The Mala ( pronounced maahl-ur) are a large community in India, found all over but mainly in the Deccan and South India.
The are allied to the tough Mahars in neighbouring maharashtra. They are primarily agricultural labourers and vllage servants. Among Malas there is only a small occupational subcaste, that of Mala weavers. The surnames and gotras of the Malas indicate some geographical locations like Reddibhoomi for instance.
Similar communities are found, the Mala- pahadiyas in Bengal and a similar caste in Tamilnadu. Mainly, they are agricultural labourers. In Andhra Pradesh, the Malas are still rather poor labourers, but many have taken to education and have joined the middle class.
In the state of Maharashtra due to the military tradition of Shivaji, the Mahars who were village servants gave a good account of themselves as soldiers, fighting shoulder to shoulder with the upper caste Marathas and Kunbis. The Mahars suffered a setback during the later Peshwa times. But sufficient democratic military tradition remained, and they were in fact recognized by the formation of a Mahar regiment of the Indian army which is famous and existing to this day. ( The thousands of known and unknown Mahars who sacrificed their lives made it possible for leaders like Dr. Ambedkar to emerge later.)
However, there are few genuine old Mala or Mahar traditions which have been written down : most are silly medieval explanations of how they were given a low status.
The Mahars or Malas seem to hail primarily from the drier upland areas like the Deccan plateau. Also, very significant, is the motif of the hunter on a horse. The earlier deity was just a hunters' god, but later it acquired a horse. For some reason , perhaps ritual sacrifice, the horseman who loses his head but continues riding is a recurring motif in various regions. In some places, it is named Vetala. This is found in european folklore as well.
Very little fieldwork has been done on these topics by academics, unfortunately. Yet all the communities have a rich tradition, oral for the most part and unpublished.
adapted from an article by vrr
