Mavala (plural mavale in

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 ...

) was a name used for people of the hilly Maval region west of the present day Indian city of

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

. It was in the Maval that the 17th century

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

leader,

Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...

, first established his power base that later developed into the Maratha kingdom. The inhabitants of this hilly region who were heavily enlisted in his guerrilla forces and raiding bands were known as Mavale, composed of the

Kunbi Kunbi (alternatively Kanbi) (Marathi language, Marathi: ISO 15919: ''Kuṇabī'', Gujarati language, Gujarati: ISO 15919: ''Kaṇabī'') is a generic term applied to several caste system, castes of traditional farmers in Western India. These ...

castes. The Mavala soldiers were expert footmen and excelled in mountain warfare. The infantry was considered the backbone of Shivaji's power, and according to Sabhasad Bakhar, which chronicled Shivaji's life, the Mavale Hasham infantry of Shivaji was composed of 100,000 men. Some of the inhabitants of the region in north were Kolis while the south was mainly inhabited by

Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

. The region was also known as Bavan Maval (52 valleys or Khoras). Each Khora was under the rule of Maratha Nayaks or Deshmukhs. Some of the Deshmukhis were as follows - * Nane Khore under Garud, * Mose Khore under Pasalkar Yashwantraos, * Paund Khore under Dhamale Rautraos, * Mutha Khore under Marne Gambhirraos, * Karyat Khore under Paygude Raviraos, * Ghotau Khore under Ghare Bhupatraos, * Khedebar Khore under Konde Itbarraos, * Gunjan Khore under Shilimkar Haibatraos, * Kanad under Maral Jhunjharraos, * Welwanda under Dohar Adhalraos, * Bhor taraf Rohida under Jedhe Sarjeraos, * Atroli taraf Rohida under Khopades, * Hirdas under Bandal Itbarraos, * Shivatar under More Chandraraos, etc. Each Maval lord commanded armed forces enlisted majorly from among his own tenants for the purpose of territorial defense and law enforcement. Additionally, they were appealed by their

suzerain A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy and economic relations of another subordinate party or polity, but allows i ...

to raise troops for royal service in times of need, and would duly receive additional bounties and grants of new territories in reward.Shivaji Souvenir by G. S. Sardesai p.46-47
/ref>

References

History of Maharashtra People from Pune district {{India-hist-stub