Banyan Leaves. Gypsies and Travellers. Sergey Gabbasov

“ghawazee” traveling dancers groups in Egypt. Most of “Nawar” in Middle East were musicians, fortune-tellers, sorcerers and animal-trainers with a low social status in the society. Now there is a strong tendency of losing traditional occupations and marginalization. “Nawar” is an Arabic “umbrella” -term to non-Dom who share a wandering lifestyle and the same social status – Kurds, Turkmen, and Bedouin.

      IN THE LAND OF RAJAS (GYPSY-LIKE GROUPS OF RAJASTHAN)

      GADIA LOHAR

      Gadia Lohar is a group of wandering (“lohar” means “blacksmith” and “gadia” means “cart” and this is the brightness identificational sign which marks them as a non-sedentary group) blacksmiths who move between villages and towns in search of job from Rajasthan to as far as Karnataka. According to their own oral tradition, the ancestors of Gadia Lohar were settled artisans till the Mughals defeated their ruler, Maharana Pratap of Chittorgarh. When their legend ruler Rana Pratap of Chittorgarh was defeated by the Mughals, Gadia Lohar followed him and vowed not to return till it was recaptured by the Rajputs. Their various synonyms are “Lohpitt”, “Chittoriya Lohar”, “Bhubalia”, “Belani”, “Ghisadi”, “Dhumkuria” and “Kunwar Khati”. Probably, they were Rajputs, but fell in the Hindu social scale because of their wanderings, intermarriage with other castes, their practice of remarriage of widows and divorced women (which most wanderers have to do, having an adverse male-female ratio), their trade, which at times includes the castrating of bulls, poverty and illiteracy. They observe caste endogamy but clan exogamy.

      They have their own dialect called “Farasi”, which is a mixture of Marwari, Malwi and Gujarati languages along with some words of their own creation.

      Gadia Lohar have very organized movements: after reaching a central place they scatter, each cart going separately to one or more villages, searching for job (making and mostly repairing any metal utensils). Later, at a predetermined place and day, they will assemble again and the caravan of carts will then move on.

      The full caravan consists not only from relatives but from people from different families and even ethnic groups. Gadia Lohar, as a part of “Lohar” caste, is much more a professional unity than an ethnic group. While wandering in many regions they’ve created their own language (argot) from different languages and absorbed individuals from surrounding populations with the same social status.

      The tent is installed by attaching the canvas by one of its sides to the side of the carriage and to the ground by another. Nowadays many types of tents are used depending on period of staying in the camping place, and modern materials are widely used also. The place under the cart is used for living and keeping chattels: few cook clay pots, simple wood-rope beds, forging instruments. Even a baby-cradle can be suspended between the drawbars of the carriage.

      “Lohar” is a term for a blacksmith. You can meet “Lohar” in Tamilnadu or in West Bengalia. In Rajasthan there is a degree of specialization: “Gadia Lohar” are forging experts, “Nagauri Lohar” are best known for reveting and metal beating and “Multani Lohar” specialize in making dies and tools; the “Siyahmaliya” are specialists in black iron work and the “Kachboyiha” work in unpurified iron. It is noteworthy that the term “Multan” (related to the city in Pakistan) is still used sometimes by some “Mughat” to name themselves.

      Forging process based on the heating of the workpiece by the mining and further processing with a hammer in places indicated by the blacksmith. In near past time they used a pare of hand forged blowers made from goat skin and wooden hull, but now they use manufactured forge blowers with an inner rotor fan rotating by one hand. Working on goat-skin blowers was only a women job (as hammer-beating still today). Due to Gadia Lohars’ explains it is so because heavy-beating need no special skills and knowledge which have blacksmiths who points the places on the workpiece to beat at.

      Gadia Lohar consider their anvil holy and say that it was given to them by Lord Shiva when they wandered away from the fort of Chittorgarh. They worship their forging instruments when first made and give them a ceremonial wash. As they are constantly on the move and not always within easy access of their temples and shrines, they find it convenient to carry portable idols of their deities – a small cupboard at the front of their carts with little statuettes. By religion they are Hindus and worship Vishwakarma, Durga, Sheetla Mata and Bhaironji. They also venerate certain local deities, saints and deified ancestors.

      Their caravans of bullock-carts contain all belongings, victuals, cooking vessels and implements. They make articles needed in the rural areas: agricultural implements, ploughshares, tin lamps, buckets, pots and pans, axe-heads, scythes, knives. Now their carts can be seen in industrial towns, a few also trade in bullocks.

      After marriage, a son sets up a separate bullock-cart. They have a group council, “panchayat”, which deals with internal group issues: social disputes, customary etiquette and group policy.

      BHOPA

      Since ancient times in India there has been a tradition of itinerant performers narrating stories with the aid of painted scrolls. Such scroll named “phada” and those who tell stories behind the “phada” called “Bhopa”.

      Bhopa assert that they please the gods by wandering from village to village and singing religious hymns. They immerse their “phada” in the holy Pushkar lake (those who live in that area and have such an opportunity).

      The painted scrolls of Rajasthan, the “phada”, are more on heroic cavaliers and tales of chivalry and valour rather than on purely religious themes. They are done on cloth 4 to 6 feet in width and 10 to 20 feet in length, the smaller ones being called “phadki”. The most popular themes for the “phada” have been the heroic lives of Pabuji, Dev Narayan, Gogaji, Prithviraj Chaugan and Tejaji.

      The hero occupies the central place in the “phada”, surrounded by his generals, nobles and other characters. The illustrations are not arranged in any sequence, pictures of bits of the story being scattered all over the “phada”, which makes for a very dynamic performance, with the story-teller and his assistant darting, to the strains of music, song and narration, from one corner to another. Often, there are representations of gods and incidents from the epics on the border of the “phada” and stories about them are interwoven with the legend. The story-tellers are Bhopa (“Nayak”) and once they start performing, the story has to be told completely; it is inauspicious to leave it unfinished.

      Often the Bhopa is assisted by his wife, usually veiled, who, with an oil lamp, lights up the “phada” to highlight only that part of the picture which is under narration, at times singing with the Bhopa at important points where emphasis is called for. The main narration does by the Bhopa in song and verse, while at the same time dancing and playing a string instrument, a “ravanhatta” or “jantara”, perhaps with an additional musician on “daffa” (small frame drum). Very seldom a female impersonator can swirl and dance to the music and narration – Bhopa women do not normally dance themselves.

      LANGA – MANGANIYAR

      “Manganiyar” (“one who begs”) and “Langa” (“song giver”) are two close-related communities of Muslim minstrels of Rajasthan. They have very strong sedentary with quarters like the “Kalakar” in Jaisalmer and wander very seldom – to big fairs (like Pushkar camel fair) and religious festivals (like Kumbh Mela).

      Despite their conversion to Islam, “Manganiyar” (not “Langa”) have retained certain Hindu practices. In Jaisalmer they did service for Rajput kings, entertaining them before and after battles. These Muslim retainers stayed with their Hindu ruler when he died and would accompany the cortege