The Kanjari are a tribe with significant populations in India and Pakistan. The Kanjari language is spoken mostly by the Kanjari people living in Punjab. Kanjari is a lesser-known Indo Aryan language, but almost all also speak Punjabi.[1] The Kanjari speak 4-5 languages along with their native language, called Charsi. It consists of different sounds of animals and birds, coded words, and signs.[2]
In the British Raj, the Kanjaris were listed under the 1871 Criminal Tribes Act as a tribe "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offenses."[3]
For centuries, Lucknow was a hub for affluent families would send their children to be educated in Lucknow. This has been home to a large community of Kanjari for centuries. A recent study found that: "A Kanjari hears the music of tabla and ghungroo from the day of her birth and must begin her formal education before her non-Kanjari friends start going to school."[6]
InPakistan, two distinct communities go by the name Kanjari. Over the centuries they became associated with the profession of peripatetic craftsmen and entertainers, best known for the terracotta toys they produce. The term 'Kanjar' is a slur generally used to refer to a person of low moral character than as a reference to the tribe.[7][8][page needed]
Although nomadic, the Kanjari follow a set route and often maintain a relationship with the villages they visit. Many of the men work as agricultural labourers. Their tents are made from split bamboo or munji grass, and their encampments can be found at the edges of villages, as well as in urban areas such as Faisalabad and Lahore.[1]
They are the subject of the Hindi story Indrajal (Magic in English), by Jaishankar Prasad.
In the Lollywood film Bol, prominent character Saqa Kanjari, financially helps a fanatic hakim after the latter bribes the police to cover up the honour killing of his son. The hakim in return had to bear a daughter for Saqa Kanjar's daughter Meena.
^ abKanjar Social Organization by Joseph C Berland in The other nomads: peripatetic minorities in cross-cultural perspective / edited by Aparna Rao pages247 to 268 ISBN3-412-08085-3 Köln : Böhlau, 1987.
^Madan Meena: Secret Language of the Kanjar Community, Fellowship from Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research, USA
^Taboo: The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area by Fouzia Saeed, Oxford University Press, page 61
^Kanjar Social Organization by Joseph C Berland in The other nomads : peripatetic minorities in cross-cultural perspective / edited by Aparna Rao pages247 to 268 ISBN3-412-08085-3 Köln : Böhlau, 1987.
^Taboo: The Hidden Culture of a Red Light Area by Fouzia Saeed, Oxford University Press ISBN0195797965
