Gavli

Gowari, Gavli
गोवारी, गवली
Sculpture of a Gowari man in a traditional costume at Shaheed Gowari Memorial, Nagpur
Religion	Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism
Languages	Hindi, Bhojpuri, Brajbhasha, Haryanvi, Gowlan, Marathi, Gujarati, Kutch, Sindhi, Punjabi, Ahirani
Populated States	Hindi Belt, North-Eastern India, Western India
Clan	Yadav
English Spelt	Gowari, Govari, Gawari, Gavli, Gawli, Gowlan, Gowli, Gwala, Gawla, Goala, Gowala, Gawala

Gowari, alternatively known as Gavli, Gowlan, Gwala or Gowli, is an Indian ethnic group, members of which identify as being of the Yadav Caste.

The traditional occupation of Gowari is cow, goat, cattle herders and agriculture. They are found throughout India but are particularly concentrated in the States Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa. The word Gavli means a milkmen or herdsmen in the Marathi language, and refers to a number of communities that practice, or at one time practiced pastoralism in western India.

The maximum concentration of their population is in the districts of Nagpur and Gondia where they are around 50,000 to 100,000.

In Maharashtra, the Gavli community have four sub-divisions, the Yadav or Ahir Gavli, Yadavanshi Gavli, Nandvanshi Gavli and Lingayat Gavli. Each of these groups is of a distinct origin, and do not intermarry, and have their own particular customs and traditions.

The Ahir are one of the four sub-divisions of the Gavli found in Maharashtra, and are found throughout the state. They are also known as Ahire, Golkar, Goalar, and Rawat. According to their tradition following a communal riot between Hindus and Muslims, they left their ancestral village of Kharpa in Kannauj District of Uttar Pradesh. The community continue speak Hindi among themselves, but most also speak Marathi. They have been granted other backward caste status in Maharashtra. Historically, the community was involved in selling of milk.