Koli community
Kolis, 1908
The various tribes that bear this name differ very greatly in character and origin. They are chiefly found in the Bombay Presi- dency, throughout Gujarat, and in the northern parts of the Deccan and Konkan, and also in the States of Hyderabad, Rajputana, and Central India. In the Punjab and United Provinces large numbers of Rons or Kolis are found, who are chiefly weavers or labourers. It is doubtful whether these are connected in any way with the Kolis of Western and Central India. At the Bombay Census of 1901 1,714,921 persons returned themselves as Kolis, and many of the castes that bear other names have a strain of Koli blood ; whereas in Western Gujarat the Kolis have so strong an infusion of northern blood as to be scarcely distinguishable from Rajputs. In the east of Gujarat no very clear line can be drawn between them and the BhIls ; and in the Konkan the Koli passes into the Kunbl by insensible gradations. No satisfactory history or derivation of the name Koli has yet been given. The Kolas or Kohsarpas of Sanskrit epic poetry are probably the Kols of the eastern Vindhyas, and the Kaulika of the Panchatantra is a weaver like the Koris of Northern India. The name Koli does not seem to occur before the Musalman period, and is dis- liked by the tribe in Rajputana and Northern Gujarat. These facts lend colour to the suggestion that it is derived from the TurkI word kulek, a 'slave.' But, whatever be the origin of the name, it seems probable that the oldest element in the caste represents the aborigines of the open country and the coast, as distinguished from the primi- tive tribes of the hills and forests.
In Gujarat there are four leading divisions of Kolis, which do not as a rule eat together or intermarry. Of these, the highest and most widely spread are the Talabdas, also called Dharalas, who not infrequently intermarry with Rajputs, and are reputed peaceable and skilful hus- bandmen. Next to them come the Chunvaliyas of Viramgam, whose leaders are sometimes recognized as Rajputs, while the rank and file differ but little from BhIls. Though now mostly settled, they were known down to 1825 as daring plunderers. The Khants also differ little from BhIls, and had their first home in Rewa Kant ha, whence a large body was transported to Girnar in the fourteenth century. The Patanvadiyas of the district round Old Anhilvada are looked down upon by the other sections because they eat buffalo meat, and closely resemble BhIls and Vaghris. The strain of northern blood is strongest in Kathiawar, where the Kolis differ hardly at all from the Babrias, Mers, Ravalias, and Mahiyas, and join in the worship of the Baloch goddess Hinglaj. There is a functional sub-caste of Koli fishers and boatmen, settled all along the coasts of Kathiawar and Gujarat, which is sometimes classed as separate from, and sometimes as a subdivision of, the Machhis or the Kharvas. All these sections of Kolis are sub- divided into exogamous clans, many of which bear Rajput names. Gujarat Kolis eat fish, flesh, and opium, drink liquor, and smoke tobacco. They worship chiefly the gods Indra and Hatmal and the goddesses Hinglaj and Khodiar, and the river Mahl, and have a strong belief in ghosts and omens. Children are not married before twelve years of age. Marriages are arranged by the parents, who pay great respect to certain omens. Widows may remarry, and so may un- widowed wives with the first husband's consent. In some parts marriage of a widow with her husband's younger brother is not un- common. Divorce is allowed. The dead, except infants, are burnt, and on the eleventh day after death worship is paid to a stone into which the ghost is supposed to have entered.
The Marathl-speaking Kohs of the Konkan and Deccan also have four endogamous divisions. Of these the Son-Kolls are confined to the coast tract, and are fishermen and sailors. They are closely con- nected with the Agrls, and have a sar pdtel or chief headman who lives at Alibag. The men affect a cap of red cloth scalloped over the fore- head, and the married women wear glass bangles on the left arm only, those of the right arm being thrown into the sea at marriage to save the husband from the dangers of the deep. The Malhari Kunam or Panbhari Kolis are found in large numbers in Thana District, where they are husbandmen, and more sparsely in the Deccan, where they are boatmen, water-carriers, and ministers in the temples of Mahadeo. They eat with Kunbis, from whom in the Konkan they can hardly be distinguished. The Raj, Dongari, or Mahadeo Kolis claim to have come about 1300 from the Nizam's country, where they are strong. The chief of Jawhar in Thana belongs to this section, which is more warlike than the others, and has often made itself notorious for turbu- lence and gang-robberies. Above the Ghats their chief centre was formerly at Junnar. They are now as a rule husbandmen. The Dhor Kolis are looked down upon by the other sections because they eat beef, and are altogether of a lower type. Each of the three higher sections is divided into a number of exogamous family stocks {kill). They claim descent from the sage Valmlki, who composed the Ram- ayana. Infant marriage is practised chiefly by the Raj Kolis. All sections allow the remarriage of widows, but only at night, and with maimed rites. A widow must marry out of her first husband's kul. Divorce is allowed only by Raj Kolis. All sections worship various forms of Siva, and in the Konkan also the local gods and ghosts known as Hirva, Chita, Vaghdeo, &c, with offerings of fowls, goats, and liquor. They believe firmly in witchcraft and omens. The marriage rites are conducted by Brahmans. The dead, except in cases of cholera, are burnt, but the Raj Kolis sometimes bury, and employ ravals in the funeral rites. Offerings are made to the dead from eleven to thirteen days after death, and yearly in the month of Bhadrapada.
In Central India the Kolis are almost entirely confined to the Malwa. side. They live as a rule by agriculture and differ little from the ordinary Kunbi. The Census of k)oi shows the following distribution of the tribe throughout India: —
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
