Nai (caste)

The Nai, Nais, Nao, Mhāli, Bhanāri, Mangala -The occupational caste of barbers. The name is said to be derived from the Sanskrit nāpita(नपित). They are found throughout the India. In Gujarat they are known as Valand. In Bundelkhand they are also known as Khawās. Mhāli is the Marathi name for the caste, Bhandāri the Uriya name and Mangala the Telugu name.[1] Mhāllo.—A name for Konkani barbers.[2] Vilkurup.—The Vilkuruppu or Vilkollakuruppu are the priests and barbers of the Malayālam Kammālans.[3] Ambattan are the Tamil barbers, or barber-surgeons.[4] Nowadays in north India Nai community refer to themselves as Sain instead of Nai.

The Nai community was listed as an Other Backward Class in various regions of India. These include Andhra Pradesh,[5] Assam,[6] Bihar,[7] Chandigarh,[8] Chhattisgarh,[9] Dadra and Nagar Haveli,[10] Daman and Diu,[11] Delhi NCR,[12] Goa,[13] Gujarat,[14] Haryana,[15] Himachal Pradesh,[16] Goa,[13] Jharkhand,[17] Karnataka,[18] Madhya Pradesh,[19] Maharashtra,[20] Odisha,[21] Puducherry,[22] Punjab,[23] Rajasthan,[24] Tripura,[25] Uttaranchal,[26] Uttar Pradesh,[27] West Bengal.[28]

History

They were traditionally occupied as barbers. The barber has also numerous and important duties in connection with marriages and other festival occasions. They acts as the Brahman’s assistant, and to the lower castes, who cannot employ a Brahman, they are the matrimonial priest. The important part which they plays in marriage ceremonies has led to them becoming the matchmaker among all respectable castes. As they were skilled in using blades they acted as surgeons because Baid/Vaid (doctor) who were mostly Brahmins do not practice it.[29] It is common to find barbers acting as musicians throughout the Madras Presidency, and that there are several other castes in Malabar who employed barbers as purōhits at their funeral ceremonies.[30] Now Nai community people have left their traditional jobs and works in modern fields.

An example
Women being tonsured by women at booth 97 and 99 at Venkateswara Temple

Some devotees have their head tonsured daily[31] at the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh. The amount of hair collected every day weighs over a ton.[32]

Traditionally the barbers employed to do the tonsuring were male and members of the Nai caste. This caused requests from women that they would prefer a female barber.[33] A protest led by Kagganapalli Radha Devi overturned the objections.[33]

Notable people

References
  1. Russell, R. V. "The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India—Volume IV". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  2. Rangachari, Edgar Thurston (1855-1935) K. "Castes and Tribes of Southern India: Volume V—M to P". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  3. Rangachari, Edgar Thurston (1855-1935) K. "Castes and Tribes of Southern India: Volume VII—T to Z". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  4. Rangachari, Edgar Thurston (1855-1935) K. "Castes and Tribes of Southern India: Volume I—A and B". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  5. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  6. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  7. Central List of OBCs for the State of Bihar (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. p. 2. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  8. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  9. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  10. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  11. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  12. Central List of OBCs for the State of Delhi (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. p. 3. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  13. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  14. Central List of OBCs for the State of Gujarat (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. p. 5. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  15. Central List of OBCs for the State of Haryana (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. p. 2. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  16. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  17. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  18. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  19. Central List of OBCs for the State of Madhya Pradesh (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. p. 5. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  20. Central List of OBCs for the State of Maharashtra (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. p. 4. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  21. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  22. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  23. Central List of OBCs for the State of Punjab (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. p. 2. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  24. Central List of OBCs for the State of Rajasthan (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. p. 2. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  25. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  26. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  27. Central List of OBCs for the State of Uttar Pradesh (PDF). National Commission for Backward Classes. p. 3. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  28. "National Commission for Backward Classes" (PDF). Ncbc.nic.in. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  29. Russell, R. V. "The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India—Volume IV". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  30. Rangachari, Edgar Thurston (1855-1935) K. "Castes and Tribes of Southern India: Volume V—M to P". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  32. Saritha Rai (14 July 2004). "A Religious Tangle Over the Hair of Pious Hindus". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  33. "Ms. Kagganapalli Radha Devi - #NariShakti Puraskar 2018 Awardee in Individual category". Ministry of WCD (India). 8 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  34. Hemacandra (1998). The Lives of the Jain Elders. Oxford University Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-19-283227-6.
  35. Singh, Upinder (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. p. 272. ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9.
  36. Mookerji, Radhakumud (1966). Chandragupta Maurya and His Times. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 14. ISBN 978-81-208-0405-0.
  37. Selections from the Sacred Writings of the Sikhs. Orient Blackswan. 2000. p. 238. ISBN 978-81-250-1790-5.
  38. Grewal, J.S. (12 May 2011), "The Sikh Faith and the Khalsa Panth", History, Literature, and Identity, Oxford University Press, pp. 227–250, ISBN 978-0-19-807074-0, retrieved 17 January 2021
  39. "एक आम आदमी, जो बना भोजपुरी का शेक्सपियर!". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  40. Singh, Aastha (24 January 2019). "Karpoori Thakur, the other Bihar CM who banned alcohol". ThePrint. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
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