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to the east or north of this area. As the village was at the top shir, it was
named Srigaon. According to another saying, there is a Siddha Baba temple at the top of the village he priest who worshiped there daily gave the name to
the village. Badi settlements are also called Bagar because Badis live near the riverbank
bagar. Badi toles are named according to the original place from where the people have come, such as Falawangi tole from Falawang; Salyani
from Salyan; Sangkoti from Sangkot, etc. Such naming distinguishes people of a common place of origin, which helps to establish relationship at the time of
marriage, death, and other occasions.
2.2 History of Settlement
Before the Christian era, during the reign of Bhure Takure Magar kings in far western Nepal, King Jiktisin ruled in Jajarkot district. He was regarded as a
very powerful king. he vayupankhi winged horse, handmill, shot-put ball, and
watermill used by him can still be seen in Bijeshwori in Rukum. he legend has it that he could throw a shot put from Jiktipur to Chaurjahari of Rukum.
His horse used to go to Jajarkot to graze. When he traveled to Jajarkot, he liked the place and began to rule Jajarkot. hen he married a woman from Lucknow.
When he went to his in-laws, he brought to Jajarkot some groups rode horses and entertained the king and the nobles. hese entertainers, who played music
and danced
baadya baadan later became Badi, according to Pustak Badi, a migrant from Jajarkot to Rakam. So, Jiktipur of Jajarkot is the origin of Badi,
who were brought from India. When descendants of King Jiktisin recite stories and legends of King Jiktsin, they mention the Badis.
Badis are supposed to have come from Kumau Gadwal of Uttar Pradesh of India and, as reported by descendants of the petty kings of Salyan, initially settled in
Salyan district of Nepal. he irst generation earned their living by entertaining others and making pottery, while the second generation adopted ishing as a
secondary occupation. Stories and legends indicate that kings and nobles invited Badi girls of the third generation to serve as sex entertainers. Illegitimate children
were born from the fourth generation. In the ifth generation, Badi women were kept as concubines. However, when keeping concubines began to interfere with
social norms, petty kings, nobles, and oicials began to expel Badis from villages. After being displaced, they came to the streets and started begging by dancing,
singing, and playing instruments
baadya. hey were later called Badis. here are debates on the place of origin and identity of Badis. Some consider
Salyan district as their original place, while Badis who migrated from Jajarkot to Surket report that they came from India to Bajhang and Jajarkot. Some regard
Badis and Patars as part of indigenous traditions such as Deuki, Deuchel, Devdasi, Kumari, and Jhuma. A scholar of Badis in Dang argues that they came
to Nepal from Vaishali in India with the Lichhavis. Lichhavis entered Nepal around the irst or second century of the Vikram era after conquest of Vaishali by
the powerful Magadh state. At that time, prostitution was a socially acceptable and respected occupation in Magadh. Also, there were many women’s groups
who entertained the king, royal oicials, and feudal lords with music, dance, and sexual services. hey would remain unmarried throughout their lives. Some
of these women came to Nepal along with the Lichhavis. he present-day Badis are their descendents. Another argument states that along with Lichhavis,
a large number of caste groups including the Badis, came to Nepal. Based on discussions with some educated Badis and a researcher of Badis in Dang, they
belong to the Nat
jati, and they entered western Nepal from Lucknow and the surrounding areas at the end of the Malla period. hey may have been brought
from various Indian states by the Bhure hakure kings to entertain in their palaces.
Dalit activist Bishwabhakta Dulal Ahuti argues that Badis are not indigenes of Nepal but were brought here around 14th to 16th century from India.
he Banjaras of India were a respected Hindu group who traveled to diferent places singing and dancing. It is argued that these Banjaras were brought to
Nepal from India by the then Bhure hakure kings of Jajarkot, Rukum, and Salyan for their entertainment. During their reign, the Badi’s occupation of
entertaining was respected and digniied. When King Bahadur Shah began to unify Nepal, the Bhure hakure petty states disappeared, and the occupation of
Badis was in jeopardy. Because they were brought by kings and were not part of the traditional social structure, there was no
balighare jajmani institution like that of other Dalits. After the kings left them, they came to the streets. hey
earned their living by entertaining others by singing and dancing in the streets. Because they were entertainers, they were attractive. hat attractiveness later
became helpful in their exploitation. Initially, the entertainment was respected because they used to welcome guests and entertain them at birth, marriage,
and other life cycle rituals and festivals. his tradition spread from the king to the
mukhiya, jimwal, ghadbudha, and pradhan level in the villages. When the women were sexually exploited, they adopted prostitution as an occupation.
his shows that the Badis have the greatest mixed ancestry with Bahun,
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Chhetri, hakuri, Janajati, Madhesi and other Dalit castes. Badis who migrated from Salyan to Dang share this opinion. hey think that there are similarities
between them and the Banjaras of India. Singing and dancing is the traditional occupation of Badis. Music players are called
baadak and dances are called patra or
patri in Sanskrit. Badi leaders assume that the current words Badi and Patar are corruptions of these words. Nowadays the word
Patar means a prostitute, but in the past all Badi women were called
Patar prostitute.
2.3 History of Migration
