Dhangar: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|HerdingShepherd caste in India}}

The '''Dhangars(gadaria)''' are a herding caste of people found in the [[India]]n states of [[Maharashtra]], [[Karnataka]], [[Goa]], [[Madhya Pradesh]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]]. They are referred to as '''Gavlidhangar''' in southern Maharashtra, Goa and northern Karnataka, [[Golla (caste)|'''Golla''']] in Andhra Pradesh and ''' [[Kuruba]] ''' in Karnataka<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Singh|first1=K. S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mt9G1e6JF-QC&q=gauvali|title=India's Communities|last2=India|first2=Anthropological Survey of|date=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-563354-2|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Mishra|first=N. K. Singh and A. P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H8HT5OMWVssC&dq=golla+dhangar&pg=PA412|title=Global Encyclopaedic Enthnography Of Indian Muslim(3 Vols. Set)|date=August 2008|publisher=Global Vision Publishing House|isbn=978-81-8220-297-9|language=en}}</ref> and '''AhirGavli Dhangars''' in northern Maharashtra ([[Khandesh |Khandesh region]]).<ref name="Malhotra 1982" /><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Govt gives another push to get ST tag for Dhangar-Gouly |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/78005762.cms |work=The Times of India |agencyvia=Associated Press |date=2020-09-09 |access-date=2020-09-09}}</ref><ref name="Malhotra 2001" />{{sfnp|Shashi |2011|p=47}} Some Gavlis live in forested hill tracts of India's [[Western Ghats]].<ref name="Malhotra 1982">{{cite journal |title=Ecology of a pastoral caste: Gavli Dhangars of peninsular India| url=http://library.isical.ac.in:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10263/1447/HE-10-1-1982-P107-143.pdf |first=K. C. |last=Malhotra |journal=Human Ecology |volume=10 |issue=1 |date=March 1982 |pages=107–143 |doi=10.1007/BF01531107| s2cid=154253698 }}</ref> Gavli, also known as Dange or Mhaske, and Ahir are a sub-caste of Dhangar. However, there are many distinct [[Gavli]] castes in [[Maharashtra]] and [[Gavli#Dhangar Gavli|Dhangar Gavli]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-06-02|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Gavli#Dhangar Gavli|reason= The anchor (Dhangar Gavli) [[Special:Diff/1186210165|has been deleted]].}} is one of them.{{sfnp|Rao|1979|p=129}}{{sfnp|Enthoven|1990|p=368}}{{sfnp|Feldhaus|1989|p=101}}

Initially there were twelve tribes of Dhangar, and they had a [[division of labour]] amongst brothers of one family. The nation around [[Hingoli district|Hingoli]] was called Bara-Hatti which means country of twelve Hatkar-Dhangars. These twelve tribes later formed three sub-divisions and one half-division. These three being [[Hatkar]] (shepherd), [[Gavli#Dhangar Gavli|Gavli]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-06-02|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Gavli#Dhangar Gavli|reason= The anchor (Dhangar Gavli) [[Special:Diff/1186210165|has been deleted]].}} or Dange (cowherd) and [[Khutekar]] (wool and blanket weaver)/Sangar. All sub-castes fall in either of these divisions.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Landscapes in Conflict: Flocks, Hero-stones, and Cult in Early Medieval Maharashtra |first=Ajay |last=Dandekar |journal=Studies in History |date=August 1991 |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=301–324 |doi=10.1177/025764309100700207 |s2cid=162355452 }}</ref>{{sfnp|Sontheimer|1975|p=140}}

The archaeological evidence and ethnographic data suggest that the contemporary Dhangar castes are the result of more than one migration from North-West [[India]], between 4000 and 10000 BC.<ref name="Malhotra 2001"/> The density and distribution patterns of the different groups of Dhangars seem to have been guided by the suitability of the region for the sustenance of the animals that they traditionally maintained and the products of those animals on which the specific groups subsisted. Ethno-historic investigations among the Dhangars suggest that the Kannade, [[Kuruba|Unnikankan]] and [[Kuruba|Kurmar]] who speak [[Kannada]] were originally from [[Karnataka]] and might have migrated to the present habitats in [[Maharashtra]] at different points of time. Whereas [[Hatkar]], Zende, Thellari and Dange trace their origin to a single caste in the remote past, Shegars or [[Sagar Rajput(caste)|Sagar Rajputs]]s claim that they have nothing to do with the Dhangars and are descendants from [[Rajputs]] of [[Rajasthan]]. [[Ahirs]] speak "[[Khandeshi|Ahrani]]", also known as [[Gawali Dialect of Melghat|Gavli boli]],<ref>Critical Enquiry Vol.VI Issue IV. Oct.- Dec. 2014</ref> a mixed dialect of [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] and [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and are closely related to the Ladshe and Dange who have supposedly come from [[Gujarat]]. On the other hand, [[Gadaria|Gadhari]]-Nikhar and [[Gadaria|Gadhari]]-Dhangar, having migrated from [[North India]], speak [[Sanskrit and Hindi]]. Telangi speaks [[Telugu language|Telugu]] and probably migrated from [[Andhra Pradesh]], the remaining groups speak [[Marathi language|Marathi]].<ref name="Malhotra 2001">{{cite journal |title=Patterns of Variation in a Caste-Cluster of Dhangars of Maharashtra, India| url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/44612 |first=K. C. |last=Malhotra |journal=Collegium Antropologicum |volume=25 |issue=2 |date=Dec 2001 |pages=425–42 |pmid=11811272}}</ref><ref name="Maha OBC"/>

The Gavli or Dange Dhangars found in the coastal strip practiced cattle/buffalo/sheep herding and [[shifting cultivation]].<ref name="Malhotra 1982"/> [[Ahirahir]], Halmat, Khutekar, [[Kuruba|Kurmar-Unnikankan]], Mendhe, [[Sagar Rajput(caste)|Shegar]], Telangi, [[Kuruba|Unnikankan]] and Zade herded sheep and wove woolen blankets. [[Gadaria|Gadhri]]-Dhangar, Hande, [[Hatkar]]([[Gadaria people|Neekhar Gadariya]]), [[Kuruba|Hattikankan]], Kannade, [[Kuruba|Kurmar-hattikankan]] and Zende reared only Sheep. However, Hatkars in Sangli district also maintained cattle and some Zendes used to maintain ponies. Thellaris herded both sheep and cattle. Sangars were weavers of woolen blankets.<ref name="Malhotra 1977">{{cite journal |title=Haptoglobin and acid phosphatase gene distributions in the Dhangars of Maharashtra, India| url=https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/jgen/063/01/0039-0045 |first=K. C. |last=Malhotra |journal=Journal of Genetics |volume=63 |issue=1 |date=April 1977 |pages=39–45 |doi=10.1007/BF02984224| s2cid=25217479 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gadgil |first1=Madhav |last2=Malhotra |first2=K. C. |year=1981 |title=The ecological basis of the geographical distribution of the Dhangars a pastoral caste cluster of Maharashtra |url=http://repository.ias.ac.in/64217/1/28-pub-ocr.pdf |journal=South Asian Anthropologist |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=49–59}}</ref>{{sfnp|Guha|1993|p=84}} In the past, some Dhangars were [[Inamdar (feudal title)|Inamdar]]s and some were tenure-holders, holding lands either by a share or by paying a lump sum for a certain period.{{sfnp|Enthoven |1990|p=321}}

According to the [[1891 Census of India]], the pastoral class of Indian population was divided into two groups. First group was called cattle graziers which included [[Ahirs]], [[Gopas]], [[Gavli|Gawali]] and [[Golla (caste)|Golla]]. The second group was called shepherds which included [[Gadaria]], Dhangars, [[Kuruba]], [[Konar (caste)|Idaiyan]], [[Bharwad]] and [[Rabari]]..<ref>{{cite report |author=Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of her majesty |date= 1893-07-10|title=General Report on Census of India, 1891.|url=http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/ideologie/data/CensusIndia/CensusIndia1891/CensusIndia1891GeneralReport.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201028033412/http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/ideologie/data/CensusIndia/CensusIndia1891/CensusIndia1891GeneralReport.pdf|archive-date= 28 October 2020}}</ref>

Today, the [[Yadav]] society consist of different allied castes of several denominations such as Ahir in [[North India]], Thetwar and Raot in [[Madhya Pradesh]], Gavli in [[Maharashtra]], Idaiyan in [[Tamil Nadu]], Golla in [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Karnataka]], and Gopas in [[West Bengal|Bengal]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Rao |first=M. S. A. |date=1964-08-29 |title= Caste and the Indian Army |url= https://www.epw.in/journal/1964/35/special-articles/caste-and-indian-army.html|magazine= Economic and Political Weekly |publisher=epw}}</ref> On the other hand, Dhangar society in India includes Dhangars in Maharashtra and [[Goa]], Gadaria in North India, Bharwad in [[Gujarat]], and Kuruba both in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. However, [[Gavli#Dhangar Gavli|Dhangar Gavli]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-06-02|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Gavli#Dhangar Gavli|reason= The anchor (Dhangar Gavli) [[Special:Diff/1186210165|has been deleted]].}} is a distinct caste from [[Gavli#Dabholis and Chevlis|Yadav Gavli]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-06-02|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Gavli#Dabholis and Chevlis|reason= The anchor (Dabholis and Chevlis) [[Special:Diff/1186210165|has been deleted]].}} in [[Maharashtra]] and [[Goa]].<ref name="Malhotra 1982" /><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Govt gives another push to get ST tag for Dhangar-Gouly |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/78005762.cms |work=The Times of India |agencyvia=Associated Press |date=2020-09-09 |access-date=2020-09-09}}</ref>{{sfnp|Hassan|1989|p=166}} Moreover, [[Ahirs]] of Maharashtra prefer to be known as Ahir Dhangars and [[Maratha]]s of [[Indore]] (Madhya Pradesh), like [[House of Holkar|Holkar]]s, call themselves Dhangar gadaria. In North India the gadaria, who call themselves [[dhangar]], were at one time a wing of Dhangar society. Ahir is one of the [[gotra]] of Dhangars.{{sfnp|Shashi |2011|p=29,44,47}} Historians such as P. M. Chandorkar has used epigraphical evidence to argue that Ahirs and Gavlis are representative of the ancient [[Yadavas]] and [[Abhira tribe|Abhiras]] mentioned in the classical [[Sanskrit]] works. Furthermore, [[Khandesh|Khandesh region]] of [[Maharashtra]], at one point ruled by the Abhiras, was formerly known as the land of the Ahirs, and Ahirs in the present day Khandesh region speak [[Marathi Language|Marathi]] dialect which is continued to be called [[Ahirani]].{{sfnp|Guha|2006|p=47|ps=:P. M. Chandorkar, using both literary and epigraphic sources has argued that the modern Ahirs and Gavlis - until recently cattle-keepers - should be identified with the Yadavas and Abhiras of the classical Sanskrit texts. He also notes that Khandesh, on the margin of the central Indian forests, was earlier known as the land of the Ahirs, and the local Marathi dialect continued to be called Ahirani.}}

The Shegar Dhangars, also known as [[Sagar Rajput(caste)|Sagar Rajputs]]s, were previously identified as shepherd by occupation and Shudra by Varna but later they changed their surname to [[Rajput]] and started wearing [[sacred thread]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert Eric |last=Frykenberg|title=Land Tenure and Peasant in South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gOLSAAAAMAAJ|year=1984|publisher=Manohar|page=197|quote=Another example of castes' successful efforts to raise their sacred status to twice-born are the Sagar Rajputs of Poona district. Previously they were considered to be Dhangars—shepherds by occupation and Shudras by traditional varna. However, when their economic strength increased and they began to acquire land, they found a genealogist to trace their ancestry back to a leading officer in Shivaji's army, changed their names from Dhangars to Sagar Rajputs, and donned the sacred thread.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=B. S. | last1=Baviskar|first2=D. W. |last2=Attwood|title=Inside-Outside: Two Views of Social Change in Rural India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jVQtBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA389|date=2013-10-30|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=9788132118657|page=389|quote= As one example among thousands, a small caste living partly in the Nira Valley was formerly known as Shegar Dhangar and more recently as Sagar Rajput}}</ref>

* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BsBEgVa804IC | title = People of India: Maharashtra, Volume 2 |author-link2=Singh Kumar Suresh |last=Bhanu|first=B. V. |agencyvia= Anthropological Survey of India |year=2004 | isbn = 9788179911013 | publisher = Popular Prakashan}}

* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OmBjoAFMfjoC | title = People of India: Maharashtra, Volume 1 |last=Singh|first=Kumar Suresh|author-link1=Kumar Suresh Singh|author-link2=Bhanu B. V. |agencyvia= Anthropological Survey of India |year=2004 | isbn = 9788179911006 | publisher = Popular Prakashan}}

* {{cite book|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205223237/https://gazetteers.maharashtra.gov.in/cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/land_and_people/Chapter%20II.html | title = Maharashtra: Land and its people |last=Pathak|first=A. S.| archive-date=2020-12-05 |agencyvia= Government of Maharashtra |year=2009| url= https://gazetteers.maharashtra.gov.in/cultural.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/land_and_people/Chapter%20II.html|publisher = Maharashtra State Gazetteer}}