Ghasi is a caste found in

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 . ...

, Chhattisgarh,

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 Sc ...

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 four ...

. They are traditionally caretakers of horses and village musicians. They are known as Ghasiya in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

Etymology

The name ''ghasi'' derive from ''ghas'' which means grass. In past, they were cutting grass to feed horses.

History

The Ghasi caste is found in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal. They are also found in Uttar Pradesh known as Ghasiya. They were serving Nagvanshi as militia, musician and ritual specialist. They also worked as agricultural worker and palanquin bearers. The title of ''Naik'' was bestowed upon them by Nagvanshi kings due their expertise in music. The word ''Naik'' derived from ''Naikha'' which means leader of a band. The title of Sahani or Sohani Rajput was given to them by a Nagvanshi king because they had quenched his thrist by providing water. According to Dr.Ball, they are known for their gold washing and playing musical instruments in

Singhbhum district Singhbhum was a district of India during the British Raj, part of the Chota Nagpur Division of the Bengal Presidency. It was located in the present-day Indian state of Jharkhand. Chaibasa was the district headquarters. Located in the southern li ...

. They were treated as untouchable due to their profession of beating drums and disposing dead animals.

Present Circumstances

They are found in the state of

, Chhattisgarh,

and

. In West Bengal, they are concentrated in

Purulia district Purulia district (Pron: puruliːaː) is one of the twenty-three districts of West Bengal state in Eastern India. Purulia is the administrative headquarters of the district. Some of the other important towns of Purulia district are Raghunathpur- ...

. They are an endogamous group. They are patrilocal and patrilinial. They practice clan exogamy. They have number of clans such as Bagh (tiger), Bangar, Bhainsa (buffalo), Hathi (elephant), Kachhua (turtle), Kasriar (bronze), Katihari, Maltiar (a flower), Mohdiar (honey bee), Nag (Cobra), Pandki (dove), Sindur (vermillion), Simarlasa (simal tree gum), Sonwan (gold water) etc.

Culture

They speak Nagpuri and

Kurmali Kurmali or Kudmali ( ISO: Kuṛmāli) is an Indo-Aryan language classified as belonging to the Bihari group of languages spoken in eastern India. As a trade dialect, it is also known as Panchpargania (Bengali: পঞ্চপরগনিয় ...

in Jharkhand and Odia in Western Odisha. Their traditional occupation was caretaker of horses along with village musician. They along with Mahli community are the traditional maker of musical instruments such as

dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nor ...

, mandar, nagara and dhak etc. They play musical instruments in weddings. They have an important role in the preservation of ethnic music. Their folk dance are

Jhumar Jhumar or Jhoomar (also called Ghumbar in Sandalbar area) is a lively form of music and dance that originated in the Multan and Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan, also thrived in Sandalbar areas (Faisal abad, Jhang, Chiniot, Nankana Sahib, To ...

and

Domkach Domkach or Damkach is a folk dance of Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand. In Bihar, Domkach dance is performed in Mithila and Bhojpur regions. In Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With ...

. They practice Nacni dance and

Chhau dance Chhau dance, also spelled Chhou dance, is a semi classical Indian dance with martial and folk traditions. It is found in three styles named after the location where they are performed, i.e. the ''Purulia Chhau'' of West Bengal, the ''Seraikell ...

Purulia Purulia is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River. Geography Location Purulia is located at . It has an average el ...

of West Bengal. They observe the festivals of

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It i ...

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively ...

Sarhul Sarhul is a spring festival in the Indian state of Jharkhand. The festival is celebrated for three days, from the 3rd day of Chaitra month in Sukla Paksh to Chaitra Purnima. In the festival, the village priest ''Pahan'' offers sacrifice of flowers ...

Ramnavami Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama, the seventh avatar of the deity Vishnu. people from different parts of Jharkhand attended the world famous international Hazaribagh procession organized in the city every ...

. They practice animism with a mixture of hinduism.

Official classification

In 1931, during British Period, they were listed as semi hinduised aboriginal. In 1936, they were listed as Backward tribe in Chotanagpur division of Bihar. In Patna division, Palamu, Hazaribagh, Manbhum and Bengal, they were included in Scheduled Caste. They are included in the list of

Scheduled Castes 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 ...

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 borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

, Chhattisgarh,

and

Notable people

Mukund Nayak Mukund Nayak (born 15 October 1949), is an Indian artist. He is a folk singer, songwriter and dancer. Nayak is an exponent of Nagpuri folk dance Jhumar. He is recipient of the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. Early life and family ...

, folk artist *

Nandlal Nayak Nandlal Nayak is a folk artist, music composer and a film director. He was music director of national award winner feature film Amu(2005). He promotes folk music among Indian Youth and rest of the world. He is a member of Sangeet Natak Akademi. ...

, music composer and director

References

{{Reflist Hindu communities Dalit communities Social groups of Jharkhand Scheduled Castes of Odisha Scheduled Castes of Chhattisgarh Scheduled Castes of Jharkhand Musician castes