Kacey Larson

Honors World Cultures 10

Flags

Maharashtra flag India flag

Map of Maharashtra

History

Marathas became prominent in the 17th century when Shivaji united the Maratha chieftains against Muslim rule.

In the 18th century the Maratha kingdom grew, but then in 1761 they were weakened by the defeat by Afghans in the Third Battle of Panipat.

After many early defeats by the British in the 19th century the Martha empire fell.

Shivaji

• A man that got the chieftains pitted against the Muslim rule • He was born in 1627 and died in 1680 • HE had helped the Maratha kingdom grow and laid the ground

for further expansion by the time of his death • Shivaji is an important folk hero and has two

important stories.

Shivaji’s Stories

– Shivaji met a Muslim general intent on killing Shivaji. Shivaji embraced the general and killed him with claws on his hand before the general had the chance.

– Shivaji was a prisoner of Mughal and escaped hiding in a fruit basket, his men then captured the fort when trained lizards climbed walls and had ropes for them to climb.

Where Did They Come From?

• The Maratha origin is difficult to trace

• Their original homeland was in the plateau region in Pune, India

• At that time Maratha people shared the culture of southern India

• They rose to power and developed their own culture under Shivaji during their struggle and opposition to Muslims

The People

• Name: Marathas, Mahrattas or Mahrattis

• Marathas can trace their origins back to chieftains and warriors of ancient India. This seperates Marathas from the Kunbis.

• Marathas are non-Aryan and inhabit the Deccan Plateau of Western India

Geography

The Marathas live in Maharashtra India. There are coastal

lowlands near Bombay and Mumbai, the Western Ghats,

hills running along the western coast of India, and

plateaus and uplands of the Deccan lava region.

Geography

Deccan Plateau

Western Ghats

Weather

• Maharashtra is mostly warm. • In the Bombay area temperatures range from 75°f to 86°f and get 82

inches of rain annually • The Western Ghats have similar temperatures but receive 260 inches of

rain annually • The plateau region of the nation has warmer temperatures but receive 20

to 40 inches of rain annually

Climate

Language

Marathas speak the Marathi language which is associated with the Indo-Aryan part of the Indo-European language family. Its origin is from Maharashtri derived from Prakit. Marathi has different dialects including Konkani, Varadhi, and Nagpuri.

Religion

• Marathas are part of the Hindu faith.

• They worship one or many gods as a “family deity”.

• Marathas believe in witchcraft, the evil eye, ghosts and evil spirits that when wronged will bring harm to the village.

• Mostly Brah-mans officiate some deities are officiated by non-Brahman priests

Maratha Beliefs

The Evil Eye

Witchcraft

Hindu Temples

Holidays

• Marathas observe all major Hindu holidays, but have their own celebrations.

• At Divali they sing hymns and worship cow-dung pictures of the demon-god Asura king Bali.

• The elephant headed god, Ganesha, is celebrated on his birthday for three days and is then carried and immersed in the ocean

Holidays

• Nag Panchami is widely celebrated in Maharashtra. This holiday snakes are worshipped

• Bendur is a festival when bulls are decorated and worshipped then taken through the villages

• Shivaji’s birthday is a declared public holiday

• Jatakarma or birth ceremony is held days after birth. After that is “Mother’s Fifth” and “Sixth” where rituals are performed to ward off spirits intent on harming the child. After 10 days a purification ceremony is performed.

• Boys between the age of 10 and 12 are put through a sacred-thread ceremony whose family claims warrior status

Death Ceremonies

The corpse is washed, wrapped in white shroud and placed on a bier. Musicians of Mahar caste lead the procession and go to cremation grounds, on riverbanks. Days after the ashes are taken to a holy place or river and thrown in water. The 11th day brings a purification ceremony for family and the 13th a funeral feast.

Greetings

• Marathas use the common Hindu greeting of “Namaste”. This along with joined hands, palms together, in the front of the body is the greetings Marathas use.

Living Conditions

In plateau villages they are small groups of houses with virtually no space. Small houses are one room while larger houses have several rooms with a sun court in the middle. Rooms include bedrooms, kitchen, storeroom, and devgarh, a room where pictures of family gods are. Closer to Bombay houses grow larger and more luxurious.

Maratha villages

Family Life

• Marathas say they have clans, but they aren’t important. What is important is the kul, or family, lineage made of extended families. The kul members worship a common totemic symbol, or devak, which is a material object like plants, animals, or artifacts.

Clothing

• Men

– men wear a turban, a coat, a shoulder cloth, and a dhoti or cholnas.

• Women

– women wear a choli, bodice, and sari. Peasant women usually take one end of the sari through their legs and tuck it into the back at the waist when working in the fields. Women are fond of jewelry and ornaments.

Clothes

dholti

turban

Shoulder cloth

Food

• The normal diet is flat, unleavened bread, called roti, with pulses and vegetables.

• Poorer people eat millet bread with cut up chilies and lentils, called dal.

• Marathas with more money eat bread made with wheat flour, they have rice and a wider variety of vegetables.

• Rich people eat meat regularly while the poor eat meat on special occasions.

Some Maratha Food

Roti

Millet Bread

lentils

Chillies mutton

Education

• In Maharashtra is 77.27%

• Maharashtra provides free education for kids between six and fourteen

• Attendance at the primary level is 90%

• There are numerous universities in Maharashtra

Cultural Heritage

• Earliest Marathi literature is from around 1000 A.D.

• In the 18th century the love lyric and heroic ballad came about

• Paintings of the Peshwa period came largely from the Rjasthani tradition is the 19th century

• Marathas didn’t create many of these things they adopted them from others

Work

• Many Marathas continue a tradition of military services

• Since Maharashtra is mostly urbanized, the Maratha people have urban jobs including teaching, medicine, law, and government services.

Sports

• Kids play different versions of tag and hide-and-seek.

• Adults watch or play Gulli danda (Indian cricket) or Kabaddi (team wrestling)

• Cricket is most important but other modern sports like field hockey, tennis, and badminton are played

Entertainment and Recreation

• A lot of Marathas rely on local fairs, festivals and folk entertainment

• There are traveling performers that go around to different villages

• T.V., radio, and movies are available to anyone that can afford it

Crafts and Hobbies

• The Maratha people are landowners and cultivators and are not directly involved in crafts or hobbies.

• In Maharashtra State traditional crafts include weaving and metal work.

Maratha problems

• The Maratha and Kunbi nations are close because of their shared history and common culture, but because Maharashtra is a linguistic state they want distinction. Marathas are of high political power in the state and have anti-foriegner sentiments and want non-Marathas out of the state.

Shiv Sena

• The Shiv Sena is a political group that was prominent in the last decades of the 20th century but is now slowly diminishing because the founder, Bal Thackery, has less of a hold on Maratha people. The Shiv Sena vote is diminishing and will soon have litle to do with Maratha politics.

Kunbis Against Marathas

• Kunbis are a dominant caste in Maharashtra besides the Maratha people but are classified as Other Backward Castes (OBC). They along with Marathas dominate politics. The Sambhaji group has threatened violent action if Marathas are not awarded Other Backwards Classes status.

Gender Issues

• Many Maratha women relied on men but those of aristocratic families were taught to ride a horse and could use a sword effectively and some led armies. These women did not conceal their faces on the battlefield, but had to obedient and subordinate in front of strangers.

Gender Issues

• Maratha women experience the restraints that Hindu women have. Their marriages are arranged, child marriage takes place, and dowry is often a demand of the groom’s family. Marathas cannot remarry if widowed and do not get divorces.

The Maratha Caste

• The Marathas rose to power in the 17th century. The Maratha Caste is located in the western part of India. Their origins are hard to place. The Marathas united against Muslims and extended their territory but their demise came from a lack of unity and now Marathas have a distinguished state in Maharashtra.

Manners

• When meeting other people the women are to remain silent and stay at the mans side. They speak when directly spoken to and use the common greeting of “Namaste”.

How They Are Told Apart

• The Marathas and Kunbis are related through their shared history and similar cultures. The Marathas can ultimately trace their roots back to powerful leaders or warriors and that is what sets them apart. Now Marathas are counted by anyone that can speak the language or trace their family back to the state.

Government

• The government of Maharashtra is made up of 288 elected members of the legislative assembly that serve 5 year terms. There are many different departments that handle the different problems within the state.

Marriage

• Marriages are arranged and a bride-price is paid to the women’s family. The marriage is elaborate and consists of 24 different ceremony. The most important ceremony is the installation of the devak.

Wedding Ceremonies

Part of a ceremony

dresses

Drugs and Alcohol

• Currently there are no laws that prohibit the use of any drug or forms of alcohol among the Maratha people

Bombay/Mumbai the city view

Currency

Maharashtra Alphabet

Pune, India

Works Consulted

“Maratha Kingdom.” World Geography: Understanding a Changing World. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 19 July 2012.

“Marathas.” Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. Ed. Timothy L. Gall and Jeneen Hobby. 2nd ed. Vol. 4: Asia and Oceania. Detroit: Gale, 2009.627- 631. Web. 19 July 2012.

Schlesinger, Lee I. “Maratha.” Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 19 July 2012.