Gujarati people

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Gujaratis
250
Mahatma Gandhi in 1918.
Total population

40 to 60 million
Regions with significant populations
Primary populations in:

Significant populations in:

Other:
Languages
Gujarati
Religions
Hinduism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Indo-Iranians, Indo-Aryans, Marathi people, Marathas, Sindhi people, Punjabis

The Gujarati people, or Gujaratis, is an umbrella term used to describe traditionally Gujarati speaking peoples who can trace their ancestry to the Gujarat region in India. Most of the Gujarati sub-ethnicities are of Indo-Aryan Ethno-linguistic extraction.

Contents

[edit] Origins

This region was the first to host upper caste Aryan-speaking peoples, and their descendants remain in the area. The Gujarati language has been adopted by communities such as the Kacchis, who use it as their literary language[1], and the Parsis, who had made the Gujarat region of the Indian subcontinent their home.

[edit] Present status

People of the Gujarati ethnicity are primarily located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh regions of India; in the former Portuguese-ruled parts of India — Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, as well as in parts of Pakistan. The Gujaratis living in Pakistan are Muslims and are mainly those who migrated after the Partition of India and subsequent creation of independent Pakistan in 1947. They belong mainly to the Khoja, and Bohra groups. A large majority migrated to Karachi. A number of families still have relatives in Indian Gujarat and consider Gujarati to be their native tongue, even though they were born and brought up in Karachi. A point to be noted that memons who are often mistaken as Gujaratis are not actually Gujaratis and as their language and culture is different.

Due to a hard working and entrepreneurial spirit, many Gujaratis have done relatively well for themselves abroad.

[edit] Food

The majority of Hindu Gujaratis, and all Jain Gujaratis are vegetarian. Gujarati cuisine follows the traditional Indian full meal structure of rice, cooked vegetables (curry-like in texture) and bread. The bread is usually a rotli. The different types of rotli (breads) that a Gujarati cooks are rotli, bhakhri, thepla, puri, maal purah and puran-pohli. Ghari and Khakhra are also eaten as rotli, but they are usually eaten as a snack. Khaman, Dhokla, dhokli, dal-dhokli, undhiyu, fafda, chevdoh, papdi, bhusu and Sev mamra are Gujarati dishes savoured by many communities across the world. Use of Ghee in meals is very common. For example, pouring in rice or khichdi and applying on rotli. The meal is usually accompanied with a sweet and a salty snack (farsaan) like Vada. Gujarati cookbook writers like Tarla Dalal are famous internationally.

The vegetable cooking involves preparing basic sauce first by frying masala with tomatoes and onions. Vegetables are usually added later. Gujaratis are more comfortable cooking with peanut oil (shing tel). However, while living abroad they adjust their cooking method with available Canola or Sunflower oil. The making of masala is traditionally done on grinding stones. Nowadays, people use a blender or grinder to make masala. Each person makes masala differently, hence cooking tastes different depending on the household. People from north Gujarat use dry red chilli powder, whereas people from south Gujarat prefer using green chilli and corriander in their cooking. Gujarati Jains (and many Hindus) avoid using garlic and onions in their cooking. Traditionally Gujaratis eat Mukhwas or paan at the end of a meal. In many parts of Gujarat, having Chass butter milk or soda after lunch or dinner is quite common. Gujarati families celebrate Sharad Purnima by having dinner with doodh-pauva under moonlight.

Pakistani or Muslim Gujaratis are normally non-vegetarian.

[edit] Dress and jewellery

Gujaratis change their dress according to the regional and local culture. Old wedding pictures of Gujaratis sometimes show the kurta (called zabbho) and pajama (called lehnghas). Kurtas have changed the appearance to more of national culture from regional culture. For quite some time, fashionable Gujarati ladies enjoyed wearing saris, but now they are switching to wearing the kameez at home and saris outside, wrapped in Gujarati style. Among men and women of the younger generations, western attire is becoming more common.

For jewellery and accessories, Gujarati ladies often hang a bunch of keys on the waist. The keyring holder is usually made in silver. Usual jewelry worn by ladies include the mangal sutra, necklace, earing, bangles, ring. With incidence of theft rising, cheaper costume jewelry is becoming more common. During weddings, Gujarati brides wear a lot of jewellery. It is common to see a Gujarati (Hindu) male wearing a gold chain and a ring. Married Gujarati (Hindu) women also traditionally wear a red 'bindi' (red powder worn in a round shape on the forehead also found in the form of stickers).

Every Hindu woman, married or not, wear 'bindi', married woman wear red powder, called 'sindoor', on the forehead on or near the hairline. In addition to this they will also wear the 'bindi' or 'tika'. During the wedding the priest will have the groom put the first red powder on the bride. Some more traditional woman still apply this red power to their forehead each morning. The red power,'sindoor', is not in a round shape but is rubbed on the forehead near the hairline. The stickers are 'bindi' and any woman, married or not, wear these in many different colors and usually come in the form of a sticker and may match the girls/womans outfits in color and design.

[edit] Arts, literature, and entertainment

Gujaratis playing raas, a traditional Gujarati dance
Gujaratis playing raas, a traditional Gujarati dance

Fabric designs involve use of Batik. The embedding of mirrors (called abhla) in fabric is favourite among art lovers. Wall hangings demonstrate use of knitting and embedding of mirrors. Gujarati pottery includes different kind of deeva (lamps) and pots. During the festival of Navratri, youngsters wear traditional dress and go out to play dandia and sing garbas.

Gujarati theatre owes a lot to bhavai. Bhavai is a musical performance of stage plays. Ketan Mehta and Sanjay Leela Bhansali explored artistic use of bhavai in films such as Bhavni Bhavai, Oh Darling Yeh Hai India and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Dayro (gathering) involves singing and conversation reflecting on human nature.

Gujarati literature has come a long way since being pioneered by Narmad. Saraswatichandra is a landmark novel by Govardhanram Tripathi. Writers like K. M. Munshi, Suresh Dalal, Jyotindra Dave, Tarak Mehta, Harkisan Mehta, Chandrakant Bakshi, Pannalal Patel, Prahlad Brahmabhatt, Vinod Bhatt, Kanti Bhatt, Makarand Dave, Kalapi, and Varsha Adalja have influenced Gujarati thinkers.

A huge contribution to Gujarati language literature came from the Swaminarayan paramhanso, like Bramhanand, Premanand, with prose like Vachanamrut and poetry in the form of bhajans.

Gujarati films have made artists like Upendra Trivedi, Snehlata, Raajeev, Mahesh Kumar Kanodia, Naresh Kanodia, Aruna Irani and Asrani popular in the entertainment industry. Bali Brahmbhatt in the USA came up with hit songs of "Patel Rap", referring to changing values of Gujarati culture.

There are dedicated television channels airing Gujarati programs.

[edit] Prominent Gujarati people

See also List of people from Gujarat for a more comprehensive list.

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ A. Dalby "Gujarati" in Dictionary of languages: the definitive reference to more than 400 languages. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998. p. 237. ISBN 0231115687
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