catching, as well as collecting wild root and tubers, which they use for medicinal purposes. They are nomadic are often employed in the villages to catch snakes. The community are also associated with the playing the gourd pipe, known as a been. Like other Sapera groups, they are extremely marginalised, and have been granted Scheduled Caste status. Most Sapera are Hindu by faith, although a small number have converted to Islam, and form a distinct community of Muslim Saperas. The Hindu Sapera are followers of the Shakti cult and worship the goddess Kali. See also Kalbelia Nomadic tribes in India Nomads of India Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes List of Scheduled Tribes in India Sapera (Muslim) References Dom in India Indian castes Punjabi tribes Hindu communities Scheduled Castes of Rajasthan Scheduled Castes of Haryana Scheduled Castes of Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Castes of Delhi Scheduled Castes of Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Castes of Punjab