Brief Details of Naikda
Naikda / Nayaka
The Naikas are also called Mota Naika in Chikhli Taluka and Navsari district and Mahuva, Surat and Songadh taluka in Surat district and Nana Naika in other parts of Surat district respectively. Shah (1959) states that etymologically the term Naika means a leader-a chief or a governor who exercises command over a group of people. The word is also used as a title .by the Kings of Vijayanagar and lords of Madurai. They trace their origin from those Naikas (chief or commanders) of armies of Dharampur. According to one legend, Naikas and Dhodias are believed to have descended from Rupa Khatri and Dhana Khatri respectively. Naikas used to act as sacred specialists in the, marriage rituals of the Dhodia community. They are mainly distributed in Surat, Valsad and Vadodara districts with a thin pocket of concentration in north and central parts of Gujarat. They are a scheduled1 tribe community. In some areas of Dharampur they speak a language called Naiki, a mixture of Gujarati and Marathi but Gujarati is largely spoken among themselves and in relation to others. They use Gujarati script. Their total population in the state was 2,80,230 according to 1981 census and under census 2001 total population of Nayakas was 3,93,024 out of them 1,99,652 were male and 1,93,372 were female. Serological data of the Nayaka by Vyas (1962) suggests a more or less equal frequencies of A and B genes, a slight excess of the latter, in the ABO system, a general trend observed in the area. In the Rh gene complex, they have Rl (75%), the predominant type and show similar frequencies of R3, and R2 like that of Dhodia. They share the characteristic features of the Gujarat tribes in having a very high incidence of N gene (51%) in the MN system. They also record a moderate to high incidence of the sickle cell trait (about 16%).
The Naikas are non vegetarians. However they do not eat beef and carrion, bajra or rice is the staple food. Seasonally available vegetables, fried chilly and a little oil are consumed. Red gram, green gram, urad and tur are the pulses used frequently. Roots or tubers are sometimes used. Fruits are rarely eaten. Both ground nut and palmolin oil are used as cooking media. Those who rear cow or buffaloed take milk or butter milk. Others cannot afford to do so. Consumption of alcoholic drinks is quite common even on usual days. Sweets of meethapur, guyra (derived out of rawa) or rawaladdu and meat or chicken are eaten during festivals. The Naika have two main endogamous divisions; Naikas of south Gujarat, Naika of Baroda and Panchamahal districts of central Gujarat. Again the Naikas of South Gujarat have two endogamous divisions having equal status viz. Kapadia Naika and Choliwala Naika. Each division consists of several clans like. Andherivadvi, Vaghad, Vaghya, Pahu, Chawra, Bharahat, Vadu, Moorai, Githira, Singda, Baraf etc, which have come into existence on some memorable deeds or eating habits of ancestors. All clans enjoy equal status and are exogamous in nature. Thus the regulation of mate selection is the main function of a clan. The Naika community considers itself as socially equivalent to Dhodia tribe but above Muslims, Parsis, Warlis, Koknas and Dublas. However, the Naika community is placed by others after Brahmans, Banias, Koli Patels, Anavil Brahmans, Dhodias and at par with Muslims and Parsis and above Dublas, 'Warlis, Harijans and Waghri in local social hierarchy. In recent years, very few male Naikas living in urban habitats have started suffixing the term Patel to their names in order to elevate their social position. Between the Kapadia and Choliwalas a sort of hypergamy was existing (Shah 1959). But now it is not observed. Matrimonial alliances are by exogamous nature of clan. Neither a ritual is observed or is bride-price paid in the case of widow remarriage. In-such alliances the consent of two or three village elders is sufficient to give social sanction. Both boys and girls are married off between the ages of 18 to 21 years. They also have khandado (gharjamai) system of marriage. The Naikas living in urban centres also have half marriage in which the man and woman live together without a formal marriage. Community marriages are practiced only in selected habitats. Although polygamy is not forbidden, yet, monogamy is the prevalent form of marriage. Payal (anklet), ear rings and sindur (vermilion) are the symbols of a married woman. They have a system of paying bride price. The amount of bride price varies. Divorce is permitted On grounds of maladjustment between the spouses, adultery of women and cruel treatment and impotency of husband. The dehaj (bride price) is to be returned if a woman seeks divorce and as fixed by the panch. The panch consists of two persons from each party and one elderly person. Children can be retained by the mother also if her second husband has no objection. Remarriage of a widow/ widower is allowed, and junior sorrorate, levirate is preferred in case of death of any of the spouses. A widow is required to wait for at least six to twelve months, after her husband's death for remarriage. The age at marriage has been increased. Now they have started employing Brahman priests arid observing all Hindu rituals of marriage instead of simply making seven rounds of mortar while grinding the grains. Nuclear as well as vertically joint families are prevalent. Parents live with the youngest son in the case of latter type of family. Avoidance is observed between a woman and all the husband's elder affinal male relatives. Joking relation is permitted between whom remarriage is allowed. Conflicts develop when the authority of elders is questioned which results in the break-up of joint families in many cases. Only sons have the right of property inheritance. However, daughter inherits in absence, of sons. Family and clan elder's or community elder's help is taken in solving their problems or disputes. The Naika women enjoy almost an equal status in the social, ritual and economic matters of the family. She can inherit the ancestral property in the absence of a male issue of her father. She can give divorce. Fuel and fodder is usually collected by the women or by a grown up daughter of the family. Besides extending their hands in the family's agricultural activities and taking care of the cattle, they also earn as agricultural labourers or as labourers in the nearby towns or as maid servants and thereby supplement the family's income. Taking care of children and proper maintenance of the household is a prime duty of the woman. The Naika women feel that one should not have differences with their brothers on the issue of sharing the ancestral property, but strongly feel that they have more right, in father-in-laws property than in the parental property.
The Naikas observe pre-delivery rituals. Traditionally first delivery is arranged by the girl's parents. The girl's elder brother's wife presents some sweets, one pair of clothes and a coconut during the seventh month of her first pregnancy in a ceremony called kholbharna. Delivery takes place mostly at her father's house attended by either trained dai (midwife) or an experienced mid-wife of any community. The mother is treated as unclean for five weeks; the fui (father's sister of the newly-born baby) names her nephew/niece on the fifth or sixth day of birth by presenting new clothes to the child (brought by her) and keeping the child on the cradle. The dai (midwife) tests the intelligence of the child by beating the thali (a plate of brass/steal) and she is suitably rewarded at this ceremony known as chhatti. The mother is given bath for eleven days by the dai. The newly born child's mother worships a well which is known as kua poojan after which she can attend to her domestic duties.
Matrimonial negotiations are initiated by boy's father through a middleman called vastadiyo. After both the parties agree, the boy along with two or three friends visits the girl's house on a fixed day. After mutual consent, the betrothal ceremony is performed by presenting one pair of clothes, coconut and Applying tikka on the forehead of the girl and Rs. 1.25 or 5/- The visiting relatives are treated with wine or toddy. Both the parties equally share the expenditure. This is called Mani toddy. Then the boy's family consult a Brahman priest and visit the girl's family to pay bride price and again enjoy toddy which is called moti toddy and fix the date of marriage. The marriage is solemnized within one year of betrothal ceremony and usually held between February and May. One sari is presented to the bride, if one wants extension of marriage by one more year. Marriage rituals continue for three days; turmeric paste is applied on the bodies of both the bride and groom. Marriage ceremonies include Ganesh poojan, mandaporpan (erecting of marriage pandal) and masalalana (presentation of pant and shirt pieces, ring or chappals to the groom and a sari to the bride by her maternal uncle on marriage day). On the marriage day, the groom goes in procession on the horse back and rests for one or two, hours before entering the bride's house. All rituals end by taking seven rounds of sacred fire. The bride is taken to groom's house for consummation of marriage. After three or four days, she along with her husband, are brought back by her mother for a stay of three or four days at her parent's home where the couple is offered feast by her close relatives. Then, the couple returns to the groom's home for ever. The bride is neither sent nor brought to her natal or in-laws house on Tuesday and Saturdays.
The dead are cremated. Only the children below eight years of age, pregnant women and those who die in epidemics are buried facing towards north direction. Mourning continues for three to five days. All patrilineal male relatives undergo head and moustache shaving on third, fifth or seventh day of the death, except on Sunday and Tuesday. Death rites are concluded with the performance of vidhi on ninth day in case of unmarried persons and on the twelfth day for others in a traditional manner by the bhuva, the sacred specialist of the community.
Land is the major economic resource of the Naika community and is controlled by individuals. Agriculture and agricultural labour are the primary as well as traditional means of livelihood. Manual work and un-skilled labour in nearby industries are secondary sources of income. Thus the community is a combination of landowning and landless persons. Cutting of wood in nearby jungles 1 and working as labourers in salt preparation around Bombay city were the traditional occupations1 of the community out of which wood cutting has been retained as primary sources of income, by only a few Naikas. They depend on nearby markets for their day-to-day requirements. Child labour is common owing to poverty. The boys and girls in the age range of 10-12 years serve in tending the cattle and as agricultural labourers, respectively. Wages are paid in cash. There has been a trend of switching over from the primary occupation of agriculture to carpentry, especially among those living in nearby towns.
The Naika do not have a systematic and well organized caste council at the local or regional level. Efforts were made to have regional caste council since 1969 and in 1980-82 it was started with its headquarters at Billimora town for south Gujarat Naikas. Chieftainship existed in very few habitats of the Naika which was replaced by panchs and a Pramakh (headman) to decide the issues like divorce and other disputes. The guilty are punished with fine. The amount collected was spent to arrange toddy or liquor for the panch members. The guilty are socially boycotted if they refuse to pay the fine. Inter-community disputes were settled by the village council. The power and importance of the panch has been reduced to a nominal level after the introduction of statutory councils.
Hinduism is the religion professed by the Naika. However, they have their own belief system. They worship Brahmadev as supreme god and also worship Narayandev in times of crisis. They worship all Hindu gods like lord Krishna, Rama, Siva, Hanuman and Kalimata. Very few of them have clan (kid) deity. They employ Brahman priest for performing life-cycle rituals including marriage but have a bhuva for the performance of death rites in traditional manner. They celebrate Divaso, Holi, Diwali, Dassera in accordance with tradition. They take part in Shivratri mela (fair) at Landweda where they perform anniversary of all the dead in the house. Considerable number of Naikas keeps the framed photographs of Jalaram of Virpur and Hajimalan baba of Kalyan at their places of worship. They constructed a shrine of Jalaramji along with members of other communities. The Naikas visit on Thursdays and Sundays to the local shrine of the above referred Muslim saint to get relief from their distress.
The Naikas maintain socio-economic relations with all the surrounding communities. Many Naikas especially those who live in urban centres accept cooked food or water from any community. However, a few elders living in villages do not accept cooked food and water from the Parsis, Harijans and Muslims but they take kachcha food from these communities as the female members of these communities do not observe pollution during the menstruation days. Similarly still some Brahmans, Anavil Brahmans and Koli Patels do not accept food in any form or even water from the Naikas. Few cases of Inter-community and even inter-religious marriages have taken place. They have separate crematorium and drinking facilities in many cases. However, they share roads, schools and entry to temples with others. Their participation in, local level politics is poor as they have very few members in local statutory councils}despite their considerable numerical strength. Very few of them work (on an yearly basis as agricultural labourers in order to repay the debts to the Koli Patels, a dominating agricultural community of the habitat.
The level of literacy remains low among the Naika community. The literacy rate has increased among boys and girls in last decades. Under census 2001 out of 1,15,074 (35.6%) literate population of Nayakas, 74,964 (45.6%) were male and 40,110 (25.2%) were female. Though higher educated were limited people. Discontinuation of education is due to compulsions of poverty and to supplement the family income. They make moderate use of modern medical care as they still believe in superstitions and visit their Bhuva (sacred specialist) for minor ailments. Majority of the women of the reproductive age get sterilized and also use indigenous methods for limiting family size. They have drinking water facilities and a few living in urban settlements have electric connections in their houses. Railways, post and telegraph facilities are available. Few have irrigation facilities and use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. All the school-going children enjoy mid-day meal scheme. They are satisfied with the public distribution (fair price shops) system. Besides various agencies there are two public trusts, whose main function is to co-ordinate with various public agencies and to provide houses to the needy tribals and medical facilities to all in general and Atul's employees in particular, who are living in about 40 villages of Chikhli, Valsad, Dharampur and Pardi taluka in the Valsad district. But only a few Naikas are benefited.