Origin
The region was originally settled by Kols, an aboriginal people of the Austro- Asiatic physical type who were later joined by Indo-Aryan Khas/Khasas tribes that arrived from the northwest by the Vedic period. However in the middle ages Saka Indo Sycthians swept and settled in these hills and giving them the richness of their culture and traditions. Interestingly the ruler of Kumaon near by region was called Sakaditya ' Lord of Sakas', therby attesting claims of Sakas settling in the Himalayas.
The hill people are typically thought to be descendants of the ancient Kamboj people who were of eastern Iranian origin. The Khasas are also believed to have arrived from Tajikistan and share some physical traits with the ancientTajik population.
Historians of Kumaun and Garhwal say that in the beginning there were only three castes: Rajput,Brahmin and Shilpkar. Main occupation of Rajputs and Brahmin was of Zamindari and law enforcement. Occupation of some Brahmins was to perform religious rituals in temples and education of the elite. Shilpkar were mainly working for Brahmins and Rajputs, in their lands and were expert in handicrafts.
Gairola brahmins find their roots in gairoli village near karanprayag with isth devi as maa Uma devi .With passage of time myriad of this clan /ppl went in search of livelihood and settled in different parts of uttarakhand .While some went on to Rudraprayag settling in gram Sann, the others to tehri, pauri etc. We can still see that surnames of these Khas origin people are associated with the name of villages they belonged to e.g. Bahuguna from Bughani, Painuly (Panuly) from Panyala, Naithani from Naithana and Uniyal from Uni and Nautiyal from Nauti. However, one's surname doesn't necessarily indicate the cast of the Garhwali people. For example, famous surnames Bisht and Bhandari are used by both Rajputs and Brahmins.
These people of Garhwal were later joined by others through several waves of migration, mainly due to pilgrimages, which took place over centuries from various parts of India. The immigrants, who mostly stelled, brought in their own cultures which blended in with the existing local traditions over time.
Read more about this topic: Garhwali People
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