Kunbi: Difference between revisions
-{{Merge|Kurmi|date=May 2011}}, not quite the same thing |
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The '''Kunbi''' (alternately '''Kanbi''') are an Indian subcaste found largely in [[Maharashtra]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], and [[Gujarat]], and are historically associated with agriculture. |
The '''Kunbi''' (alternately '''Kanbi''') are an Indian subcaste of the [[Shudra]]<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=9ess-9bebEYC&pg=PA107&dq=Kunbi+shudra&hl=en&ei=8obMTeXnC4e8sQON4OjZBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC4Q6AEwATgU#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref> (cultivator) ''[[varna]]''. They are found largely in [[Maharashtra]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], and [[Gujarat]], and are historically associated with agriculture. The group is often associated with the [[Kurmi]] caste, though scholars differ as to whether the terms are synonymous.<ref>://books.google.com/books?id=2v8IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA36&dq=kunbi+kurmi&hl=en&ei=cYXMTbX4Nom2sAOuj9TmBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=kunbi%20kurmi&f=false</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=xlpLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA270&dq=kunbi+kurmi&hl=en&ei=cYXMTbX4Nom2sAOuj9TmBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false</ref> |
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==Terminology== |
==Terminology== |
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Revision as of 01:20, 13 May 2011
The Kunbi (alternately Kanbi) are an Indian subcaste of the Shudra[1] (cultivator) varna. They are found largely in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, and are historically associated with agriculture. The group is often associated with the Kurmi caste, though scholars differ as to whether the terms are synonymous.[2][3]
Terminology
The term Kunbi was known to be applied to the cultivating class of Hindu Sudra in Central India. The word Kunbi is believed to be derived from the Marathi word kunbawa, or Sanskrit kur, "agricultural tillage".[4] Alternate etymologies include derivation from kutumba (family), or from the Dravidian kul, husbandman/labourer.Popular but dubious etymologies include derivation from kun (root) or kan (grain) combined with bi (seed).[5]
Other spellings and variants include: Kulambi (Deccan), Kulwadi (South Konkan), Kanbi (Gujarat), Kulbi (Belgaum), Reddies (Andhra Pradesh).[5]
Historical accounts
The 1885 Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia described the Kunbi as "though quiet and unpretending, are a robust, sturdy, independent agricultural people... though their institutitions are less democratic than those of the Jat and Rajput..." The author also noted that the Hyderabad Kunbi of the period were known to be "wholly illiterate." The 1881 Census of India stated that the Kunbi in all of India numbered 5,388,487.[4]
Notable Kunbi
Subdivisions
The names of subsets of the Kunbi differ in sources.
- Kunbi in Berar: Tirale, Maratha, Bawane, Khaire, Khedule, Dhanoje.[4]
See also
References
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=9ess-9bebEYC&pg=PA107&dq=Kunbi+shudra&hl=en&ei=8obMTeXnC4e8sQON4OjZBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC4Q6AEwATgU#v=onepage&q&f=false
- ^ ://books.google.com/books?id=2v8IAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA36&dq=kunbi+kurmi&hl=en&ei=cYXMTbX4Nom2sAOuj9TmBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=kunbi%20kurmi&f=false
- ^ [http://books.google.com/books?id=xlpLAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA270&dq=kunbi+kurmi&hl=en&ei=cYXMTbX4Nom2sAOuj9TmBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false
- ^ a b c Edward Balfour. The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, Commercial Industrial, and Scientific: Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures. Publisher Bernard Quaritch, 1885
- ^ a b R.V. Russell, R.B.H. Lai. The tribes and castes of the central provinces of India. Asian Educational Services, 1995. ISBN 812060833X, 9788120608337