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Rajput, also called Thakur, is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Rajput covers various patrilineal clans historically associated with warriorhood: several clans claim Rajput status, although not all claims are universally accepted. According to modern scholars, almost all Rajput clans originated from peasant or pastoral communities.
The Rathore or Rathor is an Indian Rajput dynasty belonging to the clan that has historically ruled over parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
The Meghwal or Meghwar 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.
Karni Mata, known by various names such as Bhagwati, Mehaai, Jagdamba, and Kiniyani is a Hindu Goddess of power and victory described as a warrior sage, who lived between 14th to 16th century in Western Rajasthan. Karni Mata is the tutelary deity of the Rajputs and Charans of northwestern India. As a Sagati, she is also worshipped as an incarnation of Hinglaj or Durga. She is the official deity of the royal families of Bikaner and Jodhpur. Karniji played an important role in shaping the history of the region. She is intimately associated with the establishment of the Rajput hegemony in the region. With her blessings, Rao Jodha and Rao Bika founded new kingdoms of Jodhpur and Bikaner. At the request of the Maharajas of Bikaner and Jodhpur, she laid down the foundations of Bikaner Fort and Mehrangarh Fort, the two most important forts in the region. She lived an ascetic life and was widely revered during her own lifetime. Indian Army troops from the Marwar region also regard Karni Mata as their patron deity.
Pabuji Ki Phad is a religious scroll painting of folk deities, which is used for a musical rendition of the only surviving ancient traditional folk art form, Phad painting in the world of the epic of Pabuji, the Rathore Rajput chief. Bhopas of Pabusar are the bards and also priests who are the traditional narrators of this art form. The Phad is also spelt as "Par". This art form is popular in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Literally, 'Pabuji Ki Phad' translates into two versions namely, "The Screen of Pabuji or O, Read of Pabuji!. Pabuji is also known as "the Ascetic Deity of Sand Desert".
Pabuji is a folk-deity of Rajasthan in India who is also worshiped in parts of Gujarat and the Indus plain.
The Manganiar or Manganhar are a Muslim community found in Sindh and Rajasthan. They are groups of hereditary professional musicians whose music has been supported by wealthy landlords and aristocrats for generations. They are known for their folk music of various compositions describing stories focused on humans, nature, and salvation. Some of their ragas have originated in the Thar and are not found in north Indian classical tradition.
Dingal, also known as Old Western Rajasthani, is an ancient Indian language written in Nagri script and having literature in prose as well as poetry. It is a language of very high tone and requires a specific style of speaking. Dingal was used in Rajasthan and adjoining areas including Gujarat, Kutch, Malwa, and Sindh. Most of Dingal literature is said to be composed by Charans. It was prominently used in composition of war poetry praising the martial exploits of Rajput and Charan war heroes.
Charan is a caste in South Asia natively residing in the Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan. Historically, Charans have been engaged in diverse occupations like bards, poets, historians, pastoralists, agriculturalists and also administrators, jagirdars and warriors and some even as traders.
Rajasthani people or Rajasthanis are a group of Indo-Aryan peoples native to Rajasthan, a state in Northern India. Their language, Rajasthani, is a part of the western group of Indo-Aryan languages. The people of Rajasthan showcase a notable spectrum of phenotypic diversity, encompassing the dark-skinned nomadic tribes of the Thar Desert to the stature and fair complexion characteristic of people of West and North Rajasthan. Additionally, there is an observed incidence of red and blonde hair, coupled with a high prevalence of light-colored eyes, contributing to the region's multifaceted demographic features.
Barot is a caste native to Gujarat and Rajasthan. They traditionally worked as historians, genealogists and mythographers.
Maru is a surname of Indian origin found among the people from Kutch and Saurashtra regions in the state of Gujarat and Rajasthan in India. The Maru word is used to identify the region of Marwar, the diaspora of people who migrated from this region to other places, use this surname to link their ancestral home.
Meethari Marwar is a village in Ladnun tehsil of Nagaur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
Darbar or Durbar or Darbar Sahib is a title of honor or respect used mainly in the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Chieftain or Lord of small petty princely states, which existed in the pre-independence era, who used title as together with honorific Saheb, to be referred as Darbar Saheb.
Modern historians agree that Rajputs consisted of a mix of various different social groups and different varnas. Rajputisation explains the process by which such diverse communities coalesced into the Rajput community.
Bhāt is a "generic term" used to refer to a bard in India. The majority of Bhats hail from Rajasthan and worked as genealogists for their patrons, however, they are viewed as mythographers. In India, the inception of Rajputization was followed by the emanation of two groups of bards with a group of them serving the society's influential communities and the other serving the communities with lower ranking in the social hierarchy.
Brohi Charan are a Brahui-Baloch Sindhi speaking ethno-linguistic group residing in the Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan. Brohi Charans are the traditional priests of the Hinglaj shrines in Balochistan and Thatta.
Rawal is an Indian community from Rajasthan and Gujarat. They are known as priests of devi temples and perform a form of dance known as Rammat during the worship. They were well respected and patronised by the Charans.
Ratnu, also spelt as Ratanu or Ratnoo, is a major clan of the Charanas in Rajasthan.
Sasan was a tax-free land grant given in the form of either partial or whole villages to the Rajpurohit and Charanas by rulers in medieval India. These grants were given in perpetuity and enjoyed superior rights compared to other land tenures.
References
- 1 2 Kothiyal, Tanuja (2016-03-14). Nomadic Narratives: A History of Mobility and Identity in the Great Indian Desert. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-67389-8.
The bards of Charans were called Motisars, but they were not genealogists. Instead they wrote poetry in honour of Charans as Charans did for Rajputs. The Motisars like Charans left their villages after Dussehra and returned only after four to six months.
- ↑ Meghani, Zaverchand Kalidas (2003). A Ruby Shattered: A Collection of Love-legends in Folk-balladry Form of Saurashtra. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
MOTISAR: A community (or one belonging to it) that mostly depended upon charan patrons and regarded as a bard community
- ↑ Jansen, Jan; Maier, Hendrik M. J. (2004). Epic Adventures: Heroic Narrative in the Oral Performance Traditions of Four Continents. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 978-3-8258-6758-4.
In addition, the contemporary Pabuji tradition also includes poetry dedicated to Pabuji by the Rawal genealogists of the Charans, prayers performed by Dhola drummers, poems chanted by poets of the Motisar caste and hymns of Dhadhi singers, who all belong to the gayak jati or 'singing caste-groups' of Rajasthan.
- 1 2 3 Qanungo, Kalika Ranjan; Kānūnago, Kālikā Rañjana (1960). Studies in Rajput History. S. Chand.
there are seven categories of persons and communities, who in their turn have a hereditary claim on the Charan's bounty, and are not allowed to beg of any other community. Besides their kula-guru family of Brahmans living in Ujjain till today, and the purohit (family priest), these are: the Rao Bhat of Chandisa sept of Marwar (who are the Bhats of the Charans as of the Rathors of Marwar); the Rawal Brahmans, the Goind-pota and the Viram-pota (Bhats singing with dhol?) and the Motisar community.
- ↑ Gujarat. Gujarat Vishvakosh Trust. 2007.
the bhats,motisars, ravals and such other communities also offered duhas , tales or stories and adulations.
- ↑ Prabhākara, Manohara (1976). A Critical Study of Rajasthani Literature, with Exclusive Reference to the Contribution of Cāraṇas. Panchsheel Prakashan.
Motisar is a caste which keeps the genealogies of Carans, sings their praises and begs money of them. The Motisars themselves are often good composers.
- ↑ Shastri, Hara Prasad (1913). Preliminary Report on the Operation in Search of Mss. of Bardic Chronicles. Asiatic Society of Bengal.