Mythologies of the Rathwa Tribes

November 16, 2023

The Rathva or Rathwa also spelled as Rathava and Rathawa is a Subcaste of the Koli caste found in the Indian state of Gujarat. Rathava Kolis were agriculturist by profession and turbulent by habits but now lives like Adivasis such as Bhil because of their neighborhood. The Rathwa derive their name from the word rathbistar, which means an inhabitant of a forest or hilly region. Their communal belief is that they came to the Gujarat area in the Middle Ages from what is now known as Madhya Pradesh. According to the Government of Gujarat, they are now found in the talukas of Chhota Udaipur, Jabugam and Nasvadi in Vadodara district and the Baria, Halol and Kalol talukas of Panchmahal district.

While Rathwa is considered a scheduled tribe in Gujarat, its variations raise eyebrows. This is because people from our community were used to writing hyphenated surnames such as Rathwa-Koli and Koli-Rathwa that included either the name of the state, area, or village they resided in or the profession they practised. This was their way of asserting their individual identity. But when the government prepared revenue records and other papers, the hyphenated surnames carried on to them. My question is, even after all these years, why is our Adivasi identity decided on the basis of these papers? It isn’t just the Rathwas who are facing this problem; the Nayaka and Dhanka tribes in the same area are also struggling for caste recognition because of their names in the revenue records. Rathwas are a subcaste of the Bhilala tribe in Madhya Pradesh, where more than a hundred Bhilala subcastes such as Tadawala, Bamaniya, and Jamoriya exist. They too use hyphenated surnames in their revenue records, but they are recognised by their state government; why then does the Gujarat government not consider this complexity of caste identities?

Rathwa tribes are a distinct tribe known for their most prevalent and characteristic art tradition, Pithoro wall paintings. Inhabited in the regions of Chhota Udaipur, Naswadi and Jetpur in Gujarat. These tribals' traditional dance is known as Chuum Jhum. This tribe has unique cultural tradition and tattooing is very common among them. The language of Rathwas is known as Rathvi which is a combination of Bhil tribe (a major tribe in Gujarat) words and Gujarati.

Pithora wall painting is practised extensively among the Rathva Adivasi of the Chhota Udepur and Panchmahal districts of Gujarat. Pithora painting is not merely a form of art for the Rathva, but an integral part of the ritual for their chief god Baba Pithora. They undertake vows in times of hardship to gain boons from Baba Pithora, and to rid themselves from troubles. On the fulfillment of their vows, they create the Baba Pithora painting in their homes. The primary motif in these paintings are horses—symbolic representations of gods, goddesses and ancestors of the Rathva. The wide range of motifs in the paintings portray varied scenes of daily life, their beliefs, mythologies and histories. The Rathva derive their name from the geographical origins of their community. In ancient times, their ancestors resided in a region named Rath, literally meaning a jungle or a hilly region. Colloquially this area is referred to as Rathvistar or the Rath area around the borders of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. They are also known as koli or koli-rathva. Members of the Rathva community also reside in Chhota Udepur, Jambugam, Pavijetpur Nasvadi, Bodeli, Sankheda and Kawant talukas of Chhota Udepur district, and Halol, Kalol, Jambhughoda, Dahod and Baria talukas of Panchmahal district. According to the 2011 Census, the population of the Rathva was 6,42,348. They speak a very distinct dialect of Gujarati—Rathvi. Their main occupation is agriculture, with the majority populace being small to medium farmers. The community is divided into 56 clans, and marriage within the same clan is prohibited.

Chhota-Udepur is basically a tribal area with local forests, mountains and rivers. The main tribes are the Rathwas, Bhils, Kolis and Naiks. The Rathwas being a martial race and are the major tribe in the area. It was from the Rathwas that Prithvirajsinh and Doongarsinh established their Kingdoms. The main occupation of these tribes is farming, while the Rathwas have created an art form called the Pithora paintings, which they paint using special vegetable dyes and examples of it are evident in different villages. Their pottery work is unique to this area and worth seeing. There are colourful “HAATS” (Tribal fairs), held every day in nearby villages which are the marketing days for the tribals. The main “HAAT” is held in Chhota-Udepur on every Saturday and every Monday at Kawant a town near Chhota-Udepur some 22 kms away.