Badi people
Badi (Nepali: बादी) is a Hill Dalit community in Nepal. The 1854 Nepalese Muluki Ain (Legal Code) categorized Badi as "Impure and Untouchable (Pani Na Chalne)" category.[2] Badi are categorized under "Hill Dalit" among the 9 broad social groups, along with Damai, Sarki, Kami and Gaine by the Government of Nepal.[1] 'Badi' means Vadyabadak, one who plays musical instruments, in Sanskrit.
बादी/वादी | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 | 38,603 (0.1% of Nepal's population)[1] |
| Languages | |
| Nepali language (Khas kura) | |
| Religion | |
 | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Licchavi, Khas people, Damai, Sarki, Kami, Gandarbha/Gaine | |
According to 2011 Nepal census, Sarki make up 0.1% of Nepal's population (or 38,603 people).[1] Sometimes called untouchables among the untouchables, they support their impoverished families through daily wages and fishing, woodcutting and making musical instruments.
History
Badis trace their roots to the Licchavi dynasty in what is now northern India's Bihar state. According to a research paper by Thomas Cox, an anthropologist at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan University, the tribe moved to Nepal. There they received land and money for providing concubines to small-time rulers in western Nepal. After 1950, as local royalty lost power in the pro-democracy movement, the Badis saw their clientele disappear. The tribe eventually turned to fishermen, labor and musical instrument maker.
In 2005, the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered the government to extend formal citizenship to the Badis, establish retraining and alternative employment programs, and extend grants to poor families. The government stalled the order; until in 2007, Badi activists threatened to embarrass the government by undressing publicly in the capital Kathmandu. Despite the legislation, discrimination against the Badis continues. Badi activists blame tradition, corruption, and Nepal's polarized government for the lack of change.
The Badi remain the lowest ranking untouchable caste in western Nepal. The rules of orthodox Hinduism dictate that members of the higher castes (Braham, Chetri, or Thakuri) cannot allow the Badi into their houses, accept water or food from them, use the same village pump, or even brush against them; although higher caste men are allowed to have sex with Badi prostitutes. "For many years, I thought it was my fate to be a prostitute," says a Badi prostitute. "Now I realize this system wasn't made by God. It was made by man."[3][4][5]
Representaion in Culture
A novel 'Nathiya(नथीया)', written by the author Saraswati Pratikshya is based on this community. This is not the reality of Badi community and the author has picked up the random family story and considered the culture of Badi community which is not true. 'Nathiya(नथीया)' can be found in any community and it doesn't mean that the community holds that culture.
Notes
- "Nepal Census 2011" (PDF).
- Gurung, Harka (2005) "Social Exclusion and Maoist Insurgency". Paper presented at National Dialogue Conference at ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal people, Kathmandu, 19–20 January 2005.
- Los Angeles Times: "Badi women of Nepal are trapped in a life of degradation" June 12, 2011
- The Advocacy Project: "Born Into Prostitution – The Badi Women" Archived 2011-06-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Cox, Thomas E. (2000) "The Intended and Unintended Consequences of AIDS Prevention Among Badi in Tulispur" Himalaya, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies: Vol. 20: No. 1, Article 8.
References
- Cox, Thomas (1990). "The Badi: Prostitution as a Social Norm among an Untouchable Caste of West Nepal" (PDF). Kailash. 16 (3–4): 165–186.
- Kelly, Thomas L. "Fallen Angels" (PDF). Photos of badis at plates 38–30, 41, 48, 50, 51.
- Kelly, Thomas L. (2000). Fallen Angels: the Sex Workers of South Asia. New Dehli: Roli Books. Photojournalism.