Traders – The Mercantile Community Of Rajasthan

... Bishnois     ... Nomads

Traders
In essence, there were two mercantile communities in Rajasthan, the Marwaris and the Jains. The Marwaris arose from the Shekhawati region and served in the courts of different princely states. They came to be referred to as Marwaris when they journeyed along with the armies of Marwar (Jodhpur) to the eastern extremities of the country. The opportunities in the east were enormous and the Marwaris were able to capitalise on them. Most of the major business and industrialist families, till very recently, have been Marwaris, and they still dominate business in the country.

Merchant
The merchants often tended to be richer than the kings they served , they did not believe in serving in any role more powerful than, say, a minister in the court. Several prime ministers in the kingdoms were Jain merchants.

The Marwaris continued to remain loyal to their princes who had honoured them with the extremely rare appellation of tazimi-sardar, given to the very select. A tazimi-sardar was allowed to continue sitting in the presence of the maharaja and allowed to wear gold on his feet, a privilege rarely extended to people outside the immediate circle of the royal family. It was the aristocracy which was usually so honoured and for the few Marwari seths who were awarded the title, it became a matter of family prestige.

Service Community
If the Rajputs, the Brahmins and the Marwaris and Jains formed the social elite, the role of the service castes was no less significant. Especially at the village level, it was essential that they create a network of services that the society could depend on. While patronage for these caste sub-groups came again from the elite, their services were intended for all of society.

The Kumhars
The Kumhars are a very important community in the social life of the countryside. They make earthen vessels, pots and pans for domestic use and for the persian-wheels used for the purpose of irrigation. The earthen vessels, used on the occasion of weddings, are ceremonially brought from the residence of the village Kumhar and thus the community enjoys a special status. A section amongst the Kumhar community is traditionally engaged in drawing water from the wells and delivering the same to the consumers in pitchers either carried by them over their shoulders or through a contrivance called kaawad. They also carry Paalki, palanquins to transport people.

The Khatis
The Suthars or Khatis (Carpenter) trace their origin from Vishwakarma, whose oath they regard as the most solemn adjuration. They are divided into some one hundred and twenty sections mostly either after the names of their founders or the villages they belonged to. A bulk of their population belongs to the Jakhra branch and worships goddess Savitri as its household deity, kuldevi. Some wear the sacred thread and abstain from liquor and meat and call themselves as Bamania-Khati.


The Charans
The Charans function as historians and the recorders of the real events and commemorators of personages. These chroniclers are known to have dared to utter truths, at times most unpalatable to their masters during the Rajput rule. They were said to be fearless of consequences, and, woe to the individual who provoked them! Many a reputations are said to have sunk under the lashes of their satire, which condemned to eternal ridicule the names that would have otherwise escaped notoriety. The poisoned words of the Charans were dreaded more by the people, then in authority, than the steel of their foes.Some of their works afford many valuable data of historical evidence of facts, incidents, religious opinions and traits of manner of the people living in the princely days.

The Nai
The Nai barbers are noted for their ability to make clever, ironic and satirical remarks, usually by perceiving the incongruous, and expressing it in a sharp, spontaneous and surprising manner. Their sarcastic remarks, often reinforced by short poems, amuse and entertain the listeners.

The barbers function as messenger and carriers of invitations and make Pattal-dona leaf-plates and leaf-bowls for their clients for use in community feasts. They are also traditionally associated with such odd tasks as ear-cleaning, boil lancing and shaving corpses before cremation. Nai's wife called Nayan is also traditionally expected to sever the navel-cord after the birth of a baby and bury the placenta.

The Gadia Lohars (Blacksmith)
The colourful Gadia Lohars are perhaps, the only nomads who have their origins shrouded in legend. It is said that their ancestors who were blacksmiths to the army of the Rajasthani chieftain Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar, moved from place to place with him, manufacturing weapons for the army. When Rana Pratap’s army was defeated at the battle of Haldighati in 1576, the Gadia remained loyal to him, following him into the forests to which he fled, skirmishing with the Mughal army in a long drawn out struggle that continued even after his death. After the fortress of Chittor, the capital of the Mewar kingdom, fell to the Mughals, the Gadia Lohars took a vow never to return to their homeland, and never to settle anywhere else until the Rana’s hegemony was restored. Yet for all their wandering, the Gadia are unmistakably Rajasthani, Small Lohar groups can be seen on the outskirts of any large city in the north where they live in small settlements centered around their beautiful carts. Low mud walls enclose each cart, demarcating a place of residence but now ownership. Even their name – Gadia – originates from the bullock carts which are their homes.

Gadia Lohar, literally meaning metal workers of the bullock carts. Notice a Gadia settlement and you will see lithe laughing women in swirling skirts, often with mirror studded garments and silver jewellery glittering as they go gracefully about their business, bending to kindle a small fire in the most casual fashion or working a pair of bellows with practised ease.Their men, tough and sturdy, lounge beside the makeshift smithies, occasionally getting to their feet to work alongside their wives. The children play in the dust beside the clutter that surrounds them. It is a hard life yet despite the vagaries of weather and the uncertainties of their trade they are a handsome and cheerful lot, and remain buoyantly dignified, unmindful of their hard life. They breed cattle, sharing and selling the milk, and in their tiny smithy they forge various soft iron wares needed in our daily life. When the weather turns hostile, they spread sheets of plastic or tarpaulin over their mobile homes, taking shelter within. During winter, thick patchwork quilts protect them from the chill of the nights. A tribe of happy and upright people, the Gadia remain children of the desert committed to braving the hazards of nature and environment.