The Chunara are an

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

found in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. A small number are also found in the port city of

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. There are now two communities of Chunara, one

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and the other

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

.People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part One edited by R.B. Lal, P.B.S.V. Padmanabham, G. Krishnan and M. Azeez Mohideen pages 298-299

Origin

The word chunara in

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

literally means someone who manufactures chuna (lime). According to their traditions, they were originally

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') 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 Ra ...

s who migrated from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

and joined the army of

Gaekwar The Gaekwads of Baroda (also spelled as Gaikwads, Guicowars, Gaekwars) (IAST: ''Gāyakavāḍa'') are a Hindu Maratha dynasty origin of the former Maratha Empire and its subsequent Princely States. A dynasty belonging to this clan ruled the prin ...

s of Baroda. After having a fall out with their employer, the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

ruler of

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

, they took to manufacturing lime. A section of the Chunara then converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, and there are now distinct communities, one

and the other

.Chunara
India's communities, Volume 1 by Kumar Suresh Singh, Anthropological Survey of India. The Kadias and Bricklayers are also called Chunaras or lime-men whose main profession is brick laying, though a few among them work as masons.(BY DEPARTMENT OF CENSUS, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA)

Present circumstances

Some members communities still own lime kilns employing other Chunaras. Other than selling lime, some Chunara are now also petty businessmen. The Chunara are endogamous, with the

section practising clan exogamy. The

Chunara practise clan endogamy e.g. cross cousin and parallel cousin marriages. For the

community, the goddess Hinglaj Mata is a tribal deity. The

s belong to the

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

sect.

References

{{Indian Muslim Social groups of Gujarat Muslim communities of India Muslim communities of Gujarat Indian castes Indian architectural history Indian words and phrases

Origin

Present circumstances

See also

References