. It is considered the gateway to Marwar from Mewar. Sadri is one of the main places of worship for the Jain community. Ranakpur Temple and Shri Parshuram Mahadev Mandir are locate ...
,
Mundari and
Santali as their mother tongue rather than
Mahli
The Mahli are a community in the Indian states of Jharkhand, Odisha
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 ...
. May be Mahli is a threatened language. Also use
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
,
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
and
Odia
Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to:
* Odia people in Odisha, India
* Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family
* Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...
. They are included in list of
Scheduled Tribe
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
.
Origin
They are caste who works as palaqulin bearers and bamboo workers. They are divided into five endogamous subdivision: the bansphor Mahli, pahar mahli, Sulunkhi, Tanti and Mahli Munda. Their some septs are Barwar (banayan), Bhuktuar, dumriar (wild fig), gundli (a kind of grain), Induar (eel), Kantiar, Kasriar, Kathargachh (jackfruit tree), Kendriar, Kerketta (a bird), mahukal (a bird), Tirki, Tunduar, Turu, Lang Chenre, Sanga. Their four septs Hansda, Hemron, Murmu, Saren also found in Santal tribe.
Culture
Their traditional occupation was making households items of bamboo.
They were also making musical instruments such as Mandar, Dhol, Nagara etc.
Their deity is Surjahi (Solar deity). Other deity are Bar Pahari (mountain deity) and
Mansa Devi
Manasa () is a Hindu goddess of snakes. She is worshipped mainly in Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, Lower Assam and other parts of northeastern India and in Uttarakhand, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite, and also for fertility and p ...
. Their festival are Bangri, Hariyari and
Nawakhani
Nawakhani is harvest festival of of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In this festival people eat new grain of rice after harvesting.
Etymology
Nawakhani means ''eating new''. Nawa means ''New'' and Khani means ''eat''. It signify eating new g ...
etc.
Official classification
In the past, they were treated as an untouchable caste but listed as
Scheduled Tribe
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
by the Jharkhand government.
See also
*
Ghasi Ram Mahli
Ghasi Ram Mahli (17 January 1859 – 1937) was an Indian Nagpuri-language poet. He was a poet under the patronage of Nagvanshi Lal Thakur of Thakurgaon. He was the first poet of the Nagpuri language, whose book was published in 1911.
Early lif ...
, poet
References
External links
Mahali
Scheduled Tribes of Jharkhand
Scheduled Tribes of West Bengal
Scheduled Tribes of India
Social groups of West Bengal
Social groups of Odisha
Scheduled Tribes of Odisha
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