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. 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. (surname) Me caste; Mer (community) Meta Qureshi; Mistri caste; Miyana (community) Modh; Motisar (caste) Multani Lohar; Muslim Wagher; Mutwa; N . They were involved in agriculture in one way or another. 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. A recent tendency in sociological literature is to consider jatis as castes. 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. 1 0 obj 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. 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. 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 urban centres in both the areas, it is hardly necessary to mention, are nucleated settlements populated by numerous caste and religious groups. In the case of some of them the small population was so dispersed that a division such as that of barbers, blacksmiths, or carpenters, would be represented by only one or two households in each village and by a significant number of households in towns. 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. As could be expected, there were marriages between fairly close kin, resulting in many overlapping relationships, in such an endogamous unit. Usually it consisted of wealthy and powerful lineages, distinguishing themselves by some appellation, such as Patidar among the Leva Kanbi, Desai among the Anavil, and Baj among the Khedawal. 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. 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. Usually, a single Koli division had different local names in different parts of Gujarat, but more about this later. Let me illustrate briefly. Another clearly visible change in caste in Gujarat is the emergence of caste associations. Radhvanaj Rajputs were clearly distinguished from, and ranked much above local Kolis. The two categories of castes have been deeply conscious of these differences between them and have been talking freely about them. 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. Although some of them set up shops in villages they rarely became full-fledged members of the village community. <>/Metadata 3086 0 R/ViewerPreferences 3087 0 R>> 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. The bulk of the population was spread all over the villages as small landholders, tenants and labourers. 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. 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. Dowry not only continues to be a symbol of status in the new hierarchy but is gradually replacing bride price wherever it existed, and dowry amounts are now reaching astronomical heights. 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. Our analysis of the internal organization of caste divisions has shown considerable variation in the relative role of the principles of division and hierarchy. It seems the highland Bhils (and possibly also other tribes) provided brides to lower Rajputs in Gujarat. In the second kind of area, indigenous Kolis live side-by-side with immigrant Kolis from an adjoining area. 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. Here, usually, what mattered was the first-order division, as for example Brahman, Vania, Rajput, Kanbi, carpenter, barber, leather-worker, and so on. There is a patterned widening of the connubial field along an area chalked out historically. Each ekda or gol was composed of a definite number of families living in certain villages and/or towns. After the commercial revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries, Gujarat had a large number of tradition towns on its long sea-coast. 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). 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. Homo Hierarchicus. : 11-15, 57-75). 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. The division had an elaborate internal hierarchy, with wealthy and powerful landlords and tax-farmers at the top and small landholders, tenants and labourers at the bottom. Caste divisions of the first-order can be classified broadly into three categories. The guiding ideas were samaj sudharo (social reform) and samaj seva (social service). They married their daughters into higher Rajput lineages in the local area who in turn married their daughters into still higher nearly royal rajput lineages in Saurashtra and Kachchh. Sometimes castes are described as becoming ethnic groups in modern India, particularly in urban India. 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. For example, there was considerable ambiguity about the status of Anavils. Even the archaeological surveys and studies have indicated that the people of Dholavira, Surkotada. 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. r/ahmedabad From Mumbai. 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. Another major factor in the growth of urban centres in Gujarat was political. There was apparently a close relation between a castes internal organization and the size and spatial distribution of its population. 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. But during the 18th century, when the Mughal Empire was disintegrating, a large number of small kingdoms came into existence, and each had a small capital town of its own. This list may not reflect recent changes. Content Guidelines 2. 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 category has the following 18 subcategories, out of 18 total. What may be called the census approach influenced a great deal of scholarly work. Division and hierarchy have always been stressed as the two basic principles of the caste system. The migrants, many of whom came from heterogeneous urban centres of Gujarat, became part of an even more heterogeneous environment in Bombay. The Kanbis (now called Patidars) had five divisions: Leva, Kadya, Anjana, Bhakta, and Matia. This does not, however, help describe caste divisions adequately. He stresses repeatedly the primacy of the principle of hierarchy-epitomized in the title of his book. Sindhollu, Chindollu. The Khadayatas were divided into about 30 ekdas. Hence started farming and small scale business in the British Raj to thrive better conditions ahead to maintain their livelihood. Until recently, sociologists and anthropologists described Indian society as though it had no urban component in the past. 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. They took away offerings made to Shiva, which was considered extremely degrading. Marco Polo a Venetian merchant on his visit to India in 13th century Gujarat observed that "brocading art of Gujarat weavers is par excellent". 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. The Rajputs relationship with the Kolis penetrated every second-order division among them, i.e., Talapada, Pardeshi, Chumvalia, Palia, and so on. Many of them became the norm-setting elite for Gujaratis in the homeland. In any case, castes are not likely to cease to be castes in the consciousness of people in the foreseeable future. No one knows when and how they came into existence and what they meant socially. ADVERTISEMENTS: Division and Hierarchy: An Overview of Caste in Gujarat! There were also a number of first-order divisions, mainly of artisans, craftsmen and specialized servants, with small populations. 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. The latter continued to be the provincial capital during Mughal rule. Usually, the affairs of the caste were discussed in large congregations of some fifty to hundred or even more villages from time to time. While we do get evidence of fission of caste divisions of a higher order into two or more divisions of a lower order, the mere existence of divisions of a lower order should not be taken as evidence of fission in a division of a higher order. The unit might possess some other corporate characteristics also. In 1931, their total population was more than 1,700,000, nearly one-fourth of the total population of Gujarat. Almost every village in this area included at least some Leva population, and in many villages they formed a large, if not the largest, proportion of the population. 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. 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. Usually, these divisions were distinguished from one another by prohibition of what people called roti vyavahar (bread, i.e., food transactions) as well as beti vyavahar (daughter, i.e., marital transactions). Most associations continue to retain their non-political character. 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 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. 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. Hindu society is usually described as divided into a number of castes the boundaries of which are maintained by the rule of caste endogamy. The Brahmans and Vanias seem to have had the largest number of divisions as mentioned earlier, about eighty in the former and about forty in the latter. Plagiarism Prevention 4. Although my knowledge is fragmentary, I thought it was worthwhile to put together the bits and pieces for the region as a whole. 4 GUJARAT 4273 SHODA . There was a continuous process of formation and disintegration of such units. There was also another important correlation. Real Estate Software Dubai > blog > manvar surname caste in gujarat. Indeed, a major achievement of Indian sociology during the last thirty years or so has been deeper understanding of caste in the village context in particular and of its hierarchical dimension in general. 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. In the plains, therefore, every village had one or more towns in its vicinity. So instead of a great exporter of finished products, India became an importer of British, while its share of world export fell from 27% to two percent. Among the Kanbis, while there was hypergamy within the Leva division and possibly, similar hypergamy within the Kadva division, there was no hierarchy or hypergamy between the two second-order divisions. Systematic study of small caste divisions in villages as well as in towns still awaits the attention of sociologists and anthropologists. The advance made in recent years is limited and much more needs to be done. But there were also others who did not wield any power. Gujarati migrations to the nearby metropolis of Bombay the first new centre of administration, industry, commerce, education, and western culture, followed the same links. Let us now return to a consideration of the first-order divisions with subdivisions going down to the third or the fourth order. ), as contrasted with the horizontal unity of the caste. 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. 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. (Frequently, such models are constructed a priori rather than based on historical evidence, but that is another story). On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Most of the second-order divisions were further divided into third-order divisions. Although caste was found in both village and town, did it possess any special characteristics in the latter? 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. 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. To whichever of the four orders a caste division belonged, its horizontal spread rarely, if ever, coincided with that of another. 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. James Campbell (1901: xii), the compiler of gazetteers for the former Bombay presidency comprising several linguistic regions, wrote about Gujarat: In no part of India are the subdivisions so minute, one of them, the Rayakval Vanias, numbering only 47 persons in 1891. Thus, finding any boundary between Rajputs and Kolis in the horizontal context was impossible, although there were sharp boundaries between the two in the narrow local context. The essential idea in the category was power, and anybody who wielded powereither as king or as dominant group in a rural (even tribal) areacould claim to be Rajput. Although the ekda or tad was the most effective unit for endogamy, each unit of the higher order was also significant for endogamy. Many primarily rural castes, such as Kolisthe largest castehave remained predominantly rural even today. I have not yet come across an area where Kolis from three or more different areas live together, excepting modern, large towns and cities. Disclaimer 9. Toori. 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. The following 157 pages are in this category, out of 157 total. They co-existed in the highlands with tribes such as the Bhils, so much so that today frequently many high caste Gujaratis confuse them with Bhils, as did the earlier ethnographers. 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 hierarchy, however, was very gradual and lacked sharpness. The three trading castes of Vania, Lohana and Bhatia were mainly urban. There are other sub-castes like Satpanthis, who are mainly centered in Kutch district and have some social customs akin to Muslims . 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. The main occupation of Vankars was the weaving of cloth. 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). This was unlike the situation among the Rajputs who did not make any attempt to form small endogamous units. //]]>. I am not suggesting that the principle of hierarchy was insignificant in the inter- or intra-caste relations in urban centres. Copyright 10. [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. The handloom weavers of Gujarat, Maharastra and Bengal produced and exported some of the world's most desirable fabrics. Many of these names were also based on place names. Although the number of inter-ekda marriages has been increasing, even now the majority of marriages take place within an ekda. 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. 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). In addition, they carried on overland trade with many towns in central and north India. Tirgaar, Tirbanda. %PDF-1.7 The freedom struggle brought the Indian handloom sector back to the fore, with Mahatma Gandhi spearheading the Swadeshi cause. The handloom weavers of Gujarat, Maharastra and Bengal produced and exported some of the world's most desirable fabrics. The degree of contravention is highest if the couple belong to two different first-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. To take one sensitive area of purity/pollution behaviour, the concern for observance of rules of commensality has greatly declined not only in urban but also in rural areas. These linkages played an important role in the traditional social structure as well as in the processes of change in modern India. 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. Caste associations have been formed on the lines of caste divisions. 4 0 obj professor melissa murray. 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. Because of these two major factors, one economic and the other political, Gujarat at the beginning of the 19th century had a large urban population, distributed over a large number of small towns. 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. 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. New Jersey had the highest population of Mehta families in 1920. A block printed and resist-dyed fabric, whose origin is from Gujarat was found in the tombs of Fostat, Egypt. Created Date: In other words, it did not involve a big jump from one place to another distant place. In these divisions an increasing number of marriages are taking place against the grain of traditional hierarchy, i.e., girls of traditionally higher strata marry boys of traditionally lower strata. Caste associations in Gujarat were formed mainly among upper castes to provide welfare (including recreation), to promote modern education, and to bring about reforms in caste customs. 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. 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. It is a coalescence of Kolis and Rajputs on the modern political plane based on the foundation of the traditional social and cultural symbiosis under the rubric of Kshatriya. Since these were all status categories rather than clear- cut divisions, I have not considered them as constituting third-order divisions. 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. Privacy Policy 8. In any case, the population of any large caste was found in many kingdoms. We have seen how one second-order division among Brahmans, namely, Khedawal, was marked by continuous internal hierarchy and strong emphasis on hypergamy on the one hand and by absence of effective small endogamous units on the other. The significant point, however, is that there were small endogamous units which were not, like ekdas and tads, part of any higher-order division. 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. Frequently, each such unit had a patron deity, housed in a large shrine, with elaborate arrangements for its ownership. Of particular importance seems to be the fact that a section of the urban population was more or less isolatedsome may say, alienatedfrom the rural masses from generation to generation. * List of Scheduled Tribes in Gujarat; A. . 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.