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Meet the Maldhari Pugees

Amongst the Maldharis of Kachchh and Rajasthan you will find the Pugees who have a unique job ~ they read and interpret foot prints, both animals and human.

Believe it or not, a Pugee can catch your crime by the tell-tale footprints you leave behind on the scene of crime! Respected, feared, and with many enemies, the Pugees, or foot trackers of Rajasthan-Kachchh, ensure the safety of a Maldhari’s animals across the vast arid landscape. Just the presence of a Pugee acts as a deterrent to theft. Many stories of Pugees and their exploits are passed on from generation to generation! To this day, a Maldhari Pugge is called upon by the border security agencies of India and Pakistan, to use his unique skill, and trace the footsteps of infiltrators across the desert.

The Pugees are quick to identify and differentiate between the footprints.

Sodha brothers demonstrate the variety of information they can get just by looking at those footprints

To a Pugee, a footprint tells many stories; the weight, gait, disposition, style of walking, even the state of mind, by the depth of the imprint and how the earth scatters as the foot leaves the earth! even family inherited features of a person! Foot impressions are shaped by genetic character, so they can reveal the community, the genealogy , even the family they belong to.

The little boy is the only one from the new generation who has shown interest in the skill of identifying footprints

Amidst the tarred roads and modern investigative methods, Pugees still find regular work for their skills. Here, you see veteran Pugees Sodha Sanghaji Agraji, Sodha Mehtaji Poonjaji and Sodha Nauganji Maha Singh Ji from the village Jura Camp in Kachchh.

They say there is very little theft amongst the Maldharis, because of the deterring presence of the Pugees. Many stories abound of Pugees and thieves outdoing one another…with of course, the pugee always outsmarting the thief.

A Stolen Can of Ghee

Aga Khan, the aged community leader and genealogical head of the Fakirani Jat community of camel herders shared this story from his youth.

“The rains had come and drenched the parched land when a trader was visiting theJat villages to collect ghee which he would sell to the cities. The trader was an old timer, with a long relationship the pastoralists he bought ghee from, dining and sleeping overnight with many of them, before he moved to the next village. He would leave his large cans filled with collected ghee out in the open, while he went around these villages which were always safe from theft.”

One morning, as Meghjikaka, was loading his camel cart to leave, he realised he was missing one can of ghee (clarified butter). He informed his host, JatSuleman, who was deeply embarrassed that his guest should be looted.

He immediately called Haaroon, the Pugee

On studying the location closely, Haroon realised that the thief’s foot prints had been washed away in the rain, the night before. He however guessed that the thief must have walked through the flowing rivulet towards the sea to avoid further detection.

On arriving at the coast which was a couple of kilometres away, he could detect signs of a boat leaving the clayey soil. But there were no foot prints…..only a hand impression – of the thief perhaps? -who might have heaved himself into the boat, with the can?

He realised this was going to be difficult. In a quandary, Haaroon, Jat Suleman and Meghji stopped by a tea stall to discuss the predicament. Both were sure that no one from the village itself would dare to rob.

Even as they discussed, they watched women from the village filling water from a well near by, and walk past the tea stall as they returned home; each of them pulling down their odhanis to cover their faces from the men.

When one of the women walked across the three men with one of her hands swaying by her side, while the other held the pot beside her waist, Haroon immediately said, ” the thief is related to this woman!”

After a few moments he said the thief could be her brother or nephew! Suleman got annoyed with Haroon and dismisssed him by saying “This is impossible, Khateja bai’s brother and nephew live in Pakistan!” Haroon however, was insistent that her hand resembled the imprint on the sea shore.

Suleman hesitantly called Khateja and inquired how her brother and nephew were doing?

Surprised, she said, “Oh then you knew that my nephew was here?…. he gave us a surprise by coming over a few days ago, but had to leave to go back home to Pakistan last night!”

Haroon beamed, while Suleman and Meghji turned to look at him with surprise and admiration!

Later, Khateja’s nephew admitted to the theft”

Aga Khan revealed many incidents from his experience. Tracing hand prints he admitted was a rare talent even amongst pugees today.

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