KOLI TRIBE The Koli community is an ethnic group found throughout India. Kolis are found in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and rest of India. In
Maharashtra they are found in the coastal regions of Maharashtra. They are also one of the original inhabitants of Greater Mumbai, which comprises the seven islands of Bombay. In Maharashtra the Kolis almost exclusively speak Marathi language, though some Koli communities speak a variant dialect of Marathi. The Kolis of Mumbai are dispersed all over the city, especially along the western coast of the city. The Kolis of Vasai are Hindu and Christian, though both belong to the Marathi ethnic group. The community has several subcastes , the prominent ones are Koli, mangela Kolis, Vaity kolis, Christian Kolis, Mahadeo kolis, Suryawanshi kolis.
The ethnographic study was done on the women of Koli tribe in the two different aspects, COSTUME and SPACE. Places Visited- Worli Koliwada and Mahim Koliwada The basic occupation of the tribe is selling fishes. Traditionally, most of the families of the tribe own a boat collectively or separately which is used to catch the fishes during the night and dawn. The men of the families go to collect and catch the fishes which are further sold by the women during different time periods of the day. The boat is like a property to them which they own just like jewels as stated by one of the women of the tribe who was interviewed. Different time periods in which the women sell fishes• 10a.m. to 1.p.m. •4p.m. to 9:30p.m. Days of maximum saleMonday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Because, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday are days when people avoid eating non-vegetarian food. Rent of the space they have in the fish marketRs. 200
Koliwada Worli (Space)
Koliwada Worli is situated near Bandra Worli sea link. The famous Worli fish market is situated in the interiors of Worli village with small yet colourful shanties and chawls, old duplexes. The fish market is built under a tin shade supported by iron poles. The area is occupied by plastic crates and cold storages made out of thermocol. The central area of the market is on a raised height of approximately 1foot with a lane on one side for passersby. The sellers display the fishes on wooden table of 1.5 – 2.5 feet height and are seated on the crates or small stools.
Layout – Worli fish market
The fish market is surrounded by small lanes and houses. Some part is also occupied by vegetable and flower vendors. The seating arrangement is not fixed; therefore the fisherwomen as well as other women might not sit on the same place every day.
Personal Space of every fisherwoman in the market.
Costume Koli women possess an individuality when it comes to their attire and each element of which is functional, complementing the daily chores of the women. Standing out distinctly, the koli who has tried not give up on or her traditional attire but due to certain challenges faced like price rise, unavailability of certain materials etc.
SAREE Traditional the saree is 12 meters or 9 meters in length but due to the feasibility they drape the conventional 6 meters saree. If required to wear 12 meters saree, they join two 6 meters saree and is worn usually by elder women who know the draping style. The length saree ends just below the knee as they work in wet surroundings. Unlike the normal saree this is not finished with fall and pico. Women nowadays also opt for simpler options like wearing a shirt instead of blouse or wearing a full length straight gown instead of a saree.
BLOUSE Blouse or Choli is a simple round neck upper garment. The length of the sleeves ends just above the elbow. The material used is usually cotton and is made without lining. ACCESSORIES Initially the women did not believe in bank accounts and invest almost all their savings in gold and flaunted it with gold stud earrings, nose stud, mangalsutra and bangles. Due to unfavorable financial conditions the adorn artificial jewellery, following the similar patterns as the original gold ones. Green glass bangles and Bindi on the forehead of the koli women is a mark of a married woman. The hair of the women is ties neatly into a bun so that their does not distract or disturb them while they are on work.
Neatly pleated 6 meters calf length sari worn with round neck cotton blouse and elbow sleeves accessorized with traditional jewellery.
Round bindi, gold polished round stud earrings , mangalsutra as traditionally worn by the Koli women.
Simplified the attire by replacing a blouse by a shirt for comfort but the jewellery remains similar to the traditional ones.
Replacing Saree with a full length gown for hassle free work and also, due to changing weather conditions, still accessorized with the traditional adornments. The houses of the Koli tribe is situated nearby. Hence, they don’t need to travel anywhere else.
CONCLUSION The tribe has its own hurdles and problems as stated by the women of the tribe. They have small groups in their own community amongst themselves practicing the occupation. Due to change in the employment sector as well as shift in the occupations, there has been a lot of changes in their livelihood in terms of their attire and space they live in. For example, Traditionally, the women of the Koli tribe used to wear pure gold jewellery which used to be like a property to them for emergency situations. But now, it has been replaced by artificial ones though the designs still remain the same, as stated by Suman (One of the fisherwomen interviewed in Worli Fish Market) Also, they have to depend upon the weather and natural conditions which affects their regular income. There has been adulteration in the fish market in terms of selling fishes as many other groups of people other than Kolis are getting into the same profession i.e. selling fishes door to door hampering their business and livelihood. Moreover, the current fisherwomen are elderly and their profession is not willingly carried out by the next generation as they are more interested in educating their children and getting a secured job. But, due to unemployment in different sectors of the country, they are bound to continue their family occupation, as stated by, Anusia Koli (One of the fisherwomen interviewed in Mahim Fish Market)