rebari / rayka / dewasi

~~~~~~~~~~~~Welcome to Raika /rebari / dewasi group!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who are Raikas / Rabaris ? Raikas (who are also called as Rabaris and Dewasi) are transhumant herders who keep camels, sheep, goat in large numbers. Rabari means the one that has gone outside (dwells outside) They are largest pastoral group of Rajasthan and Gujarat and some of the Raikas live in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh. Population of Raika in the country is estimated to be more than fifty lacs.

A Migratory Community: The migration cycle of Raikas begins at the end of monsoon and duration varies from three months to the entire year. Most of the Raika owning large flocks of animals start their migration cycle after Diwali festival around the months of Oct-Nov and they return to the village on the onset of monsoon in late June or early July. Thus they are on migration for a period of 8 to 9 months and stay at home for 3 to 4 months. The beginning of migration also depends on the availability of fodder along the migration routes. The migration cycle of Raikas starts from arid zone of western districts of Rajasthan, namely, Jodhpur, Pali, Naguar, Sirohi and Jalor and moves to east, both in north-east and south-east directions, towards the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab. The main reason for migration is acute shortage of water and fodder for animals. Rains are scarce and the regions are commonly visited by famine conditions. Growth of natural green or grass is an uncommon sight and water sources are few and far between. Under these conditions it is very difficult for the animal herds to survive and therefore for most part of the year they have to be taken outside the region within Rajasthan or to states other than Rajasthan in search of fodder and water. Flocks of livestock owned by Raikas consist mainly of sheep, goats and camels these days. Raikas migrate in a social unit called dang. Dang includes shepherds, cooks, sheep, camel, goat and sometimes donkeys organized by households. On an average, a dang consists of 12 households, each known as an ewar which consists of 5-7 persons ( men, women and children), i.e. a composite family coming from the same or from different villages. Dangs are known by the name of the group leader called Nambardar or by the name of the village of such Nambardar. There are four levels of organization within the dang, viz (1) invidividually owned flocks or ewar, (2) rewar (3) the dera and (4) the dang. A dang may have several deras, a dera may have two or three rewar and a rewar have some flocks.


HISTORY:

Raika believes that the first Raika was created by Lord Shiva (Shankar or Mahadev) to take care of one humped camel which was a creation of Parvati (wife of Shiva). Parvati made an animal having five legs and requested Shiva to give life to the animal and adjust fifth leg to its belly which resulted in hump. Thus camel was created and for taking care of this camel, Shiva created first Raika “ Sambal”. This myth is just like origin of other pastoral community. It is a historical fact that pastoral communities which faces lots of natural problems in their occupation, starts worshipping natural gods just like Raika worship Shiva ( the God of nature). In fact the origin of Raika is yet to be well researched using evidence available in the history. It is also said that Raika were Huns who destroyed the Gupta dynasty in India. Later on they mixed with the natives and adopted their religion and customs. Hun is still one of the gotra of Raika. However, there is a need of historical research for establishing their origin. The Raika continues to believe that camel herding is their heritage in spite of the fact that it is no longer generates enough profit to make a living.





SOCIAL BACKGROUND:

Whatever is the legend and stories about their origin, there is no doubting that Rabari is a close-knit community, allowing only social participation in meals and smoking even among sub-groups. Marriage between sub-communities is not accepted.

(a) Language or dialect: Raikas have no common language or dialect. They speak the language of the state where they are settled down.
(b) Taboo: Raika sell only male animals. Selling female animals whether sheep or goat or camel is a taboo. Slaughtering of animals and even selling of animals for the purpose of slaughter is strictly and socially prohibited. Also selling and processing of milk is a taboo. Raika are total vegetarians and eating meat of animals is taboo for them.
(c) Settlement Pattern: Raikas live outside the village in their separate dhani. Usually their dhanis are at the periphery of settled villages and their houses, which are close to each other, are made of mud with thatched roofs. Each house has a bara attached to it for keeping animal herds. One or two small places of worship, named as mandir are located in the midst of hamlet ( dhani). Raikas are rarely invited by the settled villages for any consultation on social issues or for Panchyat meetings and interestingly, they do not protest against this kind of treatment. This lack of participation results in their alienation and their marginalization.
(d) Family: Patrilineal descent is vogue in the community and joint family system is there. For example, when they organize mausar ( lavish feasts) when an old man or woman dies, resources are pooled in by all the male descendants of the deceased, irrespective of whether they live jointly or in their independent households. Men occupy higher status and persons belonging to older generation occupy higher status than persons of younger generation. In the same generations, older persons occupy higher status than those of relatively younger age.
(e) Identification of a Raika: A Raika male can be identified by the style of tying the turban, a long plait of hair (choti) at the occipital amidst short hairstyle, a long stout stick ( lathi) and a mud-pot ( handi) that he carries for keeping water, a bag that he keeps for carrying tobacco, opium, bidi or article of daily use, a white metal anklet in left hand. A Raika woman identified by the skirt she wears, which generally has eighty pleats, armlet adorning both lower and the upper arms and their typical conical head dress, which they call ati.
(f) Ornaments: Ornaments are generally made of silver but poor Raika wear ornaments made of Gillette (an alloy of brass and zinc) that gives a look of silver. Some examples are: Gokdo is set of four bracelets. Kataria is also a form of bracelet worn above the elbow. Payal is silver ornament with small jingle bells handing loose, and worn in the feet just above the ankles. Hansli is a single piece ornament, a necklace worn on the neck, and is a necessary outfit of married women. Kanthi is a also kind of necklace and is worn only occasionally. Nath is a round ring shaped ornament worn on the nose in place of nose pin. Other ornaments are mundri (a ring worn in the fingers of hand), kada and bichia are ornaments of feet. Chuda (a set of bangles).
(g) Dress: Men generally wear turban called pagri, the color of which depends on the age and status of the person. While young men wear brilliant red and yellow colours, matured and elderly persons use white turbans. All Raikas like to wear white Jhulki (kurta0 and dhoti. While driving their herds to the jungles for grazing they carry a lathi and a handi in hand and a towl on the shoulder. Lower half of the person is covered by long skirt, ghagra, having as many as eighty pleats, while the upper body is covered by kruti, kanchli and odhni of different colours and patterns.

Religious and cultural practices: The main deities worshipped by Raikas are Gogaji (a god of snakes), Pabuji (a incarnation of Lakshamanji and he is most important and identifiable Raika diety), Ramdeoji, Bhaironji, Sheetala mata Shiviji, Mamaji etc.
Survival and continuity:Through their innovativeness, flexibility and specialised knowledge, the nomadic Raika people have managed to thrive in harsh, semi-desert environments. They have developed hardy livestock breeds and a complex social web that revolves around their animals. But external factors are threatening their livelihood with extinction. They have developed hardy breeds that are drought resistant, capable of walking long distances, and still able to produce lambs for slaughter. Their breeding methods have enabled them to cope with harsh climatic conditions, migration routes, fodder resources, diseases and healthcare. Sheep now play an important role in their social and cultural life. However, a number of factors are challenging the pastoralist lifestyle. The Raika identify the increasing shortage of grazing land as the main barrier to preserving their way of life. The ecological and institutional landscape of Rajasthan is changing, and with theses changes the Raika are being increasingly marginalised. When the Riaka are forced to sell their animals, they have no other option but to take up low paid labour in the cities. If the Raika loose their livelihood, valuable breeds and invaluable knowledge will also be lost.