Garasia,[1] alternatively spelled Girasia,[2] Girasiya or Garasiya, is a title used by the Koli chieftains of petty states or Jagirdars in India who held the villages as Giras granted by rulers.[2] Many of the Chunvalia Kolis held the title of Girasia and they worshipped the Hindu goddess Shakti.[3]

Koli Girasia
Language(s)Gujarati
Other gender
FeminineShakti
Origin
Word/nameGujarat
DerivationGiras (a grant of villages given by a ruler)
MeaningRuler of granted villages
Other names
Variant form(s)Girasia, Girasiya, Garasia, Garasiya
Related namesMewasi

The Koli Garasiya were tributary to the ruler of state who gave the Giras.[4]

Social order

Present-day Garasias are characterised by several social divisions with well-defined relationships. These divisions have appeared out of situations of culture contact and acculturation. Today Garasias are divided into Koli Garasia, Rajput Garasia, Dungri Garasia and Bhil Garasia.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Clark, Alice Whitcomb (1979). Central Gujarat in the Nineteenth Century: The Integration of an Agrarian System. New Delhi, India: University of Wisconsin--Madison. pp. 55: Koli garasias would often " hire a land from the manager of a village, trusting to the timidity of the other villagers, declare that it was O 1, 57 famiiy, bapita, land.
  2. ^ a b Bayly, Susan (22 February 2001). Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age. New Delhi, India, Asia: Cambridge University Press. pp. 84: They also tended to disparage other arms-bearers whom the Mughals and their succes sors had found both useful and problematic, especially the notables who had been vested with titles like Girasia or, Girishi Raja, meaning someone from Koli or other arms-bearing lineages with the authority of a 'kingly' self-made Rajput lord. ISBN 978-0-521-79842-6.
  3. ^ Enthoven, Reginald Edward (1989). Folk Lore Notes: Folklore of Gujurat. New Delhi, India: Asian Educational Services. p. 5. ISBN 978-81-206-0485-8.
  4. ^ Hardiman, David; Hardiman, Professor of History David (1996). Feeding the Baniya: Peasants and Usurers in Western India. New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-19-563956-8.
  5. ^ Mann (1993), p. 103
  6. ^ Mann & Mann (1989), pp. 81–82

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

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