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Where Women Rule the Roost - By- Tarannum Manjul Live for today, for yesterday has gone and tomorrow still has to come. With this motto in life, this 24 year old young journalist gets going everyday. A through bred Delhite, this graduate in English honours (and several diplomas) went onto to become a journalist working for a leading National daily in Lucknow, (Uttar Pradesh) from the past 4 years. A true gemini to the soul, she loves meeting people and issues related to the underprivileged, women and children touch her the most. a budding development journalist, Tarannum loves writing about the feat achieved by her key areas, and can go anywhere to do that, with nothing stopping her.

Kotdwar, Pauri Garhwal, Uttaranchal

They may have come here more than 200 years ago. Yet the Buxas, a schedule caste tribe of Uttaranchal, have managed to keep their Rajasthani culture alive amidst the hills. Interestingly, while in Rajasthan women suffer due to pitiable status, here in Buxas, they are often seen ruling the roost when it comes to rights.

A traditional buxa hut with adjacent doors in the front and the rear and the second

Claiming to hail from the Chauhan dynasty, the Buxas reveal that their forefathers were pushed away from Rajasthan after Muhhammad Ghori's death. "We migrated to the hills, as they were the ideal places for us to hide," says Channilal Buxa, one of the eldest members of the community.

Interestingly, the Rajasthani culture and the primitive style of living is still evident amongst the Buxas. Living in mud houses, they have chakkis made in the ground. Even the storehouse for grains is made from mud, which has a small window to take the grains out. "We prefer staying in the jungles, as we feared that Ghori's men would come to catch us," says Channilal. The houses too have an interesting. Mostly one-room mud houses, they have a rear door adjacent to the front door of the house and no windows. "The fear factor prevailed here too. If the army comes to catch us, one could easily run from the rear door after seeing them entering from the front door," says another Buxa.

Marriages are a time when one realises the real power of women in the tribe. According to traditional rituals, a wannabe bridegroom comes with his family to the bride's house. While the bride's relative are seated on a high raise platform, the groom's side has to sit on the ground sans any blanket. They bring finest wine and other eatables with them, and only after the bride’s approval they are allowed to sit on the higher platform. The groom then has to stay in the bride’s house for a week before the wedding and perform all sorts of chores including feeding the cattle, cleaning the house, painting the floor and walls with cowdung and other such tasks.

Two buxa women cooking in traditional age old vessels

While the groom is away, the women in his village drink wine and enjoy themselves. They then go to the groom’s house and break it down to the last straw. They then prepare for the wedding when the groom is back and the baraat is taken to the bride’s house. “This is done because it is said that house the groom had so far was his father’s. If he thinks that he is big enough to be married off, then he should build a house of his own, where he can live with his wife,” says an elderly Buxa. The groom’s ordeal does not end here. After the wedding, he has to go to the Bhumi devta (earth god) or bhoomia’s temple to worship, where all the women relatives of the bride come and beat him with sticks. All he can do is save himself with his bare hands. He can neither hold anyone’s hands nor use anything to defend himself. A village party after which the groom takes the bride to his home follows this.

Employment is a major problems with these Buxas, which they do not want at the cost of loosing their cultural heritage. “We do not want to change ourselves according to the times. We have managed to keep our tradition alive even after such hardships, and we do not want to let it go,” says Chelaram, another Buxa.

Vikram Bisht, who included bits about these Buxas in his film on Kotdwar and Alok Rawat, a gram panchayat member, feels that the Buxas still have a long way to go for development. “They need facilities as a tribal community, keeping their cultures intact. We are trying, but due to lack of resources, all attempts are proving less fruitful.”

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