Maithils

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This article is about an ethnic group. For the region, see Mithila (region). For other uses, see Maithili.

Maithil
मैथिल
Total population
c. 73 million
Regions with significant populations
2011 Census)[1][2]
Nepal3.1 million (2011 Census)[3]
Languages
Maithili
Hindi and Nepali[4]
Religion
Majority:
Hinduism
Minority:
Islam · Buddhism · Others
Related ethnic groups
Magahi · Bhojpuris · Awadhis

Maithils (

Mithila region,[5] which comprises Northern and Eastern Bihar and Northeastern Jharkhand in India[6][7] and some adjoining districts of Nepal constituting Madhesh Province in addition to some terai districts of Bagmati and Koshi Provinces.[8]
The Maithil region forms an important part of Hinduism as it is said to be the birthplace of Sita, the wife of Ram and incarnation of Lakshmi.[9]

History

Main article: History of Mithila Region
See also: Videha and Vajjika League

Vedic period

Mithila first gained prominence after being settled by Indo-Aryan speaking peoples who established the Videha kingdom. During the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE), Videha became one of the major political and cultural centers of South Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla. The kings of the Videha Kingdom were called Janakas.[10]

The Videha Kingdom later became incorporated into the Vajjika League which was based in Mithila.[11]

Medieval period

From the 11th century to the 20th century, Mithila was ruled by various indigenous dynasties. The first of these were the

Maithil Brahmins.[12]
It was during this period that the capital of Mithila was shifted to Darbhanga.[13][14]

Maithili-speaking dynasties and kingdoms

Region

Main articles:
Mithila, Nepal

India

Majority of Maithils normally reside north of the Ganges; based around Darbhanga and the rest of North Bihar.[20] Native Maithili speakers also reside in Delhi, Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi and Mumbai.[21]

Indian Mithila comprises Tirhut, Darbhanga, Kosi, Purnia, Munger, Bhagalpur and Santhal Pargana divisions.[6]

Darbhanga in particular played an important role in the history of Mithila and is considered one of its "core centers". It was the center of Raj Darbhanga who ruled most of the region.[22] Madhubani was also where

Madhubani paintings originated from which is a major part of Maithil culture.[23]
Sitamarhi is claimed by many to be the birthplace of Goddess
Mithila Kingdom.[24]
Maithils played a major role in building the Baidyanath Temple which is an important pilgrimage site for them.[25] There is an ongoing movement in the Maithili-speaking region of Bihar and Jharkhand for a separate
Indian state of Mithila.[26]

Nepal

The adjoining districts of the eastern Terai form Nepalese Mithila.[27] This area was part of the kingdom of Videha.[28] The kingdom appears in the Ramayana. Many people claim Janakpur to be the birthplace of Goddess Sita but this is disputed as many consider Sitamarhi as Her birthplace. Maithils in Nepal have been working towards a "Free Maithil state".[29]

There is a movement in the Maithili-speaking areas of Nepal for a separate province.

Province No. 2 was established under the 2015 Constitution, which transformed Nepal into a Federal Democratic Republic, with a total of 7 provinces. Province No. 2 has a Maithili speaking majority and consists of most of the Maithili speaking areas of Nepal. It has been demanded by some Mithila activists that Province No. 2 be named 'Mithila Province'.[31] Province no. 2 was given the name Madhesh Province on 17 January 2022.[32]

Ethnicities and castes

Many ethnic groups and castes inhabit the Mithila region including

Muslims.[33]

Maithil Brahmins are the

Hindu Brahmin community of the Mithila region. They are one of the five Pancha-Gauda Brahmin communities. They are also noted for panjis, the extensive genealogical records maintained for the last twenty-four generations.[citation needed
]

Maithil Rajputs are scattered throughout the region and are divided into various sub-clans with the most prominent being the

Gandhawarias who ruled estates mainly in Saharsa and Madhepura.[34] The Hindus of Mithila maintain social and marital relations with Hindus of other regions.[citation needed
]

Language

Tirhuta script

The common language of the Maithil people is Maithili, which is one of the recognised regional languages of India and the second national language of Nepal listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and the Interim Constitution of Nepal. The Tirhuta script, also known as the Mithilakshar script, was used as the original script of the language. However, during the 20th century most Maithili writers gradually adopted Devanagari script for Maithili.[35] Some traditional pandits still use Tirhuta script for pātā (ceremonial letters related to important functions, such as marriage).

Culture

Main article: Mithila culture

Men and women in Mithila are very religious and dress for festivals as well. The costumes of Mithila stem from the rich traditional culture of Mithila. Panjabi

Lord Vishnu. Also, wear a Balla on their wrist and Mithila Paag on their Head. In ancient times there was no colour option in Mithila, so the Maithil women wore white or yellow Saree with a red Border but now they have a lot of variety and colour options and wear Laal-Paara (the traditional red-boarded white or yellow Saree)[36] on some special occasions, and also wear Shakha-Pola[37] with a lanthi in their hand which is Mandatory to wear after marriage in Mithila. In Mithila culture, this represents new beginnings, passion and prosperity. Red also represents the Hindu goddess Durga
, a symbol of new beginnings and feminine power. During Chhaith, the women of Mithila wear pure cotton dhoti without stitching which reflects the pure, traditional Culture of Mithila. Usually crafted from pure cotton for daily use and from pure silk for more glamorous occasions, traditional attire for the women of Mithila includes Jamdani, Banarisi, Bhagalpuri and many more. Many festivals are celebrated throughout the year in Mithila.
Kali puja
is celebrated as perhaps the most important of all the celebrations of Mithila.

The Paag is the traditional headgear of the Maithil people

Household structure

Traditionally Maithils lived in Badaghars called longhouses with big families of many generations, sometimes 40–50 people. All household members pool their labour force, contribute their income, share the expenditure and use one kitchen.[38]

Religion

The religious practices of the Maithils is based on orthodox Hinduism as Mithila has historically been a principal seat of Hindu learning.[39]

Politics

Maithils hold significant influence in the politics of both India and Nepal. They dominate the polity of Bihar, India's third most populous state, by virtue of their majority in 144 of the 243 constituencies of the

Province No. 1.[40]

Cross-border regionalism

Mithila regionalism unites Maithils of India and Maithils of Nepal from both sides of the international border. Since they share a common history, language, culture, and ethnicity, they feel part of one Mithila. Positive events on one side of the international border are celebrated on the other side, and negative events are mourned on both sides.[citation needed]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Kirti Azad demands a separate Mithila state". m.indiatoday.in. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  2. ^ Dr. Arun C. Mehta. "District-wise Population (Census) Data: 2001 Census, India". Educationforallinindia.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  3. ^ Dr. Arun C. Mehta. "Maithil Population (Nepali Census) Data: 2011 Census, Nepal". Educationforallnepal.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Demographics of Maithil population of Nepal".
  5. ISBN 9788170990628
    . Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9789380186283
    .
  7. ISBN 9780521459709
    . Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  8. ISBN 9781136649561
    . Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  9. ISBN 9781598846607
    . Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  10. ^ Michael Witzel (1989), Tracing the Vedic dialects in Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes ed. Caillat, Paris, pages 13, 141–143
  11. ^ Raychaudhuri Hemchandra (1972), Political History of Ancient India, Calcutta: University of Calcutta, pp. 85–86
  12. ISBN 9788175330344
    . Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  13. ISBN 9788180697074
    . Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  14. ISBN 9788175330344
    . Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  15. JSTOR 44138330
    .
  16. ISBN 978-0-19-909535-3
    .
  17. ISBN 978-1-00-065152-2
    .
  18. JSTOR 603754
    .
  19. doi:10.3126/av.v3i1.9704
    .
  20. ^ (India), Bihar; Choudhury, Pranab Chandra Roy (1957). "Bihar district gazetteers, Volume 17". p. 16. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  21. ^ Maithils at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009) Closed access icon
  22. ISBN 9788175330344
    . Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  23. ISBN 9788170171560
    . Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  24. ^ "नालंदा ने आनंदित किया लेकिन मिथिला के बलिराजगढ़ की कौन सुध लेगा ? – News of Bihar". NewsOfBihar.com. 16 July 2016. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  25. ^ Narayan, Sachindra (1 June 1983). "Sacred Complexes of Deoghar and Rajgir". Concept Publishing Company – via Google Books.
  26. ISBN 9788170226918. Archived
    from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  27. doi:10.7717/peerj.9467/supp-3
    .
  28. ^ Michael Witzel (1989), Tracing the Vedic dialects in Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes ed. Caillat, Paris, pages 13, 17 116–124, 141–143
  29. ISBN 9781136649561
    . Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  30. ISBN 9781136649561. Archived
    from the original on 20 August 2017.
  31. ^ "Samiti vows to protest for Mithila Province".
  32. ^ "Province 2 endorses Madhes as its name, Janakpurdham as provincial capital". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  33. ISBN 9788175330344
    . Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  34. ^ Parishad, Bihar Purāvid (1983). "The Journal of the Bihar Purāvid Parishad, Volumes 7–8". pp. 412–415. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  35. ^ Chaudhary, Pranava (May 22, 2011). "US scholar's project of encoding Tirhuta script into digital media". The Times of India. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  36. ^ Maithil women wore Red Boarded Yellow or White Saree during Jhijhiya Naach. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  37. ^ "Mithila as well as Bengal wearing शाखा पोला" www.jhajistore.com". Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  38. ^ Lam, L. M. (2009). "Park, hill migration and changes in household livelihood systems of Maithils in Central Nepal" (PDF). University of Adelaide. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-28.
  39. ISBN 9788120805651
    . Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  40. ^ "Official status sought for Maithili in Province 2". 26 December 2017.

Bibliography

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