manvar surname caste in gujarat
This list may not reflect recent changes. They worked not only as high priests but also as bureaucrats. Whatever the internal organization of a second-order division, the relationship between most of the Brahman second-order divisions was marked by great emphasis on being different and separate than on being higher and lower. We shall return to this issue later. <>/Metadata 3086 0 R/ViewerPreferences 3087 0 R>> The Khadayatas were divided into about 30 ekdas. Homo Hierarchicus. Finally, while an increasing number of marriages are taking place even across the boundaries of first-order divisions, as for example, between Brahmans and Vanias, and between Vanias and Patidars, such marriages even now form an extremely small proportion of the total number of marriages. // This meant that he could marry a girl of any subdivision within the Vania division. There is a patterned widening of the connubial field along an area chalked out historically. Even the archaeological surveys and studies have indicated that the people of Dholavira, Surkotada. 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. There were Brahman and Vania divisions of the same name, the myths about both of them were covered by a single text. Hindu society is usually described as divided into a number of castes the boundaries of which are maintained by the rule of caste endogamy. There are thus a few excellent studies of castes as horizontal units. Vankar is described as a caste as well as a community. The census operations, in particular, spread as they were over large areas, gave a great impetus to writings on what Srinivas has called the horizontal dimension of caste (1952: 31f;1966: 9,44,92,98-100,114-17). While the Rajputs, Leva Patidars, Anavils and Khedawals have been notorious for high dowries, and the Kolis have been looked down upon for their practice of bride price, the Vanias have been paying neither. 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. Systematic study of small caste divisions in villages as well as in towns still awaits the attention of sociologists and anthropologists. 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. 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. This tendency reaches its culmination in the world of Dumont. Although some of them set up shops in villages they rarely became full-fledged members of the village community. The significant point, however, is that there were small endogamous units which were not, like ekdas and tads, part of any higher-order division. A block printed and resist-dyed fabric, whose origin is from Gujarat was found in the tombs of Fostat, Egypt. There was apparently a close relation between a castes internal organization and the size and spatial distribution of its population. We will now analyze the internal structure of a few first-order divisions, each of which was split into divisions going down to the fourth order. 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. I do not propose to review the literature on caste here; my aim is to point out the direction towards which a few facts from Gujarat lead us. The lowest stratum in all the three divisions had to face the problem of scarcity of brides. In recent years, however, there has been a tendency to emphasize hierarchy as the primary principle encompassing the principle of division. They were found in almost every village in plains Gujarat and in many villages in Saurashtra and Kachchh. The tad thus represented the fourth and last order of caste divisions. Created Date: A comment on the sociology of urban India would, therefore, be in order before we go ahead with the discussion of caste divisions. [CDATA[ Frequently, social divisions were neatly expressed in street names. But many Rajput men of Radhvanaj got wives from people in distant villages who were recognized there as Kolisthose Kolis who had more land and power than the generality of Kolis had tried to acquire some of the traditional Rajput symbols in dress manners and customs and had been claiming to be Rajputs. 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. All this trade encouraged development of trading and commercial towns in the rest of Gujarat, even in the highland area. 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. Vankar is described as a caste as well as a community. What is really required for a comprehensive understanding is a comparison of traditional with modern caste in both rural and urban areas (including, to be sure, the rural-urban linkages). Limitations of the holistic view of caste, based as it is mainly on the study of the village, should be realized in the light of urban experience. The two categories of castes have been deeply conscious of these differences between them and have been talking freely about them. We shall return later to a consideration of this problem. 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. The latter continued to be the provincial capital during Mughal rule. The Rajputs, in association with Kolis, Bhils, and such other castes and tribes, provide an extreme example of such castes. The social relations between and within a large number of such segregated castes should be seen in the context of the overall urban environment, characterized as it was by co-existence of local Hindu castes with immigrant Hindu castes and with the non-Hindu groups such as Jains, Muslims, Parsis and Christians, a higher degree of monetization, a higher degree of contractual and market relations (conversely, a lesser degree of jajmani-type relations), existence of trade guilds, and so on. 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. Leva Kanbis, numbering 400,000 to 500,000 m 1931, were the traditional agricultural caste of central Gujarat. The chiefly families constituted a tiny proportion of the total population of any second-order division among the Kolis. 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. 3.8K subscribers in the gujarat community. They are described by the ruling elite as robbers, dacoits, marauders, predators and the like. This list may not reflect recent changes. In the second-order divisions of the Vanias the small endogamous units functioned more effectively and lasted longer: although the hypergamous tendency did exist particularly between the rural and the urban sections in a unit, it had restricted play. Typically, a village consists of the sections of various castes, ranging from those with just one household to those with over u hundred. Report a Violation, Caste Stratification: Changing Rural Caste Stratification, Caste in Rural India: Specificities of Caste in Rural Society. Patidars or Patels claim themselves to be descendants of Lord Ram. 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. Many of these names were also based on place names. With the exclusion of caste (except scheduled caste) from the census since 1951 (practically since 1941, because the census of that year did not result in much reporting), writings on castes as horizontal units greatly declined. But there were also others who did not wield any power. There was an emphasis on being different and separate rather than on being higher and lower. The Hindu population of Gujarat was divided first of all into what I have called caste divisions of the first order. [1], People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part Three edited by R.B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan & M Azeez Mohideen pages 1126-1129, Last edited on 14 November 2022, at 23:04, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vankar&oldid=1121933086, This page was last edited on 14 November 2022, at 23:04. In some other cases, mainly of urban artisans, craftsmen and specialized servants, such as Kansaras (copper and bronze smiths), Salvis (silk weavers), Kharadis (skilled carpenters and wood carvers), Chudgars (bangle-makers) and Vahivanchas genealogists and mythographers), the small populations were so small and confined to so few towns that they had few subdivisions and the boundaries of their horizontal units were fairly easy to define. They took away offerings made to Shiva, which was considered extremely degrading. However, on the basis of the meagre information I have, I am able to make a few points. Sindhollu, Chindollu. As weaving is an art and forms one of the most important artisan community of India. Nevertheless, a breakdown of the population of Gujarat into major religious, caste and tribal groups according to the census of 1931 is presented in the following table to give a rough idea of the size of at least some castes. The Chumvalias and Patanwadias migrated possibly from the same tract and continued to belong to the same horizontal unit after migration. The most important of them was the Koli division, which was, the largest division and mainly included small landholders, tenants and labourers. 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. I have done field work in two contiguous parts of Gujarat: central Gujarat (Kheda district and parts of Ahmedabad and Baroda districts) and eastern Gujarat (Panchmahals district). <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/Annots[ 9 0 R] /MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Unfortunately, although the Kolis are an important element in Gujarats population, their earlier ethnography is confusing, and there is hardly any modern, systematic, anthropological, sociological or historical study, so that the confusion continues to persist. And even when a Brahman name corresponded with a Vania name, the former did not necessarily work as priests of the latter.The total number of second-divisions in a first-order division differed from one first-order division to another. 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. If this rule was violated, i.e., if he married a girl with whom the Vanias did not have commensal relations, the maximum punishment, namely, excommunication, was imposed. Similarly, the Vanias were divided into such divisions as Disawal, Kapol, Khadayata, Lad, Modh, Nagar, Nima, Porwad, Shirmali, Vayada, and Zarola. While some of the divisions of a lower order might be the result of fission, some others might be a result of fusion. At one end there were castes in which the principle of hierarchy had free play and the role of the principle of division was limited. 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. 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. x[? -E$nvU 4V6_}\]}/yOu__}ww7oz[_z~?=|nNT=|qq{\//]/Ft>_tV}gjjn#TfOus_?~>/GbKc.>^\eu{[GE_>'x?M5i16|B;=}-)$G&w5uvb~o:3r3v GL3or}|Y~?3s_hO?qWWpn|1>9WS3^:wTU3bN{tz;T_}so/R95iLc_6Oo_'W7y; They are divided into two main sub-castes: Leuva Patels and Kadva Patels, who claim to be descendants of Ram's twins Luv and Kush respectively. There were about three hundred divisions of this order in the region as a whole. Since Vankars were involved in production and business they were known as Nana Mahajans or small merchants. 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. While some hypergamous and hierarchical tendency, however weak, did exist between tads within an ekda and between ekdas within a second- order division, it was practically non-existent among the forty or so second-order divisions, such as Modh, Porwad, Shrimali, Khadayata and so on, among the Vanias. Britain's response was to cut off the thumbs of weavers, break their looms and impose duties on tariffs on Indian cloth, while flooding India and the world with cheaper fabric from the new steam mills of Britain. I hope to show in this paper how the principle of division is also a primary principle competing with the principle of hierarchy and having important implications for Indian society and culture. For example, there were two ekdas, each with a large section resident in a large town and small sections resident in two or three neighbouring small towns. Castes which did not sit together at public feasts, let alone at meals in homes, only 15 or 20 years ago, now freely sit together even at meals in homes. Disclaimer 9. Asking different questions and using different methods are necessary. In India Limbachiya is most frequent in: Maharashtra, where 70 percent reside, Gujarat . Village studies, as far as caste is a part of them, have been, there fore, concerned with the interrelations between sections of various castes in the local context. A recent tendency in sociological literature is to consider jatis as castes. Let me illustrate briefly. Caste associations have been formed on the lines of caste divisions. A large number of priestly, artisan and service castes also lived in both villages and towns: Bramhans, barbers, carpenters, blacksmiths, shoemakers, leather-workers, scavenges, water-carriers, palanquin-bearers, and so on. I will not discuss the present situation in detail but indicate briefly how the above discussion could be useful for understanding a few important changes in modern times. 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. In contrast, there were horizontal units, the internal hierarchy and hypergamy of which were restricted to some extent by the formation of small endogamous units and which had discernible boundaries at the lowest level. I would suggest that this feature of urban caste, along with the well known general tendency of urban culture to encourage innovation, provided the groundhowever diffuse that ground might have beenfor a favourable response to the anti-hierarchical ideas coming from the West. 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. After the commercial revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries, Gujarat had a large number of tradition towns on its long sea-coast. There was also another important correlation. Although I have not, during my limited field work, come across hypergamous marriages between Rajputs and Bhils, ethnographic reports and other literature frequently refer to such marriages (see, for example, Naik 1956: 18f; Nath I960. There was a continuous process of formation and disintegration of such units. In the plains, therefore, every village had one or more towns in its vicinity. Another clearly visible change in caste in Gujarat is the emergence of caste associations. Unfortunately, such figures are not available for the last fifty years or so. endobj Such a description not only overlooks the diversity and complexity of caste divisions and the rural-urban Link- ages in them but also leads to placing them in the same category as Muslims, Christians, Parsis, Jains, Buddhists, and so on. These coastal towns were involved in trade among themselves, with other towns on the rest of the Indian sea coast, and with many foreign lands. The two together formed a single complex of continental dimension. Since Rajput as a caste occurred all over northern, central and western India (literally, it means rulers son, ruling son), the discussion of Rajputs in Gujarat will inevitably draw us into their relationship with Rajputs in other regions. Use census records and voter lists to . Our analysis of caste in towns has shown how it differed significantly from that in villages. The primarily rural and lower castes were the last to form associations and that too mainly after independence (1947). I should hasten to add, however, that the open-minded scholar that he is, he does not rule out completely the possibility of separation existing as independent principle. Till the establishment of democratic polity in 1947, hardly any caste association in Gujarat had manifest political functions. 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. First, since the tads were formed relatively recently, it is easier to get information about their formation than about the formation of ekdas. In any case, the population of any large caste was found in many kingdoms. Koli Patels are recognised as a Other Backward Class caste by Government of Gujarat. manvar surname caste in gujaratbest imperial trooper team swgoh piett. The emphasis on being different and separate rather than on being higher and lower was even more marked in the relationship among the forty or so second-order divisions. 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. This reflects the high degree of divisiveness in castes in Gujarat. Moreover, some leading Anavils did not wish to be bothered about Brahman status, saying that they were just Anavil. manvar surname caste in gujarat. They adopted Rajput customs and traditions, claimed Rajput status, and gave daughters in marriage to Rajputs in the lower rungs of Rajput hierarchy. Both were recognized as Brahman but as degraded ones. In 1931, their total population was more than 1,700,000, nearly one-fourth of the total population of Gujarat. Although caste was found in both village and town, did it possess any special characteristics in the latter? Copyright 10. Simultaneously, there is gradual decline in the strength of the principle of hierarchy, particularly of ritual hierarchy expressed in purity and pollution. Similarly, although the number of marriages between the second-order divisions in the Vania division, i.e., between Khadayata, Modh, Shrimali, Lad, Vayada, etc., has been increasing, the majority of marriages take place within the respective second-order divisions. Division and Hierarchy: An Overview of Caste in Gujarat! 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. The Brahmans were divided into such divisions as Audich, Bhargav, Disawal, Khadayata, Khedawal, Mewada, Modh, Nagar, Shrigaud, Shrimali, Valam, Vayada, and Zarola. Since after expansion of British textile markets and decline of Indian textile industry Vankars suffered a lot. This account of the divisions is based on various sources, but mainly on Bombay Gazetteer (1901). There were also a number of first-order divisions, mainly of artisans, craftsmen and specialized servants, with small populations. The unit might possess some other corporate characteristics also. All associations originated in large towns, are more active in towns than in villages, and are led by prominent members in towns. Many primarily rural castes, such as Kolisthe largest castehave remained predominantly rural even today. While fission did occur, fusion could also occur. In each of these three divisions the top stratum was clear. No sooner had the village studies begun that their limitations and the need for studying caste in its horizontal dimension were realized. 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). Image Guidelines 5. In the meanwhile, it is important to note that there does not seem to have been any attempt to form small endogamous units (ekdas, gols) at any level among the Rajputs unlike attempts made as we shall see, among some other hypergamous castes in Gujarat. The two former ekdas continued to exist with diminished strength. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"uGhRfiuY26l2oZgRlfZRFSp4BWPIIt7Gh61sQC1XrRU-3600-0"}; There are other sub-castes like Satpanthis, who are mainly centered in Kutch district and have some social customs akin to Muslims . The Rajput links entailed the spread of Rajput culture in each Koli division and provided a certain cultural homogeneity to all the divisions. In some parts of Gujarat they formed 30 to 35 per cent of the population. Many of them became the norm-setting elite for Gujaratis in the homeland. It used to have a panch (council of leaders) and sometimes also a headman (patel).