CHAPTER TWO

VILLAGE AND THE PEOPLE

The Saurashtra peninsula is in the Western part of Gujarat on

the Arabian sea coast and lies between 20° 40' to 23 25' northern latitudes,
O 0

and from 69 5' to 72 20' eastern longitudes. The name Saurashtra continued

till the middle of the eighteenth pentury. When the Marathas invaded

this area they had to fight the Kathies; and they named the region Kathe-

wad or Kathiawad.

From the old records maintained by the Barot genealogists contain­

ing the family histories of Saurashtra and from the Persian documents,

it is known that under the Chudasama and Muslim rulers, Saurashtra was

divided into nine territorial units. The .Barot describes Nav-ghan as the

acclaimed rule of Nava-Saurashtra. Abul Fazal, mentions Sorath having

nine divisions, namely, Prabhas Kshetra, Dwarka Kshetra, Panchal, Bhal,

Halar, Zalawad, Gohelwad, Babariwad and Kathiawad. Watson, mentions

ten divisions : Zalawad, Machchu, Kantha, Halar, Okha Mondal, Barada,

Sorath, Babariawad, Gohilwad, Undar-Saravaiya and Kathiawad (Naik and

Pandya, 1981 : 3). Under the Sultanate of Gujarat, Saurashtra was divided

into five divisions, namely, Halar, Gohilwad, Zalawad, Sorath and Kathia­

wad. These continued under the British rule. Following reorganisation of

 17

states in 1956, the present state of Gujarat was formed on 1st May, 1960
with the following districts of the Bombay state : Jamnagar district (Halar

andOkha Mondal), Bhavnagar district (former Gohilwad), Surendranagar

district ( the old Zalawad ), Junagadh district (Sorath and Porbandar) and
Rajkot district consisting of the old Kathiwad territory. The Siddi are

found in all the districts of Saurashtra, Of which their largest concentra­

tion is in Junagadh, where 65.90 per cent of the Siddi live (Table 3).

The forest area of the state is 15889.65 sq.km, or 8.50 per cent

of its surface or geographical area. Surat district has got the largest area

of reserved forest, i.e.,2176.92 sq. kms. followed by Junagadh, 1423.77

sq. kms.

II

O O
The district of Junagadh lies, between 20 44' and 21 40' north
O O
latitude and 69 40' and 71 5' east longitude. It is surrounded on the east

by Amreli district and on the north by the Rajkot and Jamnagar districts
and by the Barda hills. It is bounded on the south and west by the Arabian

Sea. It is the largest district of the state covering an area of 10,607kms.,

5.41 per cent of the state area. According to 1971 census its total popula­

tion was 16,56,677 having a density of 156 per kms., representing 6.21

per cent of the State population. It has three sub-divisions and fifteen

talukas,

The district is hilly and partially covered by dense forests, an

 18

extensive undulating plains intersected by a number of rivers and streams.

Except for the Girnar ranges and the Barda hills, the area of the district

is more or less flat with a fertile strip popularly known as ghed. The

Gir forest, famous for its lions, covers an area of 1,251.36 sq. kms. The

forests are split up by a number of water-sheds from which streams run

in all direction and feed principal rivers viz., the Hiran, Jatardi, Singawada,

Machundari, Godavadi and the Raval. The rivers are perennial except during

during severe draught. The district of junagadh is well supplied with water

from its rivers, res'erviors and lakes. The land slopes towards the south

and most of the rivers flow from the north to the south. The principal

rivers which transverse the district are Bhadar, Uben, Ozat, Hiran, Ma-

chhundri, Sabli, Saraswati, Meghal, Raval, Singhwada, etc. The well known

among these are Bhadar and Saraswati. Bhadar is the largest river of

Saurashtra. Saraswati rises below Kamleswar nes in Talala taluka of the

district and passes through the Prachikund, a reservior and joins Kapila

and Hiran at a spot considered sacred as the place of Lord Krishna's death.

The tri-junction is named as Triveni. The river then flows to Prabhas-

patan or Somnath Patan, before falling into the Arabian sea.

The soil of this region is formed partly from sedimentary rocks

and partly fromigneous rocks. They are calcareous in nature, rich in

potassium but comparatively deficient in nitrogen and humus. The soils

found in the district are black, medium black, alluvial, calcareous and

brackish.
 19

The climate of this district, particularly in • thecoastal tracts is

generally pleasant. The year may be divided into four seasons. The cold

season from December to February is followed by the hot season from

March to May. The south-west monsoon months are from June to Septem­

ber. The months of October and November constitute the post monsoon

and pre-winter season. The average annual rainfall in the district is

24.77”. About 94 per cent of the annual normal rainfall in the district

is received during the south-west monsoon season, July being the most

rainy month. May and' June are tne hottest months with the mean daily
O O
maximum temperature in the coastal region is 30.3 C(86.5 F) when the

mean daily temperature is 27.5 0181.5° F). January is the coldest month
. o o
with a daily average maximum temperature of 27.8 C(82.0 F) and the
O o
daily average minimum temperature is 15.4 C(58.8 F).

Ill

The Junagadh (Gir) forest in general cam be described as mixed

deciduous type of forest. The total area of the reserved forest of Junagadh

Gir is 1,251 sq. km. The species commonly found in the areas are ambli

(Tamarindus indica), jambu (Syzygium cumini), bawal (Acacia arabica),

karanj (Pongamia pinnata), timru (Diospyrous melanoxylan), sag (Tectona

grandis), pipal (Ficus religiosa), vad (Ficus indica), keri (Mangifera indica),

kher (Acacia catechu) and menthi (Lansonia inermis).

Good quality of mangoes, are grown in this area in abundance.

 I )

20

A number of medicinal herbs also grow in this area. At one time the
village Jambur was inside the Gir forest. At present, however, there is

no forest in the vicinity of thevillage. The village Shirvan, however, is

completely inside the forest whereas Javantri is in the fringe behind the
Gir forest, as one faces from Jambur.

The vegetation can be divided into three main categories according

to their utility. Ambli, jambu, timru, and keri are mainly raised for fruits.

Wood from sag, bawal, karanj, kher, are used in the preparation of agricul­
tural implements and as fuel. Their green twigs are also used as dental

sticks. The pipal and vad are specially regarded as shade giving trees.

K"

IV

The district of Junagadh is famous for different kinds of domestic

and wild animals. The important species are singh (Panthera leo), jarak

(Hyaena hyaena), bandar (Prestbytis entellus), sambar (Cervus unicolor),

suor (Sus scrofa), sasla (Lepus dayanus), dipdo (Felis pardees) and lonkdi

(Vulpes bengalnesis). Both resident and winter migrant birds are found

in the district. The important birds are malkakri (Hieractus fasciotus),

bagla (Grus grus), kobutor (Columba livia), kowa (Corvus splendeus) and

tota (Psittacula karameri) etc. The resident birds largely nest during the
south west monsoon, though they may commence breeding activities during

the hot season in shady localities, and particularly in the valleys of the

Girnar and Gir. Chirping of crikets and cackling of birds returning to

 21

their nests are familiar at Jambur around sunset. Sometimes the roars

of wild animals on their nocturnal prowl are also heard. The Siddi have

retained the practice of hunting. Now-a-days hunting is illegal. However,

a few Siddi still surreptitiously indulge in. The game animals are sa s.la,

malkakri, bagla, kobutor, etc.

The ecological condition of this region, have been severly modified

by human activity except some areas of Gir forest, Girnar and Barda

hills. Much of the natural vegetation has been cleared mainly for agricul­

ture, cutting of forest for firewood and over grazing had a marked adverse
effect on the animal population. As a result .several species have become

rare.

All Siddi villages are scattered in and around the Gir forest. In

the villages of Hadmotiya and Javantri, Siddi have been provided with
land for cultivation as well as land for homesteads by the Social Welfare
department. Thus some Siddi have been depending on agriculture. They

make their houses from the locally available stone, mud and wood. Both
in rural as well as urban surroundings the Siddi always stay together in

small groups.

In Talala taluka, the Siddi are distributed in twenty villages center­

ing round village Jambur. The community scattered over the surrounding
 SAURASHTRA
Position of Talalaand Patan Veravai ---------- Ta/uka Boundary
in Junagadh Dt. + Police Station
40 so Am A L ~t i i i Railway

i 1t. SURE071ndra7K Metalled Road

'Li NAGAR j River
Or. JAMNAGAR r j Sample Village
■'J S
,—Srajnot^ \ -ft" Siddi Village

DT.
JUNAGADH
 23

forest region, probably, has migrated from Jambur which is regarded as

the oldest settlement of the Siddi in this area.

The target areas for the present study consists of three villages

from this taluka. Two villages, viz., Jambur and Shirvan are homogenous

in nature and the other village Javantri is heteregenous. The villages were

selected primarily on the basis of two criteria, traditional life style and

numerical dominance of the Siddi population.

The discussion presented in this report is based on empirical data j

/

collected from these three villages. However, information gathered from

other rural as well as urban settlements have also been frequently utilised

for interpretation and elaboration of the socio-economic facts as well

as for comparison of different cultural traits and trait complexes.

The name Jambur comes from the word 'jambu' means rose-apple

tree. It is said that this area was covered with dense forest having an

abundance of jambu trees and the Siddi were the first settler of this place.

Even, today, a number of jambu trees are seen in this area.

No definite information, as to when these villages were inhabited

by the Siddi is available. However, according to some local legends, Jambur

is said to be the oldest settlement of the Siddi and is about 300 years
old. Siddis have migrated, to other settlements in course of time. They

still have some links with Jambur as the centre of their religious activities

where a shrine, (dar;;ah of Nagarshi jsir) is greatly revered by them, is

Panaromic view of Village Jambur.
 25

located. In case of any problem arising in socio-religious matters, a Siddi

comes to Jambur for its solution. The Siddi- are fond of buffalo meat

and if the Siddi of any other settlement wish to get buffalo meat they
have to come to Jambur and obtain permission to kill a buffalo.

Jambur lies on the fringe of the Gir forest in a picturesque setting

and is situated on 20 15' north latitude and 70 40' east longitude. Jambur
is surrounded by the village Dhara on the north, Jasadhar to the south,

Ankolbadi on the east and Madhupur on the West. Granite type of rock

formation is found around the village with aluvium. The river bed of Karka-

ri flowing near by is also rocky.

The village is situated between the two rivers, viz., Saraswati

and Karkari. It is a compact settlement of the Siddi. The houses are sca­
ttered in irregular rows and rectangular clusters. Kutcha (muddy) roads

run zigzag between the clusters of houses forming narrow alleys and by­

lanes. The most important place of the village is the chora, i.e., the meet­

ing place of the Siddi which is situated in the centre of the village.

Jambur was electrified about ten years back. Because of poverty

many have not been able to get electricity in their homes. At the time

of field work only four houses with facilities of electricity were noticed

in the entire village. Street lights are available in the locality. Dargah

of Nagarshi £ir is provided with electric connection by the trust committee.

One-brick built guest house was erected near the dargah of Nargarshi

pir for the visitors, who visit the dargah from time to time.
 26

The total area covered by Madhupur (name of a hamlet as well

as the revenue unit that include Jambur) including Jambur is 4,112 acres

of which 2,286 acres are non irregated land and 469 acres are as wasteland,

the rest of the land is used for residential purposes. Jambur is considered

as the hamlet of Madhupur which was started only 50 years ago. The

total number of households including Jambur is 432 with a population of

2,327 of which 686 are Siddi having 343 male and 343 female (census

handbook 1971). Hence Jambur covers 29.48 per cent of the total popula­

tion of Madhupur - Jambur complex. In Madhupur the following caste/

communities are found : Kunbi, Koli,Ahir, Brahman, Bania, Lohana, Lohar,

Suthar, Kumbhar, Soni, Barber, Harijan, Chamar, Rabari, etc. The Muslim

communities are the Meman, Mokrani and the Sepahi. (Table 5).

A post office and a Middle School are situated at Madhupur. The

nearest telegraph office and the health centre are at Talala located about

eight kilometers away. The nearest police station is also at Talala. The

Gram Panchayat office for Madhupur - Jambur is at Madhupur. A panchayat

rest house is also present in the village. The different ethnic groups are
living in separate segments of the village. The houses are brick-built.

The drainage system is not good. Two permanent wells serve the entire

village. During the monsoons the river ravages the surrounding area. Jambur

has been connected by a railway line for a long time. The Railway station

is named as Jambur and is one kilometer away from the main village.

Two up and two down trains, viz., Vereval to Dilwara and Dilwara to

Junagadh ply, touching Jambur. State transport bus services are also
 27

available from Una to Veraval via Jambur beside other local buses, for
Ankolbadi, Rasulpura, Prachi, Vadla, etc. Auto-rickshaw services are

also available for Talala, Ankolbadi, Surva, from and to Jambur. There

is a mosque (named as Bilali Mosjid) situated on the bank of the river

Karkari where daily prayer, namaj is performed.

Formerly, day to day requirements like cereals, pulses, oil, spices,

soap, kerosene oil, etc. were purchased- from Madhupur. Since 1958 one

Meman ( a Muslim ) businessman has put up a grocery shop in Jambur.

Afterwards two other shops were established by another Meman and a

Lohana. For medicines, clothes and other articles, which are not available

at Jambur, the Siddi have to visit Talala or Veraval market.

The village of. Shirvan is a unique settlement of the Siddi, situated

22 kms. inside the Gir forest from Sasan. The name Shirvan comes from

the Siddi clan name Sirwan, probably the members of Sirwan clan were

the first settlers of this village. It is also called as Shirvan nes (a forest

village). Total area of the village is not available in the census record.

However, there are 53 households, with a population of 218 souls having

105 males and 113 females. A post office is situated at the nearby village,

Rasulpura is four kilometers away. The nearest health centre, the police

station, and the telegraph office are at Talala. State transport bus services
are available from the village in the morning and in the afternoon only.

It is a compact mono-ethnic settlement of the Siddi. Most of the houses

are thatched and cottage type. Drinking water comes from a dug well.
 28

The village of Javantri is an old settlement of the Siddi. It is

multi-ethnic in nature and situated close to the Gir forest. The total area

of the village covers 3,399 acres having 227 households having population

of 1,245 individuals, of which the Siddi component is 198 (100 males and

98 females). Village Javantri is served by Railways for a long time. Two

up and two down trains like, Dilwara to Veraval and Dilwara to Junagadh

ply, touching Javantri. The village is also known as Panikota. A post office

and a primary school are situated within the village. The nearest police

station, the health centre, and the telegraph office are at Talala.

Besides the Siddi there is a number of other caste/communities

like the Kunbi, Koli, Brahman, Bania, Lohana, Ahir, Suthar, Kumbhar,

Cnamar, etc. are found among the Hindus. Dafer, Miyana, Meman Mokrani

are found among the Muslims (Table 5). The village, more or less is disper­

sed and different ethnic groups are found in different segments. Drinking

water is available from the well. The houses are mostly made of mud

and are thatched with straw and wild grasses. A few houses have roof

of tiles.
/
VI

Siddi, according to Wilson (1885 : 482) is a honorific title given

tc the descendents of the African immigrants settled in Western India,

seme of whom were distinguished officers under the Mohammedan princes

of the Deccan. Russel and Hiralal (1916, vol. 1:409) noted that Siddi is

the name given to the Africans whether Abyssinian or Negro. The authors

guess that it is a distorted form of the word ’Saiyed', the designation

 29

originally given to the descendents of the prophet. They have also refe­

rred to another term 'Habshi', meaning one who has come from Elhabish,

the Arabic name for North East Africa. According to Bhagvadgomandal,

an encyclopaedia compiled under the patronage of Moharaja Bhagvat

Sinhji of Gondal, Siddi means Habshi or Negro. Enthoven (1922, vol.III:

332) considers Siddi synonymous with 'Habshi' which literally means a

'master'.

However, the members of the Siddi community refer to them­

selves as Siddi or Sidi. Sometimes their neighbours call them 'Badsah',

for their simple carefree life. The Siddi believe that they havedescended

from Hazarat Bilal, a Negro disciple of the Prophet (Census of India,

1961, vol.v, part VB, No. 1:1).

There are different versions about the time of their arrival in

India. However, it is generally agreed upon that the Siddi were brought

to the western coast of India from Abyssinia and other countries of

East Africa, as slaves and domestic servants by the merchants and tra­

ders. According to Census of India (1931, vol.VIII, Pt. 1 : 378), the Siddi
appear to have been brought to India by the Portuguese towards the
end of seventeenth century, presumbly as slaves. However, the Bombay

Gazetteer records that the Siddi were brought after the middle of the
fifteenth century. Rukh-ud-din-Barbak (1459-1474), the ruler of Bengal,

is said to have possessed eight thousand African slaves (Sarkar, 1948,

vol.II : 135) who were subsequently expelled from Bengal by the king

Ala-ud-din Hussain (1493-1519). It is believed that those expelled ultima-

 30

tely drifted to Gujarat and the Deccan (Cambridge History of India,

1928, Vol. Ill : 271).

There is enough historical evidence to show that the African

Negros were brought to India by Arabs, the Portuguese and the Dutch.

The Arabs are considered instrumental in this forced migration of the

Negros towards India (Palakshappa, 1976). The History of African Negros

in India shows that they were brought to India as slaves and domestic

servants. However,-they could gradually wield power and even rule small

kingdoms in India like the states of Janjira and Sachin. "The Nawab

of Sachin is a Habshi or Abyssinian by descent. When his ancestors

first came to India is doubtful; but they were long known on the western

coast as the Siddi of Danda Rajpuri and Janjira. On the decline of

the Mughal empire, the Siddi became notorious pirates, plundering the

ships of all nations, except the British, whose friendship they appear

to have cultivated early. The branch of the family who had their head­

quarters in the island of Janjira remained chiefs of that place during

the wars between Sivaji and the Mughals and then between the Marathas
and the British. During these wars different members of the family

were alternately supported by either party as best suited its own interest.

Towards the end of the eighteenth century Balu Mia (a Siddi), the heir

to the house of Janjira and to the other possessions of the Siddi, was
expelled from his dominious by a younger branch of the family. He

appealed to the Marathas and the British for aid. Balu Mia exchanged

Janjira with the Peshwar in 1791 in return for Sachin. Balu Mia duly
 31

took possession of his new state Sachin; but when the Peshwa claimed

Janjira, the Siddi who held it refused to give it up, and succeeded in

holding it. Sachin remained in the hands of Balu Mia and his descendants;

while Janjira was held by the younger branch of the family who had

ousted Balu Mia, the Peshwa never having been able to establish his

influence" (Imperial Gazetteer of India vol. II : 479-480). Similarly some

other Siddi rose to high positions in the military and other royal services

too. These upgraded Siddi families do not appear to have any social

relations with the common Siddi, and even claim themselves to be

'Rajbansi - Siddi'. Some of these 'Rajbansi-Siddi' live in Bhavnagar dis­

trict of Gujarat. One from this group, a doctor, whose father was the

Dewan of Bhavnagar State, lives in Junagadh city. Many have received

good education.
\.S'

Enthoven (1922, VoI.III : 332-333) mentioned that the Muslim

Siddi had two divisions, viz., wilaitis, the new comers and muwallads

or the countrymen. This dichotomy is not in existence now. The Siddi

of Saurashtra are now one homogenous ethnic group and live in different

areas of Saurashtra. Enthoven has noted that the Siddi are found in

small numbers in all the parts of Gujarat, Janjira States and in the

North Kanara district of Karnataka. Some of them are said to be Hindu

by religion and known as Maratha Siddi. Palakshappa noticed that the

Siddi of North Kanara were either Hindu, Muslim or Christian.

The Siddi residing in the ten villages around Jambur are called

Simali or people of the north, while those supposed to have been brought
 33

by the Portuguese from Africa to Diu are referred to as Swahili {Census

of India 1961). It is likely that the Simalis came from the northern

region of Africa, while the Swahilis came from Swahili spoken area

of East . Africa. It is also mentioned that the Siddi living in the adjoining

areas of Jambur once referred to themselves as Desi or Saltayeso and

those living in Rajkot, Jamnagar, and Junagadh as Tais. These terms

are no longer in vogue. During our survey, no Hindu Siddi was found,

though the census of India 1961 has referred that there were 23 Hindu
Siddis.

VII

Roy Choudhury for the first time in 1958, conducted a somato-

metric study and recorded measurements on one hundred adult male

Siddis from several villages of Haliyal and Yellapur talukas of North

Kanara district (formerly Mysore State). He noted the mean stature

of the Siddi to be 165.73 cm. that falls in Martin's medium category.

However, the stature of the Siddi is more or less equally distributed

over the five categories from short to tall. Short’ category occurs
in 17 per cent cases and only 2 per cent Siddis are very tall. Regarding

the head forms, the Dolichocephals are in majority closely followed

by the Mesocephals, while Brachycephals are rare.

The distribution of skin colour noted by Roy Choudhury is as

follows : Light Brown 1 per cent, Medium Brown 8 per cent, Dark

Brown 50 per cent and Black 41 per cent. The distribution of the hair

colours are as follows : Black 72 per cent, Black and Grey 17 per cent,
 —r~i—\ r- y>
Profile of a Siddi lady.

Profile of a Siddi boy.

 35

Grey 11 per cent. He had not used any colour chart. Hair forms were

distributed as follows : Wavy 1 per cent, Curly 1 per cent, Frizzly 39

per cent, vvooly 56 per cent, peppercorn 3 per cent. Compared with

Martin's Eye colour Chart (Martin, 1928, : 218) the eye colours were

distributed as follows : No. 1 (Black Brown) 42 per cent, Nos. 2 and

3 (Dark Brown) 43 per cent, between No. 1 and 2, 12 per cent. No.4

(Brown) 2 per cent; No.9 (Dark Grey) 1 per cent. (Roy Choudhury 1958:

65-66). In the concluding part of the report the author expressed, that

it was difficult to establish that the exact racial origin of the Negroid

Siddis of North Kanara solely on the basis of measurements of one hun­

dred individuals.

Bhattacharya found that the modal frequency for stature falls

below the medium category (24.32%) with range of values from 1600-

1639 mm. and is almost closely followed by above medium category

(21.62%). The Nasal index is found to be predominantly Chamaerrhine

(51.35%) and Head length modal frequency is found for long category

(43.24%) and for the head breadth is found in narrow category (43.24%).

Bhattacharya also writes that "It will not be out of contest to refer

here that while the Siddi in South India has been mentioned to be one

of the most skilful warriors of whom even the Mughal emperors used

to be afraid, the Siddi of Gujarat are lazy and parasitic labourers. This

can be taken to hint that South-East African warrior groups are more

represented among the South Indian Siddis, whereas the Gujarat Siddis

represent those pacifist African villagers who were kidnapped from the

east Bantu groups from as early as the 9th century A.D."(Bhattacharya

1969 : 257-259).
 36

However, on the basis of the above evidences, we are in a posi­

tion to conclude that the Siddi are a Negroid people, or predominantly

so, who have successfully assimilated certain non-Negroid physical fea­

tures through marital alliances with non-Siddi neighbours during the

300 years of their stay in India.

VIII

Gujarat represents a mosaic of humanity consisting of diverse

religious and linguistic groups, though it has a predominant Hindu popula­

tion. As many as 1,492,406 or 90.08% of the total population of the

state were Hindu (1971 census) apd the Muslim numbered 153,116 i.e.

9.24% . The rest are the Christian, Sikh, Parsi, Jain and the Buddhist.

The religious life of an -orthodox Hindu is mainly governed by

customs and traditions of the particular sect and the caste to which

he belongs. The Brahman are mostly Saiva. The agricultural and artisan
castes worship one or the other deity of the Hindu Pantheon, namely,

Rama, Krishna, and mother goddess in her numerous forms. They also

propitiate Hanuman. Beliefs in witches, evil eyes and bad omens are

still prevalent.

The Muslim population is sprinkled all over the state. Among

them, there are two main divisions; alien Muslims and local converts.

The alien Muslims are divided into four divisions, viz., the Saiyad, Shaikh,

Pathan and the Mughal. While the local converts are divided into several

communities like Meman, Khoja, Tai, Momma, Pinjara etc. and belong
 37

to one or the other sect; the Sunni and the Shia. Most Muslims observe

the Muslim social customs. Some, however, follow Hindu social customs
in birth, marriage and death in addition to the Islamic practices.

The break up picture of Siddi population into rural, and urban,

male and female according to 1981 census is not available. The Siddi

mostly are rural inhabitants of Saurashtra and the population of both

the sexes is almost equal. (Table 2).

Numerically one of the minor scheduled tribes of Gujarat, the

total number of Siddi population is 5429 that means 0.11 per cent of

thetotal scheduled tribe population of the state in 1981 census. The

number was 4482 in 1971. Thus there is a slight increase in the popula­

tion between the two census periods (Table 1). In 1971 census, of the

2954 souls (65.90 per cent) of Siddi population living in Junagadh district,

2014 lived in Talala taluka. At the time of my study, Jambur contained

810 individuals. The other villages in the project namely, Shirvan and

Javantri contained 229 and 144 respectively (Table 5). The Saurashtrani

Panchhat Korno, published by the Saurashtra Pachhat Warga Board, 1957

puts Siddi population of Jambur to 2000 people. It seems that after

1960 the Siddi have migrated to other surrounding villages. According

to 1971 census 3529 Siddi, i.e., 78.73 per cent lived in rural areas and
\ ;

953 or 21.26 lived in towns and cities. In rural areas, their highest

concentration is in Talala taluka accommodating 2014 or 44.93 per cent

(Table 3).
 38

At the time of investigation, Jambur contained 417 or 51.48

per cent males and 393 or 48.52 per cent females(Table 6). In Shrivan

the male population is 102 or 44.54 per cent and the female population

is 127 or 55.46 per cent (Table 7). And in the village Javantri it is

65 or 45.13 per cent and 79 or 54.86 per cent male and female popula­

tion respectively (Table 8). Hence growth of female population in Javantri

and. Shirvan is slightly high than male population. In these villages female

population considerably out number the male population both in lower

and higher age group. But in the village Jambur though the female

population out number the male population in lower age group however,

in higher age group the male population outnumber the female population.

It may be due to reproductive hazards as well as inbreeding problem

facing the community. Here sex ratio comes on the above population

1025 female per thousand male.

IX

Literacy has risen from 16.51 to 30.64 per cent during the last

twenty years i.e. 1951 to 1971 in Gujarat. In the earlier periods, separate

schools for girls were started only at the primary level. By and large,

girls generally discontinued their studies after the primary stage, because

of the custom of early marriage and other social restrictions.

After the integration of the princely states, the former govern­

ment of Saurashtra took various steps to promote education among the

backward classes. Government constituted a statutory board which imple­

mented various schemes during the first five year plan period for the
 39

spread of education among the backward classes and continued upto

the third plan period. By the end of the third plan period, this district

established twelve Samskar Kendras for the scheduled castes, one for

the ex-criminal tribes and three for the scheduled tribes. In the year

1950 an institution called the Maldhari Gharshala at Sasan (Gir) was

established for the development of the scheduled tribe children in the

Gir forest area. A Samskar Kendra was established at Jambur in the

year 1956.

In Jambur there is a primary school maintained by the Taluka

Panchayat. The number of students enlisted in the school register is

71 but the regular attendance of the student is only 15 on an average.

The causes of absence of the students is, however, unknown to the

teacher. School hours are from 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. with a break

of half an hour from 1.00 p.m. to1.30 p.m. In the village of Jambur,

the Siddi are reluctant to receive higher education. The parents are

not interested to see their children educated and are callous about the

education of their children. Moreover, due to economic constraints many

Siddi boys and girls help their parents in economic pursuits of the family.
The teachers plead their helplessness in this regard. In the winter many

tractors loaded with sugarcane pass the school when students rush to

the road to snatch sugarcane from the tractors. The teacher simply

watches helplessly. If a student is rebuked or punished, the mother

Of the student comes to the school and abuses the teacher and keeps

her son away from the school. During my stay in the village, I have
 40

seen, so many school-going boys and girls were playing in the village
during school hours. I enquired why children were not sent to school.

A person replied that his son used to read at Ashramsaia School, one

day one of the teachers of the school pulled his ear for some reason

and after that the child was withdrawn from the school. He argued
that he could not afford to let his child turn deaf in the name of educa­

tion. More or less similar arguments were also heard from other members

too. Siddi boys are more interested in dance and music than in formal

education. The students of Jambur primary school took part in "Vidyarthi

Rash Utsav Taran Utsav" held at Talala and Junagadh and won the first

and second position in dhamal dance (the traditional Siddi folk dance)

at the taluka and the district level, respectively.

The Siddi Ashramsaia started in the year 1974 under Gujarat

State plan near Jambur Railway Station. It is a residential school. It

started with 30 students from different Siddi villages of Talala taluka.

During our field investigation, the number of students in the school

register was 110.There were four teachers, three men and a woman
having S.S.C. and P.T.C. standard of education. The school teaches upto

class six. Average physical presence of the student numbered around

seventy. A studentgets a monthly stipend of Rs.55/- and free dress,

books etc. Still the attendance of the students is poor. If there is any

social function like circumcision or marriage held in the village, many

remain absent for a week or so as reported by the Head master of

the Ashramsaia. However, The Ashramsaia has motivated the Siddi stu­

dents to join the educational programme.

 41

A B'al-Bari is also run by the Samskar Kendra set up by the

Social Welfare Department. Thirty students are on the school register

though their attendance is very poor. The teacher is from the Lohana

community (Hindu). Extra curricular activities like dance and music

are available in the school. The school hour is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and
mid-tiffin is served in the school.

The level of education, however, is extremely poor. The female

literacy is only 2.97 per cent and male literacy is 14.81 per cent in

1971 (Table 10). In the target villages the rate of literacy among the

female is almost nil, i.e., 0.99 per cent at Jambur, whereas in Shirvan

and Javantri it is slightly better, 1.31 and 1.39 per cent respectively.

8.02 and 8.33 per cent of boys respectively attended primary schools

of Jambur and Javantri. At Shirvan it is 10.48 per cent. 2.78 per cent
\ i

and 1.73 per cent of students attending secondary schools at Javantri

and Jambur respectively are Siddi (Table 11).

Besides all these institutions there is a madressa run by the

Muslim jamat of Veraval. Five students attend regularly. There is no

separate place for the madressa. It runs on the corridor of the Bal-Bari.

Gujarati is the mother tongue of 94.85 per cent of the population

of Gujarat. The Gujarati script used universally by the speakers of that
tongue, is very much akin to 'devnagari' but unlike the 'devnagari',
 42

it is written without the line overhead. It is one of the major languages

of the Indo Aryan family, and is derived, like other languages of the

group, from Sanskrit. The development of Gujarati since the time of

Acharya Hemchandra (1087 A.D. to 1174 A.D.) to the present day can

be divided into three periods, the Ancient, old, and modern Gujarati.

The Gujarati vocabulary consists of tatsama and tadbhaba words.

However, on account of the historical and social reasons, the contacts

with foreigners, it has absorbed words not only from the Persian, Arabic,

Turkish, Portuguese, English and other foreign languages, but also occa­

sionally from the Dravidian languages of South India. In modern Gujarati

language, hundreds of archaic words of unknown origin called 'deshya'

are in vogue. Ahmedabad is the present centre of economic and political

activities. In earlier centuries, the innovating areas were in Saurashtra.

The Gujarati language has dialects or bolis which are only the

spoken variants of speech, which include Charotari, Surati, and Kathia-

wadi. A slight local variation in speech and accent is, however, found

in different parts of the district among different communities, with

special features of their own. It is very much noticed among the Siddi

of Jambur and its surrounding region. tkxwKxsK^cxDbecxaaaaiitxxa&xbtocxSkkii

Though they speak Gujarati but their accent is differ from the local

people specially when a Siddi talk each other. A Siddi old man told
that 'Swaheli' was their original mother tongue and only a few words

he can recapitulate at present. However, the accent of the Siddi living

in Junagadh and Jamnagar city is almost like that of the other people

of the region.