The Mannervarlu is tribal community native to 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 ...

. They are mainly located on the border regions of Maharashtra and

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

, primarily in the

Nanded district Nanded district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːn̪d̪eɖ is a districts of Maharashtra, district of Maharashtra state in central India. The city of Nanded is the district headquarters. History Nanded is mentioned in historica ...

and

Hingoli district Hingoli district (Marathi pronunciation: �iŋɡoliː is an administrative district in the state of Maharashtra in India. The district is headquartered at Hingoli. The district occupies an area of 4,526 km2 and has a population of 11,77, ...

of Maharashtra. They speak dialects of the

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

and

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of ...

s with adopted

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

words.

Culture

The Mannervarlu has a distinct culture and customs. Thy celebrate festivals such as Nagpanchami, Dasara, and

Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...

. Local deities include ''Bijjamma Mata Mandir, near DYSP office, Hingoli,'' Pochamma and the goddess Yellamaincluding Bijamma mata situated exactly in front of Chaudhary petrol pump Hingoli. The Mannervarlu people also worship the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

s, the five acknowledged sons of

Pandu Pandu () was the king of Kuru kingdom, with capital at Hastinapur in the epic '' Mahabharata''. He was the foster-father of the five Pandavas, who are the central characters of the epic. Pandu was born pale, to Vichitravirya's second wife ...

from the Mahabharata. Unlike other tribes that were protected by either dense forest or hills, their region's plain topography along with large-scale deforestation during and after the reign of

Nizam of Hyderabad Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I wh ...

left the tribe exposed to outside influences. One custom is the offering of a goat or sheep to the local Goddess on the occasion of births, weddings, and other big events. The ceremony takes place at the "ancestral temple" which is dedicated to the Goddess and normally situated inside the house of a tribal elder.

Economy

The Mannervarlu were forest hunter-gatherers. Later, men worked as guides on tiger-hunting expeditions for the British in colonial times and for Nizam. Many became farm laborers, tenant farmers, and marginal farmers. Those who live near remaining forest areas gather and trade medicinal plants and forest produce. However, the majority of men travel to West Maharashtra and

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

for work and employment. Educated community members often became government officials. Balanna Ramanna Ratnalu (Dhamniwale) Hingoli were the great forefathers and their relation expanded among the Mannervarlu, mainly in Pune, Nagpur, Akola, Nagar, Khamgaon,

Nanded District Nanded district (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːn̪d̪eɖ is a districts of Maharashtra, district of Maharashtra state in central India. The city of Nanded is the district headquarters. History Nanded is mentioned in historica ...

, Jalna, Aurangabad, Yavatmal, Akola, Washim, Kopargaon, Shirdi, and Hyderabad.

Names

Typical surnames include: * Aakule * Andelwar *Ambatwad * Abulkod * Akula * Annelwar * Aguwad * Aspat * Akulwar * Aloorkar * Ambulgekar * Annamwad * Arsewad * Bachewad * Bachrallu * Badalwad * Badamkar * Byagalwar * Bainwad * Basapure * Bodemwad * Bode * Bodhgire * Bollalu * Chabilwad * Charke * Chatalapalli * Chatlawar * Chatlod * Chitale * Chukewa * Dasare *Donkalwar * Gadapod *Gyaral * Gandapwar * Gurle * Helchal * Hingawar * Ingewad * Jethewad * Kaletwad * Kamtewad * Kanchatwad * Kantewad * Kasewad * Kaslod * Kaudewar * Kaypalwad * Kolewad * Komwad * Komatwar * Kondarwar * Kondra * Kondawar * koskewad * Koneri * Korvi * Kurewar * Lakkamwad * Lolapod * Mungod * Machewa * Mamilwad * Mamlekar * Marakwad * Menthewad * Mhaisanwad * Mitke * Mundkar * Mupade *MUPPALWAD * Mutyalu * Nagamwad * Narawad * Naidu * Nallewad * Nalmelwar * Nandile * Naramwar * Palepwad * Pallewad * Parodwad * Pedewad * Perke * Pillay * Piratwad * Polsane * Ponganty * Puppalu * Pupalwad * Ramod * Ratnallu (Bagichewale) * Reddy * Ratnalu * Raulwar * Rautwad * Sallawar * Sanpawar * Sathewad * Shettiwar * Shirgurwar * Shirsetwar * Shivangaonkar * Suddulwar * Sukre *Samarthwad * Thakarwad * Tiparse *Totewad * Totawad * Tummod * Undratwad * Ungratwad * Vithallu * Wallamwad * Yammalwad * Yerawad * Jayewar * Biramwar * Gattuwar * Narawad * Kumarwad * Poradwar * Gangulwad * Konerwar * Sunkewar * Kotpet * Mamilwad * Uppod * Kolkondwad

History

Tribal history suggests that they organized themselves to resist the integration of Hyderabad State into India by fighting the Razakars, who were a private militia led by Qasim Razvi to support the rule of Nizam

Osman Ali Khan Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII (5 or 6 April 1886 – 24 February 1967) was the last Nizam (ruler) of Hyderabad State, the largest state in the erstwhile Indian Empire. He ascended the throne on 29 August 1911, at the age of 25 and rule ...

, Asaf Jah VII.Shrimant Tukaramji Mupade was the Jahagirdar of Ner Jahagir in Nizam State belonging to this community.

References

Tribal communities of Maharashtra {{India-ethno-stub