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. 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. Briefly, while the Varna model was significant in the total dynamics of the caste system to fit the numerous first-order divisions into the four-fold Varna model in any part of India is impossible, and, therefore, to consider varnas as caste divisions as such is meaningless. The members of a kings caste were thus found not only in his own kingdom but in other kingdoms as well. 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). For example, among Vanias in a large town like Ahmedabad many of the thirty or forty second-order divisions (such as Khadayata, Modh, Porwad, Shrimali, and so on) were represented. 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. 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. Usually, it was a small population. . 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. The primarily rural and lower castes were the last to form associations and that too mainly after independence (1947). Among the first-order divisions with subdivisions going down to the fourth order, there are associations for divisions of all the orders. There would be a wide measure of agreement with him on both these counts. There was apparently a close relation between a castes internal organization and the size and spatial distribution of its population. 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. 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. There were also a number of first-order divisions, mainly of artisans, craftsmen and specialized servants, with small populations. Another clearly visible change in caste in Gujarat is the emergence of caste associations. A comment on the sociology of urban India would, therefore, be in order before we go ahead with the discussion of caste divisions. Simultaneously, there is gradual decline in the strength of the principle of hierarchy, particularly of ritual hierarchy expressed in purity and pollution. 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. Almost all the myths about the latter are enshrined in the puranas (for an analysis of a few of them, see Das 1968 and 1977). The most Mehta families were found in USA in 1920. All associations originated in large towns, are more active in towns than in villages, and are led by prominent members in towns. 2 0 obj There are thus a few excellent studies of castes as horizontal units. For example, among the Vanias the most general rule was that a marriage of a boy could be arranged with any girl who was bhane khapati, i.e., with whom he was permitted to have commensal relations (roti vyavahar). Many second-order divisions were further divided into two or three status categories. No one knows when and how they came into existence and what they meant socially. 4 GUJARAT 4273 SHODA . Each unit was ranked in relation to others, and many members of the lower units married their daughters into the higher units, so that almost every unit became loose in the course of time. Nor were ekdas and tads entirely an urban phenomenon. First, since the tads were formed relatively recently, it is easier to get information about their formation than about the formation of ekdas. 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). They worked not only as high priests but also as bureaucrats. Gujarat- A state in India. Created Date: They were found in almost every village in plains Gujarat and in many villages in Saurashtra and Kachchh. <> For example, there was considerable ambiguity about the status of Anavils. Nor do I claim to know the whole of Gujarat. 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. Vankar - Wikipedia 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. : 11-15, 57-75). 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. 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. manvar surname caste in gujarat 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. In each of these three divisions the top stratum was clear. Similarly, in Saurashtra, the Talapadas were distinguished from the Chumvalias, immigrants from the Chumval tract in north Gujarat. Firstly, there were divisions whose population was found almost entirely in towns. We had seen earlier that in the first-order division, such as that of the Rajputs, there were no second-order divisions, and no attempt was made to form small endogamous units: hypergamy had free play, as it were. There were about three hundred divisions of this order in the region as a whole. A fundamental difficulty with these paradigms of change, as indicated by the above analysis, is that they are based on a partial conception of the systematic or structural whole in the past partially because it does not cover the urban situation and the complexity of horizontal units. The two former ekdas continued to exist with diminished strength. This last name is predominantly found in Asia, where 93 percent of Limbachiya reside; 92 percent reside in South Asia and 92 percent reside in Indo-South Asia. It has been pointed out earlier that an emphasis on the principle of division existed in the caste system in urban centres in traditional India. Many of them became the norm-setting elite for Gujaratis in the homeland. 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. 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. If the Varna divisions are taken into account, then this would add one more order to the four orders of caste divisions considered above. 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. They are described by the ruling elite as robbers, dacoits, marauders, predators and the like. 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. A few examples are: Brahman (priest), Vania (trader), Rajput (warrior and ruler), Kanbi (peasant), Koli (peasant), Kathi (peasant), Soni goldsmith), Suthar (carpenter), Valand (barber), Chamar (leatherworker), Dhed (weaver) and Bhangi (scavenger). 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. Moreover, some leading Anavils did not wish to be bothered about Brahman status, saying that they were just Anavil. (surname) Me caste; Mer (community) Meta Qureshi; Mistri caste; Miyana (community) Modh; Motisar (caste) Multani Lohar; Muslim Wagher; Mutwa; N . Plagiarism Prevention 4. ///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 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. The two together formed a single complex of continental dimension. 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 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. They then spread to towns in the homeland and among all castes. It is not easy to find out if the tads became ekdas in course of time and if the process of formation of ekdas was the same as that of the formation of tads. Usually, the affairs of the caste were discussed in large congregations of some fifty to hundred or even more villages from time to time. The hypergamous tendency was never as sharp, pervasive and regular among the Vania divisions as among the Rajputs, Leva Kanbis, Anavils and Khedawals. As weaving is an art and forms one of the most important artisan community of India. PDF Castes and Subcastes List in Gujarat - Matchfinder The main aim of this paper is to discuss, on the basis of data derived mainly from Gujarat, these and other problems connected with the horizontal dimension of caste. The boundaries of caste division were fairly clear in the village community. Also, the horizontal spread of a caste rarely coincided with the territorial boundaries of a political authority. Early industrial labour was also drawn mainly from the urban artisan and servant castes. [CDATA[ 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. Most of the second-order divisions were further divided into third-order divisions. 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. The earliest caste associations were formed in Bombay in the middle of the 19th century among migrants belonging to the primarily urban and upper castes from Gujarat, such as Vanias, Bhatias and Lohanas (see Dobbin 1972: 74-76, 121-30, 227f, 259-61). The Mehta family name was found in the USA, and the UK between 1891 and 1920. However, it is well known that there were subtle arguments regarding the status of certain royal families being Rajput. 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. TOS 7. Frequently, The ekdas or gols were each divided into groups called tads (split). They adopted Rajput customs and traditions, claimed Rajput status, and gave daughters in marriage to Rajputs in the lower rungs of Rajput hierarchy. In central Gujarat, for example, one and the same division, freely arranging marriages within it, was known by several names such as Baraiya, Dharala, Khant, Kotwal, Pagi, Patelia, Talapada, Thakarada, and Thakor. The Hindu and Muslim kingdoms in Gujarat during the medieval period had, of course, their capital towns, at first Patan and then Ahmedabad. Even the archaeological surveys and studies have indicated that the people of Dholavira, Surkotada. They have been grouped in Vaishya category of Varna system. This tendency reaches its culmination in the world of Dumont. 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. Hypergamy tended to be associated with this hierarchy. Although the name of a Brahman or Vania division might be based on a place name, the division was not territorial in nature. The Chumvalias and Patanwadias migrated possibly from the same tract and continued to belong to the same horizontal unit after migration. Leva Sheri and Kadva Sheri, named after the two major second-order divisions among the Kanbis. 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 central Gujarat, at least from about the middle of the 18th century, the population of the wealthy and powerful Patidar section of the Kanbis also lived in townsan extremely interesting development of rich villages into towns, which I will not describe here. 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. This reflects the high degree of divisiveness in castes in Gujarat. 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. <> 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.

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