Van Rawats
Encyclopedia
The Van Rawats represent a native endangered ethnic minority group, originating and living in Uttarakhand
, India
. They are distributed in the districts of Pithoragarh
, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar and in a small area confined to Western Nepal
. They are the smallest Himalayan tribal group. They are basically nomadic hunter-gatherers, but also work as agriculture and forest labourers. They are mainly dependent on forests, and also practice shifting cultivation
. Their existence is threatened by developmental and wild life related projects.
A third major set of deities are the ancestral deities, known as Seda/Shena, a term that possibly derives from the word for a dead person (se-la/she-la). They make one shake and go into an altered state of consciousness. One of the major ancestral deities is known as Samoji. There are many other ancestral deities based upon a particular clan ancestor.
Practising a form of religious syncretism
, Van Rawats also borrow Hindu gods, and will alternatively call paternal ancestral deities by the local Hindu terms, Isht, Pichash, and the common local Hindu deity known as Bhaiyar, especially when speaking in front of outsiders.
A fourth set of major supernaturals are the supernatural forces (Hawa/Ha'wa) that live as animate forces, often of the weather. Latiya BaR/BaN (word-final sound is retroflex palatal nasal stop), for example, will cause people to become dumb (from the Hindi word for dumbness plus the indigenous term). Other gods of note include Daru/Dharu which comes along the wind; Bujergalog, a deity mentioned by an octogenarian living in one of the settlements near Askot, Kumaon.
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. They are distributed in the districts of Pithoragarh
Pithoragarh
Pithoragarh, is a city with a Municipal Board in the Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, was carved out of district of Almora in 1962.-Geography:...
, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar and in a small area confined to Western Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. They are the smallest Himalayan tribal group. They are basically nomadic hunter-gatherers, but also work as agriculture and forest labourers. They are mainly dependent on forests, and also practice shifting cultivation
Shifting cultivation
Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned. This system often involves clearing of a piece of land followed by several years of wood harvesting or farming, until the soil loses fertility...
. Their existence is threatened by developmental and wild life related projects.
Deities
Van Rawats worship supernatural beings that live in the forests and sky. The Sun, known as Diho, represents their major deity. They also worship a forest deity known as Kaiyu/Qaiyu. She is prayed to before hunting. The deity Masan is prayed to before fishing. Masan is seen as potentially malevolent while Kaiyu is benevolent. When supernaturals live in natural objects, they may be named as well. The Doliya/Dolia, for example, live in some stones.A third major set of deities are the ancestral deities, known as Seda/Shena, a term that possibly derives from the word for a dead person (se-la/she-la). They make one shake and go into an altered state of consciousness. One of the major ancestral deities is known as Samoji. There are many other ancestral deities based upon a particular clan ancestor.
Practising a form of religious syncretism
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
, Van Rawats also borrow Hindu gods, and will alternatively call paternal ancestral deities by the local Hindu terms, Isht, Pichash, and the common local Hindu deity known as Bhaiyar, especially when speaking in front of outsiders.
A fourth set of major supernaturals are the supernatural forces (Hawa/Ha'wa) that live as animate forces, often of the weather. Latiya BaR/BaN (word-final sound is retroflex palatal nasal stop), for example, will cause people to become dumb (from the Hindi word for dumbness plus the indigenous term). Other gods of note include Daru/Dharu which comes along the wind; Bujergalog, a deity mentioned by an octogenarian living in one of the settlements near Askot, Kumaon.