Pamaria

The Pamaria are a Muslim community found in the state of Bihar in India.^[1]

Origin

The Pamaria are said to be Muslim converts from the Parmar Rajput community. This conversion is said to have taken place during the rule of the Mugal Emperor Akbar. The Pamaria are then said to have left Rajasthan, their own original home, and moved to Bihar. When in Bihar, the community took the occupation as professional singers. The Pamaria speak Maithili.^[2]

Present circumstances

The Pamaria are found mainly in the districts of Madhubani, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Begusarai and Muzaffarpur. Their occupation remains singing and dancing, with the Pamaria visiting households at special occasions such as weddings and births. They are also employed to singing folk songs by villagers. Their important songs are the badhaiya, sohar, nachari and samdaun. Each Pamaria family are allocated a particular area by the community. Many Pamaria have given up their traditional occupation and are wage labourers.^[3]

The Pamaria are strictly endogamous, and consist are number of lineages, who trace their origin from a common ancestry. They are Sunni Muslims, and like other Bihari Muslims visit shrines of various Sufis such as the shrine of Malik Biya in Bihar Sharif.

References