Halwai
Encyclopedia
The Halwai are a ethnic group found in India
and Pakistan
. The Arabic
word Halwa means sweet and Halvai or Halwai means sweet-maker. In Pakistan they are considered a community while in India they are considered a caste
. They are also known as Mithaya in Madhya Pradesh
, Gudia in Orissa
, Mayara in West Bengal
and other names in other regions. The Halwai are a caste
of confectioners and sweet-makers, found mainly in North India
.The name is derived from the word halwa, a popular sweet made of flour, clarified butter (ghee) sugar, almonds, raisins and pistachio nuts and saffron. They sell
What they sell is sometimes termed mishtanna, or sweetened grain based items).
Traditionally Indians ate food cooked inside their own homes, although food cooked with ghee/oil by halwais was considered to be an acceptable exception.
Since sweets are given to children and are offered to gods during worship
, purity of sweets is considered to be an important attribute.
Halwais migrated from north-western India - Rajasthan
and Gujarat, during the medieval period. They are traditional vaishyas who were involved in Business and agriculture. They enjoy high status in the society as they belong to Vaishya
community i.e. third in varna system. Only Brahmins and Rajput(Kshtriya) enjoys higher status than them. They are considered as "Dwija" i.e. twice born and hence enjoys the right of "Upnayan sanskar".
In Uttar Pradesh
, according to their traditions, are descended from man by the name of Bhalandan. This Bhalandan came into being due to the will of the Hindu
god Brahma
. This individual married a woman named Marutwati. Their son, was an individual by the name of Vatsa Priti. One of his descendents, an individual by the name of Modan took to making sweetmeats.
The community is split into nine sub-groups, the Modanseni, Kanyakubja, Yagyaseni, Jaunpuri, Badshahi, Kanbo, Kaithiya, Nagri and Rawatputra. The Modanseni consider themselves superior to the other clans. Like other North Indian Hindu
castes, they maintain gotra
exogamy. The community belong to the Vaishanavi sect of Hinduism
, although some members of the community have converted to Islam
, and now form a separate community known as the Muslim Halwai
.
The community was one of the earliest to set up its own caste association, the Kanyakubja Vaishya Halwai Mahasabha, which was established in Varanasi
in the year 1903.
The Halwai is regarded with respect socially as their services are of social and ritualistic importance. Every caste in India, even the Brahman (highest Hindu priestly caste) does not consider itself too pure to eat what a Halwai has made. Considering that sweets have a special significance in religious rituals and social events, this community plays a very specific role in all festivals and celebrations such as marriages and childbirths.
There are large numbers living in the fertile eastern districts of Barabanki and Bahraich of Uttar Pradesh. They trace the origin of the term from the Hindi halwahi, or "one who ploughs".
Recently some of the Halwai have adopted modern manufacturing approaches and produce packaged sweets in large quantities, some of which are exported to other countries. They have often chosen to keep old fashioned names from previous generations like Ghasitaram, Haldiram, Chandu etc.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
word Halwa means sweet and Halvai or Halwai means sweet-maker. In Pakistan they are considered a community while in India they are considered a caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
. They are also known as Mithaya in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, Gudia in Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, Mayara in West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
and other names in other regions. The Halwai are a caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
of confectioners and sweet-makers, found mainly in North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
.The name is derived from the word halwa, a popular sweet made of flour, clarified butter (ghee) sugar, almonds, raisins and pistachio nuts and saffron. They sell
- Sweets: grain and/or milk based, dry (like ladduLadduLaddu or Laddoo is a ball-shaped sweet popular in South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh as well as countries with immigrants from South Asia. Laddu is made of flour and sugar with other ingredients that vary by recipe...
s), moist (like barfiBarfiBarfi, sometimes burfi or burfee , is a sweet confection from the Indian subcontinent. Plain barfi is made from condensed milk, cooked with sugar until it solidifies. There are many varieties of barfi, which include besan barfi , kaaju barfi , and pista barfi...
s) or dipped in syrup (like gulabjamun) - Savoury snacks: hot (like samosaSamosaA samosa is a stuffed, deep fried,snack that is very popular in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Southwest Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, the Horn of Africa, North Africa and South Africa...
s or pakoraPakoraPakora is a fried snack found across South Asia. Pakoras are created by taking one or two ingredients such as onion, eggplant, potato, spinach, plantain, cauliflower, tomato, chilli, or occasionally bread or chicken and dipping them in a batter of gram flour and then deep-frying them...
s) or dry (like dal bijiDal bijiDal Biji is an Indian snack made of gram flour noodles and cantelope seeds and and musk melon seeds....
etc.).
What they sell is sometimes termed mishtanna, or sweetened grain based items).
Traditionally Indians ate food cooked inside their own homes, although food cooked with ghee/oil by halwais was considered to be an acceptable exception.
Since sweets are given to children and are offered to gods during worship
Worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
, purity of sweets is considered to be an important attribute.
Origins
The Halwai give no specific mythological account of the origins of their community. The Madhya PradeshMadhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
Halwais migrated from north-western India - Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
and Gujarat, during the medieval period. They are traditional vaishyas who were involved in Business and agriculture. They enjoy high status in the society as they belong to Vaishya
Vaishya
Vaishya is one of the four varnas of the Hindu social order. According to Vedic tradition, this caste primarily comprises merchants, farmers, cattle-herders and artisans.-Duties of Vaishyas:...
community i.e. third in varna system. Only Brahmins and Rajput(Kshtriya) enjoys higher status than them. They are considered as "Dwija" i.e. twice born and hence enjoys the right of "Upnayan sanskar".
In Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, according to their traditions, are descended from man by the name of Bhalandan. This Bhalandan came into being due to the will of the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
god Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
. This individual married a woman named Marutwati. Their son, was an individual by the name of Vatsa Priti. One of his descendents, an individual by the name of Modan took to making sweetmeats.
The community is split into nine sub-groups, the Modanseni, Kanyakubja, Yagyaseni, Jaunpuri, Badshahi, Kanbo, Kaithiya, Nagri and Rawatputra. The Modanseni consider themselves superior to the other clans. Like other North Indian Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
castes, they maintain gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
exogamy. The community belong to the Vaishanavi sect of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, although some members of the community have converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and now form a separate community known as the Muslim Halwai
Muslim Halwai
The Muslim Halwai are a Muslim community found in Pakistan and in the Uttar Pradesh state, in India. They were former members of the Hindu Halwai caste, who have converted to Islam. Halva means sweets in Urdu and Halvai or Halwai are sweet makers...
.
The community was one of the earliest to set up its own caste association, the Kanyakubja Vaishya Halwai Mahasabha, which was established in Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
in the year 1903.
The Halwai is regarded with respect socially as their services are of social and ritualistic importance. Every caste in India, even the Brahman (highest Hindu priestly caste) does not consider itself too pure to eat what a Halwai has made. Considering that sweets have a special significance in religious rituals and social events, this community plays a very specific role in all festivals and celebrations such as marriages and childbirths.
Distribution
The Halwai are known by different names in each state. They are known as Mithaiha (meaning sweet) in Madhya Pradesh and have the surname Agarwal. In eastern Bihar, they are called Madhesia and Kanu Vaisya and their surnames are Sah, Madhesiya, Saw and Gupta. In Uttar Pradesh they are known as Yogyaseni, Modanwal, Halwai, and Gupta. In Orissa, the Halwai are known as Gudia (jaggery) while in West Bengal they are known as Mayara, meaning confectioner.There are large numbers living in the fertile eastern districts of Barabanki and Bahraich of Uttar Pradesh. They trace the origin of the term from the Hindi halwahi, or "one who ploughs".
Recently some of the Halwai have adopted modern manufacturing approaches and produce packaged sweets in large quantities, some of which are exported to other countries. They have often chosen to keep old fashioned names from previous generations like Ghasitaram, Haldiram, Chandu etc.