Rajasthan: Fairs, Festivals, Customs, Attire and Ornaments

What the official syllabus says

RPSC, RAS/RTS Preliminary Examination, General Knowledge and General Science, under “History, Art, Culture, Literature, Tradition & Heritage of Rajasthan”:

• Social Life in Rajasthan: Fairs and festivals; Social customs and traditions; attires and ornaments.

Topics in detail

Fairs

• Religious fairs: Pushkar (Kartik Purnima; also a camel and cattle fair), Ramdevra (Bhadrapada), Gogamedi, Tejaji at Parbatsar, Kaila Devi (Chaitra), Karni Mata at Deshnok, Kolayat (Kartik Purnima), Shitla Mata at Chaksu, Mahavirji, Urs at Ajmer
• Tribal fairs: Beneshwar (Dungarpur, at the meeting of the Som and Mahi; Magh Purnima), Gautameshwar (Pratapgarh), Sitabari (Baran; the Sahariyas), Ghotiya Amba (Banswara)
• Cattle fairs: Pushkar, Tejaji (Parbatsar), Mallinath (Tilwara), Ramdev (Nagaur), Baldev (Merta), Gomati Sagar (Jhalrapatan), Chandrabhaga (Jhalrapatan)
• Tourism festivals: Desert Festival (Jaisalmer), Camel Festival (Bikaner), Marwar Festival (Jodhpur), Mewar Festival (Udaipur), Dussehra fair (Kota)

Festivals

• Gangaur (worship of Isar and Gauri, Chaitra; processions in Jaipur and Udaipur), Teej (Shravan; Kajli Teej at Bundi), Akha Teej (Vaishakh; a day for weddings)
• Sheetla Ashtami (Basoda), Holi and Dhulandi, Raksha Bandhan, Navratri and Dussehra, Diwali, Makar Sankranti (kite flying)
• Festivals of other communities: Id-ul-Fitr, Id-ul-Zuha, Muharram; Paryushan and Mahavir Jayanti; Gurpurab; Christmas
• Festivals linked to the farming calendar and to folk deities (Goga Navami, Teja Dashami)

Social customs and traditions

• The sixteen sanskaras as practised: birth (jaata-karma, jalwa puja), naming, mundan, marriage, death
• Marriage customs: sagai, tika, ban, toran, mayra or bhaat (gifts from the maternal uncles of the bride or groom), phere; nata (remarriage) among some communities
• Death customs: barhavan, mausar (death feast; restricted by the Rajasthan Mrityu Bhoj Nivaran Adhiniyam, 1960)
• Harmful practices and the laws against them: sati (Rajasthan Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987), child marriage, dowry, purdah, witch-hunting (Rajasthan Prevention of Witch-Hunting Act, 2015)
• Village institutions: caste panchayats, jajmani ties, hospitality customs (manuhar), opium sharing (amal) at gatherings
• Tribal customs: Bhil pal and phala settlements, Garasia marriage forms, the Gavari cycle

Attire

• Men: pagri or safa (leheriya, mothda, pachranga; styles of Mewar and Marwar), angarkha, jama, achkan, bandhgala (Jodhpuri coat), dhoti, breeches (jodhpurs), kamarbandh, potiya of tribal men
• Women: ghaghra, kanchli, kurti, odhni; printed odhnis such as leheriya, chunari and pomcha (given on the birth of a child) and piliya; the toonkiya and jamiya of tribal women
• Textiles and colours linked to festivals and seasons (leheriya at Teej)

Ornaments

• Head and forehead: borla (rakhdi), sheesh phool, maang tika
• Ear and nose: jhumka, karnaphool, bali; nath, laung, bhanwariya
• Neck: hansli, timaniya, aad, gulband, mandaliya
• Arms and wrists: bajuband, tadda, gajra, kada, chooda (bangles of ivory, lac or bone worn by married women)
• Waist and feet: kandora (tagdi), payal, kadla, todal, bichhiya

Society and family

• Caste and community structure in villages; the joint family; the role of the Charans and Bhats as genealogists
• Position of women: purdah and ghoonghat in the past, education and reform; women’s songs and rituals
• Customs of hospitality (manuhar), gifting at fairs and marriages, community feasts

Overlaps

Fairs, festivals, tribes and their traditions are in Mains Paper I (Unit I, Part A); tribes are also on Geography of Rajasthan.