Gaddis

The Gaddi is a semi-pastoral Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic tribe living mainly in the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

A group of Gaddi shepherds

There are several castes of gaddi tribal society namely Rajputs, brahmins and other castes namely sippis, hali, badi etc. The brahmins among the gaddis are called as bhat.Bharmour is called as the abode of gaddis. Hinduism is the only religion followed by gaddis.

Gaddis are semi nomadic, semi-agricultural and a semi-pastoral tribe. They have a defined culture, expressed through language, dress, food, marriage, song and celebrations. Gaddis have their emperial history deep- rooted in their endemic culture. In order to preserve their cultural heritage, they take pride in their culture and maintain cultural coherence from generation to generation. Gaddi is the language of Gaddi community and Tankri is the script used by the old people of the community. Other people spoke Hindi, whereas Devanagari is used as a script Caste system prevalent in gaddi community. They are classified as a Scheduled Tribe in both areas under India's reservation system.[1]