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GUJJAR (HINDU)
Tradition has it that the Gujjars or the Gujar are a pastoral community with no fixed abode. A large number of Gujjars have now settled down and taken to farming. In some areas, they continue to pursue agriculture activity along with animal husbandry. Traditionally they were cattle breeders and milkmen. During the Turkish, Afghan and Persian invasions, they earned notoriety for prepping upon the dead and the wounded left in the battlefields.
The Gujjars are identified by General Cunningham with the Kushan or Yachi or Tochari, a tribe of the Eastern Tatars. About a century before Christ, their chief conquered Kabul and Peshawar, while his son Hema Kadbhises extended his away over the whole of upper Punjab and the banks of the Jamuna as far down as Mathura and the Vindhayas. His successor, king Kanishka, the first Buddhist Indo-Scythian prince, annexed Kashmir to the kingdom of Tochari (Bingley 1904; Rose 1919; Negi; 1976). The probability of Gujjars being the descendants of the ancient Yachi or Kushan is suggested by the fact that beside the Jat, they are the only numerous race of foreign origin in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent who are known to have been powerful during the early centuries of the Christian era.
The origins of the Gujjars are still surrounded in mystery, but the majority of the scholars are of the view that these people migrated to India during was a regular feature along well-established trade routes. It is also said that they inhabited the western part o India, where the province Gujarat exists after their name. The Gujjar rules founded the city in Gujarat in Akbar’s reign. Unforeseen circumstances compelled them to migrate towards north to Jammu and Kashmir where they settled in the forests. The Hindu Gujjars entered Himachal Pradesh from the neighboring areas of the plants in isolated and stray migrations (Rose, 1919).
Most of the historians believe that the Gujjars were a Rajput community. The word ‘Gujjars’ appears to have been derived from gurjana, which means a warrior class of Rajputs. Cunningham (vide Rose, 1919), confirming this writes, “The ancient name of Rajputana was Gujar or Gujara (Gujarat)”
The Hindu Gujjars of Himachal trace their origin from Yasoda, mother of Krishna. The Hindu Gujjars are found mostly in the district of Mandi, Kangra, Sirmaur, Soaln and Bilaspur, whereas, the Muslim Gujjars are dispersed in the districts of Chamba, Mandi, Bilaspur, Soaln and Sirmaur. The dialect spoken by them is of the region. Devanagari is the script used in writing. The Hindu Gujjars do not have any identity market.
The Hindu Gujjars usually vegetarian and their diet depend upon the availability of cereals. During summer months they take wheat and rice and in winter months they prefer maize to wheat. They are occasional non- vegetarians and take meat of goat and chicken. Their staple diet consists of wheat or maize chappati, dal of urd and gram, vegetables or milk products and curd. Milk and milk products occupy an important position in their normal menu for these are their own produce. They are occasional consumers of alcoholic drinks, which are purchased from the market and are taken on festive or social occasions. But women do not taken alcoholic drinks. Smoking of tobacco. Bidi cigarette is very common among the males. Elderly women also smoke hukka. On marriage and festive occasions preparations of mutton, sweetened rice and of dal of mah or chana are a must and cooked by all families. In the event of death in a family, non-vegetarian and spicy foods are avoided and so also during the pitra-paksha. Mutton is also avoided on festive occasions except Holi.
Bio-anthropological report provides biological information.
The gujjars have two endogamous religious sections-Hindu and Muslim. Each section is further subdivided into a number of exogamous gotra like Khatana, Chohan, Gursi, Didhar, Bhumphal, Kalarya, Parswal, Mahehria, Koli, Kautiya, Motte, Chaichi, Bhunch, Bargat, Kalas, Chhore, Ladi, Chai, Bajar and Badhana (Rose, 1919). These gotra denote their ancestry and regulate marriage alliances. They are also aware of the varna system and place themselves along with the Kshatriyas, through other communities place them a grade lower.
In the selection of spouse, the socioeconomic condition of the negotiating families is seen and four gotra, that is, self, father’s, mother’s and mother’s mother, are avoided. The usual age of marriage for boys is 18 to 25 years and 15 to 18 for girls. Child marriage was in vogue, but now it has given way to adult marriages. The common symbols of marriage for women are koka, choori, tika, and bala. After marriage, the residence is patrilocal. Dowry in the form of gift and cash exists, but is not asked for.
Both widow and widower remarriages are practiced. Junior levirate and sororate are also practiced. However, if the husband’s elder brother is a widower, he can marry the widowed wife of his younger brother. Likewise, remarriage of divorced man and woman can also take place. Remarriage of widowed women is without any rituals and can take place only after a month of her becoming a widow. Through rare, divorce can seek maintenance provided she chooses to remain single. Children of estranged parents remain in the custody of the father. Infants accompany the mother to be returned later to the father after they grow up.
The Hindu Gujjars believe in the supremacy of the traditional joint family system. The head of the family is the eldest male member in the family whose decision in the family matter is final and is respected. Nowadays, a change in the family structure is seen where they share the same roof but not the same kitchen. When the differences among the members surface too frequently, the joint setup splits into nuclear types. The elders in family are given due regard and respect. They are consulted and obeyed by the younger ones. Purdah is observed by a wife with her husband’s elder male relatives of the family. Purdah is known as ghoond or ghoongat. Joking relationship exists with husbands younger, brothers and sisters and between the husband and wife is that of love and respect. They do not take each other’s name but address teknonymically.
The family property has runs along the male line. A daughter can claim the property of the father in the absence of a son. Normally, if a father dies without making any will, the property is transferred to those of the collaterals. Nowadays, in the absence of a son, the son-in-law is invited to stay and look after the family and the property. Under normal circumstances the property is equally divided among the sons, with the widow having a right to maintenance.
The Hindu Gujjar women are hardworking and besides household chores, do other work like tending the cattle, making cowdung cakes, plastering the walls and floors of the house with cowdung and bringing potable water, fuel and fodder for the cows and buffaloes. The women of well-to do household may not, however, like to work in the fields, but during the peak harvesting season their assistance is inevitable. A woman’s role, both in the domestic as well as in economic sphere is significant, but she does not enjoy the same status as her male counterpart. His political role is the limited to the casting of votes in the local or general election. In the religious sphere women take an active part in domestic rituals, festivals and fairs.
The major life-cycle rituals commencing with the birth of a child to death are broadly in according with the Hindu customs. The birth of the male child is an occasion for gaiety and celebration. The first childbirth is welcomed with greater enthusiasm than the subsequent ones. A worship called matri-havan, is offered to the family deity, in the seventh or ninth month of pregnancy by the Hindu Gujjars to avoid miscarriage. Post-birth pollution is observed for both the mother and the child, and for this they are given purificatory baths on the sixth, eleventh and fortieth days, after which the child and the mother are considered ritually clean. A child is named on the eleventh day. Mundane is performed for the male child. A Nai cuts the hair, and in return is paid in cash and given some gur to eat.
Marriage is known as bayh or shadi. After the spouse on an auspicious day, sagai take place, wherein the boy’s parents go to the girl’s house and offer the girl a piece of jewellery. The girl’s father also given token cash to the boy. The date of marriage is settled after consulting the priest. Prior to marriage, another ceremony known as haldi charhahna is held in which turmeric and mustard oil is applied to the bride and also to the bridegroom by the womenfolk in the respective houses of the girl and the boy. On an appointed day the barat leaves for the bride’s house, where the actual marriage ceremony is performed, consisting of kanyadaan and phera around the sacred fire. The entire marriage ceremony is presided over by the priests from both the side who recite Vedic manta. This is finally followed by the doli ceremony, signifying departure of the bride from her maternal home for her husband’s house. When child marriages were performed, another important ceremony known as muklawa was performed at a later date when the girl actually attained puberty, and was then allowed to say with her husband.
The Hindu Gujjars cremate their dead. Only children up to the age of five are buried and also those who die of small pox and leprosy. The eldest son performed the last rites but the last rites of a wife are performed by the husband. On the tenth day, that is, daswa they go to Pehowa, a place near Kurukshetra in Haryana, when offerings are made to the Brahman in the name of the dead. On the thirteenth day, terhaee is performed and food is served to the Brahman and young girls. Again after fourteen days Brahman are feasted and the house is considered to be free from pollution. During the period of mourning very simple food is cooked without turmeric and ghee. It is customary on first three days; the food is brought from the neighbor’s house. Ancestor worship in the form of sharadh rites is held annually, during the dark fortnight falling in the months of September- October which is especially devoted to the commemoration of the dead.
The traditional economy of the Hindu Gujjars revolved around cow and buffalo herding and selling milk and milk products. The Hindu Gujjars lead a settled existence and practice agriculture. The majority of them are landowners. Owners of large landholdings may employ agricultural labor and pay them a share from their produce for their labor. Milk and milk products like ghee, and curd are directly sold in the market. It is customary and not for sale, because of the fact they trace their origin from the famous Yaduvansha to which Lord Krishna belonged. Whose fondness for cow herding is all too well known.
Aside from practicing agriculture and animal husbandry, some have taken to service in government and semi-government organizations. Some of them are education officers, forest guards, members in police and military services. They have their traditional rights on the forest, from where they can take wood for fuel. For building houses wood is procured by a permit from the forest department at nominal rates. They have a regular where they sell their produce directly. A majority has good landholding and has a decent income through buffalo and cow herding.
Enforcement of traditional laws and social control is managed by their own gharelu panchayat which is headed by a Chowdhary and four other elder experienced male members of the community. They listen to all the cases of land disputes, division of property and family, divorce, separation and compensation, petty thefts and the like. People mostly sort out their morally binding. It a person feels dissatisfied. He may approach the law court. Such cases are however very few. The offenders are penalized by in fines in cash or kind. These rangs from tending a simple apology before the biradari, to giving a feast to the biradari. In serious breaches of community norms a person may be excommunicated. Since the inception of statutory panchayat, the control of the traditional panchayat has declined but nevertheless it still continues.
The Hindu Gujjars trace their mythical from the famous Nand Vansha. Where Lord Krishna was brought up by Mata Yasoda. They have faith in the local gods, goddess and regional deities also. Amongst the female deities Mata Shitala is worshipped as she is responsible for causing small-pox. Similarly, Budhe-Baba is propitiated for his displeasure and is believed to cause skin eruptions. He is duly worshipped in the month of June and July on Wednesday. A sweet dish made of gur and wheat flower known as gulgula is prepared and offered to Budhe Baba. This offering can only be eaten by a member of the Khubbar gotra, because Budhe Baba belongs to this gotra. Likewise, whenever a calf is born, they offer some grains and jaggery at the temple of Baba Garibnath. Besides, they worship Mata Sakhambari, whose temple is situated in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. All the major Hindu rituals and festival are celebrated with devotion. The village deity known as Khera Devta is propitiated every six months. Every family of the village, both Hindi and Muslim, contributes ration which is cooked and the entire village community eats. The offerings are made to the Khera Dev for the common welfare of the village.
The womenfolk are deft in making embossed floral patterns on the walls of the house. During Navratra festival (9 days devoted to the worship of Durga ), they make their own clay model of goddess Durga for worship which is later immersed in the river. Some of them make intricate appliqué on the straw fans and do embroidery as well. These are not for sale but are kept for their use. They share folksongs or dances of the region. The Hindu Gujjars maintain their traditional jajmani relations with communities like Badhai, Lohar, Jheewar and chuhra. Each of them renders their traditional services, both social and economic, at their client’s house. The Lohar and Badhai repair their agriculture implements, whereas the Nai cuts hair and acts as messenger on social occasions. The jheewar carries water for them and the Chuhra collects the cow-dung and takes away the dead animal. All .these in return are paid bi-annually, at the harvesting seasons, affixed share from the produce, a Brahmin who comes to officiate during their rituals at birth and marriage is given cash and raw grains seedha. A Brahmin priest also receives seedha during certain other festivals such as Sankranti. The sharing of water is through piped supply.
The impact of the various developmental programmes is evident from the overall growth, modernization and industrialization, in terms of electricity, water supply, and transport and communication network. Under the integrated Rural Development Programme, they have been able to secure loans at a nominal interest with heavy subsidy for opening their own dairy, buying agricultural implements, tube-wells and for installing chara machines. The educated unemployed youth can get a loan up to a limit of Rs. 25,000 for opening any shop, business, small-scale or cottage industry.
Their girls and boys manage to secure primary and secondary level education. Girls drop out to help their mothers in household. Another factor dissuading the boys and girls from studying further is that for college education they have to travel far. Immunization programmes are availed of. For all serious illness they to go to the hospitals which are not far from their village. The attitude of the people towards family planning Programme is not very encouraging. People like having large families, especially male children.

In Himachal Pradesh the Muslim Gujjars are included in the scheduled tribes and their population is 28121 according to the 1981 Census. They are predominant in Chamba, Mandi, Bilaspur, Sirmuar and Solan (1,174) districts. They inhabit the forest areas of the banks of rivers and live in small makeshift deras (shanties), which they keep on changing while migrating from high to low attitude during winter and from low to high altitude (dhar) during the summer in search of green pastures. The speak Gujri daialect amongst themselves, which is a mixture of Gujarati, Urdu and Dogri, but while conversing with others they use broken Hindi. Their script is Perso-Arabic.
A Gujjars male is recognized his typical beard and dress. They wear a specially embroidered conical headgear called gujjari topi, jawaharcut colored embroidered jacket, a loose kurta and a tamba, while their women wear chooridar pyjama and loose kurta usually of brown, black or green color. Bio-anthropological information with respect to hemoglobin variants somatometry, serology, genetics and dermatoglphics in the community is available (see Bio- anthropological).
They are mostly non-vegetarian, but mutton is consumed occasionally and on important occasions only due to lack of availability. Eating pork is taboo. They do not eat beef or buffalo meat. Their staple diet consists of maize chapatti, pulses of urd, mah and gram, roots tubers and leafy vegetables. Their cooking media are mustard oil and desi ghee. Preparation of milk products like lassi and dahi, also form a part of their daily diet, which are their home products. Taking alcoholic beverages is a taboo as per the tenets of their religion but a few do consume it. They also consume non-alcoholic beverages like salted tea and lassi. Smoking is very much in vogue among the Gujjars and practically every one smokes from their earthen hukka.
Special dish of the marriages and festive occasions are cooked. These are preparation of mutton, sweetend rice, daal of Maah or chana. They have two groups, Bhatariye and Bhanariye. These groups do not intermarry. They are further segmented into exogamous gotrs, viz, Bhatti, Chandel, Chauhan, Banja, Lodha, Kasana, Bhensi, Chopra, Chechi, Khatana, Padha, which indicate their Rajput clans. Though believing in the reality of blood ties on the matrilineal lines, they neither have localized clans nor possess any tendency towards local exogamy or endogamy. The prohibition against clan custom is lacking these days. This may to some degree be attributed to the Islamization of the Gujjars, which permits marriages between cousins of all levels.
Marriages are performed nowadays in adulthood by negotiation. A distinctive feature of their marriage is that consanguineous marriages take place. A boy can marry his cousin, either on the father’s or mother’s side provided they gave not in their infancy been suckling from the breast of the same mother. The marriages take place by nikah in which both the boy and the girl agree to marry each other in consideration of an agreed amount of mehar which has to be paid in the event of annulment of the marriage. Both junior levirate and junior sororate are permissible. Dowry is not demanded but is given in kind in the form of a buffalo or cow as per one’s economic position.
Chhut is permissible by either of the aggrieved parties with the approval of the panchayat on grounds of adultery, maladjustment, chronic sickness and cruelty. Compensation is decreed buy the panchayat to the aggrieved depending upon the person who is responsible for breaking the alliance. The children of estranged parents remain a liability of the father. Widow, widower, male and female divorcee, junior levirate and soroate marriages are permissible.
The family is mostly of the vertically extended type, but occasionally nuclear families also come up on account of bickering in the family. There is a feeling of mutual love and respect in the family, with age, sex, paternal and filial affiliations forming the basis of interfamily relations. Avoidance is not reported in the community but joking relationship does exist between elder brother’s wife and with wife’s elder brother and wife’s younger brother. The eldest male member of the family is the head of the family matters are given due regarded. Though relationships in families are harmonious and a situation of confrontation rarely comes up, but if it ever does, it is related to property issues.
The inheritance of property is from father to sons, who equally share it, except the eldest who gets the jethbar, which is slightly more then the share given to other brothers. But any debt against the father has to be repaid back equally by all married brothers, irrespective of the fact whether the eldest has received the jethbar or not. The unmarried brothers do not have to pay the father’s debts. If there is no male child in the family, the property goes to the widow who has only usufruct rights, but in case she remarries outside the family she loses her right to the property. In such an event it is equally shared among the brothers of the deceased. In case where there are no brothers or sons, it passes on to the nearest collaterals. In case where a person has more than one wife, the property is equally shared by them and their respective shares are divided equally among their sons. In case a woman does not have any issue, it passes on to the son of the next wife.
The status of the women is low. Though they do mot have the right to property, the right in the matter of selection of spouse and freedom to change the husband at her will do give her a certain amount of independence, though this is socially appreciated. She plays a considerable role in the economic activity of their pastoral economy. She milks the cow, makes ghee, panir, khoya and other milk preparation and often also takes them to the market. Thus, she also contributes indirectly to the family income. She also carries out all the household duties besides animals’ husbandry, collection of fuel and brining potable water. She has no right in the religious and political fields but has right to family rituals and participation in social function. She also controls the family expenditure
Pre-natal restrictions do exist. A pregnant woman is not to visit burial grounds, forest and other desolate places which are believed to be haunted by evil spirits. She also cannot take part in the mourning functions nor look at dead body. All these precautions are taken for protecting her from the evil spirits and also to prevent any deformity to the child or miscarriage. Soon after the birth and the cutting of the chord, an elderly Gujjars male in the absence of the maulvi whispers azan in the right ear of the child. The birth pollution lasts for 40 days and ceases with the taking of bath by the parturient mother and the child. After this bath she is fit to resume her normal life which remains suspended until then. No formal name-giving or her first cereal-feeding ceremony is held.
After the birth aqiqa is performed for both the male and the female children in which a he-goat is sacrificed and the child’s head is shaved off. Sunnat for a male child is a very important ceremony in the life of a Muslim, and is performed while the child is young because the younger the child the young because the younger the child the lesser the pain. The operation is conducted by the family barber.
The marriage is a set of ceremonies conducted both at the bride and the groom’s place, with negation being started by the boy’s side. The actual marriage ceremony takes place at the bride’s residence by nikah. This is conducted by the maulvi in the presence of the relatives and friends of both the parties in consideration of an already agreed amount of mehar. After this khutuba is recited and nikahnama is signed by the bride and the groom which is testified by the gawah and the vaki. Gifs in the form of silver ornaments of nose, neck and arms are essentially giving given by the bride’s parents, besides other gifts such as buffaloes, clothes, utensils, etc.
The dead are buried and the mourning lasts for three days, after which members of the family resume their normal work. Congregational prayers are held on Friday following the day of the demise at a graveyard. Rituals connected with the dead are also observed on the chautha, sata and chalisa which correspond to the fourth, seventh and fortieth days after demise. The house remains polluted for 10 days, within which the members of the bereaved family have to observe certain taboos. The last ritual known as saal- da- drood is observed at the first anniversary. Offerings are made on the grave of the departed soul on each death anniversary.
A majority of the Gujjars is pastorals and they eke out their livelihood through the sale of and milk products. They have herbs of buffaloes with which they keep on migrating from low to high and high to low altitudes during summer and winter season in search of green pastures. The ghasaia (pastoral land) at these altitudes are allotted to them by the forest department which is owned by the government. If overgrazing is detected on the pasture land they are then heavily penalized. Due to the constant harassment by the forest officials on various issues, a few of them have left their age-old traditions and taken to agriculture, for which land has been allotted to them. Since such land is meager and the produce of which is insufficient for a year, they taken to other means of livelihood, working as sharecroppers, businessmen and in government and private jobs.
They have directed links as well as through middleman to the regulated daily market their produce, where cash forms the medium of exchange. The presence of child labor in a few cases cannot be ruled out. The Gujjars have their traditional bhaichara panchayat. The members of this panchayats are elected by a voice vote on the basis of their age, experience and knowledge. They dispense justice on issue of the adultery, divorce, disrespect for traditional norms and insult to the panchayat. The offenders are penalized by cash fines or social boycott, but can be readmitted after they give punitive feast.
In Himachal Pradesh, the Gujjars are member of the Parvatiya Adim Jati Sevak Sangh, which was founded in 1956 to extend welfare activities among the tribes of the area. The welfare programmes undertaken by the Sangh are in the field of education, cottage industry and in all sociocultural fields. The main objective of the Sangh includes development of leadership among the tribals to encourage village crafts, to eradicate untouchability and to eliminate inferiority complex among the tribal. The sangh has been taking special care to educate the children of Gujjars by starting a member of primary schools, bring to general problems of the Gujjars to the notice of the Government.
The statutory panchayats exit and are even valid for those who are now leading a sedentary life, but for those who are still leading a nomadic life they do not exist. The nomadic mode for existence, coupled with their own past indifference to their franchise has deprived them of their exercise of the right to vote as an ordinary citizen of the State. In a majority of cases their very names are missing from the votes list, wherever they do get listed, only very few get to cast their vote.
The Muslim Gujjars observe the doctrine of the Queen and believe in Prophet Mohammad. The Gujjars rarely offer namaz in the mosque except on festive occasions, for they rarely change clothes and take bath, as is prescribed by their religion. Only those persons who are now leading a settled life visit mosques for regular prayers. Their living in the hills and moving through forests have established their belief in the existence of evil sprits, which are believed to inhabit these areas. They also have faith in regional and village deities because of the local influence and they and they have family affiliation to Pirs. Their sacred specialist is Maulvi who officiates at life-cycle rituals where exorcists are from their own community. They take part in all fairs and festival of the religion which are of socio religious and economic importance.
The Gujjar women are skilled in embroidery with colored thread on caps and Jawahar jackets. They also decorate the walls of the house by making floral and animal designs. They sing regional songs and dance on social occasions purely for amusement within the four walls of their houses. The Gujjars have folklore and folktales about the region and their community.
The Muslim Gujjars continue their traditional occupation of selling of milk and milk products to their clients around or in the market. They establish dharma bhai and dharma bahin relations with members of other communities. They share water sources with other communities and participate in traditional festival. As a majority of them are pastoral, they do not have patron-client, landlord-tenant and cultivator-labour relationship, but such of them who are now leading a sedentary life have started developing these relationship. With the increased awareness and wider world view, political leadership has emerged among the settled ones at the regional level. Sufficient effort has been made by the Government to rehabilitate them in colonies in Solan, Sirmaur, Chamba and Kangra, where facilities of electricity, water, schools, medicine and health are available. Education is viewed by them partly favourable. Though both the boys and girls are sent for education, yet they study only up to secondary and primary level, after which they dropout for economic and social reasons. They make moderate use of traditional and modern system of moderate but are not in favor of family welfare programmes. Drinking water is available through streams,
Springs and taps. Because of lack of awareness and literacy some are unable to procure loans under the Integrated Rural Department Programmes or form banks and have to depend on shopkeepers and moneylenders with whom they have frequent economic interaction. A majority of them are self-employed in agriculture.
Roads and other communication media are available in the urban fringes and they avail themselves of communication and mass media facilities. Firewood and cow dung cakes continue to be their chief fuel. Mid-day meal, immunization and nutritional facilities are availed of under the Integrated Child Development Scheme. Food items at controlled prices are also made available to them through the public distribution system.