Pastoral Nomadic Tribes
Pastoral nomads in India are distinguished from other nomads in India in that they breed animals and this distinguishes them from other groups that which make a living by combining with other itinerant professions such as blacksmithing by Gadia Lohar, or selling salt by the Lambadi. These pastoral groups are concentrated in certain regions such as the semi-arid and arid Thar desert region and the neighbouring salt marshes of Kutch along the Indo-Pakistan border, the alpine and sub-alpine zones above 3200 metres in the Himalayas forming the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Types of livestock kept in mobile pastoral systems include buffaloes, sheep, goats, camels, cattle, donkeys, and yaks among others. Unlike in the Middle East, where pastoralist are organized in tribes occupying distinct areas, in India pastoralist are integrated in the caste system, representing endogamous social units specialising in animal husbandry. In western India in the Kutch region, there are a groups of padtoral nomads known as the Maldhari. The word Maldhari means in the local Kutchi language means an "owner of animal stock".
| Pastoral Group | State and location | Ethnic Identity | Species |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahir | found in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, only nomadic in Gujarat and Rajasthan, | Hindu group, speaking Gujarati, Rajasthani and dialects of Hindi | cattle |
| Bakarwal | Jammu and Kashmir | Kashmiri speaking Muslim group | mainly goats |
| Bharwad | Gujarat | Gujarati speaking Hindu group | Motabhai raise sheep and goat, and Nanabhai are cattle breeders |
| Bhotia | Uttarakhand, upper regions of Garhwal and Kumaon | Mainly Hindu, some Buddhist, speak Pahari | Sheep, Goats and cattle |
| Bhutia | North district of Sikkim | Buddhist, speaking Tibetan dialects | sheep, goats and cattle |
| Changpa | Jammu and Kashmir, mainly in Zanskar | Buddhist group speaking Ladakhi | Yak |
| Charan | Gir forest region of Gujarat | Gujarati speaking Hindu group | cattle |
| Dhangar | Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh | Hindu group, speaking Marathi | sheep |
| Gaddi | Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir | Hindu group, speak Pahari | sheep and goats |
| Gaddi Muslim | Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh | Muslim group, speaking various dialects of Hindi | cattle, are mainly urban dairymen |
| Gaderia | Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana | Hindu group, speaking dialects of Hindi | goats |
| Gavli | Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra | Marathi speaking Hindu group, although some are Muslims | cattle |
| Gayri | southern Rajasthan (Mewar) | An endogamous Gaderia Hindu sub-group, speak Rajasthani | sheep |
| Ghosi | Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh | Muslim group | cattle |
| Golla also known as Nandiwala | Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra | Telugu speaking Hindu group | cattle |
| Gujjar | Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan | Muslim group in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, speaking the Gojri language. In Rajasthan, Hindu and speaking Rajasthani | mainly buffalo, but also cattle generally |
| Jath | Kutch region of Gujarat | Kutchii speaking Muslim group | cattle and occasionally camels |
| Kinnaura | Kinnaur District of Himachal Pradesh | Rajputs or Khasias and Brus, including both Buddhists and Hindu | sheep and goats |
| Kuruba | Karnataka | Kannada speaking Hindu group | sheep |
| Kuruma | Andhra Pradesh | Telugu speaking Hindu group | sheep |
| Mer | in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat | Hindu group, Gujarati speaking | camels, also some cattle |
| Monpa | Tawang and West Kemeng districts of Arunachal Pradesh | Buddhist, speaking Tibetan dialects | Yak and cattle |
| Rath | western Rajasthan (Ganganagar and Bikaner districts) | Muslim group, speaking dialects of Rajasthani | cattle mainly of the Rathi breed |
| Rebari/Raika | Rajasthan and Gujarat | dialects of Rajasthani | camel, cattle and goats |
| Sindhi Sipahi or Sindhi Musalman | Marwar and Jaisalmer | Muslim group, speak Rajasthani | mainly camels, also cattle and sheep |
| Toda | in the Nilgiri region of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka | animist group, speak the Toda language | cattle |
| Van Gujar | Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh | Gojri speaking Muslim group | buffalo |
Read more about this topic: Nomads Of India
Famous quotes containing the words pastoral and/or tribes:
“Et in Arcadia ego.
[I too am in Arcadia.]”
—Anonymous, Anonymous.
Tomb inscription, appearing in classical paintings by Guercino and Poussin, among others. The words probably mean that even the most ideal earthly lives are mortal. Arcadia, a mountainous region in the central Peloponnese, Greece, was the rustic abode of Pan, depicted in literature and art as a land of innocence and ease, and was the title of Sir Philip Sidney’s pastoral romance (1590)
“All the shad’wy tribes of Mind,
In braided dance their murmurs joined,”
—William Collins (1721–1759)