Rawal (IAST: Rāvala) is an Indian community from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

and

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the 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 fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

. They are known as

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conc ...

temples and perform a form of dance known as Rammat during the worship. They were well respected and patronised by the

Charan Charan ( IAST: Cāraṇ; Sanskrit: चारण; Gujarati: ચારણ; Urdu: ارڈ; IPA: cɑːrəɳə) is a caste in South Asia natively residing in the Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan provinces ...

Origin

Rawals claim to be converted from

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

s around the 12th century.

History

In the past, Rawals would wander from village to village to present night-long Rammat performances in the temples.

Rammat of Rawal

Rawals are known for their performances called ''Rammat'', which are devotional in nature dedicated to their

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

. It begins with a prayer to the goddess after which the performing

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectato ...

is marked with a

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed t ...

. This Rammat

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

is thought to be ‘almost extinct’ in modern times. Mahendra Bhanawat in the study of folk theatre traditions of Rajasthan, states about the origin of Ramat:

“Rawals of
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
who visit their distinguished clients (
Charan Charan ( IAST: Cāraṇ; Sanskrit: चारण; Gujarati: ચારણ; Urdu: ارڈ; IPA: cɑːrəɳə) is a caste in South Asia natively residing in the Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan provinces ...
Yajamans) for gifts (virats) would impersonate in various
disguise A disguise can be anything which conceals or changes a person's physical appearance, including a wig, glasses, makeup, fake moustache, costume or other items. Camouflage is a type of disguise for people, animals and objects. Hats, glasses, cha ...
s (Swangs) and perform various acts of
entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousan ...
s-called Ramats. I was told on
enquiry An inquiry (also spelled as enquiry in British English) is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and a treatment of t ...
that the Rawals, in earlier times, would impersonate the goddesses they worshipped during Navaratras and would sing
devotional song A devotional song is a hymn that accompanies religious observances and rituals. Traditionally devotional music has been a part of Hindu music, Jewish music, Buddhist music, Islamic music and Christian music. Each major religion has its own tra ...
s ( Charjayen) to the accompaniment of
mridanga The khol is a terracotta two-sided drum used in northern and eastern India for accompaniment with devotional music ('' bhakti''). It is also known as a mridanga (<
taal and rawaj etc. With the passage of time, they started playing kheras in front of Charans also and presented different impersonations(swangs). For a Khera performance, a boy would dress up like the goddess and another boy in his female garb would present various Charjas throughout the night laced with songs, dance and drums. These devotional performances came to be known as Ramats.”

Genealogists

Rawals are one of the

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...

s who perform as

genealogists Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

for the

Modern occupations

Presently, Rawals are mainly engaged in cultivation and in the

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudin ...

of coarse

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

cloth and tapes.

Population

According to the 1961 Census, the Rawal population in Rajasthan was approximately 4,500.

References

{{Social groups of Gujarat Indian castes Charan Social groups of Gujarat