Muslim Wagher
Encyclopedia
The Wagher are a Muslim Rajput community found in the state of Gujarat in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. They are Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 converts from the Wagher
Wagher
The Wagher are a Hindu caste found in the state of Gujarat in India. They are also known as Vagher, but have no connection with the Vagri tribe...

 caste.

History and origin

The Muslim Waghers are principally found in Okha
Okha
Okha is a town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. Population: 29,000 ; 27,963 ; 36,104 .-Geography:The town lies on the east coast of the far north of the island of Sakhalin, approximately 850 km north of the regional capital Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, near the shoreline of the Sea of Okhotsk.-History:The...

 taluka of Jamnagar District
Jamnagar district
Jamnagar District is located in state of Gujarat, India on the southern coast of the Gulf of Kutch. The headquarters is in Jamnagar. The famous city of Dwarka is situated in this district. The district had a population of 1,904,278 of which 43.91% were urban as of 2001.Jamnagar is a very beautiful...

. They are to have converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 at the hand of Sufi. The community is distributed in the villages of Bedi, Jodiya, Sikka, Salayaa, Wadinar,Soyal And Sachana. They speak Kutchi
Kutchi language
Kachhi Kachhi Kachhi (also spelt Cutchi, Kutchhi or Kachchhi, is an Indo-Aryan Language spoken in the Kutch region of the Indian state of Gujarat as well as in Sindh.- Closely related languages :...

 among themselves, and Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...

 with outsiders. The community are Sunni Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

s, but incorporate a number of folk beliefs.

Present circumstances

The Muslim Wagher are an endogamous community. They are divided into a number of clans, the mains ones being the Chamdia, Notitar, Chowra, Sodha, Mepani, Chauhan, Manak, Sumbhania, Juneja, Kero, Bhatti, Koda and Ruchcher. All these clans are of equal status, and intermarry. Occasionally they marry neighbouring Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 communities like the Miyana
Miyana
The Miyana are a Muslim Rajput community found in the state of Gujarat in India.- History and origin :The Miyana are Rajputs who were converted to Islam during the rule of Allauddin Khilji in the thirteenth century...

 or Soomra
Soomro
Soomro or Soomra is a Sindhi tribe in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, Pakistan.- History and origin :The Soomra Dynasty was established by the Soomro tribe of Sindh. The Soomra ruled Sindh from 750-1351. Following the 985 CE expulsion of the Qarmatian Muslim sect from Iraq and Egypt, the...

. Their traditional cccupation was either Seafaring, fishing or agriculture, depending on the locality they were settled. Many Wagher have started to migrate to the cities, and now work in factories. Their customs and traditions are similar to other Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

 convert communities such as the Miyana
Miyana
The Miyana are a Muslim Rajput community found in the state of Gujarat in India.- History and origin :The Miyana are Rajputs who were converted to Islam during the rule of Allauddin Khilji in the thirteenth century...

, organization.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK