Thathera

The Thathera are a community in India that produce metal household utensils.[1] In 2014, the craft of the Thathera community of Jandiala Guru were included in UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.[2]

Thathera
Regions with significant populations
  • India
Languages
Hindi
Religion
Hinduism 100%

History

According to their traditions, they are Chandravanshi, Suryavanshi, Agnivanshi, and Rajputs. They trace their origin from Sahastrabhu, who was killed by Parsuram. They also claim descent from the Haihay kings, a medieval dynasty of India.[3]

Present circumstances

The Thathera community are divided into 47 clans. The main ones are Chauhan, Parmar, Gohil, Mahecha Rathod, Vadher, Solanki, Bhatti, khasi, Kagda, Puvar all of which Rajput clans. They are known as Rajput. In Uttar Pradesh, they are found mainly in Lalitpur, Jalaun, Banda, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mirzapur and Indore M.p also In Bihar, they are found in the districts of Patna, Nalanda, Gaya, Nawada, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Munger, Purnea, Begusarai, Katihar, Khagaria, and Madhubani. The Bihar Thathera are divided into a number of exogamous clans such as the Chandrahar, Chaswar, Mirdang, Amarpallo, and Peswa.[4]

The Thathera are basically a community of artisans. Metal work, business and repair of utensils are their traditional occupations. Many of them even cultivate land, and in Bihar, many are also jewellers. In Odisha, they are called 'kansari' and the main ones of this community are the "MAHARANA"s and the "MAHAPATRA"s. Basically, they are involved with metal artisan works like 'brass', 'bronze', 'aluminium' and 'copper' etc.

In Rajasthan

The Thathera in Rajasthan are found in the districts Jodhpur, Alwar, Jaipur, Madhopur, Jaiselmer, Ajmer, Bikaner, Ujjain, Udaipur, Banswara and Dungarpur. They speak Khari Boli and wagri among themselves, and Rajasthani with outsiders. Their main clans in Rajasthan are Kansara:

  • Ravegi
  • Jhaghari
  • Atlas Mewat
  • Atlas Kuntkutia
  • Atlas Patoria
  • Atlas Gondhar
  • Atlas Berenbal
  • Atlas Chonkria
  • Atlas Khankhapra
  • Shadpalia
  • Bhodia
  • Vadia Chaksaka
  • Mahendru Vadia
  • Ravat
  • Lilonia Moharia
  • Mahale
  • Chandoria Rafa
  • Kansara: Kansara also have 12.5 clans like Solanki, Budh,sisodiya Deora(Bhutda), Mothesara, Kapuria, Panwar, Bhati, Chariya (Bharawa) Bhojani etc.

[5]

In Haryana

In Haryana, the Thathera claim to have been Rajput, who abandoned their traditional occupation and started to manufacture silver and gold coins. They immigrated from Rajasthan in the 19th Century and settled initially in Rewari. The community then took to manufacturing utensils. A small number of Thathera who are found in the town of Jagadhari, are said to have immigrated from Pakistan. The Haryana Thathera have fifty two clans. Their main clans are the Barawashli, Anant, Godomot and Ramgarhia. The community is strictly endogamous.[6]

The Thathera community, and their traditional occupation remains the manufacture of utensils. Many Thathera are now petty traders, involved mainly in the selling of utensils and other household items. The Haryana Thathera are Hindu, but have no particular deities.

UNESCO Listing and Government Programs

Although people of the Thathera community reside across the country, only those from Jandiala Guru in the state of Punjab were included in the UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. [7]

After years of neglect and inaction on the part of the government and the civil society, the UNESCO listing prompted the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar to collaborate with students of Shri Ram College of Commerce to revive the dying craft form.[8] Soon, Navjot Singh Sidhu, the then Minister of Tourism of Punjab pledged Rs. 10 lakhs to this effort, under the umbrella of Project Virasat.[9][10]

Names

Other names of the community include:

  • Hindi-Thathera/Tamrakar/ Tamera/Vadhera/hayaran,Tamta(Uttrakhand)
  • Gujarati-Kansara
  • Nepali-tamo/tamot/tamrakar,
  • Punjabi-thatheri/thathiyar,
  • Bangla-karmakar,
  • Marathi-twastha tambat kasar

References
  1. People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part Three by K S Singh page 1536 Manohar Publications
  2. Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/traditional-brass-and-copper-craft-of-utensil-making-among-the-thatheras-of-jandiala-guru-punjab-india-00845
  3. People of India Uttar Pradesh Volume XLII Part Three by K S Singh page 1536 to 1540 Manohar publications
  4. People of India Bihar Volume XVI Part Two edited by S Gopal & Hetukar Jha pages 766 to 769 Seagull Books
  5. People of India Rajasthan Volume XXXVIII Part Two edited by B.K Lavania, D. K Samanta, S K Mandal & N.N Vyas pages 958 to 963 Popular Prakashan
  6. People of India Haryana Volume XXIII edited by M.K Sharma and A.K Bhatia pages 490 to 493 Manohar
  7. roy, soumyadeep (13 December 2014). "Preserving India's living heritage for the future". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  8. Amritsar, Tribune News Service (14 September 2017). "The Tribune: Delhi-based team comes to rescue of Thathera community". The Tribune.
  9. Jun 24, Yudhvir Rana | TNN | Updated; 2018; Ist, 11:15. "Jandiala utensils: Age-old craft of thatheras to get new life | Chandigarh News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 July 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. Punjab, GS Paul. "The Tribune: 'Thatheras' of Jandiala Guru find saviour in minister". The Tribune.
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