Hatwa caste is last name of many people in Indian subcontinent. Hatwa caste definition is A small caste of pedlars and hawkers in the Uriya country who perambulate the village bazars or hats from which word their name is derived. They sell tobacco turmeric salt and other commodities. The caste are in reality a branch of the Kewats and are also called Semli Kewat because their ancestors travelled on the Mahanadi and other rivers in canoes made from the bark of the semal tree (Bombax Malabaricum). They were thus Kewats or boatmen who adopted the practice of carrying small articles up and down the river for sale in their canoes and then beginning to travel on land as well as on water became regular pedlars and were differentiated into a separate caste. The caste originated in Orissa where river travelling has until lately been much in vogue and in Sambalpur they are also known as Uriyas because of their recent immigration into this part of the country. The Hatwas consider themselves to be descended from the Nag or cobra and say that they all belong to the Nag gotra. They will not kill a cobra and will save it from death at the hands of others if they have the opportunity and they sometimes pay the snake-charmers to set free captive snakes. The oath on the snake is their most solemn form of affirmation. For the purposes of marriage they have a number of exogamous sections or vargas the names of which in some cases indicate a military calling as Dalai from Dalpati commander of an army and Senapati commander-in-chief; while others are occupational as Maharana (painter) Dwari (gatekeeper) and Mangual (steersman of a boat). The latter names show as might be expected that the caste is partly of functional origin while as regards the military names the Hatwas say that they formerly fought against the Bhonslas under one of the Uriya chiefs. They say that they have the perpetual privilege of contributing sixteen poles called Naikas for the car of Jagannath and that in lieu of this they hold seven villages in Orissa revenue-free. Those of them who use pack-bullocks for carrying their wares worship Banjari Devi a deity who is held to reside in the sacks used for loading the bullocks; to her they offer sweetmeats and grain boiled with sugar.. Hatwa caste is one of the many castes subcastes of India.
India has thousands of castes and subcastes, they are in existence and practice since the Vedic times. They were created to solve the problem of division of labor. Hatwa caste name could indicate the type of work people belonging to the Hatwa caste do or did in earlier times. Many last names in India indicate the place the person originally belongs to. All castes sub castes are primarily divided into 4 categories:
1.Brahmins – The learned or priestly class
2.Khastriyas – The warrior class or those with governing functions
3.Vaishyas – The trader, agriculturalists or cattle rearers class
4.Shudra – The class that serves other three categories
Hatwa caste belongs to one of the above 4 categories. Indian caste system is the best system to solve the problem of division of labor. In earlier times there was no rigidity in caste system. Indian caste system is still the best solution for the problem of division of labor, the only change that is needed as per changed times is that rather than having a vertical hierarchical system with Brahmins on top and Shudras at bottom, it would be good to have a horizontal socialist system with Brahmins, Khastriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras all at same level.
The caste system of India is in ruins at present. It is also cause of bloody quarrels in certain parts of the rural India. People of backward castes have reservations in government jobs, this facility is widely misused in India. Many of the backward caste people have become rich and still use the facility for their benefit. Many in India believe reservation in jobs should be given on the basis of poverty rather than caste because there are many poors in upper castes as well.
Many foreginers and followers of Abrahmic religions criticize the Indian caste system because of bad material condition of lower castes but if they observe in an unbiased way they would find that there are many in upper castes with bad material conditions. The problem lies in power not in castes, power can corrupt anyone be it from upper caste or lower caste.
Secondly I have seen Abrahmic religions especially Muslims and Christians claiming that they have no caste system – It is an utter lie. All cultures, all countries, all religions have caste system in one form or the other. Christians have different churches depending on the region or language or skin color of people. Muslims have a priestly class that tries to control everything. Arab Muslims before the oil boom were so much divided among tribes that if you drank water from a well of a different tribe you could be shot dead. Tribal divisions still exists among Muslims. You can also see the caste system in a different form in your corporate companies. I had seen different food and drinking facilities for people at different levels.
Hatwa caste is also known as Hatwa Gotra.
Caste situation is quiet different in urban India, people in urban areas especially youngsters don’t bother about castes. Inter caste, inter religious, inter lingual marriages are quiet common in urban India. Inter caste, inter religious and inter lingual marriages in rural areas attract severe criticism and many times people are expelled from community for not marrying as per religious and caste rules.
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