The Mahli are a community in the Indian states of
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...
,
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
and
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
.
Basketry was main occupation of mahlis. Mahli speak
Sadri,
Mundari and
Santali as their mother tongue rather than
Mahli. May be Mahli is a threatened language. Also use
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
,
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
and
Odia. They are included in list of
Scheduled Tribe
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
.
Origin
They are caste who works as palaqulin bearers and bamboo workers. They are divided into five endogamous subdivision: the bansphor Mahli, pahar mahli, Sulunkhi, Tanti and Mahli Munda. Their some septs are Barwar (banayan), Bhuktuar, dumriar (wild fig), gundli (a kind of grain), Induar (eel), Kantiar, Kasriar, Kathargachh (jackfruit tree), Kendriar, Kerketta (a bird), mahukal (a bird), Tirki, Tunduar, Turu, Lang Chenre, Sanga. Their four septs Hansda, Hemron, Murmu, Saren also found in Santal tribe.
Culture
Their traditional occupation was making households items of bamboo.
They were also making musical instruments such as Mandar, Dhol, Nagara etc.
Their deity is Surjahi (Solar deity). Other deity are Bar Pahari (mountain deity) and
Mansa Devi
Manasa () is a Hindu goddess of snakes. She is worshipped mainly in Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar b ...
. Their festival are Bangri, Hariyari and
Nawakhani
Nawakhani is harvest festival of of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In this festival people eat new grain of rice after harvesting.
Etymology
Nawakhani means ''eating new''. Nawa means ''New'' and Khani means ''eat''. It signify eating new g ...
etc.
Official classification
In the past, they were treated as an untouchable caste but listed as
Scheduled Tribe
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
by the Jharkhand government.
See also
*
Ghasi Ram Mahli
Ghasi Ram Mahli (17 January 1859 – 1937) was an Indian Nagpuri-language poet. He was a poet under the patronage of Nagvanshi Lal Thakur of Thakurgaon. He was the first poet of the Nagpuri language, whose book was published in 1911.
Early lif ...
, poet
References
External links
Mahali
Scheduled Tribes of Jharkhand
Scheduled Tribes of West Bengal
Scheduled Tribes of India
Social groups of West Bengal
Social groups of Odisha
Scheduled Tribes of Odisha
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