The Mahifarash (,

Dhakaiya The Old Dhakaiyas () are an Indo-Aryan cultural group viewed as the ''original'' inhabitants of Dhaka's. They are referred to as simply ''Dhakaiya''. Their history dates back to the Mughal period with the migration of Bengali cultivators an ...

: মাইফরাস ''maifôrash'') are a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

community of fishmongers primarily from

Old Dhaka Old Dhaka () is a term used to refer to the historic old city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1608 as Jahangirabad or Jahangirnagar (), the capital of Bengal Subah, Mughal Province of Bengal and named after the Mughal em ...

. They are distinct from the Mahifarash of

Tangail Tangail (, ) is a city of Tangail District in central Bangladesh. A significant city in Bangladesh, Tangail lies on the bank of the Louhajang River, northwest of Dhaka, the nation's capital. Etymology ''Tangail'' originates from the Beng ...

, who are descendants of

Mappila Muslims Malabar Muslims or Muslim Mappilas are members of the Muslim community found predominantly in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands in Southern India. The term Mappila (Ma-Pilla) is used to describe Malabar Muslims in Northern Kerala. Muslims sh ...

, and the Mahifarash fishermen of

Mymensingh Mymensingh () is a metropolis, metropolitan city and capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center ...

Etymology

The word Mahifarash comes from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

words ''māhi'' (ماهی) meaning ''fish'' and ''furosh'' (فروش) meaning ''sale''. They are known as ''maifôrash'' among

Dhakaiyas The Old Dhakaiyas () are an Indo-Aryan cultural group viewed as the ''original'' inhabitants of Dhaka's. They are referred to as simply ''Dhakaiya''. Their history dates back to the Mughal period with the migration of Bengali cultivators an ...

History and customs

Since the start of

Mughal rule The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

Jahangir Nagar Old Dhaka () is a term used to refer to the historic old city of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It was founded in 1608 as Jahangirabad or Jahangirnagar (), the capital of Mughal Province of Bengal and named after the Mughal emperor Jahangi ...

(Dhaka), the Mahifarash community of Dalti Bazar have exclusively monopolised the fish industry, and they continue to have authority in this sector in present times. Their customs were traditionally headed by a ''

sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

'' who would also settle disputes. During the Mughal period, the Mahifarash were known to organise feasts and banquets in their Azimpur grounds at the start of cultivation

harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...

season. They cooked 20 to 25 mounds of rice and entertained thousands of people in addition to people from their own community. This feast would continue throughout the day, and was the precursor to what would later become known as

Pohela Boishakh Pohela Boishakh () is the Bengali New Year celebrated by the Bengalis, Bengali people worldwide and as a holiday on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April or 14 April (leap year) in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam ( ...

celebration.

Etymology

History and customs

See also

References

Further reading