Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar
Encyclopedia
Genealogy registers
, of Hindu
families, maintained by Brahmin
Pandits (Priests) or ‘Pandas’, who double up as professional genealogists
, at Haridwar
, has been a subject of study for many years now. In several cases, these voluminous records or Vahis (Bahi), have also been used in settling legal cases regarding inheritance or property disputes, as these records are held sacrosanct both by the pilgrims and the Pandas themselves, and in many places these records trace family history
, for over twenty prior generations, stretching across many centuries.
As Haridwar has traditionally been a site, for death rites and also Shraaddha
, amongst Hindu
s, it soon also became customary for the family pandits (priest) to record each visit of the family, along with their gotra
, family tree, marriages and members present etc., grouped according to family and home town. And over the centuries, these registers became an important genealogical source for many families, part of splintered Hindu families, in tracing their family tree
and family history
as well, especially after the Partition of India
in 1947, and later amongst the Indian diaspora
,
This custom is similar to Panjis
or Panji Prabandh, the extensive genealogical records maintained among Maithil Brahmins in Bihar
.
settled abroad, in an ancient custom detailed family genealogies
of Hindu families for the past several generations are kept by professional Hindu
Brahmin
Pandits, popularly known as Pandas, at the Hindu holy city of Haridwar
in hand written registers passed down to them over generations by their Pandit ancestors which are classified according to original district
s and villages of ones ancestors, with special designated Pandit families being in charge of designated district registers, even for cases where ancestral districts and villages that have been left behind in Pakistan
after Partition of India
with Hindus having to migrate to India.
In several cases present day descedents are now Sikhs and many maybe Muslims or even Christians. It is not uncommon for one to find details of up to or even more than one's past seven generations in these genealogy registers kept by the Pandas of Haridwar.
For centuries when Hindu ancestors visited the holy town of Haridwar for any purpose which may have mostly been for pilgrimage
purposes or/and for cremation
of their dead or for immersion of ashes and bones of their kin
after cremation into the waters of the holy river Ganges as required by Hindu religious custom, it has been an ancient custom to go to the Pandit who is in charge of ones family register and update the family's genealogical family tree
with details of all marriages, births and deaths from ones extended joint family.
In present day India people visiting Haridwar are dumbfounded when Pundits out of the blue solicit them to come and update their very own ancestral genealogical family tree, news travels like wildfire among the Pandits with ones family's designated Pandit being quickly notified of ones visit. Nowadays with Hindu joint family
system having broken down with people preferring more nuclear families, record keeping Pandits prefer visitors to Haridwar to come prepared after getting in touch with all of ones extended family and bringing all relevant details regarding ones ancestral district and village, names of grand parents and great grand parents and marriages, births and deaths that have occurred in the extended family, even with as much details as possible of the families married into. A visiting family member is required to personally sign the family genealogical register furnished by ones Family Panda after updating it for future family visitors and generations to see and to authenticate the updated entries, friends and other family members accompanying on the visit may also be requested to sign as witnesses.
(GSU), USA since 1981, other places in these records having records of Hindu families are Kurukshetra
, Pehowa
, Chintpurni
, Jawalapur, and Jawalamukhi
Genealogy book
A genealogy book or register is used in Asia, and Europe to record the family history of ancestors.-Chinese genealogical books:It is the Chinese tradition to record family members in a book, including every male born in the family, who they are married to, etc...
, of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
families, maintained by Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
Pandits (Priests) or ‘Pandas’, who double up as professional genealogists
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
, at Haridwar
Haridwar
Haridwar is an important pilgrimage city and municipality in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India...
, has been a subject of study for many years now. In several cases, these voluminous records or Vahis (Bahi), have also been used in settling legal cases regarding inheritance or property disputes, as these records are held sacrosanct both by the pilgrims and the Pandas themselves, and in many places these records trace family history
Family history
Family history is the systematic narrative and research of past events relating to a specific family, or specific families.- Introduction :...
, for over twenty prior generations, stretching across many centuries.
As Haridwar has traditionally been a site, for death rites and also Shraaddha
Shraaddha
Śrāddha or Shraaddha is a Sanskrit word which literally means anything or any act that is performed with all sincerity and faith . In the Hindu religion, it is the ritual that one performs to pay homage to one’s 'ancestors' , especially to one’s dead parents...
, amongst Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s, it soon also became customary for the family pandits (priest) to record each visit of the family, along with their gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
, family tree, marriages and members present etc., grouped according to family and home town. And over the centuries, these registers became an important genealogical source for many families, part of splintered Hindu families, in tracing their family tree
Family tree
A family tree, or pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees used in medicine, genealogy, and social work are known as genograms.-Family tree representations:...
and family history
Family history
Family history is the systematic narrative and research of past events relating to a specific family, or specific families.- Introduction :...
as well, especially after the Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
in 1947, and later amongst the Indian diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
,
This custom is similar to Panjis
Panjis
Panjis or Panji Prabandh are extensive genealogical records maintained among Maithil Brahmins, Karna Kayasthas of Mithila region of north Bihar, India, similat to the Hindu genealogy registers at Haridwar.-History:...
or Panji Prabandh, the extensive genealogical records maintained among Maithil Brahmins in Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
.
Overview
This custom not well known today to IndiansDemographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...
settled abroad, in an ancient custom detailed family genealogies
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
of Hindu families for the past several generations are kept by professional Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
Pandits, popularly known as Pandas, at the Hindu holy city of Haridwar
Haridwar
Haridwar is an important pilgrimage city and municipality in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India...
in hand written registers passed down to them over generations by their Pandit ancestors which are classified according to original district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
s and villages of ones ancestors, with special designated Pandit families being in charge of designated district registers, even for cases where ancestral districts and villages that have been left behind in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
after Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
with Hindus having to migrate to India.
For centuries when Hindu ancestors visited the holy town of Haridwar for any purpose which may have mostly been for pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
purposes or/and for cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
of their dead or for immersion of ashes and bones of their kin
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
after cremation into the waters of the holy river Ganges as required by Hindu religious custom, it has been an ancient custom to go to the Pandit who is in charge of ones family register and update the family's genealogical family tree
Family tree
A family tree, or pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees used in medicine, genealogy, and social work are known as genograms.-Family tree representations:...
with details of all marriages, births and deaths from ones extended joint family.
In present day India people visiting Haridwar are dumbfounded when Pundits out of the blue solicit them to come and update their very own ancestral genealogical family tree, news travels like wildfire among the Pandits with ones family's designated Pandit being quickly notified of ones visit. Nowadays with Hindu joint family
Hindu joint family
A Hindu Joint Family or Joint Family is an extended family arrangement prevalent among Hindus of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of many generations living under the same roof. All the male members are blood relatives and all the women are either mothers, wives, unmarried daughters, or widowed...
system having broken down with people preferring more nuclear families, record keeping Pandits prefer visitors to Haridwar to come prepared after getting in touch with all of ones extended family and bringing all relevant details regarding ones ancestral district and village, names of grand parents and great grand parents and marriages, births and deaths that have occurred in the extended family, even with as much details as possible of the families married into. A visiting family member is required to personally sign the family genealogical register furnished by ones Family Panda after updating it for future family visitors and generations to see and to authenticate the updated entries, friends and other family members accompanying on the visit may also be requested to sign as witnesses.
Records on Microfilm
Starting around 1977, Hindu genealogy records were microfilmed, and later housed at the Genealogical Society of UtahGenealogical Society of Utah
The Genealogical Society of Utah , established in 1894, does business as FamilySearch International, which is the genealogical arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
(GSU), USA since 1981, other places in these records having records of Hindu families are Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra is a land of historical and religious importance. Historically the land belonged to Punjab now a district in Haryana state of India. It is a holy place and is also known as Dharmakshetra . According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and...
, Pehowa
Pehowa
Pehowa is a city and a municipal committee in Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana.-Geography:Pehowa is located at . It has an average elevation of 224 metres .-Mythic History:...
, Chintpurni
Chintpurni
Chintpurni is a place of pilgrimage in India. Chintpurni is located in Una district Himachal Pradesh state, surrounded by the western Himalaya in the north and east in the smaller Shiwalik range bordering the state of Punjab....
, Jawalapur, and Jawalamukhi
Jawalamukhi
Jawalamukhi is a town and a nagar panchayat in Kangra district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.-Geography:Jawalamukhi is located at . It has an average elevation of 610 metres .-Demographics:...
Further reading
- The Hindu world: an encyclopedic survey of Hinduism, by Benjamin WalkerBenjamin WalkerBenjamin Walker is the truncated pen name of George Benjamin Walker, who also writes under the pseudonym Jivan Bhakar...
, Published by Praeger, 1968.