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Originally Posted by Ian
Hi Jim,
The Koli people are still found in Gujarat today. I worked with a large group of them and studied the nutritional status of their children (which was surprisingly good compared with the nutrition of locally resident children). The Koli are nomadic itinerant workers and move—homes and families—from major town to major town. Snake charming, magic tricks, making of trinkets and charms are their means of making a living. Local residents treat them with disdain and suspicion, relegating them to the class of "untouchables." While nominally Hindus, the Koli are known to eat meat also (which likely helps improve the nutrition of their children by increasing the intake of iron, protein, and vitamins).
In many ways the Koli resemble the Romani of Europe. Indeed, there may be a direct relationship with the Romani (gypsies) who speak a language very similar to Gujarati. Reputable anthropologists have explored the genetic and cultural links between the Romani and the Koli.
The Koli of today could hardly be called dacoit. They may partake in petty larceny, but they are a peaceful group in my experience and of a rather likeable disposition when I got to know them. Of course, the fact that their group was paid a fee for the privilege of studying their children's height and weight and obtaining nutritional histories, may have had something to do with why they interacted positively with me. Being an old white Sahib with a beard was probably a help too.  
In the group of Koli whom I studied there were also Bhil people traveling with them. However, the Bhil were definitely subordinate to the Koli in terms of where they were allowed to encamp and their share of funds collected by the overall group. The Bhil children were also more undernourished than the Koli children.
Ian |
Ian, this is absolutely fascinating to have this kind of first hand anthropological insight into this group of people in India! I am sure that the instance being described by Sinclair, the author of the excerpt I noted, was describing an instance which reflects the disdain of which you speak toward these people in that time.
With the extreme diversity in India of ethnicity, religion, and languages, these kinds of circumstances in the social spectrum are to be expected, and the prevalent caste systems that exist there surely add to such conflicts.
Interesting that you note the Romani ('gypsies') in comparison to the Koli, and from what I have studied of the Gypsies, the references to India being their ancestral source seems widely held. The 'gypsy' term, if I am not mistaken, may derive from 'Egyptian' which Europeans considered 'exotic' and a sort of pejorative slang term with reference to them.
With these itinerant groups of India, another coming to mind are the Lohar, to the north and into what is now Afghanistan, who were apparently tinkerers and metal workers. Apparently Lohar is another of India's dialectic languages and its name became applied to this group of people. They have become known for the distinct 'pick axes' known from Khyber regions and termed 'lohar' in the panoply of Indian arms.
Which brings me to the question you asked David, on the axes of the 'Thuggee'. As I mentioned, an axe purported to be one of these was handled by the commander of the fort in "Gunga Din", and if I recall was a hafted type similar to the 'lohar'.
As far as generally known, there are no examples of these secretive weapons to have survived, and little is known of them. From what I recall the only reference to them (which I found passim in one source) is that they were small and of a hafted type very similar to lohar (a kind of ravens beak form).
Apparently they were crafted by the thug individual himself and followed elaborate ceremony involving concoctions of milk etc. and one note indicated decoration with seven strategically placed red dots.
It is interesting that this description of these axes being made by each man himself is remarkably mindful of the same description made by Stone (1934) toward the lohar axes of the Khyber, which each tribesman ( I believe they were Bannuchi if I recall) made himself.
We are seeing connections of these tribal groups here, and with the seeming variations of religious ascetics and mendicants which include the well known 'fakirs' it would be a fascinating study to learn how they are connected or differ. The unusual assortment of weaponry broadly ascribed to 'fakirs' such as madu madu; fakirs crutch and others seem to have an arms genre of their own, to which the lohar, Thuggee axes and for that matter these 'lohangi' may be added.
I just noted with 'lohangi' a possible cognate with 'lohar' ?
Again.....the game is afoot!
