The Tadvi Bhil is an tribal community found in the states of Maharashtra,

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 ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital city, capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar, and Rewa, India, Rewa being the othe ...

and

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 ...

in India. They are from the larger

Bhil Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India. Bhils are listed as tribal people of the ...

ethnic group, and are a clan of it. They use the surname Tadvi or sometimes the name of their Kul or Gan; the Dhankas of Gujarat and Maharashtra use Tadvi or Tetariya.

History and origin

The Tadvi Bhil inhabit an area which roughly covers the border areas of the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. This territory forms the core of the Faruqi kingdom, a medieval state in central India. In the Western part of this area, Tadvis and Vasavas are mainly Hindu but some Christian missionary activities are seen in this region. A close association between the Bhil of this region, and the Faruqi state led to the conversion of some of them to Islam. The dance that they perform on various occasions is known as Timli or Sajoni, or commonly known as tribal dance.

Present circumstance

The Tadvi speak a dialect of their own, also known as Tadvi, but many are switching to

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

. Their language is also Dhanka and Bhilori, which belongs to the Bhil group. They inhabit villages which are largely Tadvi. The community consist mainly of small cultivators. Like the wider Bhil community, they currently practise

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra ...

exogamy, and are

endogamous Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Endogamy is common in many cultu ...

.Marginal Muslim Communities in India edited by M.K.A Siddiqui pages 1 to 13 Institute of Objective Studies , the Tadvi Bhil of Rajasthan were classified as a

Scheduled Tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

under the Indian government's reservation program of positive discrimination.

References

External links

* {{Indian Muslim Bhil clans Muslim communities of Maharashtra Muslim communities of Madhya Pradesh Scheduled Tribes of Rajasthan Muslim communities of Rajasthan ur:تدوی بهیل