Kunbi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Zuggernaut (talk | contribs) at 01:57, 8 October 2011 (→‎Inter-caste issues: Fixes). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Goan Kunbis

Kunbi (Marathi: कुणबी, Gujarati: કુનબી, alternately Kanbi) is a generic term applied to various Indian Hindu communities found largely in the state of Maharashtra.[1][2] These include the Dhonoje, Ghatole, Hindre, Jadav, Jhare, Khaire, Lewa (Leva Patil), Lonari and Tirole communities.[3] The communities also exist in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and Goa, and have been historically associated with agriculture. Kunbis are included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Maharashtra.[3]

Etymology

According to the Anthropological Survey of India, the term Kunbi is derived from kun and bi meaning people and seeds respectively.[4] Fused together, the two terms mean "those who germinate more seeds from one seed.[4] Another etymology states that Kunbi is believed to have come from the Marathi word kunbawa, or Sanskrit kur, "agricultural tillage".[5] Yet another etymology states that the derivation of Kunbi comes from kutumba (family), or from the Dravidian kul, "husbandman" or "labourer".[6] Thus anyone who took up the occupation of a cultivator is brought under the generic term Kunbi.[6] Russel and Lai imply that the derivation from kun (root) or kan (grain) combined with bi (seed) is not probable.[7] G. S. Ghurye has posited that while the term may "signify the occupation of the group, viz., that of cultivation ... it is not improbable that the name may be of tribal origin."[8]

The term Kunbi was known to be applied to the Shudra cultivating class of Hindu in Central India.[7]

Other spellings and variants include: Kulambi (Deccan), Kulwadi (South Konkan), Kanbi (Gujarat), Kulbi (Belgaum), Reddies (Andhra Pradesh), Kurmi (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand).[7] Singh and Lai also report that Cocoona is synonymous with Kunbi in Gujarat.[4]

Demographics

In Gujarat, Kunbi communities are found in the Dangs, Surat and Valsad districts.[4] In 1981 the population of Kunbis in the Dangs discrit was recorded at 35,214.[4] A population of Kunbi (also locally called Kurumbi) is also found in Goa, where they are believed to be descendants of the area's aboriginal inhabitants. They are largely poor agriculturalists,[citation needed] though some of the oldest known landowners in Goa were of this class, and claimed for themselves the Vaishya (merchant) varna.[9] Older gazetteers of various relevant districts record two-three other agricultural castes in addition to the Kunbis.[10] These additional castes include the Mali at 53 thousand and Kunbi are put at 397 thousand in the Pune district.[10] The Sholapur gazetteer clubs the Kunbi and the Marathas together to a total of 180 thousand in 1881.[10] Marathas and Kunbis are recorded under the common heading of Kunbi in the census of 1881.[10][a]

According to the leaders of the Uttara Kannada district Kunabi Samaj Seva Sangh, the population of their community in the region is 75,000. [11]

The group is often associated with the Kurmi caste, though scholars differ as to whether the terms are synonymous.[12][13] In 2006, the Indian government announced that Kurmi was considered synonymous with the Kunbi and Yellam castes in Maharashtra.[14]

Kunbi Communities

In Maharashtra, the Kunbi communities include the Dhonoje, Ghatole, Hindre, Jadav, Jhare, Khaire, Lewa (Leva Patil), Lonari and the Tirole communities.[3] The names of subsets of the Kunbi in Bihar, according to Edward Balfour, were Tirale, Maratha, Bawane, Khaire, Khedule, and Dhanoje.[5] In a strict interpretation of the caste system, the word Kunbi does not identify a caste but rather a status, just as the word Rajput.[15] All Kunbi communities of Maharashtra speak Marathi and use the Devanagri script for written communication.[3] In Gujarat, the Anthropological Survey of India records that Kunbis have benefited economically from the government development programmes.[2] While both, boys and girls receive formal education, the drop-out rate or girls is higher due to economic reasons.[16] While diet of the Kunbi commnities vary between vegetarianism and non-vegetarianism, most or all of the communities do not consume pork and beef.[3]

Dhonoje

The Kunbi Dhonoje are primarily a community of land-owning agriculturists with deep roots in Maharashtra,[17] however, their origin and historical background are unknown.[18] Their home districts are primarily the Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Bhandara and Nagpur districts of the Vidharbha region in Maharashtra.[18] The Anthropological Survey of India records in 2003 that while Hindi is spoken by the community while communicating with outsiders, the women of the community can only understand and not speak Hindi.[18] The Dhonoje observe strict endogamy with marriages being mostly arranged by family elders.[19] Kunbi Dhonoje males marry between 20 and 25 whereas the females marry earlier between 18 and 22.[19]

Dhonojes engage a Brahmin priest for conducting their marriage, birth and death rituals.[20] Cremation of the dead is the norm, burial the exception for those less than 11 years of age.[21] Common places of pilgrimage include Nashik, Pandharpur, Ramtek and Tuljapur.[17] Important Hindu festivals observed include Vaishakhi, Akadi, Yatra, Rakshabandhan, Dussera, Diwali and Holi.[17] All women and most men are vegetarian though some are occasional non-vegetarians.[18]

Most Dhonojes live in extended families but there are an increasing number of nuclear families in proportion with breaking away from the traditional occupation and urban migration.[22] In a multiethnic village, it is not possible to tell Kunbi Dhonoje by their surname alone.[19] Formal education has had a positive impact on the younger generation of the Dhonoje women.[21]

Ghatole

The community name Ghatole is derived from Ghat meaning a hilly range.[23] The community belongs mainly to the the western part of the Vidhabha region of Maharashtra. Oral tradition speaks of their arrival from the Sahyadris in Panchimhat.[23] In Vidharbha, they live mostly in the Aurangabad, Nashik, Buldhana, Amravati, Yavatmal, Parbhani and Akola districts.[23] The Ghatole claim to be the same as the economically and numerically superior Tirole or Tilole.[23] Per their oral tradition, those families which interrupted their migration march from the Ghats became the Ghatole whereas those who continued their journey eastwards became the Tirole Kunbi.[23] Despite the oral tradition, the two communities are now two distinct communities due to the strict endogamy for several generations and due to the geographical barriers.[24]

All women and most men are vegetarian though some are occasionally non-vegetarians who keep their utensils separate and usually cook outside of the family kitchen.[25] Marriages are generally arranged and families are extended rather than nuclear.[25]

Locations of pilgrimage are Nasik, Shirdi, Tuljapur and Pandharpur.[26]

Hindre or Hendre

The Kunbi Hindre are synonymous with the Hindre Patils as far as their perceived distribution in the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra in the districts of Nanded, Parbhani, Yeotmal and Akola is concerned.[27] There are no further subdivisions of the community.[28] The community is said to have migrated from the Sahyadri ranges to the central Vidharbha region.[27] The community does not have an oral tradition of the etymology of the word Hindre or the history of their migration, hence their own origin is unknown to the Hindre themselve; while the Hindre were grouped with the Kunbis of the Khandesh region in early ethnographical studies, the origin of the community is not known.[27] Their numerical numbers have not been properly recorded in any official records and since the community is only found in certain rural districts, the Anthropological Survey of India estimates their population to be in thousands or in lakhs.[27] While the traditional occupation of the Hindre Kunbis is agriculture, better educational opportunities and urbanization has resulted in a disruption of their traditional economy which has caused many of the contemporary Hindre to pursue diversified occupations.[29]

The main language of the community is Marathi with Devanagri script for written communication and community members who visit urban areas for business reasons are able to communicate in broken Hindi.[27] The communities traditional dress is similar to other peer communities.[27] All women and the majority of the men are vegetarians, some are occasional non-vegetarians.[27] Consumption of tea is common, mainly to overcome fatigue.[28]

Hindre are strictly endogamous[28] and their marriages are arranged.[30] Child marriages were practiced in the past but the age of marriage in 2003 has been recorded as being between 20-25 for males and 17 to 22 for females.[28] Cremation of the dead is the norm, exceptions being burial of the stillborn and babies who are a few months old.[31] Brahmin priests are employed for the Hindu rituals.[32] Main festivals of the Hindre include Vaishakhi, Akhadi, Yatra, Rakshabandhan, Dussera and Holi.[32] Places of pilgrimage include Pandharpur, Tuljapur, Ramtek, Nashik and Saptashringi.[27] The traditional caste council which existed in the 20th century for solving issues like divorces and social issues has been supplanted by the statutory gram panchayat of the state government.[32] Common surnames are Jaitale, Wankhed, Chouhan, Gawande, Mahale, Bhoir, Choudhary, Jadhav, etc and it is not possible to identify a Hindre Kunbi on the basis of surname alone in a multi-ethnic village.[28] Changes in surnames have been recorded, an example of which is the changing of Chouhan to Jaitale.[28]

Jadhav

It is not known how the Jadhav came to be known by that name or when and how they were brought under the generic term Kunbi.[33] The home districts of the Jadhav Kunbi are Amaravati, Yavatmal, and Nagpur.[33] The community is strictly endogamous and consanguinal marriages with the maternal cousin are preferred over the paternal cousin[34] However the number of marriages of such nature are low.[35] Marriages are arranged and the preferred age for males is 22 or more and that for the women being 18 or more but these ages are now increasing as of 2003.[36] Cremation of the dead is the norm, burial being the exception for children and for those who have died of snake bites.[37] Brahmins are employed for naming and marriage ceremonies.[38] Surnames are varied and their origins are unknown but they are generally formed from the place of their dwelling, key events in the family from past generations or the names may simply bear a reference to an animate or inanimate object.[35] Amongst the rural Jadhavs, the traditional caste council has been replaced by the Akhil Bharatiya Jadhav Kunbi Samaj, a registered regional council located in Nagpur which also engages in social work.[37] The rulings of the statutory gram panchayat are also abided by at the village level.[37] Jadhav males are non-vegetarian but the women generally do not eat meat.[33] There are no further subdivisions amongst the Jadhavs.[33]

Jhare or Jhade

The name of the Jhade or Jhare Kunbi community, also known as the Jhadpi, comes from Jhadi meaning forest.[39] The home districts of the Jhade are Nagpur, Bhandara, Akola and Amravati.[39] The Jhade of the Bhadara district are also known as the Bowne, meaning 52 in Marathi, due to the high revenue of ₹ 52 lakh generated by them for the Mughal administration.[40] In 1916, the Jhade are recorded by Russsell and Hiralal as belonging to the Gond stock [39] The same ethonographic records state that the Jhade are the earliest immigrants to the Nagpur area.[39] Contemporary Jhade and Bowne contest this claim since they do not have any oral tradition of this nature.[39] Marriages are arranged and typical age of marriage is between 22 to 25 and between 16 to 20 for men and women respectively.[39] Marriages with maternal cousins are preferred.[39] Cremation of the dead is the norm, the exceptions being those who die before five years of age.[41] The Jhade do not employ the services of a Brahmin priest to carry out the death rites.[41] Common Jhade surnames are Katode, Jhanjad, Toukar, Baraskar, Khokle, Shende, Bhoie, Dhenge, Tejare, Bandobhnje, Waghaye, Trichkule, Baraskar, Khawas, Bhuse, etc.[40] The Anthropological Survey of India states in 2003 that the Jhade boys and girls have access to formal education who mostly go on to attain high school education.[42] The Survey also states that the community also has access to modern day amenities like electricity, heath centres, motorable roads, public transport, post offices, drinking water and fair price shops of the Indian Public Distribution System.[42]

Khaire

The Kunbi Khaire derive their name from the local name for catechu, Khair, which the community has traditionally cultivated as an occupation.[42] The home districts of the community are the Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts and in these districts they are also know as Khedule Kunbi.[43] The community is endogamous and practices arranged marriages, the typical age of marriage for men and women is between 20-25 and 18-22 respectively.[44] Cremation of the dead is the norm, burial is an exception for the economically disadvantaged who cannot afford cremation.[45] Kunbi Khaire men are occasional non-vegetarians whereas the women are vegetarian.[46] Borkte, Kukorkar, Lambade, Tiwade, Thakur, Chatur, Pal, Dhake, Elule, Sangre, Tangre, Timare are only a few of the Khaire surnames from a long list.[46] Important festivals observed by the community are Dussera, Diwali, Holi and Ganeshchaturthi.[47] Traditional places of pilgrimage are Pandharpur, Nasik, Ramtek and Tuljapur.[47]

The use of the traditional jati panchayats have been discontinued by the Khaire community for a long time and the community now makes use of the gram panchayat while still consulting community elders for some social disputes.[47] The Anthropological Survey of India states in 2003 that the Khaire boys and girls have access to formal education who mostly go on to attain high school education, and sometimes higher when conditions are favourable.[48] Drop out rates for girls are higher due to social reasons.[48] The Survey also states that the community also has access to modern day amenities of electricity, heath centres, motorable roads, public transport, post offices, drinking water and fair price shops of the Indian Public Distribution System.[48]

Leva or Leva Patil

Main article: Leva Patil

The Leva or Lewa are synonymous with the Lewa Patil, the suffix, "Patil", being a feudal title.[1] The community does not have an oral tradition of their origin or migration but they generally accept that they have migrated from Gujarat to the Vidharba region via Nimar which is now in Madhya Pradesh.[1] The community is associated with two other communities from Gujarat, the Lewa and the Lewa Patidar, the former are a well known community and the latter are sometimes referred to as their parental group, however, the Kunbi Leva Patil of Maharashtra have roots which are long established in the Kunbi community of Maharashtra.[1] The community perceives their distribution to be in 72 villages in the Jalgaon and Buldhana districts.[1] The Lewa Patil are numerically, economically and educationally superior in some of the multi-ethnic villages of the Buldhana and Jalgaon district.[1] Nuclear families are replacing the traditional extended family system due to a changing economy and due to an increasing number of conflicts over property inheritance.[49] Cremation of the dead is the norm, burial the exception for the very young (up to three to four months age).[50]

Lonari

Main article: Lonari

The Lonari are presently located in the eastern part of the Vidharbha region and in the adjoining districts of Madhya Pradesh.[15] The name of the community comes from Lonar lake in the Mehkar-Chikhli taluka of the Buldhana district from where they migrated.[15] The oral tradition of the community contains an elaborate story of their migration. The tradition states that the community migrated first to Aurgangabad from their original place of origin in the Lucknow district of Uttar Pradesh then to Buldana and finally to their current locations in the Amravati and Betul districts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh respectively.[15] In the two tehsils of Multai and Warud in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashra respectively, the Lonari Kunbi are also known as Deshmukhs and Kumbhares.[15] The Lonari now rely on the gram panchayats under the state government as changes in the sociopolitical landscape have caused the influence of the traditional caste council to diminish.[51]

Maratha-Kunbi

The term Maratha, amongst other meanings, referred to all speakers of the Marathi language in the fourteenth century.[52] An example of this is the record of the Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta whose use of the term included Brahmins and Kshatriyas amongst others.[53] Several years later, as the Bahamani kings and other rulers started employing the local population in their military, the term Maratha evolved to have a martial connotation.[54] Those who were not associated with the term Maratha and weren't untouchables at the same time started identifying themselves as Kunbi.[54] According to the Stewart Gordon, the so-called Marathas now differentiated themselves from the others such as the cultivators (Kunbi), iron-workers and tailors.[55] In the eighteenth century, under the Peshwas, newer waves of villagers joined the armies of the Maratha Empire.[54] These newer military men started seeing themselves as Marathas too, thus obscuring boundary between the Marathas and Kunbi. This boundary became unclear giving rise to a new category, the "Maratha-Kunbi".[54]

According to Irawati Karve, the Marata-Kunbi form over 40 percent of the population of Western Maharashtra.[56]

Tirole or Tirale

The Kunbi Tirole are an agricultural community found in the Khandesh region of Maharashtra.[57] The community believe that they are Rajputs who migrated from Rajasthan as a result of a general migration of the tribes of Rajputana.[57] Older ethnographic accounts note that a large scale migration of the community occurred from Rajasthan to Maharashtra in the eighteenth century under the reign of Raghuji Bhonsle.[57] The community enjoys a high social status amongst the other agricultural communities.[57] One reason for their high social status is the fact that some families of this community were chosen to collect revenue in the days of the Maratha Empire.[57] Two separate etymologies exist for the community name.[57] One states that the community is named after the place of their origin, Therol, in Rajasthan. The other states that the community gets its name from their original occupation of Til or sesame cultivation.[57] Compared with the other Kunbi communities, the Tirole are numerically superior to all and their home districts are Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati and Yeotmal districts.[57] Although occasional non-vegetarians men are found in the community, the community is mainly and traditionally vegetarian.[57]

Another agricultural community, the Kunbi Ghatole, claim that they are the same as the Tirole.[57]

Inter-caste issues

Main article: Khairlanji massacre

In 2006, four members of a Dalit family with the surname "Bhotmange" were murdered after being tortured by members of the Kunbi caste from the Khairlanji village in the Bhandara district.[58] Two female members of the same family were paraded naked in the village and then raped.[58] The killing of the four members was carried out by an irate group of villagers in a mob-lynching style.[59][60] 40 members of the Kunbi caste yelled caste-slurs against the Dalit Bhotmanges outside their home prior to the killings.[61] The killings of the Khairlanji village, a village divided along caste lines, resulted in the eruption of caste based violence in the state of Maharashtra.[62][60] Eight villagers were found guilty of which six were awarded the death penalty in 2008 by a lower court in the Bhandara district.[60] The remaining two were awarded life sentences.[60] The CBI movded the Mumbai High Court appealing the court to enhance the life sentences to capital punishment.[60] At the same time, the defense comprehensively challenged the lower court's verdict.[60] The Nagpur bench of the Mumbai High Court instead commuted the death sentences to life imprisonment and refused to accept the killings as caste atrocity by declining to apply the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 — the PoA Act.[59] Bhaiyalal Bhotmange, the lone survior, stated in July 2010 that he would be moving the Supreme Court of India against the high courts verdict.[63][58]

A representative of the Maratha community, Vinayak Mete, stated that the Maratha caste has roots in the Kunbi caste while making a case for extending the benefits of reservation to the Marathas. [64] Mete also noted that the majority of the suicides by farmers in Maharashtra were in the Kunbi-Maratha community.[64] Accoring to Maratha leaders, the OBC status accorded to the Kunbis should be extended to the Marathas since Kunbis are Marathas.[65] However Professor Goswami quotes the Khatri Commission and the Nagpur and Aurangabad benches of the Bombay High Court to reject the notion that the Kunbis are Marathas.[65][b] In April 2005 the Supreme Court of India denied that the Kunbis are Marathas.[65]

Kunbis of the Uttara Kannada district came together in Kajubag in the Karwar taluka in 2011 to demand a Scheduled Tribe status.[11]

Historical accounts

Over the centuries the community has produced the the prominent Varkari saint of the Bhakti tradition, Sant Tukaram[66] and the Mawalas. The 1885 Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia described the Kunbi as "though quiet and unpretending, are a robust, sturdy, independent agricultural people... though their institutitions are less democratic than those of the Jat and Rajput..." The author also noted that the Hyderabad Kunbi of the period were known to be "wholly illiterate." The 1881 Census of India stated that the Kunbi in all of India numbered 5,388,487.[5][dubious – discuss]

More recently, in 2003, Singh and Lai, have described the Kunbi of Gujarat as being non-vegetarian and consumers of alcoholic drinks such as mohua. That community believes itself to be of a higher status than some other local groups due to the type of meat which they consume (for example, they believe that the Warlis eat rats, and other groups eat beef). The community practices monogamous endogamy and marriage of cousins is acceptable, as is remarriage by widows. Divorce is permitted and the practice of marriage around the age of 10 - 12 years has been abandoned. Their dead are cremated.[67]

Notable Kunbi

Further information: List of Kunbi people

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ The Sholapur District Gazetter of 1881 makes this statement about the Kunbis "Kunbis are said to be bastards or akarmashe Marathas the offspring of a Maratha by a Maratha Woman not his wife."[10]
  2. ^ The Bombay High Court ruled in October 2003 in Jagannath Hole’s case that to accept Marathas as belonging to the Kunbi community would result in “nothing short of a social absurdity.”[65]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Singh 2003, p. 1218.
  2. ^ a b Singh, Lal & Anthropological Survey of India 2003, p. 734.
  3. ^ a b c d e Singh 2003, pp. 1179–1239.
  4. ^ a b c d e Singh, Lal & Anthropological Survey of India 2003, p. 731.
  5. ^ a b c Balfour 1885, p. 626.
  6. ^ a b Singh, p. 1199.
  7. ^ a b c Russell & Lai 1995, p. 17.
  8. ^ Ghurye 2008, p. 31.
  9. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1396.
  10. ^ a b c d e Ghurye 2008, p. 201.
  11. ^ a b The Hindu 2011, p. 1.
  12. ^ Bhattacharya 1896, p. 270.
  13. ^ Government of India 1867, p. 36.
  14. ^ The Hindu 2006, p. 1.
  15. ^ a b c d e Singh 2003, p. 1224.
  16. ^ Singh, Lal & Anthropological Survey of India 2003, pp. 734–5.
  17. ^ a b c Singh 2003, p. 1183.
  18. ^ a b c d Singh 2003, p. 1179.
  19. ^ a b c Singh 2003, p. 1180.
  20. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1182-3.
  21. ^ a b Singh 2003, p. 1182.
  22. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1181.
  23. ^ a b c d e Singh 2003, p. 1185.
  24. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1185-6.
  25. ^ a b Singh 2003, p. 1186.
  26. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1190.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h Singh 2003, p. 1192.
  28. ^ a b c d e f Singh 2003, p. 1193.
  29. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1196-7.
  30. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1195.
  31. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1196.
  32. ^ a b c Singh 2003, p. 1197.
  33. ^ a b c d Singh 2003, p. 1199.
  34. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1199-1200.
  35. ^ a b Singh 2003, p. 1200.
  36. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1200-02.
  37. ^ a b c Singh 2003, p. 1203.
  38. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1202.
  39. ^ a b c d e f g Singh 2003, p. 1206.
  40. ^ a b Singh, p. 1206.
  41. ^ a b Singh 2003, p. 1210.
  42. ^ a b c Singh 2003, p. 1211.
  43. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1212.
  44. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1213-5.
  45. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1215.
  46. ^ a b Singh 2003, p. 1213.
  47. ^ a b c Singh 2003, p. 1216.
  48. ^ a b c Singh 2003, p. 1217.
  49. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1220.
  50. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1222.
  51. ^ Singh 2003, p. 1230.
  52. ^ Eaton 2005, p. 190.
  53. ^ Eaton 2005, p. 190-1.
  54. ^ a b c d Eaton 2005, p. 191.
  55. ^ Gordon 1993, p. 15.
  56. ^ Ghurye 2008, p. 200.
  57. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Singh 2003, p. 1233.
  58. ^ a b c Balakrishnan 2010, p. 1.
  59. ^ a b Hatttangadi 2010, p. 1.
  60. ^ a b c d e f Hardikar 2010, p. 1.
  61. ^ Hattangadi 2010, p. 1.
  62. ^ Gaikwad 2010, p. 1.
  63. ^ Press Trust of India 2010, p. 1.
  64. ^ a b Menon 2008, p. 1.
  65. ^ a b c d Menon 2009, p. 1.
  66. ^ Naik 2003, p. 358.
  67. ^ Singh, Lal & Anthropological Survey of India 2003, p. 731-733.

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kunbi&oldid=454482063"