Hela Mehtar

The Hela Mehtar are a Sunni Muslim community found in the state of Rajasthan in India.[1]

Origin

The Hela are a community of musicians. They claim to have come from Arabia, sometime in the distant past. The Hela are found in the districts of Bundi, Kota, Tonk and Jhalawar. They speak the Hadoti dialect of Hindi. According to some traditions, the community are Muslim converts from the Hindu Bhangi caste. The Hela are strictly endogamous, and marry close kin.[1]

Present

Their traditional occupation was musicians,instrumentalists,singers etc. Many are now employed b. They are a landless community, and many are employed as wage labourers. The Hela are well versed inragas such as dadri and thumri, but practice many folk beliefs.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 K.S. Singh, ed. (1998-04-01). People of India: Rajasthan: Volume XXXVIII, Part One. Popular Prakashan. pp. 422—425. ISBN 978-8171547661.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.