Lakhera

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Lakhera /Lakheri/Lakeri

Regions with significant populations
•  India
Languages
• various Hindi dialects
Religion
• Hinduism 100% •

Lakhera (also spelt as Lakhara, Lakshakar, Laxkar, Lakhpati, Lakshkar, Lakhera, Lakeri and Lakheri)^[1] are a community native to Hindi Belt.^[2]

In Hindu mythology Lakh is considered to be sacred as it indicates symbol of Suhaag in married life. From the name of Lakh society got their name as Lakhera or Laxkar. Now this community is growing and exploring with variety of business. The community is also equated with the Patwa community at some places.^[2][3]

Origin[]

The Lakhera get their name from the Sanskrit laksha kuru meaning a worker in lac. According to their mythologies, this caste created by the goddess Parvati. They are said to have originated in Rajasthan, and then spread to Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra. The community in Delhi speaks Hindi, while in Haryana they speaks Haryanvi, while in Rajasthan they Speaks Hadoti.^[4] In Maharshtra can speak Marathi, Marwadi. They are known as Lakheri, Lakeri in Maharashtra. In Pandharpur (Dist-Solapur, Maharshtra)

The main goddess of this caste is Sati Mata (that is, Shree Chena Mata and Kushla Mata) and Rupji Maharaj. There are many gotra and sub gotra in lakhera caste normally bangle making and selling is the main business of lakheras.

Present circumstances[]

The Lakhera community consists of a number of clans, the main ones being the Hatadiya (gahlot), Garhwali(Bhardwaj), Bagri(Rathore), Nagoriya, Parihar, Bhati, Nainvaya, Solanki,Tanwar, Panwar, Kathuniya and Atariya. They are an endogamous community, and each clan is exogamous. The majority of the Lakhera are still involved in the manufacture and selling of bangles. Some members of the community are now shopkeepers. The Lakhera are Hindu, and have customs similar to other North Indian Hindus. They live in multi-caste villages, occupying their own distinct quarters.^[4]

In Uttar Pradesh, the community is found mainly in the south and east of the state. They are found mainly in Jalaun, Hamirpur, Lalitpur and Jhansi.^[5]

Lakhera is an occupational based caste residing in Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Bihar, Maharashtra. barhi and jabalpur People of Lakhera community are professional artist of Lakh (substance used to make bangles) which is an inherent heritage of Lakhera community. Prime objective of Lakhera group is to enhance the knowledge about Lakhera community through the process of sharing, getting together and then working to achieve the objectives. To makes efforts, to integrate Lakhera community, achieve maximum cooperation and mutual understanding by all the ways of formal and informal discussions, academic relations and personal interactions. Caste's National youth Organization is Akhil Bhartiya Lakhara Yuva Sanghatan (ABLYS).

Their surnames in Maharashtra are Bagade, Bhate, Chavan, Hatade, Nagare, Padiyar, Ratvad and Salunke. Men add ji or sir to their names. Lakheras with the same surname did not inter-marry in the nineteenth and twentieth century.^[6] Their family-god is Balaji, also known as Vyankoba of Tirupati, whose image they keep in their houses and worship with flowers, sandal paste and food. There are no divisions among them. They are dark, strong and middle-sized with lively eyes and regular features. Their home-tongue is Marwari and out-of-doors they spoke a rough Marathi. They have no priest of their own but ask local Brahmins to conduct their ceremonies. They also worship Bhavani Devi of Tuljapur.

References[]