Tribal women of Sindh who gave up nomadism and started business

There are many nomadic tribes of Sindh who have given up nomadism and now started business in which their women are playing a key role.

There are many nomadic tribes living in Sindh, including Kobutre, Gurgle, Sansi, Ravade, Jogi, Barghey, Madari, Shikhari, Gadoliya, Lohar, Gwarey, Jat, and many other tribes.

People belonging to many of these tribes will be seen begging at various places such as bus stops, railway stations, hospitals and shrines.

But now there are some tribes who have left nomadism and settled permanently in different cities and towns of Sindh.

These tribes engage in labor and small businesses instead of begging. The women of these business and labor tribes are seen helping men in this work.

Among the tribes now permanently settled in the cities is a Loharia tribe. This blacksmith clan is also known as Kariya or Gadoliya blacksmiths.

This tribe used to make iron weapons for Raja Maharaja Pratab of Mewar.

Devi Lohar is a woman of the same tribe who says ‘We adopted nomadism, we used to have a wooden cart (bull cart) that was our home. In this wooden car we used to go to one village one week and another village the other week. We used to make agricultural tools for the farmers there. In return, the farmers used to give us wheat, rice and millet.’

Devi Lohar currently resides with her family and tribe in Thar Nabi Sir, a small town in Thar. She also helps her husband Khan in iron work and sells goods carrying baskets on her head.

Devi says, ‘Since machines have come in farming, our iron work has also stopped completely, so our livelihood has also become difficult. Otherwise, the women of our tribe did not do this work. We only used to help our men in iron work. But now we carry baskets and go door to door, go to bus stops, railway stations, fairs and sell these goods.’

It is not only the women of the Lohar tribe who do this, but also the women of other nomadic tribes. Which includes the women of Gargle, Gower and Brohi tribes.

Devi Lohar says that ‘I buy all the goods from Kunari city, I also go alone to buy the goods and I also go alone to sell.’

He said that ‘when we go to sell goods in towns, there are more dogs, they come to bite us and women in towns do not leave their houses, so they have to go from house to house.’

He said that sometimes women charge a very low price while buying goods, in which they have to haggle, sometimes there is no business at all, so they have to beg to sell the goods.

Devi says that a box of face cream costs five rupees, a bundle of bangles costs three to five rupees, toys cost three to five rupees.

Devi said that we speak Sindhi, Urdu, Dhatki and the languages ​​spoken in Sindh because when we go to sell goods, we get buyers of every language, but we still find our favorite language to be Marwari. And we also like our clothes, that’s why we have not left the language or the clothes till today.’

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