Satamkar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Satamkar (also Satamker) is a Bene Israel family who lived for centuries in its Indian village before returning to Israel or settling throughout the world.

Contents

[edit] Origins

The Satamkar family has its origins in the village of Satamba/Virjoli[1], Roha taluka, Raigad district, Maharashtra, near the West Coast of India, south of Mumbai. This family belongs to the Bene Israel community, one of the three groups of Indian Jews. According to tradition, The Bene Israel came to India about 2000 years ago.

[edit] Their life in Konkan

They have been living in the Konkan (today: Raigad) District for close to eighteen centuries .They used to dwell in villages from which they took their surnames (SATAMKAR = from SATAMBA, PENKER = from the town called PEN, ASHTAMKAR = from the town called ASHTAMI, etc ...). SATAMBA means, in Marathi, 'Seven Mangoes'. For centuries their principal occupation was oil pressing. They extracted oil from a kind of sesame seed called "til" and were known as "Shaniwar Telli" ("Saturday oil pressors"), because they did not work on Saturday.

[edit] Settling throughout India

At the end of the 18th century and, mostly, during the 19th century, BENE ISRAELS enlisted in the Army and joined the civil service, the railways, the Post office, Customs and Excise, etc.... From that time they settled in all parts of India (present India and Pakistan). Many of them lived in Mumbai as carpenters or contractors ('maistry').

Members of the SATAMKAR family lived in Satamba/Virjoli until the 1970's. At the beginning of the 19th century some of them left their village for Mumbai for Nandgaon, Maharashtra and other places.

[edit] Emigration from India

Between the 1960's and the 1980's most of the Satamkars emigrated to Israel. Some of them are now living in the United Kingdom, the U.S.A., Canada, France and other countries around the world. However, the family is still present in India.

[edit] Notable people with the surname Satamkar

  • Daniel Abraham Satamkar (known as Daniel Abraham) – Founder of "D. Abraham & Sons" Shipping Company in Mumbai[2] and trustee and former president of the Thane Synagogue.
  • David Ezekiel Satamkar – President and Treasurer of the Ghosale & Virjoli/Satamba Bene Israel Community; he was also Representative of the Jewish Central Board in Bombay
  • Hanoch Satamkar – Film actor and assistant director.
  • Nathan Satamkar – Musician.
  • David Satamkar – Musician.
  • Benjamin Satamkar – Musician.
  • Hananiel Satamkar – Musician in the Hindi Film Industry and guitarist.

[edit] Gallery

Film actor Henoch Satamkar and his bride

Old tombstones in the Satamkar's Cemetery

Daniel Abraham Satamkar, founder of D. Abraham & sons

David Ezekiel Satamkar and his wife

[edit] References

  • Shirley Berry Isenberg India's Bene Israel, a Comprehensive Inquiry and Sourcebook Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1988
  • Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, Jerusalem, Ms 654/1