These divisions have, however, been kept out of the present analysis for reasons which have become well known to students of Hindu society since the 1950s. 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. Most of the second-order divisions were further divided into third-order divisions. Many second-order divisions were further divided into two or three status categories. They wrote about the traditional Indian village, but not about the traditional Indian town. Secondly, it is necessary to study intensively the pattern of inter-caste relations in urban centres as something differentat least hypotheticallyfrom the pattern in villages. Nor do I claim to know the whole of Gujarat. Moreover, a single division belonging to any one of the orders may have more than one association, and an association may be uni-purpose or multi-purpose. This does not solve the problem if there are four orders of divisions of the kind found in Gujarat. Frequently, each such unit had a patron deity, housed in a large shrine, with elaborate arrangements for its ownership. The marital alliances of the royal families forming part of the Maratha confederacy, and of the royal families of Mysore in south India and of Kashmir and Nepal in the north with the royal families of Gujarat and Rajasthan show, among other things, how there was room for flexibility and how the rule of caste endogamy could be violated in an acceptable manner at the highest level. . endobj
The most important example of primarily political caste association is the Gujarat Kshatriya Sabha. As regards the rest of Gujarat, I have used various sources: my work on the caste of genealogists and mythographys and on the early 19th century village records; the available ethnographic, historical and other literature; and observations made while living m Gujarat. 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. In no other nation has something as basic as one's clothing or an act as simple as spinning cotton become so intertwined with a national movement. While almost all the social structures and institutions which existed in villagesreligion, caste, family, and so onalso existed in towns, we should not assume that their character was the same. While some of the divisions of a lower order might be the result of fission, some others might be a result of fusion. They took away offerings made to Shiva, which was considered extremely degrading. Before publishing your articles on this site, please read the following pages: 1. 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. It seems the highland Bhils (and possibly also other tribes) provided brides to lower Rajputs in Gujarat. www.opendialoguemediations.com. The Kanbis (now called Patidars) had five divisions: Leva, Kadya, Anjana, Bhakta, and Matia.
100 Most Common Surnames in India | Probability Comparison Leva Sheri and Kadva Sheri, named after the two major second-order divisions among the Kanbis. It is noteworthy that many of their names were based on names of places (region, town, or village): for example, Shrimali and Mewada on the Shrimal and Mewar regions in Rajasthan, Modh on Modhera town in north Gujarat, and Khedawal on Kheda town in central Gujarat. There are other sub-castes like Satpanthis, who are mainly centered in Kutch district and have some social customs akin to Muslims . Once the claim was accepted at either level, hypergamous marriage was possible. The two categories of castes have been deeply conscious of these differences between them and have been talking freely about them. This reflects the high degree of divisiveness in castes in Gujarat. The fact that Mahatma Gandhi came from a small third-order division in the Modh Vania division in a town in Saurashtra does not seem to be an accident. 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. The significant point, however, is that there were small endogamous units which were not, like ekdas and tads, part of any higher-order division. Image Guidelines 5. That the role of the two principles could vary at different levels within a first-order division has also been seen. But there was also another process. According to the Rajputs I know in central Gujarat, the highest stratum among them consisted of the royal families of large and powerful kingdoms in Gujarat and neighbouring Rajasthan, such as those of Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Kachchh, Porbandar, Bikaner, Idar, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, and so on. It is possible that there were a few divisions each confined to just one large city and, therefore, not having the horizontal dimension at all. All associations originated in large towns, are more active in towns than in villages, and are led by prominent members in towns. The primarily urban castes and the urban sections of the rural-cum- urban castes were the first to take advantage of the new opportunities that developed in industry, commerce, administration, the professions and education in urban centres. caste: [noun] one of the hereditary social classes in Hinduism that restrict the occupation of their members and their association with the members of other castes. Visited Ahmedabad for the weekend to meet a friend but her family had a medical emergency. Frequently, the urban population of such a division performed more specialized functions than did the rural one. From the 15th century onwards we find historical references to political activities of Koli chieftains. Today majority of these community members are not engaged in their ancestral weaving occupation still some population of these community contribute themselves in traditional handloom weaving of famous Patola of Patan, Kachchh shawl of Bhujodi in Kutch, Gharchola and Crotchet of Jamnagar, Zari of Surat, Mashroo of Patan and Mandvi in Kutch, Bandhani of Jamnagar, Anjar and Bhuj, Motif, Leheria, Dhamakda and Ajrak, Nagri sari, Tangaliya Shawl, Dhurrie, Kediyu, Heer Bharat, Abhala, Phento and art of Gudri. Not only that, there were also third-order divisions (i.e., ekdas) in one or more second-order divisions, and finally one or more fourth-order divisions (i.e., tads) in one or more third-order divisions. The institutions of both bride and bridegroom price (the latter also called dowry) were rampant in castes with continuous internal hierarchydowry mainly at the upper levels, bride price mainly at the lower levels, and both dowry and bride price among status-seeking middle level families. 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. The Vanias provide an example of such castes. Apparently this upper boundary of the division was sharp and clear, especially when we remember that many of these royal families practised polygyny and female infanticide until middle of the 19th century (see Plunkett 1973; Viswa Nath 1969, 1976). The Rajputs in Radhvanaj, the village I have studied in central Gujarat, had no great difficulty in establishing their claim to being Rajputs: they owned substantial amounts of land under a traditional Rajput tenure, dominated village politics and possessed certain other traditional Rajput symbols. The purpose is not to condemn village studies, as is caste in a better perspective after deriving insights from village studies. These and many other artisans, craftsmen and servants reflected the special life-style of the town. The Anavil, numbering 30,000 to 40,000 in 1931, were found mainly in south Gujarat.
gujarati surnames castes Reference to weaving and spinning materials is found in the Vedic Literature. The urban community included a large number of caste groups as well as social groups of other kinds which tended to be like communities with a great deal of internal cohesion. Even if we assume, for a moment, that the basic nature of a structure or institution was the same, we need to know its urban form or variant. The main occupation of Vankars was the weaving of cloth. The lowest stratum among the Khedawals tried to cope with the problem of scarcity of brides mainly by practising ignominious exchange marriage and by restricting marriage of sons in a family to the younger sons, if not to only the youngest. For example, the Khadayata Brahmans worked as priests at important rituals among Khadayata Vanias. 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. 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. Although caste was found in both village and town, did it possess any special characteristics in the latter? It reflects, on the one hand, the political aspirations of Kolis guided by the importance of their numerical strength in electoral politics and on the other hand, the Rajputs attempt to regain power after the loss of their princely states and estates. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. While certain first-order divisions were found mainly in towns, the population of certain other first-order divisions was dispersed in villages as well as in towns, the population of the rural and the urban sections differing from one division to another. 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. As Ghurye pointed out long ago, slow consolidation of the smaller castes into larger ones would lead to three or four large groups being solidly organized for pushing the interests of each even at the cost of the others. It owned corporate property, usually in the form of vadis (large buildings used for holding feasts and festivals, accommodating wedding guests, and holding meetings), huge utensils for cooking feasts, and money received as fees and fines. Broach, Cambay and Surat were the largest, but there were also a number of smaller ones. 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. The Hindu and Muslim kingdoms in Gujarat during the medieval period had, of course, their capital towns, at first Patan and then Ahmedabad. The small town sections therefore separated themselves from the respective large town sections and formed a new ekda. 91. * List of Scheduled Tribes in Gujarat; A. . The handloom weavers of Gujarat, Maharastra and Bengal produced and exported some of the world's most desirable fabrics. The Khedawals, numbering 15,000 to 20,000 in 1931 were basically priests but many of them were also landowners, government officials, and traders. //]]>. 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.
Which caste is Vaya surname? : r/gujarat - reddit.com The name, Talapada, meaning mdigenous, commonly used in the 19th century, is most clear, since it is clearly distinguished from the other division called Pardeshi, meaning foreign, who during the last one or two centuries immigrated here from the area around Patan in north Gujarat and were, therefore, also called Patan- wadias. Further, the castes there are unable to take cognizance of each other in terms of hierarchy or of occupation, and it is in this situation that they can be said to exist by virtue of their differences (296) it is the systematic recognition of difference which is most apparent. In most parts of Gujarat it merged into the various second-order divisions of the Koli division and possible also into the widespread tribe of Bhils. 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. The Hindu population of Gujarat was divided first of all into what I have called caste divisions of the first order. Most inter-divisional marriages take place between boys and girls belonging to the lowest order in the structure of divisions. The patterns of change in marriage and in caste associations are two of the many indications of the growing significance of the principle of division (or separation or difference) in caste in urban areas in Gujarat. As soon as there is any change in . 2 0 obj
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). The members of a kings caste were thus found not only in his own kingdom but in other kingdoms as well. If the Varna divisions are taken into account, then this would add one more order to the four orders of caste divisions considered above. One may say that there are now more hypogamous marriages, although another and perhaps a more realistic way of looking at the change would be that a new hierarchy is replacing the traditional one. This was dramatized in many towns at the mahajan (guild) feasts when all the members of the guild of traders would eat together. The freedom struggle brought the Indian handloom sector back to the fore, with Mahatma Gandhi spearheading the Swadeshi cause. 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. The latter continued to be the provincial capital during Mughal rule. Our analysis of caste in towns has shown how it differed significantly from that in villages. The Rajputs, in association with Kolis, Bhils, and such other castes and tribes, provide an extreme example of such castes. Far from it, I am only suggesting that its role had certain limitations and that the principle of division was also an important and competing principle. There was also a third category called Pancha, derived from the word punch (meaning 5) and denoting extremely low Vania. In any case, the population of any large caste was found in many kingdoms. To obtain a clear understanding of the second-order divisions with the Koli division, it is necessary first of all to find a way through the maze of their divisional names. Hence started farming and small scale business in the British Raj to thrive better conditions ahead to maintain their livelihood. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Social_groups_of_Gujarat&oldid=1080951156, Social groups of India by state or union territory, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 April 2022, at 12:36. First, since the tads were formed relatively recently, it is easier to get information about their formation than about the formation of ekdas. The Kolis in such an area may not even be concerned about a second-order divisional name and may be known simply as Kolis. There were Brahman and Vania divisions of the same name, the myths about both of them were covered by a single text. 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. The Kayatias main occupation was to perform a ritual on the eleventh day after death, during which they took away offerings made to ghosts: this was the main cause of their extremely low status among Brahmans.