Kan (tribe)
Encyclopedia
The Kan are a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 community found in north east India
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 Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

. They are also known as Khalifa.

Origin

The Kan are a small Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 community who were traditional involved in the repairing of umbrellas. According to traditions, the Kan were originally members of the Dom
Dom
- People :* Dom people, an ethnic group in the Middle East* Doms, people of indigenous origin found in the Indian state of West Bengal* Domba or Dom, an ethnic group of India...

 community who converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

. In addition to repairing umbrellas, the community are also involved in the manufacture of fishhooks. The community is found mainly in the districts of Murshidabad
Murshidabad district
Murshidabad district is a district of West Bengal in eastern India. Situated on the left bank of the river Ganges, the district is very fertile. Covering an area of 5,341 km² and having a population 5.863m it is a densely populated district and the ninth most populous in India...

, 24 Parganas
24 Parganas
24 Parganas district is a former district of the Indian state of West Bengal. The district was split into two districts — North 24 Parganas district and South 24 Parganas district, with effect from 1 March 1986....

 and Nadia
Nadia District
Nadia district is a district of the state of West Bengal, in the north east of India. It borders with Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Bardhaman district to the west, and Murshidabad district to the north....

 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 Faridpur District
Faridpur District
Faridpur is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. Faridpur District has a population of over 1.7 million people and is situated on the banks of the Padma river . It is bordered by Madaripur, Narail, Rajbari, Magura, Shariatpur, Gopalgonj, Dhaka and Manikganj...

 in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

.

Present circumstances

The Kan are still involved in the traditional occupation of umbrella repairing, and during the chaitra or rainy season, the community entirely devotes itself to the construction and repairing umbrellas. This season last for almost six months, while for the remaining six months the community is involved in daily wage labour. A significant numbers of the community are now cultivators. They grow mainly paddy and wheat.

The Kan occupies distinct quarters in villages known as a paras. Each of these settlements contains an informal caste council known as a panchayat, which acts as an instrument of social control. The community are strictly endogamous, and marry close kin.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK