Sculpting stones and restoring belief

By Ruchi Verma

India’s rich cultural heritage is a result of the interaction and amalgamation of the thousands of communities and groups – native, nomadic and invading – that have existed in the region for centuries. One such community in central India has been instrumental in not just creating history but restoring and recreating the heritage for the present and future generations to see.

The nomadic Wadar community of Maharashtra have been carving stones since time immemorial. According to anthropological records, the Wadars, a stone-carving community, were relegated to a ‘criminal’ status, like many other such tribes, by the British colonial rulers following a mischievous study on these communities carried out by the officers appointed by the administration. The study was aimed at ‘identifying and enlisting criminal tribe-castes’ and the Wadars were castigated as a ‘criminal tribe’ in the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. Historically, the Wadars have been associated with creating stone temple sculptures and cave rock carvings.

The history and the origin

The Wadars are found in the Deccan plateau region of India, in large numbers in Maharashtra and a few in northern Karnataka and Telangana as well. There are nearly thirty-five Denotified Tribes-Castes and more than two hundred sub-tribes castes in Maharashtra that have adopted other religions that include Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. 

Many of these groups converted to Buddhism after 2006 including the Darveshi, Beldaar, Madari, Shikalgar and Sapgarudi tribes. Most of these are involved in works such as street performances, wrestling, snake-charming activities, etc. 

The Wadars were restricted to their districts in the colonial and non-colonial territories of India followed by a notification on 23 June 1939 that declared them as ‘criminals’. The notification was issued by the Solapur, Belgaum, Bijapur, Dharwad, Deccan, South Maratha, Mysore and Madras Presidencies. Due to the nomadic nature of their existence, the Wadars retain lower status in the society – socially and economically. Most of them, however, are engaged in their traditional work of stone carving and sculpting.

The types of Wadars

The Wadars are known by different names such as  Wadda, Bhovi, Tudug Wadars, Voddar, Girini Wadars, Od and Odde. The word ‘Bhovi’ is a derivative of ‘Bhavi’ which means ‘earth-digger’. That is because this nomadic group has also been involved in the digging of wells.

In Maharasthra, there are three types of Wadars based on the work they do. The ‘Mati Wadars’ are known for doing all the work related to digging of soil. In Marathi, the word ‘Mati’ means ‘soil’ and these Wadars are involved in soil digging, transportation, loading and unloading and finally using the soil for levelling up the ground. 

Those involved in breaking stones and in the loading and unloading of the same into a cart are called ‘Gadi Wadar’. A third type are called ‘Jate Wadar’ are involved in grinding stones. The Jate Wadars consider themselves higher than the other two groups. 

The Jate Wadars are primarily nomadic and always on the move and wherever they are staying temporarily for a few days, they put up a shop under a shade, near a temple or on the outskirts of a settlement, etc. To repair stone grinders or make new one for the locals. 

The legend of the stone carvers

There are several legends about the origin of the Wadars. According to one legend, the first Wadar males were two brothers named Asalo and Kasalo who travelled from Marwad to Gujarat. At the time, King Sidharaj Jaysingh was the ruler of the region. Jehman who was the daughter of Prince Jaradhan got married to Kasalo who died and Jehman jumped into the pyre to complete the death rituals of ‘sati’. 

It was then that labourers dug up 99 lakes on behalf of Jehman and the money she received was used to take care of these labourers during the famine. These labourers were said to be the forefathers of Wadars. Since then, the Wadars have been involved in stone and clay-related works such as digging, breaking stones, transporting soils, etc.

Another story narrates an incident when once Sita was taking a bath near a pond behind a rock when a Wadar man broke it accidentally and saw Sita naked. Fuming with rage, Sita cursed the Wadar man and said that she forbids Wadari women from covering their upper body. Interestingly, the women of the nomadic tribe cover their breasts only in urban zones.

Another legend says that once King Sidharaj of Gujarat brought Wadars to his kingdom from Malva for the formation of a lake to be called the Sahastraling Lake. The Wadars were called in to dig the lake and among them was a young married girl named Jasma. The king fell in love with her the moment he saw her and asked her to live with him in the palace. Being married, Jasma declined the proposal and even tried to run away fearing forceful submission from the king.

According to Rasmal scriptures, King Sidharaj got angry upon learning the young bride had run away and chased her and, in the process, killed the Wadars who tried to stop him. Seeing the king’s relentless advances, Jasma killed herself after cursing that the lake the king wanted built would never have water. She also cursed that to avoid another such misfortune, no Wadar woman should be born beautiful again. So, even today, the Wadari women do not apply hair oil in memory of Jasma.

Denotification didn’t change much

It was only in 1949 when the young government of newly-formed India decided to repeal the law made by the British that labelled tribes such as Wadar as criminal tribes. It was decided that the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 was not in line with the spirit of the Indian Constitution and that it was time to alleviate the socio-economic conditions of such tribes. 

The law was repealed but, even today, Wadars like most such DNTs face discrimination and lack of opportunities. In Maharashtra, most of the Wadars are engaged in construction work and that related to stone carving, sculpting, etc.

Many have stuck to the nomadic trait of their ancestors and in rural areas, the women go from one village to another making and repairing stone-grinders. Some have adopted the new way of life by taking formal education and working in urban centres of the country.

In Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, the Wadars are called the denotified tribes (DNTs) while in the rest of India they are either included in the Scheduled Castes list or the Scheduled Tribes list.

Despite a significant reduction in their population, the Wadars are considered immigrants from Southern India mainly from Andhra Pradesh and are mainly found in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Today, many families have adopted modern ways of living and the younger members of the family are getting educated and procuring jobs in cities. In Maharashtra, Wadars can be seen working at Elephanta Caves – the UNESCO World Heritage Site, doing restoration and repair works and in turn maintaining the rich heritage of the zone. 

Tourists, in awe of the caves, often overlook the Wadar workers who sit next to the caves doing what they do the best…carve stones!

(Ruchi Verma is a media researcher with The History and Heritage Project – A DraftCraft International Initiative to document details, analyse facts and plug lacunae generated by oversight or to further national or foreign agenda in History and Heritage Across India and Beyond Borders)