 | This article may contain original research. (September 2021) |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
•  India• Bangladesh
• Nepal *  Pakistan | |
| Languages | |
| • Hindi • Bengali • Maithili .Awadhi • Bhojpuri . Angika • Marwari Punjabi[citation needed] | |
| Religion | |
| • Hinduism, Jainism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| • Muslim Halwai • Bania • Vaishya |
Halwai is an Indian caste and a social class, whose traditional occupation was confectionery and sweet-making. The name is derived from the word Halwa which is a sweet dish.
The community is known by different names in different parts of India. For instance, it's called Modanseni, Yagyaseni, Kany Kujb Halwai, Madheshiya Halwai, Kanu (Kandu) etc. in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Moira-Modak in West Bengal; Gudia in Odisha and so on.[1]
Customs
Balarama is the celebrated plougher so called Halwahi or Halwai or Haluwai, one of the pillars of agriculture along with livestock with whom Krishna is associated with. The plough is Balarama's weapon. In the Bhagavata Purana, he uses it to fight demons, dig a way for Yamuna river to come closer to Vrindavan and pull the entire capital of Hastinapura into the Ganges river.[2]
Baba Ganinath Govindji is the kul Guru (school) of Halwai caste.[3]
Halwais in Nepal
The Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal classifies the Halwai as a subgroup within the broader social group of Madheshi Other Caste.[4] At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, 83,869 people (0.3% of the population of Nepal) were Halwai. The frequency of Halwais by province was as follows:
- Madhesh Province (0.8%)
- Koshi Province (0.4%)
- Lumbini Province (0.3%)
- Bagmati Province (0.1%)
- Gandaki Province (0.0%)
- Karnali Province (0.0%)
- Sudurpashchim Province (0.0%)
The frequency of Halwais was higher than national average (0.3%) in the following districts:[5]
- Siraha (2.1%)
- Saptari (1.8%)
- Dhanusha (1.5%)
- Sunsari (1.1%)
- Mahottari (0.8%)
- Morang (0.8%)
- Kapilvastu (0.6%)
- Banke (0.5%)
- Parasi (0.5%)
- Sarlahi (0.5%)
- Rupandehi (0.4%)
See also
References
- ^ ":: West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes ::". wbcbc.gov.in. Retrieved 31 May 2024.[permanent dead link]
- ^ D Dennis Hudson (2008). The Body of God: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram. Oxford University Press. pp. 97–101. ISBN 978-0-19-970902-1.
- ^ "Ritual as Language: The Case of South Indian Food Offerings". Gabriella Eichinger, Ferro-Luzzi. Current Anthropology, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Sep., 1977), pp. 507-514.
- ^ Population Monograph of Nepal, Volume II [1]
- ^ "2011 Nepal Census, District Level Detail Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
