Motibhai Tramta Oral History Interview, 2025-06-06

Motibhai Tramta recounts his lifelong work in pastoralism, offering a detailed portrayal of everyday herding practices, from morning preparations and identifying grass quality to reading animal behavior and planning grazing routes. He highlights the cultural knowledge systems of Rabari pastoralism, including respect for shared landscapes, water conservation practices, and unwritten community rules for using grasslands and forests. Motibhai describes major ecological and policy shifts that affected his livelihood: the shrinking of grasslands, and Forest Department restrictions on grazing access. He reflects on the resulting pressures on livestock health, community movements, and household economies. (00:00:00) Pastoral childhood - fun with cattle; Current practice is herding Goats, cows and buffaloes and some agriculture.

(00:01:47) Pastoral children learn skills of herding and livestock maintenance

(00:03:01) Sheep shearing

(00:03:51) Changes in grazing routes - earlier would go to the hills near Reshamiya, Jhalawad and Muli. Getting food during duration was uncertain earlier. Now this has declined.

(00:05:41) 5 of his Maldhari friends would go together for migration earlier

(00:06:09) Narrates an incident of Lakhabapu (his friend) who’s camels got lost; complaint was reported in Limbdi Police Station but later they came back on their won

(00:08:15) Wildlife encounters during migration

(00:08:43) Better quality grass earlier during better monsoon season; Maldharis from other regions would come here, Darbars would govern grasslands but open for grazing seasonally

(00:09:33) Speaks about low sighting of Senna uniflora (invasive species) coming up in Reshamiya, it was seen in Kadi not here

(00:10:35) Raatad, faliya - grasses that grew earlier

(00:11:06) Describes an old tree that was medicinal in Bawal gaala

(00:12:08) Medicinal plants - gengda (local name of plant used to heal stomach ache)

(00:14:05) The local milk economy helps sustain life now

(00:14:39) Grasslands coming under the Forest Department and boundaries drawn, Reshamiya-Tramboda village boundaries redrawn;

(00:15:44) Loss of vagda (temporary camping of Maldharis) areas due of land coming under the Forest Department

(00:16:49) Land under forest department has one benefit - it is saved from other encroachment

(00:17:35) Due to an ongoing legal case, the Forest Department does not allow grazing in the contested grassland. Maldharis from Reshamiya were hit by Koli Patels of Tramboda village over boundaries

(00:19:26) Several discussions done but no agreement reached

(00:20:15) Factories came up on the Wakaner road, younger generation of Maldharis in that area prefer working there now