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Devmali

This document provides information about Devmali village located 90 km from Ajmer, India. It is dominated by the Gurjar community who worship Lord Devnarayan. According to beliefs, Lord Devnarayan came as a guru and taught the villagers to protect the village, poor and cows. They were asked not to use cement, iron or build permanent houses. The village has a temple and memorial for Lord Devnarayan. Villagers follow these beliefs and think breaking them will anger the god. The village has a population of around 1200 with equal male to female ratio. Occupations include farming and some government jobs.

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Santript Sinha
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370 views11 pages

Devmali

This document provides information about Devmali village located 90 km from Ajmer, India. It is dominated by the Gurjar community who worship Lord Devnarayan. According to beliefs, Lord Devnarayan came as a guru and taught the villagers to protect the village, poor and cows. They were asked not to use cement, iron or build permanent houses. The village has a temple and memorial for Lord Devnarayan. Villagers follow these beliefs and think breaking them will anger the god. The village has a population of around 1200 with equal male to female ratio. Occupations include farming and some government jobs.

Uploaded by

Santript Sinha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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2.

Accessibility to devmali from:


● Poornima University-. Jaipur railway station-
No direct train available,
Train runs from Jaipur to Ajmer.

190 km from Poornima University.


No direct transportation available. Sindhi camp bus stand-
No direct bus to Devmali.
● Ajmer railway station- Jaipur to ajmer bus available.
No train available from the railway
station​.
3. Vegetation, wind direction and climatology:
A. Vegetation-
Scattered vegetation in and around round
the village.
Types of trees- Neem and Khejri
Thorny shrubs around the village.
B. Wind direction-
The predominant average wind direction
in the area changes throughout the year.
January to March- From the North.
March to October- From the west
October to January- From the East
C. Climatology-
Climate type- Composite
Temperature- Summer avg- 33.3 deg. cel.
Winter avg- 14.8 deg. Cel.
Rainfall- 557 mm annually.
Soil type- Sandy and arid
4.Local materials used as building materials:
1. Mud- Construction of walls and flooring.
2. Stone- Construction of walls and boundary walls.
3. Wood- Construction of roof structure and window
Frames, doors. I
4. Clay tiles- Construction of roof.
5. Thatch- Construction of roof.
6. Cow dung- Construction of flooring ( mixed with mud) or
over mud layer.
7. Bamboo- Construction of roof structure.

Additional:-
Stone flooring can be used to provide durability to flooring.
5. Substitute for Steel and cement and other basic
materials in Construction:
Substitute for Steel-
● Wooden logs- wooden logs of trees such as-
Sal, sheesham, can provide strength in roof structure.
● Bamboo- Can be used in roof framing over wooden supports.
Substitute for cement-
● Mud- Mud can be used in place of cement in stone masonry as well as
flooring.
● Cow dung- Mixed with mud or lime, can be used for wall plastering
instead of cement.
● Lime- Can be used in stone masonry and wall plastering and flooring.
Also used in painting walls mixed with desired
● Bitumen paint- A layer of this paint is applied over wooden logs or
bamboo to protect from decaying agents.
This paint has been used in many houses for longer durability of roof
structures.
6. History of Devmali:
Devmali, a small village located 90 kms from Ajmer, is
dominated by Gurjar
community who worship their lord Devnarayan ,who is
believed to be an incarnation of lord Vishnu.
According to the villagers, lord Devnarayan came to the
village and guided them
as a guru and teached them better ways of life.
He asked the villagers to always protect: gaonv (village),
gareeb( poor),
and
gau ( cow).
The villagers were asked not to build pucca houses and
avoid the use of iron and
cement in construction of their houses.
He also guided them to avoid consumption of meat and
alcohol.
The villagers constructed a pucca temple for the god and
also constructed his
memorial house where he attained samadhi.
Superstitious beliefs:
● Building pucca houses could bring misfortune to the villagers.
● Once a few thieves stole valuable items from the Devnarayan temple, but
they couldn't get out of the village and kept running around the temple.
They are believed to have lost the sense of direction as a punishment by
the god Devnarayan.
● All the villagers follow the teachings of their lord Devnarayan and they
believe if his teachings are disobeyed,they will be severely punished.
● They believe no theft or crime can happen in their village as long as the
god is protecting them.
● They believe the rocks down the hill are inclined as they bow down to the
temple of lord Devnarayan situated on the hilltop.
● Nobody uses coolers or ac in their houses.
● Nobody locks their homes as they believe no theft can happen there.
● The village priests known as “Bhopa”, cures villagers diseases and
ailments by his “Jhaad Foonk” or occult practice of treatment.
7. Advantages and disadvantages of those
beliefs:
● Advantages-
1. As a result of their pledge of not constructing modern pucca houses,
the heritage of the village is still preserved.
2. The villagers follow their own culture and maintain their identity.
3. Not a single case of thievery has been reported since last 50 years.
4. The villagers live a very sustainable and simple lifestyle.
● Disadvantages-
1. Villagers have forced themselves​ to live in houses that have failed
to withstand natural calamities.
2. All the lands have been named after lord Devnarayan, and villagers
don't own a single piece of land in the village. As a result they don't get
any loans from banks or any of the government benefits.
8. Pictures of Devmali:
9. About Devmali:
A. Population- 1205
Male- 607, female- 598
B. Sex ratio- 102 males on 100 females.
C. Literacy rate-
D. Occupation- Mostly farming, a few have
Govt jobs outside the village.
E. Relation with other nearby villages- peaceful and in harmony.
F. Water source-
G. Electricity source-
H. Public entertainment source-
I. Communal activities- A mela is observed in the name of lord Devnarayan.
in the month September.
J. Places of public gatherings- Mela ground near the Devnarayan temple.,
Village panchayat.
K. Public places- Temple of lord Devnarayan.

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