Glimpses of Culture

A kaleidoscope of glimpses into various cultures within Asia. Each tribe, each ethnicity expresses its identity in various ways – music, dance, textiles, costumes, food, language, life format etc.

It is impossible for an individual to capture the complete essence of any tribe – either one’s own or another’s – but it is possible to experience the diversity and be nothing less than awestruck by the beauty of human society.

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Sometimes the customs and traditions are so different from the ones I have been exposed to until now, that it is hard not to be alarmed and to remain unjudgemental. But the only way to view any custom is to see it as a part of the complete picture, within the paradigm that has given birth to the custom. It is only then that the view is fair.

Every society has its reasons for doing what they do. The set of rules that have evolved have withstood the test of inter-generational transmission. Therefore they are always internally consistent within the system and provide answers to all of the issues faced by that particular society. When viewed from outside, a traveller usually only gets a limited view and she sees a single custom / tradition without seeing all the evolutionary factors and the paradigm within which this is perfectly valid.  Given that this  is merely a slice of the whole life model, which is  quite likely to be different from her own, this view is likely to cause the viewer some dissonance and sometimes result in an imbalanced judgement.

Of course it is not only the limitedness of the view that causes this bias. Sometimes the close-mindedness of the viewer also contributes to this.

It has taken me many journeys into the lives and minds of others to realise that unless the context is known and empathised with, the judgement is unfair and therefore invalid.

I try to make a deliberate effort to ‘understand’ and ‘empathise’ instead of judging.

It is in that spirit that I have written my articles. My respect for their lives is total (and unconditional) even though my information about their paradigm is not.

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The posts have been listed below in order of posting.  You could either choose to scroll down all the way and read all  or click on the titles that interest you.

Return to Ladakh

Anachronism – Mumbai the Mega city & Elephanta the ancient caves

The Ladies Compartment in Mumbai Local trains

Kalinga Diaries

The stylish priests of Jagannath Puri

Journey to the Past – the Science of Epigraphy

In the Presence of the Past

The Magnificent Stone artefacts of Odisha

Camels go on a Pilgrimage

A Rabari Gypsy Tribal Wedding Ritual

A walk through a Rabari Tribal Village

The Stunning tribes of Sarawak, Borneo

A Cultural Stay at Kuching

Bidayuh Tribal Longhouse in Borneo

Puppets & Puppeteers of Rajasthan

The Batak Calendar  of Sumatra, Indonesia

A Python for Dinner

A Dog’s Sixth Sense

Loss of Cultural Diversity

Colors of Mewar,  Rajasthan

Turban Art – The Crowning Glory of Indian Men

The Gangaur Festival – praying for Marital Bliss

The Classic Indian Village fair – Gogunda Mela

Alternate Sexuality Traditions 4 – The Garasia Tribe

The Blacksmith Gadalia Community of Rajasthan

Music of the Manganiyar Tribe

Folk Dances of Rajasthan

Women of India – the Weaker sex

The Holi Bonfire – Past & Present

Mizo Mosaic

The Chapchar Kut Harvest Festival of Mizoram

Alternate Sexuality Traditions 3 – The Lushai Custom

Bnei Menashe – The Lost Tribe of Israel in Mizoram

The Siddi Tribe of Gujarat India of African origin

The Komusa Wandering Monks & their Shakuhachi flute

My talk at Asian Civilisations Museum

Intense Spirituality – Body piercing at the Thaipusam festival

Back to the Future – Tribal Life in Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Hilltribe Lifestyle 1: Glimpses of a contented People

Arunachal Hilltribe Lifestyle 2 : Hunter-Gatherer-Weavers

Arunachal Hilltribe Lifestyle 3 : Innovative housing

Arunachal Hilltribe Lifestyle 4 : A chance encounter with a Shaman Priest during a sacrifice ritual

Arunachal Hilltribe Lifestyle 5: The Gaanv Boodhas or Village Headmen of Arunachal Pradesh

Tribal signatures – Face Tattoos of the Apatanis

Fierce Nocte Headhunters

Head Hunting Trophies

Arunachal Pradesh Lifestyle – Innovative Housing

Traditional Sports – Kabutar Baazi or Pigeon Gaming

Ram Leela at Dassera in Mumbai

Traditional Sports of Ladakh – Archery

Traditional Sports of Ladakh – Polo

Mountain Adventures 18000ft above sea level – a landslide at the Khardungla Pass!

Bactrian Camels of the Central Asian Silk Route – Ladakh

A night-out with the Nomads of Changthang

Mastering the Mind & Body – the Monk Warriors of Shaolin

The Ambubasi Tantric Festival

Church of Saint Francis Xavier of Assisi, Old Goa

Terracotta Warriors, Xi’an – a photo gallery of exhibits at Asian Civilisations Museum

Viva San Jao 2011

Invitation to a Lambani Gypsy Tribal Wedding

Exquisite Vintage Kebayas – costumes of the Pernakan Culture

Sikkim Diaries

Chanting Ceremony at Lingdum Monastery, Sikkim

Losar Celebrations – Bonfire at Kagyud Monastery, Sikkim

Procession at the Enchey Monastery, Sikkim

Little Lamas, Sikkim

Lama Dances at Thongsa Monastery, Kalimpong

Dancing with the Nuns at Phendzong Nunnery

Cross border handshake at Nathu-la Pass on the Silk Route

Yak Horn textile adornments, Sikkim

Street Shrines of India

The Hornbill Festival, Nagaland

Naga Lifestyle

Tribal Dances of Nagaland

Traditional Naga Bamboo Climbing & Fire Making

Tribal Textile and Bead Art of Nagaland

Sacrificial Lamb at Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati

Train Ride across rural Assam – Guwahati to Dimapur

Sumazau Dance of Sabah, Borneo

Journey of a Lifetime – Tibet

The Narakasur Festival

Lifestyle of the Qashqai Tribe, South West Persia

Nomads of Mongolia

Driving to Sindhudurg Sea Fort and back

The Eunuch Community of Bombay

The Dhunuchi Dance at Durga Puja

Thumbuakar Tribals of Borneo

Lucknow – Capital of Awadh & city of Nawabs

The Dragon Dance

The Magnificent Lion Dance

Janamashtami Festival

A cup of tea with nomads and gypsies of the Kutch

Alternate Sexuality Traditions 2 – The Tibetans

Textile Symbolism 1 : Hilltribes of Northern Thailand

Alternate Sexuality Traditions 1 – The Khmers

The children of Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Time Travel Tour Operators

Kissing a Bengal Tiger

Common Memes between Tribes

Into the Arabian Sea at Mumbai

Through Rural Gujarat

Life in an Ashram

Goan Village House

Monsoon at Miramar, Goa

Dances from another place

The Fishing Nets of Cochin

The Lambani Gypsy Tribe

Lifestyle of the Hilltribes of Northern Thailand

Travelling Godmen

Colors of San Jao festival, Goa

Rajasthan Folk Art

Mountain flight to Mount Everest

Pashupatinath – celebration and sorrow

New posts are constantly being added to this list and will appear at the top.

jm

Camels go on a Pilgrimage with their Tribal Masters to pray

I am in Kutch. One of the districts of Gujarat. Which is one of the 28 states of India.

This little portion tucked away in a corner of India bordering the desert is an amazing mosaic of diverse cultures. Of tribes and sub tribes – and their unique ways of life.
Being here reminds me that India is so so delightful! That the wonders never cease. Every trip exposes me to one more unknown facet – one more awing legend, one more practice, one more stimulating, mind opening practice!

One lifetime is certainly not enough to even get a glimpse of all the cultural aspects of India .,… the idea of reincarnation sounds very attractive now ………it will allow me enough time to see all of this beautiful country!

So let me begin again. I am in Kutch.

On a nearby hill there is a temple, home to a Goddess, commonly called Maata.  Rabari tribes have immense faith in this Maata and once a year a fair is held at the temple in her honor.

So families from all over the region arrive at the temple to offer worship.

Sounds like any other fair in India?

Now comes the unique delightful part :

The devotees – who are tribal herders, walk miles and miles from their villages to come to this remote temple to worship. But they do not come alone. They bring their women and children. And they bring their herds. Of goats and sheep and camels. To worship and ask for blessings.

What blessing might a sheep ask for I wonder. Goddess please make my wool siky? What might the camels ask for? I cannot even begin to imagine! And I would ask them but I do not know the camel-dialect that these herders are so fluent in.

So here they all gather together on this particular day every year, humans and herds, to pray to their goddess, asking for blessings and offering gratitude.

And here I am with my camera to witness the event.
A few photos from this unique and delightful gathering.

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The fair had just begun, and worshippers were just arriving – but I had to leave….

jm

October 2, 2012

New Acquisitions of Kutch Textile Art in the Wovensouls Collection

The eye learns with every new exposure and becomes more discerning.

Now I value the unusual form more than I did earlier.  In the world of textile art everything can be ‘pretty’ but to find a piece with an use that is rendered obsolete with dying customs is harder to find. Pieces that may have been commonplace in their time may have been destroyed through wear and tear and new production is no longer warranted – and so no evidence remains. These are the pieces I enjoy finding.

A few pieces have come my way and delighted me recently.

An antique coin belt used by Nomads & gypsies in the days when gold & silver coins were the only currency used. As they roamed across hundreds of kilometers of land, they earned wealth from the milk & wool of their flocks, and from ‘sitting’ their flock on fields and charging the farmers for the fertiliser provided …. All this wealth was stored in the coin belts worn on their body. This is one such belt!

Hand woven without a loom – an absolute delight to behold!

And then there is the rare antique Dabu block printed skirt of the Kutch Rajputs. Hand block printed and Hand stitched!

And 2 exquisitely embroidered antique door panels to welcome guests :

These articles and more – hand fans, beaded articles, milk pot holders and more are described in detail on wovensouls.com here.

jm

August 2012

A walk through a Rabari tribal Village

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Rabari people are gypsies having their deep ancestry origins in Mount Kailash. They migrated to the Kutch via Afghanistan & Kashmir.

Just a video taken as I walk about a village of the Rabari tribe in Kutch, India.

They spend most of the year with their flocks taking them grazing from one region to another. During the monsoons they come back to their settlements – a village such as this one – to arrange marriages and to store some assets gathered over the months.

The women all wear black Ludhis – and embroidery is a major part of their lives. The reason for the black is historical : Legend has it that centuries ago one of important Rabari women made a King her brother by tying him a Rakhi. When he died the tribe went into mourning or ‘Sutak’ and black is the color of mourning.  For any Sutak to be anulled, certain rituals needed to be performed – and in this case it is said that the ritual that was required to be performed was an extremely stringent and impossible one. That a feast needed to be arranged that required the use of 40 mann (1 mann = 40 kg) of salt to be consumed in the cooking!!  And so the Sutak remains in force even today.

There are many sub tribes within the larger group called Rabari – but they are easy to identify by their costumes and their jewellery which are fortunately being passed on to the younger generation as well.

More articles on the Kutch listed here.

jm

Aug 2012

A Rabari Gypsy Tribal Wedding Ritual

‘Luck by Chaanus’* was on our side Mr. V.bhai – my self appointed guide for the day – declared observing that we had just witnessed two pre-wedding rituals an hour apart from each other. (Luck-by-chance – one of the cutest Indlish phrases has many phonetic variations each following the phonetic pattern of the native language of the speaker – it means just plain & simple luck or serendipity. Also known as probability or God)

We had made our way through a village and stopped at two ‘wedding homes’ (‘lagan nu ghar’ – which has no equivalent phrase in English because there is no cultural equivalent) one after the other about 2 hours apart. And we were fortunate to have witnessed the main ceremony of the day in both the homes. Had we taken the counter-route and changed the sequence of visitation, we would have missed the ceremony in both the homes. ‘Luck by Chaanus’ was definitely our side.

I was in Kutch, Gujarat. This was my third trip – timed to coincide with dates that were considered auspicious for wedding ceremonies by a particular sub-tribe of a large gypsy tribe in the region.

And so we set off early to visit villages in search of a wedding.

Mr. V a handsome senior citizen and great grandfather was himself a Rabari gypsy having herded goats. sheep and camels across 3 states for decades. He did not know a soul in the villages we were visiting. But Indian villages are very hospitable even to strangers and here we had Mr. V – a tribesman leading us into their world.

At the entrance of every village was a tree with a large cement slab on which old men congregated, sat and spent lazy afternoons on as they discsussed important matters such as the new beedi shop and the cow that had recently given birth.

Mr. V shook hands every single man on the slab – not in the Western way – but by holding both hands lightly. He’d give a summary of his identity – his village, his tribe and his name and all the distant connections with this village – e.g. his brother’s wife’s cousin’s father-in-law’s sister was from this village – were mentioned to forge the bonding. Everyone was now comfortable with everyone else and I was a mere woman so I did not seem like a threat to anyone and so did not merit much of a mention. If anyone was curious about me and asked who I was, I was explained as someone who was visiting from Mumbai. And when I spoke their language – I was asked which village in Gujarat I hailed from. The few words and smiles we exchanged created a bridge that led me into their lives.

A bunch of playful boys hung out near the tree and the resting slab under the watchful gaze of the elders.

A little 4 yr old curious boy Deepak initiated a conversation with us and was appointed the guide for teh village tour. He walked us to the first wedding home about 400 meters into the village.

[pictures and videos below are taken from both the wedding homes]

Across the compound wall made of stone, a little crowd could be seen and women could be heard singing. I waited for Mr. V to go inside and repeat the process of introductions. He was invited to sit with the hosts and join the wedding by the men who had never seen him before that day. Again, no one cared about my guarded quiet unobtrusive presence even though I was obviously an alien there. Slowly with every passing minute I began to feel the indifference change into acceptance – and when they invited me to sit with the elders and offered me water I was delighted. And then my grinning and chatting and clicking started!

I am happiest among these beautiful tribal people. And relish every moment of their lives that they graciously share with me.

An account of my experiences :

The yard is divided into several distinct areas.

The shade of the tree provides the natural spot for seating while the preparations take place.

The men sit around chatting and discussing matters over shared beedis. Supari & sweet anise mouth fresheners are passed around at regular intervals.

Old women mind the little children across on a chaarpaayi – or rope-n-bamboo cot.

Two corners are allocated for cooking and the area near the entrance is occupied by singing women.

COOKING THE FEAST
Women have gathered around to cook the feast. At one end of the yard rice and dessert (Sewai) are being cooked in large pots and in another Puris are being rolled and fried. Drywood is being used as fuel – a great eco-friendly choice!

SINGING
Older women who no longer have to bear the harder jobs – gather together in a circle to sing wedding songs.

TURBAN CEREMONY
This is the most important ritual of the day and has immense social significance. The turban is a symbol of self respect, dignity and pride. Disrespecting or lowering the dignity of this article of dress is equivalent to doing that to the owner of that turban.

The bride’s father, on the eve of the wedding ceremony takes the turban off his own head and places it on the groom’s – signifying that the honor of the bride’s family is now in the hands of the groom and his family. By placing his own turban on that of the groom, he is also stating symbolically that the groom is now in a higher position in the social ladder than the bride’s father.

And so the men gathered around, including the mother’s brother and the father of the bride, prepare the turban by twisting a cloth that is 21 hands long. (1 hand = the distance between the elbow and the finger tips)

After twisting, this is then wrapped around to create an independent turban.

Once the last step of fixing the turban ends is taken care of, the turban is ready and we all wait for the right signal for the ceremony to begin.

The groom is first led into the home by the mother & grandmother of the bride. But first there is an elaborate welcome ceremony at the entrance. The head of the groom is covered by a sash held by two little assistants while his  to-be-mother showers him with sindoor/roli for good fortune, turmeric powder for good health and rice grains for fertility. She then shakes off any evil eye cast upon him with currency notes and paan leaves in the ‘nazar utaaro’ ritual.

The video below (taken with a phone in one hand and a heavy camera in another) is shaky but conveys the atmosphere of the welcome ceremony at the second home.

The groom or the “laada” steps into the inner room and waits for the arrival of the bride’s father or maternal uncle.

The father of the bride is now ready to lay down his honor wrapped up in his turban at the mercy of the groom

He enters, approaches the groom, says to him that his honor now rests with the groom, takes off his turban and places it on the head of the groom.

The groom is too young to understand the implications of this ritual and smiles in glee at having received an article of clothing – which is all it means to him – but the  look on the face of the father tells me that the social significance of this act is not lost on him.

The ritual is over and the Laada steps out with his new turban.

It is now time to eat.

I had a plane to catch later so we could not stay for the lunch feast.

It didn’t matter – because my soul was brimming with the fulfilment of  the experience of yet another tribal wedding!

More article on the Kutch listed here.

jm

August 2012

Invitation to a Lambani Gypsy Tribal Wedding

A Lambani Gypsy family. A Village in Karnataka, India. May 8th 2011. An arranged marriage.

This is an account of a gypsy tribal wedding in a tiny village that had more character than all of the opulent weddings that I have attended in mega-cities like Bombay and Singapore.

I hope that the photographs and the verbal account transmits at least a fraction of the fun I had in those 2 days.

This is a trip I nearly cancelled because of the difficult logistics of traveling to and from the village by myself. But finally I made it.

Had I not gone, I would never have known what I would have missed, therefore it would be wrong to say that I would have regretted it … but now that I have seen what I nearly missed, I am grateful for the factors that led me to make the decision I made!

The ride to the village took an hour on well maintained rural roads that ran through fields of sugar cane and other crops.

Village shots :

 

 

 

A woman in her home that lies along the road to the my destination

The men gathered to while away the hot afternoon in the village square

KT is a hamlet of about 25 households, about 50 km outside Belgaum. It is one among the 50 or so villages that are home to only Lambani tribal gypsies settled in Karnataka. Although settled now, they were once gypsies and that culture still remains.

This is a “real” Indian village. One where there is a single tap from which pots are filled and carried away by the girls. One where nature’s calls are answered under the trees lining the neighbouring fields. One where cows and bullocks are important members of the family. Where chaarpaay beds are brought out at night and everyone sleeps under the stars. Where the women wear all their wealth in the form of gold on their bodies – all the time. Where life is still lived in harmony with the earth.

I am privileged to know a Lambani gypsy tribal Babu and it is at his invitation that I attended his son’s wedding, as a resident guest in his home in the village.

Babu the groom’s father and my host – wearing a cap that is an influence absorbed from the neighbouring state Maharashtra

I arrived on the evening before wedding and lived in the family home of the groom. I slept on the floor on a bed sheet that I had brought along and was given a sack-pillow. Wire connections were arranged and a table-fan was set up near my sleeping space. Nothing missing in the arrangements.

The ‘shagun’ or the carriers of good omen:

A red cloth with rice and mango leaves tied to a pole outside the threshold of the groom’s home

A pot that will be used in the ceremonies covered with a gypsy textile, placed above the entrance of the groom’s home

THE WEDDING MANDAP (Stage / Canopy) :

Constructed in the hamlet square outside Babu’s green home

This mandap cost Rs. 8000 (about USD 200) for 24hour usage including set-up

THE MUSIC:

Loud music is another essential – so two providers were hired. One that played CDs with the latest Bollywood remixes on large speakers, and another live band with very good trumpet players, good drum players, a large casiotone player, a singer and the amplifying equipment and speakers on a cart. The live band therefore was mobile and was taken along on all the little processions.

Both music providers arrived on the evening before the wedding. And the night was filled with loud music. Dancing continued until 11pm, with all the family members, relatives and the few dozen children of the village having the time of their lives!

The groom’s mother dancing in celebration

THE FOOD

As in every wedding all over the world food plays a major role in the celebration:

The dead branches brought in for cooking the wedding lunch

The menu: Roti, finger-licking good Brinjal Curry, Rice, Chana, amazing Gravy, Raita and sweet Boondi

Preparing the feast

PRE-WEDDING RITUAL

On the morning of the wedding  a special Lambani amulet weaving is tied to the groom’s waist

The groom and his family then proceed to the village deity a short distance away from the hamlet, carrying offerings and dancing as they go.

The offerings for the deity carried by family members

Note the large speakers of the mobile band following the dancers

The groom dancing with colorful powder splattered on everyone during the procession

Most dancing in folk life in India is not a male-female event and has little to do with the romance angle that is associated with dancing in the West. Children, old women, men all participate with equal fervour, either solo and with each other, irrespective of age or sex.

Two young men in a spontaneously coordinated step

Praying at the temple with auspicious articles like betel nut leaves, coconut and a lamp

THE WELCOME AND THE SAMMAAN (RESPECT) CEREMONY

Following the custom of the tribe, the bride’s family – usually from another village – arrives at the village of the groom for the wedding. The groom’s family then receive them formally at the entrance of the hamlet.

The sister of the groom carries the ceremonial pot to welcome them.The pot is decorated with auspicious items such as betel nut leaves, coconuts and also contains the jewelry to be given to the bride by the groom’s family.

Another pot from a twin wedding that took place on the same day in the hamlet:

Textiles articles of interest - an indhoni and a cowry pouch*

Then, male members from both the bride and the groom’s side sit across each other in two rows with the ceremonial pot placed in between.

The ‘sammaan’ ceremony consists of several steps – each perfromed by one of the male members:

A member from the groom’s family stands up, walks across to the bride’s side, to wipe the forehead of each of the seated members with a wet betelnut leaf – in the spirit of cleansing.

Then another member from the groom’s side goes across to wipe the foreheads of the seated members with a dry napkin.

This is followed by the application of auspicious white powder by one of the host members onto the foreheads of the guest members.

Red powder is then applied. Red powder signifies good fortune.

Raw rice mixed with turmeric is then sprinkled on the heads of the guests. Rice signifies fertility & prosperity and the turmeric signifies good health.

And finally the hosts feed each of the guests sugar – which signifies sweetness in all dealings.

Once the groom’s side  completes these rituals for the bride’s family, the process is repeated identically in the reverse direction.

While this ritual takes place, the young bride waits – shy and in tears at the prospect of leaving her family. She arrives in simple clothes and remains in these throughout the wedding ceremony. Once all the religious rituals are complete she changes into bridal finery. 

The guests  friends and relatives from all over have arrived and await the main wedding rituals.

 

The Sarpanch and 2 other members of the Panchayat (Local self government)

The bride and close family members are now led into the house of the groom. A small puja or worship service follows.

The groom now ties a wedding chain around the girl’s neck – the mangalsutra which is a visible display of her marital status. This custom has probably been borrowed from the land in which they have settled.

THE WEDDING RITUAL

In a Hindu wedding ritual, the bride and the groom take seven rounds around a holy fire. In the Lambani custom, the holy fire is replaced by the sacred thread.

The sacred thread is created in the following manner :

Two planks a placed parallel to each other and married women sit around these planks.

The priest first creates a paste of turmeric and water and hands small lumps of the paste to the women in seated in a circle around the planks.

He then unrolls a white twine and walks around the planks as he hands over the thread to the women.

They hold the thread and knead the yellow turmeric into thread.

The priest takes 7+7 rounds with the twine signifying the pheras of a wedding,  creating 2 ropes each containing 7 threads,  one for the bride and one for the groom.

This is done amidst tribal singing that has a unique flavor

Once the thread is prepared, the bride and the groom are called in and they take 7 rounds around this thread.

taking the 7 pheras with the bride following the groom

Finally the couple sit on one of the planks and the priest ties the thread to the groom first and then to the bride. The yellow marital cord on another couple that was married 3 days prior to this wedding:

The groom now carries the bride’s veil on his shoulder signifying their wedded role.

With this the ceremony is complete.

The mother-in-laws now pamper their new ‘kids-in-laws’ with the token preening gesture that is popular with Indian mothers i.e. pouring coconut oil into their ears and rubbing some into their hair.

The newly married couple now get dressed for the reception and arrive on the ‘stage’ for the garlanding ceremony.

The reception includes the custom of gift-giving “accounts” …. a written account is maintained of the gift given to the couple by each family. Guests first queue up to wish the bride and the groom, and then queue up again at the accountant’s desk who notes down the gift along with the name of the family giving the gift! This account is used in future reciprocal events to ensure parity.

Close family members are then given a parting gift of a wrist-tie that includes a betel-nut leaf and a piece fo turmeric root :

The bride’s family now brings in the ‘assets’ that have been negotiated at the time of arranging the marriage. In this case the inventory fell short of the negotiated list and a lively skirmish followed. It was soon settled with promises of balance delivery….

And then they lived happily ever after !

***

Will add some notes based on the conversations I had with some elders that provides a deeper understanding of the Lambani customs.

***

The cultural signatures or this group are almost identical to the signatures of Rabaris found in Kutch Gujarat and I strongly suspect that they share common origins. But more about that aspect in a separate article…

The sad news is that the signature gypsy costume -  the mirror work head scarf and the hair-plait silver is seen only among the older generation. None of the younger girls use these articles. What is more disturbing is not the lack of use, but the failure to transmit the skills to make these articles to the new generation  – and it will only take a single instance of not passing on a ‘meme’  between 2 generations to render this culture extinct! In the next twenty years, many of the articles of this culture may not be seen anymore!

Art portraits of Gypsy Lambani women are exhibited on jainamishra.com

jm

May 2011

* click here to see similar antique  indhonis and cowrie pouches on wovensouls.com

A cup of tea with Nomads and Gypsies of Kutch

This trip in early 2006  marked the start of my solo travelling life.

A novice solo traveller a bit nervous, but as usual serendipity helped me along…..

Armed with terrible photography skills, a simple Point & Shoot camera, and good people around me, I’ve captured a small fraction of my terrific experience into pixels.

First – spending a day with nomads:

As we were driving along the highway returning from a village, we spotted a family parked on the adjacent field. We walked up across the field and approached them. They asked us to sit and chat and offered us a cup of tea  -which I gladly accepted. Not knowing that this is tea made using GOAT milk!! The thought of this hurt my non-adventurous palate – but it tasted great in the end!

approaching the nomad family

minimalist tent

settling down for tea

tea being prepared in the kitchen

one of their camels taking a snack break

two members of the nomad family

the cradle frame – bearing the signature work that is also found in the swat valley

enjoying his bowl of tea

We talked about their life model – about sustenance and finances….

The family owns a herd of goats. They own no house and everything they own in terms of material possessions can be loaded on to their camel cart. They live on one field for a few days and then move on to another. Is there a cost involved – rent for example – in living on the field?

Of course NOT! Not only do these nomads not pay a paisa as rent, instead they charge the land owner – for having their herd of goats living on the field and fertilising the earth !!   What a perfect model!

So they stay in one spot for a fortnight or so and then move on. The only shelter they need is from the sun and the little tent provides that. Am not sure how they manage when the temperatures rise above 45 degrees Celsius in summer… But they have no need for protection from the skies as it rarely rains in the Kutch.

A large part of the nomads wealth is worn on the woman’s body. Magnificent chunky gold jewelry adorns these women – large necklaces, large nose rings, large earrings… and all traditional and gorgeous! City women are deprived of such joys – for fear of getting mugged!

The plan to return that night for a sleepover with them, did not materialise as I was too tired to come back out 30km out of the city. A missed opportunity that I regret tremendously…..but this regret will probably be the driving force that will take me back someday..

***

Next a peep into the villages of the settled gypsies…

The rabaris are very closed and will not allow outsiders easily into their settlements. Maama’s presence solved all that. Maama goes from village to village and buys embroidery work from Rabari women to sell in the market…So he knows everyone and everyone loves him. And some of that love  was extended to me – his guest.

The compound of a typical house

Rabaran in the village lane

A patriarch

A earring that I am envious of

Maama and villagers

Maama showing a unique silver adornment that almost every one has – a toothpick and a earwax remover

happiness

in the village market

Maama’s Mrs.

Ivory wedding band

Yarn of goat wool

About Kutch Art

Door art

The embroidery work of the Kutch is famous and so I haven’t spent any time on showing off this aspect of Kutch in this travelogue but several Antique pieces are available in the wovensouls collection.

I have seen some swat furniture – and the art work on the folk wood pieces in the Kutch is very similar to the Swat work. Since these settled groups in the Kutch were once gypsies, it is likely that they picked up this art on their way to this location – or may be part of the same genomic group….maybe some experts know the answers…

Me, I am just enjoying discovering common traits between tribes separated by geography, and making conjectures about their common origin!

one of the many kutch textile art forms

(shawls of this type are exhibited on wovensouls here)

Someday i will go back and take more pictures and delve deeper into their lives to explore these conjectures further.

A few pieces of royalty sponsored art of the Kutch…..

Ivory accent for keyhole

ivory inlay

Other sights…

impact of earthquake

gorges

Strange geology

The great and the little Rann of Kutch were once part of the oceans. And then something happened (not quite sure what something HUGE happened) And these are now dry salty deserts. Remains of ancient ships and large anchors can still be found in the barren lands.

Salted and dried fish …..

Wild Camel herds grazing along the highway

The palace at Mandvi…..lots of royal colors to Kutch as well but I prefer to focus on the folk aspects …..

maama & me

This trip was taken before I became interested in photography – so the images are with a regular Point & Shoot camera.

More article on the Kutch listed here.

jm