The Halaypotra ( sd, هاليپوٽا) are a

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

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 ...

and a province of

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

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 ...

. They are one of a number of communities of

Maldhari Maldharis are herder, herdsmen community in Gujarat, India. Originally nomads, they came to be known as Maldharis after settling in Junagadh district (mainly Gir Forest). "Maldhari" is an occupational term which refers to people from a variety of c ...

pastoral nomads found in the

Banni Banni is a village in the Gambia. It is located in Wuli District in the Upper River Division Upper River was one of the five Divisions of the Gambia. Its capital was Basse Santa Su. It was subsequently reorganised as the Basse Local Governme ...

region of Kutch.

History and origin

The Halaypotra claim descent from Halosamma, a nobleman belonging to the Samma

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 ...

tribe. Other traditions connect the Halaypotra with the Soomra tribe of

. They are a small

community, concentrated in the Banni region of Kutch. The Halaypotra perceive themselves to be

Muslim Rajput Muslim Rajputs are the descendants of Rajputs of Northern regions of the Indian subcontinent who are followers of Islam. They converted from Hinduism to Islam from the medieval India, medieval period in India onwards, retaining historically Hin ...

Present circumstances

The community is concentrated in the

talukas A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

Bhuj Bhuj () is a Municipality and District Headquarters of Kutch District in the state of Gujarat, India. Etymology According to legend, Kutch was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to Kin ...

, Abdasa and

Mandvi Mandvi is a Beach town with municipality in the Kutch district in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat. It was once a major port of the region and summer retreat for Maharao (king) of the Cutch State. The old city was enc ...

in Kutch District of

, and the neighbouring districts of

Badin Badin ( Sindhi and ur, ) is the main city and capital of Badin District in Sindh, Pakistan. It lies east of the Indus River. It is the 87th largest city in Pakistan. Badin is often called 'Sugar State' due to its production of sugar. Badin ...

and

Tharparkar Tharparkar (Dhatki language, Dhatki/ sd, ٿرپارڪر, ur, ), also known as Thar, is a district in Sindh province in Pakistan headquartered at Mithi. Before Indian independence it was known as the Thar and Parkar district. The district is t ...

. They speak a dialect of Kutchi, with substantial Sindhi loan words. The Halaypotra consists of seven clans, the main ones being the Sharman, Dera, Tajju and Babbia. They are an endogamous community, and marriages between the clans is the norm. The community are

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 ...

s, as well as practicing folk beliefs.People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part Two edited by R.B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan & M Azeez Mohideen pages 487-491 The Halaypotra are pastoral

nomads, raising buffaloes, cows and sheep, and graze these in the Banni region. They also sell milk to

. They often migrate to Saurashtra with to graze their cattle. Like many other Kutchis, the Halaypotra have migrated to others parts of India in search of work. The community are also famed for their embroidery work, known as bharat ka kam.

References

{{Indian Muslim Social groups of Gujarat Social groups of Sindh Tribes of Kutch Maldhari communities Muslim communities of India Sindhi tribes * Sindhi tribes in India Muslim communities of Gujarat

History and origin

Present circumstances

See also

References