Jaunsar-Bawar

Jaunsar-Bawar
jaunsari
village
Jaunsar-Bawar
Location in Uttarakhand, India
Jaunsar-Bawar
Jaunsar-Bawar (India)
Coordinates: 30°45′N 77°50′E / 30.75°N 77.83°E / 30.75; 77.83Coordinates: 30°45′N 77°50′E / 30.75°N 77.83°E / 30.75; 77.83
Country  India
State Uttarakhand
District Dehradun
Founded by Chauhan's,tomar's,Rana's,negi's,rawat's,rathore's,
Elevation 2,118 m (6,949 ft)
Population (2001)
 • Total 90,000
Languages
 • Official Hindi
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registration UK
Website uk.gov.in

Jaunsar-Bawar is a hilly region, 85 km from Mussoorie, in Chakrata tehsil, in Dehradun district, it represents the geographical region inhabited by the Jaunsaris and bawaris, which traces its origin from the Pandavas of Mahabharata & Rajputs of Rajasthan.[1][2]

Ethnically, Jaunsar-Bawar comprises two regions, inhabited by the two predominant groups: Jaunsar, the lower half, while the snow-clad upper region is called Bawar, which includes, the 'Kharamba peak' (3,084 metres (10,118 ft)).[3] Geographically adjacent, they are not very different from each other. The Bawar lies in the upper regions of the area. They are a unique community because they have remained cut off from the external world for centuries, leading to the retention of their unique culture and traditions, which have attracted historians, anthropologist and studies in ethnopharmacology to this region for over a century. There is a significant cultural shift from other people of Garhwal, living close by.[4]

Jaunsar-Bawar region

The Jaunsar-Bawar region, is a valley, spread over 1002 km² and 400 villages,[5] between 77.45' and 78.7'20" East to 30.31' and 31.3'3" North.[3] It is defined in the east, by the river Yamuna and by river Tons in the west, the northern part comprises Uttarkashi district, and some parts of Himachal Pradesh, the Dehradun tehsil forms its southern periphery.[3]

Modes of livelihood in this region are agriculture and animal husbandry, which in the upper region is mostly for self-sustenance, as merely 10 percent of cultivated area is irrigated. Milk, wool and meat are an integral part of the local economy.[6]

Before the establishment of British Indian Army cantonment in 1866, the entire area was known as Jaunsar-Bawar, and the name continued to be in popular use for the region, till the early 20th century.[7] While western Hindi is popular in most of the neighbouring hill areas, Jaunsari, a language of the Central Pahari group, is spoken by most of the people of the region.[8]

Geography

Traditionally, Jaunsar-Bawar region is known for its rich reserves of forested areas, in the high hills region, with trees of Deodar, Pine, and spruce, made for it becoming an important destination for the timber even during the British period, when the logs were rolled down the slopes and floated on Yamuna river to Delhi.[9] Gate system, time table based traffic diversion on one way hilly roads, which was there since the time of British, is now removed.

Culture

The Jaunsari population mainly consists of Khasas, kolta, dhaki, luhar and Doms. Khasas and Koltas are prominently large in number than the other counterparts. Doms are considered untouchables. The Luhars are the artisans working as ironsmiths as well as the goldsmith. The dhaki offers drum music at all the religious, social and cultural functions. Upper castes of Jaunsari population mainly consists of Thakurs and Brahmins.[10]

The culture of the local Jaunsari people is distinct from other hill people in Garhwal, Kumaon and Himachal Pradesh,[11] its culture matches with the sirmaur and shimla district of himachal pradesh. Jaunsari bawar paragana was basically part of sirmaur hill kingdom of himachal pradesh, In 1814 when gorkha were moving ahead in capturing all hill kingdom forts, while capturing from kumaun, garhwal, they reached to shimla and then to kangra but they failed over there,so while returning back they made an attack on nahan city which was capital of sirmaur hill kingdom where king use to sit, the king after getting information took help from britishers and lord Martindale and lord young with there forces were called to fought with gorkha force,a severe battle took place at jamna fort, a few kilometres ahead from Nahan. In this battle gorkha lost the war but many British soldiers died so in place of this lord Martindale demanded a sum of Rs 2lakh from king, king was not having this much amount so in place of this he gave a region between tons and yamuna river i.e jaunsari bawar paragana to the britisher, so it remained under British jurisdiction and lost its identity from sirmaur kingdom, the region was later merged by britishers in meerut commisionery and later when India became republic no one even thought to put back jaunsar bawar region back to sirmaur district,but now jaunsar bawar comes in dehradun district of uttarakhand, but its culture and tradition is similar to those of Shimla and Sirmaur region i.e. area lying in western side of Giri river, comprises Rajgarh, paonta, renuka, nahan, pacchad and Shillai tehsils. These people are also known as Hatti, and has similar culture like Jaunsari people. A fact demonstrated by the presence of polygamy and polyandry in the local traditions, with richer practising polygamy, while their poor counterparts, choose to share a wife (polyandry), though the husbands should be brothers,[12] a fact which is often connected to, the five Pandava brothers in the Mahabharata, marrying Draupadi, from whom Jaunsaries trace their ethnic origin.[4][13][14] Though, anthropology studies in the 1990s revealed that these practises were fast phasing out, and is being replaced by monogamy and these practices do not exist now [15]

An important aspect of their culture are festive sports and dances like the folk dance named 'Barada Nati'/Harul/Raso/ during all festive occasions,[16] like 'Magh Mela' which is the most important festival of the Jaunsaries. It is marked by an animal sacrifice ritual, which celebrates the killing of 'Maroj', an ogre, which according to local legends, stalked the valleys for years.[5]

According to local village lore, the Pandavas and Kauravas figure in the anthropology of the Tons valley and some families claim to be direct descendents of the two clans. The Jaunsaris claim to be descendants of the Pandavas, while the Bawaris are from the Kauravas or Duryodhana’s clan. The two cultures usually do not mix, and it is a rare occurrence to see the two cultures mix in terms of marriage or social custom.

The people of this region are said to be direct descendents of Aryan race. One unique custom which is followed here is the concept of bride price. The custom owes its origin to some strong logic. The parents spend a substantial amount on raising, educating and making the life of the girl as good as they can make it. In return the girl is an asset to the family as she cooks, cleans, and works on the farms. When a boy wants to marry the girl, he is taking away an asset of the family and must pay the fair price of the asset known as the bride price. But over the year this practice is followed by a few masses.

Divorce is not a taboo in this culture, and divorced women are not ostracised from society. However, if the woman comes back to the parents' home after a divorce, the family must pay back the bride price to the man’s family. If the woman divorces her husband to marry another man, the second man must pay bride price to the first man’s family..But over the years this practice is followed by a few masses.

During festivals, people wear the Thalka or Lohiya, which is a long coat.

Architecture

Jaunsar Bawar follows the Vernacular architecture components. Houses are usually built in stone and timber and roofed with slate tiles. It is usually a two or three storey structure with a linear arrangement of one to four rooms on each floor and is typically sited on a terraced piece of land along the contours of the hill. In many villages in Uttarakhand, due to low temperature range, the housing and other buildings of socio-cultural values are generally shaped like pagodas or have sloping roofs.

The common building material used under construction includes wood (generally deodar, due to its abundance and durability), plain stones and other locally available materials like mud and stone slates. One of the important aspects of architecture in the area is the wooden carvings and the slate laden gabled roofs.

As temple architecture commonly develops from the form of folk houses, the figure of a small temple is not so different from that of a folk house. Therefore, the oldest and simplest temple type in this region is a single storied structure covered with a gabled roof.

Since the local deity is Lord Mahasu, most of the temples are dedicated to him. Famous temples include Mahasu Devta Temple at Hanol, Mahasu Temple at Thaina, Mahasu Temple at Lakhwar, Mahasu Temple at Lakhsiyar and newly constructed Mahasu Temples in Bisoi and Lohari.

Medicine

The Jaunsari people of the region has been using over 100 plants for the treatment of various ailments, which have remained a subject for many Ethnobotanical and Ethnopharamcological studies.[17][18]

In Media

Raaste Band Hain Sab, a film based on the work of Dr. Jayoti Gupta, Dept. of Sociology, Delhi University, on Jaunsar-Bawar, and made by Manjira Dutta, won the National Film Award for Best Anthropological/Ethnographic Film in 1988.[19]

"Dance With GODS", the First chapter of the documentary Jaunsar Bawar : An Alternate Life highlights the centuries-old deity rituals and sacred ceremonies. The latter part shows a tradition that is celebrated annually and has an interesting storyline of its existence. Stay Tuned for more.[20]

Further reading

  • Himalayan Polyandry: Structure, Functioning and Culture Change. A Field-Study of Jaunsar-Bawar by D. N. Majumdar. New York, Asian Publishing House. 1962.[21]
  • The Abode of Mahashiva: Cults and Symbology in Jaunsar-Bawar in the Mid Himalayas by Madhu Jain. 1995, Indus Publishing Company, ISBN 81-7387-030-6.[22]
  • Ritual complex and social structure in Jaunsar-Bawar (Census of India, 1971, series 1, India), Office of the Registrar General, India 1974.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jaunsar-Bawar
  2. ↑ Jaunsaris
  3. 1 2 3 The Region
  4. 1 2 Jaunsaris
  5. 1 2 Maroj The Tribune, 15 January 2005.
  6. ↑ Dehra Dun District The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 11, p. 213-214.
  7. ↑ Chakrata Tahsil & Town The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 10, p. 125.
  8. ↑ Agriculture The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 11, p. 215.
  9. ↑ Forests The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 24, p. 196.
  10. ↑ Man, K. (1996). Tribal Women: On the Threshold of Twenty-first Century. MD Publications. p. 60.
  11. ↑ Jaunsaries www.garhwalhimalayas.com.
  12. ↑ United Provinces The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 24, p. 168.
  13. ↑ Anthropology Pahari Polyandry: A Comparison American Anthropologist by Gerald D. Berreman, 1962, Vol.64(1):60 –74., www.publicanthropology.org.
  14. ↑ Jaunsar-Bawar People’s Union for Civil Liberties, PUCL Bulletin, September 1982.
  15. ↑ Role of Culture in... ENVIS Bulletin vol 7 no. 1., G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Almora.
  16. ↑ Barada Nati
  17. ↑ Jain, SP; Puri, HS. "Ethnomedicinal plants of Jaunsar-Bawar hills, Uttar Pradesh, India". J Ethnopharmacol. 12: 213–22. doi:10.1016/0378-8741(84)90049-7. PMID 6521494.
  18. ↑ Rana, TS; Datt, B. (1997). "Ethnobotanical observation among Jaunsaris of Jaunsar-Bawar, Dehra Dun". International Journal of Pharmacology. 35: 371–374. doi:10.1080/09251619708951285.
  19. ↑ Department of Sociology, DElhi School of Economics Delhi University.
  20. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw9kmVXdMjk
  21. ↑ Berreman, Gerald D. (1963). "Review: Himalayan Polyandry: Structure, Functioning and Culture Change. A Field-Study of Jaunsar-Bawar". American Anthropologist. Wiley. 65 (5). doi:10.2307/668610. ISSN 1548-1433. JSTOR 668610 – via JSTOR. (Registration required (help)). From 1932 to 1960, Professor D. N. Majumdar, of Lucknow University worked extensively in this region, along with his student, studying the local tribes.
  22. ↑ Cults and Symbology in Jaunsar-Bawar in the Mid Himalayas
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