The Manka are a partly

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 ...

and partly

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 ...

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 ...

.People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part Two edited by R.B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan & M Azeez Mohideen pages 863-867

History and origin

The Manka are said to get their name from their profession of making ''manka'', which in the Gujrati language, means the making of prayer beads. They claim to be

Chavda The Chavda (IAST:Chávaḍá), also spelled Chawda or Chavada was a dynasty which ruled the region of modern-day Gujarat in India, from c. 690 to 942. Variants of the name for the dynasty include Chapotkatas, Chahuda and Chávoṭakas. During ...

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. 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 are now found mainly in twenty villages of Bachau and Rapar

taluka 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 ...

s of Kutch District. Some of the Manka are found in Jam Salaya district Jamnagar in Saurashtra who are mainly in fishing and seafaring work.

Present circumstances

The Manka speak a dialect of Kutchi, with substantial Sindhi loan words. The Manka consist of a number of clans, the main ones being the Jabayi, Chunctria, Jesra, Payana, Chavda and Sinayi. The community is split along religious lines, with the

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 ...

Manka being

. They resemble other Kutch

communities in social, ritual and religious activity. The Manka are an endogamous community, and marriages between the clans is the norm. Land is a major economic source, and agriculture is their traditional occupation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manka (Caste) Social groups of Gujarat Tribes of Kutch Muslim communities of India Rajput clans of Gujarat Sindhi tribes in India

History and origin

Present circumstances

See also

References