“Tribe of India: Patelia”

The term 'Patelia' has been derived from the term Patel which locally means 'headman'. The Patelias are mostly distributed in Panchamahal district. they're also distributed in Surat, Kheda, Sabarkantha and Ahmedabad districts. 

They speak among themselves in Bhili and with outsiders in Gujarati. They use Gujarati script. They also speak in Hindi.

They are listed under the category of scheduled tribes; in 1981 census, their population was 70,230 and in 2001 their population was 1,09,390. 

The Patelia are non-vegetarian. They take mutton, chicken, eggs and fish. Maize and wheat constitute the staple diet for them. Rice is taken occasionally. They eat pulses of tur, urad, gram, chawala and moong. Ground nut oil is employed for cooking purposes. They consume all the vegetables available in their area. They use roots and tubers also which they gather from the forest. Consumption of alcoholic drinks is common among them. They distill liquor from mahua (Bassia latifoliaj) or mollasses. They smoke bidi and use tobacco.

The community features a number of exogamous clans. All the clans enjoy an equal status. The Patelia clans are grouped under six broader categories; they seem to have been borrowed from Rajputs. They're Farmer, Solanki, Jadav, Chauhan, Gohil and Rathor. Parmar includes Skya, Bhagat, Gangodiya Budia, Glot, Godad, Wagal, Chautar, Kochara Devaliya, Suswad and Eal, clans. Solanki Comprises of Jhaniya, Rojada (Rose), Nalwaya, ananiya, Cohari, Bariya, Chopada and Hihor. Jadav consists of clans like Khaped, Bhuriya, Damor, Hathila. Chauhan includes clans like B'habhor, Pasya, Katara, Mori, Dundawa, Dhokiya and Wawadiya. Gohil have just one clan, Gamar Rathore includes clans like Chota and Bada. In step with the Gazetteer of India (1972), "The Patelias found in Dohad claims Rajput descent". this can be the plausible explanation for the grouping of clans under Rajput clan categories.

The Patelia are monogamous. They follow community endogamy and clan exogamy. They also exclude the members of the clan of mother's brother in marriage alliances. The wedding age for the ladies is from sixteen to eighteen years and for boys it's from eighteen to twenty years. Negotiated marriage type is most prevalent, but lugda-ladi (marriage without full rites) and bhagedi-vivah (marriage by elopement) also are prevalent among them. The symbols of the marriage of a lady are mangalsutra (beed necklace), kankcu in hair parting, nose pin and toe rings. The Patelias are patrilineal in descent and patrilocal in residence. Divorce and remarriages are permitted. Widow remarriage is additionally allowed. This involves a quick ritual. In cases of divorce, the little ones become the responsibility of the daddy. Compensation is paid to the aggrieved party.

Extended and nuclear kinds of families co-exist among the Patelia. They favour extended kind of family. The daughter-in-law maintains avoidance relations together with her husband's father and elder brother as she keeps a veil before them. Property is equally divided among the sons. The eldest son succeeds the daddy. Inter- family linkages within and outdoors the community remain warm and friendly. : Women don't inherit parental property. They fully help their men folk within the economic activities. They participate altogether in the varied agricultural operations but with this they also engage themselves in household work. Patelia women are also employed in permanent jobs. They contribute to the family income and play a crucial role within the management of family affairs. Patelia women collect fuel and fodder. They also participate in socio-religious activities. However the ultimate authority rests upon the eldest male within the family. Women have a lower position when compared to men.

The Patelia have samajj panch or nate panch; The headman of the samaji panch is Pramukh or Patel and his post is hereditary. Agewans (five members of panch) are elected by a voice vote. It settles the disputes among the community members at the village level. A much bigger organization involving 25 villages is referred to as Samast Patelia Gujarati Panch exists, it had been constituted within the year 1971. The officials of the Samast Patelia Gujarati Panch are President, Vice-president, Secretary, Joint Secretary, Treasurer etc. They work for the welfare of the community and initiate reforms. It's also working for the removal of evil habits like alcoholism. 

Patelias propitiate various deities like Ramedeo Pir, Shiva, etc. Mostly they're devi-worshippers. The propitiate Kalka devi, Chamunda devi, Ambaji, (Sabarkantha). They need affiliation to varied sects like Swami Muktanande Panari etc: They worship Ram, Krishna and Ganpati. 

The Patelias celebrate variety of festivals throughout the year. A number of them are Holi, Dhuleti, Rakhi, Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali, Janmashtami, Shivratri, Diwasa, Dashera and Ramnavmi. They also do garba dance also during Navratri festival. The ladies sing folk songs. Traditional inter-community linkages are found with variety of communities within the area. The Brahman priest is consulted during naming ceremony of the kid, death rites and marriage. The Gosai works as a temple-priest. The barber serves on the occasion marriage and death rites of the Patelias. They need commensally norms with all the groups except the Harijans take girls from the Bhils. But these cases are only a few and are of rare occurrences. The Patelia have linkages with the Vaniya, Desari, Jain, Bhil and Modiye communities within the area. There's an M.L.A. belonging to the current community in Panchmahal district. The Patelia participate within the political activities' at the local, taluka and district levels. The Patelia are receiving educational 'facilities within the schools and colleges. They send their children to varsities and put them within the hostels too, whenever it becomes necessary. They educate the women also. Keeping up with the 2001 census 36,523 males and 20,513 female were literate out of the full population of 1,09,390.

They avail of the facilities of public distribution system (ration). Banking facilities are available to them in urban centers and towns.