The Patari are a community found mainly in the

Sonbhadra district Sonbhadra or ''Sonebhadra'' is the second largest district by area of Uttar Pradesh after Lakhimpur Kheri. It is the only district in India which borders four states, namely Madhya Pradesh to the west, Chhattishgarh to the south, Jharkhand in t ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, India.

History and origin

There are various theories as to the origin of the Patari tribe. According to the tribe itself, the Patari are by origin Gond tribals, who were ritual specialists and advisers to the Gond kings. They belong to the Devgond sub-division. Other sources, such as

William Crooke William Crooke (6 August 1848 – 25 October 1923) was a British orientalist and a key figure in the study and documentation of Anglo-Indian folklore. He was born in County Cork, Ireland, and was educated at Erasmus Smith's Tipperary Grammar S ...

claim that the Patari are actually of

Majhwar The Majhwar are a Scheduled Caste found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. The 2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House l ...

origin, and descend from seven brothers, of which their ancestor Patari was responsible for the rituals and traditions of the other six Majhwar clans. The Patari once spoke Chhattisgarhi, but now speak

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 ...

. They are found throughout south eastern Uttar Pradesh, but are concentrated in Sonbhadra district.People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part Three edited by A Hasan & J C Das pages 1135 to 1138

Social organisation

The Patari are further divided into four sub-divisions, each of which have separate totemistic septs called ''kuris''. Major septs among the first sub-group include the Narkam, Poija, Kusro, Soi, Neti, and Serlo. In the second sub-group, major kuris include the Tekam, Netam. Pusan and Marpachi.While in the third sub-groups, major kuri include the Marai and Sarota, and fourth sub-group, the kuris include the Kuram, Poika, and Armon. The Patari are

endogamous Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Endogamy is common in many cultu ...

, but practice kuri

exogamy Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups c ...

. The Patari are priests, locally known as Baigas, of a number of tribal grouping in south-east Uttar Pradesh such as the

Chero The Chero is a caste found in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh in India. History and origin The community claims to have originally been tribal people. The Chero are essentially one of many tribal communities, such as the Bhar ...

and

Bhuiyar The Bhuiyar or Bhuyiar are a Hindu caste found in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. They have scheduled caste status and are also known as Bhanyar. The traditional occupation of the Bhuiyar caste is weaving but that has declined due to mechanis ...

. Their community deities include Buradeo, and they incorporate a number of folk beliefs. The Patari have a traditional caste council, referred to as the biradari panchayat, to which are inter-community disputes are referred too. This is headed by a Chaudhary, a position which hereditary. Most Chaudhary families are perceived as natural leaders of the community. The panchayat has the power to excommunicate a person, but more often fines are given. A large number of issues such as elopement or adultery are dealt with by the panchayat. Many Patari are now farmers and sharecroppers, having abandoned their traditional occupation of the priesthood. An important subsidiary occupation is animal husbandry. The

Government of Uttar Pradesh The Government of Uttar Pradesh (ISO: Uttar Pradesh Sarkār; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appointed constitutional head of the state by the President of I ...

had classified the Patari as a Scheduled Caste but by 2007, they were one of several groups that it redesignated 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 ...

s. As of 2017, this tribal designation applies only for Sonbhadra district, as it also did at the time of the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

when the Patari Scheduled Caste population in Uttar Pradesh was 366.

References

{{Tribes of Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Castes of Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Tribes of Uttar Pradesh

History and origin

Social organisation

See also

References