At a Glance:
Location: Gir Forest & Southern Kutch
Highest Religion Population: Hindus & Muslims
The tribe Charan is yearly established bards of Gujarat. They enclose Maldhari into their clans, they increase the cattle prize in Kutch’s southern area; leather employs and people who are situated in Gir Forest are called as ‘Meghavals’. Their people declare declination from the union of celestial among the maiden which is made by the Parvati and Charan, many people got divine condition after their death. Women of this tribe are mostly worshipped through the other tribes because of their closelyness with Parvati who joins them to Goddess mother, Ashapura. She is very famous in Kutch. The banes of her men were supposed to be very powerful; the people got scared of their curse, they always keep themselves away from those men. Through the stone structure, the people remember those powerful men, which are around Kutch, expositing through piercing the neck by a dagger. This tribe speaks Gujarati or Gadhvi Kutchi language in their daily life.
The tribe Maldharis, like to wear the ornament Sankri, around their neck. Maldharis like to wear Kaan Kodhani & Dant as a pendant in the chain, ears studs like thoria into their center of ear. Men wear bracelet which is called as Halio in arm; they do not wear ornaments in the feet but they wear ornaments in their fingers like Veeti. Maldhari tribe women put the ghee in their hair and they comb their hair by Panthi; and they make hairstyle which is typical is known as Kesh – Gunthan or simple Ganth or Umbodo. To make Umbodo, they make woolen strings which are made by woolen balls. Women who are married, partition their hair and put silver and gold Chandalo, Damni or Tiko Bor to decorate the hair parting.
The cloth style of Maldhari tribe is very unique and nice. Men of this tribe wear Angadi of white color which has a pleat, they also wear Chorno, and its bottom is narrow which fits to the leg which is similar to Jodhpur. People of Maldhari tribe who live in Surat, wear modern clothes as compared to the Maldhari tribes people living in Gir part. A Maldhari woman has shaped but bold eyebrows. They draw tattoos of dot on the face but they do not draw it on the arms. Women living in the Girkhantha usually wear red or black Kapadu, with strings painted in dark color which is called as Odhanu. Maldhari tribes believe in the Ajmer Sharif which is known as Peer Paigambar. They celebrate Id festival and do prayers in Sasan. During Dussehra festival, to worship the Goddess, they do Mata Puja and for this ritual they gather in the village called as Patrama, it is situated in the Medhadha district. They celebrate the festival by singing and Bhajans, they don’t do Rass. In the Maldhari tribe, they are many people of Muslim religion, so they celebrate the Bakrid, Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Zuha.