Kokni, Kokna, Kukna is an Indian

Adivasi The Adivasi (also transliterated as Adibasi) are heterogeneous tribal groups across the Indian subcontinent. The term is a recent invention from the 20th century and is now widely used as a self-designation by groups classified as Scheduled Tr ...

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

community found in Sahyadri-

Satpura The Satpura Range, formerly also known as the Seeonee Hills, is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and ends in Chhattisgarh. The range paral ...

Ranges 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 ...

(mostly residing in

Nandurbar Nandurbar () is a city and a municipal council in Nandurbar district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Nandurbar municipal corporation is the first municipal corporation. The District Nandurbar was formed from the district Dhule on July 1, ...

and

Dhule Dhule is one of the largest cities in Maharashtra, and central region of India. The city located in the Dhule District in the northwestern part of Maharashtra state, India known as West Khandesh. Situated on the banks of Panzara River, Dhule i ...

districts –

Sakri Sakri is a census town and a taluka in the Dhule District of the Nashik division, Maharashtra state, India. The town of Sakri is the administrative headquarters for Sakri Taluka. Another Sakri is in Bihar, which is now a railway junction. ...

Navapur Navapur is a Municipality (India), Municipality and headquarters for Navapur Taluka in Nandurbar district, in the States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra, India. Geography Navapur municipality is situated on the border with the ...

talukas) and in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

(mostly residing in

Ahwa Ahwa is the headquarters of Dang District in the state of Gujarat, in India. It is situated about 1800 feet (549 m) above the sea level. The whole district, inhabited by the tribal people, is a hilly area covered with thick forest. Venomous snak ...

- Dang,

Navsari Navsari is the ninth biggest city in the state of Gujarat in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Navsari District. Navsari is between Surat and Mumbai. It is a twin city of Surat, 37 km to the north. At the 2011 Census of Ind ...

and

Valsad Valsad (Pronunciation: �alsɑɖ, historically known as Bulsar, is a town and a municipality in Valsad district of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the district headquarters of Valsad district. Valsad is located north of Vapi and shares bor ...

districts) and is believed to have originated in the Konkan patti of

Thane district Thane district (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �ʰaːɳe previously named Taana or Thana) is a districts of Maharashtra, district in the Konkan Division of Maharashtra, India. At the 2011 Census it was the most populated district in the c ...

. It is also known as Kokna, Kokni, and Kukna. There are various opinions regarding the origin of this tribe since no adequate research has been made. They are recognized as a scheduled tribe in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n states of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

Kokna Tribals from Nandurbar Maharashtra-1

Social life

Kokna-Kokni tribal society is an important society of ancient primitive culture and its social, economic, cultural and political life is characteristic. Considering the total population of the Kokni tribe, it can be seen that Kokni is the major tribe in

. Although there are few historical references available regarding the origin of tribe from socio-cultural point of view, their current social customs and cultural practices confirm their primitiveness. Interest and improvements in

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 ...

has resulted in prosperity and social stability of the tribe. Apart from this, the social status of the Koknas has remained high due to land ownership. Due to their high socio-economic status, the Kokna tribes consider themselves superior to other tribes.

Religion and cultural life

The

animistic Animism (from meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, Rock (geology), rocks, rivers, Weather, ...

religious beliefs and practices practiced by the tribals are also seen in the Kokna tribe i.e. religion is the belief in supernatural powers and divine beings. Along with God of

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

, God of

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

and God of

animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

, the Kokna also believe in demons. Koknas are mostly

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

worshipers. Therefore, their deities and places of worship are also subject to the nature. Since the Kokna has been settled in agriculture for many years, they believe that

rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

is the supreme god. Their deities are based on daily life relationships such as 'Dhantari' which gives

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 ...

, 'Gavkari' which is used for farm work and 'Kansari' which makes a

living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...

. Worship rituals are performed to please the deities at the beginning of any auspicious work or financial activity. Since nature is the foundation of the socio-economic life of the Konkan, their conceptions of religion and theology have also developed on the basis of nature.

Dongaryadev Festival

The God of mountains (Dongaridev) is worshiped in the belief that God resides in a mountain cave and that his happiness and sadness affect the life's joys and sorrows. Dongaridev festival is celebrated by the whole villages and at least one person from each family in the village has to participate in this festival. 70–80 young and old people come together and dance in a circular motion and sing songs in their dialect. Various instruments are used for worship in this festival viz. flags, ghoongru kaathi (stick with bells), pawri, tapra, many marigold flowers,

nachani Finger millet (''Eleusine coracana'') is an annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and semiarid areas in Africa and Asia. It is a tetraploid and self-pollinating species probably evolved from its wild relative ''Eleus ...

and rice grains. The festival usually lasts for eight to ten days and finally, on the night before the full moon, they go at the foot of the mountain, dance all night, sing kokni songs, and descend from the hill in the morning after worshiping the mountain. During this festival all the virtues of kindness, cordiality, generosity, honesty, discipline, community life, purity of mind are 'discovered'.

References

{{Reflist Tribes of India Scheduled Tribes of Rajasthan