Bafan
The Bafan are a Muslim community found in the state of Gujarat in India and a province of Sindh in Pakistan. They are one of a number of communities of Maldhari pastoral nomads found in the Banni region of Kutch.
History and origin
The Bafan claim to have originally from Sindh, and are a clan of the Thaheem tribe. They are said to have gotten the name bafan on account of their practice of eating boiled meat. The word bafan in the Kutchi means to boil. After leaving Sindh, the tribe's first settlement in Kutch was the village of Nagiari. The Bafan are now found mainly in Kutch, with smaller communities in Jamnagar and Sabarkantha.
Present circumstances
The Bafan speak a dialect of Kutchi, with substantial Sindhi loan words. They have four lineages, the Makani, Aliyani, Jassani, and Issacuola. Each of these live in a particular locality known as falia. Each of these clans are of equal status, and intermarry. Marriages are preferred with parallel cousins.
The majority of the Bafan are settled agriculturists, and few have access to irrigation facilities. They are essentially a community of marginal farmers. Historically, the Bafan were pastoral Maldhari nomads, raising buffaloes, cows and sheep, and grazed them in the Banni region. A few families are still nomads and are involved in selling milk to Bhuj. They often migrate to Saurashtra with to graze their cattle. Like many other Kutchis, the Bafan have migrated to others parts of India in search of work.
Podcasts:
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by Richard Thompson
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by Maroon 5
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by The Legendary Pink Dots
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by Bl
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by Graham Nash
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by Radio Dead Ones
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by Blof
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by June Tabor
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by Amazing Blondel
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by M2M
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by In Extremo
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by Tribe
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by Crown The Empire
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by Savoy
Pavanne
by: Richard ThompsonPavanne, cold steel woman Pavanne
How do you love a woman
With eyes cold as the barrel of her gun
Who's never missed her mark on anyone
Pavanne, Pavanne, Pavanne
Casino doors swing open, the rich men raise their eyes
They say who is this beauty as elegant as ice
And later there's an accident, another charge d'affair
Is lying in a pool of blood, no witness anywhere
And they say she was a hundred miles away
The hotel porter saw her climb the stairs
And the maid with trembling hands knows what to say
When the judge says "Are your sure," "I'm sure" she
swears
Pavanne, cold steel woman Pavanne
How do you love a woman
With eyes cold as the barrel of her gun
Who's never missed her mark on anyone
Pavanne, Pavanne, Pavanne
At the presidential palace a thousand people saw
His excellency leave his car and never make the door
The blood flows from his fingers as he clutches at the
stain
He staggers like a drunken man, lies twisted in the
rain
And they say she grew up well provided for
Her mother used to keep her boys for sure
And father's close attentions led to talk
She learned to stab her food with a silver fork
Pavanne, cold steel woman Pavanne
And they say she didn't do it for the money
And they say she didn't do it for a man
They say that she did it for the pleasure
The pleasure of the moment
Pavanne, cold steel woman Pavanne
How do you stop this woman
When everyone is moving in a trance
Like prisoners of some slow, courtly dance
Pavanne, Pavanne, Pavanne