The Lavana, Lohana , Lobana , Labana, are a
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 ...
caste found in the states 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 ...
and
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 ...
in
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 ...
.
[P
]
History and origin
The Lavana are a branch of the larger community of
North India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
. They are descent from the
Indo-Scythians
Indo-Scythians (also called Indo-Sakas) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples of Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into modern day Pakistan and Northwestern India from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th centur ...
, and the word lavana also means salt in
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 ...
, and the community’s traditional occupation was the merchant and transportation of salt.
Present circumstances
The Lavana are an endogamous community. They have eleven exogamous clans, namely the Dharawat, Dhogan, Basi, Gundalia, Datnawat, Anderia, Tageria, Kalchana, Baluda, Lakhrond, and Bakrea. All these clans have equal status.
[People of India Rajasthan Volume XXXVIII Part Two edited by B.K Lavania, D. K Samanta, S K Mandal & N.N Vyas pages 580 to 583 Popular Prakashan]
The community is traditionally associated with saltpetre trading, but many are now farmers, agricultural and traders.
See also
*
Labana
Lubana (also spelled Lubana, Labana, Lavana, Lubhana; ) is a merchant and transportation community in India engaged in maritime trade and land trade which includes trading and transportation of goods like saltpetre, silk, diamonds, etc. In the P ...
References
{{reflist
''People of India - Rajasthan (Set of 2 volumes)'' Published b
Popular Prakashan
Indian castes
Saltmaking castes
Salt industry in India
Social groups of Gujarat
Social groups of Rajasthan