No one knows when and how they came into existence and what they meant socially. The two former ekdas continued to exist with diminished strength. One of the reasons behind underplaying of the principle of division by Dumont as well as by others seems to be the neglect of the study of caste in urban areas (see Dumonts remarks in 1972: 150). . Gujarat (along with Bombay) has perhaps the largest number of caste associations and they are also more active and wealthy compared to those in other regions. Then there were a number of urban divisions of specialized artisans, craftsmen and servants, as for example, Sonis (gold and silver smiths), Kansaras (copper and bronze smiths), Salvis (silk weavers), Bhavsars (weavers, dyers and printers), Malis (florists), Kharadis (skilled carpenters and wood carvers), Kachhias (vegetable sellers), Darjis (tailors), Dabgars (makers of drums, saddles and such other goods involving leather), Ghanchis (oil pressers), Golas ferain and spice pounders and domestic servants), Dhobis (washermen), Chudgars (banglemakers), and Tambolis (sellers of area nuts, betel leaves, etc.). How many sub-divisions existed in the various divisions of the various orders is a matter of empirical investigation. There were similar problems about the status of a number of other divisions. Hence as we go down the hierarchy we encounter more and more debates regarding the claims of particular lineages to being Rajput so much so that we lose sight of any boundary and the Rajput division merges imperceptibly into some other division. There were Brahman and Vania divisions of the same name, the myths about both of them were covered by a single text. I have not yet come across an area where Kolis from three or more different areas live together, excepting modern, large towns and cities. The village was a small community divided into a relatively small number of castes; the population of each caste was also small, sometimes only one or two households, with little possibility of existence of subdivisions; and there were intensive relationships of various kinds between the castes. It has already been mentioned that every first-order division was not divided into second-order divisions, and that every second-order division was not divided into third-order divisions, and so on. In an area of the first kind there are no immigrant Kolis from elsewhere, and therefore, there is no question of their having second-order divisions. For example, in a Rajput kingdom the families of the Rajput king and his nobles resided in the capital town, while the Rajput landlords and cultivators resided in villages. In fact, inter-tad marriages have increased so much that the tads have more or less lost their identity and such marriages are no longer considered as violating the rule of tad endogamy. The existence of ekdas or gols, however, does not mean that the divisiveness of caste ended there or that the ekdas and gols were always the definitive units of endogamy. Caste Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster There are thus a few excellent studies of castes as horizontal units. Pocock goes on to observe that diminution of emphasis upon hierarchy and increasing emphasis upon difference are features of caste in modern, particularly urban, India: there is a shift from the caste system to individual castes and this reflects the change that is taking place in India today (290). For example, there were Khedawal Brahmans but not Khedawal Vanias, and Lad Vanias but no Lad Brahmans. gujarati surnames castes The members of a kings caste were thus found not only in his own kingdom but in other kingdoms as well. Some ekdas did come into existence in almost the same way as did the tads, that is to say, by a process of fission of one ekda into two or more ekdas. Many primarily rural castes, such as Kolisthe largest castehave remained predominantly rural even today. For example, if they belonged to two different second-order divisions, such as Shrimali and Modh, the punishment would be greater than if they belonged to two different ekdas within the Shrimali or the Modh division. This was unlike the situation among the Rajputs who did not make any attempt to form small endogamous units. The prohibition of inter-division marriage was much more important than the rules of purity and pollution in the maintenance of boundaries between the lower-order divisions. Thus, at one end, there were first-order divisions, each of which was sub-divided up to the fourth-order, and at the other end there were first-order divisions which were not further divided at all. Marriages were usually confined to neighbouring villages, so that marriage links were spread in a continuous manner from one end of the region to another. Kuntasi, Lothal and Somnath of Gujarat regions in Harrapan civilization were familiar with weaving and the spinning of cotton for as long as four thousand years ago. PDF Castes and Subcastes List in Gujarat - Matchfinder They worked not only as high priests but also as bureaucrats. Jun 12, 2022 . There was also another kind of feast, called bhandaro, where Brahmans belonging to a lesser number of divisions (say, all the few in a small town) were invited. A large proportion, if not the whole, of the population of many of such divisions lived in towns. There was an emphasis on being different and separate rather than on being higher and lower. The castes of the three categoriesprimarily urban, primarily rural, and rural-cum-urbanformed an intricate network spread over the rural and urban communities in the region. The three trading castes of Vania, Lohana and Bhatia were mainly urban. The two areas merge gradually, and my field work covered most of the spectrum. Thus, the result was the spread of the population of a caste division towards its fringes. The existence of flexibility at both the levels was made possible by the flexibility of the category Rajput. The Rajputs, in association with Kolis, Bhils, and such other castes and tribes, provide an extreme example of such castes. Similarly, the Khedawal Brahmans were divided into Baj and Bhitra, the Nagar Brahmans into Grihastha and Bhikshuk, the Anavils into Desai and Bhathela, and the Kanbis into Kanbi and Patidar. Tapodhans were priests in Shiva temples. I am not suggesting that the principle of hierarchy was insignificant in the inter- or intra-caste relations in urban centres. Which caste is Vaya surname? : r/gujarat - reddit.com That the role of the two principles could vary at different levels within a first-order division has also been seen. They took away offerings made to Shiva, which was considered extremely degrading. The larger castes and even larger subdivisions among them used to have their houses segregated on their own streets (called pol, sheri, khadki, vad, khancho). In particular, the implications of the co-existence of lower-order divisions within a higher- order division in the same town or city should be worked out. Nowadays, in urban areas in particular, very few people think of making separate seating arrangements for members of different castes at wedding and such other feasts. The census reports provide such figures until 1931, but it is well known that these pose many problems for sociological analysis, most of which arise out of the nature of castes as horizontal units. Besides the myths, the members of a second-order division, belonging to all ekdas, shared certain customs and institutions, including worship of a tutelary deity. Further, during this lengthy process of slow amalgamation those who will marry in defiance of the barriers of sub-caste, will still be imbued with caste mentality (1932: 184). This was about 22% of all the recorded Mehta's in USA. Most of them were, true to their name, rulers at various levels of the political hierarchy from the kingly level to the level of dominant caste in many villages. He does not give importance to this possibility probably because, as he goes on to state, what is sought here is a universal formula, a rule without exceptions (ibid.). //100 Most Common Surnames in India | Probability Comparison During Mughal Empire India was manufacturing 27% of world's textile and Gujarati weavers dominated along with Bengali weavers in Indian textile trade industry overseas. Prohibited Content 3. For example, among the Khadayata Vanias there are all-Khadayata associations as well as associations for the various ekdas and sometimes even for their tads (see Shah, Ragini 1978). There is enormous literature on these caste divisions from about the middle of the 19th century which includes census reports, gazetteers, castes-and- tribes volumes, ethnographic notes and monographs and scholarly treatises such as those by Baines, Blunt, Ghurye, Hocart, Hutton, Ibbet- son, OMalley, Risley, Senart, and others. 4 0 obj Sometimes castes are described as becoming ethnic groups in modern India, particularly in urban India. However, it is well known that there were subtle arguments regarding the status of certain royal families being Rajput. The point is that the Rajput hierarchy, with the princely families at the top, merged at the lower level imperceptibly into the vast sea of tribal and semi-tribal people like Bhils and Kolis. This was dramatized at huge feasts called chorasi (literally, eighty-four) when Brahmans belonging to all the traditional 84 second-order divisions sat together to eat food cooked at the same kitchen. There is a patterned widening of the connubial field along an area chalked out historically. This was because political authorities were hierarchized from little kingdom to empire and the boundaries of political authorities kept changing. When divisions are found within a jati, the word sub-jati or sub-caste is used. Nor were ekdas and tads entirely an urban phenomenon. Many second-order divisions were further divided into two or three status categories. A block printed and resist-dyed fabric, whose origin is from Gujarat was found in the tombs of Fostat, Egypt. The humble Charkha (spinning wheel) and khadi became a dominant symbol of self-reliance, self-determination and nationalist pride. No analytical gains are therefore likely to occur by calling them by any other name. Indian textiles especially of Gujarat have been praised in several accounts by explorers and historians, from Megasthenes to Herodotus. The most important example of primarily political caste association is the Gujarat Kshatriya Sabha. endobj So far we have considered first-order divisions with large and widely spread populations. Hence started farming and small scale business in the British Raj to thrive better conditions ahead to maintain their livelihood. While we can find historical information about the formation of ekdas and tads there are only myths about the formation of the numerous second-order divisions. A great deal of discussion of the role of the king in the caste system, based mainly on Indological literature, does not take these facts into account and therefore tends to be unrealistic. The guiding ideas were samaj sudharo (social reform) and samaj seva (social service). Sindhollu, Chindollu. After the commercial revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries, Gujarat had a large number of tradition towns on its long sea-coast. Most inter-divisional marriages take place between boys and girls belonging to the lowest order in the structure of divisions. The Kolis seem to have had only two divisions in every part of Gujarat: for example, Talapada (indigenous) and Pardeshi (foreign) in central Gujarat and Palia and Baria in eastern Gujarat (significantly, one considered indigenous and the other outsider). Although the number of inter-ekda marriages has been increasing, even now the majority of marriages take place within an ekda. These marriage links do not seem to have allowed, among the Kolis, formation of well organized, small, endogamous units (ekadas, gols) as were found among some other castes. So in this way, the Maharashtra caste list is given to all cast Aarakshan belonging to the Scheduled Castes category for the state of MH. For example, the Khadayata Brahmans worked as priests at important rituals among Khadayata Vanias. Radhvanaj Rajputs were clearly distinguished from, and ranked much above local Kolis. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. (Frequently, such models are constructed a priori rather than based on historical evidence, but that is another story). Frequently, each such unit had a patron deity, housed in a large shrine, with elaborate arrangements for its ownership. The four major woven fabrics produced by these communities are cotton, silk, khadi and linen. r/ahmedabad From Mumbai. There was a continuous process of formation and disintegration of such units. In effect, the Vania population in a large town like Ahmedabad could have a considerable number of small endogamous units of the third or the fourth order, each with its entire population living and marrying within the town itself. As for the size of other castes, I shall make mainly relative statements. To give just one example, one large street in Baroda, of immigrant Kanbis from the Ahmedabad area, named Ahmedabadi Pol, was divided into two small parallel streets. Although the ekda or tad was the most effective unit for endogamy, each unit of the higher order was also significant for endogamy. New Jersey had the highest population of Mehta families in 1920. The Rajputs, in association with the Kolis, were probably the only horizontal unit which had continuous internal hierarchy, i.e., hypergamy unbroken by any endogamous subdivisions, and which did not have discernible boundaries at the lowest level. The arrival of the East India Company, however sounded the death knell for the Indian textile industry. Disclaimer 9. Tirgaar, Tirbanda. Rajput hypergamy seems to have provided an important mechanism for integration of the lower caste and tribal population into the Hindu society over the entire length and breadth of northern, western, central and even eastern India. It will readily be agreed that the sociological study of Indian towns and cities has not made as much progress as has the study of Indian villages. When Mr. H. Borradaile in A.D. 1827 collected information regarding the customs of Hindus, no less than 207 castes which did not intermarry, were found in the city of Surat alone. The error is further compounded whenalthough this is less commonthe partial, rural model of traditional caste is compared with the present urban situation, and conclusions are drawn about overall change. Bougies repulsion) rather than on hierarchy was a feature of caste in certain contexts and situations in traditional India, and increasing emphasis on division in urban Indian in modern times is an accentuation of what existed in the past. They were involved in agriculture in one way or another. The above brief analysis of change in caste in modern Gujarat has, I hope, indicated that an overall view of changes in caste in modern India should include a careful study of changes in rural as well as in urban areas in relation to their past. This was dramatized in many towns at the mahajan (guild) feasts when all the members of the guild of traders would eat together. That the sociological study of urban areas in India has not received as much attention as that of rural areas is well known, and the studies made so far have paid little attention to caste in urban areas. A comment on the sociology of urban India would, therefore, be in order before we go ahead with the discussion of caste divisions. As weaving is an art and forms one of the most important artisan community of India. 92. Marco Polo a Venetian merchant on his visit to India in 13th century Gujarat observed that "brocading art of Gujarat weavers is par excellent". The main thrust of Pococks paper is that greater emphasis on difference rather than on hierarchy is a feature of caste among overseas Indians and in modern urban India. Their origin myth enshrined in their caste purana also showed them to be originally non-Brahman. The complex was provided a certain coherence and integrityin the pre- industrial time of slow communicationby a number of oral and literate traditions cultivated by cultural specialists such as priests, bards, genealogists and mythographers (see in this connection Shah and Shroff 1958). Since these were all status categories rather than clear- cut divisions, I have not considered them as constituting third-order divisions. The chiefly families constituted a tiny proportion of the total population of any second-order division among the Kolis. All the small towns sections in each of the ekdas resented that, while the large town section accepted brides from small towns, they did not reciprocate. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"uGhRfiuY26l2oZgRlfZRFSp4BWPIIt7Gh61sQC1XrRU-3600-0"}; Similarly, in Saurashtra, the Talapadas were distinguished from the Chumvalias, immigrants from the Chumval tract in north Gujarat. Both Borradaile and Campbell were probably mixing up small endogamous units of various kinds. The castes pervaded by hierarchy and hypergamy had large populations spread evenly from village to village and frequently also from village to town over a large area. Image Guidelines 5. The Rajputs relationship with the Kolis penetrated every second-order division among them, i.e., Talapada, Pardeshi, Chumvalia, Palia, and so on. The highest stratum among the Leva Kanbi tried to maintain its position by practising polygyny and female infanticide, among other customs and institutions, as did the highest stratum among the Rajput. This bulk also was characterized by hierarchy, with the relatively advanced population living in the plains at one end and the backward population living along with the tribal population in the highlands at the other end. The very low Brahmans such as Kayatias and Tapodhans were invited but made to eat separately from the rest of the Brahmans. The Khedawals, numbering 15,000 to 20,000 in 1931 were basically priests but many of them were also landowners, government officials, and traders. Toori. I hope to show that the integration of the study of caste in urban areas with that of rural areas is essential to a comprehensive understanding of caste and its implications for Indian society and culture. In the past the dispersal over a wide area of population of an ekda or tad was uncommon; only modern communications have made residential dispersal as well as functional integration possible. stream The population of certain first-order divisions lived mainly in villages. The ekdas have not yet lost their identities. It is easy to understand that the pattern of change would be different in those first-order divisions (such as Rajput) or second-order divisions (such as Leva Kanbi) which did not have within them subdivisions of lower orders and which practised hypergamy extensively. The point is that there was nothing like the endogamous unit but there were only several units of various orders with defined roles in endogamy. The purpose is not to condemn village studies, as is caste in a better perspective after deriving insights from village studies. Many of them became the norm-setting elite for Gujaratis in the homeland. 100 Most Popular Indian Last Names Or SurnamesWhy Don't Tamil People Have Last Names?-----A . Created Date: Co-residence of people, belonging to two or more divisions of a lower order within a higher order was, however, a prominent feature of towns and cities rather than of villages. The main point is that we do not completely lose sight of the lowest boundary among these three hypergamous divisions as we do among the Rajputs. % For example, a good number of villages in central Gujarat used to have both Talapada and Pardeshi Kolis and Brahmans belonging to two or three of their many second-order divisions. As regards the specific case of the Rajput-Koli relationship, my impression is that, after the suppression of female infanticide in the first half of the 19th century, the later prohibition of polygyny, and the recent removal of princely states and feudal land tenures among the Rajputs on the one hand, and the increasing sanskritization as well as Rajputization among the Kolis on the other, marriage ties between these divisions have become more extensive than before.
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