Qalandar - Settlements



Qalandar own no land or permanent shelters. They subsist by traveling from place to place, leading animals and transporting their limited physical possessions and tents on donkeys. Qalandar tents ( puki ) are the Bender type common to Peripatetics throughout Asia and Europe: barrel-vaulted ribs supported by vertical endpoles and horizontal ridgepoles, covered with a patchwork cloth. In rural areas tents are pitched in fallow or newly harvested fields near villages, along canal banks, and along railway lines. In urban settings Qalandar camp in vacant lots and undeveloped industrial sites. Wherever located, tents and camps are considered private domains. Families keep vicious dogs to patrol the camp perimeters and Qalandar may assume unfriendly postures toward outsiders seeking entry, or passage through, these areas.


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