manvar surname caste in gujarat manvar surname caste in gujarat

The two together formed a single complex of continental dimension. We shall return to the Rajput-Koli relationship when we consider the Kolis in detail. Usually, the latter were distinguished from one another by prohibition. They had an internal hierarchy similar to that of the Leva Kanbis, with tax-farmers and big landlords at the top and small landowners at the bottom. The Kolis in such an area may not even be concerned about a second-order divisional name and may be known simply as Kolis. For describing the divisions of the remaining two orders, it would be necessary to go on adding the prefix sub but this would make the description extremely clumsy, if not meaningless. [CDATA[ (surname) Me caste; Mer (community) Meta Qureshi; Mistri caste; Miyana (community) Modh; Motisar (caste) Multani Lohar; Muslim Wagher; Mutwa; N . That there was room for flexibility and that the rule of caste endogamy could be violated at the highest level among the Rajputs was pointed out earlier. 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. The degree of contravention is less if the couple belong, let us say, to two different fourth-order divisions within a third-order division than if they belong to two different third-order divisions within a second-order division, and so on. Inclusion of a lower-order division in a higher-order one and distinction between various divisions in a certain order was not as unambiguous. Limbachiya Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History - Forebears There were Brahman and Vania divisions of the same name, the myths about both of them were covered by a single text. There are thus a few excellent studies of castes as horizontal 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. 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. In all there were thirty to forty such divisions. Among the first-order divisions with subdivisions going down to the fourth order, there are associations for divisions of all the orders. The pattern of inter-divisional marriages shows how the idea of free marriage, which guides most of the inter-caste marriages, is restricted, modified, and graded according to the traditional structure of caste divisions. Indian textiles especially of Gujarat have been praised in several accounts by explorers and historians, from Megasthenes to Herodotus. Asking different questions and using different methods are necessary. First, since the tads were formed relatively recently, it is easier to get information about their formation than about the formation of ekdas. They also continued to have marital relations with their own folk. 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. One of the clearly visible changes in caste in Gujarat is the increasing number of inter-divisional or so-called inter-caste marriages, particularly in urban areas, in contravention of the rule of caste endogamy. This was because political authorities were hierarchized from little kingdom to empire and the boundaries of political authorities kept changing. The highland Bhils seem to have provided brides to lower Rajputs on the other side of the highlands also, i.e., to those in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (see, for example, Doshi, 1971: 7f., 13-15; Aurora 1972: 16, 32f.). In 1920 there were 2 Mehta families living in New Jersey. 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. The primarily rural and lower castes were the last to form associations and that too mainly after independence (1947). They were involved in agriculture in one way or another. 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). 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. There are other sub-castes like Satpanthis, who are mainly centered in Kutch district and have some social customs akin to Muslims . The weavers were forced into selling exclusively to the British at extremely low rates, pushing them into poverty. Together they provide a slice of Gujarati society from the sea- coast to the bordering highlands. 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. Toori. In recent years, however, there has been a tendency to emphasize hierarchy as the primary principle encompassing the principle of division. This surname is most commonly held in India, where it is held by 2,496 people, or 1 in 307,318. gujarati surnames castes 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. 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. I am dealing here only with certain typical situations. Here, usually, what mattered was the first-order division, as for example Brahman, Vania, Rajput, Kanbi, carpenter, barber, leather-worker, and so on. In 1931, their total population was more than 1,700,000, nearly one-fourth of the total population of Gujarat. manvar surname caste in gujarat. 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; 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. The Hindu population of Gujarat was divided first of all into what I have called caste divisions of the first order. 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). Radhvanaj Rajputs were clearly distinguished from, and ranked much above local Kolis. For example, just as there were Modh Vanias, there were Modh Brahmans, and similarly Khadayata Vanias and Khadayata Brahmans, Shrimali Vanias and Shrimali Brahmans, Nagar Vanias and Nagar Brahmans, and so on. In addition, they carried on overland trade with many towns in central and north India. There was also a tendency among bachelors past marriageable age to establish liaisons with lower-caste women, which usually led the couple to flee and settle down in a distant village. professor melissa murray. 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. If the Varna divisions are taken into account, then this would add one more order to the four orders of caste divisions considered above. Vankar is described as a caste as well as a community. The Khadayatas were divided into about 30 ekdas. Hypergamy was accompanied by sanskritization of at least a section of the tribal population, their claim to the Kshatriya Varna and their economic and political symbiosis with the caste population. There was an emphasis on being different and separate rather than on being higher and lower. The arrival of the East India Company, however sounded the death knell for the Indian textile industry. For example, the Khadayata Brahmans worked as priests at important rituals among Khadayata Vanias. The Rajputs relationship with the Kolis penetrated every second-order division among them, i.e., Talapada, Pardeshi, Chumvalia, Palia, and so on. Moreover, the king himself belonged to some caste (not just to the Kshatriya Varna) and frequently a number of kings belonged to the same caste (e.g., Rajput). The three trading castes of Vania, Lohana and Bhatia were mainly urban. There was not only no pyramid type of arrangement among the many ekdas in a second-order Vania divisionthe type of arrangement found in the Rajput, Leva Kanbi, Anavil and Khedawal divisions-but frequently there was no significant sign of hierarchical relation, except boastful talk, between two neighbouring ekdas. The migrants, many of whom came from heterogeneous urban centres of Gujarat, became part of an even more heterogeneous environment in Bombay. 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. Census officials-turned-scholars, from Risley to Hutton, wrote many of the earlier general works on caste. 4 0 obj The primarily urban castes linked one town with another; the primarily rural linked one village with another; and the rural-cum-urban linked towns with villages in addition to linking both among themselves. To illustrate, among the Khadayata or Modh Vanias, an increasing number of marriages take place between two or more tads within an ekda. Early industrial labour was also drawn mainly from the urban artisan and servant castes. 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. 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. We have analyzed the internal structure of two first-order divisions, Rajput and Anavil, which did not have any second-order divisions, and of several second-order divisionsTalapada and Pardeshi Koli, Khedawal Brahman, and Leva Kanbiwhich did not have any third-order divisions. 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. Far too many studies of changes in caste in modern India start with a general model of caste in traditional India which is in fact a model of caste in traditional rural India. It used to have a panch (council of leaders) and sometimes also a headman (patel). 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. The members of a kings caste were thus found not only in his own kingdom but in other kingdoms as well. Although it has been experiencing stresses and strains and has had ups and downs on account of the enormous diversity between the royal and the tribal ends, it has shown remarkable solidarity in recent years. Our analysis of caste in towns has shown how it differed significantly from that in villages. Hindu society is usually described as divided into a number of castes the boundaries of which are maintained by the rule of caste endogamy. In the city, on the other hand, the population was divided into a large number of castes and each of most of them had a large population, frequently subdivided up to the third or the fourth order. Another major factor in the growth of urban centres in Gujarat was political. The purpose is not to condemn village studies, as is caste in a better perspective after deriving insights from village studies. Another clearly visible change in caste in Gujarat is the emergence of caste associations. Plagiarism Prevention 4. 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. These and many other artisans, craftsmen and servants reflected the special life-style of the town. For example, there were Khedawal Brahmans but not Khedawal Vanias, and Lad Vanias but no Lad Brahmans. 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. I shall first provide an analysis of caste in the past roughly during the middle of the 19th century, and then deal with changes in the modern times. <>/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>> The idea of inter-caste marriage is, moreover, linked with the idea of creating such a society involves a compromise with, if not subtle negation of, the ideal. It was also an extreme example of a division having a highly differentiated internal hierarchy and practising hypergamy as an accepted norm. In other words, it did not involve a big jump from one place to another distant place. Literally, ekda meant unit, and gol circle, and both signified an endogamous unit. 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. The sub- the manner in which the ideas of free marriages and castles society are used by both the old and the young in modern India and how a number of new customs and institutions have evolved to cope with these new ideas is a fascinating subject of study. The Chumvalias and Patanwadias migrated possibly from the same tract and continued to belong to the same horizontal unit after migration. Third, although two or more new endogamous units came into existence and marriage between them was forbidden thereafter, a number of pre-existing kinship and affinal relationships continued to be operative between them. Frequently, social divisions were neatly expressed in street names. : 11-15, 57-75). The same problems would arise in the reverse direction if, as many scholars have done, the term caste cluster, caste complex or caste category is used for divisions of a higher order and the term caste or jati is used for divisions of a lower order. 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. They are described by the ruling elite as robbers, dacoits, marauders, predators and the like. The chiefly families constituted a tiny proportion of the total population of any second-order division among the Kolis. The Anavil, numbering 30,000 to 40,000 in 1931, were found mainly in south Gujarat. Let us now return to a consideration of the first-order divisions with subdivisions going down to the third or the fourth order. 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. They took away offerings made to Shiva, which was considered extremely degrading. Many second-order divisions were further divided into two or three status categories. (Frequently, such models are constructed a priori rather than based on historical evidence, but that is another story). For example, among almost every Vania division there was a dual division into Visa and Dasa: Visa Nagar and Dasa Nagar, Visa Lad and Dasa Lad, Visa Modh and Dasa Modh, Visa Khadayata and Dasa Khadayata, and so on. I am not suggesting that the principle of hierarchy was insignificant in the inter- or intra-caste relations in urban centres. There is a patterned widening of the connubial field along an area chalked out historically. No one knows when and how they came into existence and what they meant socially. Copyright 10. Nor were ekdas and tads entirely an urban phenomenon. There would be a wide measure of agreement with him on both these counts. ADVERTISEMENTS: Division and Hierarchy: An Overview of Caste in Gujarat! But the hypergamous tendency was so powerful that each such endogamous unit could not be perfectly endogamous even at the height of its integration. Sindhollu, Chindollu. 100 Most Popular Indian Last Names Or SurnamesWhy Don't Tamil People Have Last Names?-----A . The Rajputs, in association with Kolis, Bhils, and such other castes and tribes, provide an extreme example of such castes. 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). Let me illustrate briefly. 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. Although some of them set up shops in villages they rarely became full-fledged members of the village community. This does not, however, help describe caste divisions adequately. The method is to remove first the barriers of the divisions of the lowest order and then gradually those of one higher order after another. 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. 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).