The Kolhati are an Indian

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

ic community that form a subgroup of the

Banjara The Banjara are nomadic tribes found in India. Etymology The Gor usually refer to themselves as ''Banjaras'' and outsiders as ''Kor'', but this usage does not extend outside their own community. A related usage is ''Gor Mati'' or ''Gormati'', ...

people. They belong to central India and

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 ...

. They traditionally are professional entertainers and acrobats. They are classified as a

nomadic tribe Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, Nomadic pastoralism, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and Merchant, trader nomads. In the twentieth century, ...

by the government of Maharashtra. They have also been employed with

tamasha Tamasha () is a traditional form of Marathi theatre, often with singing and dancing, widely performed by local or travelling theatre groups within the state of Maharashtra, India."Tamasha", in James R. Brandon and Martin Banham (eds), ''The Cambr ...

troupes. The kolhati language is spoken in considerable numbers in Pune district. Kolhati

lavani Lavani is a genre of music popular in Maharashtra, India. Lavani is a combination of traditional song and dance, which particularly performed to the beats of ''Dholki'', a percussion instrument. Lavani is noted for its powerful rhythm. Lavani h ...

-tamasha performers have got social prestige from the patronage of the art form by the Maharashtra state government, and is vital to their identity as performing artists according to Morcom.{{Cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nshUAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT87, title=Courtesans, Bar Girls & Dancing Boys: The Illicit Worlds of Indian Dance, last=Morcom, first=Anna, date=2014-02-07, publisher=Hachette India, isbn=9789350097939, language=en

References

Social groups of Maharashtra Tribes of India Banjara people