Warli

Brief Details of Warli

Warli

The Warli is a well known tribe who are mostly living in the mountainous regions of Dharampur and Vansda talukas and in the coastal region of Umbergaon taluka of Valsad district. Their main concentration is in Umbergaon' taluka. They are also distributed in Panchmahals, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Sabarkantha, Banaskantha and Mehasana districts in very small numbers. According to 2001 census, their population is 2,55,271. Pandya (1981) writes ethnologically the word Warli has originated from Warud. As the records show, in Satpura of Vindhya mountain ranges, three anarya tribes went to reside, namely Nishad, Vyas; and Warud. 'Warud' was later distorted and it became 'Warli'. He! further writes, in Bhagwato Mandal dictionary, it has been written that Warli (F) means an aboriginal tribe which is proficient in digging out roots and transplanting new, trees in the forests and are also involved in agriculture. Save (1945) writes that "the Warlis are an aboriginal tribe living in the north-eastern part of the Thana district- Dharampur and Bansda states in the Surat Agency and the western part of the Nasik district, especially on the eastern slopes of the Sahyadris". According to him, Warli has its root in the word warul which means forest or fanatic. The Warli tribe is divided into three groups viz. Rusi or Davar, Kilwat or Murdey and Nehri. The Davar form a major group of Warlis in the state. The Davar Warlis who live in coastal villages are known as Pathar Warlis i.e., near sea areas, Mandal and Malhotra (1983) write, "In Warli mythology it is said that when God was creating mankind he gave Warlis a plough, therefore, they became Kulambi-farmer". It is said that the Warlis have migrated to south Gujarat from Konkan area of Maharashtra due to the pressure of the British. It is also believed that it may be due to imperialistic movement of the Marathas. The Warli speak their own language which is mixture of Khandeshi Bhili dialect and Marathi. They speak Gujarati and use Gujarati script. They also make use of Marathi words in their conversation. A Warli woman wears choli, (a type of blouse), a four yard sari called lugda. A man wears a bush-shirt, or a half sleeve shirt, or sleeve less jacket and a half-pant or a striped under-wear. Earlier, old women, used to wear a loin cloth around the waist to cover the genitals. On the upper part of the body they used nothing. Men also used to cover the head with a turban.

The Warli are non-vegetarian. They eat the meat of deer, goat, wild rabbit, fowls, pigeons and peacocks, but the most favorite non-vegetarian dish is that of fish. Dry fish is mixed with dal (pulse) or vegetable and then eaten with rotlas (thick breads of nagli, wheat, jowar or rice). Staple food is nagli and rice. Rice is relished with chutney. Pulses of urad (green gram), tur (pigon pea) and gram make a part of their diet. Rice-gruel is taken in the morning as breakfast. Wild roots of vora are eaten during the winter season, besides tubers, spinach and a number of leafy vegetables in their day to day intake. The Warli make use of palmoline and groundnut oils for preparation of food items. They brew liquor prepared from mahua and molasses for their own consumption and supply to others also. Seasonal fruits which they get from the forest are consumed occasionally. Using milk for preparation of tea is very limited due to non-availability of milk. They keep asitra (timroo) leaves for preparation of bidi in their pockets and- roll it when they feel like smoking. They produce fire with the help of a chakmak stone, iron and cotton.

Each of the three divisions of the Warli has exogamous clans. Some of the clans are Mali, Bhavar, Barad, Janathiya, Pawar, Kachara, Valavi, Vasava, Vagh, Sabar, Sambar, Dhum, Chauhan, Rathod, Valma, Khichari, Tamadi, Kharadia, Kangari, Tadavi, Sapata, Sonar, Navad, etc. Some of the names of clans are parallel to the name of the communities like Mali, Bhavar, Tadavi, Sonar, etc. Save (1945) has noted about two hundred clans, of which some are totemic in nature and some are close to Maratha-Rajput clans, Pandya (1981) mentions, that the gotra are named after birds, animals, trees and places like Khalho (fox)', Murha (peacock), Ambar (mango tree), Dodka (turia-vegetable), Naik-Patel (designation), Gonali (shepherd), Pachalkar and Dangarkar, (on the name of the places). He has furtheri reported names of 104 gotras found during his study. The clans have their clan deities. Mandal arid Malhotra (1983) observe a distinct social hierarchy among the clans of the Warli tribe. They write that Darvi is placed at the top of the hierarchical order and claim to be the descendants of the Warli king, whereas Kuor, Barat, Dobkia, Waghmaria clans are placed in the lower rung and served as soldiers of the ruler. The clans are referred to for marital purposes. They also indicate their descent. The Warli place themselves superior to the Kolchas as they eat the flesh of dead animals. But, they put Dhodia; Kukna, Kunbi, Chaudhary higher than themselves in the local social hierarchy.

The Warli are principally monogamous. In case of barrenness of the wife or insanity, husband brings another wife and thus, polygyny is also practiced. Age at marriage for the girls is fifteen: to seventeen years and for boys from seventeen to nineteen years. Six types of marriages are practiced, viz., arranged type of marriage; ' marriage by elopement, marriage by intrusion, marriage by service, marriage by force and marriage by mutual consent. In the arranged type of marriage all the marriage ceremonies are quite elaborately performed. Both the type of cross-cousin (MBD & FSD) marriages is allowed. The symbols of a married woman are kali ganthi (black thread necklace) and application of, kanku (vermilion) in the hair parting. Bride price called dej is around Rs. 270/- and grains (three maunds), pulses and oil. The bride is given a set of new clothes and some ornaments in marriage. Rule of residence after marriage is patrilocal. Divorce occurs due to mal-adjustment, cruelty, impotency, adultery, non-payment of bride-price etc. The party, who seeks divorce, pays the compensation, and it is put into effect after getting the social approval. If a woman marries another man, the second husband pays compensation to the first husband. Widow Remarriage is allowed in the community. In case of remarriage, the children either stay with the mother or with the father according to convenience. Junior levirate and junior sororate are prevalent in the community.

Nuclear family is predominant in the Warli community. Extended families are also found. After marriage, the couple lives in husband's house for about a year. When a child is born, they construct their own house in the land owned by the family and begin to live separately. Sometimes, the son-in-law resides with the wife's family when he is unable to pay the amount of bride-price. He serves his wife's family for three-four years and lives there as a family member. It is locally known as khandhadio. The elder brother will not call his younger brother's wife by name. They maintain a little distance. Likewise, mother-in-law and father-in-law maintain, a little distance with the son-in-law. Joking relationships are allowed with the persons of the same age group. It is also, customary, to jest with opposite sex with whom they might get married in future. Joking relationship is also found .between elder sister's husband and wife's younger sister and between husband's younger brother and elder brother's wife. Rule of inheritance, is, male equigeniture. The eldest son succeeds as head of the family.

The Warli women do not inherit any parental property. Besides their routine domestic chores, they collect fuel and fodder from the forest. They earn as labourers in the agricultural fields, forest, road etc. They go to the forest to collect minor-forest produce. Though they, work very hard and also have a freedom to choose life partner, take part in the decision making process of the .family, yet they are not given an equal status.

If there is delay in pregnancy, they seek the help of Bhagats or Bhuvas to appease the ancestors and supernatural spirits, as childlessness is viewed with serious concern by both husband and wife. During conception or pregnancy, no ritual is observed. Delivery takes place at the husband's house. They take the help of a, midwife during child-birth. Pollution is observed for five days, but the mother, is not allowed to work in the kitchen for thirty days. Panchora ritual is performed by the midwife. The mother is given a bath. The child is put in a cloth swing by the midwife and it is swung thrice by. Two small girls. The midwife or the parents give a name to the child. After two or three months of child birth peti poojan, officiated by a Bhuua, is performed to send off the malevolent spirits. A chicken is sacrificed on this occasion. Mundan (tonsure) ceremony is observed after four or five months of birth by the maternal uncle. Pre- marital sex is tolerated among the boys and the girls. If it results in pregnancy, then the boy and the girl are married to each other, In case, of non-conformance, the boy is fined. In negotiated, form of marriage, the boy's party makes a search for a suitable girl with the help of a middle man known as bhanjgadia. When, he succeeds in arranging a match, engagement ceremony is held in the girl's house. The boy's party pays Rs. 25/- for drinks and provides a sari and dahli for the girl. About ten days prior to marriage, dej (bride price) and other materials are sent to the bride's house. Kathio from Kolcha tribe are engaged to play musical instruments like tar, (bronze dish) thahli, tarpa, etc during marriage. In between engagement and marriage, the girl goes to the boy's house and stays there for ten to fifteen days. She examines the possibility of her adjustment there and this provides a chance for mixing with the boy also. Marriages are held in between Holi and Nagpanchami on any auspicious day. When the dates of marriage are fixed, anointing of oil and turmeric paste to the bride and the bride groom starts. Marriage is solemnized in the boy's house in Dharampur area, while it is solemnized in the' bride's house in the Vansda area. Baughs of Umbar tree are worshipped in the house. Elder women from each side perform the marriage rituals. The bride and the bride-groom beat each other with the umbar boughs. Their faces are covered with the garlands of ankadi flower. They dance and sing for the whole night. In the morning, the newlywed couple is given a nuptial bath. Nuptial rite is performed in the bridegroom's house.

In the instance of death of children up to the age of one year, the corpse is buried and funeral rites are completed within four days. Feast and drinks are arranged on this day. The older persons are cremated. Barwal (Kara) is celebrated on the twelfth day after death. The Bhagat who conducts this ceremony is known as Kambdi. His help is also taken if there is any trouble from the ghost of the dead person. A feast is arranged on the twelfth day.

The Warlis own very small land holdings for cultivation. They do the primitive form of cultivation by spreading the tree branches and dry leaves in the fields and burn them before rain. The ash is then spread over the field and the seeds of nagli are sown by broadcasting. In the rehabilitated villages like Kachhigaon and others, they have been provided agricultural land along with land; for constructing their houses. The Warlis of Kachhigaon have migrated to this place from Madhuban dam area in the Dharampur taluka and each family has been provided three acres of cultivable land. The Varlis do not get their full subsistence from agriculture, so they work as agricultural and casual wage labourers, domestic servants to the landlords etc. They go to Nasik, Valsad, Navsari, Chikhil, Pardi, etc. in search of work and to earn their livelihood. They also work as forest labourers and collect minor-forest produce like honey, gum, mahuo, doli, timroo leaves etc. and also undertake the work of making charcoal, by lumbering the trees and transplanting of the new trees. In the nearby rivers and rivulets, they do fishing with the help of nets, fish traps and plunges (conical traps). The Warli children graze the village cattle. The children do hunting of small birds, fishing, cattle grazing, weeding as well as protecting the crops 'from the birds. Payment is made both in cash and kind.

The Warli community does not have a formal organization of community panchayat, but one finds the existence of chieftainship. The Mukhi or Patel (chief/head man) plays a vital role in keeping the social traditions intact. This post is hereditary; he takes the help of elder persons in the community. Karbhari and Kathio (watchman) helps him in the panchayat meetings. The Warlis also take the help of the statutory panchayat’s Sarpanch and Police Patel in different socio-political matters. The statutory village panchayat works for the welfare of the villagers. It plans and executes welfare and development activities in the village. The Warli, being forest dwellers, have immense faith in the natural objects and supernatural spirits.

They have their own tribal/folk religion. They worship a number of local deities who protect them from the evil spirits, epidemics and misfortunes. They make sacrifice of fowls and goats to the deities on different occasions to fulfill their wishes and to get rid of the effect of malevolent spirits. Kansari devi, Hirwa dev and Naran dev are the family deities. The paddy kept in the basket of the Kansari Devi is changed during the Diwali festival. Gamdev, Makherdev, Zungardev are worshipped collectively by the villagers. Living in close contact with Hindu communities has resulted in the process of acculturation, and adoption of Hindu religious beliefs. They worship Mawli devi, Hanumanji and other gods and goddesses of the wider Hindu pantheon. The Warli take the help of the Bhuva or Bhagat in magico-religious matters. The Bhagats use iron chains to drive out the evil spirits from the possessed persons. He also keeps a broom of peacock-feathers for the same purpose. The Bhuva or Bhagat are offered liquor and other things by the suffering people of the community. The Warlis celebrate the festivals of Holi, Diwali, Diwaso, Akhatrij etc. Under the impact of Christianity, very few people have changed their religious faith.

The Warlis are famous for their wall-paintings. They also know the bamboo-work and prepare different items of basketry for their own use. They have got oral traditions. They dance and sing during festivals, marriage and other occasions of festivities like Holi etc. Tar, bronze dish, drum, kahli are the musical instruments used by them during marriage and Holi festival. Ghanghli is considered to be the divine instrument and is played by the Bhagats.

As agricultural labourers, Gwalas (graziers) and Rakhewalas (Servants) have linkages with the local communities. The Kolcha serve the Warlis as Kathio. Valand (barbers) also serve during life-cycle rituals. Inter-community marriages have taken place in a few cases among the Warli, Dhodias, Chaudhary, Kukna, Parsi and other communities in the area. They share wells, hand pumps and other sources of water with other communities. Crematorium is separate for them. There are very few teachers, drivers, watchman/peon from amongst the Warlis. They do share-cropping. Cultivator-labour and employer-worker relationship are reported in the community.

The Warli are now sending their children to schools, but rate of drop-outs is high. They discontinue their studies after primary, middle or higher-secondary education as the children have to contribute to family income. They go, to the hospitals and dispensaries for medical care when it becomes unavoidable. They take indigenous medicines and consult a Bhuua and Bhagat for physical treatment. Family welfare programmes are effective and mostly the women get operated. They get drinking water from wells and hand pumps. The Warlis who live in the mixed villages and have been rehabilitated get some better facilities. They use cow dung, coal, and wood and kerosene oil as fuels for cooking food. The children get mid-day meals in the schools. The Warlis get the facility of public distribution system (ration) and they are dependent on money lenders, shopkeepers and their masters for different socio-economic purposes.