The Machiyar are both Hindi and

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 ...

. They also known as the Machhi.

History and origin

The Machiyar are a fishing community distributed throughout the coastal areas of

from Kutch to south

. They are first said to have settled at Patan, the historic capital of

. The community is said to have come from

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 ...

, and belonged to the

Mallaah The Mallaah are the traditional boatmen and fishermen tribes or communities of North India, East India, Northeastern India and Pakistan. A significant number of Mallah are also found in Nepal and Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially ...

tribe. They speak Kutchi among themselves. According to other traditions, they are

converts from the Kharwa caste.

Present circumstances

Fishing remains the traditional occupation of the community. They catch fish from the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

, using their traditional crafts known as hori. They go out to the sea in groups of three and four persons. The fish is then sold to the

Memon Memon may refer to: Ethnic group and language * Memon people, an ethnic group originating in the ancient Sindh (modern day Pakistan) * Memoni language, the language of Memon people historically associated with Kathiawar, Gujarat, India People wit ...

or Bhadala communities. Like other

artisan

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

s, they have a caste council, which maintains strong social control over the community. The community is endogamous, but there are cases of some intermarriage with the Makrani and

Malik Malik, Mallik, Melik, Malka, Malek, Maleek, Malick, Mallick, or Melekh ( phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤊; ar, ملك; he, מֶלֶךְ) is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic duri ...

communities. They do not practice

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra fo ...

exogamy, and marriages tend to take place among close kin. The community consists of six clans, the Pateliya, Vesilia, Lochani, Iswani, Raria and Nothiya.''People of India. Gujarat'', Volume XXI, Part Two, pp. 789-793.

References

{{reflist Muslim communities of Gujarat Tribes of Kutch Sindhi tribes Fishing communities in India

History and origin

Present circumstances

See also

References