Jadeja (Gujarati, Sindhi language: Jāḍejā,
History & Origin
Oral sources place the emergence of the Jadejas as being in the late 9th century when kingdoms were established in parts of Kutch and Saurashtra by Lakho Ghuraro and
Lakho Phulani who in turn were descendents of
Jam Jada, the progenitor of the clan.
However, available written sources place the emergence of the Jadejas in the 14th century. After the Arab conquest of Sindh, various migrant communities from
Sindh (
Pakistan), as well as Arab merchants settled in
Kutch district (
India).
Historian Anisha Saxena suggests that the Jadejas were Hindu branches of the
Samma dynasty of Sindh whose leaders, like other
Sammas, had adopted the title of Jam, and had settled in Kutch.
This view is also advanced by Rushbrooke, who also suggests that Sammas were Hindu and might have migrated to resist conversion to Islam.
The Sammas were a
pastoral community from which the Jadejas originated. Sociologist Lyla Mehta argues, that the Jadeja were the Hindu descendants of a
Muslims tribe that had migrated from
Sindh to
Cutch State. According to her, they originated from Sammas of
Sindh,
a
pastoral group, and laid a claim on the Rajput identity
after marriages with Sodha Rajput women
by adopting a process called
Rajputisation.
Once the Jadejas gained political power, they started "modelling themselves" after the Rajputs of Rajasthan and even married Rajput women in the process and adopted the Rajput customs.
They claim to be descended from the legendary
Jamshid of
Iran.
Jadeji Rani Kamabai, the sister of Khengarji I of Cutch State, was married to Mahmud Begada. Khengar was raised to the title of Rao, and was granted the Morvi State, later in 1538, by the Sultan of Gujarat.
From 1638 to 1663, the city of Palanpur was ruled by a Muslims, Mujahid Khan II, who was married to a Jadeja lady called Manbai. Their rulership was reportedly popular with the people because of the mixed marriage.
A Jadeja dynasty ruled the Cutch State from 1540 and 1948 (when India became a republic). Princely state had been formed by king Khengarji I, who gathered under him twelve Jadeja noble landowning families, who were also related to him, as well as two noble families of the Waghela tribe called as Bhayat (Bhai means brother, essentially treated as brothers). Khengarji and his successors retained the allegiance of these Bhayat (chieftains). They claimed legendary descent from Krishna.
Princely States ruled by Jadeja prior to Indepdendence of India
Culture
Social norms
The Jadejas had high social status and a rigid
caste system. They forbade intermarriage with lower social groups – nearly every other clan relative to them – as well as intermarriage within the clan, making it difficult to arrange suitable marriages for female offspring, with costly dowries required even if a match was found. The clan developed a tradition of female infanticide as a result.
When the British outlawed female infanticide, Jadeja chiefs began letting their daughters live and married them to other Rajput chiefs of equal status. The practice continues to some degree today, although where modern facilities are available it may take the form of
female foeticide.
Lyla Mehta, a sociologist who made studies in Kutch in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, noticed a trend in Jadejas that was unusual for other communities. In gender-based labour such as fetching water, while other communities sent women and girls to fetch the water, the Jadeja men fetched the water from the well and exercised clout at the wells and intimidated many women and girls there. This exception of men fetching the water for the household was due to the custom of ojjal, which barred Jadeja women from being in public.
German scholar Helene Basu claims that the Jadeja Rajputs of Gujarat were labelled as 'half Muslims' and the cooks who worked in their homes were slaves from the Siddi community.
Religion
The principal deity of the Jadejas was
Ashapura Mata (Hope-Giving Mother).
Notable people
See also
Further reading
