Helavi
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A backgrounder
Maratha Reservation: The Helvi community, originally from Belgaum, has a genealogical record dating back hundreds of years in the villages of southern Maharashtra.
Helavi Samaj History : To give reservation to the Maratha community in Marathwada, the work is going on to find the records of Nizam period of 50 to 100 years ago to give Kunbi certificate. Finding these records in villages is a challenging task for the people and the government. But these genealogical records of people in southern Maharashtra and the border areas appear to have been kept for the last 700 to 800 years or more, and that too by a handful of remaining Helvi communities.
Pink colored feta on head, white sadara on body, pink uparan on shoulders and genealogical record wrapped in it, speaking Marathi in Kannada Lakbi. If a picture like this is seen in South Maharashtra, it would be understood that he is a Helvi... He has genealogical records of fifteen generations of the village.
Genealogical records of villages in South Maharashtra
Helvi Samaj is originally from Belgaon (Belgaon Helavi News) district. Currently, this community is living in the area of Chikodi, Athani, Kagwad. But he has genealogical records of villages and villages in the entire districts of Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Solapur and Belgaum.
They cover their feet and tell the genealogy
The traditional work of the Helvas is to tell the genealogy of the people of the village, tell the history of the clan and keep new records.
After contacting Bharma Helvi, a resident of Nandi in Nipani taluk, he gave more information. He said that the native man of Helvi community used to walk on Nandi Baila as he was lame. In later times Nandibaila was replaced by bullock cart. That is why Helvi people sit cross-legged while narrating genealogy.
Each Helwa has 10 to 15 villages in the same locality. He visits these villages every two to three years. Annaso Helvi of Athani says that usually after Diwali, Helvi comes out of the house with his blanket.
How do you describe genealogy?
While narrating his genealogy, Helvi tells who is the original man of his family and which is his native village. Tells information about your family god, gotra, land, wealth. Explain why and when the native migrated, how he reached the present village.
Bharma Helvi says that earlier Helvi genealogy records were recorded on this copper plate. Later, Tamrapat (Tamrapat) was closed and he started making notes on paper envelopes. When the paper in their note book sewn in a special way starts to wear out, all the notes are re-entered in a new book.
Records of all the Helavis of South Maharashtra, old copper plates are kept together at the Belgaon Helavi Registration Register Office in Belgaon. Records are kept with Helwa in the same manner as government records are kept, especially for the last 14-15 or more generations.
Maratha Kunbi Certificate : Significance of Helvas records for Kunbi certificates
In western Maharashtra, the Marathas used to rely on the genealogical records of the Helvas for establishing the Kunbi community or for some other purposes. When we realized the importance of Kunbi records, Helva's records became very useful while searching for Kunbi words in our genealogy. Later, the Maharashtra government refused to accept these records for caste certificates.
But in Belgaum and Karnataka these records are still considered official documents for government work. In rural areas, the testimony given by the Helvas is accepted.
In the changing times, it is said that the number of genealogists in the Helvi community has now remained a handful. The new generation is not inclined to do the traditional work of itinerant genealogy. So now the number of these Helvas is also decreasing. According to the information given by the Belgaum district administration, the number of Helva families who share the genealogy is now around 300. Therefore, this Helvi community, which records thousands of years of genealogical information, is expecting help from the government.
(Photos of Pranav Patil were used for this article as a courtesy to him, but they have been removed after his objection. Also, while collecting information for this article, discussions were held with Bharma Helvi of Nandi village in Belgaum district and Annappa Helvi of Athani)
As in 2023
Abhijeet Patil, Nov 12, 2023: The Times of India
KOLHAPUR: Prakash Appaso Helavi's days are hectic these days with requests pouring in from hundreds to trace their family roots, particularly if they have Kunbi lineage by any chance.
Ever since the Maharashtra government moved ahead on quota for Marathas with Kunbi lineage evidence, the phones of the Helavis, the tribe of family tree record-keepers, have not stopped ringing.
Their references could provid vital clues to get official papers to prove the Marathas' Kunbi status. Prakash (32) is a member of the tribe from the Maharashtra-Karnataka border. TheHelavis are maintaining such family records, dating back a few centuries, in western Maharashtra. Prakash had seen his father and grandfather meeting one family after another in the villages of Chandgad tehsil in Kolhapur district after Diwali, seeking from them information related to births and deaths in the families and meticulously noting down all the details. Stepping out of home with ledgers having records of families Chandwad tehsil in Kolhapur has also been a usual feature in Prakash's life every Diwali.
The demands for such work are much higher this Diwali. "The work makes me feel that I am carrying forward my family tradition," says Prakash, a resident of Pattankudi village in Chikodi tehsil of Belagavi district.
With the demand for Maratha quota gaining steam, families are keen to find if the Helavis have any Kunbi reference in their records. These references will provide a vital clue to get official documents needed to prove the Marathas' Kunbi status. Social media groups have also been formed to help people identify and contact their Helavis for a family history narration.
"Our family maintains records of 60-70 villages from Gadhinglaj taluka. We visit these families once a year and add names, birth dates of newborns or new brides. We also make note of those who have died. Most of the time, people are interested in knowing their family history, where their ancestors came from and what they did. This knowledge is now taking a new turn with the search for Kunbi references," says Prakash.
Ajit Utturkar, a 47-year-old civil engineer from Kolhapur's Ajara town, says, "Our family tree records obtained from Helavi show that we had moved from Panhala fort some nine generations ago. The records helped us understand where we came from and who were our ancestors. I have recently added the name of my children into the family tree with birth dates. I have taken a copy of the family record tree which I can use to find the old documents required for purposes such as property transfer."
The family tree records are written in Modi, one of the oldest scripts of Marathi language which Prakash knows well enough though he didn't go to school. "I learnt Marathi and Kannada from my father. He also taught me how to read and write in Modi script. Most importantly, he taught me how to present the family history to people searching for their roots," Prakash says.
Though he rides a bike to reach the villages, his father's mode of transport would be an oxen. Some elderly members of the tribe still use the oxen, making a grand announcement of their arrival in villages. The method of keeping the records has also changed over the years. The 'tamrapat' (copper plates) has given way to paper ledgers. Still, innumerable copper plates are stored at Mayakka Chinchali, a holy place in Raibag taluka of Karnataka. Shiva ji Helavi, a 50-year-old resident of Belagavi district of Karnataka, says they have a sense of pride in the work done by their forefathers. Till a few years ago, the only time they would get a query was when there was sharing and transfer of property.
"Earlier, we used to get just one or two enquiries for the genealogy in a year. These days, I am getting over 10-20 enquiries from Marathas every day to visit them with their family tree. In the past records of Marathas, Kunbi is mentioned," Shiva ji says.
Some enthusiasts are helping the Maratha community members find their Helavi. Sunil Gaikwad from Khandala town of Satara district is one of them. He has started groups and pages on social media, called 'Aapla Helavi'. He says, "Many don't know the Helavi keeping their family record. Through social media, we are reaching out to the Helavis and the persons who need them for tracing family history."
Though the Helavis are being called upon in the search for the Kunbi roots, these traditional records are, however, not useful in getting Kunbi certificates from the government. They can only give a clue to finding the Kunbi reference in government records.
Vasantrao Mulik, Kolhapur president of Maratha Mahasangh who is involved in helping Marathas find the Kunbi records for two decades, says only revenue documents, school leaving certificates and birth and death certificates of one's ancestors are considered valid. "We can get the details of the past two to three generations from these documents. However, the genealogy from the records with Helavis can be a strong ," he says.
