Guest guest Posted May 12, 2003 Report Share Posted May 12, 2003 Dr. Malaiyaji has raised an interesting query. The greeting "Juhar" is commonly used by the Digamber Jains of Bundelkhand. They are neither illiterate nor do they "happen to be largely [often vaguely] affiliated with Munda-speaking tribes." Digamber Jains of Bundelkhand are well educated and are a fairly prosperous community. So to infer that "Juhar" is a standard greeting used by the illiterate / the non-elite / those affiliated to the Munda-speaking tribes would be inaccurate. The custom in Bundelkhand is that when men of the Jain community meet each other, they greet each other with "Juhar". This is a traditional greeting, certainly not a recent phenomenon. I am not sure whether the term "Juhar" is used by non-Jains as well. Since the only people I know in Bundelkhand are Jains*, I use this greeting with everyone I know. Juhar is only used to greet men. Not to greet ladies. When one meets Jain ladies, one says, "Jay Jinendra Dev Ki". And when one meets Jain men, one says "Juhar". Yours in Ahinsa, Manish Modi *I am from Mumbai, my roots are in Bundelkhand. I keep going there to meet family members and relatives. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HINDI GRANTH KARYALAY http://www.hindibooks.8m.com Booksellers and Publishers Hirabaug, C. P. Tank, Mumbai 400004 INDIA Phone: +91-22-23826739 Email: manish.modi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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