The Gawaria are a Hindu caste found in North India. They are also known as Kalenra.[1]
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The Gawaria are community are a sub-group within the larger Banjara community of India. According to their own traditions, the community is descended from three brothers, Tapasvi Singh, Lakhi Singh and Bhumi Singh. These brothers lost their land, and took to peddling goods and services. The Gawaria were a nomadic community, travelling throughout North India selling their wares. With the building of the railways in the 19th Century, the Gawaria had to abandon their traditional occupation. The community is now settled on the outskirts of villages and towns involved in wage labour, petty trade and the scrap business. They are distributed all over North India, in particular in the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. They speak the Marwari language, although most also understand Hindi.[2]
The Gawaria are divided into two sub-groups, the Rajput Gawaria and the Dharamput Gawaria. In their system of social hierarchy, the Rajput group is considered superior. These two sub-groups are endogamous, and there is no intermarriage. The Gawaria are further divided into clans, known as gotras. Each gotra claims descent from a common ancestor, and marriages are strictly forbidden. There main clans are the Meghawat, Bindrawat, Kurra, Athvia , Jharabala and Dhamsod.
The Gawaria are now a settled community, and many in the rural areas are agricultural labourers. While those in the cities are wage labourers. A small number have taken to trade, and a smaller number have taken to education, and become professional. The community’s distinct dialect marks it out from neighbouring communities, and they tend to be residentially segregated. They are entirely Hindu, and worship local deities such as the Gurgaon wali mata.[3]