Appendix 3 - Ethnographic evidence of communities in India

Appendix-III Ethnographic evidence of communities in India likely to have been involved in early Indian Ocean Trade The contextual evidence for participation of contemporary social groups in Early Historic maritime trade is based on the premise that the tribe/caste/community being studied is 'ethnic' to the present area of habitation and has not migrated to the region after the first three centuries A.D., the operative period of Indo-Mediterranean sea trade. Concomitantly, we also hold the assumption that the present occupation pursued by the social group constituted their prime professional input in the period of Indo-Mediterranean trade. These criteria are more readily applicable to huntergatherer communities whose involvement in trade has been considered 'a crucial factor in (their) survival ' ( Stiles 1993: 153). ་ , A number of ethnic and migrant communities have been identified, primarily on the basis of close contextual evidence, as likely participants in early trading networks of the Indian Ocean. The ethnographic data on these communities is presented below. I. North-west of Indian subcontinent East of the "Country of the Parsidae", on the Makran coast of Baluchistan, the Periplus refers to the Bay of Gedrosia (Periplus Maris Erythraei 37) and the settlement of Oraea and Rhambacia. Arrian describes a people called Oritae living on the Makran coast as well as the inland hills (in Schoff 1912/74:161-162). Those living on the coast were called Ichthyophagi or Fish-Eaters by the Greek geographers. The Oritae or the Ichthyophagi were in all likelihood the ancestors of the present fishing community living around Ormara Bay (Heyerdahl 1982). II. Western India 1. Bhils The tribal Bhil community is scattered over a large area of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and northern Maharashtra Stiles (1993:153-167) sees the predecessors of the Bhils, inhabiting the "catchment area" around the ancient port of Barygaza/Bharuch, acting as the primary suppliers of forest products, dyes and semiprecious/precious stones to international traders based at the port in Early Historic times. Though the Bhils have increasingly taken to settled life, mainly as agriculturists, they still retain their ethnic occupation of collecting and selling wild forest products (Stiles 1993:159).

367 Today, the Bhils are still the primary extractors and suppliers of semiprecious stone to the lapidaries of Gujarat. An ethno-archaeological study carried out by the M.S. University, Baroda on the agate bead industries of Gujarat informs: 'Mining (of agate) in Gujarat is generally done by Bhil groups. Men, women and children are involved in the digging of the mines using simple tools. The agate nodules are collected from the agate conglomerate beds of the Babaguru Formation that was deposited in the region during the Miocene, some 30 million years ago.' (Pamphlet compiled by Mark Kenoyer, K.K. Bhan and M. Vidale for Exhibition on the Agate Bead Industries of Gujarat from Prehistory to the Present An Ethnoarchaeological Approach). According to K.K. Bhan of the Dept. of Archaeology, M.S. University, recent archaeological evidence shows that the core-area of agate extraction located in the Rajmahal hill tracts between Ujjain and Bharuch was being prospected in the early centuries A.D. This was the period when large quantities of semiprecious stone was exported overseas from ancient Ujjain and Bharuch (Chapter III). Keeping in mind the cumulative historical-ethnographic continuum for the agate extraction industry in the Bharuch hinterland and the active control and direct involvement of the ethnic Bhils in mining the agates it would be logical to postulate that the Bhils must have played a crucial role as suppliers of semiprecious stone in Indian Ocean trade. Interestingly, the study of skeletal remains from Chalcolithic-Early Historic (Indo-Roman) levels of the site of Nevasa indicates that the inhabitants of the ancient settlement may have been the ancestors of Bhils (Kennedy and Malhotra (1966: 120). This means that in ancient times the Bhils were also involved in crafting and manufacturing besides primary extraction/acquisition. 2. Kharva Kolis This community of seafarers, mainly engaged in fishing, inhabits the littoral of the Gulf of Khambhat. The Kharva Kolis are used to sailing in the exceptionally violent and shoal-ridden waters of the Gulf The intimate knowledge of tides and shoals and currents possessed by the Kharva Kolis in ancient times must have involved them in facilitating the movement of sea traffic to and from the ports within the Gulf of Khambhat of which Barygaza/Bharuch was the most important. The Periplus (sec.44) refers to 'native fishermen in the King's service, stationed at the very entrance in well-manned large boats called trappaga and cotymba, so upto the coast as far as Syrastrene, from which they pilot vessels upto Barygaza.' (Pl. XXVII for probable model of trappaga). <

368 The predecessors of the Kharva Kolis must have been the 'native fishermen' who piloted merchant-vessels through the shoals of the Gulf. In present times the Kharva Kolis continue to perform the role of navigators, providing seaguiding services through the Malacca Banks at the mouth of the Gulf, and in the high tidal zones around Piram Island which lies on the approach to Bharuch (information from Shailesh Nayak, SAC, Ahmedabad ). 3. Son Kolis The Son Kolis are an ethnic coastal community like the Kharva Kolis They mainly inhabit the north Konkan coast. The Son Kolis mainly subsist on deep sea fishing. They are also expert boat-builders. Specifically the villages of Son Kolis are to be found about the large creeks near Chaul and Murud-Janjira (Fig. 32). The deep and intimate knowledge possessed by the Son Kolis of the creeks and coast of the Konkan suggests that this ethnic fishing community was involved in Early Historic maritime trade. Today, the Son Kolis provide ferry services on the creeks and coast. Their sail-boats and trawlers meet ships on the high sea to load/unload passengers and goods. Within the creeks at Chaul and Murud-Janjira I observed Son Kolis operating boats and dug-outs. In the period of Erythraean Sea trade, the Son Kolis must have provided similar services as transporters of tradecommodities to and from the ancient ports of Semylla/Chaul and Mandagora/Kuda lying deep inside the Konkan creeks. The Son Kolis still retain their traditional boat-building skills. They build deep sea vessels such as the galbat (trawler) and medium/small boats like the gatak and hori. Their technical acumen extends to knowledge of different kinds of timber, sail-cloth, binding resins and gums. The traditional boat-building skills of the Son Kolis was used by the Mughals, Marathas and the British to help build their navies in the medieval-colonial times. In the period of our study, the Son Kolis must have been active as builders of commercial sea-going vessels as well as suppliers of shipping material. We know from the Periplus (sec.36) that shipbuilding material, especially timber, comprised a major item of export from western India to the Persian Gulf. There are textual references to shipmasts from India reaching the Mediterranean (Sidebotham 1986 a:100). In ancient times the Kolis may have organised themselves politically to control sea-commerce flowing through the creek-ports on the Konkan. Indication of such organisation is suggested by the 1 st-2 nd century A.D. donative inscriptions in the Kuda rock-cut cave complex with names of the members of the ruling family of the

369 Mandavas and people under their service. The Mandava chief posseses the title of mahabhoja, an honorific usually attached to local rulers in the Satavahana period. We have discussed in chapter IV the survival of memories of the Mandavas in the name of the Konkani village of Mandad on the creek below Kuda. Could the Mandavas have been a ruling family of the ethnic Kolis in the Murud-Janjira region? The association of the Kolis with sea commerce is also revealed by their worship of Hinglaj Mata, a female diety also held dear by other communities of western India. A statue of Hinglaj Mata at Chaul has been installed within the Early Historic Buddhist caves facing the sea (personal observation). For the nearby Kolis, sacred rites performed with the blessings of the Hinglaj Mata determine the feasibility of undertaking sea journeys and other ventures. According to Dr. M.N. Deshpande (personal communication) the cult of Hinglaj Mata may be related to an ancient sea migration from the Baluchistan/Lower Indus area because Hinglaj is the name of a river in Baluchistan. 4. Lamanas The Lamanas are an ethnic community of pack-animal transporters mainly inhabiting the state of Maharashtra. The Lamanas today transport commodities on their pack-animals through the hard rocky tracts of the western Deccan and the Konkan (Deshpande in Cimino 1994:175-176). Lamanas are also known as Banjaras (Singh 1994:684-687). In the period of Indo-Mediterranean sea trade, the Lamanas may have served to transport overseas trade-goods, particularly through steep passes, such as at Karla and Junnar, which open the Deccan uplands to the Konkan coast. The Periplus (sec. 51) mentions the movement of goods from Paithan to Bharuch through great tracts without roads.' The reference suggests transportation of consignments across rough terrain. We can think of the ethnic Lamanas, the traditional pack-animal transporters, as responsible for the safe passage of such consignments in ancient times. The inscriptions of caravan leaders (sarthavahas) inscribed in Buddhist caves of western India must have included those of the ancestors of the Lamanas. The Lamanas, like the Son Kolis, regard the Hinglaj Mata, a diety associated with sea commerce, as their tutelory goddess (Deshpande in Cimino 1994:176). Interestingly, the Lamana women today wear necklaces of perforated coins which they call dinaramala (Deshpande in Cimino 1994:176). The term obviously recalls the Roman denarius so commonly distributed in the Indian peninsula. The imitation of Roman denari (bullae) have been mostly found perforated suggesting that they were 'units' of necklaces or dinaramala. The survival of the term dinaramala among

370 the Lamanas provides strong contextual evidence for the involvement community in Indo-Mediterranean exchange in the early centuries A.D. 5. Shanwar Telis of this The Shanwar Telis are the Jewish oil-pressers of Maharashtra They are indistinguishable in their lifestyle from non-Jewish oil-pressers. The Shanwar Telis are, in all likelihood, the survival of the earliest Jewish diaspora to India which took place along the Red Sea route sometime between mid 1 st millenium B.C. to early 1 st millenium A.D. (see under Red Sea in Chapter IV). The early Jewish migrants into western India must have taken to producing sesame oil (tila) like their descendents of today. Sesamum was a major western Indian export to the Mediterranean. It is conceivable that the Jewish oil-pressers of western India played a role in supplying sesame oil for export to the west in Early Historic times (for discussion on sesame exports see Chapter III). 6. Salis Traditional weavers caste of Maharashtra, involved in the making of yarn and cloth from cotton. Early Historic inscriptions found in the rock-cut Buddhist caves of Maharashtra reveal that the weavers of the western Deccan had organised themselves into powerful guilds. The Periplus refers to cotton cloth, muslin and mallow cloth coming to the trade-port of Barygaza from Tagara/Ter (Periplus Maris Erythraei 51). Excavations at Ter have revealed evidence of tanks which may be dyeing vats (Chapter III). The Salis are concentrated in the region of Ter in the heart of the western Deccan. Their ardent worship of Hinglaj Mata, like that of the Son Kolis and Lamanas, is noteworthy (Deshpande in Cimino 1994:176). 7. Ghadi Loharias The Ghadi Loharias, a community specialising in iron-making and ironsmithy are ethnic to Gujarat and Rajasthan. However constant migrations driven by opportunities for their services in modern industry have taken the Loharias from their traditional habitats as far east as West Bengal (personal communication with G.K. Gupta). The ethnic region of the Ghadi Loharias Gujarat and Rajasthan - was a major iron-producing area in the Early Historic period. The large scale availibility of haematite and limonite ores in the region facilitated the emergence of a flourishing iron industry with a strong export component. The evidence for export of iron from the Gujarat-Rajasthan area overseas to the Red Sea littoral has been discussed in Chapters III and IV.

371 The method of iron-smelting practised till recently by the Ghadi Loharias is similar to that in use in Early Historic western India. Describing this ancient method of iron-making Hegde (in Mehta and Chowdhury 1975:53) says: 'The metal was obtained in the form of a spongy mass called the bloom through direct reduction of the ore in a cylindrical clay-lined, crucible shaped furnace with provision for an air blast blown in by bellows.' This technology of direct reduction of the ore, highly wasteful but yeilding very pure iron, is according to Hegde (in Mehta and Chowdhury 1975:55) 'probably comparable to that of the Ghadi Loharias of the early 20 th century." 8. Bharvaris The Bharvaris are the traditional cattle-breeders of the Saurashtra region. The history of cattle-breeding in this region goes back to Harappan times as revealed by high percentage of faunal remains of livestock (Possehl 1994:106). R.N. Mehta (personal communication) has identified a Harappan cattle-breeding station at Vallabhi on the western littoral of the Gulf of Khambhat. The Periplus (sec. 41) informs of 'very many cattle' pastured in the region of Saurashtra and also mentions clarified butter or ghee among the export-commodities of this region. The ethnic Bharvaris may be the descendents of cattle-breeders and suppliers of milk-products to domestic and overseas markets in Early Historic times. The Bharvaris of today follow their traditional practices, fully dependent on their livestock and regularly crossing the Gulf of Khambhat with their cattle on summer transhumance to the the Narmada-Tapi estuarine region (personal observation of Bharvari migrant camp on outskirts of Surat). Southern India These The ethnic communities of southern India are visibly evident in tribal groups inhabiting the rain-forests of the Malabar and the Nilgiri hill tracts communities, such as the Kadar, still practice hunting-gathering subsistence strategies. Their special, often exclusive, knowledge of the forest environment has put them in the unique position of being primary suppliers of many forest products such as medicinal plants/herbs and river reeds for local cottage industries. The contemporary lifestyle of the forest tribals of south India represents the survival of a long-established socio-economic order. Historically also, the interaction of the south Indian hunter-gatherers with the "outside world" must have been mainly motivated by trade. In our period of study, we know that the forested the main habitation area of tribes was an important region abutting the Malabar source of spices, medicinal plants and tree resins for overseas traders from West - -

372 Asia/Mediterranean (Chapter III). The hilly tracts between the Coromandel and the Malabar show a prolific distribution of Roman coin-hoards, indicating that the forest tribes of this region had been drawn into an exchange relationship with traders from the Mediterranean in Early Historic period (Fig. 6, also Turner 1989). In this section the focus is upon the Kadar, a forest tribe of the Malabar rain forests which is among the most isolated of the South Indian foragers Specifically the discussion below explores the historical implications of a particular folklore of the Kadar which may throw light on the involvement of the predecessors of this tribe in ancient overseas commerce. Kadar The rain forests of the hilly tracts overlooking the Malabar coast are the habitats of the foraging tribal community of the Kadar (Thundy 1983:18-19, Singh 1994:450-453). The nomenclature, Kadar, is derived from the Tamil kadu meaning forest (Ray 1989:64). The Kadars mainly subsist on forest products. Though many of the tribe are becoming sedentary and even entering government jobs (esp. as forest gaurds), the majority still inhabit the rain forests (Ray 1989:62-71). Historically, the role of the Kadars as suppliers of forest products must have been important in the context of domestic and overseas trade. The Periplus (sec. 56) informs of pepper a major export item to the west - being grown in large quantities in the "district of Cottonara" near the Malabar trade-ports of Nelcynda, Tyndis and Muziris (Periplus Maris Erythraei 54-56). Cottonara lies in the hill-country adjacent to the Malabar. This is the area inhabited by the Kadar. The historical role of the Kadars as suppliers of forest product to "outsiders" is indicated by the fact that in contemporary times the tribesmen have almost exclusive knowledge of medicinal herbs and resins which they retrieve and sell to producers of Ayurvedic medicines. The Kadars also supply to local markets, among other commodities, pepper, cane, bamboo, rattan and cardamom (Ray 1989:67-69, India Today Nov. 30, 1991). A similar pattern of exchange must have existed in ancient times when a medicinal plants, resins and spices were exported to the Mediterranean from ports on the Malabar. In this context, it is pertinent to point out that the heaviest concentration of Roman coins in India are to be found in or near proximity of the hilly tracts inhabited by the Kadars (see Fig. 6) The ethnographic and archaeological evidence summarized above creates the context for likely interaction between the ancient Kadars and traders from the western world Interestingly, the distant memories of the encounter of Kadars with foreign traders (in all likelihood the Yavanas of the Tamil Sangam literature) may

373 have survived in their folklore. In this regard, a folklore fragment gathered by Thundy (1983:18-19) in course of his fieldwork among the Kadars between 1974-1978 merits study. The folklore narrates with graphic intensity the meeting of a Kadar cheiftain with a certain "God" who came seeking forest goods. The folklore, as recorded by Thundy is reproduced below:- "It is also said that God came down on earth in his presence to give away gifts. He called the Kadar first The Kadar chief refused to show his face to God, but hid himself behind a tree and extended both his hands embracing the tree God filled the Kadar's hands with gold and silver coins. As the Kadar drew his hands back, he spilled the wealth on the ground. God told him to pick up the money; he refused. God asked a Tamilian to pick up the money which he did. God filled the Tamilian's hands with more money. Other tribes also came and received gifts from God. God sent them all away. Finally, only the Kadar remained in his presence. God felt pity for the stupid Kadar. He then took the money himself from the ground and threw it in the forest where it became forest wealth like ginger, cardamom, drammer etc. God told the distraught Kadar that forest would produce enough food and money for them to make a living. They went away less than unhappy." (Thundy 1983:18-19). A review of the Kadar folklore corpus (Thundy 1983) reveals that the "God" of the Kadars is actually a generic term for outsiders, people of ethnic origin and culture different from the forest dwelling Kadars. In the above extract, the "God" brings wealth in the form of gold and silver coins. In another story, the Gods are Brahmanical proselytizers who seek to convert the Kadars to the caste hierarchical order. 1 A close reading of the folklore tract reveals an element of historicity in the built into the narrative. The folklore revolves about a "core" event where a Kadar chieftain comes face to face with an outsider. The encounter for some reason was dramatic enough to remain in the collective memory of this tribe. If we substitute the word "God" in the narrative with the connotative "outsider", the tense moments of the meeting come to us with graphic clarity: "The Kadar chief refused to show his face to the outsider, but hid himself behind a tree and extended both his hands embracing

the tree. The outsider filled the Kadar's hands with gold and silver coins. As the Kadar drew his hands back, he spilled the wealth on the ground. The outsider told him to pick up the money; he refused..." Here the "voice" of the folklore flows in retrospection, belonging to the time after the above incident has taken place. The narrative hints that the Kadar chieftain had missed a beneficial opportunity while "other tribes came and received gifts from God." The condescention expressed in the "retrospective" underflow of the narrative is in sharp contrast to the main story where the Kadar cheiftain is gripped by extreme emotions of fear and awe on seeing the outsider (the cheiftain "refused to show his face" and "hid himself behind a tree"). There was The sentences preserving the first moments of encounter indicate that the outsider presented a strange sight to the Kadar cheiftain something about this "God" which the Kadar (or the Kadars as a whole) had not experienced before. In this context, it is important to note that the "Tamilian" who was accompaning the outsider does not inspire the same awe in ' the Kadar chief as much as the latter. The Kadar was obviously familiar with the Tamilian, whom we may take as a local non-tribal. It is sufficiently clear in the extract that the quest for forest products had brought the outsider in physical contact with the Kadar cheiftain. The actions of the outsider suggest that he was a trader trying to lure the Kadar cheiftain with "gold and silver coins." The Kadar, seeming to behold the coins for the first time and apparently unaware of their value, found them to be as strange as the outsider and so withdrew his hands in fear. The sequence of events then follow rapidly: the trader asking the "Tamilian to pick up the money" and filling the "Tamilian's hands with more money. This must have been done to demonstrate to the watching and fearful Kadar that the coins could cause no physical harm. Then in the final act, the intention of the trader - exchanging coins for forest goods is expressed metaphorically: "He then took the money himself from the ground and threw it in the forest where it became forest wealth like ginger, cardamom, drammer etc..." . - " The next lines seem to contain a plea to the Kadar to appreciate the benefits of money/coinage: "God (outsider/trader) told the distraught Kadar that the forest would produce enough food and money for them to make a 374

375 living" Evidently some communication had been effected for "they (trader or Kadar?) went away less than unhappy." In terms of historical/archaeological significance, the key phrase in the extract is "gold and silver coins." Here the explicit reference is to an outsider/trader who came to the jungle Kadar carrying currency and not bullion. In all likelihood, the folklore tells of the first knowledge the Kadars acquired of coinage and the idea of money-economy. In this regard it would be logical to search for the historical context of the folklore during the period (a) of emergence of the first coinage in south India and (b) first introduction of gold and silver coinage in south India As in northern India, the earliest coins found in South India are punchmarked silver issues, dating back to the 3 rd century B.C. (Encyl. Ind.Arch. Vol.I:13; Chattopadhyaya 1976:113). Together with punchmarked coins which continued to circulate in worn condition into the early centuries A.D., the deep south witnessed the circulation of indigenous copper and silver die-struck coinage belonging to the early Chola, Pandya and Chera dynasties (Chattopadhyaya 1976). Die-struck lead, potin and silver issues of the Satavahanas also circulated (Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology Vol.1:13). There is however no numismatic evidence of an indigenous gold coinage in this time. Indigenous gold coinage in the deep south emerges for the first time in the 10 th century A.D (Encyl. Ind.Arch. Vol. I:13). However, the deep south did experience the circulation of substantial quantity of imported Roman gold coinage in the early centuries A.D. There is a prevailing consensus among numismatists that imported Roman gold and silver coins formed the basis of the south Indian currency system in the early centuries A.D. To quote Bhatia (in Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology Vol. I:13):- "During the first two centuries of the Christian Era the currency of the south consisted chiefly of imported Roman gold, several hoards of which have been found at various places. A certain quantity of Roman silver too must have been in circulation..." (for dominant role of Roman coinage in south India also see Chattopadhyaya 1976:115). The sudden influx of large quantities of Roman gold and silver coins into south India during the B.C./A.D. transition must have drawn the trading communities

376 of the region into the fluid money-economy system. It is conceivable that the Kadars also came to be exposed to this "new" mode of exchange. That the Kadars must, have acquired first knowledge of gold and silver coinage in the form of Roman specie is indicated by the fact that the heaviest concentration of Roman coin hoards in the Indian subcontinent happen to be in the Coimbatore area of Tamil Nadu, immediately abutting the forested hilly tracts above the Malabar - the traditional habitat of the Kadar (Fig. 6). The dramatic and tense moments of the jungle encounter described in the folklore is indicative of a time in Kadar history when the tribals were unfamiliar with gold and silver coinage. It is asserted that the transaction of gold/silver coins and forest products implicit in the Kadar folklore preserves the historical truth of the coincommodity exchange mechanism which evolved in the early centuries A.D. in the context of Indo-Roman trade. Eastern India See Chapter V for discussion on role of tribes of northeastern India and forested tracts of Orissa/Madhya Pradesh in early Indian Ocean trade.