The Gaddis are a tribe living on both sides of the Dhauladhar Range in the state of Himachel Pradesh, India. They are mostly found in the Brahmaur region of the Chamba district and the valleys of the Upper Ravi and the Budhil rivers. They are also found in the Kangra District - particularly in villages near Dharamsala. The Dhauladhar range is a southern branch of the main Himalayan chain of mountains. ... Himachal Pradesh (हिमाचल प्रदेश) is a state in northwest India. ... Chamba, the northwestern district of Himachal Pradesh, has a common border with Jammu. ... Ravi could refer to any of these : Ravi, a Hindu solar deity. ... Dharamsala is a town in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. ...

Elderly Gaddi man at Dharamkot, H.P. 2004

They are mostly semi-nomadic - that is, while they have homes in villages, they often travel with their flocks to higher pastures in the summer. Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 235 KB)I took this photo of my old friend, Baktu, myself in 2004 at Dharmkote, above Dharamsala. ... Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 235 KB)I took this photo of my old friend, Baktu, myself in 2004 at Dharmkote, above Dharamsala. ...

Their early history is unclear, but their own traditions assert that they are originated from the migrations of various peoples who have fled the plains for the relative security of the hills during times of trouble. It is thought that the Chauhan Rajputs and Brahman Gaddis came to Chamba in 850-70 CE, while most of the other casts are thought to have fled to the hills during the time of Aurangzeb's persecutions. A Rajput (from Sanskrit rāja-putra, son of a king) is a member of a prominent caste who live throughout northern and central India, primarily in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, although not all Rajputs find their origin in Rajasthan. ... In the Vedantic (and subsequently Yogic) schools of Hinduism, Brahman is the signifying name given to the concept of the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality that is the Divine Ground of all being. ... Abu Muzaffar Muhiuddin Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir (November 3, 1618 – March 3, 1707), usually known as Aurangzeb, but also sometimes as Alamgir I, was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1658 until 1707. ...

They are Hindu and belong to several castes including Brahmin, Rajput, Khatri, Rana and Thakur. This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ... Punjabi Khatri is a subcaste of the Kshatriya caste that is specific to Punjab. ... Rana is: A municipality in the county of Nordland, Norway, see Rana, Norway The Rana family, who usurped control of Nepal from the mid-19th century until 1951, reducing the monarch to a figurehead and ruling through hereditary government positions A genus of frogs (rana is Latin for frog) La...

They are widely respected for their honesty, friendliness, and peaceful lifestyle. Crime is almost unknown in Gaddi communities.

External Links

http://123himachal.com/himachal/gaddis.htm

References

• Verma, V. 1996. Gaddis of Dhauladhar: A Transhumant Tribe of the Himalayas. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi.

Gaddi woman cutting grass. Painting by Alfred Hallett, c. 1975

Gaddi village men with hookah, on mountain path near Dharamsala, 1980

Gaddi man stopping for a chat on path to Dharamkot, 2004