Has anyone ever been here? i have never been here but would love to.
Footloose, NOS, The News International
Memorials in Hariyar Village of Mithi District are a tribute to the ‘unsung heroes’ of Hindu mythology
By Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro
Hariyar village, in Mithi District, is noted for the temples of Malhan Devi, memorial stones and peculiar way of life of the villagers here. The Jaga Rajputs, Meghwars, (Hindus) and Kumbhars (Muslim) reside in the Hariyar. The Jaga and Meghwars worship the Malhan Devi who holds sway on their everyday behaviour. Both Jaga Rajputs and Meghwars have built separate temples for Malhan Devi. Apart from the temples of Malhan, the memorial stones also dot the landscape of the village.
There are a number of memorials stones in Hariyar village commemorating satis (widow-burning) and jhujhars (headless heroes). The memorial stones are located on a sand dune which belongs to Sonara caste of Hindus. There are ten memorial stones, all of which are in crumbling condition. Recently an incident of attempted theft of the stones was reported. Such incidents are not unusual since these memorial stones are stolen and sold at high prices abroad. These ‘treasue hunters’ have successfully stolen precious stones from every village and it still continues unabated.
The memorial stones of Sonara Hindus were erected to commemorate their heroism. Legend hast it that these Sonaras and a man from Maganhar tribe were killed by Jaga Sodha Rajputs who attacked their wedding caravan. The animals were adorned with bells. As the caravan passed by village Hariyar, the sounds of the bells reached the nearby village. Upon hearing the bells, the Jagas demanded women to take off their precious jewellery which they refused infuriating the attackers. The Jaga Rajputs killed more than three Sonaras and one Maganhar.
The Manganhars are an ancient caste of Sindh who in the past survived on the patronage of rulers and wealthy merchants. According to Hashim Faqir Maganhar of Mithi in Tharparkar, Maganhars are still keepers of family history of their masters. When a child is born in the family of a Sodha Rajput the Manganhars sing songs wishing the child a long life, apart from praising all members of the child’s family on the auspicious occasion. They also sing of the heroic deeds of the ancestors of the Sodha Rajputs. When the Samma Rajputs’ rule came to an end, some of the families of the Manganhars preferred to call themselves Sammas. Nowadays, these traditional musicians sing at the birth of a child, at marriage ceremonies and on certain other occasions. Usually, they play the dhol (drum). The Maganhar and the Charan castes have preserved the oral history of Tharparkar in their chhands (folk-poetry).
Jagas – the devotes of Malhan Devi _ state that Malhan has prohibited the wearing of elaborate jewellery particularly small bells that jingle. Furthermore, Malhan has warned her devotees of the dangers of luxurious life and the importance of simple living. The message of Malhan Devi is clearly a lesson from the aforementioned incident. The widows of the men who were killed took the bodies of their husbands and became satis for whom these stones were built.
Their memorial stones immortalise the lives of these women like Keats’ Grecian urn. All the Sati stones carry the similar image of Namaskar. The memorial stones are divided into two parts the upper containing the image of either Sati or Jhujhar and lower bearing the text that explains the probable cause of death of the sati or hero.
Later, the descendents of the Sonaras erected the memorials stones on the same place where their ancestors and Maganhar fell. They also erected a memorial for Maganhar believing that he also died defending their patrons. This memorial stone is testimony to the fact that the Maganhar died while serving and defending his patrons, something they took great pride in.
The devotees of Malhan still follow the tenets and women do not wear jewellery or ornaments. Their dwellings are made of wooden and hay stack. They do not use burnt or unbaked bricks while building the house. Interestingly, not a single house in the village has a door. Apart from the memorial stones located on the sand dune, there is memorial stone of Hario Parmar Rajput situated below the sand dune. According to Aanbji Jago Sodho who is the Patel (village head) of Hariyar, Hario from whom sprang Haripota, migrated some centuries back from Janrro area near Jaislmer and settled in the Mithi where he founded the village by the name of Hariyar. He was the devotee of Malhan Devi. He demonstrated many parchas ( miracles) of Hario Parmar.The villagers of Hariyar also worship Hario Rajput.