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2020-11-29T15:56:23Z

Reverted edits by 103.244.173.189 (talk) to last version by Boing! said Zebedee

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The '''Me''' are a partly [[Muslim]] and partly [[Hindu]] community found in the state of [[Gujarat]] in [[India]]. They are one of a number of communities of [[Maldhari]] pastoral nomads found in the [[Banni Grasslands Reserve|Banni]] region of [[Kutch]]. The Me are also known as the Wadha [[Koli People|Koli]].<ref name="Lal et al">People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part Two edited by R.B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan & M Azeez Mohideen pages 888-892</ref>

== History and origin ==
The community get their name Me from the [[Kutchi language|Kutchi]] word me, which means buffalo. They are concentrated in 110 villages of [[Abdasa Taluka]] of [[Kutch]]. According to some traditions, the Me were once [[Koli People|Kolis]], and many call themselves Wadha [[Koli People|Koli]]. Their habitat is part of the [[Banni Grasslands Reserve|Banni]] region. The community is rare in that it observed both [[Islamic]] and [[Hindu]] rituals and practices. During the 1970s, the bulk of the community abandoned [[Islamic]] customs, and embraced [[Hinduism]]. A few of the [[Bhuj]] Me have now adopted [[Islam]], and the community is split along religious lines.<ref name="Lal et al"/>

== Present circumstances ==

The community is concentrated in the [[talukas]] of [[Bhuj Taluka|Bhuj]], [[Abdasa Taluka|Abdasa]] and [[Mandvi Taluka|Mandvi]] in [[Kutch District]] of [[Gujarat]]. They speak a dialect of [[Kutchi language|Kutchi]], with substantial [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] loan words. The Me consists of seven clans, the main ones being the Khode, Payri, Yoyi, Notada, Chandri, Mattani and Aspan. They are an endogamous community, and marriages between the clans is the norm.<ref name="Lal et al"/>

The Me are pastoral [[Maldhari]] nomads, raising buffaloes, cows and sheep, and graze these in the Banni region. They also act the traditional carpenters of the [[Kutch]] region.

== References ==

{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Me (Caste)}}
[[Category:Social groups of Gujarat]]
[[Category:Tribes of Kutch]]
[[Category:Maldhari communities]]
[[Category:Muslim communities of India]]
[[Category:Muslim communities of Gujarat]]
[[Category:Sindhi tribes]]
[[Category:Sindhi tribes in India]]

Me caste - Revision history

imported>Boing! said Zebedee: Reverted edits by 103.244.173.189 (talk) to last version by Boing! said Zebedee