Dhanka

2021-04-21T20:15:31Z

2402:3A80:1096:1A53:3DE8:1D9A:AE39:3487:

{{use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{use Indian English|date=January 2019}}

The '''Dhanka''' are a tribe of India who believe themselves to be [[Indigenous peoples|aboriginal]], although they are unable to assert from whence they came. They are historically neither Hindu nor Muslim and their occupations have changed over time, as circumstances have dictated for survival. Although similar groups in India are often referred to as ''[[adivasi]]'', the Dhanka generally reject this term.<ref name="moodie4"/>

==Etymology==
The ''Dhanka'' name may be derived the somewhat pejorative word D''hanak'', meaning a forest dweller.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcTz54VVHF4C&pg=PA13|title=Being Tribal |page=9 |first=Shereen |last=Ratnagar |authorlink=Shereen Ratnagar |publisher=Primus Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-9-38060-702-3}}</ref> However, it could also come from ''dhanush'', meaning ''bow'', which may reflect a historic association with that weapon.<ref name="moodie4">{{cite book |title=We Were Adivasis: Aspiration in an Indian Scheduled Tribe |first=Megan |last=Moodie |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-22625-304-6 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6cQCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA4}}</ref> Tribal people - as agriculturists and hunters - historically carried bows with them everywhere.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcTz54VVHF4C&pg=PA13|title=Being Tribal |page=8 |first=Shereen |last=Ratnagar |authorlink=Shereen Ratnagar |publisher=Primus Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-9-38060-702-3}}</ref> Anthropologist Megan Moodie says that their history and culture is poorly documented and that what does exist "tend[s] to be brief and stress their 'insignificance' and lowness". She notes that they are a sub-tribe of the [[Bhil people]], that they are today found throughout much of western India, and that there has been much official confusion regarding their identity, which has tended to impact on their position as a [[Scheduled Tribe]] (ST) entitled to various [[positive discrimination]] benefits. Much of that confusion centres around various names that have been posited as synonyms for ''Dhanka'', including ''Dhanak'', ''Dhankia'', ''Dhanuk'' and ''Valvi''.<ref>{{cite book |title=We Were Adivasis: Aspiration in an Indian Scheduled Tribe |first=Megan |last=Moodie |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-22625-304-6 |pages=29–30, 49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6cQCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29}}</ref>

==Culture==
The Dhanka share many cultural similarities with the [[Rathwa]] and [[Naikda]] tribal people, and are largely indistinguishable from them. The Rathwa provide [[pithora (painting)|pithora ritual paintings]] for the interior walls of Dhanka homes. Described by Shereen Ratnagar as "vibrant colours ... teeming with gods, people, plants, birds and animals", creation of this artform is unique to the Rathwa.<ref name>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcTz54VVHF4C&pg=PA13|title=Being Tribal |page=13 |first=Shereen |last=Ratnagar |publisher=Primus Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-9-38060-702-3}}</ref>

==Demographics==
The [[2001 Census of India]] recorded the Dhanka in the state of [[Rajasthan]] as one of the 30 STs which did not form part of the [[Bhil]], [[Meena|Mina]] and [[Bhil Mina]] tribes. Those latter communities accounted for 93 per cent of the ST population at that time, whilst the combined population of the Dhanka, Tadvi, Tetaria and Valvi, which was recorded as being one community, comprised 77,047 people.<ref>{{cite book |title=We Were Adivasis: Aspiration in an Indian Scheduled Tribe |first=Megan |last=Moodie |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-22625-304-6 |page=38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6cQCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA38}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Scheduled tribes of India |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Gujarat]]
[[Category:Scheduled Tribes of Chhattisgarh]]

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Dhanka