Padhar tribe

Padhar
It is a tribal group of the western region of India in the Ahmedabad district with a
population of 9,056 (1946 families) (1991 census). Their sex ratio is 1:0.9.
There are concentrated in only twelve villages of these districts. They are believed to be
descendents of Padhiyar (assistant to the Bhua – priest who worships the Hinglaj
goddess).
It is a patriarchal nuclear family based society. The size of the family is 6 to 8 members.
They are divided into many gotra.
They have proto-australoid physical features and their language is Padhari (austric
language family).
Birth Ceremony
In the third month of the pregnancy the Dharna ritual is celebrated and worship Hinglaj
mata (main goddess of Padhar) with symbolic sacrifice of pumpkin (they do not kill
animals). Janana ritual is celebrated at the time of the birth of the child. They worship
Mengri goddess and offer symbolic sacrifice. At the time of the birth the baby is fed with
goat milk, which is believed to be the blessing of Mengri mata goddess. One month after
the birth they give khana-pani (dinner) to the community. The women do not follow any
taboo (prohibition) during the pregnancy.
Marriage Ceremony
They are gotra exogamous. They even do not prefer to marriage within a village (they
consider very male and female within the village as their brother and sister). Consent,
service (when the groom is unable to pay the bride wealth and works for his father-inlaw)
and elopement marriage are common among them. In elopement marriage the
bridegroom side has to pay Rs. 2500 each to the bride’s father side and the traditional
panchayat. The high compensation is meant to check such marriages. All marriages are
based on bride wealth. The maternal uncle plays a vital role in the whole marriage. The
marriage ceremony starts with Kahawa ritual (proposal for marriage from the bridegroom
side) and ends with Gavan (departure of the bride to the groom’s house). Bangles and
Tota (round shaped ornament in the middle of bride’s head). After every ritual bhoj
(dinner) and symbolic sacrifice is done. Widow and levirate marriages are also in
practice.
Death Ceremony
They bury dead children below the age of five. All other dead people are burnt. Death
ceremony is spread over three days. On the first day the Agni ritual (burning of the dead
body) is carried out. The second day is celebrated as a sacred day when the soul attains a
sacred position in the heaven. On that day they pray and sing songs for the deceased. On
the third day, they give a bhoj accompanied with sweets to the community. All articles of
the dead person are given to his niece or nephew. On the twelfth day after the death,
shudhi ritual is done. The remains of the dead person are collected and dipped in the
voutha village fair, which is confluence of seven rivers.
Economy
Padhar’s economy is based on Koli (an agriculturist tribe living in the Padhar villages),
for whom they serve as laborers. They also work as daily wage laborers in urban areas.
The whole tribe lives around the Nal Sarovar (a big lake which is a famous bird
sanctuary). They earn from boating, fishing (Rs. 60 – 70 per day) and obtain edible seeds
(thek, beed, etc) from the lake in the summer, when the lake dries up. They sell this at
around Rs. 40 - 50 per kg.
Political Organization
Baithal (panchayat) is constituted of 5 to 6 members including its chief. A Hawaldar is
appointed to assist the chief of every village. Every village panchayat mainly hears
marriage disputes. All the twelve villages then elect a sarpanch (head) who hears the
disputes between two or more villages. Now the Panchayati raj system has replaced this
traditional panchayat to some extent.
Religion
They worship all Hindu gods and goddess (Ram, Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu, Durga,
Lakshami, Parvati, Sita, etc.). They also worship there traditional deities as Hinglaj mata
(goddess of the tribe), Mengri mata (goddess of the children), Kalka mata (goddess of
epidemic), But mata (goddess of ghost), Amba mata (goddess of welfare), Meldi mata
(goddess of cattle) and Chamunda mata (goddess of village).
Padhari dance is very famous and has been organized thrice in the Indian Republic day
parade in New Delhi.
They play a game like hockey, which is there traditional game.
Education
Every village has a junior high school. Literacy ratio is 11.2% (1991 census). They are
very much aware about there children’s education.
Many villages are getting water through Kalyan Garh project. Ranagarh is equipped with
a post office, a telephone exchange and a primary health center, in which a Padhari
woman is working as a trained nurse. The government is giving them land (100 square
feet) and money (Rs. 12,500) for construction of houses. 40 houses in Nani Kathachi, 10
in Ranagarh and 100 houses in Jasmalpur village have been constructed under the Adim
Jutha project (a government project).
They are familiar to modern life and are taking many benefits from government agencies.