The Chhaparband are a Hindu

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

found in the states of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

and

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

in India. They are also known as Chhaparbasi, Chhaparwale and Rajput Chhaparband.People of India Maharshtra Volume XXX Part One edited by B.V Bhanu, B.R Bhatnagar, D.K Bose, V.S Kulkarni and J Sreenath pages 408-419

Origin

The community claims to be descendants of a small group of

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

s from

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

who migrated to the Deccan region in search of employment. However, they do not have any genealogical or historical evidence to support this claim; therefore, it is likely an attempt at

Rajputization Modern historians agree that Rajputs consisted of a mix of various different social groups (castes) and different varnas. Rajputisation (or Rajputization) explains the process by which such diverse communities coalesced to form the Rajput commu ...

. They state that they were given land in Pune by the Peshwa, in an area that was then known as Kala Wawar, which means "black farm" in

Marathi language Marathi (; , 𑘦𑘨𑘰𑘙𑘲, , ) is a Classical languages of India, classical Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra and is also spoken in Goa, and parts of Guj ...

. This area later became known as Chhaparband Lane. The community subsequently took up the occupation of building roofs using grass and bamboo, and the word Chhaparband literally means "roofer." The community still speak Hindi at home, although the

Chhaparband also speak

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

and the

Chhaparband also speak

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

. A section of the Chhaparband have converted to Islam, and formed a distinct community of Muslim Chharband. They are divided into thirty clans, known as ''kul''s. Every clan has its own origin myth. The main clans are the Baite, Bisen, Chandel, Chauhan, Janakwar, Pasihat, Dalawale Rajput, Paithanwale,

Pardeshi Rajput The Pardeshi Rajput (also known as Pardeshi Bhamta, Bhamta Rajput, Bhamti, or simply Pardeshi) is a caste of Rajputs primarily found in Nashik, Solapur, Pune, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Akola, Amravati, and many other districts of Maharashtra. They a ...

and Sengar. The community is strictly endogamous, and each of the clan is exogamous.

Present circumstances

The Chhapraband no longer practice their traditional occupation. They are mainly a community of small businessmen, although as education spreads, the community is involved in a number of occupation. Despite urbanization, the sense of community identity remains strong, with little intermarriage with other communities or

s. The Chhaparband are Hindu, and have their own clan goddesses. Their customs are similar to other

Hindus.

References

{{Social groups of Maharashtra Social groups of Maharashtra Indian castes Social groups of Karnataka

Origin

Present circumstances

See also

References