The Bara Balutedar (English: Twelve Balutedar) system was a

hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

system of twelve

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

s used historically in villages of regions that is now the Indian state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. The used get paid for the services provided with village produce under a complex

barter In trade, barter (derived from ''bareter'') is a system of exchange (economics), exchange in which participants in a financial transaction, transaction directly exchange good (economics), goods or service (economics), services for other goods ...

system. The system had similarities to the

jajmani system The jajmani system or yajman system was an economic system most notably found in villages of the Indian subcontinent in which lower castes performed various functions for upper castes and received grain or other goods in return. It was an occupa ...

prevalent in North India during the same period. Under the former system, the castes in the village worked for the landlord (Jajman) or the biggest landholding family in the village whereas with the latter system, the castes worked for the village.

Classification and functions

The system was supported by the village

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. Occupational

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place (geography), place, set of Norm (social), norms, culture, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Ide ...

under this system provided services to the farmers and the economic system of the village. The base of this system was

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

. The communities were responsible for tasks specific to their castes. There were different kinds of services under Bara Balutedar which could number more than twelve *

Joshi Joshi is a surname used by the Brahmin (caste) in India and Nepal. Joshi is also sometimes spelled as Jyoshi. The name is derived from the Sanskrit word ''Jyotishi'' meaning "astrologer" or a person who practices '' jyotisha''. ''Jyotisha'' refers ...

(Brahmin

astrologer Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

) *

Gurav The Gurav are an occupational community comprising several castes. They are among the traditional service providers found in villages, for whom they are in a priest role, and are found in several states of India. It derives from the Sanskrit pl ...

(

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and temple maintenance), * Nhavi (

barbers A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

) *

Parit Parit (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ڤاريت) is a main town of Perak Tengah District, Perak, Malaysia. List of Schools in Parit:- Primary schools: # Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Parit (SRKP). # Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Iskandar Shah (SRKIS). # Seko ...

(

washers Washer most commonly refers to: *Washer (hardware), a thin usually disc-shaped plate with a hole in the middle typically used with a bolt or nut *Washing machine, for cleaning clothes Washer may also refer to: *Dishwasher, a machine for cleani ...

) *

Kumbhar Kumhar or Kumbhar is a caste or community in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Kumhars have historically been associated with the art of pottery. Etymology The Kumhars derive their name from the Sanskrit word ''Kumbhakar'' meaning eart ...

( potters) * Sutar (

carpenters Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters trad ...

) * Lohar (

blacksmiths A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gril ...

) *

Teli Teli is a caste traditionally occupied in the oil pressing and trade in India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Members may be either Hindu or Muslim; Muslim Teli are called Roshandaar or Teli Malik. India's Prime minister Narendra Modi is from Teli c ...

( oil pressers) *

Chambhar Chambhar is caste from Indian state of Maharashtra, and Northern Karnataka. Their traditional occupation was leather work. Historically subject to untouchability, they were traditionally outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes know ...

( cobblers leather craft and product) *

Koli Koli may refer to: People * Koli people, Indian caste group * Koli Christians, a Christian subgroup * Muslim Kolis, Muslim community * Koli (surname), Indian surname * Koli Sewabu (born 1975), Fijian rugby union footballer Places * Koli, Fin ...

(

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

agriculturist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the Agricultural science, science, practice, and management of Farming, agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, ...

and water transport), The Kolis were found in about one-third of the villages. The provided water to the travellers, and at the rivers, made rafts and boats and were agriculturist. The rent-free land holdings of the Kolis were very considerable, being 16,307 bighas in

Khandesh Khandesh is a geographic region in Maharashtra, India. It was made up of present Jalgaon, Dhule and Nandurbar districts. It also said that Burhanpur District of Madhya Pradesh was also its part. The region have seen many geographical ch ...

. * Mang (manufacturing of organic fiber, making rope and article, making organic broom, security of people call as raakhanyaa) *

Mahar Mahar is one of the Indian caste found largely in the state of Maharashtra and neighbouring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism in the middle of the 20th century. As of 2017 the Mahar caste w ...

(village security, messengers, war soliders , catching criminals, land arbitrators, and removal of animal carcasses *Chaugula (assistant to Patil) Under the system, the had certain rights and privileges at ceremonies. Their services were remunerated by the cultivators in the form of an annual payment in sheaves of

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

and a few

seer A seer is a person who practices divination. Seer(s) or SEER may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Seer (band), an Austrian music band * Seer (game series), a Chinese video game and cartoon series ** ''Seer'' (film), 2011, based on the ...

s of other grain grown in the field, such as

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, hulga,

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined in 1795 as "the absolute Mass versus weight, weight of a volume ...

, tur, groundnut, and others. For special services rendered on ceremonial occasions, payments were made in cash,

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

or clothes. Sometimes food was given. The barber, as a , would perform many duties not connected with his profession. At the time of a marriage ceremony, when the bridegroom went to the temple to pray, he held his horse and received a turban as a present. At village festivals or marriage ceremonies he sometimes acted as a cook, and also served food and water to the guests at such ceremonies. It was his privilege to act as a messenger at marriage ceremonies and call the invitees for the function. He gave massages to distinguished people of the village. He played the pipe and tambour at weddings and on other festive occasions. The water-carrier not only supplied water to the villages but also kept watch during floods in the case of villages situated on river banks. He was also useful to the villagers to take them across the river with the help of a sangad (floats joined together. In this list of Balutedar: Dhor, Mang, Mahar, and Chambhar belonged to the untouchable group of castes. In exchange for their services, the were granted hereditary rights () to a share in the village harvest.Fukazawa, H., 1972. Rural Servants in the 18th Century Maharashtrian Village—Demiurgic or Jajmani System?. Hitotsubashi journal of economics, 12(2), pp.14-40. The system was formally abolished by statute in 1958.

References

{{reflist Economy of Maharashtra Caste system in India Social history of India

Classification and functions

See also

References