Halwai

Halwai is an Indian caste whose traditional occupation was confectionery and sweet-making. The name is derived from the word Halwa plough.

Halwai
Regions with significant populations
•  India •    Nepal *  Pakistan
Languages
• Hindi • Maithili .Awadhi • Bhojpuri . Angika • Marwari Punjabi
Religion
• Hinduism, Jainism
Related ethnic groups
• Muslim Halwai • Bania • Vaishya

Balarama is the celebrated plougher so called Halwahi or Halwai, one of the pillars of agriculture along with livestock with whom Krishna is associated with. The plough is Balarama's weapon. In the Bhagavata Purana, he uses it to fight demons, dig a way for Yamuna river to come closer to Vrindavan and pull the entire capital of Hastinapura into the Ganges river.[1]

Baba Ganinath Govindji is the kul Guru (school) of Halwai caste.[2]

Origins

In parts of Uttar Pradesh, some believe that they have descended from a man by the name 'Bhalandan.' This Bhalandan came into being due to the will of the Hindu god Brahma. This individual married a woman named Marutwati. Their son was an individual who was named Vatsa Priti. One of the latter's descendants, an individual called Modan, took to making sweetmeats.[3]

The community set up its own association, the Kanyakubja Vaishya Halwai Mahasabha, which was established in Varanasi in the early part of the 1900s.[4]

Halwais in Nepal

The Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal classifies the Halwai as a subgroup within the broader social group of Madheshi Other Caste.[5] At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, 83,869 people (0.3% of the population of Nepal) were Halwai. The frequency of Halwais by province was as follows:

The frequency of Halwais was higher than national average (0.3%) in the following districts:[6]

See also

References
  1. D Dennis Hudson (2008). The Body of God: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram. Oxford University Press. pp. 97–101. ISBN 978-0-19-970902-1.
  2. "Ritual as Language: The Case of South Indian Food Offerings". Gabriella Eichinger, Ferro-Luzzi. Current Anthropology, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Sep., 1977), pp. 507-514.
  3. People of India: Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII, Part 2. edited by A Hasan & J C Das page 597. ISBN 9788173041143.
  4. People of India: Uttar Pradesh, Volume XLII. edited by A Hasan & J C Das page 601.
  5. Population Monograph of Nepal, Volume II
  6. 2011 Nepal Census, District Level Detail Report
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