The Soni 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 ...

and

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

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 ...

found throughout India in the states of

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 ...

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 ...

. They are traditionally

Goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...

s and

Khatri Khatri is a caste of the Indian subcontinent that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the subcontinent, they were mostly engaged in mercantilistic professions such as banking and trade, they were the d ...

s (

Kshatriyas Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the conte ...

). They commonly use the surnames, Pala, Lodhia, Raninga, Khera, Changhada, Hanj, Didani, Rathigara, Dholakia, Chedia, Kadecha, Solanki and Srimali.

Present circumstances

The Soni are essentially still goldsmiths, with a few also involved in the manufacture of other items of jewellery. Like similar Hindu castes, they are

endogamous Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Endogamy is common in many cultu ...

and maintain a system of clan (

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 Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups c ...

. The various sub-divisions of the Soni have their own caste associations, such as the Patni Soni Mandal and Shrimali Soni Mandal. They follow

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

, and many belonging to the

Swaminarayan Swaminarayan (IAST: ', 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and Asceticism, ascetic, who is believed by followers to be a manifestation of God Krishna, or as the highest Theophany, manifestation of ...

sect. The community primarily speaks

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

Shrimali Soni

This caste mostly situated in western India (

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

) and most state consider Shrimali Soni in General category and normal soni in OBC.

History

Once upon a time Laxmiji decided to develop a city Shrimalnagar and alloted to Shrimali Brahmins, and also generated Tragad Soni to make gold jwelleries for Brahmin's wives. Laxmiji asked Sonis to use their art, make gold jwelleries and generate income. This way goldmaker(soni) of Shimalnagar known as Shrimali Soni. Few people move out from that area and went to different states of India and that'swhy many states have Shrimali Soni Caste and also dedicated Samaj. Kuldevi: Vyaghreshwari Mata Sect: Vaishnavism Surname:Patadia,Mandliya,Zinzuwadia Lathigara, Dholakia, Chedia, Kadecha, Shrimali State: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, UP Food: Veg

References

{{Social groups of Gujarat Social groups of Punjab, India Social groups of Rajasthan Social groups of Gujarat Indian castes Hindu communities

Present circumstances

Shrimali Soni

History

See also

References