A Gujarati Version of the same appeared in "Gamit Dantkathao" (Gamit Myths) by me
By me - Raymund A. Chauhan sj
The Photo shows a Gamit Wedding
By me - Raymund A. Chauhan sj
The Photo shows a Gamit Wedding
in progress with their exhilirating dance.
Tribal Population in India:
In the year 1981, Government of India conducted a survey of the population of India. According to this survey the population of India was 68,51,85000. Out of these the tribal in India are 5,16,28000. In terms of percentage, then, the tribal were 7.7% of the total population of India. Indeed, it is a sizeable number of people in India.
Tribal Population in Gujarat
According to the same census, the total population of Gujarat was 3,40,86,000. Out of these the tribal in Gujarat are 48,48,586. In terms of percentage, then, the tribal population was 14.22% of the total population of Gujarat.
The Gamits in Gujarat
According to the census survey in the year 1981, the tribe-wise statistics of the tribal in Gujarat are not available. But keeping in mind the rate of growth of the population in each tribe in the last few years, approximate statistics are stipulated. According to this stipulation the population of the Gamits number to 3,45,739, which is 7.1% of the total population of the tribal in Gujarat.
The Fourth Leading Tribe in Gujarat : The Gamits
According to the stipulated population of the tribal in Gujarat, in the year 1981, the following picture emerges.
No. Tribe Tribal Population
1. Bhil 18,14,700
2. Dubla 4,85,736
3. Dhodiya 4,48,466
4. Gamit 3,45,739
From the above statistics it is clear that the Gamits are the fourth leading tribe in Gujarat. The rest of the 27 tribes are not mentioned here for the sake of brevity. Altogether there are 31 tribes recorded by the government in Gujarat, India.
The Gamits are one of the tribal communities dwelling in South Gujarat, India. Between the Saputaras to the North and the Sahyadris to the South flows the river Tapi. Thirty odd miles further South the Ambika River descends from the Dangs. Between these two rivers is the HOME of the Gamits. Nearly 30 years ago here was a people that had abundant tree-cover. There was game in its forests and fish in its plentiful streams. Here was a people that had its own language, worshipped by its own rituals and felt secure in its own community and gods. From the North hills Hela Mogra extended her powerful loving protection, Devli Madi in their midst assured them of her care, Kaka Bolia in the South, if propitiated, protected them from harm.
The Land
The vast stretch of the SouthEastern tribal belt is mainly hilly tracts of land, geographically termed sedimentary rocks of the Deccan trap. Longitude 72 degree and Latitude 20-22 degree.
Physiography
Surat and Valsad districts come under the ‘Main land Gujarat’ regions as opposed to Saurashtra and Kutch. If we analyze the physiographic units based on relief, slopes and land forms the division is further categorized into 3 parts: The coastal areas, the plains, the Eastern highlands.
The Coastal Areas: From the river Damanganga upwards North is a narrow coastal belt which is mainly a barren strip of silt and salt marshes which broadens North towards Bharuch district and becomes fertile.
The Plains: are also small strips in these 2 districts as they merge with the Eastern highlands in Bharuch and Surat districts and nearly disappear in the South of Surat. Most of the land in the tribal belt falls in the Eastern Highlands.
The Eastern Highlands: which dominate the physiography, consists of the Aravalli, Vindhya, Saputara and Sahyadris mountain ranges.
Climate
The two districts fall under the ‘monsoon climate’ which is characterized by a rainfall period from mid June to September followed by winter reaching its peak in January and then Summer which climaxes in May.
Maximum Temperature : 45 degree C (May)
Minimum Temperature : 22 degree C (January)
Relative Humidity : 48% (October – May)
Rainfall Average : 1100 mm. In Surat district to 1800 mm, in Valsad
Soil
Black soil that originates from the decomposition of trap rocks of the Saputara and Vindya ranges, although geniuses have contributed to some extent. High clay content and soil reaction varies from neutral to alkaline.
The Main Crops
In these areas rice, jowar, pulses, groundnuts and other cereals are the main crops. Since most of the tribals are farmers owning small patches of land in the hilly areas, they try to protect soil run off by bunding, terracing and cultivating the land for sheer sustenance.
The Cropping Pattern of the 2 districts: major crops, average of triennium ending 1979-1980 (in %).
Crops Surat district Valsad district
Rice 13.4 29.2
Wheat 2.4 1.2
Jowar 24.5 5.4
Bajri 0.3 -----
Maize 0.1 -----
Total food crops 66.2 63.7
Cotton 11.1 1.1
Groundnut 6.2 0.7
Total non-food crops 33.8 36.3
Total 100.0 100.0
The Forests
No longer are the forests in full existence today. They have fallen prey to the greedy, unscrupulous and shortsighted merchants and traders who are alien to this land of the tribals. The vast and dense forests, which provided a soothing sight to the human eyes and a source of sustenance to the tribal, have been denuded. There has been and still there is an outright exploitation of both the forests and the tribals. The Gamits can be more fully understood in reference to and communion with Nature. But the ruthless felling of trees has left an incurable wound in the very existence of the tribals.
In the year 1981, Government of India conducted a survey of the population of India. According to this survey the population of India was 68,51,85000. Out of these the tribal in India are 5,16,28000. In terms of percentage, then, the tribal were 7.7% of the total population of India. Indeed, it is a sizeable number of people in India.
Tribal Population in Gujarat
According to the same census, the total population of Gujarat was 3,40,86,000. Out of these the tribal in Gujarat are 48,48,586. In terms of percentage, then, the tribal population was 14.22% of the total population of Gujarat.
The Gamits in Gujarat
According to the census survey in the year 1981, the tribe-wise statistics of the tribal in Gujarat are not available. But keeping in mind the rate of growth of the population in each tribe in the last few years, approximate statistics are stipulated. According to this stipulation the population of the Gamits number to 3,45,739, which is 7.1% of the total population of the tribal in Gujarat.
The Fourth Leading Tribe in Gujarat : The Gamits
According to the stipulated population of the tribal in Gujarat, in the year 1981, the following picture emerges.
No. Tribe Tribal Population
1. Bhil 18,14,700
2. Dubla 4,85,736
3. Dhodiya 4,48,466
4. Gamit 3,45,739
From the above statistics it is clear that the Gamits are the fourth leading tribe in Gujarat. The rest of the 27 tribes are not mentioned here for the sake of brevity. Altogether there are 31 tribes recorded by the government in Gujarat, India.
The Gamits are one of the tribal communities dwelling in South Gujarat, India. Between the Saputaras to the North and the Sahyadris to the South flows the river Tapi. Thirty odd miles further South the Ambika River descends from the Dangs. Between these two rivers is the HOME of the Gamits. Nearly 30 years ago here was a people that had abundant tree-cover. There was game in its forests and fish in its plentiful streams. Here was a people that had its own language, worshipped by its own rituals and felt secure in its own community and gods. From the North hills Hela Mogra extended her powerful loving protection, Devli Madi in their midst assured them of her care, Kaka Bolia in the South, if propitiated, protected them from harm.
The Land
The vast stretch of the SouthEastern tribal belt is mainly hilly tracts of land, geographically termed sedimentary rocks of the Deccan trap. Longitude 72 degree and Latitude 20-22 degree.
Physiography
Surat and Valsad districts come under the ‘Main land Gujarat’ regions as opposed to Saurashtra and Kutch. If we analyze the physiographic units based on relief, slopes and land forms the division is further categorized into 3 parts: The coastal areas, the plains, the Eastern highlands.
The Coastal Areas: From the river Damanganga upwards North is a narrow coastal belt which is mainly a barren strip of silt and salt marshes which broadens North towards Bharuch district and becomes fertile.
The Plains: are also small strips in these 2 districts as they merge with the Eastern highlands in Bharuch and Surat districts and nearly disappear in the South of Surat. Most of the land in the tribal belt falls in the Eastern Highlands.
The Eastern Highlands: which dominate the physiography, consists of the Aravalli, Vindhya, Saputara and Sahyadris mountain ranges.
Climate
The two districts fall under the ‘monsoon climate’ which is characterized by a rainfall period from mid June to September followed by winter reaching its peak in January and then Summer which climaxes in May.
Maximum Temperature : 45 degree C (May)
Minimum Temperature : 22 degree C (January)
Relative Humidity : 48% (October – May)
Rainfall Average : 1100 mm. In Surat district to 1800 mm, in Valsad
Soil
Black soil that originates from the decomposition of trap rocks of the Saputara and Vindya ranges, although geniuses have contributed to some extent. High clay content and soil reaction varies from neutral to alkaline.
The Main Crops
In these areas rice, jowar, pulses, groundnuts and other cereals are the main crops. Since most of the tribals are farmers owning small patches of land in the hilly areas, they try to protect soil run off by bunding, terracing and cultivating the land for sheer sustenance.
The Cropping Pattern of the 2 districts: major crops, average of triennium ending 1979-1980 (in %).
Crops Surat district Valsad district
Rice 13.4 29.2
Wheat 2.4 1.2
Jowar 24.5 5.4
Bajri 0.3 -----
Maize 0.1 -----
Total food crops 66.2 63.7
Cotton 11.1 1.1
Groundnut 6.2 0.7
Total non-food crops 33.8 36.3
Total 100.0 100.0
The Forests
No longer are the forests in full existence today. They have fallen prey to the greedy, unscrupulous and shortsighted merchants and traders who are alien to this land of the tribals. The vast and dense forests, which provided a soothing sight to the human eyes and a source of sustenance to the tribal, have been denuded. There has been and still there is an outright exploitation of both the forests and the tribals. The Gamits can be more fully understood in reference to and communion with Nature. But the ruthless felling of trees has left an incurable wound in the very existence of the tribals.
