Manihar

The Manihar ( ur, مَنِہار) are a Muslim community, found mainly in North India.

History and origin

The word is derived from ''man'' ( hi, मणि), meaning 'jewel' in Urdu, and the agentive suffix . Their traditional occupation is bangle making, and they are also known as , this word being derived from , hi, चूड़ी) and .

Manihar communities are found mainly in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
Their main clans are the Bachchal, Bhadauriya, Chandchi, Kachchoiyana, Khalri, Talwar, Turk, Uzbek, Parmaar, Banjara, Rananjay and Raikwar. Some of these clans are territorial groupings, while some reflect origins from other communities, such as the Kachwaha and Parmar. The surname Siddiqui is frequent in the community. A section of the Manihar may be Muslim Rajput.

Current circumstances: India

The Manihar are Sunni Hanafi Muslims and like other artisan communities in North India, are fairly orthodox.

Uttar Pradesh

The Manihar of Uttar Pradesh have a traditional community council, which resolves disputes within the community. They are an endogamous community with a preference for and parallel cousin and cross-cousin marriages.

Rajasthan

In Rajasthan, the Manihar are found in Jhunjhunu, Jaipur, Sikar, Churu and Ajmer districts. They are bangle makers and dealers in lac or sealing wax. The Manihar community in Rajasthan speak the Shekhawati dialect of Rajasthani. They are endogamous community maintaining a system of gotra exogamy. They are divided into three territorial groupings, the Shishgar, Shekhawati and Padiya, which are further divided into several clans. The Shaikh clan is one pre-eminent clan in the community. Shekhawati Manihar have five main clans: the Sheikh, Sayyed, Mughal, Gori and Chauhan.

These are further classified into many subclans, such as:

Elsewhere in India

In Madhya Pradesh Manihar are also known as ''Soudagar'' or ''Saudagar''.

In Gujarat, the Manihar are also referred to as the Shaikh sahab. They are mainly concentrated in Ahmedabad, but also found in the districts of Kutch, Kheda, Jamnagar and Vadodara. The community claim to have come from Sindh and speak Kutchi, and have three clans, the Lodani, Kachani and Ishani. They have their own (a 'forum' or 'society'), as a "caste" association: the Gujarat Manihar Jamaat.

See also

* , in Persian wiktionary fa:انجمن
* Muslim Raibhat
* Sayyid
* Shaikhs

References

Further reading

*

{{Indian Muslim

Social groups of Pakistan
Shaikh clans
Muslim communities of Rajasthan
Muhajir communities
Muslim communities of Gujarat
Muslim communities of Uttar Pradesh