Mavala Explained

The Mavala, or Mavale (plural mavale in Marathi) was a name used for people of the hilly Maval region^[1] west of the present day Indian city of Pune. It was in the Maval that the 17th century Marathi leader, Shivaji, first established his power base that later developed into the Maratha kingdom.The inhabitants of this hilly region who formed his guerrilla forces and raiding parties were known as mavale.^[2] The mavala soldiers were expert footmen and excelled in mountain warfare.The infantry was considered the backbone of Shivaji's power, and according to Sabhasad Bakhar, which chronicled Shivaji's life, the Mavale and Hasham infantry of Shivaji had 100,000 men.^{[3] [4] [5]}

Many of the inhabitants of the region were Mahadeo Kolis.^{[6] [7]} The region was also known as Bavan Maval (52 valley).Each Maval was under the control of Koli chiefs or Nayaks.^[8] Kolis who were known as the names of Mavala Sardars earned the Naikwadis.^[9]

Notable people

• Tanaji Malusare, chief of Mavala warriors who fought the battle of Sinhagad.

Notes and References

1. Raeside, I. (1978). A Note on the “Twelve Mavals” of Poona District. Modern Asian Studies, 12(3), 393–417. http://www.jstor.org/stable/312227
2. Raeside, Ian. “A Note on the ‘Twelve Mavals’ of Poona District.” Modern Asian Studies, vol. 12, no. 3, 1978, pp. 393–417. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/312227. Accessed 2 Aug. 2023.
3. Book: M. R. Kantak. The First Anglo-Maratha War, 1774-1783: A Military Study of Major Battles. 1993. Popular Prakashan. 978-81-7154-696-1. 9,123.
4. Book: The State and Society in Medieval India, Volume Vii Part I. 226. Oxford University Press. 2005. J.S.Grewal. D.P.Chattopadhyaya. A.R.Kulkarni. Shivaji made use of both sections of the Marathas in establishment of his swaraj...He drew his military strength mainly from the mawales, the kunbis of the Mawal region. In the north, particularly in the eighteenth century, the term 'Maratha' was used with reference to all the people of Maharashtra, irrespective of their caste distinctions..
5. Web site: Welcome to the Official Website of Pune District, Maharashtra . 20 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100310230609/http://pune.gov.in/maps/tahsilmaps.html . 10 March 2010 . dead .
6. Book: Srivastava, Ashirbadi Lal . The Mughul Empire, 1526-1803 A.D. . S. L. Agarwala . 1969 . . 368: The people who inhabited the Maval country were Kolis; they were very hardy and industrious and formed a good army . en.
7. Burman, J. J. R. (1996). A comparison of sacred groves among the Mahadeo Kolis and Kunbis of Maharashtra. Indian Anthropologist, 26(1), 37–45. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41919791
8. Book: Hardiman, David . Histories for the Subordinated (bavan mavals) . . 2007 . 978-1-905422-38-8 . New Delhi, India, Asia . 103: The Maval region then known as the 'Bavan Masal.Each valley was controlled by a Koli nayak. The sarnayak, or head chief, lived at Junnar. and presided over the goarn, or caste council. The community was both cohesive and independent." When the Mughals conquered the region in the 1630s they attempted to measure the land and fix a land . en.
9. Book: Institute, Deccan College Post-graduate and Research. Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute. 1978. Dr. A. M. Ghatage, director, Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute. en.