ABOUT BATWALS

The Batwals

Hinduism is basically a combination of different beliefs and customs where local deities earth, sun, nature, plants, trees and even animals are worshipped. Ancestors, and Heroes are remembered and the prayers are organized for the peace of their souls. All these are the beliefs of this religion which are being followed with a great devotion and beliefs from the centuries together.

This religion is a mixture of many sects, different languages, multi casts and different beliefs, the caste I am going to mention is The Batwals which is believed to be aborigine of Jammu and Kashmir and are inhabitants of this area from centuries together.

The Batwals have the following clans in Jammu province

BASSE , CHANJOTRA , KAITH , LAHORIA,  LAKHOTRA, LEANDER,  MAANDI ,  MOTTAN ,NANDAN , SARGOTRA , SUNDE, TAGGE and TARGOTRA

Some interested facts during the study of these clans

BASSE

The other words being used are Bassey,Base.The people are believed to be the inhabitants of Beas river and that the name has been derived from the river Beas.Please also link it with  a well known caste in north India  Bassi.

Chanjotra

The other word being used is Changotra. If we go the merit of the word ,the following comes before us:-

a.This is a combination of two words Chan+Gotra

b.The name of Kuldev Asthaan is Changia and not chanjia.

c.Some places associated with Punjabi literature speaks of Chang and not Chanj.

               There are so many other factors,friends are to use the word they like we are not advocating any particular word.

Kaith

The other word being used are Keth,Kainth,Kanth,Kath.

We feel that appropriate word is Kainth and the reasons have already been explained in detail on this group.

Lahoria

The other words being used are Laoria,Loria,Etc

Lakhotra

Some people feel that it is a changed word of Lakhanotra which is also being used by other communities as well.People of this clan are believed to be the decedents of Raja of Lakhanpur and believed to be the inhabitants of Lakanpur. Some clan in the Jammu region also write Lakhanotra and they believe that the word is Lakhan ,the name of younger brother of Bhagwan Ram.

Some interested facts during the study of these clans

LEANDER

Since there was a mention about the Leander clan with the Batwal community ,new to me, so I consulted some of my friends about this clan who totally refused to accept that such a clan is the part of our community and that they have ever hear  about this clan. This raise the curiosity further and after a constant efforts for months together someone told that yes people of this clan are the part of our community are residing in Jammu west, Marh area. One day we started towards Jammu west the Marh area and after a brief discussion with some of the people there we found some families of this clan ,gave bell and the lady who opened the door appeared to be the relative of my friend accompanying me and so the study came to an end. We inquired about them, Sh Sarsa Ram Ex Serviceman who is also looking after the Asthaan of Kuldev at Chandian, told us that they have many families there and are the part of the Batwals community.

Maandi

The words are being used are mandi,Mandy,Maandy.Some people feel that it is changed word from Mandla and they project sufficient grounds in support thereof.

Mottan

The othe other words being used are Motan,Mortan,Moten.

Nandan

The other word being used by some of the members is Nanda

Sunde

The other word being used is Sandu,Sandhu

Tagge

The other word being used is Taggey

Targotra

Some other word is also being used in lieu of this word especially in hilly area.

Gotra –

The institution of gotra appeared during Later Vedic period. It seems to have been particularly important for Brahmans while later, as against tribal endogamy(marriage within the tribe in order to maintain the purity of the tribe)there developed a full–fledged system of gotra exogamy(Marriage outside from common ancestorhegotra) signifying widening socio-political.Gotra signified descentfrom a common ancestor and marriages could not take place between couples belonging to the same gotra.

A Gotra is the lineage or clan assigned to a Hindu at birth. In most cases, the system is patrilineal and the gotra assigned is that of the person's father. Other names used to refer to it are Vansh, Purvajan, Pitru.  

According to strict Hindu tradition, the term gotra is used only for the lineages of Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya varnas. Brahminical Gotra relates directly to the original seven or eight Rishis of the Vedas. Later, the term "gotra" was associated with broader meanings of any lineage, Brahmin or otherwise.

A common mistake is to consider gotra to be synonymous with clan or kula. A kula is basically a set of people following similar cultural rituals, often worshipping the same God (the Kula-Devata - the God of the clan). Kula has nothing to do with lineage or caste.

It is common practice in preparation for Hindu marriage to inquire about the Kula-Gotra (meaning Clan-Lineage) of the bride and bridegroom before approving the marriage. In almost all Hindu families, marriages within the same gotra are prohibited, since people with same gotra are considered to be siblings.

Following is the list of Gotras,presently being followed by the community

1.ASSAR 2.ATTRI 3.BHARDWAJ 4.JAJUA/KESSAR 5.KANDAL 6.KASHYAP

 

Following is the distribution of various clans with respect to their gotras

ASSAR	MAANDI
ATTRI	KAITH,TARGOTRA
BHARDWAJ	BASSE,MOTTAN,LAKHOTRA
JAJUA/KESSAR	NANDAN
KANDAL	SARGOTRA
KASHYAP	CHANJOTRA,LAORIA,LEANDER,SUNDE, TAGGE

 

Kuldevta

 kuldev, kuldevta, stands for "family deity" within Hinduism, as a distinction from personal ishta-devata or village deities.In Practice ,Every Hindu family has its own family deity. The word Kul means family or clan and Devata means deity. Hindu families make a pilgrimage to the Kuldevata temple to obtain blessing of the deity after an auspious occasion such as a wedding , weekly basis on selected days and  on annually and biannually basis depending on the rites of the clan.

In the local dialect ,these are also called Jathere (the elders) and are  visited weekly by the devotees, biannually, and annually on specific dates fixed on lunar system according to Bikrami months prevalent on those days when Christian calendar was not prevalent.

Those human beings after performing good karmas get swarags are called local deities and are known for welfare of their people and for the destruction also if they get annoyed.

Kuldev asthaans have been established keeping in view the conveniences of the devotees so that they can attend the mails and visit reguraly easily especially when no local or personal transport was available .These Asthaans are of two types, one is publically and the others are established personally by the individuals for theis own pooja archana and chowkees of the diety.

Kuldevi/Bhua

These are the female deities and are mainly sati’s who have immolates themselves on their husband’s pyre and in some cases these have been died the unnatural deaths. Majority of cases describe the woman seated or lying down on the funeral pyre beside her dead husband. Many other accounts describe women walking or jumping into the flames after the fire had been lit, and some describe women seating themselves on the funeral pyre and then lighting it themselves.

Some of the legends having made the holy vow to burn her transform the woman to a sativrata, a transitional stage between the living and the dead, before ascending the funeral pyre. Once a woman committed herself to become sati, popular belief thought her to become endowed with many supernatural powers. The sati would gain the powers of prophecy and clairvoyance, as well as the ability to bless women with sons, who had not borne sons before. The gifts from a sati were venerated as valuable relics, and in her journey to the pyre, people would seek to touch her garments to benefit from her powers.

Some of the clans have no female deities.

There are two types of Kuldev /Kuldevi Asthaans

1. Sarvajanik/Public

These are those Asthaans who are constructed and maintained by the members of the clan concerned and are called Derry. The people of the concerned clan visit to the place on the selected days of the week and also visit there on the mail (congregation) day biannually or annually as planned by the clan concerned for getting the blessings of the deity. They also offer the goats there as per the customs of the clan.

2.Personal

These are those Asthaans which are constructed and maintained by the individual concerned and are called thaans, may be a changed form of Asthaan. These are those places where the deity has desired to get the services of that individual called sewadar/chela male/female. He perform the duty of a sewadar to the deity and by offering chowki there on the selected days of the week , yagya on the selected days of the year.

I have visited almost all the sarvajanik /public asthaans of the various clans and the photographs have been shared with the members for better appreciation. It is not possible to visit the personal Dev asthaans since there are uncountable.

However, we are again are  sharing the information of the sarvjanak asthaans for updating.