Dasada
and its nearby villages are inhabited by a number of
interesting communities including pastoral groups.
The Kharapat Rabaris
were among the original inhabitants of Dasada. Rabaris
have always been pastoralists and keep camels, cattle
and other livestock but the Kharapat Rabaris never kept
camels and tend cattle and buffalo. The story begins
long ago in Jaisalmer, perhaps in the 14th century from
where Rabaris spread to different parts of Rajasthan
and Gujarat, with the Kharapats finding the land around
present day Dasada good. They made mud kubas, and stayed
on here where they established the village of Dasada.
Today Kharapat Rabaris live in thirty-five villages
between Sankeshwar and Kharagodha and continue to herd
cattle and live by dairy farming.
Kharapat Rabaris
worship Kuverma, an incarnation of Saraswati, the Hindu
goddess of learning, and Krishna, and the Sufi shrines.
Their prime celebrations are Navratri in October, Divali
in November, and Janamashtami in the monsoon season.
Til today, Bhopa
Rabaris from Jamnagar and Dwarka, and Vagadia Rabaris
from eastern Kutch migrate seasonally into Dasada. Searching
endlessly for fodder and water for their herds, the
Bhopas come from July to September, and Vagadias from
January to February. Thankfully not suffering political
pressures, they return to their homelands til the next
year.
Til today, Bhopa
Rabaris from Jamnagar and Dwarka, and Vagadia Rabaris
from eastern Kutch migrate seasonally into Dasada. Searching
endlessly for fodder and water for their herds, the
Bhopas come from July to September, and Vagadias from
January to February.
On the periphery
of Dasada lives a community of 15 families of nomadic
Mirs. Their dress is Rajasthani; their homes are temporary.
Traditionally they kept the genealogy of Rabaris. The
Rabaris would pay them in kind – goats or sheep-
to record their births, marriages and deaths. The Mirs
used to also draw what was given in exchanges between
Rabari families.
Mirs migrated with
Rabaris, keeping relations with them according to Rabari
lineages. Each Mir was in charge of a particular lineage
or sakh. Today, some 10,000 Mirs live all over Gujarat
– all the way to Mumbai, Sattarbhai declares.
They no longer live in Rajasthan but live particularly
in Vagad, eastern Kutch, and north Gujarat.
Women wear aniyo
(a short, backless blouse), kurti (a front closing sleeveless
jacket) ghagharo (a 20 meter gathered skirt), and chundadi
(a 5 meter veil). Most striking are their ornaments:
copious necklaces and tassels fashioned from beads,
coins and trinkets, and in particular their white bangles
from wrist to armpit. Mir men wear white pachedo (a
wrapped lower garment) and kamiz (a shirt)
Though Muslim, each
Mir has both a Hindu and a Muslim name. Today Mirs do
manual agricultural and construction labour. The women
are expert in beadwork and in Dasada they have started
making beaded bangles.
Bharvads
originated in Mathura. They were traditionally maldhari,
or nomadic herders, and have kept sheep, goats, cows
and buffalo. In Mathura, it was the Bharvads who raised
the refugee infant Krishna. Bharvads came to the Dasada
area looking for grass. Bharvads have Barots
who keep their genealogical records.
With their intimate
connection to Krishna, the Bharvads’ main celebration
is Janamashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna. On that
day, they make a clay image of kanudo, the child Krishna.
They decorate the image, dance around it, and finally
immerse it in a body of water. Bharvads gather for marriage
during the Tarnetar Fair.
Women wear tangalio
(wrapped skirt) and galmendi (veil), both woven from
the wool of their sheep, with a khinkhab (brocade) kapadu
(short backless blouse). The galmendi was traditionally
bandhani, symbolizing suhag, the auspicious state of
a married woman. embroidered, sometimes also using wool.
Married women also wore balaiyun (bracelets) of silver,
and when a son was married and a daughter-in-law arrived,
exchanged these for ivory versions. Men wear a blue,
green or red bori (wrapped lower garment) with a machine
embroidered bandi (vest) and kediyun (ruffled jacket),
and a red melkhayu (turban). Most notably they wear
gold upper earrings, both tansiya (rings) and phul (umbrella-like
studs), and silver kadu (bracelets) and kanduro (belt).
Closely
associated with the Bharvads are the Dangasia, traditional
weavers. The two communities share a symbiotic relationship.
Bharvads keep sheep, and Dangasias weave the wool into
garments for the Bharvads. Moreover, Dangasia dress
is the same as that of Bharvads. As with the Mirs and
Rabaris, the connection is not coincidental.
They traditionally
wove the tangalio and galmendi of Bharvad women’s
dress, as well as dhabla, woolen blankets used by many
local communities. Dangasias are devout believers in
Chamunda Devi, the ascentic form of the goddess Parvati,
whose main temple is in Chotila. On the 8th day of Navratri,
in October, they gather to worship this goddess.
Landholders in Bajana
near Dasada for centuries, the Jats also have a pastoral
nomadic history. Jats of this region wear the dress
of Rajputs, and practiced the regional styles of embroidery.
Kolis work at the
salt pans in the Rann of Kutch. About 5,000 Koli people
work as Agarias or salt workers in the Little of Kutch
area near Dasada.
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