The Balai, Raj Balai, Balahi, Bunkar, or Sutarkar/Suutkar/सूतकार are found in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in India.
Balai as weavers
Balai is a transliteration of the Hindi word बुनाई. The word means weaving.
Weaving is the traditional occupation of Balai
.
According to Hindu texts, all weavers in Hinduism are the descendants of Mrikanda.
Bunkar(weaver) is a suitable name for the caste of balai as it represent the exact character and both are referred to be same, they belong to the vaishya caste/varna,they work in weaving or selling.
jainism">
Jainism
Jain Shravak Sangha preached to the Balai community in 1964, near
Ratlam, in the village Guradia. Jain Shravak Sangha gave Dharampal Jain Samaj to the Balai community, in the name of
Dharmanatha. About 1.25
lakh people of the Malviya and Gujarati Balai communities are Dharampal Jains.
Raj Balai
Historically, the Raj Balais were royal messengers. They used to convey messages from one kingdom to another kingdom in ancient times. means royal, therefore the Balais who was engaged in such royal services called Raj Balais.
Beliefs
Balai are
Hindus by religion. They are devotees of
Durga,
Chamunda and Maa
Kalaratri.
They also pay tribute to
Ramdev Pir and consider
Kalaratri as their
kuldevi.
Balais do not marry in their families or within their
gotra.
Balais are divided into a number of gotras such as Chouhan, Rathore, Parihar, Parmar, Solanki, Brejwal, Bunker
Marichi, Atri, August, Bhardwaj, Matang, Dhaneshwar, Mahachand, Jogchand, Jogpal, Meghpal, Garva and Jaipal.
They live in multi-caste villages in their own areas and bury their dead.
Balais are traditionally non-vegetarian as they believe in bali (animal sacrifice). Animal sacrifice is the part of worshiping Maa Durga and Kalaratri.
History
The Balai caste is a functional caste of weavers. Historically they were engaged in work of weaving and the group known as Bunkar.
In Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India they are specifically associated with Meghwal community due to their various cultural similarities like Handicraft and embroidery work.
Population
According to the 2011 census of India, there are 2,668,000 Balais in India.
Language
Balais speak languages including
Nimadi language, Dhundari,
Marwari language,
Punjabi language, Kashmiri and Gujarati.
Other
Sometimes, Balai is referred to as Julaha and
Meghwal.
Originally, most Balais associated themselves with the Meghwal community.
Frequently ask question and myths -
-
Is balai or balahi caste similar to Chamar caste ? , No they both are completely distinct caste of different work and culture, they are not same.
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Is balai and meghwal same ? ,yes in some cases.
