The word “gypsy” has colourful associations, someone freely travelling without any restriction, travelling whereever they want to, whenever they want to, dressed in gaily coloured clothes and wearing colourful beads, that makes them stand out from the rest of the community. Their lifestyle and specially the language, which sounds familiar yet strange. The narikuravar whom we see in various parts of the city too embellish these qualities. A peek into their lifestyle shows that here are an ancient people, who have sadly fallen into poverty and are mistrusted by society.
Top trappers
The name Narikuravar - Nari – Jackal and Kuravar – men, came as the men of this community were skilled in trapping the jackal, which is supposed to be the most cunning animal. The man would sit inside a net-like contraption and howl like a jackal. Hoodwinked by the realistic howl, the jackal would come to investigate and will be caught by the gypsy. They are also know by another name – kuruvikaran - Kuruvi – bird, Karan – man, again this term denotes their skilful hunting methods. They were adept at catching birds, especially for their cooking pot.
Hunting was their occupation until the implementation of the Wildlife Protection Act, prohibited hunting. This changed their lifestyle and they now make bead jewellary and sell knick-knacks.
Their language is known as Vagriboli, which is a mixture of Marathi, Telugu and Tamil. It doesn't have a script and is classified as Indo-Aryan. An important aspect in their cultural practice is the bundle of clothes called the sami-mootai meaning “God's bundle.” Clothes are dipped in blood of animals sacrificed by the Narikuravas and the sami-mootai of one clan must not be touched by members of another clan. The eldest son inherits the bundle on his father's death. The man who has the oldest bundle is considered the most prestigious man in his society.
The Narikuravars were placed under the Criminal Tribes Act 1871 and even after independence they still live under the cloud of this term.
Poverty, illiteracy and discrimination are the struggles that confront this community. A social-welfare organisation named “ Narikurava Seva Sangam” was formed in 1996 to educate the children.
Many groups have been persuaded to settle down in permanent places and most children attend school. There are many who have completed their Std. XII exam and most of them dream of becoming teachers, so that they can educate the children of their community
