Maldharis are herdsmen community in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Originally nomads, they came to be known as Maldharis after settling in

Junagadh district Junagadh district is a district of the Indian state of Gujarat. Its administrative headquarters is the city of Junagadh. Geography The district is located on the Kathiawar peninsula in western Gujarat. It is surrounded by Rajkot District (North) ...

(mainly

Gir Forest Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest, national park, and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India. It is located north-east of Somnath, south-east of Junagadh and south-west of Amreli. ...

). "Maldhari" is an occupational term which refers to people from a variety of castes and communities. 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 Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

and

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

to the palaces of

raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

Etymology

The word "Maldhari" can be loosely translated into English as "herdsman". derives from the Gujarati language words ''maal'' (animal stock) and ''dhari'' (owner/keeper). Hence, the one who owns animals, breeds them and/or herds them is called Maldhari.

Culture

Maldharis are descendants of nomads who periodically came from ttarpradesh

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

and other parts of

, and finally settled in the gir grasslands.P Their major communities include Bharvad, rabari,ahir ,charan . These semi-

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

herders spend eight months of the year criss-crossing sparse pasturelands with their

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

including

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

s, buffalo, and

camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

s in a continual quest for

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...

. During the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season, the Maldhari generally return to their home villages as more new grass grows closer to home during the rains. For villages in some areas, weddings are traditionally held just one day each year, on

Krishna Janmashtami Krishna Janmashtami , also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. According to the Hindu lunisolar calendar, it is observed ...

(Lord Krishna’s birthday), which falls in the midst of the monsoon. 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.

Communities

In different regions, the Maldharis belong to different

castes Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

. The

Gir Forest National Park Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest, national park, and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India. It is located north-east of Somnath, south-east of Junagadh and south-west of Amreli ...

is home to around 8,400 Maldharis as of 2007. The majority of the Maldharis in Gir belong to

Charan Charan ( IAST: Cāraṇ; Sanskrit: चारण; Gujarati: ચારણ; Urdu: ارڈ; IPA: cɑːrəɳə) is a caste in South Asia natively residing in the Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan provinces ...

Bharwad The Bharwad, also known as gadaria, are a Hindu caste found in the state of Gujarat in India, primarily engaged in herding livestock. History The Bharwads claim they are the descendants of (Hinduism). According to Sudipta Mitra, historians ...

and

Rabari The Rabari people (also known as Desai, Rabari, Raika, and Dewasi people) are an ethnic group from the Rajasthan also found in Gujarat Kutch region. Origin Myth The Rabari myth of origin is kshatriya that Shiva put them on earth to tend to the c ...

castes. Minority castes include

Koli Koli may refer to: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli people ...

, Kathi, Bawa,

Meghwal The Meghwal (also known as Megh and Meghraj) people live primarily in northwest India, with a small population in Pakistan. Their traditional occupation was agricultural farming, cattle-herding and weaving. Meghwals are known for their contr ...

and Makranis. The Maldharis of Gir, Alech and

Barda Barda or BARDA may refer to: Geography *Barda District, a district in Azerbaijan *Barda, Azerbaijan, a town in Azerbaijan *Bârda, a village in Malovăț Commune, Mehedinți County, Romania *Barda, Russia, several rural localities in Russia *Bar ...

have included among the

Scheduled Tribes 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 ...

since 1956, although these castes are not classified as Scheduled Tribes outside the forest areas.

Lifestyle

The

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

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. They earn a living by producing

from their cattle. They have developed a local breed of buffalo that is well known in India for its high productivity and strong resilience to the harsh conditions of the Banni. The

Banni Buffalo 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 n ...

was recognized as the 11th breed of buffalo in the country in 2010, the first one to be registered post independence. The breed registration process was carried out through the Maldharis themselves. They grow vegetables and collect wild

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

. Their main sources of cash income are sale of high quality

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

and

handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

s. 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 Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

Jewelry

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 with the Siva lingam. The milk that dribbles over the ring is an offering to the god, replacing the need to make oblations at a temple. 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.

References

{{reflist

External links

27 Photographs
Maldhari people * Indigenous peoples of South Asia Social groups of India Modern nomads