Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c48.s6.14.4

c48.s6.14.4

In regard to the relationship of the Bhīl to the Kōrkū, it may be noted that the name of Mēvās, which is given to some of the Bhīl tracts in the west, is taken from the title of Muvāsī, or Māvacā, by which they are called, and which, as observed above, is the name of the western branch of the Kōrkū. Akin to the Bhīl are the Dhānkā, a tribe of south Rājputāna and Central India, the Patēliā in the same region, and probably of mixed origin, and the Taḍvi and Pāvaḍā, which are both Bhīl clans locally separated from the main body, and settled in the Khāndēsh Sātpura. The Gāmtā, or Gāmit, which nearly touch them on the north-west, seem to be merely a superior class of Bhīl, and not a separate tribe. The great Kōlī tribe, which has been classed with the cultivators, contains, also, more than one subdivision which still live in or near the forest, and have not taken, like the rest, to either agriculture or seafaring pursuits. The Naikaḍā is probably one of these, as it is distinct from the Bhīl, though sharing the tastes and mode of life of the latter. The Nāikaḍā are found along the south-west border of Rājputāna and Central India, with colonies in the forests of east Gujarāt. They are by repute even worse neighbours than the Bhīl, and on several occasions have only been kept down by force. For many years, however, they have been at peace, though showing no disposition to abandon their primitive cultivation and their dependence upon the jungle for their livelihood.