Bailpattar
The Bailpattar Caste, variously known as Bailpattar / Bailu Akkasali / Paradeshi Sonara / Gadi Sonara / Paradeshi Podar / Johari Sonara / Bait Kanshulavaal, is a unique artisan nomadic caste found in India. This community is spread across the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. The people of this community live a nomadic life, making copper, silver, gold, and brass metal ornaments and selling them at fairs, near railway and bus stations. Some community members, influenced by modernization and economic progress, have opened jeweler shops in small towns and settled down in one place. The Bailpattar community has its own language and culture.
History
The Bailapattar community is not very conscious about its historical background, social identity, and status. According to some stories, a person named Dhaivajhna, who lived in the town of 'Sujigal' in the state of Orissa, was the progenitor of the caste. He fell in love with a beautiful woman named 'Panchali' and got married, then left the town of Sujigal and migrated to find a livelihood. It is believed that their next generation became the Bailapattar community. There are many fairy tales similar to this story. It is said that he was the son of a divine king who married a dancer named Panchali. His brothers were Manu, Maya, Thvashti, and Shilpi.
Origin and Spread:
The Bailapattara community migrated from Orissa (Jagannathpuri) to southern Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh during the medieval or post-transition period. The language of the Bailapattar community is a dialect of the Orissa language and contains no script. Many eminent anthropologists have studied the community as research students, and in all these studies, the origin of the community is stated to be Orissa.[1]
Name Special:
The Bailapattar community is known by different names in different states and regions. All these names indicate caste and their social status.
The word Bailpattar is a compound word of two words. The word Bailu means highland, plain, or vast region. The word Pattara refers to a goldsmith or silversmith. Similarly, the word Bailu Akkasali gives the same meaning.
Still, in some parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka, this community is known as Gadi Sonara, Pardeshi Sonara, or Pardeshi Poddara. Gadi refers to a cart drawn by oxen, horses, and donkeys. The word Pardeshi indicates that the people of this community are nomads, while goldsmiths and poddars are goldsmiths.
All these names make it clear that the people of this community migrate from one place to another.
Social Background:
Judging from the elements of many mythological stories, socially unacceptable love and marriage separated Dhaivajhna from the original community. Panchali belonged to a socially backward class and used to eat meat. These two elements have become the norm in the Bailpattar caste. There is Janivaar and a Non-Vegetarian System. The Bailpattar community are Shudras in the caste system and are socially inferior. The community is in a miserable condition, and their lives depend on a nomadic occupation. Even today, the people of Bailpattar live in the city's slums, plains, huts, and tents. None of the castes of the Vishwakarma community have intermarriage or relationships with the people of this community. Many sects of the Vishwakarma community consider the Bailpattar caste as outsiders.
Financial Status:
The Bailpattar community’s main profession is Patrarike (goldsmithry). But this profession is carried out by nomadic clansmen by moving from town to town. They make ornaments from various metals, including copper, brass, bronze, gilati (aluminum), kallabelli, pure silver, and gold. They make a living by making and selling toothpicks, taita, tweezers, rings, ole, daba, bracelets, baby bangles, and bracelets. Due to the industrialization of the modern world, there has been a lot of change in jewelry making, and the caste culture of the Bailpattar caste has reached the brink of extinction. Some people in the community are doing business by opening jeweler shops. Some have left the Bailpattar profession and are engaged in agriculture and other professions. However, many people have taken up the profession of selling small metal items in fairs, markets, and urban areas. A handful of people are employed in government and private companies.
Educational:
Being a nomadic and disadvantaged community, Bailpattar has not seen much educational progress. The literacy rate of the community is very low in the studies conducted so far on the Bailapattar caste. The proportion of those who have received pre-matric education is 32%. Still, the proportion of those who have received education after matriculation is only 3%. The figure is based on 2007-08 data. Studies are needed to know the current educational status.[2]
Language Identity:
The Bailpattar community has preserved its unique language even today. The language is an unscripted dialect of Orissa and resembles the language used by the tribals. People of the community use this language to communicate and deal with each other. In addition to this, they speak the languages of the states where they live locally. Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, and Hindi are spoken by the Bailpattar community in their respective areas. But the language used by this community, which is spread in many states, is almost uniform, which is the reason for the unity of the people of the community. The other scholar L.K Iyyar said: "The Bailu Akkasales who work outside villages speak a language known as Jaganatha Bhashe".[3]
Lifestyle:
The lifestyle patterns of the Bailapattara community are similar to those of the tribals. The people of the community are carnivores and do not eat beef. They eat the meat of chicken, sheep, and goats. Sheep or goats can be slaughtered in marriage and daily rituals. It is customary to share the slaughtered sheep or goat meat equally among the community families. The Bailapattara community worships the gods according to Hinduism. However, some of their rituals are similar to those of the Adivasis. Alcohol consumption is also seen as a tradition in the Bailpattar community. The Bailpattar community observes its own unique rituals on the occasion of birth, marriage, and death. These rituals are different from other communities.
Affinity and Kinship:
Daivajna was the progenitor of the Bailapattara community. By this, the Bailapattara community identifies their gotra. 7 Bedagus are found in the Bailapattara community. They are:
- Sapoda (Survoshi)
- Paradanwada (Pradhani)
- Kabastoda (Ankoshi)
- Gowdya (Garada)
- Banjoda (Bangi)
- Panchamahal (West)
- Mokalawada (Mokalaji)
The Bailapattara community maintains their kinship between these bedagus by bringing and giving women.[4]
Caste System and Panchayats:
The caste system is strictly observed in the Bailapattara community. In this background, caste panchayats are prevalent. Birth of a Child (Fould / Iral), Janivar Shastra (Bandrikodi), Menstruation (Badamanim / Godhani), Betrothal (Gattikarya), Marriage (Sanga), Sadabata (Divorce), Clan Excommunication (Gudimahala), Clan Purification, Matamooti (Cremation), Justice – the people of the Bailapattara community gather together and follow their own customs in all the activities of the community, such as decision-making and punishment. Community elders play a major role in these activities. Even in today's modern society, caste panchayats play a very important role in the Bailapattara community.
Burning issue facing Bailpattar community:
The Bailpattar community is facing many problems in today's modern society. The people of the community are nomadic and live in small huts and tents. Most of the people have no fixed houses. The Bailpattar community is facing educational, employment, political, and health problems.
The Bailapattara community is a nomadic community with tribal traditions. These communities, which are very small in number, are not included in the government census. The community is also not able to organize itself and fight for reservation in political, educational, and employment sectors. The Central Government has identified the Bailapattara community in the list of Backward Vagars. The state has also identified the Bailapattara community in the list of Backward Vagars. Distributed in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra, and Telangana, this community is deprived of reservation. The Bailapattara community in the state of Karnataka has been identified under both category-1 and category-2A of backward classes. In school records, the Bailpattara community is wrongly mentioned as Vishwakarma. The term Bailuakkasaliga comes under category-2A. Because of this, some people of the community get caste certificates under Category-2A. To rectify this, the state and central governments need to take action to include the Bailapattara community in the Scheduled Category. Otherwise, it is the insistence of the Bailapattara community that reservations should be made separately for the nomadic and semi-nomadic communities.
The Bailapattara community has to protect its clan by opening up to the modern world. The community is small in number, and in the coming days, the community may face difficulties in terms of population, gender ratio, and age structure. This makes it difficult to develop marital relations in the community. Many people in the Bailapattara community marry among close blood relatives. This leads to the shrinking of the community. As the educational level increases in the youth community, many changes are taking place due to the influence of modernization and westernization.
The Bailapattara community should be united through work, education, and organization. There should be improvement in the community. Traditional thinking needs to change.[5]
References
- ↑ Bailpattar, L Vishwanath, M Jaganath (2008). Bailpattar (in Kannada) (1st ed.). Bangalore: Kannada Pustaka Pradhikara. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-81-7713-226-7.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
- ↑ Bailpattar, Vishnath L, Jagnath M (2008). Bailpattar (in Kannada) (1st ed.). Bangalore: Kannada Pustaka Pradhikara. pp. 88–90. ISBN 978-81-7713-226-7.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
- ↑ L.K, Ananthakrishana Iyer (1930). The Mysore Tribes and Casts (5 Vols ed.). Mysore: The Mysore University. Search this book on
- ↑ Singh, K. S (1993). The Scheduled Caste (People of India National Series, Vol 2 ed.). Delhi: Delhi Oxford university, Press. Search this book on
- ↑ Bailpattar, Vishwanath L, Jagnath M (2008). Bailpattar (in Kannada) (1st ed.). Bangalore: Kannada Pusthaka Pradhikara. pp. 88–94. ISBN 978-81-7713-226-7.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
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