Semwal

2021-11-19T04:45:18Z

2405:205:C880:65B7:ECBD:81DB:1F12:3A8B:

{{short description|Brahmin subcaste from Uttarakhand, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox caste
|caste_name= Semwal
|classification= [[Brahmin]]
|country=[[India]]
|populated_states=[[Uttarakhand]]
|languages= [[Garhwali language|Garhwali]] , [[Sanskrit]]
|related= [[Garhwali people]]
|religions= [[File:Om.svg|15px]] [[Hinduism]]
}}
'''Semwal''' is one of the thirty-six subcastes of [[Sarola brahmin|Sarola Brahmin]] from [[Uttarakhand]].<ref>{{Cite book|author=Saklani, Atul|year=1987|title=The History of a Himalayan Princely State: Change, Conflicts, and Awakening: an Interpretative History of Princely State of Tehri Garhwal, U.P., A.D. 1815 to 1949 A.D.|publisher=Durga Publications|pages=not specified|oclc=17918157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UOItAAAAMAAJ&q=semwal}}</ref> They are the sole custodians and [[pandits]] of the [[Gangotri]] temple. They are a major priestly class serving as [[pandits]] or [[pujari|pujaris]] in many major shrines like [[Tunganath]], [[Rudranath]] and [[Kedarnath temple|Kedarnath]]. They fall under the category of [[Pancha-Gauda|Panch Gauda Brahmins]].

==Etymology==
The name "Semwal" originates from a place called Sem-Mukhem ([[Hindi]]:सेम-मुखेम) in [[Uttarakhand]], abode to the shrine of Sem-Mukhem Nagraj ([[Hindi]]: [[:hi:सेममुखेम नागराज|सेममुखेम नागराज]]) often considered among the locals as the fifth shrine of the [[Chota Char Dham]] pilgrimage of which the Semwals are permanent serving priests.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K8nUAAAAMAAJ&q=sarola+brahmin|title=Census of India, 1961|first=India Office of the Registrar|last=General|year=1962|publisher=Manager of Publications|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UOItAAAAMAAJ&q=sarola+brahmin|title=The History of a Himalayan Princely State: Change, Conflicts, and Awakening : an Interpretative History of Princely State of Tehri Garhwal, U.P., A.D. 1815 to 1949 A.D.|first=Atul|last=Saklani|date=4 May 1987|publisher=Durga Publications|via=Google Books}}</ref> Apart from this the origin of the name can also be traced from Sem gaon in [[karnaprayag]] [[Chamoli district]] and also from Semwal gaon in [[Tehri Garhwal district|Tehri garhwal]].

==Origin==
The Semwal [[brahmins]] at [[Gangotri]] have also maintained an age old system of book keeping known as "Bahi khata" ([[Palm-leaf manuscript|manuscripts]] having description of ancestry) that traces back the lineage of any particular member belonging to the Semwal [[brahmin]] caste,<ref>https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326462300_A_BRIEF_STUDY_OF_GASTRONOMY_OF_BRAHMINS_IN_UTTARAKHAND_INDIA</ref> which is said to have records up till the progenitors of the [[Gotras]] itself. The significance of the system is that in Brahmanical culture one is required to have the knowledge about seven of their forefathers to ensure the [[gotra]] of a person, although such practices are fading and now there are only a handful of families following such a notion.

==See also==
*[[Sarola Brahmin]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Surnames]]
[[Category:Indian surnames]]
[[Category:Surnames of Indian origin]]
[[Category:Surnames of Hindustani origin]]
[[Category:Hindu surnames]]
[[Category:Himalayan peoples]]
[[Category:Social groups of India]]
[[Category:Social groups of Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Brahmin communities of Uttarakhand]]

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Semwal