1. History

2. Etymology

3. Society

4. Economy

5. Legal status

6. References

The Bakarwal (also Gujjar - Bakharwal, Bakrawallah and Bakerwal) are a mostly-Muslim^[1] nomadic tribe based in the Pir Panjal and Himalayan mountains of South Asia. They are traditionally, and still mainly, goatherds and shepherds. They reside in the entire Kashmir region between India and Pakistan, and in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan.^[2].

History

The Gurjjar-Bakarwals claim a common ancestry from the Gujjar tribe.

Many Kashmiri Muslims including many Bakerwals and Gujjar migrated from the Valley to Punjab due to famine and policies of Hindu Dogra rulers, during the mid-18th Century. They are Muslims.

Etymology

'Bakarwal' is derived from the Indic language^[3] terms, bakara^[4] meaning goat or sheep, and wal^[5] meaning "one who takes care of".^[2] Essentially, the name "Bakarwal" implies "high-altitude goatherds/shepherds".

Society

The Bakarwals belong to the same ethnicity as the Gujjars, and inter-marriages take place among them.^[6] Bakarwals have clans (gotra) like Gujjars; however, "bakarwal" is also occasionally used indiscriminately to refer to any nomadic shephard group in the foothills, even those who may not belong to a Bakarwal community (qafila group).

The Gadaria-Bakarwals have divided themselves into three principal kinship groups:

(i) The dera (household),

(ii) Dada-Potre (lineage),

(iii) the gotra (clan).

The dera is the basic unit of social structure among the Gujjar-Bakarwals. They count their numbers and describe their grazing and qafila groups in terms of the number of deras.

A dera usually comes into existence when a person establishes an independent household, which happens normally after his marriage. Each son, thus, establishes his own dera as he gets married. A dera usually consists of five to six members. There is a division of labour among the members of the household on the basis of sex and age.

Females perform the domestic tasks of cooking, washing, fetching of water, upbringing of children, collection of wood, and spinning and making of woolen garments. On the other hand, males perform tasks like herding of flock and cattle, repairing of tools and equipment, collection of grass, herbs, deer-musk, hunting of wild animals, ploughing and harvesting of crops.{{Copyright violation|date=April 2018|sure=no}}

The household is, thus, a primary economic unit. A nuclear family is the production and consumption unit. A joint family which is generally large cannot survive on the meagre pasture resource as the transhumance are on the move for about 110 to 130 days in a year.{{Copyright violation|date=April 2018|sure=no}}

The elders want the eligible married youngsters to shoulder the responsibility of looking after the flock of sheep and goats independently. This would ensure greater security to the herds and sharing all responsible jobs by the adult members.{{Copyright violation|date=April 2018|sure=no}}

Several deras (households) constitute a lineage (dada-potra). The pastures are allotted to the lineage and not to the individuals. In a lineage, there may be about two hundred persons. Usually, a Gujjar-Bakarwal father divides his property (animal wealth) among his male children as and when they get married.

The lineage, thus, consists of several generations and includes cousins and distant relatives. They share the common pastures. The lineage unit is quite powerful administrative unit. Each lineage has a head who is responsible for the socio-economic and political activities of his group.

Economy

As sheep and goat rearing transhumants, the Bakarwal alternate with the seasons between high and low altitudes in the

hills of the Himalayas.^[2]

While traditionally goat and sheepherders, governmental restrictions, land development, population growth, and advancements in the market economy have caused some Bakarwallah to settle in one place and engaged in other forms of agriculture in addition to animal husbandry.

The economy of Bakerwal tribe is primarily based on the rearing of sheep and goats. To fulfil day to day needs a bakerwal tribe to trade sheep and goats with the Mutton traders in the local areas and to the sheep and goats traders in bulk during the season of Eid-ul-Zuha. Bakerwals used skins of sheep and goats to store foodstuffs during their migration and transport this on the back of their Mules, horses.

Legal status

In 1991 in Jammu and Kashmir the Bakarwal were first recognized as an Indian Scheduled Tribe. {{As of|2001}}, the Bakarwal were classified as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian government's general reservation program of positive discrimination.^[7]

They are mentioned in the Afghan National Anthem as one of the integral tribes present in Afghanistan.{{Citation needed|date=April 2018}}

References

• The Sniper (2009 film)
• The Sniper (disambiguation)
• The Sniper (novel)
• The Snivelling Shits
• The Snob (1924 film)
• The SnO C
• The SnO. C.
• The SnOC
• The Snoge
• The snogging scale
• The Snoo
• The Snout
• The Snouters
• The Snowball
• The Snowball Game
• The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
• The Snow (band)
• The Snow Bogatyr (opera)
• The Snow-child
• The Snow Dome
• The Snowdrop Festival
• The Snow Empress
• The Snowfall Trilogy
• The Snowflakes Sail Gently Down
• The Snow Hole