Halwai

Halwai

Regions with significant populations
•  India *  Pakistan
Languages
• Hindi • Awadhi • Bhojpuri • Marwari Punjabi
Religion
• Hinduism 100% •
Related ethnic groups
• Muslim Halwai • Bania • Vaishya

The Halwai are an ethnic group found in India and Pakistan. The Arabic word Halwa means sweet and Halvai or Halwai means sweet-maker. In Pakistan they are considered a community while in India they are considered a caste. They are also known as Mithaya in Madhya Pradesh, Gudia in Orissa, Mayara in West Bengal and other names in other regions. The Halwai are a caste of confectioners and sweet-makers, found mainly in North India. The name is derived from the word halwa, a popular sweet made of flour, clarified butter (ghee), sugar, almonds, raisins and pistachio nuts and also frequently saffron. They sell:

• Sweets: grain and/or milk based, dry (like laddus), moist (like barfis) or dipped in syrup (like gulabjamun)
• Savoury snacks: hot (like samosas or pakoras) or dry (like dal biji etc.).

What they sell is sometimes termed mishtanna, or sweetened grain based items).

Traditionally Indians ate food cooked inside their own homes, although food cooked with ghee/oil by halwais was considered to be an acceptable exception.^[1]

Since sweets are given to children and are offered to Gods during worship,^[2] purity of sweets is considered to be an important attribute.

Origins

The Halwai give no specific mythological account of the origins of their community. The Madhya Pradesh Halwais migrated from north-western India - Rajasthan during the medieval period. They are traditional vaishyas who were involved in Business and agriculture. They enjoy high status in the society as they belong to Vaishya community i.e. third in varna system. Only Brahmins and Rajput (Kshatriya) enjoys higher status than them. They are considered as "Dwija" i.e. twice born and hence enjoys the right of "Upanayana sanskar".

In Uttar Pradesh, tradition has it that they are descended from a man by the name 'Bhalandan.' This Bhalandan came into being due to the will of the Hindu god Brahma. This individual married a woman named Marutwati. Their son was an individual who was named Vatsa Priti. One of the latter's descendents, an individual called Modan, took to making sweetmeats.^[3]

The community is split into nine sub-groups, the Modanseni, Kanyakubja, Yagyaseni, Jaunpuri, Badshahi, Kanbo, Kaithiya, Nagri and Rawatputra. The Modanseni consider themselves superior to the other clans. Like other North Indian Hindu castes, they maintain gotra exogamy. To a substantial extent, the community belongs to the Vaishnava sect of Hinduism, although some members of the community have converted to Islam, and now form a separate community known as the Muslim Halwai.

The community was among the earliest to set up its own caste association, the Kanyakubja Vaishya Halwai Mahasabha, which was established in Varanasi in the year 1903.^[4]

The Halwai is held in respect socially as their services are of social and ritualistic significance. Generally speaking, no Indian caste, not even the Brahman/Brahmin (the highest Hindu priestly caste) considers itself too pure to eat what has been prepared by a Halwai. Considering that sweets are of special importance to religious rituals and social events, this community plays a very specific, well-defined role in all festivals and celebrations such as marriages and childbirths.

Distribution

The Halwai are known by different names in different states. They are referred to as Mithaiha (meaning sweet) in Madhya Pradesh and typically use the surname Agarwal. In Bihar, they are called Madhesia and Kanu Vaisya and go by last names such as Sah, Madhesiya, Saw and Gupta. In Uttar Pradesh they are known as Yogyaseni, Modanwal, Halwai, and Gupta. In Orissa, the Halwai are known as Gudia (jaggery), whilst in West Bengal they are called Mayara, meaning confectioner. There are large numbers living in the fertile eastern districts of Barabanki and Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh. They trace the origin of the term from the Hindi halwahi, or "one who ploughs".

Recently some of the Halwai have adopted modern manufacturing approaches and produce packaged sweets in large quantities, some of which are exported to other countries. They have often chosen to keep old-fashioned names from previous generations like Ghasitaram, Haldiram, Chandu etc.

Nowadays some Halwai prefer to tell themselves by the surname of SHAH.

See also

• Muslim Halwai
• Kandu (Kanu)

References