Golla (caste)

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Golla (Goala)
ReligionsHinduism
LanguagesTelugu • Kannada
CountryIndia
Populated statesAndhra Pradesh • Telangana • Karnataka • Tamil Nadu

The Golla, also spelt as Goalas[1] are a Telugu-speaking pastoral community[2] inhabited in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.[3][4][5][6] They represent 13.4% of the total population of Andhra Pradesh state.[7] This caste is called by separate names in different regions, namely Gulla, Gullar (in Karnataka), Gollewar, Gavali and Dhangar (in the Marathwada area of Maharastra State).[8][9] They are classified as a Backward Caste.[10]

Gollas are traditionally cowherds, but they engage in both sheep/goat and cattle pastoralism, in that they either herd exclusively sheep, a mixed herd of sheep and goats, or cattle.[11][12][5]

Etymology[edit]

The Gollas are called Gawalis. One etymology for their name comes from the Sanskrit "Gopala", which in North India passed through Prakrit "Gwala". Several other variants of the name exist in South India, in such forms as Gollavaru, Godlavaru, etc.[13] There are many synonyms by which they are referred to within their community, namely Kadugolla, Oorugolla, Adivigolla, Handigolla and Gopala. Others refer to them only as Golla or Gollaru.[14]

The Gollas also call themselves Yadava. In the early 1920s, castes such as Ahir, Gavli, Golla, Gopa and Goala, which were traditionally engaged in cattle-related occupations, started referring to themselves as Yadav/Yadava. They claimed that they were related to the Abhiras and Yadavas of the Puranas, which were held to be synonymous and associated with Lord Krishna, a cowherd.[15]

Sub-castes[edit]

The community, due to its size, has a great number of sub-castes, including: Yerra, Mushti, Karine, Pakinati, Puja, Modateetta, Nallasadana, Gujarathi, Gampa, Peyya, Veyya, Kuruma and Sidda.[16] The Kannada-speaking Hanabaru or Krishna Golla are also considered to be a sub-caste.[17][page needed]

Assimilation into Yadav community[edit]

In 1923, leaders from the North Indian Ahir and Maharashtraian Gavli communities formed All India Yadav Mahasabha (AIYM) to promote Yadava identity amongst regional castes whose occupation was associated with cattle, i.e, cowherds, herdsmen, milk-sellers. They claimed that they were related to the Yadu dynasty of the Puranas, hence the term Yadav, through the Abhira tribe. Lord Krishna, a cowherd, was the hero-god of Abhiras.[18] The AIYM insisted that all these regional castes known by different names, call themselves Yadav/Yadava and that each person have Yadav as his last name, and this was enthusiastically followed by various communities who were traditionally involved in cattle related occupations. The Gollas of Hyderabad state, under the leadership of their regional association, the Hyderabad Rashtra Yadava Mahajana Samajam, requested to the Census Commissioner for a change in their caste names Golla, Gawli, Gollawar and Ahir to Yadava. Similarly, in 1930, the government of Madras state directed the adoption of the term "Yadava", in place of Golla, Idaiyan, Gopa, Gopi or Gowla, in all official documents. This was in response to an appeal made by the Yadukula Maha Sangham of east Godavari District.[16]

Religion[edit]

Gollas are both Vaishnavites and Saivites. They put on a vertical yellow or red streak on their forehead, indicating Vaishnavism, and worship a deity, Mallanna, who is a form of Shiva.[19] The Yerra (or Kilari Gollas) regard themselves as superior to other Gollas and put on a sacred thread during marriages.[20]

Social status[edit]

Gollas were looked upon fairly high; equally with the agricultural castes such as the Kapu, Kamma, and Balija, Gollas were allowed to intermingle with these castes.[3]

Some sources suggest that they might have immigrated from North India.[21]

The Gollas are classified as Other Backward Class in the Indian System of Reservation.[22][4][23]

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams[edit]

  • The Yadav community hailed the State Government decision regarding restoration of Golla Mirasi or also called as Golla Mandapam the hereditary rights of the community pertaining to certain rituals at Tirumala temple, In the presence member of All-India Yadav Mahasabha Youth President of Andhra Pradesh Y Shanmugam Yadav.[24]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Srivastava, Vinay Kumar (1997). Religious Renunciation of a Pastoral People. Oxford University Press, 1997. p. 7. ISBN 9780195641219.
  2. ↑ Ramamoorthy, L. (2000). Language Loyalty and Displacement: Among Telugu Minorities in Pondicherry. Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture. ISBN 978-81-85452-10-4.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 India, Anthropological Survey of (1989). All India Anthropometric Survey: Analysis of Data. South Zone. Anthropological Survey of India.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Karnataka (Report). Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. {{cite report}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch (help)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Murthy, M.L.K. (1 February 1993). "Ethnohistory of pastoralism: A study of Kurubas and Gollas". Studies in History. 9 (1): 33–41. doi:10.1177/025764309300900102. S2CID 161569571.
  6. ↑ "LIST OF BACKWARD CLASSES APPROVED". www.bcmbcmw.tn.gov.in. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Seemandhra Yadavs demand 7 MP, 25 Assembly seats". The Hindu. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  8. ↑ General, India Office of the Registrar (1962). Census of India, 1961. Manager of Publications.
  9. ↑ Singh, K. S.; India, Anthropological Survey of (1998). India's Communities. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-563354-2.
  10. ↑ "Central List of OBCs". 24 December 2020. Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch (help)
  11. ↑ Singh, K. S. (1992). People of India: Andhra Pradesh. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 978-81-85579-09-2.
  12. ↑ The Eastern Anthropologist. Ethnographic and Folk Culture Society. 1966.
  13. ↑ Vignesha, M. S. (1993). Sociology of Animal Husbandry: Studies Made in Five Villages in Karanataka. Associated Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-85211-33-6.
  14. ↑ Singh, Kumar Suresh (2003). People of India: (3 pts.). Karnataka. Anthropological Survey of India. ISBN 978-81-85938-98-1.
  15. ↑ Rao, M. S. A. (1987). Social Movements and Social Transformation: A Study of Two Backward Classes Movements in India. Manohar. ISBN 978-0-8364-2133-0.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Rao, M. S. A. (1979). Social movements and social transformation: a study of two backward classes movements in India. Delhi: Macmillan. pp. 139, 141, 148. ISBN 9780333902554.
  17. ↑ Karnataka (India) (1987). Karnataka State Gazetteer: Belgaum. Director of Print, Stationery and Publications at the Government Press.
  18. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe (2003). India's Silent Revolution: The Rise of the Lower Castes in North India. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. pp. 189, 194–196. ISBN 978-1-85065-670-8.
  19. ↑ Murty, M. L. K.; Sontheimer, Günther D. (1980). "Prehistoric Background to Pastoralism in the Southern Deccan in the Light of Oral Traditions and Cults of Some Pastoral Communities". Anthropos. 75 (1/2): 163–184. ISSN 0257-9774. JSTOR 40460587.
  20. ↑ General, India Office of the Registrar (1973). Census of India, 1971: Mysore (in Deutsch). Manager of Publications.
  21. ↑ Kumari, M. Krishna (1997). Facets of Andhra Culture. Gyan Sagar Publications. ISBN 978-81-86987-04-9.
  22. ↑ Central Commission for Backward Classes. Central List of OBCs Telangana (Report). Archived from the original on 24 December 2020. {{cite report}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch (help)
  23. ↑ Central Commission for Backward Classes (20 October 2020). Central List of OBCs Maharashtra (Report). Archived from the original on 10 November 2020.
  24. ↑ "Yadavas hail restoration of 'Golla Mirasi'". Retrieved 12 June 2020.
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