Balai Bunkar
Indian caste
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Balai, Raj Balai, Balahi, Bunkar or Sutarkar/Suutkar are a people who live in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in India.[1][2][3]
| Balai | |
|---|---|
Traditional occupation of Balais | |
| Religions | Hinduism |
| Languages | Nimadi, Dhundari, Marwadi, Punjabi, Kashmiri and Gujarati |
| Country | India |
| Original state | Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh |
| Related groups | Salvi, Meghwal, Koli people |
Balai is a Hindu Bunkar.[3][2][4][5] The official categorization of Balai or Bunkar caste may vary from state to state as a scheduled caste (SC) or other backward caste (OBC).[6][7][8][9]
Balai as weavers
Balai is a transliteration of the Hindi word बुनाई. The word means weaving.[4][10] Weaving is the traditional occupation of Balai.[11]
According to Hindu texts, all weavers in Hinduism are the descendants of Rishi Mrikanda.[12] Mrikanda is known as the father of modern weaving.
Bunkar (weaver) is a suitable name for the caste of balai as it represent the exact character and both are referred to be same, they belong to the vaishya varna, they work in weaving or selling.[13][14][15]
Jainism
Jain Shravak Sangha preached to the Balai community in 1964, near Ratlam, in the village Guradia. Jain Shravak Sangha gave Dharampal Jain Samaj to the Balai community, in the name of Dharmanatha. About 1.25 lakh people of the Malviya and Gujarati Balai communities are Dharampal Jains.[16][17]
Raj Balai
Historically, the Raj Balais were royal messengers. They used to convey messages from one kingdom to another kingdom in ancient times. Raj means royal, therefore the Balais who was engaged in such royal services called Raj Balais.[3]
Beliefs
Balai are Hindus by religion. They are devotees of Maa Durga, Maa Chamunda and Maa Kalaratri.[18] They also pay tribute to Baba Ramdeo Ji and consider Kalarati as their kuldevi.[19] Balais do not marry in their families or within their gotra.[20] Balais are divided into a number of gotras such as Chouhan, Rathore, Parihar, Parmar, Solanki, Brejwal, Bunker[3] Marichi, Atri, August, Bhardwaj, Matang, Dhaneshwar, Mahachand, Jogchand, Jogpal, Meghpal, Garva and Jaipal.[21] They live in multi-caste villages in their own areas and bury their dead.[22]
Balais are traditionally non-vegetarian as they believe in bali (animal sacrifice). Animal sacrifice is the part of worshiping Kalaratri.[20][23]
History
The Balai caste is a functional caste of weavers. Historically they were engaged in work of weaving and the group known as Bunkar.[24][11][10]
In the Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India, they are specifically associated with the Meghwal community due to their various cultural similarities like handicrafts and embroidery work.[25][26][27]
Population
According to the 2011 census of India, there are 2,668,000 Balais in India.[28]