Sutradhar (caste)
{{Short description|A Hindu caste within the Vishwakarma community of India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2017}}
{{for|Suthar community from Gujarat and Rajasthan|Suthar}}
{{infobox caste
| caste_name =Sutradhar
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| varna =brahmin varna
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| gotra =120
| veda =
| kula_daivat =Vishwakarma
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| religions =Hinduism
| languages =Bengali
| country ={{flagicon|India}} India
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| ethnicity =Bengali people
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Sutradhar ({{langx|bn|সূত্রধর}}) is a Bengali caste within the Vishwakarma community of West Bengal and Bangladesh.{{cite book|quote=Incidentally, Sutradhar is also the caste name of carpenters in Bengal who specialise in making dolls, puppets, clay models and masks which are used in various folk performances in the region.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ju8oDwAAQBAJ&dq=Sutradhar+bengal+caste&pg=PT86 |title=Folk Arts and Social Communication |year=2017 |publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting |isbn=978-8123024882| author=Durgadas Mukhopadhyay}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GulBDMgxcU0C&dq=Khati+vishwakarma&pg=PA218 |page=218 |title=Encyclopaedia of Dalits in India: Emancipation and empowerment |publisher=Kalpaz Publications |editor=Sanjay Paswan, Jaideva Paramanshi|year=2002|isbn=978-81-7835-269-5 }}{{sfn|Faroqi|2015}} Their traditional occupation is carpentry.{{sfn|Ghosh|Ghosh|2000|p=96}}{{cite book |title=Sociology: A Study of the Social Sphere |first=Yogesh |last=Atal |year=2012 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=978-8-13179-759-4 |page=242 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RuK9z3jLcwgC&pg=PA242}} The great majority of Hindu Sutradhars belong to the Vaishnava sect. Vishwakarma is regarded as their patron deity.{{sfn|Faroqi|2015}}
Origin
The word Sutradhar literally means formula/thread-holder. Sutra in sanskrit means formula or thread (which is used to mark the course of a saw), and dhara means to hold.{{sfn|Faroqi|2015}}
Demography
While some Sutradhars practice Shaktism, the vast majority are members of the Vaishnava sect. They worship Vishwakarma and offer sacrifices to him on Vishwakarma Day and Vasant Panchami.{{sfn|Faroqi|2015}}
The Sutradhar caste is subdivided into a number of subcastes including Bardhamenya, Mandaranya, Khadipeda, Astakul, and Airy.{{sfn|Ghosh|Ghosh|2000|p=97}} The Bardhamenya, Mandaranya, and Astakul are best known as carpenters but are also known as painters, clay image makers, stone carvers as well as constructors of buildings and temples. The Khadipeda were essentially architects, known as designers of temples, palaces, mosques, and building.{{sfn|Ghosh|Ghosh|2000|p=98}}
Sutradhars are also subdivided into various clans, or gotras. All these clans are totemic. Common Sutradhar surnames include Dutta, Chanda, De, Pal, Sil, Kundu, Mena, Manna, Maharana, Rana, Bandra, Rakhsit, Sutradhar, Bhandari, Fouzdar, Das, Kar, Fouzdar.{{sfn|Ghosh|Ghosh|2000|p=98}}
Notes
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References
- {{Cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sutradhar|title=Sutradhar - Banglapedia|last=Faroqi|first=Gofran|year=2015|website=en.banglapedia.org|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902151847/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sutradhar|archive-date=2 September 2018|access-date=2017-09-22}}
- {{cite book|first1=G.K.|last1=Ghosh|first2=Shukla|last2=Ghosh|title=Legends of Origin of the Castes and Tribes of Eastern India|chapter=Sutradhars|year=2000|publisher=Firma KLM |place=Calcutta, India|isbn=9788171020461}}