Kulis

Abstract

The name 'Kuli' might have been derived from the word 'Kula', the dumb-bell of the cow, or from the word 'Kulina' meaning clean work, denoting their traditional occupation of weaving. Like the Koli the Kulis are weavers by profession though reportedly in the past their main occupation was cotton carding. The Kulis form a part and parcel of the generic weaver caste which has been divided into a number of sub-castes and each of these sub-castes have attained the status of full-fledged castes in course of time. They are known by their title as Meher. The Kulis are strictly endogamous and divided into twenty exogamous totemistic septs. Kulis family is nuclear, patrilocal and patrilineal. Monogamy is a common rule and marriage through negotiation is the ideal form of marriage in their society. They practice burial or cremation to dispose of their dead and observe the death pollution for eleven days.