Sathwara
The Sathwara or Sathvara or Satwara are a Hindu caste found in the state of Gujarat in India.1
History
According to historians, The Sathwara are descended from a Rajput (Kshatriya) who took a Kurmi (Kanbi) wife and then left North India for Gujarat/Saurashtra. Their own origin mythology refers to a belief that they were Rajput-Kshatriya, who escaped the wrath of the Hindu god Parshurama by abandoning the Kshatriya custom of being warriors and took to farming. They are found mainly in north Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch. They speak Gujarati and Kutchi.1[1]
The sathwara mostly live in Gujarat especially in Ahmedabad, Anand, Patan, Mehsana, Surendranagar, Jamnagar, Vadhiyar, Junagadh, Morbi, Bhavnagar, and Sabarkantha.
The different castes of this samaj are Kanjariya, Hadiyal, Rathod, Sathwara, Bumtariya, Sonagra, Kadia, Nakum, Khandhar, Khant, Chauhan, Parmar, Solanki and so on...
According to some people the sathwaras were formerly farmers.
Present circumstances
The Sathwara are found mainly in the districts of Dwaraka, Botad, Anand, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Surendranagar, Junagadh, and Morbi. The north Gujarat Sathwara are further divided into territorial divisions, the Dandariya group found in Sabarkantha and Patanwadia and Dandhavya found in Mehsana District. They are further divided into exogamous clans, the main ones being the Khandar, hadiyal, Kanjariya, Sonagra, Nakum, Kateshiya, Katechia, Kacchatiya, Chopda, Maghodiya, Chauhan, Jambukia, Chavada, Parmar, Bedia, Mori, Makwana, vaid and Dabhi. They are constituents of the ther-tasidi group of Hindu castes, that interdine.[1]
Today, the name is across India, as well as several other countries. There are roughly 500,000 Sathwara’s outside India, including 150,000 in Britain and 150,000 in the US.
The Sathwara are a number of found in Gujarat, and have similar customs. Traditionally, they were Kshatriya and were engaged in diverse occupations such as masonry, Stone Carving and Farming. However, the majority of the community remain farmers.
Other names of Sathwara community
They are known by names of Sathwara, Sathvara, Satvara, Satwara, Kutchi Satvara, Satvara or Kadia Sathwara or Kadia Satvara Dalwadi or Dalwadi or Sathwara Kadia Samaj or Satwara Salat[2][3]
References
- ^ a b People of India Gujarat Volume XXI Part Three edited by R.B Lal, P.B.S.V Padmanabham, G Krishnan & M Azeez Mohideen pages 1273-1277
- ^ Yadav, Neelam (2005). Encyclopaedia Of Backward Castes. Anmol Publications Pvt. Limited. p. 316. ISBN 978-81-261-2229-5.
- ^ Legal Case Sathwara community : Sathwara Kadia Samaj