This presentation will focus on the Jogi of western Rajasthan, India, examining how they have been classified and labeled through the colonial census and how this has influenced their political engagement or collective identity today. The name of Jogi is derived from yogi, a devotee of yoga, but in western Rajasthan they are often associated with householder low-status caste rather than to ascetic renouncers (Gold 1993). They would make their living by moving from village to village in the desert, receiving alms by performances such as spelling, magic or snake-charming for the villagers.
One of the distortions caused by top-down classification of the Jogi is with the category of Kalbelia, positioned a sub-group of the Jogi. Although they have been characterized by their specific occupation or worship related to snakes, according to colonial census reports, not all snake charmers called themselves Kalbelia, but they sometimes were simply described as part of the Jogi. After independence, the crucial disconnect between Jogi and Kalbelia has occurred twice. The first was an administrative divide: only Kalbelia, not Jogi was included in the list of Scheduled Caste, incorporated from the Government of India Act of 1935. The second is a representational divide: the success of a Kalbelia woman Gulabo Sapera who became world famous in 1990s, led to the strong representation of Kalbelia as Indian “Gypsy” dancer, resulting in inscribing on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010. These two divides have affected the Jogi in my field area because they have ordinary called themselves Jogi although their lifestyle including their occupation and kinship networks corresponds to those who have called themselves Kalbelia. Through consideration of the case studies, I will clarify that the Jogi is getting a new sense of belonging as well as dilemma by getting into political engagement.
