Bhil Mavchi

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The Mavchi are one of the sub-groups of the Bhil community found in the state of Maharashtra in India. They are also known as Gavith.[1]

Origin

The community is referred to as Gavith, which means a headman, on account of the fact that village headmen were often chosen from the Mavchi community. They speak their own dialect, Mavchi, which is distinct from other Bhil dialects, having less Marathi loanwords.[2]

Present circumstances

The Mavchi are an endogamous community, and practice clan exogamy, There customs are similar to neighbouring Bhil groups such as the Vasave. The Mavchi are a community of small and medium sized farmers. Some are now beginning to migrate to the cities of Surat and Mumbai, and work in the sugar mills. The Mavchi are divided into two groups, the Christian and Hindu Mavchi. Among the Hindus, there also exists a number of tribal deities, such as Waghdev, their principal god.[3]

References

  1. ↑ People of India Maharshtra Volume XXX Part One edited by B.V Bhanu, B.R Bhatnagar, D.K Bose, V.S Kulkarni and J Sreenath pages 312-319
  2. ↑ People of India Maharshtra Volume XXX Part One edited by B.V Bhanu, B.R Bhatnagar, D.K Bose, V.S Kulkarni and J Sreenath pages 312-319
  3. ↑ People of India Maharshtra Volume XXX Part One edited by B.V Bhanu, B.R Bhatnagar, D.K Bose, V.S Kulkarni and J Sreenath pages 312-319
Clans of the Bhil
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