| |
This book covers information on all the tribes, castes and sub castes of the people staying in Maharashtra. It describes their daily routines, religions and the gods and deities worshipped along with the traditional occupations. An absolute ready reckoner, this book provides information for all who are interested in the Ethnography of Maharashtra.
The formation of the identity of the people of Maharashtra could be traced to the 1st century B.C., that of the language to the 7th-10th century, and that of the territory to the 8th century, although in its present form it is first mentioned in the 13th century. Maharashtra has one of the largest concentrations of the communities in India spread over its six regions. Lying across the routes of migration of peoples and cultures from the prehistoric period onwards, Maharashtra has been described as the bridge between the north and the south, sharing with the first, its language and with the second, its kinship organization. In fact Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra form a triad, which has shared a great deal in history, polity, culture and religion with Gujarat in tow. The Bombay Presidency as the hub of industrial and commercial enterprises has attracted immigrants from all over India. The identity of Maharashtra has evolved through history and is shaped by language, territory, dress including the headgear, cuisine, a vigorous folk culture, local forms of religion, mingling of Sufi and Bhakti traditions etc. Marathi has been a rich language and literature, and now the dominant and defining language. There are 42 other smaller languages belonging to Austric, Dravidian and Indo-Aryan language families, spoken by the local and the immigrant groups. The ecology of Maharashtra explains the presence of the Scheduled Tribes, nomads both pastoral and non-pastoral, fisherfolk, peasants etc. There is also a sizable presence of the Scheduled Castes, denotified tribes and minorities.
The traits that stand out in Maharashtra are an extraordinary range of heterogeneity of social divisions, including `gotra`, totemistic clans among tribes and others, and phratry, of surnames linked with environment, `devak` exogamy, all explained by the major communities being autochthones. Other traits are a higher incidence of consanguineous marriages particularly with mother’s brother’s daughter, junior sorrorate, polygyny both sorroral and non-sorroral, syncretism, a blend of orthodoxy and heterodoxy etc.
Maharashtra has been in the forefront of development including industrialization, with the highest per capita income, high female literacy, and low infant mortality. Family welfare has made an impact. However, there are disparities across territories and groups of people, poverty is widespread in the hinterland, particularly among the Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Casts, and others.
|