Sutradhar (caste)

For Suthar community from Gujarat and Rajasthan, see Suthar.

Gotra	120
Kuladevta (male)	Vishwakarma
Religions	Hinduism
Languages	Bengali
Country	India
Ethnicity	Indian, Bangladeshi

Sutradhar is a caste within the Vishwakarma community of West Bengal and Bangladesh.^[1][2][3] Their traditional occupation is carpentry.^[4][5] The great majority of Hindu Sutradhars belong to the Vaishnava sect. Vishwakarma is regarded as their patron deity.^[3]

Sutradhar caste predominantly engaged in carpentry works

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.^[3]

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.^[3]

The Sutradhar caste is subdivided into a number of subcastes including Bardhamenya, Mandaranya, Khadipeda, Astakul, and Airy.^[6] 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.^[7]

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.^[7]

Notes

1. Durgadas Mukhopadhyay (2017). Folk Arts and Social Communication. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. ISBN 978-8123024882. 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.
2. Sanjay Paswan, Jaideva Paramanshi, ed. (2002). Encyclopaedia of Dalits in India: Emancipation and empowerment. Kalpaz Publications. p. 218. ISBN 978-81-7835-269-5.
3. Faroqi 2015.
4. Ghosh & Ghosh 2000, p. 96.
5. Atal, Yogesh (2012). Sociology: A Study of the Social Sphere. Pearson Education India. p. 242. ISBN 978-8-13179-759-4.
6. Ghosh & Ghosh 2000, p. 97.
7. Ghosh & Ghosh 2000, p. 98.

References

• Faroqi, Gofran (2015). "Sutradhar - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
• Ghosh, G.K.; Ghosh, Shukla (2000). "Sutradhars". Legends of Origin of the Castes and Tribes of Eastern India. Calcutta, India: Firma KLM. ISBN 9788171020461.