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Gill clan

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Recorded as Gill, Gille and Gilles, this is a surname of several possible national origins and meanings.

South Asia

Gill (Gurmukhi: ਗਿਲ), is a large Jat clan found in Punjab, India and Punjab, Pakistan. It is considered to be one of the largest Jat tribes in the 1881 British Punjab Census Gills numbered 124,172.[1]

Etymology

There are two theories relating to the origin of Gill clan.

The first one states: the name of Caspian Sea derives from Massagetae Tribe Caspii which was once known as Sea of Gillan. The Gilani surname and the Gilaki language and people from the Iranian province of Gilan, as well as the Gilzai tribe of the Pashtun in Afghanistan are all related to the Jatt Gill tribe and all share the common 'Gil' root and this theory of the origin of etymology.

The second stating: the word "Gill" is probably derived from the Punjabi Gil meaning ‘moisture’ or 'stream/lake' and also ‘prosperity’. It is possible that the meaning of the Punjabi word, a language that is an amalgam of earlier dialects such as Jatki the original language of Jatts, shares the same meaning in the same Indo-European or Indo-Iranian language that was used to name the Sea of Gillan.

Gills are currently considered one of the main aristocratic Jat clans of the Jat gotra system.

It was also stated by Sir Lepal Griffin that: "The Jat race is, for honesty, strength and courage, second to no race in the world."[2]

Lineage

The modern Jat tribe of Gills are lineage from the King or Raja, Prithipat of Garh Mathila who was a Waryah Rajput. Thus, the Jat tribe of Gills is believed to fit under the branch of a predecessor umbrella Gill tribe that ranged from Central Asia through modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North Western India. This tribe according to sources below is believed to have been of either Indo-Iranian origins from Central Asia, (specifically Scythian or Saka from their home on the Oxus, or possibly White Huns or Yuezhi) or a mixed Indo-Scythian and Greek tribe. The Indo-Scythian/Greek mix theory is due in part to tradition passed down through the tribe for over the last millennia as well as the timeframe in which Scythians/Yuezhi/White Huns which were competing Central Asian tribes of Indo-European descent settled in Asia and established kingdoms, such as the Indo-Scythian kingdom, and the geographical and chronological range of this settlement coinciding with Alexander the Great's invasion with his Greek army.[citation needed]

Waryah is a Rajput clan named after King (Raja) Waryah. In Pakistan Waryah Rajputs are settled in northern and southern Punjab and some parts of Sindh province. Nowadays most Waryah are living in Sialkot, Gujarat, Sargodha, Sheikhopura, Multan, Bahawalpur and Layyah districts of Punjab. Waryah Rajputs, who are living in Sialkot, claimed that they are great grand children of Raja Dossal. It is likely however that Raja Prithipat was a Gill himself, rather than simply marrying a Gill woman, and had the Waryah Rajput label only attributed to him later on.

Theory of Greek origin

Bhim Singh Dahiya, a prominent Jat historian, traces the origin of the Gills to the Greeks. He speculates that the people of this tribe which was possibly Indo-Scythian came in the company of Alexander the Great. They settled in Kabul, Kandhar and the Punjab region. One of the sons of the legendary Greek mythical hero, Hercules was named "Gilla." It is also possible that ancestors of Gills came to Greece from Middle Asia (Scythians/Sakas) and then to what is now Pakistan, and Afghanistan. This would conform with typical Jat ancestry,[citation needed] distinguishing the Gill clan in particular as migrating/invading peoples from the Parthian Greek or Greco-Bactrian Kingdoms, which sprang up after Alexander's incursion. These would be a mix of ethnically Greek or Indo-Scythian (Indo-Iranian) peoples, whereas most Jat clans are typically descended from Indo-Scythian/Saka migrations/invasions from the north (Central Asia and Western China).[citation needed] The Shahi Dynasty of Afghanistan and the Punjab, and many of the rulers of Greco-Bactrian kingdoms post-Alexander were also from the Gill clan.[citation needed]

Gills in Punjab

Another theory says that the Gill Jatt clan came to the Punjab from the south via Rajputana (modern Rajasthan). A Rajput king Rao,Bhatti, came to the Punjab and built the fort of Bathinda along the banks of the Satluj river near the present-day city of Bathinda. Setting up his capital here, he captured the territories up to Peshawar. This dynasty was in power in the Punjab till 1010 AD. Waryah was from the twenty-sixth generation of Vikramaditya. Vinaypal, Vijaypal, Satpal and Ganpal were from the lineage of Waryah.

In the beginning of the twelfth century, the descendants of Jhalli, a son of Gillpal, made Payal, their centre and founded the village of Chemo Naame. Dhamot, Gouriwala, Gill, Sihora are old Gill villages. Gills and Dhaliwals are also settled in the Jagdeo Kalan village in Majha.

The Gills lived along the Satluj and Beas rivers, and further in the foothills up to Sialkot.

It is now believed that the modern Jatt tribe of Gills were descended from Raja Prithipat who was already a Gill and a Raja or King and another Gill woman. Some also believe that only his wife was of the Gill clan and he was a Waryah Rajput but that is increasingly unlikely.

Gill (and Shergill) has become a renowned surname throughout South Asia and the Punjab. There are seven villages near Banga in District Nawanshahr where SHERGILLS reside. these are Mukandpur,Jagatpur, Jhingran,Dyalpur, Bahua etc. there are some villages of shergills in Nurpur Bedi Block in Ropar. i.e. ABIANA,LEHARIAN,RAMPUR BELA & many more....

Religion

Sikh Gills

Most of Gills converted to Sikhism during the period of the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Gobind. The Gills of this region are renound and famous for their courage, honesty and bravery. The Gills also sided with him in the "Battle of Mehraj". The descendants of Shergill, one of the eight sons of the Great Gillpal, settled in the Zira area and gave rise to the elite Shergill Jat clan of the Punjab.

The Rulers/Maharajas of the Nishanwalia Misl, Sukha Singh and Mehar Singh were Shergills. The Majithia Rulers/Maharajas of Majha were also Shergills.

Some Gills had settled in Assam in 1505 during the time of Guru Nanak Dev.

Muslim Gills

Muslim Gills are found through out the central districts of Punjab, Pakistan. According to the Census of India 1911, there were 18,390 Gills of the Muslim faith. They were concenterated in Lahore, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Gujranwala and Sialkot districts. Muslim Gills had also became settled in the Canal colony districts of Shahpur, Lyalpur and Montgomery. Most Gills were converted in to two periods, the Majha Gills converted during the time of the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the 16th Century, while the Sialkot Gills converted during the rule of Aurangzeb.

Gill Jats today

India

As most Gills originated from areas in what is now Pakistan, small pockets of non-Muslim Gills who left at the time of independence can be found near the border in North Western India. Today, most Gills are settled in the Malwa and Majha regions of the state of Punjab in India. There are forty villages of Gills in the Jagraon area of Ludhiana. The famous Majithia Sirdars (families) of Amritsar district are in fact Shergills. Many have also emigrated to various countries.

Pakistan

Gills are found through out central Punjab, with several villages near the city of Lahore.

In the former canal colony areas of Faisalabad, Sargodha, Sahiwal and Khanewal, they form an important element in the Jat population. There are also old established communities in Gujranwala and Sialkot in the northern end of the Rachna Doab.

See also: Shergill

Sher in Persian means 'Lion' or 'Tiger'

Europe

  • English: From a short form of the personal names such as "Giles", "Julian", "William", "Gilbert" or "Gillian". In theory, the name would have a soft initial when derived from the first two of these, and a hard one when from 'William'. However, there has been much confusion over the centuries.
  • Northern English: Topographic name for someone who lived by a ravine or deep glen, Middle English gil(l), Old Norse gil ‘ravine’ or 'stream'.
  • Scottish and Irish: Reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic "Mac Gille" (Scottish), "Mac Giolla" (Irish), patronymics from an occupational name for a servant or a short form of the various personal names formed by attaching this element to the name of a saint. See "McGill". The Old Norse personal name "Gilli" is probably of this origin, and may lie behind some examples of the name in northern England.
  • Norwegian: Habitational name from any of three farmsteads in western Norway named Gil, from Old Norse gil meaning ‘ravine’ or 'stream'.

The Middle East

  • Jewish (Ashkenaz): Ornamental name from the Hebrew gil meaning ‘joy’.
  • The "Gilani" surname/tribe, which hails from the province of Gilan in Iran is considered to be of similar ancestry to the original 'Gill' tribe.

See also

References

  1. ^ History of the Jatt Clans - H.S Duleh.
  2. ^ Sir Lepal Griffin. Chiefs of Punjab.
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