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 ...
community found in the state of
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 ...
in IndiaPeople of India Rajasthan Volume XXXVIII Part Two edited by B.K Lavania, D. K Samanta, S K Mandal & N.N Vyas pages 268 to 270 Popular Prakashan and the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
province of Pakistan.
Origin
Their name means a manufacturer of bangles, from the
Chittorgarh
Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghol ...
,
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...
,
Jodhpur
Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...
and
Udaipur
Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...
in Rajasthan. Historically, the Churigar were also found in Hissar,
Rohtak
Rohtak () is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. It lies north-west of New Delhi and south of the state capital Chandigarh on NH 9(old NH 10). Rohtak forms a part of the National ...
and
Gurgaon
Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
in what is now
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
, as well as in the districts Gujrat, Sialkot, Mandi Bahaudin and Sargodha in Pakistan. The Churigar were nomadic community, one of the many gypsy like groups found in Rajasthan and Haryana. By the middle of the 19th century, groups of Churigar had begun to migrate to villages in the Punjab, selling jewellery and bangles. At the time of the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947, almost all of those in Haryana immigrated to Pakistan.Servicing the Ordinary Folk: Peripatetic Peoples and their Niche in South Asia pages 104 to 124 in Nomadism in South Asia edited by Aparna Roa and Michael J Casimir
In Rajasthan, the Churigar speak
Mewari
Mewari is an Indo-Aryan language of the Rajasthani group. It is spoken by about five million speakers in Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Pratapgarh districts of Rajasthan state and Mandsaur, Neemuch districts of Madhya Pradesh ...
among themselves and
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
with outsiders. Those who have attended Islamic
madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
origin. However, it is likely that they also incorporate converts from similar status
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 ...
The community is strictly endogamous, and practice both parallel cousin and cross cousin marriages. They are further divided into three clans, the Multani, the Shaikh and the Sayyid. Traditionally, the Sayyid Churigar did not intermarry with the other two clans, but this is no longer the case.
The Churigar in Rajasthan are now settled in villages, occupying their own distinct quarters. Bangle making is still the traditional occupation of the Churigar, and they are mainly landless. Many are also employed as daily wage labourers.
In Pakistan
As nomads, the Punjab Churigar tend to establish regular relations with client communities in villages, and follow specific routes of migration. The basic social unit of the Churigar is the ''puki'' or tent in the
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
. All members of the pukki are blood relations, and marriage is within this group. The Churigar still speak a dialect of Punjabi with many
Rajasthani
Rajasthani may refer to:
* something of, from, or related to Rajasthan, a state of India
* Rajasthani languages, a group of languages spoken there
* Rajasthani people, the native inhabitants of the region
* Rajasthani architecture
* Rajasthani art ...
loanword
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because th ...
s. The origin of Churigar is from chura made from ivory (Hathi Daant), as churi was initially made from Hathi Daant for Shahi Khandan are a very precious item. Churigar is not a cast its name from the trade or manufacturing of Churi. Sahiwal a Tehsil of District Sargodga and District Jhang near Sargodha was very famous in Chura making from ivory. Main group of cast involve in this business were Khokhar, Awan, and Hashmi families in Sargodha District. With the passage of time, Churigar business declined due to the heavy cost of Ivory.
See also
*
Manihar
The Manihar ( ur, مَنِہار) are a Muslim community, found mainly in North India.
History and origin
The word is derived from ''man'' ( hi, मणि), meaning 'jewel' in Urdu, and the agentive suffix . Their traditional occupation is ban ...