Gayawals and their Social Life

Abstract

According to Hindu social system, the authority to carry on religious performances is given to the Brahmins. Brahmins have several categories according to their specific duties and performances. Gayawal is a Brahmin category, which is known for their specific duty which subsist their responsibility for the completion of Sharaddha, a very specific performance for the Hindus considered as pious. They inhabit in a very exclusive area of the Gaya city called as Ander Gaya. Despite their exclusive inhabitation, they maintain good and soft contact with outside world. In this pape article, the author attempted to present the social life of Gayawals. For the convenience of the reader, the data is divided into two universes: one is their family universe and the other is outside universe. Again, their family universe is divided into two: one is universally socially recognised family which is common to all the society and the other is professional family which is presented here in this article to explore their (Gayawals) relation with those who assist them in their profession, that is, Sharaddha.