History and origin

The Lavana are a branch of the larger Banjara

Banjara

The Banjara are a class of usually described as nomadic people from the Indian state of Rajasthan, North-West Gujarat, and Western Madhya Pradesh and Eastern Sindh province of pre-independence Pakistan...

 community of North India

North India

North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...

. They claim descent from the Rajput

Rajput

A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

 community, and the word lavana also means salt in Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

, and the community’s traditional occupation was the peddling and transportation of salt.

Present circumstances

The Lavana are an endogamous community. They have eleven exogamous clans, namely the Dharawat, Dhogan, Basi, Gundalia, Datnawat, Anderia, Tageria, Kalchana, Baluda, Lakhrond, and Bakrea. All these clans have equal status.

The community is traditionally associated with cattle trading, but many are now farmers, or landless agricultural labourers.