Meghwal

The Meghwal or Meghwar (also known as Megh and Meghraj) people live primarily in northwest India, with a small population in Pakistan. Their traditional occupation was agricultural farming, cattle-herding and weaving. Meghwals are known for their contribution to embroidery and the textile industry. Most are Hindu by religion, with Rishi Megh, Kabir, Ram Devji and Bankar Mataji their chief gods.[1]

Meghwal
A group of Megh girls in Jammu, India
Regions with significant populations
• India • Pakistan
Religion
•Hinduism •Buddhism (Navayana)

Synonyms

The Meghwal community is known by various names, depending on location. Examples include Balai, Menghwar.[2] The community is also known by the neutral term Bhambhi as well as Dhed, considered derogatory.[3][4]

Origins

They claim to have descended from Rishi Megh,[5] a saint who had the power to bring rain from the clouds through his prayer. The word Meghwar is derived from the Sanskrit words megh, meaning clouds and rain, and war (Hindi: वार), meaning a group, son and child. (Sanskrit: वार:)[4][6]

However, it is theorized that at the time of Muslim invasion of India, many people of high castes including Rajputs, Charans, Brahmins, and Jats joined or were recruited in the Bhambhi or Meghwal caste. Due to this, there came 5 main divisions in the community:[7][8][9][10]

  1. Adu or unmixed Bhambis,
  2. Maru Bhambis comprising Rajputs,
  3. Charaniya Bhambis including Charanas,
  4. Bamnia Bhambis comprising Paliwal Brahmins
  5. Jata Bhambis including Jats

Some Meghwals are associated with other social groups. Shyam Lal Rawat refers to the Meghwals of Rajasthan as "one of the dominating backward castes ...",[11] a connection also made by Debashis Debnath.[12] The Balali and Bunkar communities have also begun using the Meghwal name.[13]

Culture

There exists cultural differences among these sub-caste groups of Meghwal. For example: the Meghwal like Jata Bhambis, Bamnia Bhambis and Charania Bhambis in Rajasthan do not inter marry within other sub-castes. These sub-groups being more conscious about their previous identities maintain their old customs and traditions.[9][10]

Furthermore, there were also considerable diversity in dressing habits between different sub-groups. In 1891, when Hardyal Singh wrote about the Bhambi, Meghwal caste of Marwar states, he observed:[2][9][10]

"The first two divisions (The Adu or unmixed Bhambis and the Maru Bhambis) are very closely connected and inter-marry, while the last two divisions only marry in their own communities respectively. The Bhambis are not allowed to wear gold and silver ornaments, but an exception is made in the case of head village Bhambi and his wife. There is striking popularity in the dress of men, but the Maru Bhambi women generally wear Ghagra or petticoat of country chintz, while the Jata Bhambis dress themselves like the Jat women and are distinguished from the use of lac churas instead of ivory ones. The women of the Charania Bhambis wear a dress of yellow colour like the Charan women."

In Gujarat, except the Maheshwari Meghwals, Marwada, Gujara and Charaniya sub-sections of Meghwals worship the Mata. Moreover, the Marwada and Gujara Meghwals, in contrast to the Charaniya Meghwals, hold great reverence for the saint Ramdev Puri. Unlike the Maheshwari Meghwals, the Marwada Meghwals possess the chori or marriage altar. While the Charaniya Meghwals abstain from the traditional skinning and tanning activities of Meghwals, the other groups do not exhibit specific objections to engaging in such tasks.[14][15]

Geographical distribution

The Meghwal are found in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The Meghs, Kabir Panthi or Bhagat are from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir[16] and are known as Megh, Arya Megh and Bhagat. In some places they are known as Ganeshia, Meghbansi, Mihagh, Rakhesar, Rakhia, Rikhia, Rishia and other names. Some of the Mahashas also claim to be belonging to Meghs.[17] After Partition of India in 1947, the Meghs who had become converts to the Hinduism, had to migrate to Indian territory.[18]

As of 1991, the population of Meghs in Punjab (India) was estimated at 105,157.[19]

Lifestyle

In the countryside of Rajasthan, many of the people of this community still reside in small hamlets of round, mud-brick huts painted on the outside with colourful geometric designs and decorated with detailed mirror inlays. In earlier days the main occupation of the Meghwal community was agricultural labour, weaving, specially Khadi and woodcarving, and these are still the main occupations. The women are famous for their embroidery work and are master wool and cotton weavers.[20][21]

Increasing numbers of the Meghwal today are educated and are obtaining government jobs. In Punjab, especially in the cities like Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana a good number of them is engaged as workers in factories producing sports, hosiery, surgical and metal goods. Very few of them have their own business or a small scale industry. Tiny business and service units are their main support for livelihood.[22]

Arts

The Meghwal women in Rajasthan are known for their exuberantly detailed costumes and jewellery. Married women often wear gold nose ring, earrings and neckpieces, given as a "bride wealth" dowry by her soon-to-be husband's mother. Nose rings and earrings are often decorated with precious stones of ruby, sapphire and emerald. The Meghwal women's embroidery is sought after. Their work is distinguished by their primary use of red, which comes from a local pigment produced from crushed insects. The Meghwal women artisans of Thar desert in Sindh and Balochistan, and in Gujarat are considered masters of the traditional embroidery and Ralli making. Exotic hand-embroidered items are a part of the dowry of Meghwal woman.[23]

See also

References
  1. Khan, Dominique-Sila (April 1996). "The Kāmaḍ of Rajasthan — Priests of a Forgotten Tradition". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. 6 (1): 29–56. doi:10.1017/S1356186300014759. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  2. Pathak, Bindeshwar (1998). Continuity and Change in Indian Society: Essays in Memory of Late Prof. Narmadeshwar Prasad. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-7022-726-7.
  3. Vyas, V. S. (2007). Rajasthan, the Quest for Sustainable Development. Academic Foundation. p. 350. ISBN 978-81-7188-621-0. A unique feature of Rajasthan has been that each occupational caste has three names—one, which is respectful, the second which is general and third which is demeaning. For instance, a leather worker would be respectfully addressed as Meghwal, the neutral term is Bhambhi and is despairingly referred as Dhed.
  4. Snodgrass, Jeffrey G. (10 August 2006). Casting Kings: Bards and Indian Modernity. Oxford University Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-19-804140-5. Rajasthani castes typically have three names: one respectful, one neutral, and one demeaning (Kothari 1994: 205). In this case Bhambhi is the most neutral of the three terms. Meghwal is used by Bhambhis to make a higher status claim—specifically, that they are descended from the Hindu saint Megh. Balai, on the other hand, is used to refer to this community's sometimes role as a village or town crier, referred to as a ganv balai, or even a royal crier in the service of the king, called a raj balai.
  5. "Regional Briefs, Punjab, Abohar". Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  6. Alok Kumar Rastogi & Shri Sharan. Supreme Sanskrit-Hindi Kosh. Kalra Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Delhi.
  7. Pathak, Bindeshwar (1998). Continuity and Change in Indian Society: Essays in Memory of Late Prof. Narmadeshwar Prasad. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 199, 200. ISBN 978-81-7022-726-7. I shall briefly discuss the Chamars, Balais, Bhambis and Meghwals of Rajasthan. The term "Adak" was used for the traditional Chamars in general, whereas the term "Sadak" was used particularly for those converted Chamars who were recruited in the Chamar castes from higher castes. This conversion is elaborated in Munshi Hardayal Singh's description of how members of the Brahmin, Rajput, Jat and Charan castes in Rajasthan were lowered.
  8. Choudhry, P. S. (1968). Rajasthan Between the Two World Wars, 1919-1939. Sri Ram Mehra. p. 81. There are four divisions amongst them, each division claiming to have sprung from a higher caste, viz. : 1. Adu or unmixed Bhambhis; 2. Maru the descendants of Rajputs; 3. Jata the descendants of Jats, and 4. Charanya, the descendants of a Charan.
  9. Shyamlal (1997). From Higher Caste to Lower Caste: The Processes of Asprashyeekaran and the Myth of Sanskritization. Rawat Publications. pp. 63, 64.
  10. Channa, Subhadra Mitra; Mencher, Joan P. (30 May 2013). Life as a Dalit: Views from the Bottom on Caste in India. SAGE Publications India. p. 124. ISBN 978-81-321-1777-3.
  11. Rawat, Shyam Lal (2010). Studies in Social Protest. pp. xiv, 356. ISBN 978-8131603314.
  12. Debnath, Debashis (June 1995). "Hierarchies Within Hierarchy: Some Observations on Caste System in Rajasthan". Indian Anthropologist. 25 (1): 23–30. JSTOR 41919761.
  13. Dalit Women in Rajasthan: Status of Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (PDF).
  14. Gupta, Dipankar (2000). Interrogating Caste: Understanding Hierarchy and Difference in Indian Society. Penguin Books India. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-14-029706-5.
  15. Gupta, Dipankar (1984). "Continuous Hierarchies and Discrete Castes". Economic and Political Weekly. 19 (47): 2003–2005. ISSN 0012-9976. Within caste groups too the endogamous jatis are also separated by divergent customs.
  16. Census India - Govt. of India
  17. Mark Juergensmeyer. (1988). Religious Rebels in The Punjab: The Social Vision of Untouchables. Ajanta Publications, Delhi. p. 214. ISBN 81-202-0208-2.
  18. Mark Juergensmeyer. (1988). Religious Rebels in The Punjab: The Social Vision of Untouchables. Ajanta Publications, Delhi. p. 225. ISBN 81-202-0208-2.
  19. "Dalits – On the Margins of Development" (PDF). Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. "Weaving a common destiny". Centre for Science and Environment. June 1992. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  21. "Ancient Lac Dyeing Practices of Kachchh and its revival by the Vankar Shyamji Valiji of Bujodi". Craft Revival Trust. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  22. Bal, Gurpreet; Judge, Paramjit S. (2010). "Innovations, Entrepreneurship and Development". Journal of Entrepreneurship. 19: 43–62. doi:10.1177/097135570901900103. S2CID 154601153. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  23. Jasleen Dhamija; Crafts Council of India (2004). Asian embroidery. Abhinav Publications. p. 125. ISBN 81-7017-450-3.
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