Meghwar tribe - one of the hidden tribes of Gujarat - Bhirandiara - Kutch - Gujarat

Bhirandiara - Kutch - Gujarat - India

Meghwar tribe - one the hidden tribes of Gujarat

Bezoek aan het dorpje van de Bhirandiara bewoond door de Meghwar tribe.
De Meghwar vrouwen zijn zeer kunstzinnig en maken een bijzonder soort borduurwerk waarin ze spiegels verwerken, die spiegels plaatsen ze ook in de modder van de muren, waaruit hun huizen gemaakt zijn. De Meghwar vrouwen dragen zeer mooie kanjari, de plaatselijk gemaakte blouses. In de oren en de neus dragen vooral oudere vrouwen, net als de Jat, vaak kleurrijke juwelen.

The Meghwal (Megh or Sindhi: ميگهواڙ Meghwar‎) people live primarily in northwest India, with a small population in Pakistan. They were classified as lower community under Hindu ritual ranking system and are now classified as a Scheduled Caste under India's system of positive discrimination.They were traditionally considered outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna. Their traditional occupation was weaving. Most are Hindu by religion, with Rishi Megh, Kabir, Ram Devji and Bankar Mataji their chief gods.
In the countryside of Rajasthan, many of the people of this community still reside in small hamlets of round, mud-brick huts painted on the outside with colourful geometric designs and decorated with detailed mirror inlays. In earlier days the main occupation of the Meghwal community was agricultural labour, weaving, specially Khadi and woodcarving, and these are still the main occupations. The women are famous for their embroidery work and are master wool and cotton weavers.

Their staple diet includes rice, wheat and maize, and pulses such as moong, urad and channa. They are not vegetarian but eat egg, fish, chicken and mutton when available, although they abstain from pork, beef and buffalo meat.

The Meghwal women in Rajasthan are renowned for their exuberantly detailed costumes and jewellery. Married women are often spotted wearing gold nose ring, earrings and neckpieces. They were given to the bride as a "bride wealth" dowry by her soon-to-be husband's mother. Nose rings and earrings are often decorated with precious stones of ruby, sapphire and emerald. The Meghwal women's embroidery is avidly sought after. Their work is distinguished by their primary use of red, which comes from a local pigment produced from crushed insects. The Meghwal women artisans of Thar desert in Sindh and Balochistan, and in Gujarat are considered master of the traditional embroidery and Ralli making. Exotic hand-embroidered items form part of dowry of Meghwal woman.

Women have low status in traditional Meghwal society. Marriages are arranged through negotiation between the families before puberty. After marriage, the wife moves to the husband's house, except for the period of childbirth. However, divorce is allowed, with the father retaining liability for the children and compensation paid to the wife.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meghwal

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Taken in: India / Gujarat / Bhirandiyara (show map)

Taken on: November 28, 2013

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Sets appears in: • Gujarat 5 - India

Camera: Olympus E-M1, f/5.4, 1/100 sec, 56mm (=112mm), ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Olympus E-M1
Lens:	OLYMPUS M.14-150mm F4.0-5.6
Aperture:	f/5.4
Exposure Time:	0.01 sec (1/100)
Focal Length:	56mm (35mm equivalent: 112mm)
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Fired
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain up
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 6.2 (Macintosh)
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