About Rathwa Community

Origin

The name of the tribe has been derived from the term “rathbistar” which means the forest and hilly areas. Thus the people who are the inhabitants of the rathbistar are called Rathwas. They are also known as Rathawa Koli. They recall their migration from the adjoining state of Madhya Pradesh. They are mainly distributed in the Chhota Udepur, Jabugam and Nasvadi talukas of Vadodara district and also in Halol, Kalol and Baria talukas of Panchmahal district.

Population

According to the 1981 Census, their total population was 3,08,640. According to census 2001, the population of Rathwa was 5,35,284 out of which 273296 were male and 2,61,988 female.

Language

The Rathavi is the medium of communication within the family kin members while Gujarati in relation to others and for writing Gujarati script is used. They communicate with the outsiders in Hindi also.

Caste

The community has various petha (clans) like Hamania, Thebaria, Mahania, Kothari Baka, Fadia, etc. The Rathwa perceive them as having the middle order rank in the local social hierarchy but other communities place them at a lower level. They suffix the father’s name and the community’s name to their names.

Food

The Rathwa are occasionally non-vegetarian. They take meat fish, eggs and chicken. They take rotla (homemade bread), rice, dal (pulses) and sabzi (vegetables) as a staple food. Pamolin oil is the cooking medium. Seasonally available vegetables are consumed. They take non-alcoholic beverages kadhi (butter-milk with spices) and chhas (buttermilk). They also take home-brewed alcoholic drinks (Mahuda & Taadi) and smoke tobacco.

Traditional attire

The traditional dress of the adult male members is langoti (loincloth), kachuta and phenta (headgear). Now young people wear pants and a shirt. The female members dress up with the ghagra (lower garment) and cholia (upper garment).

Ornaments

The women wear Kala (armlet) made up of Chandi (silver) but Kala, (armlet) of men is of iron. They also wear fasi at the wrist which is made up of silver. They wear biti (finger ring). They have tattoo marks on their body. They have been included in the list of the scheduled tribes.

Source of income

The economy of the Rathwa is mainly based on cultivation and sell harvest vegetables into the market. The Haat (weekly market) is where most Adivasis meet their needs where Items like clothes, vegetables, grains and livestock, bows and arrows, ornaments, bamboo articles, cooking vesselsare sold in the haat. Apart from this, their source of income come from the festivals season (Jan-May) of Baba Pithora where artisans do

Marriage

The Rathwas are endogamous. A man can not marry his maternal uncle’s daughter and father’s brother’s daughter. Child marriages were practised in the past, but nowadays, the average age at marriage has increased to twelve to twenty years in the case of girls and twenty to twenty-four years in the case of boys. Marriage alliances are negotiated by the parents or by the elder members. Sometimes, they also choose their life partners in the fair. Monogamy is the common form of marriage. Sindur (vermilion) on the forehead is the symbol of married women. The bride price is given to the bride’s father at the time of marriage which known as Dowry system.

Death Ceremony

The dead are cremated. The widow moves around the bier of the deceased in an anti-clockwise direction, thereby setting her husband’s soul free from marital ties. On, the third day after cremation the eldest son gets his head shaved. The egarma, barma and terma (11th, 12th, and 13th day) day rituals are organised after cremation. On the day of terma, a feast is given to the kin members.

Religion

The Rathwa are the followers of folk religion. It has elements of the Hindu religion. They believe in their supreme deity, God Baba who is also their village deity. They worship the objects like horses, tigers, elephants and camels which are prepared by the Kumbhar. The Pujara (sacred specialist), also called Gor performs the rituals. They have priests from their community. They also participate in the festivals of Diwali, Holi, Dashera, Ujani and Pithora with great enthusiasm. A section of the Rathawa community, influenced by the Swaminarayan movement, is called Bhagat. They are purely vegetarian. The other section is called Jagat who are non-vegetarians. These divisions are due to the impact of socio-religious movements, which have changed as Bhagats from non-vegetarians to vegetarians. They sacrifice fowls before their gods at the time of festivals.

Festivals

The main festivals of the Rathva community are Holi, Divaso, Dusshera, Dev-diwali, and Akhatrij. It is during the melas (fair) that one can view the cultural diversity of the Adivasis: Telav Mata Mela in Pavijetpur, Gher Mela in Kawant, Mela in Dungarvat, Jhojh, Raisingpur, Chhota Udepur, Amrol are organised after Holi.

Political council

The Rathawa have their traditional council. Knowledgeable persons are the members of this council, who are elected by a voice vote. The Sarpanch is the panchayat President. The Police settle the disputes in the presence of the community elders. The Police hold a very important position at the local level. If the disputes are not settled amicably, then the Police informs the police station for further action. It is customary that the police must be present in every major event of the village.